The weapons on the first floor of the Divine Armory looked ordinary, lacking dazzling radiance or awe-inspiring sharpness, merely laid out in a plain array.
As Xu Zimei entered, a faint scent of rust filled the air. Disciples of the True Martial Holy Sect seldom came here to select weapons, hence many of the mundane weapons forged on this floor were dust-covered due to long stretches of time.
At the entrance of the first floor, an old man was napping on a lounge chair. He glanced interestedly at the arrival of Xu Zimei and another person, then said, "Feel free to choose any weapon inside, but you can only pick one each. Just let me know when you leave."
After speaking, the old man turned over and continued to sleep with his eyes closed.
"What kind of attitude is that?" Zhang Chongtian complained disapprovingly.
"It's fine," Xu Zimei shook his head, took a deep look at the old man, and then entered.
He didn't spend much time on selection, walking directly to a corner where a dense array of weapons hung on one wall.
There were swords, spears, clubs, and sticks—many of which were seldom heard of by common folk; all sorts of weapons were present.
Among the numerous weapons, Xu Zimei's gaze was drawn to an inconspicuous blade in the bottom left corner.
Holding it felt like it weighed dozens of pounds, the handle separated by layers of grid-like patterns which felt substantial in his palm.
"This one then," Xu Zimei picked up the blade and walked towards the dozing old man under the astonished gaze of Zhang Chongtian.
The old man was woken up, seemingly reluctantly, and glanced indifferently at the curved blade chosen by Xu Zimei before saying, "Alright, it's yours now. Hurry up and scram, don't disturb an old man's sleep."
Xu Zimei nodded, said nothing further, wrapped the blade's sheath around his back, and then left.
"By the way, its name is Tyrant Shadow," the old man's voice suddenly came from behind.
"Tyrant Shadow, huh? I know that now," Xu Zimei replied with a smile at the corner of his mouth, without turning back, his figure gradually disappearing in the gentle breeze.
...
Xu Zimei was sure that he would remember his father's words for his entire life.
"A true swordsman is one who can awaken the spirit within the blade and then earn the spirit's recognition."
In his past life, Xu Zimei initially didn't care much about this saying—after all, he considered weapons merely tools for killing, not worth imbuing with any further significance.
That was until the battle at Secluded Dragon Gorge, when Tyrant Shadow was broken by the weapon of the protagonist, Chu Yang.
It was at the moment of the blade's shattering that Xu Zimei truly felt the lament carried by the weapon.
At that time, he finally came to a realization, though regrettably, it was too late.
...
Later, Xu Zimei returned to his residence, where he sat cross-legged and began his cultivation.
In his past life, he initially cultivated the Annihilation Jue from the Great Emperor of the Three Blades.
It wasn't until he reached the Emperor Pulse Realm that Xu Zimei truly embarked on his own Martial Path to Heaven.
He then discarded the Annihilation Jue, beginning to research, deduce, and create a brand-new cultivation technique of his own.
Xu Zimei named his technique the Sole Great Freedom Jue.
This technique primarily cultivated the past, the present, and the future.
Once fully mastered, it allowed tracing back to the origin of time, establishing links with his past self and his self from future epochs, spanning several temporal realms.
"Unfortunately, in his previous life, when the cultivation technique had evolved to the Divine Vein Realm, Xu Zimei found himself troubled by a mental block, and no matter what he did, he couldn't advance any further.
That's why he went to find Chu Yang to resolve his mental block, but he hadn't expected to be defeated so miserably.
However, his rebirth had sparked a flash of inspiration in Xu Zimei regarding the past and future.
He believed he could definitely perfect the cultivation technique and step into the realms beyond the Divine Vein Realm.
...
For every Vein Practitioner, evolving their own cultivation techniques is the ultimate path because no matter how powerful the techniques left by others are, they can only serve as a reference and can never completely suit you.
...
Xu Zimei kept evolving and cultivating until dawn, then stood up and stretched lazily.
Despite not having slept all night, he still felt full of energy.
This was one of the benefits of cultivation, he was now at the ninth level of the Mortal Realm, and even if he went without sleep for seven days and nights, he would feel at most a bit tired.
...
At daybreak, Lin Ruhu arrived at Goose Southern Peak early to visit Xu Zimei.
He had a large burlap sack on his back, his expression was sly, and he kept looking back every other step as if he was sneakily guarding against something.
...
'What's wrong, Ruhu?' Xu Zimei, having finished washing up, asked curiously.
'Zimo bro, I've got something great to show you,' Lin Ruhu chuckled, then opened the sack on his back.
Inside lay two unconscious chicks, calmly nestled together.
These two chickens were completely golden-yellow, with purple crowns and neatly arranged feathers, tapering off to a bright red at their tails.
Their beaks looked like jade, clear and pure. At first glance, these two chickens were extraordinary.
'Medicine Path Holy Chicken?' Xu Zimei asked in surprise. 'Where did you get these?'
'Ah, I went to Elder Liao's Heavenly Gorge Peak this morning to play with Liao Ruyan, and then I saw these two chickens discarded on the ground. I felt sorry for them, so I just took them,' Lin Ruhu said, his innocent large eyes twinkling.
'You stole them, didn't you?' Xu Zimei asked doubtfully.
'How can a scholar's action be called stealing?' Lin Ruhu argued back, not accepting the accusation. 'I just picked them up.'
'I don't mind, since they are the Great Elder's beloved pets,' Xu Zimei smiled lightly and said to Lin Ruhu, 'I heard the Medicine Path Holy Chickens have been raised on Spiritual Medicine since they were young. Each piece of their meat contains dense Spiritual Energy.
It's a good thing there are two, one for braising and one for steaming.'
'Yeah, yeah,' Lin Ruhu licked his lips, excitedly said.
'Braising the Medicine Path Holy Chicken with ordinary firewood would be somewhat wasteful,' Xu Zimei pondered, then spoke to the guard, Zhang Chongtian, 'Go to Ancient Medicine Peak and get some branches from the Spirit Trees.'
'Sir, those Spirit Trees and ancient medicines are the second Elder's treasures,' Zhang Chongtian said with difficulty. 'If the second Elder finds out I've cut his branches, he'll definitely flay my skin.'
'He won't,' Xu Zimei explained. 'At this time, the second Elder should be at the Outer Sect secretly watching the female disciples bathe, he won't notice you.'
Zhang Chongtian hesitated for a moment, then said, 'Sir, if anything really happens, you must cover for me, I'm now your man.'
'Don't worry, I'm here so there's no problem,' Xu Zimei assured him. 'Also, you are my guard, not my person. Make sure to clarify our relationship, otherwise it might lead to misunderstandings.'