(Author: Hello! Now is the time for Agemo to finally begin cultivating the true Archon body technique and become a true Practitioner with the power to manipulate the elements like the gods. Meng Ce is taking Agemo to his final destination due to the unexpected amount of gains Agemo got. Agemo needs a safe place to cultivate to the third stage and Meng Ce takes him to the mysterious location that will help him do so. Enjoy.)

-----------Chapter 18: True Archon Body----------------

"Why are we back here?" Agemo asked as they entered the Yan Empire after traveling through a teleportation circle.

They had spent seven months exploring the wilderness to the northwest of the Kasara Kingdom. Meng Ce wanted Agemo to get used to killing different types of magical beasts and to learn their strengths and weaknesses. While he trained, Agemo had to climb up waterfalls without using his spirit energy. He would also carry boulders behind him up hills and through mountains. After seven months of cruel training, Meng Ce led Agemo to Purple Cloud City and they used the teleportation circle there to return to the Yan Empire.

They were currently in front of a hidden cave in the mountains next to the capital. Guardians wearing pure white cloaks over their bodies let the duo in and Agemo stared around as fire crystals illuminated the cave as he followed it to a large lake beneath the mountain. There were several people in similar clothing who guarded the lake as he saw a large red string made of magical beast fur encircle the lake.

"Welcome to the Lake of Bone," Meng Ce said as Agemo stared at the lake. "This lake has been here since before the Yan Empire was created by the Great Ancestor. However, what you see is not a lake but a mirror of water."

"This is a mirror?" Agemo asked. "What are the large, red strings for? Is it to keep something in?"

"Something, yes. Someone, no. Those within can freely enter and leave. However, the aura within cannot exist within our dimension. It is too old. Too powerful and beyond comprehension. It is a pocket to another dimension. Within that pocket is someone even the Great Ancestor respects," Meng Ce said. "You will enter the mirror and visit that great being. My role as your instructor is over. I return to the battlefields to slay our enemies. Time moves differently there. Compared to this dimension, that dimension is incredibly slow. You have just over a year left. When you return, you will enter the Lu Clan competition. There are many who will wish to fight you, a member of the main branch. Especially your father's siblings, beware their children. They are people who have not let go of Mortal Realm affairs and care about the throne deeply despite not being suited for the task. Goodbye Agemo. It was an honor to teach Second Prince."

"Goodbye," Agemo said as he hugged Meng Ce and watched him go as one of the guardians approached him.

"You don't expect to see the Bone Demon dressed like that, do you?" the guardian asked.

"Bone Demon? As in a demon made of bones?" Agemo asked as he tilted his head in confusion.

"Don't put the Great Bone Demon with the likes of them. They are abominations," the guardian scoffed. "Head to the bath house and cleanse your body from the filth of the outside world. Then change into the pure white robes similar to the ones we wear. However, you are the descendant of the main branch of the Lu Clan. Thus, your robe while have the collars completely black with golden dragons along them. Take out the puppet and the wraiths in your storage bag."

"How do you?" Agemo gasped as he didn't sense any spirit energy in the man.

"We serve the Bone Demon. There is nothing we cannot see with our spirit energy. Take them out and place them before me as well as your weapon, the strange bow, the bracelet, Emerald Steel Dragon egg, and the true Archon body manual," the man answered.

Agemo swallowed and did as the man asked. He looked at the man angrily as he took the Dragon Monkey Bracelet and destroyed it. Then the man put his hand on the single page that contained the two wraiths. A weird white and black entwining energy appeared on the man's right index finger and he touched the page.

"You do not need that necklace. It is beneath you and will bring unnecessary changes into your body. As for the wraiths within, I will transfer the largest one into the wooden puppet. You will give it commands, as is usual among puppets, but this one will be sentient and completely bound to your will. The remaining wraith will be absorbed by the larger," the man said and an infinite amount of darkness seemed to drain from the page and into the puppet. "Whoever gave you that puppet did you a service you cannot repay. The white wood is ancient. Very ancient. The puppet will move like a spider but can stand upright, like a human. It has blades within each hand. It is up to you to upgrade it accordingly. It is not a golem and can be altered. Now bind it to you and it will serve you well."

"How can you do all this?" Agemo asked as he bound it to himself with a drop of his blood containing his spirit energy and watched it stand next to him on all fours.

"We are as old as the Great Ancestor has retreated into the Mortal Realm. You will learn that time is meaningless. It is only a perception made by mortals to understand the universe. Now hatch the dragon egg. It will learn alongside you and the sentient wraith puppet. Awaken it," the man said as he picked up the manual and Rain Slayer.

"Yes, Elder," Agemo bowed as he realized how powerful this man truly was.

He rubbed his hands with excitement. Who didn't want to own their own dragon as a child? He put his right on the egg and poured his spirit energy into it. The large, emerald egg began to stir and a small tooth appeared. Agemo watched with excitement as the dragon broke out of its egg and saw the tooth pop out as a whole new set of teeth replaced the first tooth. The dragon was about two feet long and about a half a foot high. It stretched its wings and crawled to Agemo and rubbed its head against his leg. Agemo smiled and pat its head as it steadily learned to walk and stand.

"Keep that baby dragon tooth and hang it on the chain on the bead necklace. I don't know how you got the necklace, but I am not allowed to say anything about it. It is your curse and your blessing. Men call it fate and destiny. In truth, all events are just ripples in a pond called coincidence. There is no such think as luck or fate. You will learn this in time. The baby dragon tooth will serve as a token of the bond between you and the dragon," the man said as he admired the katana. "The katana has changed since you first wielded it. I assume it became vermillion and black instead of cerulean and black. As for that bow, use it well. The [Titan Creator] is a suitable true Archon body technique. You did well to choose it as you have the highest chance of success without dying. Tell me, did you fuse anything to this katana?"

"I fused two swords, one of a Hyperion and one of a murderous Practitioner," Agemo said with a bow of his head.

"I see. I'll return it to you after you cleanse yourself. Put the manual and the bow in your storage bag. Leave the puppet and the dragon hatchling here," the man said as two others appeared and led Agemo to the bathhouse.

After a half hour, Agemo returned in the required robe. He was also given hundreds of similar pairs and put them in his storage bag. He looked upon the puppet and saw that it looked like a spider but its face only had human eyes that glowed a blue green and still had four limbs. The dragon screeched happily and stood beside him as he arrived in front of the man again. Rain Slayer looked the same as before.

"You truly are the descendant of the Great Ancestor," the man said. "Rebirth in another body is not easy and you have become Lu Shu. The soul was weak but recesses always remain and it allowed you to merge with the body. By the time you reach the third stage, no one will be able to ascertain the truth. I know this because your katana told me. It is connected to your soul and has all your memories save for the ones you lost."

"This, this....how?" Agemo said, speechless with shock and unable to say anything further.

"Take Rain Slayer. It has recognized you as its owner as it bound to your soul. Take care, Agemo Miura. You are Lu Shu now, even if you use your old name. The Bone Demon knows all, but even he does not go against Heaven's Will. There are things he can teach you and more that you cannot comprehend. Every time a true Archon body is made, ripples of elemental spirit energy surge upon the Practitioner. As you are in the pocket dimension, they will not know," the man said, not answering him.

"How will I absorb the life force of the planet?" Agemo asked.

"Worry not. The Bone Demon has his methods," the man said as he returned the katana to him.

"You! You're a puppet?" Agemo gasped in shock as he felt the man's hands were made of wood. "Are you all puppets?"

"Perceptive. Good. It will help you gain the insights you need," the man said. "Yes, we are sentient puppets that guard the mirror. We are the first made. That is all I am permitted to say. Good luck."

The guardians banished from view and Agemo was left alone, staring at the lake with his puppet and dragon hatchling. Within his subconscious, the living spirit technique shuddered as Agemo walked into the water. It seemed empowered by the water an insect-like vertebrae appeared on his back and head as a cover as he went deeper and vanished with his puppet and baby dragon.

They appeared in the pocket dimension and Agemo stared around in shock. It appeared as if they were in front of a simple wooden house in the plains, but it was gazing down at the stars and planets. He could see the shape of the galaxies as they swirled cosmic energy like a whirlpool with a sun as its center. Several large planets lied within the whirlpool and he could see into the recesses of space. He saw comets and meteor showers illuminate the sky while black holes seemed to absorb matter and distort space around itself.

"Is this what the universe looks like? A collection of galaxies and stars?" Agemo asked in wonder.

"You gaze upon a sight only the gods or, upper echelons of Spirit Sages and Fiend Immortals, see in the Mortal Realm," an ancient voice said from the wooden cabin. "Now you can see how insignificant one life on a planet is compared to the infinite galaxies in a single universe and there are many. I have sent a message to the Great Ancestor, your parents, and siblings. Your name was changed to Agemo during your travels, as you seemed to enjoy your old name more. Do not use it anymore. You no longer need it from now on as your journey is complete."

"Is this truly what it looks like?" Agemo asked as he admired the comets streak and clash against meteors, many planets destroyed by the fragments of ice and rock. "How can ice exist in space and not melt? How can meteor showers appear as if they are also following a gravitational circle around a sun?"

"You ask a question with an infinite answers. Come inside my house. You did not come here for the purpose of understanding the laws of the universe. We will begin with the elements," the voice answered and the wooden house became a white marble palace. "This shape is more suited to the task. Enter now. Know that I am called many names, and the one I am most known for is the father of all bone demons. Each planet is assigned three Planetary Overseers. I am one such existence. Each have different tasks. My task is to train and spread knowledge, to a degree."

Agemo walked inside the palace as he carried the baby dragon in his hands while the puppet followed beside him. The architecture seemed Roman, but contained hieroglyphics, like the Egyptian palaces. The man picture he saw was that of a large, serpentine dragon without wings. It looked similar to dragons of Asian cultures from Earth instead of western dragons like the dragon in his hands.

"Greetings," a man on a white silver throne smiled as his the upper half of his face was covered with a white hood with a white cloak covering his whole body. "As you might have guessed, I am a dragon with scales made of bones. I was one of the first made by the Creator Gods and as young as the planet you now live on. The Earth you come from is many trillions of years younger, but already on the verge of death. You really kill your own planet for modern conveniences. Do you know why I had Meng Ce bring you here?"

"To reach the third stage and attain a true Archon body in peace?" Agemo answered with a bow.

"Yes, that is one of the reasons. My main reason is that I have brought you here because you have given me a nice surprise when you entered Lu Shu's body. By all means, he was supposed to die a horrible death. Yet, you now inhabit his body and given it a future incomparable with its former soul host. I had long lost interest and seldom ever let anyone learn from me," the ancient man laughed. "I can eat this planet with a single gulp if I needed to. The other two Planetary Overseers are my juniors and had long since left to find a new planet to interest them. You have amused me. Well done."

"Thank you?" Agemo frowned as he didn't know what else to say.

"Please, sit," the man said as two white chairs and a table appeared before him with various drinks and cuisines. "Tell me, what elements will you be able to use in the future?"

"Water, lightning, and darkness," Agemo answered as the dragon happily began eating the food before it "Were you the one controlling the puppet that I met near the lake?"

"It is one of the many benefits of controlling a puppet. Much more unique than golems but people prefer something that is as powerful as it looks," the man nodded. "You will first cultivate and reach the third stage. Then, you will train under me. You will return to being Shu of the Lu Clan when you leave. There is no longer a need for an alias as Agemo. Two lives experienced with one soul. It is time to accept your new life and let go of the past. Now, follow one of my puppets to the cultivation chamber I have prepared. My other puppets will train your dragon and upgrade the puppet wraith. Good luck. It will be very difficult and very painful. Worry not, there are concentrated life force of the planet in the chamber. Maintain control of your mind and you will be fine."

Agemo followed the puppet to a large chamber. The puppets had him sit in the center of the chamber and eight large pools full of a strange, glowing liquid were placed around him like corners of an octagon. Three smaller pools were set in in a triangular position closer to him. These pools contained spirit energy of lightning, water, and darkness affinity while the larger, more powerful pools were full of planetary life force.

Agemo didn't know how the Overseer acquired the pools of water as the puppets filled the pools in the chamber. He suspected he was not the first to enter the chamber as the holes were made, pre-maturely, before he arrived. He took out the manual and began remembering the hand signs he needed to make before cultivating the technique. He began performing the hand signs and laid his palms facing the ceiling as he placed them on his knees afterwards. The pools trembled and the spirit energy of the elemental essence went into his body while the larger eight pools began forming a cocoon around his body.

As the mysterious membrane soon enclosed him, his spirit reactor began to shake and emerge from his lake. The wings spread open as the spirit reactor began to symbolize the moon in his soul. Instead of heat, the spirit reactor began chilling the air. A tiger roared as the White Ocean Tiger finally revealed itself as large as a horse but with eyes the color of the ocean. The mask also revealed itself and looked just like the carving on the bottom of the Sentinel Bow. The two spirits began to levitate above the soul lake and appeared as small moons as they glowed. The tiger spirit glowed with demonic red spirit energy while the mask spirit glowed with vermillion energy.

Agemo roared with pain as a black, tribal tattoo of a scorpion began to form on his back. The pools soon emptied and the membrane shattered as Agemo levitated above the air as the tattoo formed and vermillion wings spread from his back. He became taller by two inches and a black liquid burst from his pores as he gave a final yell. Two small horns, white as snow, appeared on the top of the left side of his head. One was about three centimeters while the other was five. These were his demonic horns and contained vast amounts of the planet's life force as the cocoon remnants were absorbed into the horns.

He didn't know it but he had been in the cocoon for three months. He landed on the floor and looked at his back in shock. His back felt funny as the wings seemed a part of him. He willed them away and they changed into vermillion energy before going into his body. The horns stayed put and would not disappear and reappear at will.

The purple energy that appeared when he used his innate demonic ability to steal spirit energy flared up on both hands. They soon became flames that spread all over his body. The flames converged over the center of his forehead and turned into a demonic stone. He gasped as the pain ended and fainted on the ground. He was unconscious for two weeks and awoke with a start. He was on a white bed made of the softest materials he ever touched. He leaned up and saw that he was in the throne room. To his left was the Overseer and his dragon and puppet.

"Welcome back. Your demonic genes have finally taken root and the vermillion energy truly influenced you. I expected a horn or draconic wings, not angelic wings. The demonic stone must have formed. It is ovular and very big. If your blood was purer, there would be smaller stones on both sides. Don't worry. You won't even feel it," the Overseer laughed. "You should be glad it's not a third eye. Those are creepier to humans and harder to hide."

"People will know I'm a demon now," Agemo said.

"No, the stone will sink beneath your skin and embed in the skull and the brain. Now, all you need to absorb spirit energy is to cut someone with your katana and watch their spirit energy enter your body. Take a look at your katana, it will have changed as it is also connected with your soul," the Overseer said as Agemo noticed Rain Slayer had black energy swirling within the blade. "You should recognize that black energy as that of death. I imagine the baleful aura will be stronger. You might be influenced a little when wielding the katana. It looks more like a ceremonial blade now. Even the blade has changed its outer appearance. The blade seems like it was made out of ice. It will serve well to kill the Hyperion blight. Your pain from the demon stone should subside once it enters into your skin."

"Are you alright master?" the puppet asked and Agemo stared at it in surprise.

"Whoa! You can talk now?" Agemo asked.

"Yes, master. I learned under the other puppets. I thank you for allowing this wraith to no longer have an incorporeal body. I have various weapons at my disposal. Some of them look like the modern guns from your world but they shoot bullets of death energy," the puppet said. "The Overseer said my mission is to be your shadow and protect you from other shadows that try to devour your light, your life. I will always hide in your shadow until you call for me. As you kill or walk among the dead, I become stronger."

The puppet bowed as it stood like a human and went into his shadow. Agemo could sense it there, as if it were in hibernation while waiting for his summons. He stared at the dragon and noticed that it was the same size but was also at the third stage, like him. The dragon licked his hand playfully. He suspected that it would be able to communicate with him when it got older. First through a mental link, like telepathy, and then through speech. It sat on his lap as a tray of food and drinks appeared before him. He decided to call the dragon Bahamut, after a famous dragon from Earth legends that destroyed the World Tree it protected.

"The puppet has been taught well. Don't worry about any espionage against you. It will detect it all and protect you like your dragon. It's name is the name of its former race: Wraith. As for the dragon, the Emerald Steel Dragon has very tough scales, even harder than tempered steel. It's not very fast, but can still breathe dragon fire, albeit one with green flames," the Overseer nodded. "Your first spirit will have a major impact as most beast spirits due. Your diet might change significantly and an image of the White Ocean Tiger will appear when you use your spirit force. Beast spirits also grant abilities over time. People will identify you by your beast spirit over time. White Ocean Tiger spirits are rare after all. Congratulations, you are a true Archon. I will now personally train you in how to manipulate the elements."

"I can finally use my Black Cloud Desolation technique, my thunder spirit technique," Agemo grinned as the dragon puffed a small flame, burning the sheets.

He only had about nine months left before returning to the real world. Three months had passed in the real world while he was in the cocoon, but it was a over a little over a year and a half within the pocket dimension although nothing aged within. Agemo learned about the time difference and assumed his aging was based on how he aged out of the pocket dimension. He cut his hair and began learning from the Overseer. He had the chance to learn from the famous Bone Demon, a dragon with bone scales that gave birth to the bone demon race. He had a lot to learn and five years, nine months real time, before he had to return for the clan competition when he turned thirteen. He devoted himself to training and would endure cruel training regiments made by the Overseer.

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(Author: And so ends the first book, if you will. Eighteen chapters for the first book. Now for the time skip to the main tournament. Thanks for enjoying the first book. It actually feels like my first real book of a xianxia novel to me. Thanks for reading. Just to clarify, I am STILL writing. Just an announcement that the first book, the childhood arc before next arc, is over. First will be the clan competition and then the academy life begins. Hope you keep reading and thanks for reading my story. In honor of the immortal iconic phrase of the Terminator series: "I'll be back." However, with the start of the next chapter and not another robot look-a-like.)