(Author: Hello! Now that Lu Shu has begun cultivating spirit energy, he learns what his spirit will become. He and the general continue to head further into the vault, searching for spirit techniques. A Practitioner weapon is for life. Just what weapon will Lu Shu pick? They had found all kinds of items. Just what else had been discarded in the vault? Enjoy.)

---------Chapter 4: A Cursed Sword-------------

"Can a Practitioner only use one Practitioner weapon?" Shu asked as they continued their search.

"Yes. However, the Heavens are kind. Just like how mages can choose to keep using their staff or switch to a new weapon, so too, can Practitioners change theirs. It is different for us though," the general said silently.

"How is it different?" Shu asked.

"We can combine Practitioner weapons into each other. The true form remains the same, but there is one crucial thing to note," the general said and paused to stare at the prince in the eye. "Your Practitioner weapon can develop a unique ability. The more Practitioner weapons you absorb into the one you own, the higher the chance it will evolve and gain a special ability. It is another reason Practitioners kill each other. They do so, not just for the items in the spatial ring or storage bag; but for the chance to evolve their weapon. The world of Practitioners is nothing but one of training and death. It is worthless to absorb any Practitioner weapon. It must have belonged to someone you killed personally."

"That's cruel," Shu remarked, his face pale.

"That is life. If being able to cultivate spirit energy is a gift from the divine beings of the Realms, then the ability to evolve the Practitioner weapon is a gift from Death," the general agreed. "No one knows how Practitioner weapons are made. They just randomly appear on the planet from rips in space. People say that they are weapons forged and dropped into the Mortal Realm. We are meant to pick them up and kill each other for the amusement of the weapons' makers in the Realms beyond the Mortal Realm. Whether it is true, no one knows."

"Does it end after your weapon gains an ability?" Shu asked.

"No. The Practitioner weapons are insatiable. No matter how many you absorb into it, it will still hunger for more It is said that strips of the soul you killed will remain inside the Practitioner weapon as it absorbs it after your kill. What is known, for sure, is that a Practitioner weapon develops two types of auras after a while," the general said.

"An aura? How does it do that?" Shu asked.

"It depends if anyone owned it before. If someone did and an aura had formed, it will remain but will not have the abilities it had with its former owner. This does not include any special characteristics the weapon has when it is wielded. There are two auras. One is a celestial white aura and the other is a baleful black aura. Celestial white aura is formed after healing over ten thousand other people. A baleful black aura is formed after killing ten thousand people, innocent or otherwise. Pretty much: good is celestial and evil is baleful. People call weapons with celestial auras as holy artifacts while the other is considered a cursed artifact. Of course, there is a reason why," the general said.

"Holy and cursed weapons? How interesting. What's the real reason? Does something happens when one wields it?" Shu asked.

"Holy weapons emit a feeling of hope to people within a certain range while cursed weapons emit a feeling of fear. If you choose a Practitioner weapon with an aura, you see fragments of scenes when the weapon was used. Nothing too big really," the general shrugged. "However, if you do find one here, chances are, no one can recognize it. No one knows when the Great Ancestor returned to the Mortal Realm and made the vault. There is no problem if you pick a cursed Practitioner weapon. Keep looking. You might get lucky. However, I was told by my mother, a distant descendant of the Great Ancestor, that some areas are blocked off. Inside are very powerful but dangerous magical items."

"Oooh! Forbidden. Sounds fun," Shu grinned. "I might have no choice if I want a water spirit technique. Let's find one! Maybe I'll see a very powerful weapon there."

"I wonder if it's a children's curiosity and innocence or reckless stupidity," the general thought as he followed the eager prince. "At least we don't have to dig in those mountains of gold. I can't believe I'm getting sick of seeing so much gold."

After passing four hills of gold, they saw a door with chains on the front with a large circle at the center of two doors with a large rune in the center. Shu was about to approach it, but the general stopped him, saying that the rune meant fire. Disappointed, Shu kept searching. They found similar doors, but they were not meant for water. Shu skipped the doors of darkness and lightning as they were not his goal. Finally, they found a door, but this one did not contain forbidden skills of elemental spirit techniques. The rune said simply: Blades. Shu was excited as whatever chamber was inside had to do with Practitioner weapons.

"Beware, my descendant, who wishes for the treasures past this door. Inside are Practitioner weapons I stole from the bodies of my enemies in the Immortal Realm. The only reason they are sealed inside is simple: each of them were wielded by people I recognized as strong," the general recited from a pillar next to the door. "I also glean scrolls containing their techniques as I scoured their soul before I killed them. Some even have items used by the owner. Should you choose to take a weapon from within, know that there is a minimal, but possible, chance that someone will recognize the weapon. Heed my words- the Golden Earth Fiend. Note: You are not worthy of knowing my name. You'll know when you ascend."

"Oh. So these weapons were wielded by someone recognized by our Great Ancestor? There's also a skill. Sweet! Two birds with one stone," Shu smiled and put his hand on the rune. The chains fell and the doors opened.

"Uh, that was easy," Shu muttered.

"These are just simple enchantments meant to look fanciful. Besides, the Great Ancestor said that the Practitioner weapons were just weapons someone might recognize. There was no point to seal them. He just separated them from ones we might find later on," Meng Ce said. "Go on in and choose. Once you leave, the doors will close and the chains will be repaired as they were. What weapon are you aiming to use?"

"A sword," Shu said as fragments of his past life showed a blurry child waving a wooden sword.

"Sword huh? Okay. Good choice. While you are choosing a weapon, I will try to find you a dark spirit technique. This will lessen the time we are here. Honestly, I'm getting sick of searching through hills of gold. Creating hills of corpses is more appealing. At least they don't look the same all the time," the general said and left Shu at the doorway.

Shu walked in and saw a completely white hallway as far as he could see. Against the walls, there were shelves with two rows each. On the top row was the actual weapon with a brief description of who previously owned it. Below, a single scroll contained one of the spirit techniques the previous owner of the weapon used. However, most of the techniques did not use the weapon itself. Very few of the second row of shelves had an additional item with a description of how they were used.

Shu paled with respect and fear. Seeing so many weapons, his ancestor must have killed countless experts. If Practitioner weapons could be absorbed, these Practitioner weapons must have been deemed worthless to his ancestor. Who knew how powerful his ancestor's Practitioner weapon was? Shu regained his composure after a while and continued browsing the shelves. He finally stopped in front of a long sword with a black and cerulean blade. It was cool to the touch and had a simple cross-guard and hilt. The cross-guard was silver and had swirling lines from the center to the ends of the guard on both sides. The hilt was completely black.

"This sword is called Rain Slayer. This sword was found in the belly of a thousand meter Rain Dragon Ape. Its scales are the same color as the blade. Perhaps whoever made the Practitioner weapon made it out of the body of a Rain Dragon Ape? Anyway, the last wielder of the sword was a dumb brat who dared to buy all the tea from a place I liked. Finding out I had to wait a whole year for their new stock as it was their most expensive product, I searched for the brat and cut off his head after scouring his soul for a technique. Let it be said that I, a Golden Earth Fiend, was wise enough to steal a technique instead of killing the brat on the spot," a silver plate described below the sword. "He had an interesting lightning technique and bizarre trinket. I destroyed his body, but left the head on the ground. I consider it an act of gratitude for buying all the tea. He must have belonged to some powerful family as even I was not allowed to buy it all. Rain Slayer has a baleful aura. Should you bind yourself to it, you will catch glimpses of the lightning technique. Should help in mastering it."

Shu stared silently at the sword before reading the silver plate next to the scroll below. It stated, "Hello junior. If you're reading this, then you have decided to bind Rain Slayer and make it your Practitioner weapon. Not bad. I would have liked to learn the technique, but I have earth affinity. You should note that lightning and wind are conflicting elements of earth. Pity a descendant of mine does not have earth. This technique is called Black Cloud Desolation. It had a dumb name and I have it this one. This is a better name junior. The technique itself begins by creating a small, black cloud next to you. Then, it expands while other black clouds appear and connect to each other. You literally become lightning as you enter the cloud and can appear from any part of the clouds. You can also throw lightning at your foes. The cloud increases the power of your lightning. The only way to beat the technique is to destroy all traces of the cloud to force you out of hiding. Of course, that is only the first stage of this technique. Like any technique, you can develop it and make it your own or choose to learn it all. Choosing to learn the whole technique will narrow your vision, but allow you to attain higher levels of the technique faster. Choosing to alter it and make it your own will allow you to develop it further to a one-of-a-kind technique. I suggest you choose the latter. Why go traditional when you can revolutionize and stand out? Choose wisely junior. It's your life."

"I should follow the Great Ancestor's advice. Spirit energy-generated lightning. Cool. Now let's look at the trinket. Hope it's good," Shu sighed with awe and looked at the plate underneath a black and cerulean bracelet.

"This bracelet is simply called: Dragon Monkey Bracelet. It is a magical artifact that everyone should possess: an item that converts your spirit energy into an element. If you don't know how to convert your spirit energy into an element, this bracelet will do it for you as you pour your spirit energy into it. If you already know how to convert spirit energy into the elements, the bracelet magnifies its power. This bracelet is not uncommon and most low to high noble families have one with similar effects," the plate below said. "The bracelet has a special feature I added to it. I made the Dragon Monkey Bracelet, as someone above a Spirit Master can easily make such magical treasures with the exception of Practitioner weapons, out of the scales of a Rain Dragon Monkey and a piece of its skull. Activate the special feature if you feel your life is in danger. Junior, your arm, up to the shoulder, will turn into a limb of a Rain Dragon Monkey. If you don't know what a Dragon Ape of any kind looks like, imagine a giant monkey a hundred and fifty feet tall with dragon scales and teeth. Its tail is also covered in scales but has no wings. It ears look like a dragon, but its pupils are not slit like a dragons. Thank me junior. HAHAHAHA!"

"Amazing. What a cool bracelet. It is ordinary, save for the feature, so I don't have to hide it from others as even low nobles could get one," Shu chuckled as he stopped reading to admire the bracelet.

"I honestly think you should find a different weapon. Junior, there are better weapons with better techniques and trinkets in the hall. If you are satisfied, then take it. Just know that while the trinket can be bound by blood and a technique can be learned or not; Practitioner weapons are for life. Don't be tempted by the descriptions and browse around more before picking it," the slate warned as Shu finished reading the rest.

"There are others better than this?" Shu cried, shocked upon reading the words. "That's insane. However, I now understand how my ancestor could get so many weapons. With such arrogant attitude with more than enough power to back it up, it's no wonder he could nonchalantly kill someone. I really picked the right corpse to inhabit. The former Lu Shu, wherever you are, thank you. I will live the life you should have lived. Just watch me! Ignore the not being a mage bit. I'm a Practitioner."

Lu Shu grabbed the sword and was stunned as he saw fragments of memories belonging to past wielders. He saw them slay men and beasts. He also saw a black cloud near the last wielder of the sword. The last owner of the sword was a noble of some country and launched spears of blue lightning from the black cloud as it expanded while new ones formed. After a moment, the memories stopped. Lu Shu smiled as he felt he made the right decision. So what if there were better swords? He found what he needed to find. He was satisfied. He opened the scroll and the scroll burst to flames while the writing became as light and engraved itself in his mind, just as the Eclipse Indestructible Body technique had done.

He dropped blood on both the sword and the bracelet and put the bracelet on while he carried the sword in his hand. He admired the wisps of black energy that emerged from the sword as he held it in his hand. He left the hallway, satisfied and saw the general smiling at him as he told the general what happened. The general would have told the prince that he should have picked a different Practitioner weapon, but Rain Slayer was already bound to Prince Shu. They quickly searched for a sheath and sword strap and Shu slid Rain Slayer in its new sheath on his back. Shu could barely feel the Dragon Monkey Bracelet on his left hand. Shu and the general drank a cup of lion wine to celebrate.

"Take this," the general smiled as he handed Shu a black scroll. "This is a movement technique known as the Phantasmal Sky technique. You wrap yourself in dark spirit energy and a trail of shadows follows you as you move at an extreme speed. At higher levels of mastery, you can even fly, something only at Spirit Master stage and after can do. If you find yourself in trouble, you can easily escape with this technique. Most of all, you can still perform basic martial arts techniques and sword strikes with it as it uses almost zero spirit energy. Most movement skills are like that, but few are as useful as this one. You don't need a movement skill that uses more than this or it will consume more spirit energy."

"Thanks," Shu said and opened the scroll, the information going into his head. "By the way, why do all the scrolls burst into flames after reading it once?"

"Ah, that's to protect it from being misused. The more people who know or use the technique, the less formidable it is," the general answered as Shu put the wine barrel away. "That's why martial arts sects and powerful families rank their skills and only allow their disciples learn up to a certain rank based on their position in the sect. Just imagine the catastrophe a child your age could do if he attempted to perform a skill only someone at Spirit Master or Spirit Sage could. Even mages have restrictions because they are the prime examples of why rankings are needed in the first place. Many empires and nations disappeared from the map due to negligence of a young mage as he attempted to use a spell beyond his capability."

"I understand," Shu nodded. "Let's find that forbidden skill. I can't wait to learn it and leave to begin my training, master."

"Heh, you brat. You finally said something great," the general laughed as he shuffled the prince's head. "Let's go my young disciple. I'm also eager to see how much you will grow. You chose a cursed sword and have a demonic Spirit Pulse. Your future will definitely be as far from normal as any Practitioner could be.