Chapter 310: A New Beginning
Zen stood deep in thought and stared at the floor. If he had two fairy weapons, he could give one to Lily and keep the other, so their fighting capacity would increase more.
However, he wondered what kind of fairy weapon the leader would give him.
The fairy weapon came in three grades: low-grade, middle-grade, and top grade.
There was a huge difference between the low-grade and the top-grade fairy weapons.
Zen didn't expect the leader to give him a top-grade fairy weapon. After all, it didn't exist in the Eastern Region so it was unrealistic to dream of having one.
Still, he would be glad if the leader could give him a middle-grade fairy weapon.
When Kenneth noticed Zen's expectant face, he shook his head and smiled. He then clapped his hands and indicated for the stewards to bring out the weapons.
The Cloud Sect was a rich place with a long history, and it had many fairy weapons. Kenneth didn't bring out the most powerful weapon every time--the weapon's grade depended on the disciple's strength.
The Cloud Return Sword that the idiot, Evan, had chosen last time was a powerful fairy weapon--but he didn't cherish it at all. He even lost it to Yan in a bet! Kenneth felt really sorry for that sword.
This time however, Kenneth thought that he wouldn't make the same mistake and trusted that Zen would cherish the fairy weapon given to him. He had high expectations for Zen. He hoped that Zen would not only pass the trial of the Cloud Road, but also surpass the other disciples. That way, the people of Cloud Hall wouldn't trouble him anymore.
Shortly after, a dozen stewards emerged from behind the hall. They each held a long, narrow jade box in their hands.
The stewards stood in a row, and exhibited the weapons in the jade boxes in front of Zen one by one.
There were all kinds of swords in the jade boxes, and three of them were middle-grade fairy weapons! Others were all low-grade fairy weapons.
It was known that there were only a few low-grade fairy weapons even in the top seven noble clans, and there was only one middle-grade fairy weapon in each clan at most. What was more, two of the top seven noble clans didn't even have a middle-grade fairy weapon.
Furthermore, the top seven noble clans had various types of fairy weapons, including spears, knives, swords, and so on.
Kenneth knew that Zen was a swordsman, so all the weapons in the jade boxes were swords, three of which were middle-grade weapons.
There were so many swords of the fairy weapon type in the Cloud Sect. What more about the other kinds of weapons?
How many knives of the fairy weapon type were there in Cloud Sect?
And what about the spears as well? Therefore, it was safe to say that Cloud Sect was so wealthy, that maybe the Burning Sky Palace was only less than half of it.
Meanwhile, both Patrick and Rocher gasped in surprise, and then looked enviously at the swords in the boxes.
Rocher was especially jealous of Zen now. Although his Blood-corroding Sword was already strong enough, all swordsmen loved swords. How could he just stand there indifferently while he looked at the glimmering swords of the fairy weapons?
Unfortunately, only the first placer in the All Peaks Competition would be rewarded a fairy weapon, so he wasn't eligible for the award.
On the other hand, Zen's eyes swept over the fairy weapon-class swords one after another. All of them caught his attention, especially the three middle-grade fairy weapons.
The first middle-grade sword's whole body glittered green. Its blade seemed to be made of amber and had some strange runes embossed on it. It felt odd to look at the sword because the weapon seemed to look back as well, as if it had peeked into the soul of its observer.
'The sword must have a strong soul power!' Zen thought.
The second middle-grade sword looked rather ordinary and even had a blunt-looking blade. It was a heavy sword. There was a saying which went something like, the more mundane an object looked on the surface, the more extraordinary and exquisite it might be. Although the sword wasn't sharp, it might have devastating attacks. Maybe it could shatter a house if it was thrown on the ground.
However, Zen didn't need this kind of sword for the time being.
Finally, Zen fixed his eyes on the third middle-grade sword.
As soon as he stared at it, he felt a strong killing spirit rush inside him.
The sword was a vibrant blood-red. Both the sword's blade and hilt were bright crimson, as if they were really made of blood. Moreover, the strong malicious aura that emanated from it made Zen feel that countless creatures had been slain by this sword before.
“What's the name of this sword?” Zen finally asked.
A smile curved up the corners of Kenneth's lips.
“I knew you would be interested in this sword. It's the Blood Drinking Sword!” he answered.
“Blood Drinking Sword?” Zen repeated.
“A good name,” Zen added and nodded appreciatively. A great amount of power of Lily's sword dance depended on the malicious aura. The sword had a strong malicious aura too, so both of them might become more powerful if Lily wielded this sword. Thus, Zen wanted this sword after he had thought about it for a while.
At that moment, Kenneth suddenly spoke up,“I know you will choose this sword. Although the killing way of cultivating sword skills is powerful, it's not easy to practice in this way and you'll have to pay a heavy price. It's dangerous to practice in the killing way, so do you still want to continue this way?” he asked.
Kenneth had seen Zen use the malicious aura once. While the killing way was dangerous, he didn't interfere with the disciples' training in Cloud Sect, and he certainly wouldn't stop Zen from practicing it. As long as Zen didn't do anything ruthless such as slaughtering or killing innocent people, it would be fine.
However, the killing way wasn't a good choice in most people's eyes. After all, if the practitioner couldn't control the malicious aura in his body after a certain level of practice, the malicious aura itself would attack him. Thus, the practitioner might lose his mind and spiral into madness, and he would probably die in the end.
Now, Kenneth knew Zen had the malicious aura but he didn't know where it came from. What was more, nobody could feel the existence of the malicious aura in his body when he restrained it. Kenneth wondered if Zen had a special way to restrain the malicious aura inside him.
Everyone had their own secrets, so Kenneth wouldn't ask too much about it.
However, Rocher knew that Zen once went to the Killing Sword Mountain. That was where Zen had gotten the malicious aura!
Therefore, he knew that Zen definitely had a special way to restrain the malicious aura.
“Yes, Sir. I want to get the Blood Drinking Sword!” Zen said.
His face was firm and absolute as he made his choice.
It was clear to Kenneth that Zen was definitely a determined person, since he had achieved many great things with such a strong talent. He knew that Zen wouldn't change his mind just because of his words.
On the contrary, he would even doubt Zen's perseverance if Zen gave up the killing way, and the sword as well because of his doubts.
Each way of practicing sword skills had their own difficulties. What a real, powerful swordsman needed to do was to choose his own way of practicing, and hold on!
“Well, in that case, I will respect your choice. The Blood Drinking Sword is yours now,” Kenneth said as he clapped his hands. The steward who held the Blood Drinking Sword immediately walked to Zen and presented the weapon in front of him. The other stewards closed the remaining jade boxes and left the hall.
Rocher inwardly swallowed and his eyes remained glued to the other stewards' backs as they left the hall. He couldn't do anything except watch them walk away with those swords. After all, he wasn't the first placer in Cloud Sect.
Meanwhile, Zen held the Blood Drinking Sword in his hand and waved it for a bit. Then, he put it into the Space Ring and stood next to Rocher and Patrick.
It was clear that the awarding of Zen's fairy weapon wasn't the only reason Kenneth wanted them to be with him today.
After the last steward left the hall, Kenneth took out a small square jade box from his waist and threw it to Zen.
“It's the second award, the Turbidity Clearing Pill,” he told Zen.
The Turbidity Clearing Pill was a medicine that was needed to take after a disciple reached the Illuminating Soul Realm, so Zen couldn't take it for now.
When the disciples reached the Illuminating Soul Realm, everyone of them would hit a bottleneck that was hard to pass through. Thus, they needed to take the Turbidity Clearing Pill to help them practice.
The preciousness of the Turbidity Clearing Pill didn't need to be explained. Only a few Turbidity Clearing Pills were produced in the Cloud Sect every year, and even those saints and elders greedily coveted it.
After Zen put the pill away, Kenneth spoke again. “The reason I called you here is that I want to talk to you about the Cloud Road,” he said.
At his words, Zen, Rocher, and Patrick turned serious.
The Cloud Road was a matter of great importance for their future prospects.
Many martial artists in the Eastern Region could only reach the nature level even after they practiced for over a lifetime.
The martial artists who were nature creatures had life spans and strengths far beyond ordinary people, and they could live quite a good life in most parts of the Eastern Region.
However, as Cloud Sect's top disciples, they looked forward to making great achievements in a bigger world and not only in Cloud Sect.
Thus, passing the trial of the Cloud Road and getting into the Cloud Hall was the beginning to the bigger world!