9 There's no 'Strongest' only the 'Most Suitable'

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Sieg was conflicted, he was having a hard time picking a weapon for himself, granted the fact that his future is still unknown, he didn't want to make a decision that would detriment his path. His master's words still rang to his ear up until now.

'Your first choice of weapon would greatly impact your life as a warrior. Remember this kid, weapons are an extention of your limbs. Pick whatever you think is suited for you…'

He sat down, he cleared his mind and only filled it with his thoughts about the different traits of the weapons. After some time he stood up and stepped into the platform, he didn't called out to his master yet, his only purpose of doing so was to have a general feel of the weapons available for him right now.

He first picked up a Sword. It was about an inch and a half wide and 1 meter long, it about a kilogram and it also has a horizontal style arm guards and hilt is covered in leather. No matter how one look there is nothing special in this sword. Still, Sieg traced every part of the sword carefully, he also performed some actions using it such as slashing, stabbing, cutting and etc. After that he placed the sword back in it's place, there was no trace of emotion on his face. Next he picked up the Broad Sword.

The Broad Sword was about 3 and a half inches wide, it also a meter long and weighs about 5 kilograms and share the same style as the regular sword: a pointed tip, horizontal style armguards and leather covered handle. Just like before, Sieg nonchalantly picked it up and started doing some basic swordplay with it and after he was done, he returned it back to it's place.

***

Sieg spent about half a day going through each and every single weapon that he saw. He picked it , commited it's traits in his mind, played with it for a bit before returning it back to it's place. After doing so, he stepped down from the platform, sat cross legged and recalled the sensations and insights he got from what he did.

'They said the Sword is the Emperor of Weapons due to it's popularity. A lot of people actually prefer using a Sword as a choice of weapon since wherever you go, there are tons of Sword Arts available.'

As Sieg started meditating he instantly recalled some of the informations he recieved from the jade slips his master gave him.

'Sabres and Blades on the other hand are referred to as 'King of Weapons' not because of popularity, but because of it's sheer killing potential. Unlike Swords, Sabres and Blades only have a single edge while the other side is blunt. Even though they only have a single edge, Sabres and Blades are still sharper than a sword, and the reason for that is blunt edge on the other side. Scimitars are a thicker versions of Sabres while a Katana is a shorter version of the Blade.'

'An inch stronger, an inch stronger. This rings true for the Spears, Polearms, Halberds and Scythes. They can cover more distance compared to a Sword or Sabres, they are also more efficient in dealing with crowds. However, since it practically is longer than a regular Martial Artists' height, wielding these weapons are far more complicated compared to shorter weapons. Spears rely on their flexibility, Polearms rely on thier wieght, Halberds rely on their bladed tip while Scythes relied on the curve of the blade.'

'Axe's are categorized as more of an unusual weapon for the majority of people. There's no doubt about their sharpness since just like Sabres and Blades, Axe's only have a sigle edge with a thicker blunt edge on the other side compared to Sabres and Blades. The reason why a lot of people don't use the Axe is because thier very reliant on the wielder. While this notion applies to every weapon that exists, Axe's tend to be more reliant compared to others. At least that's what I guessed when I used it for a bit.'

'The Great Weapons, namely Great Sword, Great Axe, Great Bow, Great Hammer and perhaps the Totem. These weapons are even more unpopular than the Axe. Most just find these weapons too inconvinent. They're heavy first and foremost, the Great Sword for example, I think it weighs about 50 kilograms, this is using regular metals, what will happen if one wields an Artifact type weapon? I'm afraid that it would even be heavier…'

***

Sieg continued his contempelation he was still sitting down and had his eyes closed, he went through every weapon and carefully made remarks for them. Then he eliminater down the weapons which, he thought, not suitable for him. He continued this train of thought until after another 4 hours he finally made a decision.

He sat up with a determined look, he took one more glance at weapons in front of him and called his master.

"Master? I made a decision…"

After said that, Wilson magically appeared out of nowhere, he was giving Sieg an encouraging look as he asked him: "What is your pick?"

Sieg exhaled a mouthful of foul air as he answered his master: "I've chosen the Blade."

As his words fell, the platform in front of him showed a change, it emitted a faint white light and then magically, the other weapons vanished except for the one Sieg chose.

"Hoh? And why is that?" Despite being the one who cause the other weapons to vanish, Wilson asked Sieg as to why he chose Blade over the other weapons.

"I think the Blade suited me the most, despite only having one sharp edge it doesn't change the fact that it's still a good weapon. It's light, narrow and flexible which are all to my liking. All in all the Blade is then one that made me comfortable."

Upon hearing Sieg's reasoning Wilson showed a smile of appreciation. "You made the right decision. In the cultivation world there is a saying, 'There is no Strongest, only the Most Suitable', I purposely did not tell you this since I want you to realize it on your own. Remember that saying kid, that would help you more than you can imagine." As he finished saying this, he waved his hand and then the blade that is hovering over the platform was covered in a brilliant light.

Sieg noticed that the blade's appearance is gradually changing, his eyes were glued onto it as he faintly guessed what's currently happening. After a few moments, the light faded away, revealing the new appearance of the blade.

It was tranformed into a blade that is longer than the previous one, it extended for about 3-4 inches according to Sieg's guess. While there was no change in its width, which is 2 inches and a few centimeters, the color of the blade's sheath changed, from a usual black leather sheath, it transformed into a some sort of a reddish wooden color making it look aesthetically pleasing. Sieg also noticed that the circular arm guard for the blade disappeared but the hilt of the blade changed into a blue-ish crystal like color that made a clear cut contrast to the blade's sheath.

Overall, the blade might look just like a fancy wooden stick but hidden behind that wooden stick is a blade so sharp that it can cut a Dire Beast's body in half without any difficulty.

Sieg can't speak, more than the appearance, he was certain that his previous guess was right, it was also paired with his master's voice: "This is the Blue Crystal Wooden blade, a Low Tier artifact weapon. Made using a 100-year old 'Blue Crytal Bamboo' that can only be found on the 'Northern Reaches', it was also due to this blade had an innate 'Ice Element' trait, the sheath is made from a 50-year old Parasol Tree so that it can restrict, but not corrode, the Elemental Trait of the blade."

Wilson was smiling as he made an introduction of the blade for Sieg, he was not smiling because he was impressed by the blade nor he was the one who made it. He was smilling because he was amused by the fervent expression of Sieg's face as he stare at the blade, he was even shaking in excitement.

Wilson chuckled and made the blade hover before it's new owner. As Sieg saw this he instinctively opened his hands and the blade sofly landed to it.

It was about 5 kilograms heavy, the sheath was a bit warm to touch but the hilt of the sword was cold. He slowly took the blade out of the sheath and when the blade emerged, a shiny, almost translucent blade appeared, it was blue colored and has a few specks of white all over it.

"It is beautiful…" Sieg praised. He looked at his master with fervent ardor and gratitude as he hurriedly knelt down and saluted him saying. "Many thanks for your gift Master! I will not disappoint you."

Wilson smiled at his adorable disciple, he then replied saying: "Try injecting your Ki in it."

Sieg's eyes sparkled. He nearly missed the fact that all Artifact Weapons have a special 'Auxilliary Trait' in them. He nodded his head and unsheathed the blade then injected ki in it.

As he did, the whole room's temperature went down. The blade in Sieg's hand released it glory and was now shining in a brilliant blue light. The blade got a bit wider and the blunt edge was releasing what it looks like some snowflakes. The blades armguard also appeared when Sieg injected his ki to the blade. It was a circular crystal arm guard that was curving in the direction of Sieg's hands.

Sieg was shivering, partly because it was caused by the blade but mostly because of excitement. 'So this is what it feels like to hold an Artifact Weapon', he thought to himslef. He also noticed that his Ki Reserves were being reduced quickly as he kept injecting them into the blade. He deactivated the 'Auxilliary Trait' of the blade, returning it's appearance back to normal.

He guessed that he can't support the blade's transformation for more than five minutes considering his cultivation, this could even be shorter depending on the situation. This however did not made his feel any discouragement at all, in fact he was even more determined to be stronger than ever.

Wilson on the other hand, waved his hand. Suddenly the platform for the weapons disappeared as well as the majority of the other platforms, that has stone tablet, with it. What was left were only five platforms that has a stone tablet with them and they appeared in front of Sieg in a form of a line.

"These Stone Tablets have Blade Arts with them, you can pick as many arts to train as you wish, but you need to at least reach 'Minor Completion' stage before you go to another floor. I'm giving you one month for this. Remember, there's no 'Strongest' only the 'Most Suitable'. Undestood?"

"Yes Master! Disciple would not disappoint you." Sieg hurried saluted his master again and just like before, Wilson disappeared leaving Sieg to train on his own yet again.

Sieg stood up, tucking the blade on the belt of his robes, and walked towards stone tablet available to him.

He stood before the first stone tablet, he placed his hands and injected Ki to it. Then a scene played inside his head.

The scene showed a silhouette holding a blade, in front of him is a collosal sized mammoth that was charging at him in a frightening speed. He assumed a stance, the silhouette bended his body inwards and placed his hand at the hilt of the blade. His hands shook and then Sieg felt as if time paused, everything went quiet, even the furious charge of the collosal sized mammoth halted as well. What happened next however was branded onto Sieg's brain forever.

The mammoth split in half, there were no sound, no blood, no aftershocks or whatever. Sieg watched as the silhouette turned around before even the body of the mammoth fell into the ground. Then the scene ended and as the scene faded, it formed into letters which formed the name of the technique.

"Silencing Blade Art."