The Wheel Of Samsara

Rows and rows of golden bookshelves were neatly organized in the ground floor, with just barely enough s.p.a.ce for one to walk between them. They almost reached the ceiling, and were packed with books of all sizes and colors.

The shiny bookshelves were divided in sections. The "Weapons" section had bookshelves labeled "Sword Arts", "Spear Arts", "Saber Arts" and so on. Amon had never even heard of most of the weapons named in it.

There were also sections for Qi Gathering, Body Tempering and Elemental Purification, with bookshelves in the Elemental Purification section labeled according to the respective elements.

The sheer number of books made Amon impressed, but he knew this was all the tip of the iceberg. The higher floors of the palace had manuals of a higher level and quality. However, the higher the floor one manual was in, the higher the price one would have to pay for it.

Blocking the way to the bookshelves was a curtain of light, very similar to the one that blocked entrance to h.e.l.l"s Keeper City. There was a wooden counter in front of the curtain of light, with a couple of clerks dressed in purple behind it.

"I"ve come here to get a few manuals." Amon said to the clerk closest to him.

"Very well." The clerk nodded and took a small ball from behind the counter. He put it in the counter and lightly tapped on it. The ball flashed with a blue light and started glowing, looking like a small star.

An overwhelming number of letters started materializing in the air in front of the ball, forming countless lines of words and numbers that shone with a pale white light. Looking closely, the lines were names followed by numbers that were probably the price.

"Touch any manual you are interested in and an introduction will appear. You can select as many as you want, as long as you have the contribution points to pay for them." The clerk explained patiently as he saw Amon"s hesitation.

"You can change sections by swiping the list to the side. All manuals in the ground and first floor are listed here; all the others need an Inner Sect token to be unlocked." The clerk finished speaking and waited for Amon to choose what he wanted.

Amon looked for the Sword Arts section. He felt a little strange doing that, but it was mesmerizing seeing the light letters break apart and reform in new words as he threw the list to the sides.

"Let"s see…" He mumbled to himself as he started skimming through the list.

"Lesser Art of the Sword, a manual that covers the basics of the uses of sword in combat."

"The Earth-shattering Sword. At completion, a cultivator would be able to shatter the earth with each strike, using unstoppable power."

"The Stormbreaker Sword, a Sword Art that allows a cultivator to use the wind as blades and strike from a distance. At completion, one would be able to cleave storms apart."

"The Flaming Sword, a sword Art that brings forth h.e.l.lish flames to burn your opponents to cinders. A simplified version of the h.e.l.lblaze Sword Art."

"The Windhowler Sword…"

He started reading the t.i.tles and introduction to the Sword Arts in a low voice, so Lya could follow his pace. The prices varied from a few dozen to about one thousand contribution points.

"That one looks good." Lya said as Amon touched a name in particular.

"Fundamentals of the Sword?" Amon raised his brow. This manual was one of the oldest in the palace and covered nothing but the basics of the uses of the sword. There were just stances, no real techniques in it.

Amon sighed and touched the Fundamentals of the Sword manual again. The light changed from white to green, signaling that he had select the manual.

"Pick two more manuals to your liking." She said casually.

He spent almost one hour skimming through the rest of the list, but he couldn"t use any of the manuals now. They either put a huge strain on the body or had different elemental alignments than his affinity.

In the end, he chose the Stormbreaker Sword and the Lesser Sword Art manual in addition to the Fundamentals of the Sword. The Lesser Sword Art taught about the basic uses of Qi in combat using swords.

Stormbreaker Sword, on the other hand, was a complex Sword Art, fitting for Wind Cultivators to use.

"So you have wind affinity?" Lya asked, to chich Amon nodded. His strongest affinity was with wind, even if it was quite a weak one, making his situation quite tragic. He was deemed as being untalented because of that, and the years he took to manage to absorb Qi only proved that point.

"Well, they were good choices. It will be perfect to teach you. Also, that Stormbreaker Sword will be really useful." She approved of his choices.

"Now I need you to pick about ten more manuals. The more varied and different they are from each other, the better. This includes manuals from other elements." She said.

"But my only affinity is wind…" Amon whispered as he tried to complain, but Lya didn"t let him.

"Doesn"t matter. I"ll explain latter." She interrupted him, clearly showing she was starting to get annoyed.

Amon took another half hour to pick the manuals Lya asked, including the Flaming Sword, the Earth-shattering Sword and a water aligned manual called Myriad Streams Sword.

He was sure it would all add up to at least five thousand contribution points, but Lya didn"t give in.

"Well, now I guess I"ll see some Movement Techniques." Amon mumbled to himself, feeling the pinch.

Choosing a Movement Technique was the same struggle. Amon took the "Basics of Movement in Combat", that was similar to the Fundamentals of the Sword, as well as the "Essence of Movement Techniques". He also chose "Gale Steps" as the Movement Technique he would use.

He also picked ten more manuals of different elements and with different characteristics.

With that, the expenses were already close to twelve thousand points.

"Lya, with this much…" He started whispering again, and the clerk raised a brow seeing him talking alone. Amon"s ears started turning red.

"It"s fine. For Body Tempering we just need one. You can get the best you have available to you."

He went to the Body Tempering section, trying to look for the more expensive manuals, while he was skimming through the list, Lya suddenly interrupted him with a shout.

"That one!" She said full of excitement. Amon looked at the name he had his finger on.

"The Skyreacher Body?" He mumbled, taking a sneaky glance to the clerk, but he seemed to be too bored to keep paying attention to Amon.

Looking at the price, Amon held his breath. "This one costs almost ten thousand points!"

"And it is d.a.m.n cheap." She said with conviction. "I know that technique. Your dear Founder developed it himself."

"What?" Amon raised his voice, making the clerk glance at him again, very annoyed. What was wrong with kids these days?

"How do you know that?" Amon whispered sheepishly, his ears burning.

"It doesn"t matter. Just trust me and take it." She answered indifferently.

This manual was unreachable for ninety nine percent of the members of the Outer Sect, and even for some of the poorer members of the Inner Sect.

Amon didn"t hesitate anymore as he chose it, but felt the pinch.

Then, he chose ten cheap Elemental Purification manuals. He then took a step back, nodding at the clerk.

Looking at the list, the clerk raised his brow and looked at Amon, full of doubts. Still, he said nothing.

"The thirty-seven manuals you asked add up to thirty eight thousand contribution points." The clerk said, trying to maintain a neutral expression. Amon felt his heart tighten, but still gave the man his purple card. As the man swiped the card in the light ball, Amon felt as if he was cutting his heart.

The clerk quietly left the counter to get Amon"s manuals. He walked through the light curtain as if it didn"t exist, and started going from section to section looking for the manuals. After a few minutes, he returned. His upper body was hidden behind a gigantic pile of books that shook the counter as he placed them on it.

Amon took his Bottomless Pouch and stored the books in it one by one. He then quickly left the Divine Arts Palace. He still had around fifteen thousand contribution points adding what Jake had given him, so he could cultivate in peace without worrying about his expenses.

It took him a great deal of time to return home after that. The sun was already setting when he finally caught sight of his house. The red light made the gra.s.s seem to be set ablaze as he returned home.

He greeted his mother and had a light dinner with her, before finally getting to his room and throwing himself on the bed, exhausted.

Lya materialized by his side, and took the Bottomless Pouch from his waist. She took out all of the manuals and started to read, making them float in front of her and sending gusts of wind to turn the pages.

Amon closed his eyes, hearing only the occasional crisp sound of the flipping pages as he slowly fell asleep.

When he woke up the next morning, the first thing heard was the flipping of a page. He opened his drowsy eyes and saw Lya still reading in the same position, her face calm, completely absorbed in the task at hand.

He sat on the bed and rubbed his eyes. Lya slowly closed the book she just finished reading and added it to a huge pile by her side.

"Good morning." She greeted him. Amon greeted her back with a weary voice.

"Give me your ring." She asked him. Amon promptly took the ring from his finger and gave it to her.

Lya took the iron ring in her hands and retrieved a simple sword from it, offering it to Amon. The blade was thick and was a few centimeters longer than Brightmoon. It was also wider, making for a much heavier blade.

The black handle seemed to be sculpted from stone, giving it an ancient feel. It was a crude weapon. As Amon took it in his hands, he felt he almost couldn"t lift it even with all of his strength. He barely managed to keep it from falling to the ground.

Then, Lya searched through the pile of books she had by her side and fished the Lesser Sword Art manual from it. She threw it to Amon, saying "I already read it. The content was concise and there was no problems with it. The explanations were also really good, so chances are you will learn more form it than from me explaining to you."

Amon managed to catch the book in the air. It was very thin and the pages were all yellowed from the age.

"You will read this book and train what you learn on the sword I gave you. This will help you learn to infuse your Qi in a sword and refine your control of Qi at the same time. When you reach a satisfying level on both, we can start your Body Tempering." Lya said, before taking another booking and starting to read it.

"Why can"t we start the Body Tempering now?" He asked while frowning.

"Do not be too hasty." She reprimanded him. "The Skyreacher Body is a great technique, but it requires an incredible complex maneuvering of the Qi in your body, and you have no chance to properly use it as you are now."

Being struck down like that, Amon couldn"t retort. All he could do was grumble, making Lya chuckle a bit.

"How do you know of the Skyreacher Body?" He asked her again.

"It was a technique that was already famous in my time. If your Founder managed to polish it even further, then it is certainly among the best in the world." She spoke without hesitation, as if she was waiting for the question to come again and had already rehea.r.s.ed the answer.

"Sounds like an amazing technique." Amon managed to say. He had no idea that the Founder himself had developed it. He sneaked a glance at Lya, thinking. In the end, he decided to say nothing. If Lya wanted to talk about it, she would.

"It is an incredible technique. So be patient and train on the Lesser Sword Art." She patted him on the head, making Amon feel a cold breeze ruffling his hair.

Amon nodded, and decided to read the thin manual of the Lesser Sword Art.

The Lesser Sword Art"s pages were mostly occupied by large amounts of text and a few, but precise, ill.u.s.trations. It gave advices on how to properly control Qi and how to imbue a sword with it.

Cultivators had a way to control Qi that best suited them. Just as everyone had personal traces in their calligraphy, cultivators had personal traces in the way they handled Qi. As such, one would have to experiment until he found what they felt more comfortable with when manipulating Qi.

When a cultivator spent a lot of time using an artifact, the Qi they imbued in it would make it evolve, but also naturally engrave the pathways the cultivator"s Qi used to imbue the artifact. As such, one"s artifact would be best suited to them. Using another person"s artifact would not have the same effects, as the Qi pathways were already set and would affect the flow of the new owner"s Qi in the artifact. It was like using someone else"s hand instead of your own.

Amon was enthralled as he read the book. It didn"t take too long for him to finish, and as he did he stood in silence for a long while, his eyes closed as he pondered.

When he opened them again, he got up left the room. He took a quick break to eat breakfast and talk with his mother, clearing his mind. When he returned, he read the book again, and again pondered on its contents.

He realized that the Lesser Sword Art was incredibly important for inexperienced cultivators or those that didn"t have a master. He would certainly have trouble cultivating any of the Sword Arts he bought even if he was strong enough.

"Any questions?" Lya looked at him over a book, a smile on her face.

"Not right now." Amon shook his head and closed his eyes, entering meditation and making Lya"s smile grow wider.

As his divine sense spread around, Amon extended his hands. He called forth small wisps of Qi and started playing with them. It was as awkward as it had been when he first opened his acupuncture points, but he focused, trying to get as relaxed as possible.

He stretched the wisps, broke them and joined them together. He kneaded them together in a ball, and then threw the ball around. The ball turned out to be obviously misshapen, but he took his time trying to perfect it.

He dispersed the ball and formed it again, before making it circle around him a few times. Then he would disperse it again, and this time would make it spin as fast as he could.

Those were all exercises that the Lesser Sword Art recommended for beginners. Maybe most would feel it was boring, but Amon was completely invested in the marvelous feeling of being able to control and shape Qi at his will.

Sweat started forming in his forehead and his veins started bulging, but he didn"t seem to realize. He didn"t stop until Lya told him to take a break. It was only then that he realized his clothes were drenched and his face was red from the effort.

He ate something and took a small break before returning to his exercises.

Very slowly, his control grew smoother and smoother. Amon started trying more complex exercises, controlling greater amounts of Qi and turning them in different shapes. A week pa.s.sed as he trained his control without him realizing.

It was night and the clouds covered the stars, making everything seem pitch black. Rebecca was waiting in her bed as always. Before long, specs of light materialized in the air in front of her, gradually forming the figure of a beautiful black-haired woman.

"He was training until now?" Rebecca asked with surprise. Lya nodded at her question.

"He is more resilient than I thought." Rebecca sighed. Her son was starting to grow up.

"But I still can"t believe he didn"t tell me he managed to absorb Qi and is preparing for his Body Tempering." She was somewhat bitter as she complained. If this had happened a few weeks ago, the first thing Amon would have done would be to storm into her room and tell her, jumping in happiness.

"Well, he is trying to hide my existence." Lya gave a wry smile. "I"m sure he will tell you when he goes through his first round of Body Tempering."

"Hmpf." Rebecca grumbled in a sour mood. "Well, how is he doing?"

"It is not a spectacular speed, but it is above average. It seems he is having fun." Lya answered, chuckling a little.

"That is a good mindset to have." Rebecca"s expression eased somewhat.

"I"ll give him a slight push to tell you something." Lya thought for a while before adding. "But he will probably say he found a pill or something together with the sword that allowed him to control Qi and he didn"t want to make you worried."

"So you think he will lie." Rebecca turned bitter again.

"Some people are like that. When they think lies will protect someone, they won"t hesitated to tell one, even if it causes greater damage than the truth." Lya said with a sad smile. "The problem is that not many realize that."

Rebecca could only sigh. She knew it to be true. She hated the idea, but understood why her son was lying, or at the very least withholding the truth.

"I"ll be sure to set him straight. Do give me some help with that." Rebecca asked, looking at Lya"s blue eyes. Lya silently nodded.

"Do you think he is ready?" A frown could be seen in Rebecca"s pale face and her green eyes were full of worry.

"He will start training with the sword tomorrow. I believe that in two to three days he will be ready." Lya answered seriously.

Rebecca nodded hearing that and sighed again.

"Thank you again for the help." She said with genuine gratefulness, making Lya smile.

"You are welcome." Lya answered, giving a bow and dispersing in the air.

Rebecca was left alone in the room. Her window was opened as always, but she couldn"t see the sky. She could only sigh.