CHAPTER 26

What’s more, he couldn’t see through the knife itself. He could only hope for the elder to have the knowledge and he did:

“Feeling the difference yet unable to grasp it, are you? Strange. Even though you have been betting and earning many rank 4 items. Don’t you understand why they are worth so much?

-I do not. I only knew they were precious and worth a lot. Since I was poor, that was enough.

-I see. Well, then, do not worry for I can teach you. Listen closely. There are four ranks known in this continent, from 1 to 4 of course. Upgrading a normal object through martial tailoring like what I showed you can upgrade it to the first rank. Now, what does it change? It becomes a weapon imbued with energy. It earns the ability to be infused with energy of all elements without risks of being destroyed. As an example, think about the fire element. If I channeled fire elemental energy in a normal weapon, it would melt. This knife however won’t ever be burnt by fire elemental energy.

-Then what’s the point in having you fill the crystal with rank three energies rather than me with my rank 1 energies?

-Resistance. This knife is a rank 1 weapon that can be used by martial artists up to the third rank. It means that no one under the fourth rank could break it by using it. Obviously, since we don’t have anyone at rank four, having a weapon with a resistance of rank three is the top. It means that this knife is a top-tier rank one weapon.

-Alright, I understand. But then, what makes the difference between item ranks?

-Now that is the right question to ask. From what you saw, it is obvious that anyone can make something like this knife as long as they have the materials and some knowledge. However, to reach rank 2 is another matter entirely!”

The elder turned back to the black desk and placed the knife there again. Then, he took out a bigger crystal from his space bag. It was a cubic crystal, fifty centimeters wide.

Then, he took a different hammer. This one was bigger, way bigger. As big as the elder himself. He placed it near the desk. The sheer weight of the hammer was enough to make the ground cave in a bit. The elder smiled and said:

“The process is the same in theory. There is just one more thing to add to it.”

As he said that, he took something else from his space bag. It was a small brush like one of a painter. The elder smiled widely and said:

“This is a martial pattern brush. It is a rank three item. Only with this tool can someone attempt to tailor a second rank item and do actual tailoring.

-What does it do?

-Don’t be so impatient, young Mir. Let me show you the complete process. First, the crystal. This one is as you can see, bigger. Both are energy crystals but they are able to store different things. For example, this one here can stock a skill rather than energy.

-So, you attack it and it turns white?

-No. Attacking it would break it into pieces. It is just a stone, Mir… So, what do we do? We first forge a link with the stone by placing one hand on it and sending some energy in it. It will forge a link between us.”

As he was talking, he had already forged the link. The cubic crystal had turned white.

“The fact that he is white means that the link is made. Now, I only have to use the skill myself. Let’s see, something that is easy…A basic fire spell it is. I’ll demonstrate Fire Shot.”

As he said that, the elder turned towards the distance, extended his arm and pointed a single finger towards the horizon. Energy concentrated on his fingertips and turned to flame, then shot out furiously where he was pointing. It was instantaneous. And, just as the shot was produced, it disappeared.

Mir frowned. Curiously, he had been able to see through the skill. More than ever before. He saw multiple skills used at the genius tournament but he never understood so much as right now. It was at a level where he would be able to use the skill right away himself.

This was a welcome upgrade. His eyes were becoming even more cheated. Yet, he had no idea why the ‘bullet’ disappeared. It was a complex feeling. As he turned around, he could see the crystal had changed. It was now fire red. That was enough for him to understand what happened. Elder Fin told him:

“Yes. The skill was absorbed into the cube and so, it turned to the color red, representative of the fire element. Now, however, before going for the hammering, there is one more step. And it involves this famous martial pattern brush. Through it, I transform energy into ink and engrave it on the crystal. Its second function comes later on. it is a combined function with that of the crystal. I will use the brush to write an activation pattern. Let’s see…we will go with ‘ORAL ACTIVATION: fire bullet’. It should do the trick. In case someone miss to place an activation pattern, it activates in automatic and that is very dangerous.”

As he said that, he started writing on the crystal with the brush that turned the energy it was provided into a deep black ink.

After he finished writing it, he placed the crystal on the knife and started to hammer at it with his oversized hammer. It took much longer this time. And once it finished, the breeze of wind became a violent one that made Mir take a step back. If he hadn’t reach the first rank, he might have suffered heavy injuries if not worst. But Mir had a question.

“Elder Fin, if you need a brush to inscribe a pattern, then how was the brush made in the first place?

-Oh, a very wise question. The answer is simple, the brush was not inscribed. It acts automatically upon contact with the crystal. The man who made the first ones was able to inscribe without of course, but his technique is long lost as he never passed it on; only those brushes.”

Elder Fin was smiling sadly as he took the knife. It had a line of red glowing symbols on the iron blade. Elder Fin pointed it to the sky and said:

“Fire Shot”

The inscription glowed and the tip of the blade shot out a small but powerful bullet made of fire towards the sky. Elder Fin gave the knife to Mir and looked like he was asking him to try it out.

Mir did. He just said the same words, really. And the same fire bullet shot out from the tip of the knife and it was exactly the same as when Elder Fin used it.

What was even more surprising was that the knife absorbed forcefully the energy from Mir rather than him giving it out. The elder told him:

“Don’t forget, this kind of items are dangerous. Some have auto-type activation pattern. As you just felt, they forcefully take the user’s energy. In the end, even the most impregnable rank 4 armor can be broken if you exhaust the wearer’s energy. And, as you know, if you don’t have any energy left, you pass out if you’re lucky. If you’re not…Well, keep it in mind.

-I will. Elder, how do I get a brush?

-Only a rank 3 martial artist tailoring master can make one. they are only handed from a master to his disciple. That being one of the reasons why it is so rare to find rank 2 and higher items. It has a low rate of success as well to tell the truth…And those crystals are incredibly expensive and hard to make. Anyway, normally, you would need to find a master but here, take this one. I made it for you. Today was its test run. You can keep the knife too.

-Thank you elder! But why so much generosity?”

Even though Mir didn’t wait long before taking the two presents, he still questioned the elder’s reasons for giving them to him. However, the elder only chuckled and answered by:

“It is nothing but me honoring our deal, little Mir.”

Then, he dismissed the kid. Mir got out and was going back to the Herbal mountain. At the same time, elder Lan got out of hiding and joined his older brother sitting on the chair in front of his black desk. He asked him:

“Are you sure about this? Giving him a brush?

-I guess. What he did for me is more than enough. Someone else might have asked me to become his slave till death ahahah!

-But this brush… It is incredibly hard to make one, isn’t it?

-Yes. It takes more than a hundred years. If you’re lucky enough that it succeeds. It is the only one I have been able to make myself to tell the truth but, oh well, I think he deserves it and it was supposed to be this way.

-I do understand about the gratitude you have for this kid but…a martial pattern brush? It is something as valuable as a rank 4 weapon if not more.

-You don’t have to tell me, I am even more qualified to know about its worth than you are, little brother. But have you seen the kid? The power contained in his eyes, his achievements so far… And it probably didn’t escape your grasp but he reached the third realm from the state of awakened core at seven years old. He is a genius; however we look at it. No doubt the most talented kid I have seen so far.

-His eyes are his only redeeming feature. Without them, I doubt he could do anything.

-Probably. But you know just as much as I do that except for the heart and brain, anything can be regrown and healed for a martial artist. The core was supposed to be impossible to regrow too yet he found a way. I begin to wonder if he could regrow a heart or a brain as well… Anyway, he would surely be able to get back his eyes if something happened. It is a part of him. And as such, it is his power.

-That is right. But by doing this, you are giving up on taking a disciple for many years to come.

-Isn’t it fine? And you, little brother, should forget about this grudge you have. Sure, he tricked you once but then what? He remains the most promising student your mountain ever had since its founding.

-…I will have to think about it.”

On those words, elder Lan walked away as elder Fin sighed. Once elder Lan was gone, he laughed to himself:

“Who said I wouldn’t take in a disciple?! According to the tacit rules of us martial tailors, by accepting this brush, he is my personal disciple, ahahah!”

Mir was back in his apartment in the Herbal Pavilion. Oka was with him. He had told him about what happened with elder Fin and was wondering what to do next. He asked Oka for his opinion but the adolescent only said he was fine with anything Mir ordered him to. This was displeasing so Mir said:

“Oka, I remain the boss but I’d rather appreciate it if we could become more like close friends than coworkers. If you want something or think something is wrong, say it.

-Alright, young boss.

-Good. Then, let me ask one last time: what do you want to do?

-Slaughter those that bullied me two years ago.”

This was expected but it still brought coldness to Mir’s body. The adolescent in front of him had just said seriously that his wish was to murder other kids. And now, Mir knew Oka had the strength to. He thought for a while then said:

“Alright. We will go with this next then. Since you want to kill them, it will have to be outside. I need a few months to plan it, will it be fine to wait just a bit more?

-It is fine, young boss.

-Then, it is settled. Tomorrow at dawn, we go to the market mountain, don’t be late.

-Yes, young boss.”

Three months and ten days later, the Burning Sea School was opening its doors. Thousands of disciples were exiting at high running speeds. It was the only time of the month when the doors would be opened.

For those with missions related to the outside or some who only wished to go home and such, it was the day. There were only a small exception. Groups of people that were walking leisurely on the bridge. They were the alliances and groups with missions that would take more than a day.

Since they were going to be out for more than a month, they didn’t need to rush. Out of them, one group was bigger than others. It was composed of exactly 1532 disciples. It was a group made of the elites of the Outer Fire Alliance; the faction that had left Oka to die outside the gates. Originally, this was a faction with more than fifty thousand disciples, one of the leading groups in the outer region.

But the truth is, out of them all, only a handful was really making the alliance’s power. Those were the 1532 disciples that got out together. The weakest was rank 1 8th realm, a top disciple in the outer region as once one reached the second rank, they could become inner disciple and from there, couldn’t stay as member of an outer alliance.

Today, they were going out for one thing: a special mission they received from a grand elder. They were to meet him at an appointed location at lunchtime this day where he would explain them the task. The grand elder had specifically sent the mission to their faction and asking for the best members to take part. The leader of the Outer Fire Alliance, Hilm, decided to go with everyone capable.

And so, he brought out nearly all his faction’s power out with him. He didn’t know what awaited them but the thought of being given a task directly by a grand elder… And a personal task at that! The benefits would no doubt be incredible. He wasn’t the only one thinking this way. Everyone in the crowd was drooling to the prospects. A brighter future with more resources and the potential protection of a grand elder? Heck! Maybe even becoming a personal disciple or at least a mountain disciple would be worth it to do whatever the elder asked for!

They walked with smiles on their faces discussing together, making a lot of noise as they travelled through the land. By lunchtime, they had reached the designated location. There was only a small teahouse in the middle of the forest. Hilm had his companions wait while he entered the teahouse accompanied by his two most loyal aides. The three of them were peak rank 1 9th realm, just a step away from reaching rank 2 and becoming inner disciple.