BXBX NOVEL Chapter 147: Tournament
Lu Zhen nodded respectfully and sat down on a stool, patiently waiting for the ancestor. He was carrying the box containing the meteorite ore from before in his hands.
After a short span of time, Ancestor Lu appeared from a portal he just created.
"This ability is quite useful," Lu Zhen couldn't help but think to himself as he respectfully greeted the ancestor.
"Hmm, you seem to have improved by a lot," the ancestor said as his eyes lit up when he saw Lu Zhen.
"Thank you, ancestor. I need your help in making hidden weapons with these." Lu Zhen opened the box, revealing the material cutting right to the point.
"Ho, quite the interesting thing you got there, but using it for hidden weapons?" Ancestor Lu shook his head.
"But how will you pay for me, a first-stage martial artist, to make the hidden weapon for you, and a second-grade weapon at that?" he said with a business smile on his face. He didn't want his grandchildren to eat free food for nothing and wanted to teach a valuable lesson to Lu Zhen. It was definitely not because he was greedy or anything—cough.
Lu Zhen was very calm when he heard this, as he expected.
"Ancestor Lu, this remaining ore material after you refine the chain can be yours to keep, as long as you can make the hidden weapon for me."
Ancestor Lu was stunned when he heard this, looking deeply at Lu Zhen for some time before he started to laugh out loud.
"You are quite the clever one. Alright, I will add other ingredients as well to make you the hidden weapon as there needs to be other complementary material as well. As long as it is a martial artist below the first stage, they cannot break the hidden weapon."
"Yes, Ancestor," Lu Zhen nodded with a smile on his face.
"Remember to win in the tournament. As long as you can win it, I will give you three items from the treasury," Ancestor Lu said with a satisfied smile on his face.
Lu Zhen's eyes lit up when he heard this. The treasury was the place where the most valuable things of the Lu family were stored—those things which were valuable but not of use at that time or were a waste to use were the items stored in the treasury.
"You don't have to thank me. Remember, Lu Zhen, nothing is free in this world, and you have to pay the price for everything that is given to you for free," Ancestor Lu said in a teaching tone as he beckoned Lu Zhen to leave.
"The chain will be prepared about the time when the tournament starts, and although from my current knowledge no one can beat you in this, you must be careful when you fight. After all, variables can always be present."
"Ancestor, I would like you to open the cultivation room for my training."
"Ho, are you going to use the rewards already? Very well, show this badge to the Grand Elder guarding the treasury, and he will open the treasury door for you."
"You may leave now."
Lu Zhen respectfully nodded his head with a respectful expression as he left.
However, as Lu Zhen was leaving, the ancestor's voice rang in his ears.
"We will start attacking the Xia family after the tournament is over."
Lu Zhen's eyes glinted with a murderous aura when he heard this.
"Xia family, your days will soon come to an end," he muttered, exiting the ancestor's residence, which was modest in size compared to the other palaces. Lu Zhen made his way to the cultivation room.
The servants all greeted Lu Zhen as he slowly made his way to the cultivation chamber. When he arrived, he looked at the chamber with a strange expression. The cultivation chamber resembled more of a cave than a building, curving endlessly into the ground, beyond even Lu Zhen's vision.
"Young master, why have you come here?"
An old man materialized in front of the cave, blocking Lu Zhen. Lu Zhen was astonished when he saw the old man, as the aura he emitted was even stronger than the one he had encountered during his impossible-grade mission.
"Grand elder," Lu Zhen respectfully bowed, presenting the badge that the ancestor had given him.
The old man's eyes widened when he saw the badge.
"Ancestor's token," he said aloud, looking at Lu Zhen with gleaming eyes.
"Looks like the rumor that Lu Zhen is heavily favored by the ancestor might be true," he thought to himself.
"Young master, you may enter."
"Yes, Grand Elder." Lu Zhen remained respectful as he entered the cave.
The old man was satisfied with Lu Zhen's attitude.
"Looks like he hasn't forgotten to respect his elders," the old man thought, pleased. He followed Lu Zhen, unaware that Lu Zhen's respect was primarily due to the old man's strength, and Lu Zhen simply aimed to leave a positive impression on him. Lu Zhen had no interest in unnecessary conflicts with those stronger than him.
Contrary to Lu Zhen's expectations of darkness, the cave was well-lit, adorned with decorations and literal gold design that exudes an air of luxury. As he descended the spiral staircase, he looked around curiously.
The old man chuckled at Lu Zhen's curious expression as they walked down the staircase.
"Young master, here."
Eventually, they reached the bottom, unveiling a golden-plated door adorned with a hexagonal symbol at its front.
Lu Zhen's eyes glinted with a strange light when he saw this.
The old man took out a hexagon-shaped stone, causing Lu Zhen's eyes to widen.
"A middle-grade qi-stone." However, Lu Zhen wasn't only surprised because of this. He was also astonished because it was in a hexagon shape, which was unusual for a qi-stone.
"Young master, this is the key to open the chamber. You must remember to utilise this time as much as possible, as you can only stay for a day."
Although Lu Zhen felt a pang of regret at seeing a middle-grade qi-stone being used, knowing that it could significantly improve his rate of condensing qi, he was more curious about what kind of thing was inside the room that required a middle-grade qi-stone just to activate it for a day.
Lu Zhen nodded his head as he reluctantly looked at the hexagon-shaped qi-stone, treating it as if it was his to begin with.
The old man was speechless at Lu Zhen's reaction, but he continued his task, placing the hexagon qi-stone into the strange-shaped symbol. Instantly, as if like a vacuum, the qi-stone was sucked into the strange symbol, which began to shine with a golden light.
Rumble!
The golden-plated door slowly opened.
"Go in quick, young master."
"Okay." Lu Zhen quickly entered the door. Instantly, the door closed behind him. The ancestor's token in him mysteriously turned into dust that flew away, as if it didn't exist in the first place.
However, Lu Zhen was too distracted by the harmonious feeling in the room, and he remained completely ignorant of the ancestor's token turning to dust.
Lu Zhen's mind became completely still as he could feel a unique energy in the air, entirely different from the mana normally present in the surroundings. It felt strangely familiar, similar to the mysterious energy he experienced after consuming pills, but with a subtle difference.
He sat down in a meditative state and started to cultivate. Almost instantly, as Lu Zhen began to visualise, all the wood qi in his body started to slowly condense.
As Lu Zhen's vision of the mangrove tree became clearer, the tree seemed to grow bigger and bigger, mirroring the circulation of his qi in the shape of a tree within his body.
Lu Zhen was pleasantly surprised as he opened his eyes, stopping his meditation.
"This is quite the steal; now all I need is…" Lu Zhen took out all the vials containing the qi condensing elixir.
However, he hesitated to take it. The last time Lu Zhen took a pill, he almost exploded, a pill which even a martial trainee could take almost ended his life right there.
Taking a Qi condensing pill which helped to condense Qi meant for the progression of a third-stage martial artist to become a second-stage martial artist would undoubtedly be dangerous for him.
"System, what would happen if I take this elixir?"
[Lack of data to know that, host. However, based on the system's knowledge, as long as you only take one vial, it shouldn't be a problem.]
"The previous incident with the pill was because of…"
[Host, it was due to the gluttony skill, as it helped you to digest all the mysterious energy. According to the data, an average martial artist can only digest about one fourth of the pill; the rest cannot be digested and instead harms the martial artist as it converts into impurities. However, the skill's current capability allows you to absorb at least ninety percent of the pill.]