Serial Transmigrator 156 Chapter 156

The three, Tianlan, Ming Hong and Tang Zen had been walking silently to the treasure hall when Ming Hong decided to strike up a conversation.

"Let's start by sharing why we decided to join sects instead of staying home."

"I'm not interested," replied Tang Zen.

Tianlan didn't turn his attention away from his book, which was enough of an answer for Ming Hong, though, he didn't care about Tianlan's response in the first place.

"Don't be like that. I'll go first. I joined a sect because they were being stingy with the resources back home. Said one shouldn't leach off of the clan. How about you, Zen'er?"

"Please don't call me that. We're not that close."

"No problem."

Tang Zen exhaled before giving her answer.

"I joined a sect because I want to be strong."

"Oh. Cool, cool. But why the s.h.i.+mmering Sword Sect in particular?"

"First Place hasn't answered yet."

"Hm?"

"Didn't you say we were all going to get to know each other? Shouldn't we wait for his answer before we continue?"

"… Right."

Ming Hong turned to Tianlan and spoke with an impatient tone.

"Why did you decide to join a sect?"

Tianlan raised his gaze from the book and turned to Ming Hong.

"Me? I came to learn. I want to learn as much as I can about martial arts and swordsmans.h.i.+p."

"So, why the s.h.i.+mmering Sword Sect in specific?"

Ming Hong had seemed to ask this question specifically to Tang Zen, so Tianlan didn't answer.

"You first," she said.

"I want to get the aura of a swordsman. I heard the ladies can't resist it."

Ming Hong saw the look of disgust on Tang Zen's face but he was unashamed of the truth.

"I chose the s.h.i.+mmering Sword Sect because it's the most powerful third-grade sect," she said. "It's on par with any second-grade sect and could probably stand on equal footing with some first-grade sects. It's a wonder why they've stayed a third-grade sect when they have so many experts in the minute realm. I've heard there are a number of disciples who have reached that stage as well. Naturally, it's the best choice, both in terms of the resources available and the quality of instruction."

"I see. That's really interesting. I didn't know the sect was that good."

"What about you, First Place?"

Tang Zen addressed Tianlan without turning to face him.

"You can just call me by name. I'm Shao Tianlan."

"And I'm Ming Hong."

"Tang Zen."

"It's kind of embarra.s.sing to say it but, the reason I'm at the s.h.i.+mmering Sword Sect is that they were the only ones to offer me a spot at the summit."

Hearing this answer, Ming Hong and Tang Zen didn't make any comment, but some thoughts were naturally stirred up. He had only received one spot and had coincidentally gone on to claim first place among the new disciples…

It clearly smelled of nepotism.

"Then what about your backgrounds? I'm from Qiuji city's Ming Clan. You may have heard of us."

"Qiuji city? Your clan must be powerful," said Tang Zen.

Taking this to be a spark of interest, Ming Hong went on to explain his family's circ.u.mstances. Of how they were a large and powerful clan in a big city and had hundreds of members. For him, coming to the s.h.i.+mmering Sword Sect was just an extracurricular activity used to lessen the drain on resources for the main clan. Other than that, they weren't lacking when it came to their foundation and cultivation techniques.

"I see," said Tang Zen. "I come from a small clan in a tiny city. You've never heard of us."

"Same here," said Tianlan. "Our foundations aren't very strong. In fact, me and my siblings are the only cultivators of our clan. That's why I've joined a sect to try and learn as much as I can."

When Tianlan finished speaking, Tang Zen gave him a quick glance which he didn't notice because he was focused on his book.

Ming Hong didn't fail to see what had just happened. Through his series of questions, he had driven a wedge between himself and Tang Zen, while also showing her that she and Tianlan shared some similarities.

He knew he needed to stop asking questions for the time being to think of different topics to bring up, and with the driving force of the conversation gone, the rest of the journey proceeded in silence.

***

"Take one treasure and one treasure only, you hear me?"

"Yes."

"Other than that, feel free to choose any that you like."

After getting the elder's instructions, Tianlan walked into the treasure hall. It was a case of the name outs.h.i.+ning its subject. While the called it a 'hall', the word 'shack' was more fitting. But Tianlan wasn't one to judge.

When he walked in, he noticed that he wasn't the only one present. Other than him, there was one other young man browsing the treasures.

This wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Besides receiving the treasures as prizes, they were also redeemable through merit points, so any disciple who had acc.u.mulated enough of them would be able to enter the treasure hall and take their pick.

Ignoring the other fellow, Tianlan walked around and observed the treasures. He was looking for something both vague and specific. Something extraordinary when among ordinary things, but ordinary when surrounded by extraordinary things. This was part of the advice Hei had included in his book.

While walking past a rack of swords, Tianlan's eyes paused on one of them. It had beautiful gold accents on its hilt and just the scabbard alone did wonders to entice one to take a look at the blade.

As he went to take it for a closer look, another hand beat him to it.

"Ah. Sorry. I had my eye on this one," the other disciple said.

"No worries," replied Tianlan as he took the jade that was placed under the sword and browsed through the information in it.

The sword was apparently of the highest quality available in this particular treasure hall, being at the fifth tier. According to the information jade, it belonged to the ruler of a fallen kingdom which existed a few hundred years ago. It was said to have tasted the blood of dragon-kin, which gave the blade a crimson sheen under certain lighting. The sword would supposedly let out the sounds of roaring dragons when in the hands of a master.

Tianlan watched as the disciple unsheathed the sword, and sure enough, there was a mysterious red sheen to the blade that seemed to pulse with life.

"That's a fine sword," he commented.

"Mm. I think I'll take it. No hard feelings?"

"None."

Tianlan watched as the other disciple went to pay for the sword before moving on to look at other treasures. His eyes eventually landed on one sword in particular. It was in a barrel of mediocre weapons which didn't have any accompanying information jades. The only identifier was the label on the barrel that read 'Broken and or defective goods. May have some use.'

What caught Tianlan's eye was one hilt in particular. In that barrel of rusty and tarnished blades, there was one which seemed to be in fairly good condition. The threads which made up the grip weren't frayed. Its scabbard wasn't scratched or cracked. Even the ta.s.sel attached to a loop on the hilt didn't look worse for wear. In fact, of the weapons in the barrel, it could be said to be in pristine condition.

Curious as to its fault, Tianlan took hold of it and removed it from the barrel. Immediately, he could tell that it was too light for its size. Unless it was made from some strange light-weight alloy he didn't know about, it should have weighed five to six times what it did, and unsheathing the blade, he could see where the problem was.

While the sword was sheathed, it looked just fine, but once it was taken out, one could see the sorry state it was in. Not only was the blade rusty, but it was also only as long as Tianlan's hand.

Needless to say, it was a piece of junk, and just looking at it, Tianlan couldn't help but doubt Hei's words.

He took a trip around the treasure hall, looking in the corners for any dusty treasures forgotten by time, but the only thing that seemed to have the potential to be a special item hidden in plain sight was that worthless blade.

Before deciding on anything, he did many probing tests to see if he could get anything to happen. He interacted with it using his qi, he placed a drop of blood on it, he even inspected it with his eyes, but all of it resulted in no change.

After contemplating it for some time, he ultimately decided to take it. Even if it was trash, he could just get a proper sword later. If, on the other hand, it was a hidden gem, then he would reap the benefits.

He walked over to the elder and pa.s.sed him the sword and his ident.i.ty jade.

The elder took the sword, unsheathed it, looked at its blade, then up to Tianlan, then back to the blade before re-sheathing it. In the end, he shook his head and exhaled a sympathetic stream of air.

Tianlan awkwardly retrieved the sword and his ident.i.ty jade before leaving the treasure hall.

***

"Ah. The Autumn Blade. A tier-five weapon. You may not be able to utilise its full power right now, but it's a sword that can grow with you. A fine choice," the elder praised as Tang Zen presented the treasure she had chosen.

"Thank you."

"Mm. It has beneficial properties for yin-type techniques like our Lotus Series of sword techniques. If you practice that, you'll get twice the results with half the effort."

Tang Zen was relieved to hear this. It seemed her intuition had been correct.

"That's the technique I'm going to practice. But hopefully I can get four times the results with the same amount of effort."

"Haha. That's a good att.i.tude. You'll go far if you keep thinking like that."

Tang Zen waited for the elder to finish his laughter.

"May I ask a question, Elder?"

"Go ahead."

"Which treasure did the boy who came before me choose? I don't recognise it from the outside and I thought it would be too forward to ask him myself."

"So you want to sneak around and find out in private?"

"That's not-"

"Haha. Don't mind, don't mind. That boy," the elder sighed. "Every now and then we get people who think they can turn trash into treasure. That's what kind of choice that boy made."

"I see. Thank you."

Tang Zen bowed and took her leave.

***

"Infernal Fiend Slayer? Now that sounds powerful. And it doesn't look half bad either."

Ming Hong didn't take too long to make his choice and soon slapped his sword down onto the elder's table along with his ident.i.ty jade.

"Are you sure about this? This sword is better suited to someone who practises strictly fire-based techniques. I can see that your cultivation technique includes other aspects."

The elder tried to offer up his advice, but his words seemed to go in one ear and out the other.

"Sometimes it isn't about compatibility. Aesthetics are important too, you know?"

"Let me guess. You want to impress the young ladies?"

"You tell me. Is there any other reason to carry a sword?"

The elder could only bring his palm to his face.

***

"Where's your treasure?"

When Ming Hong came out of the treasure hall, Tang Zen noticed that he didn't look any different.

Ming Hong held his hand out and a sheathed sword appeared in the air. He caught it and unsheathed it, throwing in the Inferno Sword technique that he knew to add some flair.

With a smile, he answered her question.

"It was in my spatial ring."

"Oh."

After seeing the sword, Tang Zen lost interest.

"I need to get one of them," said Tianlan. "Carrying things around all the time gets tedious."

"Right? Ever since I had a taste of those bags of holding, I realised what I've been missing out on," said Tang Zen.

"Yeah. It's really enviable. Hopefully, they can be purchased with merit points."

"That would be one of my first purchases."

Seeing the two conversing, Ming Hong realised that he had just inadvertently brought up another thing Tang Zen and Tianlan had in common. They were both poor country b.u.mpkins…

"So, where to now?"

This was an attempt to cut into the conversation and it was successful.

"I was going to head over to the library. I actually tried to go yesterday, but they told me I was too early…" replied Tang Zen.

"What a coincidence. Me too," said Ming Hong. "Why don't we go together?"

Tang Zen shrugged her shoulders and turned to Tianlan.

"Are you coming too?"

"Might as well."

With that, the three went over to the library to redeem their techniques.

Though the journey proceeded in silence, Ming Hong would occasionally cast suspicious glances at Tianlan along the way.

***

"I'm 30 merit points short?"

"Yes."

"Can't you just spot me this time? You know how easy it is for me to earn a measly 30 merit points."

"If it's so easy, then come back when you have them."

"Come on, Geezer Ji. What's a few merit points between friends?"

"I'm not your friend, and please stop calling me Geezer Ji. It hurts my feelings."

When Tianlan and the others walked into the library, they came across a lively scene. A young woman was standing in front of the librarian's desk and arguing with an elderly man who seemed to be said librarian.

While he said his feelings were hurt, his straight face didn't portray any pain.

"Hah." The young woman let out a long sigh. "Are you really going to make me come back?"

"The rules are the rules."

The young woman could only shake her head and pick up the book she had been trying to check out.

"30 little merit points."

Intending to take the book back to its place on the shelves, she spotted three new faces in the library. She could immediately tell that they were disciples from the most recent public enrolment, so she went over to try her luck.

"Why, h.e.l.lo there, juniors. I don't suppose any of you would be willing to lend me 30 merit points?"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Ming Hong was at the librarian's desk.

"Geezer Ji. Is it possible for me to exchange one of my rewards for merit points? I don't need the first-grade cultivation technique."

Instead of answering him, the old man turned to the young woman.

"You see this, Meili? Now even the kids are calling me a geezer."

"That's because you are one."

She stuck her tongue out and dodged with a smile on her face when he threw a book at her.

After joking around with the young woman, the old man turned back to Ming Hong.

"You may trade your rewards for merit points."

"Cool."

Ming Hong turned to the young woman with a smile on his face.

"I can help you out, but what's in it for me?"

The young woman smiled brightly, almost bringing Ming Hong to his knees.

"I'll accept you as my disciple," she said.

Ming Hong's smile started to waver when he heard that.

"What? I'll have you know I'm the number-one female disciple in the sect right now. Many people would kill to have me as their master."

"Number-one female disciple?"

Ming Hong drew in a cold breath.

"Yeah. I'm not that desperate."

Being her 'disciple' would be tantamount to being a glorified personal a.s.sistant. At least that's what Ming Hong thought.

"How about we do this instead? You, me, candlelit dinner for two by the lake," he suggested.

"I'm not that desperate."

"Suit yourself."

Those were the words that came out of his mouth, but he didn't mean a single one of them. Of all the women he had met in his life, this Meili ranked up there with the most beautiful. What was best was that she had the mature aura of an older woman. That alone put her heads and shoulders above someone like Tang Zen.

Deciding to play it cool, Ming Hong went off to browse the techniques while keeping one ear open.

"How about you?" The young woman said to Tang Zen. "We're both women, so I can teach you a lot. And as I said earlier, I'm the number one female disciple of the sect. I'm also the most accomplished in the Lotus Series of techniques, which is popular among the girls. I've mastered the fifth-order and am moving on to the sixth. That's what I'm using the merit points for."

This was actually a tempting offer to Tang Zen. Her road would surely be smoother with a master, which was why she was trying so hard to perform well at the initiation at the end of the first week. And if what the young woman had said was true, then she was perhaps the most qualified to help her in her practice of the Lotus Series.

That, and she noticed something about the young woman that Ming Hong didn't.

She wasn't dressed in ordinary robes. Forget the white robes of outer disciples, the types of clothes this young woman was wearing couldn't even be found among inner-sect disciples. At the very least she was a core disciple, and she might have even been an elder.

That being the case, there was only one thing Tang Zen needed to know.

"May I know your name?"

"Lanxiang Meili."

Tang Zen frowned.

"I don't think I've heard of you before."

"That's not strange. I only joined the sect a few months ago."

That was all Tang Zen needed to hear. She cupped her fist to her senior and bowed.

"With all due respect, I don't want to become the disciple of an inexperienced master."

After giving her rejection, she scurried off before she could suffer any backlash.

The young woman lowered her head and mumbled a few words to herself before looking up to her last choice.

"How about you? Are you willing to help me?"

"That depends. Are you an elder?"

"Nope. I'm a junior, just like you. Your Meili jiejie."

"Then I'm afraid I can't help you."

"Really? Why not? Do you all look down on me that much? I could be called the rising star of the sect, you know?"

"It's not that. It's just… something tells me that helping you will come back to bite me."

And that 'something' was called Shao Hei. The line 'senior sisters, stay away' had been drilled into Tianlan's head so many times by now that saying no to her almost seemed natural.

"Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. You probably have a crazy stalker or something, right? Or maybe someone in the sect doesn't like you? Did you offend one of the elders by refusing a marriage or something? Maybe some senior brother has his eye on you but you've been rejecting his advances. There's something like that going on, isn't there?"

"Uh… You know you're sounding pretty crazy right now, don't you?"

When Tianlan thought about it, it did sound quite strange. To fabricate a bunch of scenarios and a.s.sume that they were taking place behind the scenes to a person you had just met seemed to defy any kind of reasonable logic. And yet Hei claimed that this was the case 99 percent of the time when dealing with senior sisters…

Tianlan decided to put it to the test.

By all accounts, forming a positive relations.h.i.+p with a more senior member of the organisation would lead to benefits down the line. If things really did turn out the way Hei said they would, then Tianlan would have to place more weight on his words in the future.

"Okay. I'll help you. But I don't want to be your disciple or anything. Let's just say that you owe me a small favour."

"I don't do candlelit dinners."

"Haha. Nothing like that. If I'm ever in trouble, help me out, okay?"

Tianlan extended his hand and Meili took it.

"Deal."

With both sides in agreement, the transaction proceeded smoothly.

Ming Hong —who was watching from the side— could only kick himself for letting another opportunity slip.

***

After doing the young woman a favour, Tianlan went on to browse the techniques available to him as part of his rewards.

Looking through the first and second-grade techniques, he found many fantastical descriptions of powerful-sounding moves. There were blades that would multiply themselves and fly around the wielder launching remote attacks on the enemies. There were movement techniques that would cause the wielder to become like the clouds in the sky, inconspicuous and difficult to grasp. There were even those techniques that could summon the elements, changing the environment around the wielder.

They all sounded fantastic, but Tianlan could see a clear problem. He had no idea of the fundamentals. The sword techniques seemed to be at an advanced level, a.s.suming that those who sought to learn them had already gained a firm grasp of the underlying movements and concepts.

While Tianlan was sure he could figure these things out with time, he knew how important one's foundations were. Besides, he wasn't here for just himself. It was one thing for him to be able to learn advanced techniques, but he needed to leave a legacy for the Shao Clan. He wanted to create the Shao Clan's Sword Foundations along with the Shao Clan's Martial Arts Foundations, and in order to do that, the advanced techniques were the wrong place to start.

He ended up going to the lower-ranked books, the ones that could hardly be called rare or profound, and looking through some of the introductions, he knew he was on the right track.

Having made up his mind, he walked over to the librarian.

"Elder Ji, I would like to exchange my prizes for ungraded books."

"Oh?"

Not only was the old man surprised to be referred to as Elder Ji, the contents of Tianlan's request were similarly unexpected.

"Why would you do that?"

Tianlan opened one of the books he had taken a liking to.

"Here it says, 'If you don't know how to breathe, then you don't know how to fight.' It goes on to describe breathing techniques and all sorts of things that I didn't know about. This other book says that one isn't fit to wield a sword if one doesn't know where to place one's feet."

"I hardly think those are things to be worried about for someone like you. I saw your ident.i.ty jade earlier. I know that you placed first among the new disciples."

Tianlan shook his head.

"No matter how strong I may be, with a weak foundation, I will reach my limit before I know it. Now that I've discovered these issues, I can't just ignore them."

The old man smiled.

"Not everyone can humble themselves and admit that they know nothing. If you want to go through with this, then your rewards are enough to check out every ungraded book in the library, and you'll still be able to choose one first-grade sword technique."

Tianlan slid his ident.i.ty jade over to the old man.

"Please."

The old man gave Tianlan a lingering look before processing the request.

"You can check the books out at any time, but remember that you only get to take them out of the library for one week each. After that, you will need to spend merit points to borrow them again."

"Thank you."

Tianlan took his ident.i.ty jade and browsed around for the books he would be reading first. In the end, he had chosen five books in total. They covered the basics of breathing, stances, footwork, meditation and qi manipulation.

While he was moving between the shelves, he noticed that Tang Zen seemed to be torn between two choices. She had alternated between the same two shelves multiple times now.

"Tough choice?"

Tang Zen had been so focused on her decision that she failed to notice Tianlan's approach.

"Yeah. You see, the first level of the Lotus Series, Standing Lotus, is considered a first-grade technique, so I can use one of my rewards for it, but I also want the second level."

"That shouldn't be a problem. Doesn't second place get to exchange the cultivation technique for another sword technique? Or do you want the cultivation technique?"

"That's not it. I'm torn between the second level of the Lotus Series, Swaying Lotus, and another technique called Dragon Breathing. They're first-grade so I can't get them both, but they both complement Standing Lotus and will help me impress the elders at the initiation."

Tianlan grabbed the Dragon Breathing book from the shelf.

"Then take mine. I have a spare first-grade technique I'm not using."

"Hm?"

Tang Zen turned a doubtful gaze to him.

"Why would you do that?"

"To be honest, these techniques are too advanced for me. I would be getting in over my head. That's why I'm focusing on the fundamentals for now."

Tianlan held up the five books he had selected.

His explanation seemed reasonable enough, so Tang Zen's doubt faded.

"I can't just take it for free. What do you want in return?"

Tianlan shrugged his shoulders.

"Just owe me a small favour."

"I hope its not in the form of a candlelit dinner for two by a lake."

Tianlan waved his hand.

"I can't afford that. I'm afraid it'll have to be homemade bread instead."

Tang Zen cracked a smile before going back to her neutral expression.

"Thanks. I owe you one."

The two went over to the librarian's desk where they completed the transaction.

The librarian flashed Tianlan a knowing look and Ming Hong —who had been watching from the side— waited for Tang Zen to leave before he approached Tianlan.

He wanted to do a slow clap but stopped when he got a look from the librarian.

"I didn't expect you to go so far. Well played."

"What are you talking about?"

"Acting oblivious, are we? Well, don't blame me for kicking it up a notch. All's fair and all that."

***

After leaving the library, Ming Hong decided to strike up another conversation.

"Where to now?"

"I'm heading back home," said Tang Zen.

"I'm going to buy a few ingredients with my remaining merit points before doing the same," said Tianlan.

"Oh? You're an alchemist?" Asked Tang Zen.

Tianlan scratched his head.

"Not those kinds of ingredients. I need to buy some ingredients to bake with."

"To bake?" Interrupted Ming Hong. "Why do you want to bake? What a waste of time."

Over the course of the day, Ming Hong had discerned that Tang Zen was quite focused on increasing her own strength and lacked respect for those who squandered their time on unimportant things. Thus he had adapted to the situation and launched a preemptive strike on Tianlan.

When he saw Tang Zen's questioning look which didn't refute what he had said, he knew he had scored a victory.

"Maybe," replied Tianlan. "But mine is a clan of bakers. We run a small bakery in our hometown, and if my mother found out that I skipped out on training, there would be no end to the lectures."

Ming Hong was about to mock Tianlan further when Tang Zen spoke before him.

"It's the same with my father. We run a smithy, and if it isn't smelting ore or forging steel, it's a waste of time as far as he's concerned."

"Tell me about it. Just before I went off to join the sect, my mother asked me if I was sure it wouldn't be a waste of time. This, coming from the woman who literally watches grain grow."

"Right? My father's the exact same way. Who says you have to sit there and watch the ore melt the entire time?"

"And yet sitting to meditate for a few hours is too much for these people."

"Haha. That reminds me of the time I told my father that if he cultivated, he would be able to run his smithy longer. Guess what he said to me?"

"What?"

"All weapons shall one day break."

"And Heavens forbid you throw them away."

"Right? Are we supposed to keep buying iron from the quarry forever?"

The two laughed.

"My mother said the same thing about bread. I can't believe there's another person like her out there."

"It's a small world, huh?"

Ming Hong watched as these two had a lively discussion about their home lives. When their conversation came to a pause, he inserted himself back in.

"It sounds like your mother doesn't even want you to cultivate. Being here seems kind of unfilial if you ask me."

After he spoke, the atmosphere suddenly became gloomier.

When he saw that Tang Zen had also quieted down, Ming Hong could only curse himself.

"Ideally, I would be a baker too," said Tianlan. "But the world isn't so kind. My family got hurt because we were too weak. When that happened, no one came to help us, and I was powerless to do anything. I decided that I'll never allow that to happen again. That I'll protect our way of life with everything I have. That's why I cultivate."

At that point, the three reached a crossroads. Tianlan pointed in a certain direction with his thumb.

"This is me. I'll see you later."

Tang Zen's gaze lingered on his back for a while before she went on her way as well.

As the last one left, Ming Hong reflected over the events that had taken place over the day and realised that he was facing a true master.

He had been handily defeated every step of the way.

***

After purchasing some baking ingredients, Tianlan invited the Fang Clan juniors over to his abode where they took advantage of the qi gathering formation to further their cultivations. As the day came to a close, he had them return to their caves and prepared for sleep.

He baked a loaf of bread, took a shower and entered his bed where he closed his eyes.

That night, however, the sleep wouldn't be so peaceful.

At an early hour of the morning, Tianlan heard a racket coming from outside and wondered what in the world that fellow was doing. He especially felt bad for s.h.i.+va and Rhava who must have had keen senses of hearing. But he figured that others would say something if it was deemed an unreasonable amount of noise.

He tried his best to ignore it and managed to fall asleep once more.