Chapter 21

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Chapter 21: Hidden Weapons Pavilion

\"Have you really thought it through?\" Chang Xiang stared at Lou Yun, his face serious as he asked.

Lou Yun nodded firmly: \"I have. I was useless for nine years, so I know just how crucial strength is. Rather than playing it safe to become a sub-par expert, I’d rather gamble to become a top-tier powerhouse!\"

Chang Xiang remained silent, gazing at Lou Yun for a long while before finally speaking: \"Good. This cultivation method is called Devour Weapons. It has no five-element attributes—its very name sums it up: you devour common weapons to boost your cultivation. Now, I’ll transmit this method directly into your mind. Close your eyes and focus your spirit sense to perceive it thoroughly.\"

Just like magical weapons, cultivation methods also had five-element attributes. Knowing one’s magical weapon’s attributes allowed one to select methods with matching or mutually enhancing attributes for easier cultivation and greater power gains.

Cultivation methods without five-element attributes, while not nonexistent, were extremely rare!

After speaking, Chang Xiang extended a single finger, gently tapping it against Lou Yun’s temple. A soft, muted glow lit up his fingertip and slowly seeped into Lou Yun’s mind.

The light transmission was quick—it took barely half a cup of tea before the glow vanished. Chang Xiang withdrew his finger, gazing at Lou Yun, whose closed eyes made him seem asleep, and sighed softly: \"Child, from this moment onward, your path ahead will be tougher, but I’ll do all in my power to help you!\"

Though Lou Yun’s strength was already on par with at least a primary three-star magical weapons master, he had never trained in any cultivation method before. And this Devour Weapons method felt so incredibly strange that he studied it with intense focus.

Practicing Devour Weapons wasn’t difficult—in fact, it was quite simple. So the moment Lou Yun confirmed he fully understood its contents, he eagerly launched into formal cultivation without delay.

About half an hour later, Lou Yun opened his eyes. He could hear a servant’s voice calling from outside: \"Young Master Yun, the clan head has ordered you to go to the Hidden Weapons Pavilion.\"

\"Understood. Go ahead, I’ll be right there.\"

After yesterday’s coming-of-age ceremony, Lou Yun had regained his standing in the Lou Family and formally joined the Elite Hall. This naturally meant he could head to the Hidden Weapons Pavilion to choose suitable cultivation methods and weapon techniques for himself.

After tidying up briefly, Lou Yun pushed open the door and left. Along the way, he saw family members who had once looked down on him bowing respectfully now. Lou Yun felt no joy or distress—he simply returned their greetings politely. But honestly, some gloom lingered in his heart, for early that morning, Lou Qian had already left for the Ancient Weapon Academy.

In Lou Yun’s mind, he sincerely regarded Lou Qian as a sister. Her departure brought him yearning and reluctance, but he swept away the gloom when he remembered that, in just half a year, he could join her at the Ancient Weapon Academy.

As he walked, Lou Yun mulled over how unnecessary this trip really was. While the Hidden Weapons Pavilion was a place every Lou family member longed to visit, he had the Devour Weapons for cultivation and two weapon manuals: the high-tier star-grade Sword Dance of Wind and Thunder and low-tier moon-grade Fierce Sword—more than enough.

Lou Yun deeply understood the folly of greed. He’d already decided: unless he mastered those two weapon techniques completely, he wouldn’t learn any new ones.

Still, to avoid arousing suspicion, he must go through the motions and pick a cultivation method and weapon manual.

Upon reaching the Hidden Weapons Pavilion, all were present. The previous day’s ceremony had admitted three members into the Elite Hall: besides Lou Yun, there were two others, including Lou Chong, brother of Lou Fei.

The moment Lou Yun appeared, Lou Chong’s eyes blazed with rage, boring into him almost as if he wished to kill Lou Yun with his stare alone.

Even though Lou Chong and Lou Fei weren’t pleasant characters, their brotherly bond ran deep. Lou Fei had kept his arms yesterday but couldn’t use his magical weapon for over six months, driving Lou Chong’s hatred toward Lou Yun to its peak—though rationally, he knew he stood no chance since even his brother had lost to Lou Yun.

Lou Yun paid him no attention, merely gazing at the Hidden Weapons Pavilion with some inner stirrings of emotion!

The Hidden Weapons Pavilion was where the Lou Family’s ancestors had assembled their collected cultivation methods and weapon manuals over centuries. It ranked among the clan’s key forbidden zones, with security so tight none dared enter without authorization save the clan head and elders themselves.

Lou Yun surveyed the surroundings: twelve guards stood in plain sight, scattered all around the pavilion walls. The number of hidden guards remained unknown. Initially, Lou Yun considered probing his spirit sense but dropped the thought—why investigate his own family’s sanctum?

Just then, he heard Chang Xiang’s voice: \"I’ve always wondered why your Lou Family has a stronger elite yet chose your Second Uncle as clan head. Turns out they’re stationed here!\"

This made Lou Yun ponder again. His Second Uncle was a high-tier two-star magical weapons master and had been elected clan head for his strength. But the family hid even mightier adepts here—a sign of secrets unknown even to him.

Standing on the steps, Lou Tianzhi swept an authoritative glance over the three: \"Good. Your entry into the Lou Family’s Elite Hall affirms your talents. I hope you won’t let the clan down—work diligently, grow stronger, and serve the family wholeheartedly.\"

\"You’re aware of the rules for the Hidden Weapons Pavilion, but I’ll restate them. It’s riddled with safeguards. Don’t roam outside the designated areas: merely select your cultivation method and weapon manual. Each can choose only one of each within one hour. Now, enter!\"

As soon as the words ended, Lou Chong charged impulsively through the pavilion doors. Lou Yun followed last, walking unhurriedly. Passing Lou Tianzhi, he received an encouraging smile and a gentle nod.

The Hidden Weapons Pavilion had three levels: the top hoarded weapon manuals; the middle housed cultivation methods; and the bottom was a strict forbidden spot, its secrets known only to a tiny few in the clan.

The first level’s area was vast. Traversing a long corridor led to a wide hall with five colossal bookshelves, categorizing cultivation methods by rank.

Lou Chong and the other member already stood before low-tier moon-grade manuals, frantically flipping through pages with both hands as if yearning for extra limbs.

Unlike them, Lou Yun paid no attention to these cultivation methods at all. So, he didn\’t rush to choose one. He merely observed the surrounding environment and also sensed several hidden powerful forces. It appeared that this place was indeed heavily guarded.

Though not interested, he still had to keep up appearances. So, Lou Yun shrugged his shoulders, walked to a nearby bookshelf, casually picked up a thin book without even looking, turned around, and headed for the staircase.

The layout of the second floor was almost identical to that of the first floor, but the number of bookshelves had increased to ten. Also, the classifications of weapon manuals were much more detailed. Looking around, nearly every shelf had labels on each layer. After all, weapon manuals documented the weapon techniques of magical weapons, and with so many types of magical weapons, there were naturally far more weapon manuals than cultivation methods.

This time, Lou Yun didn\’t choose randomly. Instead, he found a bookshelf labeled with the word \"sword,\" perused the options, and after several comparisons, he finally selected one set of weapon manuals.

Seeing it was still early, Lou Yun didn\’t hurry to leave. Instead, he wandered around. When he arrived at the stairway to the third floor, he saw it was covered by a huge glowing barrier. Clearly, to protect the forbidden zone on the third level, a special restriction had been set up here.

Lou Yun had never encountered a restriction before, so he couldn\’t help feeling slightly curious. He stretched out his hand, wanting to feel just how formidable a restriction was through contact.

Yet, before his fingertip touched the barrier, he heard a cold shout ring out: \"Stop!\"

The sound was far too sudden, startling Lou Yun. But he quickly withdrew his hand, turned around, and looked towards the speaker.

The speaker\’s body was hidden in the shadows of the bookshelf, and he wore plain black robes. Strangely, despite Lou Yun\’s sight, he couldn\’t clearly make out the person\’s face. He could only vaguely discern white hair and beard, so the person must be an old man.

At the same time, Chang Xiang\’s voice sounded in Lou Yun\’s mind: \"He should be the strongest expert in your Lou Family right now, a profound-level magical weapons master!\"

Upon hearing this, Lou Yun was genuinely shocked. A profound-level magical weapons master—that was a truly formidable expert!

Then, the old man spoke again, his voice laced with a hint of sternness: \"What\’s your name, and whose child are you?\"

Since this person was in the Hidden Weapons Pavilion, he must be an elder of the Lou Family. So, Lou Yun hurriedly bowed respectfully before answering: \"My name is Lou Yun, and my father is Lou Tianming.\"

\"Lou Tianming? Xiao Ming? Oh!\" The old man seemed to recall exactly who Lou Tianming was.

Hearing the man address his father that way, Lou Yun struggled to suppress his laughter. He hadn\’t realized his father had such a lively nickname as \"Xiao Ming.\"

Then the old man spoke again, but his tone was noticeably milder: \"Lou Yun, I\’ve been watching you since you entered. The other two children were meticulously choosing cultivation methods and weapon manuals, yet you only skimmed for weapon manuals, and with cultivation methods, you just grabbed one randomly. Are you looking down on the Lou Family\’s Hidden Weapons Pavilion?\"

The Hidden Weapons Pavilion was the painstaking creation of the Lou Family\’s ancestors over nearly a thousand years. If accused of contempt, the consequences would be severe. So, Lou Yun swiftly defended himself: \"Yun\’er would never dare. It\’s just that Yun\’er\’s situation is somewhat special, and currently, I don\’t have much need for cultivation methods.\"

\"Oh?\" The old man clearly showed some interest. \"Special? You only have a beginner one-star magical weapon; what\’s so special about that? Tell me.\"

Lou Yun hadn\’t expected him to spot his current magical weapon level. Of course, he didn\’t know this was intentionally done by Chang Xiang to make it visible to others.

From the old man\’s words, Lou Yun quickly concluded the man must be an elder of the Lou Family, but he likely hadn\’t left this place in a long time. He probably didn\’t know or care about recent events in the Lou Family. Otherwise, he wouldn\’t have been so indifferent to Lou Yun\’s name.

Still, Lou Yun didn\’t dare lie. He briefly explained his situation but naturally hid anything about Chang Xiang.

After hearing this, the old man finally stepped out from the shadows, and Lou Yun got a clear look at his face—quite ordinary with nothing remarkable about it.

The old man walked up to Lou Yun without speaking, merely staring at him. But Lou Yun clearly sensed an extremely intense pressure that made him want to lower his head and avoid eye contact.

However, to prove his story was true, Lou Yun mustered all his effort to lift his head, stand tall, and meet the old man\’s gaze squarely.

A moment later, Lou Yun suddenly felt the pressure disappear. The old man before him broke into a slight smile and said: \"So, you wish to become a skilled weapon maker. That\’s excellent—the Lou Family has never produced one. I\’ll give you a hand and present you with a gift as my assistance!\"

As soon as the last word fell, Lou Yun\’s vision went black all at once. His body lost balance instantly, falling backward forcefully, and his consciousness began to slip away rapidly. In the split second before he passed out, he distinctly felt an immense, scorching heat engulfing his body, as if it were burning from within.