Chapter 34 Choosing A Weapon
I walked back to the training grounds. It was completely empty now. Everyone had left by the time I came. I went to the building at the very end. The place where I could get a weapon. There was no guard though. The mysterious guard who gave me advice an hour ago was nowhere to be seen. It was quite a pity.
I stopped at the entrance. I had no permission to go inside, and I did not want to be called an intruder. For such an important part of the family, there must be someone to guard it even in secret.
"What are you here for child?"
My suspicions were confirmed when someone arrived from within the building. It was another old man, but this one was refined, and looked his part more than the former. He looked experienced, and powerful, and.... exactly the same as the previous guard!
"You are the guard who spoke to me during the fight! Even when I came here last time! Old Tian right? I recognize your face. How did you change so much? What game are you playing with me?" I jumped back.
"You are a very funny boy. No one cares about the guard. Why would they care about someone who just guards their manuals and their weapons? But you remember how he looks? I wonder why. Anyways, that fellow told me that you were coming. You want an Earth Grade weapon right? A spear? We have very few of those. You are going to have to manage that. I am sure you will." Old Tian smiled as he walked inside.
"That fellow? He just called the clan leader of the family that he worked for \'that fellow\'? Just what were his guts? No one could disrespect the leader like that! Not even the elders, and the grand elders who were always in seclusion. This just made no sense. Who was this Old Tian, and what was his place in the family?" these thoughts just flew through my head as I stood there motionless.
"The weapon is not going to pick itself. Come on now!" Old Tian\'s voice reverberated. I shook awake and ran inside.
I went past the same weapons that I went through when I was choosing my first spear. But my selection was not out of these. I had to go upstairs, to the second floor. This building had four floors, which was quite rare in this city. The second floor was only for those in the Foundation Establishment and the Core Formation Stages. They were considered royalty everywhere in the city. Uncle Du was in the Core formation stage. I found out later, and I understood why everyone respected him more than me. That was all to change now, of course.
"Now he told you that you were getting an Earth ranked weapon, but he mispoke. You don\'t just get any Earth Ranked weapon. You can only get a Earth Ranked Low grade weapon. We cannot afford to just give High grade stuff to mere Foundation Establishment stage children." Old Tian said.
"Anything is an improvement from what I have right now." I smiled as I entered the room that he guided me to. This was different than the one below. It was... sparser.
Fewer options, fewer weapons, it must have been because of the increased quality. I went to the spears section. Few was an overstatement. I saw exactly three spears here, and all of them were of different lengths compared to the one I used until now.
"This is just bullshit. I have four foundation establishment pills. They can\'t harm me that much. If I release one to the public, then I will be able to afford any weapon that I like. This selection is horrendous." I shook my head.
Ping!
"System suggests that Host select the spear in the middle." the system suddenly buzzed. I turned around to see what spear the system was suggesting.
The spear was not as long as the one I was using. It was thicker, and felt more stable. I held it in my hands. There was more weight to it as well. I tried pushing Qi into the spear. Then, I understood the difference between a Human ranked weapon and an Earth ranked weapon. The spear in my hands drank the Qi. It felt so much easier to flow my Qi through it, and the spear itself felt so much more powerful when there was Qi within it. It was sharper, stronger, and a much better spear.
"Damn it, I had the money! Why didn\'t I buy a spear before? I am so stupid!" I shouted inside. Not outside, of course. I did not want anyone to know that I was an alchemist. Better keep that identity secret and mysterious for my security and to keep the profits higher.
"System, why the hell do you want me to buy this spear though? I can buy a better spear outside right?" I asked the system.
"When the host was asked to select the spear, it was because it was the best choice out of the options to practice the Blue Dragon Spear Art. Now, Host has come across a better alternative. The spear in the middle is more compatible with the Blue Dragon Spear Art. It has 90% compatibility, and User will be able to successfully perform even the fifth strike without problems." the system said.
My eyes shone. The fifth strike, which I could never properly practice because the spear would always bend during training. If I could complete that one strike, then the martial gathering would be in my pocket. I nodded vigorously and grabbed the spear. I had chosen.
I ran to the outside with the spear in my hands. Old Tian looked at it once and he smiled.
"Looks like you are lucky. The spear that you have chosen is Low grade. Go ahead now. Practice with the spear. All of us want to see what you will do in the martial gathering. All of us want to see how far you will go. You are the dark horse after all. Haha! Things are finally getting a little interesting after all this time. You know the way out." Old Tian laughed as he started walking away.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------