(Author: Hello! I hope you liked the last chapter. Matsuda Ken and Li Jiro, those two are Lu Shu's new friends and rivals. I wanted to introduce people who would appear alongside Shu in his adventures like General Meng Ce did. Now Shu trains and news of the expedition, expected to be led by Lu Feng, shocks entire nations and clans. Not only is it an opportunity to venture into the Hyperion lands, they also get a chance to meet Lu Feng and possibly gain a good rapport. Enjoy.)

---------Chapter 21: War Preparations-----------

Just like that, the feast was ended. When the children and relatives of the delegates returned to their elders, widespread chaos appeared as they heard the news. The second prince, only a true Archon at the ninth stage of Spirit Shaman cultivation, actually entered Spirit Road and obtained a totem and Spirit Beast. What immortal path he followed, no one knows. Just that alone shocked them as Practitioners who followed an immortal cultivation were automatically superior to other Practitioners and mages.

When the younger generations told them the news of an expedition to Hyperion led was being made, with Lu Feng personally leading it, many people fainted or fell on their ass in shock. Who was Lu Feng? He was the legendary Spirit Sage who annihilated an ancient clan full of Fiend Adepts and Fiend Immortals, the echelons of all true Archons. Even though Lu Feng claimed he was the weakest, no one had ever seen the other four Spirit Sages fight. Now Lu Feng was personally leading an expedition to Hyperion lands? Those who joined the expedition were sure to obtain fabulous treasures and get to be closer to Lu Feng!

The Matsuda Clan were more than pleased that Ken was personally invited to the expedition and already made friends with Lu Shu. His wise use of telling Lu Shu important information made his clan very pleased. Some of the elders were already worried of angering Lu Feng and suffering the same fate as the tenth ancient clan. Thanks to Ken, they could breathe easier. Li Jiro was also praised by his clan. Of all the mages of the Li Clan, only mages who are Magus, Arch Magus, and Magic Overlords were respected and welcomed back into the main branch, if they were a part of it.

Jiro, being the son of the fourth son of the patriarch, was exiled for being a mage. If he was a member of the sub branches, maybe his parents would not have been exiled and massacred. He only had nothing but contempt for the main clan, save for his uncle and cousin. As both Ken and Jiro were allowed to bring along one other person, the patriarchs of both of their clans were incessantly referring people to them.

"That's it," Lu Feng said as the three month training was nearing its end. "Let your darkness take hold. Do not fight it. All life has a shadow. Let it take you in. Become one with the darkness."

"Yes, master," Lu Shu said, addressing his ancestor as 'master' ever since they began their training. It was decided that Supaiku and Bahamut would train in the hunting grounds of the Lu Clan, hunting magical beasts and training as a magical beast should. While they were sad to be separated, all three knew it was the best decision. Wraith, and obviously Spook, remained with Lu Shu. Little Hao's participation in the expedition was unquestioned, as it was Shu's Holy Spirit Beast.

Shu had spent the last three months training his control and power over darkness and earth. During the day, he would train in sword techniques and often sparred with Lu Feng. He would obtain scarring wounds, which healed due to his true Archon body. He never fought with his Nether Tiger Sword, Lu Feng telling him his dependence of the sword would limit his potential if they were separated. Lu Shu had to train from the basics with the eight weapons all humanoids had: two fists, two feet, two knees, and two elbows. Shu also had to learn grappling techniques. Shu often felt as if he was in a mixed martial arts gym, constantly learning new styles and improving and incorporating them into his own as he practiced the Sundering Thorn Scripture.

It was the immortal spirit technique of a Sword Immortal. The martial arts emphasized in turning the body into a sword, teaching him how to turn his fingers, arms, and legs into swords. Shu would often meditate, focusing on maintaining his spirit energy in the form of swords for hours. Eventually, Shu could make an exact replica of the Nether Tiger Sword and fight with his spirit energy as a sword in itself. By the first month, Shu would spar with Lu Feng with swords made of spirit energy.

He also practiced his control over earth, an element that was very different than water, darkness, and lightning. Water was fluid, an element meant to be guided and not controlled. He would make the water flow, suddenly increasing the pressure and temperature of the water at the opportune moment. Darkness was illusive and unrestricted. It could take the shape of anything he pleased and strike with stealth before the opponent could react. Darkness was an element of subtlety and stealth. Fighting head-on with the element is only for those who have mastered swallowing the light with darkness. Lightning was an element of speed and power. It was incredibly fast and moved as directed. In terms of speed, it lost to the light element. However, it was unrivaled in burst of power. Just one hit could blow the opponent away, or incinerate him.

The earth element was slow and sturdy. Among defenses, the earth element reined supreme. Among strategic employ on the battlefield, earth mages and Practitioners sowed the most chaos on land, altering the landscape to their advantage. It was not an element for speed but endurance, like a walking fortress that could never fall. As Shu studied the earth element the least, he had trouble grasping how to use it at first. He was taught the only demonic earth spirit technique the Great Ancestor taught his descendants: the Great Fissure technique. It was a technique that reigned supreme on battlefields. Spreading the spirit energy forward, like a waterfall falling into a river, the earth would crack and diverge. It would swallow all in its path and the fissure was as long as the spirit energy applied to the technique. It was not a technique meant for killing in one-on-one duels. It was a technique meant to destroy the land of those who wronged you.

"The sword is the ultimate weapon. It is capable of stabs, parries, lunges, strikes, blocks, slashes, hacks, parries, and flicks. It is a weapon of skill, speed, and precision. The blade is thin and sharp, losing out in range and simplicity in learning. It is worthless if used with brute strength, like a woodcutter using his axe to cut down a tree," Lu Feng said. "Did you feel a shock to your arm as you swung your sword during our spars?"

"Yes, master," Shu answered.

"A proper cut will not shock the arm. If it does, you swung the sword with all your might. You have grasped the knowledge to move without excess movement, but addicting yourself to parrying has made using all you strength behind your swings a bad habit," Lu Feng said. "You usually countered a strike so it never happened. However, if the opponent was too powerful or fast, you do not have that luxury. Had you missed, the force of your blow would carry your arm out of position and allowed your opponent to take advantage."

"What must I do?" Shu asked.

"Different than hand and leg techniques, your sword blows must be powerful enough to kill if they land. They must also be quick and light enough so you can recover and defend yourself, or strike again, if you miss or are parried," Lu Feng answered. "Another thing, when you aim your cuts at an angle, swinging the sword slightly backwards to yourself as it strikes; you will be more likely to slice through your opponent cleanly. It is also easier to transition and change the direction of your sword after every strike. The sword require finesse. Remember that."

Shu's training at the day included learning the earth element, sword techniques, bare-handed martial arts, and strategy on warfare. While Lu Feng leads the expedition, he cannot lead the military personnel as he is way above the Spirit Shaman tier. Lu Shu was one of the generals in charge of controlling the military personnel while Lu Feng was in charge of everyone else above the Spirit Shaman tier, including mages who are Elite Mages or higher. For some reason, Adept Mages are tolerated in the armies by the Heavens, even though they are as stronger as Spirit Knights from the first to third stage. That was another reason mages were highly valued by nations.

There was an old, established saying: "Practitioners are admired by the individual. They symbolize power and immortality. Mages are nobles admired by the nations. It is through them that their armies stand victorious."

At night, Shu trained in the element of darkness. Even as he slept, his body constantly absorbed spirit energy. In an underground training area, Shu trained his archery skills and his Eye of Execution skill. Now he could use Sentinel Bow with regular sized arrows but with twice the power. His aim had also improved and his accuracy improved beyond his previous range. He knew he condensed too much power into his arrows during the third trial in Spirit Road.

"Remember, poison is a part of you," Lu Feng said, as the morning of the gathering of the expedition members had arrived. "It is in your Nether Tiger Sword, your Armored Ocean Tiger God spirit had a snake tail, and even the Titan is a poisonous creature. Separate the poison from the planet's life force, the very spirit energy of the planet. You are a person who cultivates poison. You are a person who walks the path of Sword Immortals. You have found no offensive capability for your darkness. It is an element perfect for poison. Mix the poison with your darkness."

"I'm trying," Shu said as beads of sweat poured from his brow. He yelled in pain as snakes made of darkness coiled around him, its eyes glowing emerald. The darkness constantly shifted, as if it were living. Lu Feng smiled as he knew that Shu had succeeded. Now his darkness carried poison, poison made from his very sword spirit energy and the various toxins Shu's body absorbed and assimilated.

"Well done," Lu Feng said as Shu panted, the darkness dissipating and allowing light to return in the room. "Your power over darkness has reached adequate levels, now capable of being used offensively as well as a utility to cloak yourself in shadows and increase your movement. Now, it is time to talk about the expedition and our goals."

"I know I am one of the nine generals with ten thousand soldiers under my command," Shu nodded.

"The commander-in-chief of this military expedition is General Meng Ce. Yes, the same general who taught you. He is now a Spirit Shaman of the ninth stage. He is being careful to stay at the peak so as to not enter the Spirit Knight tier and stop being a military man. Your ten thousand man army is called The Tiger Army. Each of the armies is named after the spirit of the general. Your unit is comprised of Practitioners and mages of the Lu Clan due to the sub branches already knowing who you are and are easier to accept your orders. I am having an Elite Mage and an Archon Phoenix Practitioner be your advisors. You already know them both. Li Jiro will help explain the mages combat abilities as you are a Practitioner and not a mage. Matsuda Ken, being a member of the main branch of one of the nine ancient clans, will advise you on the layouts and usual strategies and abilities of the Hyperion. As they are above the Spirit Knight tier, they will not be able to fight as part of the army," Lu Feng smiled mischievously. "Don't worry. The people I lead will take care of anyone above the Spirit Shaman tier."

"Do we have a destination?" Shu asked as Lu Feng and Lu Shu entered a room with a basic layout of the land.

"We will first make our way into the Hyperion lands through Giant's Chains," Lu Feng said.

"The islands of the gigantic magical beasts? An army passing through an island chain is not easy. We have to constantly move from land to sea and sea to land," Shu said.

"The Yan Dynasty already controls the western islands. Naturally, bridges connect the islands due to many mages," Lu Feng explained. "Our main problem lies on the main lands. There are several ruined cities. Legend has it, this world used to be ruled by humans who used science to kill the magical beasts as they did not have the power to use spirit energy yet. As evolution came about, humans who could use spirit energy appeared and were able to fight the magical beasts even better than science. When magic came about, science was discarded as it was too costly and less convenient. I believe it is through the discarded technologies of ancient civilizations that the Hyperion are becoming stronger and the reason for their experimentations on themselves."

"It sounds similar to Earth. Could it be? Did some life forms reincarnate on this planet, long ago, as I did?" Shu frowned, thoughts racing in his head. "The technology might be lost but data on physical experimentation might have survived. Maybe the ancient civilization was more primitive than Earth, or more advanced that gunfire was considered obsolete and discarded. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"The Hyperion could read the texts, right master?" Shu asked.

"Yes. They certainly did, based on my covert explorations there," Lu Feng nodded.

"I don't like this. Their new leader must have some connection to the ancient civilizations. According to the chief I met in Spirit Road, there are rare cases that a soul is able to remember the memories of its past lives. Either that, or this Hyperion ventured into the Spirit Road and was told of his or her past life," Shu said.

"The former is highly unlikely," Lu Feng shook his head. "However, the latter might be true. If it is, it must be a half-breed Hyperion and a traitor to its other half's race. Our goal is to venture into a hidden ruin I found that the Hyperion have not. One the way, we will conquer and establish a base in a ruined fortress they use to make their experiments. This expedition is extremely important for our Yan Dynasty, as a whole. Our Lu Clan is not really affected as we could simply kill them all."

"The moment we conquer the fortress is when I am relieved of my duties and when we explore the lands and ruins?" Shu asked.

"Yes. That is correct," Lu Feng said. "That is when we no longer need the army. It will get more dangerous from there. The weaker people will explore the ruin I told you about: the hidden one. Your main goal is to find anything I missed as I skimmed over it and destroyed some of the dangers a Spirit Shaman, and mage equivalent, could not survive.. Those of us above the Spirit Shaman tier, besides your two friends, are responsible for searching another ruin, one heavily guarded and recently found by the Hyperion. They must be trying to find something there."

"What about the other expedition? The one with elder brother, Lu Xing?" Shu asked.

"His expedition is in the northern lands and a joint military campaign with the Jakkom Empire. It is led by the magical beast Spirit Sage: Light. He'll survive. He's an Arch Mage. Unless it is a Spirit Master and mage equivalent, he will survive," Lu Feng waved. "It is time for you to meet the other eight generals. Your Tiger Army is the ninth army. Some generals will try to test your power. Try not to kill any of them. Some of them are more experienced in battle than you. It is time to reveal the Sentinel Bow to the World. It will symbolize your army's might and is a Divine Weapon."

"We greet the honorable ancestor!" Thousands of men and women bowed as Lu Feng and Lu Shu appeared. "Long live Ancestor Lu Feng. Long live Prince Lu Shu. The Yan Dynasty reigns eternal!"

All eyes stared at the two people standing on the steps before the main pavilion that housed the throne. Those two figures standing atop were like gods descending in front of men. Lu Feng had changed into a simple white robe with gold collars and cuffs. Every step he made floor the earth beneath him. The young man next to him gave off a cold and oppressive atmosphere. Due to constantly bathing in poison and training in darkness, Lu Shu's body seemed to drain the light into his body, darkness permeating from his body like an aura. He wore shining black armor with a tiger's skull on the front.

This same armor was his Black Snake God armor that Lu Feng changed, with the held of the Great Ancestor. It was now the Black Tiger God Armor, made of metal with tiger skull as the Great Ancestor tampered with it and improved upon it. Only Lu Yi, Lu Shu, and Lu Feng knew the Great Ancestor left the Yan Dynasty, taking his five best Spirit Sages and wife with him. While changing the armor, it was the last time they saw the Great Ancestor. No doubt, he had already arrived at the Realm Gates and met with the Keeper of the Gate.

"By my power, Lu Shu is the ninth general of this expedition. Henceforth, he will be a general of ten thousand and the army will be known as the Tiger Army. Any general who wishes to challenge him, to see his worth, come forth. Clear the central plaza!" Lu Feng roared.

As the plaza cleared, a middle-aged general stepped forward, saying, "I, General Sun Zhong of the Sword Army, wish to challenge Second Prince Lu Shu! I must test his worth!"

Soldiers and guests buzzed as they saw the middle-aged man stand in the center of the plaza. He was a renown general in the west, fighting other nations that wished to conquer the Yan Dynasty. All eyes then turned to Lu Shu, snowflakes appearing and disappearing from his silver headband. Lu Shu nonchalantly walked to the center of the plaza, gesturing the general to begin.

"You will not draw your sword?" the general asked.

"My sword appears only when I need to kill," Shu said as an emerald sword made of spirit energy appeared in his right hand. "This will suffice. Do not think it can't block your Practitioner weapon. I cultivate on the path of Sword Immortals."

"WHAT!" a lot of people shouted, clearly disturbed by the news. Seeing the spirit sword, they knew he must have reached the tenth stage, but they could not sense his power. Right now, they could not sense any spirit energy in his body. It was as if Lu Shu was an ordinary mortal with no mana and no spirit energy.

"You're hiding your power. Allow me to reveal it!" Sun Zhong roared as huge spear appeared in his hand. It had a golden shaft with a white dragon's head at the top, the spear head emerging from its open mouth as if the dragon attempted to swallow it from behind. "You may be at the tenth stage, but I have killed countless people!"

"As many as me?" Shu asked, people crying out as a aura of blood appeared around him. This was his killing intent. When Shu accepted the truth of his past, his whole body and manner changed, accepting the fact that he was responsible for so many deaths and embracing it to become stronger.

"Blood aura?" one of the mages gasped as the people who were to be led by Lu Feng were above the Spirit Shaman tier.

"Before, it was a violet, baleful aura. It was an aura of killers. Why did it change?" one of the Practitioners asked.

"The second prince has embraced it. It's similar to cultivating death energy. However, this aura does not give an oppressive feeling," Li Jang, Jiro's uncle, answered. "This is the aura of a true Archon who has slaughtered millions and embraced his ruthless nature. Death energy fuels his power. The more he kills, the more powerful he becomes. It is another reason true Archons are feared. Other people might have auras that instill fear and pressure, but ours do not. It empowers us instead of acting as an utility."

"You must be a true Archon of the ancient clans," one of them noted.

"I am a mere Fiend Adept, not even considered an ant in front of Ancestor Lu Feng," Li Jang nodded. "Although I am not the most powerful guest here. I may equal a Spirit Sage of lower stages, but one woman is above and beyond them and me."

"Little Jang, I hope you are not talking about me?" a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties smiled. "Eternal youth is hard to come by. I am a Fiend Immortal, but even I am nothing to Ancestor Lu Feng. Not to mention, the honorable ancestor claims to be the weakest of the Yan Dynasty's five Spirit Sages."

"Granny Miko," Ken said, shrinking back as he called her that. "I mean Aunt Miko. Please, let us enjoy the show."

"A fake Archon challenging a true Archon. I see no point here. I can only hope his experience makes us see his totem," Miko said as they all stared at the plaza.

General Sun Zhong appeared to have finished making his preparations, covering his spear with fire as he reinforced his armor with spirit energy. Shu told Hao to stand by Lu Feng as he told the Holy Spirit Beast he had no aims to kill the general. By the time the general had finished his preparations, the smell of blood filled the plaza and some people believed they could taste it if they approached Shu's blood aura.

"Time to test your worth!" the general roared, sprinting toward Shu. Shu narrowed his eyes as he deflected the spear head with the side of his sword. Due to successfully parrying the spear, the general was knocked off balance and Shu grabbed the spear, kicking the general's head as he leapt over it with the spear in his hand. The general shook his head and blocked the sword stroke that was aimed at his chest, grunting as he took eight steps back as his arms numbed.

"What strength!" the soldiers cried.

"Worthy to be our general. As expected of the main clan," one of the soldiers wearing black and orange armor commented. In the plaza, only the captains and lieutenants of the generals were there as there was no way to fit so many men. However, the guests who would follow Lu Feng had all gathered, standing on the walls and buildings at the sides and back of the plaza. Many soldiers felt unease seeing so many outsiders present as they watched the prince and general fight.

General Sun Zhong refused to give up and kept fighting Lu Shu, occasionally stepping back so as to keep out of Shu's range while taking advantage of the spear's longer reach. Shu narrowed his eyes and his spirit sword changed to a sword five feet long, but was practically weightless in his hands. The general cried out due to the sudden change and relied on the flexibility of the spear to negate some of the more powerful blows of the large sword.

Sun Zhong cried out, swords of fire appearing around him. As he held the spear with his right hand, he pointed at Shu. The swords of fire flew in his direction and Shu merely waved his hands, freezing the fire into blocks of ice. Everyone shuddered as they saw flame-shaped ice land and crack on the floor. How cold was Shu's ice to easily freeze moving fire swords? Shu seemed to pause, enviously staring at the flame shaped ice as he recalled his lost ability.

"I....I have lost," General Sun Zhong said grudgingly. "His control over water surpasses my fire, even freezing it so easily. His sword techniques are also solid with such tyrannical; strength. Having an army follow a strong Practitioner of the immortal paths, the prince is worthy."

"Thank you for your guidance," Shu said, his spirit sword disappearing. "However, my true capabilities, as a general, lies on the field and not my own combat prowess."

"Wise words," Lu Feng laughed as all eyes turned to him. "I hope all the generals accept that Lu Shu can fight well. I hope you judge how he is, as a general, and teach him some pointers during the expedition. We will now head to the rest of the troops to finish our preparations. Great General Meng Ce should be arriving at sunset. At dawn, we move to conquer the Hyperion lands!"

"Yes, Ancestor Lu Feng!" the generals said, bowing to the prince before leaving with their men.

"Don't brood on the Li Clan. My father abandoned you. He has no right to tell you anything," Li Jang said. "Advise Lu Shu well."

"Yes, uncle," Jiro said as he walked to Shu who was heading to his army's quarters with his captains and lieutenants behind him.

"Make the Matsuda Clan proud," Miko said, Ken bowing as he also followed Shu.

"He will be fine," Lu Feng said as he entered the throne room, Lu Yi brooding on his throne. "He was trained by me. It is only after the lab is conquered, will Shu be in danger."

"I know. I just can't help but think about Xing's report. According to the intel, the Hyperion are trying to find a map to the ancient tree of legend. Those bastards still aim to revive their god and ancestor, Malikutai the Divine," Lu Yi growled.

"No one knows, but us, that Lu SHu has the map they seek. It is safe within Spook," Lu Feng said. "Not even Lu Shu knows we know. However, I confirmed Meng Ce's suspicions. When that Li Jiro arrived, three months ago, he had the same bead as Lu Shu albeit not a vermillion wing within. According to a text I found, the Hyperion need a specific Practitioner weapon, mage staff, a map, a magical beast core of a Spirit Beast, and the five beads. Lu Shu has three items they need. Once they find out about Lu Shu...."

"They will stop at nothing to rip out his first spirit reactor and steal the bead and necklace," Lu Yi nodded. "However, no one can rip out a Mystic Stone, or Mystic Crystal, and loot it. As far as I know, only Lu Shu is capable of such a feat."

"They don't really need to rip it out. They just need to find out what type of Spirit Beast core the first spirit reactor uses," Lu Feng answered. "Lucky for us, it is a Chaos Spirit Beast core. They are much harder to find. After all, three of the ancient clans cultivate the Devil Immortal path. It is obvious they capture and hoard them all."

"Please watch over him, Ancestor Feng. Lu Shu died once. I don't want this Lu Shu to die as well," Lu Yi said.

"You're not bothered he is another spirit?" Lu Feng grinned.

"The first Lu Shu was weak and a coward. This one is an improvement, one granted by the Heavens. How else would it escape a Keeper of the Dead?" Lu Yi laughed. "Thanks to Spook, we know what and who he is, as it assimilated his memories. Watch over him. Before the Great Ancestor finished making the improved Black Tiger God armor, he told me a Keeper of the Dead is on its way to visit Lu Shu. Apparently, Lu Shu did something again. Either that, or it comes to warn him of something."

"Only the dead can see them. Pity," Lu Feng laughed. "Don't worry about Shu. If that Lu Xing's future reports have something interesting, tell me via the sentient rings we wear."

"Don't forget to introduce Lu Shu to his marriage prospects tonight," Lu Yi called as Lu Feng left. "I hope Lu Shu finds one of them attractive. He better not be like Lu Xing, sleeping with his maids nonchalantly. Once Lu Rong finds out he impregnated two of them.....fuck me. Maybe I should not have assigned them to attend to him on the expedition."

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(Author: So ends the second book. I should also update the glossary and the story description. 18+21= 39 chapters so far! Wow. I always try to have each book have a different theme so the ideas never end. I hate a hiatus because that means the ideas are at a standstill. Again, there will be tons more dialogue and character interaction in the third book. After all, most people are not one-men armies. Thanks for reading book 1 and 2. I hope you enjoy book 3. The reason I have a schedule is because I am in college and each chapter is super long. I don't even now how many characters per chapter. HAHAHA! I just write the chapter, try to make it flow, and end it when I feel it should. I try not to have cliffhangers. Writing a story is hard and fun. Try it if you have a good idea. Haters gonna hate anyway, but some bad comments can help you improve too. I also read other stories here. Sadly, I know I can't write sci-fi stories and have not released a single mecha side project. I just don't know enough about machinery. Aliens? That I know but I'd like to write a mecha story with aliens too. Sorry for the rant and thanks for reading.)