14 Silver Spruce Greatbow

Looking at the closed lotus bud, he could see sealing runes on its petals. It was apparent that the individuals responsible for it were his parents as he could feel their presence on it.

He had already known about its existence for about four months now. It was when he had accidentally come in contact with a spirit stone. He could sense that the energy from the spirit stone was rapidly being channelled towards his heart.

Upon asking his mother, she said that it was the culprit behind her condition. But to him, it could be considered good fortune instead as it had merged with his flesh while he was still in her womb. She warned him to not tell anyone else about its existence.

She wasn't sure about its true nature and strictly forbade him from tampering with it in any form.

"Once I solve the mystery surrounding you, I'll definitely find a way to cure mother!"

To him, his study was more than just scoring good marks. He had taken up physiology and medical studies all to find a cure for his mother.

"By the way, how long are you going to sleep?" He called out to Qingxue and pinched her nose.

With a yawn, she woke up.

"Ugh... Are you ok now brother Tianlong?" She asked while still rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Yes, I am ok. Thank you for taking care of me. Anyway, why are you still here?" He asked curiously.

"I was waiting for you to come back but it was already afternoon. Just when I was about to go out and look for you, they came inside the room with your unconscious body. Umm… were you punished because of the incident?" She blushed while remembering the wild night.

"You think that they would go so far as to beat me unconscious due to that. Seriously… what goes inside your head?" He asked speechlessly.

"True, the ones to beat you should be my parents, not yours."

Tianlong broke out in cold sweat after hearing that.

"Let's not do that… we both know your father doesn't like me and your mother is my alchemy instructor. Let's take one step at a time and tell them about it later on."

"Hmmph! do you now wish to throw away the rice after it's already been cooked?" She twisted his ears.

The two of them had a long conversation after which she sneaked out of his house.

"Difficult! Difficult! That's why I didn't want to be in a relationship." He said while rubbing his forehead.

The way he conversed with Qingxue had drastically changed now that they went all the way. It made him remember how his mother warned him about relationships.

However, with his mental training over the years, something like this couldn't affect him for long.

"I have finally become a cultivator! But instead of celebrating with my parents, here I am laying in my bed." He said while sighing at his bad luck.

"Going to classes is meaningless now. Everything that they are teaching, I can self learn. For now, I need to focus more on my cultivation."

His main concern now was increasing his cultivation base because most of his peers had already started cultivation long ago.

Sitting in a lotus position, he started to revolve his spiritual energy according to his cultivation art. A wind started to blow in the previously calm room. His clothes flapped and he could feel as if his entire body was breathing.

After cultivating for a while, he breathed out foul air. "Dad is right, the demonic qi here is too thin to be of any use."

At first, he was sceptical about his father's statement about the lack of demonic qi in the area.

The Long Clan cultivated dragon-related techniques. So how could they do it without demonic Qi?

What he didn't know was that the Long Clan simply didn't have a cultivation art for dragon transformation and without an appropriate cultivation art, humans couldn't handle demonic qi.

"I think the fear of turning into a demon while simultaneously coveting their strength has created this dilemma. That's why our clan buys so many demonic beasts every year. Their flesh makes up for the lack of demonic qi."

"Maybe this lack of demonic qi is another reason why dad doesn't stay in the clan for long enough."

This was the first time Tianlong felt that if he wanted to advance as a cultivator, he needed to leave the clan. However, it was easier said than done.

Most organized resources were in the hands of powerful sects and families. The life of rogue cultivators was extremely difficult. So even if the organization they stayed in was weak, they could barely do anything about it.

If one wanted to join a high-ranking organization, they either needed to possess a terrific talent or high cultivation base. Long Qianmei was of the former category.

Her father was a cultivator without any achievements while her mother was just a mortal.

It was unusually rare for a talent of such high calibres to be born from ordinary parents.

Unfortunately, before they could see the full glory of their daughter, her father passed away. Being deeply in love with her father, her mother followed suit in sadness.

She didn't stay long in the clan after their death. She participated in the entrance examination of Royal Xia Academy and joined them.

Yun Tianlong knew that while he had sentiments for this clan that he grew up in, he'd have to eventually move out. His parents' incredible talent didn't allow him to stay in this place. And the first requirement for this was to increase his strength as much as possible.

…

Tianlong meals didn't decrease. Now that he was a cultivator, he could completely assimilate the benefits from the meat of demonic beasts. He needed more.

"Son, the roc transformation art you are practising will enable you to cultivate wind, metal, and lightning attribute spiritual energy. However, you need techniques and weapons to unleash the full might of it." Yun Dingxing seriously said.

"There are two wind techniques I had practised while I was at your age: 'Galewind Shift' and 'Parting wind blade'. The first one is a movement technique while the second one is used to create wind blades for attacking."

He continued, "After you gain enough achievements in wind arts, you'll need to gain understanding regarding lightning. You must temper your physical body in natural thunder force to produce lightning qi of your own."

Long Qianmei touched her ring and retrieved a blade with a brown sheath that looked similar to the ones they used for practice. It didn't look anything special and seemed like a normal weapon used for sparring.

"This is a thunder spirit blade. It can store natural thunder force and can be used by anyone. Only the Violet thunder sect can produce these blades. I got this after killing one of their Jade core cultivators."

Tianlong took the weapon from her hand. It was neither too heavy nor too light.

Unsheathing it, he revealed a black blade on which streaks of violet sparks could be seen. He couldn't help but marvel at its beauty.

"Hmm… it's a little bit light for my liking. But mom, wouldn't someone from their sect recognize if I use this in public?" He asked curiously, knowing full well she must have already considered these factors.

"I knew you were going to ask those questions." She answered with a smile. "I would say that the benefit of being able to use lightning qi far outweighs its lack of heaviness. Though I have a lot of different swords, none of them suits you any better than this. Also, your worry is invalid as the Violet thunder sect auctions a limited number of their swords every few years."

Next, Yun Dingxing took out a beautiful great bow from his ring and handed it to Tianlong.

The great bow was at least fifty kilograms heavy. Its body was made from some dull grey wood and had runes inscribed on it. The bowstring however was bright gold and had a fierce demonic aura coming from it.

"This bow was made from the true branch of a Fifty-thousand years old Silver spruce ash tree. We know that among the five elements, the metal subdues the wood. What's interesting is that this ash tree actually has metal element in it. So, you can only imagine the value of it for wood cultivators.

"Its bowstring is made from the tendon of a soaring serpent, which has a thin bloodline of the dragons. Any arrow shot from it would contain the power of wood and metal."

This time not only Tianlong, but even Qianmei was shocked.

"Isn't it the same great bow that father-in-law left behind for you?"

"Yes, but so what? My old man gave it to me and I am giving it to my son."

Tianlong immediately felt as if the great bow had become much heavier in his hands. It was the first heirloom that he received from his father.

"But remember! No matter how strong the weapon is, it can never display its potential in the hands of an incompetent person. You'll need to prove yourself worthy of it!" Unlike his common self, Yun Dingxing was completely serious.

"That's why I have decided to temper myself in the Dark edge mountain. Like mother said, I need the baptism of life and death battles to advance any further. The wild beasts and the death row prisoners I executed were all mortals."

This time it was Tianlong who surprised them with his announcement.

"Indeed! The roc is a bird of prey. As such, our potential is only triggered by engaging in hunts. You'll need the blood of many different beasts to complete the Demonic roc transmogrification art-" As if realizing something, he squinted his eyes.

"You…. You just want to stuff yourself with more food don't you?" He knew the gluttonous nature of his son too well.

"That is one of the primary reason. Tempering myself is the secondary and the final one is because Qingxue asked me to take her out."