Second Patriarch: Rise Of The Liu Clan

Liu Zhu had decided what what weapon he wanted to use in the future. His father had used the spear, the most popular of the polearms. Liu Zhu wanted to use a polearm as a homage to his father. Besides that, polearms had the advantage of reach and would be useful on the battlefield if he ever joined the army. After thinking over possible polearms for a few minutes, Liu Zhu had eventually settled on the guandao. He had considered a spear, but he didn't want to copy his father- he needed to differentiate himself and create his own legacy.

"I'd like a guandao." Zhu Chao was surprised, and muttered to himself. "Guandao?" "It's a type of polearm with a curved blade a-" Before Liu Zhu could finish he was cut off by Zhu Chao. "Obviously I know what one is, I'm just surprised. It's not a particularly common weapon after all. Still, we have a few at the Dozen Treasures Pavilion." Zhu Chao paused for a moment after saying this, thinking about something, before sighing."Well, I suppose it's alright. I was planning on giving you a weapon for a Meridian Opening Cultivator, but if I recall correctly the cheapest guandao is a Qi Emission grade weapon. Still, it's fine if I give it to you- it's unlikely anyone would buy it anyways."

Liu Zhu's face lit up as he heard this. He wasn't getting a weapon made for Body Tempering cultivators, but instead getting a weapon made for a Qi Emission cultivator? Who knew that his choice would result in such luck! Zhu Chao continued, ignoring Liu Zhu's clear glee. "Give me a moment to write a note and put my seal on it and then you can go." After getting the note from Zhu Chao Liu Zhu mounted his horse, rushing to reach Vermilion City before the Dozen Treasures Pavilion closed for the day.

In the center of Vermilion City was the Dozen Treasures Pavilion. It was the Liu Clan's greatest individual moneymaker and one of the largest shops in the city. It sold (or to be more accurate, mostly resold) weapons, armor, and other equipment for cultivators all the way up to Acupoint Opening. As an anti-theft measure, two Acupoint Opening elders lived on the top floor of the Dozen Treasures Pavilion, and one of them was required to be present at all times.

When Liu Zhu came to the Dozen Treasures Pavilion the manager was almost ready to close it for the day. Upon seeing Liu Zhu he immediately approached him, a servile look on his face. "Young Master Liu, it's a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to see you. Did you come to see how business has been?" "No, I came for a weapon." Liu Zhu dug the note Zhu Chao had given to him out of his pocket as he said this, passing it over to the Dozen Treasure Pavilion's manager.

The manager's face filled with relief upon hearing this, catching the attention of Liu Zhu. "Did something happen?" The manager froze up upon hearing this before quickly shaking his head back and forth. "N-No, nothing happened Younger Master Liu. I was thinking about something else. Anyways, I'll go fetch your weapon now." Liu Zhu was slightly concerned about what just happened, but was too excited about his new guandao to care and followed the manager into the Dozen Treasures Pavilion.

The two walked up a set of stairs, passing by the first and second floors, which housed all the goods for cultivators in Body Tempering. They stopped on the third floor where all the goods for Dantian Creation Realm cultivators were held, including Liu Zhu's guandao. The manager looked around for a moment, muttering to himself as he did so. "...Not in the Qi Refinement section... Qi Emission?" As the manager looked around Liu Zhu, impatient, saw a guandao and took it off the wall.

As Liu Zhu took the guandao the manager approached him. "Ah, that's the one- my apologies, no one has ever come here to buy one so I didn't know where it was." Liu Zhu ignored him, looking over the weapon. It was slightly longer than he was tall, and the shaft made up a tad more than half the length. The other half of the weapon was a blade that curved backwards. The handle was made up of a metal that looked similar to bronze, while the shaft was made out of a light blue metal. Despite studying the art of forging weapons for several years, Liu Zhu wasn't familiar with either metal. He was, however, familiar with the metal that made up the blade. It was high-quality Etrium, a metal commonly used in weapons and armor for cultivators from Qi Refinement up to Dantian Creation - in short, for cultivators in the Dantian Creation Realm.

The metal making up the blade appeared to be an alloy of some kind, and the blade was well-maintained, easily cutting into Liu Zhu's finger as he applied a bit of force. He pulled it back and admired the guandao a bit more, appreciating the small lines carved through the weapon and overall sleek design. "Does this weapon have a name?" The manager responded that it didn't, and Liu Zhu began brainstorming. "Brown, blue, and grey... River Entering The Mountain? No, that's too long, it sounds like a technique. Mountain Stream? Hmmm... that sounds kind of weak."

Eventually Liu Zhu gave up on naming the guandao, figuring that it could cut things just the same whether it had a name or not. His business finished he returned home, much to the relief of the Dozen Treasure Pavillion's manager, who muttered to himself as he closed up the shop. "I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, but at least my luck held out. He wasn't here to check the books today, so I have time to cover this up..." The manager sighed as he said this, shaking his head. "Why do I have such bad luck. Maybe in the next life I'll have a position where I don't have to deal with such things..."

Oblivious to the manager of the Dozen Treasure Pavilion's worries, Liu Zhu immediately began practicing with his guandao once he reached the Liu Clan's estate. He didn't have a teacher, but for the time being he could familiarize himself with how to handle the weapon. Anything more complicated than making sure he could move the blade properly could come after he was more familiar with the weapon.