(Author: Hello! It turns out that the Lu clan's background is more profound than the world believes. Lu Shu has returned to the palace and heads to the imperial vault. How much of his background will his father reveal? What techniques is he going to learn? Which weapon will he choose to master? First of three chapter spam release. Enjoy.)

-------Chapter 3: The Imperial Vault--------------

"Father," Shu said as he clasped a hand over a left fist and bowed lightly.

"Imperial Emperor," General Meng Ce said doing the exact same thing as well as kneeling on one knee.

"Good. You two are here. Behind me lies the imperial vault. Shu, you will pick out three techniques and a Practitioner Weapon. As for a breathing technique to help you cultivate, we will speak of this when we enter," the emperor said as he looked at the royal guards. "No one is to disturb us. Kill any who approach the vault."

"We hear and obey," the knights chanted in unison.

The emperor headed in first, followed by the general and Prince Shu. It was the first time the two entered the vault and they were naturally surprised. Gold coins in twenty foot high piles in a hallway as far as the eye could see. Only General Meng Ce knew why the hall would be so large as the hidden sanctuary of the ancestors was hidden many yards below. Still, he never expected the royal family to have so much gold. There were also several weapons and armor scattered on the floor with many precious metals and jewelry. It was as if they were just tossed there like trash.

"Oh, come now. Don't tell me you are all surprised?" the emperor asked as he saw their expressions. "The Yan Empire is the oldest empire in existence. Naturally, we would have more money than any other nation in the world. Land? Power? Money? None of them matter if you pursue the path of immortality, like myself, or fighting, like General Meng Ce. I dare say, the Lu clan has more money than all the dragon hoards in the world combined. That means nothing because our family only cares about magical weapons, magical armor, and magical items and artifacts. It is a pity most mages do not pursue immortality and realize how little they settled for. True power lies in the heavens."

"For a vault, this is beyond messy. It's like the whole vault is the inside of a mountain," Shu noted as he looked around. The vault was like a hollow cave with large hills of gold in the distance. He could even see stone roads that led further in. "How exactly can I choose what I want?"

"That, my son, is your problem," the emperor laughed. "You and General Meng Ce must search for them yourselves. You can both feel free to take as much gold and jewelry in this room as you desire. This is but the smallest mountain hollow. There are many more. Think about it. I Lu Yi, am the ninety third emperor. Once you reach Spirit Master stage, you stop aging and can manipulate your appearance up to ten years old from the appearance you had before. I lost count how many decades I lived as emperor before your mother and I decided to have kids. Let's just say that alchemy has its uses to prevent an unexpected surprise from late night activities. HAHAHA! Money does not matter much, but it does in the Mortal Realm. Be sure to collect enough to bribe yourself out of trouble. I'm sure there's a storage bag somewhere under those hills of gold coins."

"Thank you father," Shu said.

"Oh, almost forgot something of the utmost importance. General Meng Ce, you met the Great Ancestor. His blood stirs inside him," Lu Yi said as he gave Shu the crimson ring with three eyes while the general looked at Shu, astonished. "Never take the ring off Shu. During the first two stages, people will have suspicions but it is not certain until you are of the third stage. Never take it off. Furthermore, take this scroll. It contains a demonic breathing technique called the Eclipse Indestructible Body technique, the technique of the Practitioners of the Lu clan. HAHAHA! Only those with high levels of pure demon blood can use this technique. It is what made our Great Ancestor so famous and forced him to escape here, to the Mortal Realm."

"Eclipse Indestructible Body technique?" Shu repeated as he took a large, ancient scroll from his father. "Demonic breathing technique? Aren't I human?"

"Yes, you are. It just so happens that your many dozens of great grandfather just so happens to be a Golden Earth Fiend," Lu Yi laughed while General Meng Ce nodded, his face turning pale for a moment. "The purity of your blood just so happens to be so unnaturally high that your Spirit Pulse is actually a demonic red instead of a human gold. The ring will make your Spirit Pulse look gold to everyone but you. Only someone in the mid-stage of Spirit Sage or higher can tell the difference. The ring also holds another ability which you might discover later on. The breathing technique will greatly assist in your cultivation and make your body indestructible. Of course, this only depends on the power of your opponent. Inside the vault there are demonic weapon techniques. No one but a demon can use them so be sure to pick that."

Lu Shu stared at his father leaving and said to the general, "So the Great Ancestor is a demon?"

"A Golden Earth Fiend to be exact, but yes. I am also a descendant. When a descendent of the Great Ancestor is a Practitioner who reached the third stage, he is granted an audience with the Great Ancestor. All I can say is that all your questions will be answered then. For now, let's look for a blood demon weapon technique once you pick a Practitioner weapon. Most mage staffs and other trinkets are replaceable and destructible, but Practitioner weapons are chosen for life and break upon the owner's death. The weapons you pick here might have belonged to our ancestors or Practitioners they killed," the general said sadly.

"Blood demon weapon techniques?" Lu Shu asked.

"Techniques like those are only given that fancy name as it requires the user of the technique to have demon blood," the general shrugged. "Just to clarify, demons are stronger than humans of the same rank. Magical beasts are also stronger and dragons are the most powerful, yet consider themselves a fourth category of Practitioner life forms. Humans are the weakest, but they are the most numerous and cultivate the fastest. Don't be surprised if someone reaches the next stage faster than you. It is because you have more potential than they do. The more talented, the harder the work one must make to break through to the next stage. Your breathing technique could be considered an innate defensive skill so we just need you to learn a weapon technique and a bare-handed technique. Your weapon technique should be your trump card. We'll collect some gold and jewelry while we are at it. We might be lucky enough to find demonic cores and some magical artifacts."

"Like a treasure hunt. Cool," Shu grinned as he put on the crimson ring. "I should try to find a storage bag. In the Mortal Realm, money and power determine your future. Plus, having that around will obviously help me carry so much money and items that even a caravan would hesitate to carry. The only problem is...I don't know what it should look like."

"Ah, storage bags? Good choice. A spatial ring would get in the way," the general laughed.

Shu laughed as he found a storage bag after searching through eight piles of treasure. General Meng Ce nodded as Shu began putting large amounts of gold and jewelry into his storage bag. Then, he and Shu left the area and followed the roads deeper in the vault. General Meng Ce cried out in alarm as they encountered small mounds of demonic cores.

"Those are demonic cores! You're in luck Shu. Quickly, eat them," General Meng Ce said.

"Uh, isn't eating them a bad thing?" Shu asked. "Won't my cultivation increase too quickly?"

"Ah, right. You only became a Practitioner yesterday and lost some memories," the general laughed as he slapped his forehead. "Okay, while it is true that it does increase your cultivation, that only applies once you are of the third rank when your spirit condenses and reveals its true form. Until then, demonic cores are used to increase your foundations. In other words, it increases the amount of spirit energy you possess. Not only that, there are lion wine barrels here!"

Shu looked at scattered barrels around the demonic core as the general continued, "You're a minor so I would normally prevent you from drinking wine, but that is lion wine! Countless magical treasures are used to create a barrel of that wine. Gods. I never knew the Lu clan was so rich. See how many barrels there are and they are just laying around like discarded treasure. Well, as your father is the only one who is a Practitioner and the fact that the wine is useless except for the taste at Spirit Master stage, the barrels would be forgotten. Your father, His Majesty, said that there are other rooms right? You should keep these barrels. Drink a cup of this wine a day. It should help enhance your cultivation quite a bit. Don't worry, there is no addictive effects from this wine as it isn't regular wine."

"Uh, okay?" Shu said as he began storing the barrels of lion wine into his storage bag before walking to the demonic cores.

"Before you start eating the cores, you should know that all you are doing is adding the amount of spirit energy you can use. This no longer applies once you reach the third rank as almost all of it will enhance your cultivation and allow you to make many breakthroughs relatively quickly. You should not rely on eating demonic cores to do so as it limits your potential. Breaking through on your own will allow you to better understand how to do so in the future. Only this time, should you eat them. If you get some in the future, trade them for something more useful," the general warned. "Keep eating the demonic cores until you see cracks of red spirit energy on your body. I will see it as gold, but stop when you see the cracks. This means that your body has reached the threshold of containing spirit energy. You will be in immense pain, but that is the best time to perform your breathing technique and begin cultivating that spirit energy."

"So you want me to stop eating cores when I am on the verge of blowing up just to perform the breathing technique my father gave me?" Shu asked incredulously.

"Yes, Prince Shu. The longer you perform your breathing technique, the better," Meng Ce answered. "Having so much spirit energy in your body will damage you a bit, but it will also increase the amount of spirit energy your body can hold. You see, the Eclipse Indestructible Body technique is an ancient demonic breathing technique. Every Practitioner descended from the Great Ancestor knows it, but not everyone can use it. When your body is on the verge of breaking, that is the requirement to first use this breathing technique. It will ensure that your spirit energy is within your blood vessels, veins, and arteries. Your Spirit Pulse will become much more powerful. Your body will truly become indestructible to almost any assault. When someone tries to pierce or cut your skin, a white energy will appear over the area of contact like a third layer of skin."

Shu stared silently and picked up one of the demonic cores. It seemed like a crystal orb with the image of the body it came from inside. Curious, Shu opened his mouth and swallowed it. His eyes opened wide in shock as he felt a rush of adrenaline pump in his body. Spirit energy seemed to gush out from his stomach and spread into every fiber of his body. It felt so warm and good. Very good. Smacking his lips, Shu swallowed core after core to maintain the pleasant feeling.

As he was eating the demonic cores and letting the spirit energy spread in his body, the general quickly took off one of the lids from a barrel of lion wine Shu missed and quickly moved it next to Shu. Shu coughed a little as he kept swallowing the demonic cores like a ravenous wolf. He could see small cracks of red spirit energy form all over his body. Every time a crack appeared or expanded, Shu howled in pain as it felt like he was being run through by a sword and having it slightly twist in his body.

"Quick, jump into the barrel and read the scroll!" General Meng Ce roared and Shu quickly jumped into the barrel.

The general opened the scroll of the breathing technique. Shu's eyes opened in surprise as the words slowly became wisps of white energy. Once he finished reading the scroll, the white energy entered his body While he read the scroll, the wine in the barrel was slowly being drained by the cracks on his body. His wounds healed and Shu found that it was low enough that he could sit down and meditate. The general nodded as Shu began practicing the technique. The scroll was merely a vessel for the energy. The information to practice it was embedded in Shu's memory the moment the energy entered his body.

Shu felt as if his eyes were burning as he continued to practice the technique. Slowly, the white energy began to expand outwards once it penetrated his organs and bones. It settled on top of his body like an extra layer of skin before disappearing as it never existed. However, Shu knew it would appear to protect him as it had become a part of him. The spirit energy within his body began to condense. Shu could see red spirit energy flow within his body, settling within the center of his chest. He began to faintly glow a red aura around his body. General Meng Ce saw that it was a success as he saw Shu's sky blue iris become a faint, glowing gold before they closed again. As expected of the breathing technique created by the Great Ancestor, a Golden Earth Fiend.

Shu opened trembled in shock as he felt the familiar golden energy he felt before. It wasn't his own spirit energy. It was from the golden pearl he had swallowed before. The pearl inside his body seemed to be as if it were absorbing the red spirit energy in his body. The more he practiced the Eclipse Indestructible Body technique, the more spirit energy he absorbed into his body with some of it being absorbed by the pearl. It seemed to crack as he kept absorbing more and more. Shu was curious and wanted it to open. To General Meng Ce, it seemed as if Shu glowed a faint gold aura and was temporarily lost in wonder while cultivating spirit energy.

After an hour, General Meng Ce said, "The second prince is so dedicated. He has been practicing the technique for well over an hour now, but why does some of the spirit energy vanish?"

Shu was lost in wonder as he kept pouring spirit energy into the pearl. It cracked and cracked as spirit energy poured into it like the bottom of a waterfall. It was no demonic core so Shu kept wondering what it was. The pearl awakened his Spirit Pulse and cured the mute disability of the body. It had to be something special. It was probably a magical artifact of sorts. Shu finally saw the pearl burst and an unknown energy burst from the pearl and permeated through his entire body.

General Meng Ce fall on his butt in alarm as the barrel burst as Shu roared like a tiger with his arms stretched out. The image of a white tiger appeared behind him and the pure power and vibration from the roar shook the entire vault. General Meng Ce could not believe his eyes as he saw the fifteen foot tiger, water circling around it, appear for a few seconds while Shu roared. As soon as he saw the tiger, he knew what Shu's spirit would become. There was no doubt now. Whatever caused the tiger to appear must have to do with whatever awakened his Spirit Pulse.

What General Meng Ce was a White Ocean Tiger, one of the highest tiers of beast type spirits below the magical beast spirits. Shu would be able to learn elemental spirit techniques of darkness, lightning, and water. Shu did not have an armor type spirit so he could not learn light, earth, or fire spirit techniques. It was an interesting combination. Water and lightning did work well. When the clouds got dark, it signified a storm. Lightning storms always brought rain.

Shu laid back on the ground while the general was preoccupied with his thoughts. Shu was very tired but was excited. He was brimming with spirit energy. Shu wrinkled his nose as he smelled something unpleasant. He looked down and saw his lower body covered in impurities, black liquid that was expelled from his body. Shu left the general in the vault as he washed off the impurities and returned with fresh clothes.

"Is something wrong?" Shu asked.

"You have affinity for darkness, lightning, and water. There is no mistake that your spirit will be a White Ocean Tiger as it has the water affinity. I don't know what happened to stimulate your Spirit Pulse, but it must have been a very powerful magical artifact. White tiger spirits with affinity to water are rarely seen," the general said. "We'll find you a bare-handed dark spirit technique first. Preferably, a speed-oriented offensive skill. Then, we'll find a water spirit technique using whatever Practitioner weapon you find, if such a technique could be found here. I must warn you, water spirit techniques that are offense-oriented are rare and most people don't use them."

"What about lightning?" Shu asked.

"Lightning? Don't even think about trying to control that element. It is much too powerful for someone below the fourth stage of cultivation to begin training in. It consumes too much spirit energy and your Spirit Pulse has not stabilized yet," the general shook his head. "If you truly wish to learn it, you can find a technique here. However, you must promise me that you will not practice the skill until you reach the fourth stage. There are just some elements too powerful to practice early on. Truthfully, darkness is also dangerous but you are not completely human. Your Spirit Pulse is demonic and is harmonious with the element of darkness. Just as demons can practice dark spirit techniques at the first stage, so too, do humans practice the light element. That is, of course, if their spirit had the affinity and they discovered it early on. Do you swear not to practice it?"

Shu nodded and said, "I swear. Is it normal to have three elemental affinities?"

"Yes. The most one could have is six, but that is too many and most settle for only four. The more elements one decides to practice in, the less proficient he will be. It is different than a mage. Mages study spells, but Practitioners study the very elements," the general answered. "Should you decide to train in the element of lightning, practice it in secrecy. It is an element as rare as light and darkness. Best to keep it as a trump card. Convince people that you do not pursue learning the element of lightning by never using it."

"I understand. There is much to learn," Shu said silently.

"Indeed. However, a Practitioner should not depend on elemental spirit techniques in order to win. Learning fighting techniques must take priority. While one has the affinity, it does not mean they should always use it. One should understand his body and learn martial arts first. Otherwise, what is the difference between you and a mage?" the general warned. "Come. Let's get you those techniques and a Practitioner weapon."

"Okay general," Shu grinned and followed the general deeper into the vault.