Two full days passed, which Wei Shen spent in his temporary isolation within the room at "The Quiet Gazelle Inn." He didn't go out; he spoke to no one. He had completed his transformation—washing the filth of the forest from his body, cutting his long, tangled hair, and donning the simple, dark clothes of a traveler. The new mask was ready. Now, it was time to arm the mind behind that mask.
He sat on the only wooden chair in the room, the table before him covered with a collection of worn-out scrolls and booklets he had looted from the library of the "Fallen Leaf Sect." Most were in poor condition, smelling of dust and old paper, but to Wei Shen, they were a treasure trove of raw data about this new and strange world.
He didn't read like a scholar, but like an analysis machine, his cold eyes scanning the texts rapidly, capturing keywords, and classifying the information with cold efficiency. He completely ignored all the heroic tales about the sect's founders and the clumsy poems extolling the virtues of cultivation. He was searching for practical information, for the laws of this world, for its power structure.
"So, the world of cultivation is not limited to just individual combat strength and increasing one's Qi level," Wei Shen thought, setting aside a scroll that spoke of the history of the province's sects. "There are auxiliary professions, each with a vital role in supporting cultivators and providing resources. A primitive, but effective, economic and social system."
Through these basic texts, he began to paint a clearer picture in his mind.
"**Pill Makers**," he muttered in a low voice, reading a booklet on spiritual herbs. In his old world, they would have been called chemists or pharmacists. Here, they mixed spiritual herbs and minerals, using their own "Qi" to catalyze reactions and create pills that could help heal, restore energy, or even slightly accelerate the cultivation process. "A profitable profession, but it requires an innate talent for precise Qi control and a deep understanding of thousands of types of plants and materials. Inefficient for me at present."
He moved on to another booklet that discussed formations. "**Formation Masters**… the engineers of this world, but in a spiritual way. They use spirit stones, banners, and ancient inscriptions to create defensive arrays that protect sects, offensive arrays that trap enemies, or even formations to gather the Qi of heaven and earth in one place to accelerate cultivation." He felt a flicker of interest here, as it related to spatial engineering and energy direction, a field in which Arthur had excelled. "This is interesting, but it requires long study and immense resources I don't currently possess."
He also found references to other professions like "**Beast Tamers**," who form spiritual bonds with spiritual beasts, and "**Talisman Makers**," who inscribe symbols on paper or jade to create single-use spells.
But all this theoretical interest vanished when his hands fell upon a small booklet, the most worn-out of the collection, its title written in faded script: **"Principles of Forging Primary Spiritual Weapons."**
"Weapon forging…"
For the first time since arriving in this world, Wei Shen felt something resembling genuine excitement, a distant echo of Emperor Arthur's passion. He had always believed that a weapon was not just a tool for killing but the true extension of a living being's will, and that crafting the perfect killing tool—one that combined efficiency, lethality, and a harsh beauty—was an unparalleled form of absolute art.
He read the booklet with intense concentration, every word, every primitive illustration. But his initial excitement quickly turned to disappointment, and then to absolute contempt.
"Primitive… incredibly primitive," he thought, tossing the booklet onto the table in disgust. The pages were filled with superstitions and guesswork. "They speak of the 'spirit of the hammer' and the 'blessing of the north star'!"
"They rely on random methods, on hammering, heating, and cooling without any real understanding of material composition or physical properties. They mix ordinary metals with crumbs of 'spirit stones,' then hammer them thousands of times, hoping some Qi will accidentally seep in! There is no mention of precise temperature control, alloy analysis, or understanding structural stress and weak points. They rely on luck and the purity of raw materials, and lack any scientific or engineering methodology."
"No wonder their weapons were fragile and inefficient," he concluded with bitterness. "Even the 'Green Jade Leaf Sword' that the sect leader owned, considered a treasure in their eyes, is nothing but a shoddily made piece of metal, forcibly injected with some Qi."
Wei Shen realized that the knowledge available in the Fallen Leaf Sect was true garbage, not even suitable as a starting point.
He looked at his two ivory daggers made from boar tusks, which he had placed on the table. They had served him well in the wilderness and had witnessed his first bloody steps in this world. They had been effective because they were made from the material of a spiritual beast and because he had wielded them with a power that surpassed their level. But he knew they were no longer sufficient. In this "Blackrock City," and in the upcoming confrontations with real cultivators possessing real spiritual weapons, they would be just two pieces of bone, symbols of his past savagery, not his future strength.
"You have served your purpose," he said in a low voice, as if bidding farewell to old companions who had contributed to his survival. "But efficiency demands constant upgrading. And staying at the top requires using the best available tools."
He didn't get rid of them yet; every tool could be useful. But he placed them at the bottom of his storage bag, aware that the time of relying on them was over.
He picked up the "Green Jade Leaf Sword" he had taken from the deceased sect leader. It was a low-grade spiritual sword, but it was far better than the ivory daggers. At the very least, it was capable of channeling his "Blood Qi" more effectively. It would be his temporary weapon.
"I need a real weapon," he thought, his eyes gleaming with a cold, harsh ambition. "A weapon that combines the principles of engineering and design from my old world with the power of Qi and spiritual materials from this new world. A weapon that will be a true extension of the 'Art of the Bloody Tide.' A weapon I forge… myself."
The fire of the maker, the fire of Arthur the arms emperor, had ignited within him. This was a new goal, a goal that went beyond merely collecting blood and power. It was a goal related to creation… creation for the sake of more efficient destruction.
He looked out of his room's window at the scattered lights of "Blackrock City" that had begun to twinkle as evening approached. The city was bustling, full of life, and of opportunities.
"But before that," he added in his mind, his voice carrying an unyielding determination. "I need better knowledge of real forging techniques, finer materials… and a suitable forge I can use."
His next objective had been clearly defined.
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Note to the Reader:
You may have noticed that the previous two chapters share some similarities, especially in their descriptions of the city and Wei Shen's early moments there. This wasn't a coincidence—it's the result of two different perspectives on the same events. The reason is simple: Wei Shen is not from this world.
He's stepping into an environment whose rules, traditions, and powers are entirely unknown to him. Everything feels new, mysterious, and sometimes primitive from his own perspective. So, it's only natural that we witness how he re-analyzes what might seem familiar to us readers—especially if you've read similar novels before.
What you may consider "basic information" is, for Wei Shen, a first discovery—pieces of a puzzle from a strange and dangerous world.
It's important to remember that his point of view is entirely different—he has no guide, no prior experience, only his cold analysis and scientific mindset, which he uses to deconstruct this world piece by piece.
So, if it feels like some information is being repeated, know that it's not mere repetition—it's part of a journey of understanding, and a key to grasping who Wei Shen really is and how he sees this world—not as it is, but as he's trying to understand it.