by KSY
“I will take it,” Ryan said. The store attendant was delighted to finally see the black sword getting sold and leaving the store forever. It was no different from a cursed item in his eyes. He quickly completed the transaction with Ryan as if he was scared that Ryan might change his decision.
Ryan decided to return home and explore the mysteries of the black sword. He was intrigued after hearing about the circumstances in which it was found and wanted to unearth all the mysteries associated with it.
Ch.4
On his way to home, Ryan noticed a massive commotion in the middle district of Hope City. When he inquired about the cause of this commotion from a few people nearby, it turned out the reason for it was Divine Martial Sect’s recruitment drive. People in large numbers had arrived in Hope City with the intention of passing the Divine Martial Sect’s test and becoming a disciple.
The tests were being conducted at the city’s Combat Arena, which was situated in the middle district. Combat arenas are present in every major city. They serve as a source of entertainment for the inhabitants of the city and are very popular among the common people. In the Combat arena, Martial Artists fight Elemental Beasts and other Martial Artists to win prizes. It is also used for settling grudges and differences between Martial Artists.
The Combat Arena’s structure is like the Colosseum of Ancient Rome with a big open space in the middle and tiers of seats for spectators around it. The big open space in the middle contains a total of ten rings, which have barriers erected around them to make sure that the powerful attacks of the Martial Artists and Elemental Beasts fighting inside them don’t affect the spectators in any way.
Ryan purchased a ticket to the Combat Arena and entered in order to watch some Martial Artists taking the test. Ryan took a seat and intently watched the fighting going on in Ring Number 4 between a Martial Artist and a wooden puppet.
The objective of the test was to destroy the wooden puppet sent into the ring by the Sect to fight them. The test had no time limit. Even though the puppet was called a wooden puppet, the word “wooden” was misleading. The wood that was used to make it was quite special. It was named Steel wood and it came from a Steel tree, which is a Dual Attribute Tree, one of whose Attributes is wood, the other, being metal. This wood’s specialty is its toughness and high durability. It is as strong as steel and is used to make weapons.
“Arghhhh!” A loud shriek came from Ring Number 4 as the young Martial Artist fighting a wooden puppet was sent flying by it. He had a big gaping hole in his stomach.
The wooden puppets showed no sympathy towards the young Martial Artists fighting in the rings. They mercilessly crushed the ones who were not strong enough to defeat them. The wooden puppets were created to be merciless, as the Sect didn’t want people lacking in skills and determination to even try and waste their time. The brutality of the wooden puppets made sure only Martial Artists with strong determination and above average strength and combat prowess would dare to take the test.
The medics on standby around the ring quickly came to the assistance of the defeated Martial Artist. One of the medics made Ryan skip a heartbeat. Ryan looked at her intently, as if studying her in great detail.
The girl was around fifteen or sixteen years of age. She had black hair, fair skin, and pink lips. She had a nice slim figure. She was the most beautiful girl Ryan had ever seen. Calling her a goddess would have been no exaggeration. Ryan could tell that many young men in the Combat Arena were having similar thoughts as he was.
The girl had a gentle and kind bearing. Having lived two lives, he could easily discern anyone’s character after observing their actions for some time. The girl didn’t show any kind of disdainful expression as she treated the Martial Artist. If not for her gentle and kind bearing, Ryan would not have looked at her even once, even if she’d been twice as beautiful. Her hands were emanating a golden aura. She placed her hands on the chest of the injured Martial Artist, and people could see the wound in his stomach healing at a speed visible to naked eyes. It took her only a few minutes to completely heal the wound. The Martial Artist was taken away from the ring, as there were more Martial Artists waiting to take the test.
“That girl surprisingly cultivates Life Elemental Laws. Her talent is incredibly high. For her to reach Mortal Lord Realm at such a young age signifies that she has a Humanoid Life Attribute Martial Spirit and she should be many times more powerful than a Normal Mortal Lord Martial Artist,” Yama said with a taunting voice, as he knew the current condition of Ryan’s heart. Yama stressed the fact that she was stronger than him, as most women prefer a man that is stronger than them. He wanted Ryan to sincerely cultivate Death Elemental Laws and his words did the deed. Ryan had already made up his mind to seriously cultivate Death Laws in the future.
“I know that,” Ryan said in a low voice.
“The reason for your current weakness is your lack of interest in Death Elemental Laws. You will have to tell your family about me some day. I suggest you tell them as soon as possible and cultivate Death Elemental Laws without fear. You are underestimating the love your family has for you. Even if they come to know about you being a Taboo Martial Artist, they won’t abandon you,” Yama said in a serious tone, but Ryan still had a conflicted expression on his face.
“Your talent in Death Elemental Laws is many times higher than your talent in Poison Elemental Laws, so you would be able to increase your strength and powers quickly if you cultivated Death Elemental Laws. Then you would have a higher chance of capturing her heart,” Yama gave Ryan one final nudge which was all that was required to make him serious about Death Elemental laws. What Yama had said was true: Ryan indeed had a terrifying talent in Death Elemental Laws.
This was the first time Ryan had felt like this for someone of the opposite sex, in his current life or former one. He’d already decided that that girl was going to be his wife. He had also made up his mind to join the Divine Martial Sect.
He decided to retreat for the day and come back on a later date. The Divine Martial Sect’s recruitment drive was going to continue for a whole month. He knew that currently he could easily deal with the wooden puppet, just rip it apart with his terrifying bodily strength, but he didn’t want others to know he possessed a Special physique. He wished to keep it a secret for some time as he would have a hard time explaining its origin.
Ryan took one last glance at her before leaving the combat arena. He was able to tell that she was an Inner-sect Disciple of the Divine Martial Sect from her clothing. That much was enough for him to find her later, as the number of Inner-sect Disciples didn’t number more than a few thousand. He quickly returned home.
On his return he showed the Poison Attribute Martial Skills he had purchased to his mother and brothers and told them he was unable to find a suitable Soul weapon for himself and would try his luck after a few days. Ryan told his mother and brothers he’d enter a Closed-door Cultivation session and that they should not disturb him, as he wished to learn the Martial Skills he had purchased.
Emilia detected something odd in Ryan’s behavior, but decided not to enquire about it, and behaved with him normally. She’d decided to let her son keep his secret longer, but to keep a close watch on his behavior.
Ryan returned to his room and entered his Spatial Cultivation chamber. He decided to start off by studying the black sword. He took it out from his Spatial pouch and started to channel his Death Attribute Spirit Power into it. The sword was covered in Death aura as Ryan’s Spirit Power channeled through it, which is what usually happens for every artifact weapon when Spirit Power is channeled into it.
“Ryan, I think you’ll have to form a Spirit link with it to make it show its true abilities. We already know that it is sentient in nature, so it’s worth trying,” Yama suggested. Ryan nodded his head in agreement, but he didn’t know much about sentient artifact weapons, so he would just have to use trial and error.
Ryan channeled his Spirit Power into the sword and tried to form a Spirit link between
him and the sword. The sword started to shine with black light as the Spirit link started to form between them. It took Ryan about an hour to complete the Spirit link between him and the sword, and once the Spirit link was complete, the sword started to transform. The blade of the sword which had had a plain surface suddenly had beautiful runes engraved on it. The sharp edge of the sword also underwent a change, as its sharpness increased manyfold.
“Turn me into your Life Weapon,” a voice came from the sword, which alarmed Ryan and Yama. Even though weapons that possess sentience are normal, weapons that can speak are not. Only Celestials and Gods possess weapons that are capable of such a feat. Ryan and Yama regained their composures quickly. Since it was the former weapon of an Asura, it should be able to speak.
Ryan followed sword’s instructions and sent it into the pitch-black side of his Soul World. He sent his consciousness into his Soul World too, and the ethereal figure of Ryan appeared inside the black side of his Soul World.
The four swords in Yama’s hands charged towards the black sword that had just appeared in the black side of Ryan’s Soul World and started to fuse with it. The black sword started to shine with a black light as the fusion began – and lasted for six hours. Once the Spirit link was replaced by a Soul link, Ryan could sense a connection with the black sword the same way as he did with Yama and Dargar. Once the fusion was finished, the sword transformed into a Humanoid, which stunned Ryan and Yama.
Even Dargar who had been peacefully cultivating on his side of the Soul World was alarmed when he sensed a Humanoid being in the black side of Ryan’s Soul World, and quickly asked Ryan about it. Ryan informed him about everything and told him not to worry. Dargar nodded his head and once again began cultivating Poison Elemental Laws.
“Hello, I am called Death Sword and I am a Sword demon,” the Humanoid figure said as he looked at Yama and Ryan.
“Hello, I am Ryan, and this is Yama. And the Emerald viper is Dargar,” Ryan introduced himself and his Martial Spirits with a smile. He knew that Death Sword had no ill-will and would be his lifelong partner in his Martial journey. Death Sword gave Ryan a big smile.
“How are you still alive? You are a being that was created by an Asura, so with the death of your Master you should have died too,” Yama asked.
Death Sword looked at Yama for some time and sighed. It was unknown what he was thinking. He then started speaking about his past. “My former Master fought for a particular Heavenly Treasure which made all the powerful Death Attribute beings of the universe go frantic. A big fight broke out, and billions of lives were extinguished for that Heavenly Treasure … ”
He suddenly stopped and a sorrowful expression appeared on his face as he remembered the happenings of that year. Ryan could tell that Death Sword was still loyal towards his former master even though the latter was dead.
“His former master was like a father to him. He had created him, so it’s natural,” Yama said to Ryan mentally as he could tell what exactly Ryan was thinking. Ryan couldn’t help but agree with him.
Death Sword sighed and continued after a while, “My former Master was able to acquire the treasure, but before he had a chance of using it, he was ambushed by thousands of powerful beings. He escaped with his life, but he was pursued endlessly. He then put the Heavenly Treasure inside my Spatial space, hid me on Grandura, and gave me the task of keeping it safe until his return, but he died a few years later, and the moment he died my soul started to disappear: I was dying.”
“Since my Master was dead, I decided to use the Heavenly Treasure to save my life. It fused with my body, but it was only able to slow down my death,” Death Sword sighed as he looked at Ryan and Yama who were attentively listening to him.
Then he continued again. “Since I was a Sword demon, I knew that as long as I found myself a new Master I would not die. The new Master could only be a young Martial Artist who had yet to create his or her Life Weapon – but who ever tried to turn me into his or her Life Weapon died. I knew that not many young Martial Artists would be able to wield me as I am a being that was born from the flesh and blood of an Asura,” and he paused again, deep in thought.
He continued yet again. “The Baleful aura released by me is quite strong, which killed any young Martial Artist that tried to turn me into his or her Life Weapon. I always minimized the amount of Baleful aura released by me, but no one was able to withstand even that,” and sadness seemed to overtake him, at that point in his story.
Finally, he added, “I even thought of leaving Grandura and finding someone who could turn me into their Life Weapon, but by that time my condition had worsened and reached a stage where I was unable to take Humanoid form, and was just waiting for my oncoming death,” he sighed again, but then brightened.
“I’ve spent a few thousand years waiting for my death, but today I had the luck of meeting you. I sensed a familiar vibe around you, as it was quite similar to my former Master’s. I was sure you would be able to turn me into your Life Weapon, so I decided to bank all my hopes on you. If you had been unable to make me your Life Weapon, then I would have died along with you. I was taking my last breaths at that time.”
“So, how is your condition now? Did you heal thoroughly after becoming my Life Weapon?” Ryan asked with concern. Death Sword was touched by Ryan’s words. He was expecting Ryan to inquire about the Heavenly Treasure, not his wellbeing. This was equivalent to him hitting the jackpot. He had not been expecting to find a kind-hearted Master.
“My condition has stabilized, and I can now slowly begin healing myself. I will enter a period of a deep sleep-state,” Death Sword replied.
“So, I will be unable to use you then?” Ryan asked.
“You will be able to use me as a weapon as well as use two of my abilities, Undead Rearing Space and Camouflage.
“Undead Rearing Space is an ability that will allow you store Undead creatures in the Spatial space inside me, and the Undead creatures that enter it will never be able to revolt against you.
“The second ability, Camouflage, allows you to hide your actual Cultivation Level from others. You can decide the Cultivation Level you wish to display to others, but that Cultivation Level has to be lower than your actual Cultivation Level,” Death Sword said with a smile. Ryan was delighted after coming to know about these two abilities of Death Sword that he would be able to use.
“There is another thing that I wish to tell you. It is about the Heavenly Treasure, that has merged with me. It is called Heavenly Death Pearl, and it is quite special. Unlike most Heavenly Treasures, this one doesn’t increase someone’s personal strength and powers upon absorption.
“On the contrary, it is a support-type Heavenly Treasure and can emit an exceptionally pure form of Death Elemental Energy limitlessly. This Death Elemental Energy could be used for various purposes like cultivation or raising a powerful Undead army. After it merged with me it became a part of me, so I too can emit that same pure form of Death Elemental Energy without limit just like it,” Death Sword said.
Death Sword continued. “You can use this pure Death Elemental Energy to cultivate Death Elemental Laws, and you can also share it with any being you form an Equal contract with, or its equivalent, in the future.
“The Undead Rearing Space inside me provides Undead creatures with an inferior quality of Death Elemental Energy for cultivation, as I don’t want my secret to leak out to others. Even though the Undead creatures being reared inside me can’t revolt, they could still tell others about my secret.
“Don’t tell anyone, including your family, about this as the people who are searching for the Heavenly Death Pearl are unusually dangerous.
“In order to use my abilities, you just need to think, and the ability will be activated,” Death Sword said, looking at Ryan, as if the latter had some questions. Ryan’s face was serious. Indeed, he couldn’t tell anyone about that specialty of Death Sword’s, as the beings that could kill an Asura wouldn’t be ordinary.
Ryan gave
a slight nod and Death Sword continued, “I have also reduced my sharpness. If others were to see you destroying their weapons extremely easily, it might create unnecessary trouble, but my sharpness will increase with each breakthrough of yours. If you have any question, please ask them quickly, as I might enter my deep sleep-state at any moment.”
“How long will you remain in deep sleep?” Ryan asked.
“I don’t know,” Death Sword said as he reverted to his sword form. Death Sword had entered a deep sleep-state. Ryan and Yama looked at each other for a moment as they nodded their heads in agreement. Ryan had decided to cultivate Death Elemental Laws as now he had an ample amount of Death Elemental Energy. Ryan left his Soul World soon afterwards.
Ryan made Death Sword emit his Death Elemental Energy with a single thought. The Death Elemental Energy he’d used earlier was manyfold inferior to what was emitted by Death Sword. Yama was jubilant with this, as he was certain that Ryan’s cultivation speed would soar by using such a pure Death Elemental Energy. Ryan’s black side of his Soul World quickly filled with pure Death Elemental Energy.
“Yama, let’s start cultivating Death Elemental Laws. We need to increase our strength and powers as soon as possible,” Ryan said as he closed his eyes and started cultivating Death Elemental Laws.
Since the Death Elemental Energy was exceptionally pure, it readily converted into Death Attribute Spirit Power. Ryan and Yama both connected to the universe and started to gain insights and understanding into Death Elemental Laws at a rapid pace. His insights and understanding in Death Elemental Laws soon reached the threshold requirement for attaining a breakthrough to the Mid Mortal Elite Realm, but he chose to continue cultivating Death Elemental Laws without stopping.
Ryan cultivated Death Elemental Laws for fifteen days straight, his longest ever Closed-door Cultivation session. Ryan’s family members came to check on him a few times but seeing how diligently he was cultivating, decided to not disturb him.