The Rat

Much like there being multiple libraries with some only being accessible with those of a certain rank within the sect, the same was true for the armoury, although it was one big place, to get through some rather hefty gates, one required the appropriate authorisation, in Edrick's case, the badge marking him as a special disciple was all that was required.

Special disciples did not have a specific attire given to them, most certainly due to the fact that they were incredibly rare, it was just easier to have them be marked by their lack thereof of uniform and to just hand them a badge, the person standing at the one entrance to the armoury wasn't a woman, unfortunately, but a man.

He did not appear any more competent than Hui however, the sect must be pretty confident in their security system to just let every librarian and even the one in charge of the armoury be simple cultivators, from what he had heard, they were former outer disciples who barely passed the limit to not get ejected but that lacked so much talent that they had to take up jobs within the sect instead of further focusing on cultivation.

In any case, Anoteros penetrated within the armoury and was immediately excited, seeing so many different weapons neatly arranged like that all over the place was really speaking to him, every minute difference made that a weapon was considered its own thing and given its own place to be stored.

The first area was the one most commonly in use, there were no restrictions on the type of weaponry one might want to use, so even the lowest of the low was well furnished, further in should be the weapons that used greater materials or bore some sort of enchantment, as a well as perhaps some valuable artefacts hidden away only for elders to access.

Although cultivators did not seem to believe in the goodness of a suit of full plate armour, the Myriad-Arm Sect's fascination for all that relates to weaponry meant that they had also gotten their hands on various styles of armour, many of which felt very much the exact same as what he had known in his previous world.

"Don't bother with armour! Offence always trumps defence anyways, it's better to just learn an evasion technique or two" Edrick looked to the side, and then down to get a look at the one who had decided to start a conversation with him.

It was a young man with brown hair, which was slicked back as far as was possible, exposing his forehead in full, he seemed a bit smaller than average and not really well-built physically, although even weapon cultivation did not necessarily require a strong body, it was pretty weird to not put on some muscles.

"What about if you practiced a weapon cultivation technique centered around armour, an armour cultivation technique, one might say?" responded Edrick, making the male disciple pause for a moment, as though thinking :

'I never even considered that!'

"Aherm… That is a good question… But anyways, I am Shu, an inner disciple here, you must be the new special disciple, yes?" spoke Shu, indeed, he was garbed in white and dark blue robes, which marked him as an disciple ranked just above the white and light blue outer disciples.

So clearly, he wasn't an incompetent.

"I see that news travel quickly"

The inner disciple expected him to at least grace him with a greeting or to present himself, but Anoteros didn't even bother looking in his direction and just continued to inspect the armours on display with a critical eye.

"Hum… I saw it fit to come and say hello to one who must certainly be an exceptional talent! You see, the Myriad-Arm Sect hasn't had a special disciple in centuries!" Shu just made that length of time up, it was true that it had been a long while however, he himself hadn't even known that was a possible rank until someone took it.

In fact, the core disciples hadn't known about it either and had gotten him to try and see who this newcomer was as the elders weren't speaking about it, only that Elder Gang was very proud of himself and was awfully joyful these days.

'Elder Gang is a bit of a weirdo but the few pieces of advice he gave me always turned out to be very valuable, he definitely has a keen eye…' Shu kept his composure, he had only known that the special disciple, or rather, one of the three special disciples, was a huge man that would be hard to miss.

Shu had seen quite a few tall fellows, they weren't exactly that uncommon in the sect, but the guy before him looked a bit freakish, his shoulders were awfully wide and arms definitely too long, it felt like he could grab someone across the room.

'Weird eyes… Is that the physical manifestation of a bloodline or physique?'

"Hum, may I inquire about your moniker? I already said that I was called Shu, I am pretty resourceful and knowledgeable, I have been an inner disciple for five years now…"

"And how long have you been an outer disciple for?"

"Huh? Well, five years as well, I arrived at the sect when I was fifteen…"

'Are we engaging in conversation now?'

"Mmh… Ten years? That's a pretty long time, I suppose your cultivation speed isn't great?"

It might sound like a mockery on the surface, but the gleam of interest in Edrick's eyes, and the near-predatory vibe he was giving out seemed to indicate that it was truly a question that demanded a genuine answer.

"Ahah… I am but an average cultivator, I just know how to persevere…"

Edrick looked around, and signalled for Shu to come with him into the area where one needed at least inner disciple-level authorisation to go.

Shu felt a bit creeped out, but this was still public ground, there was nothing to fear, surely, he was just judging the book based on its cover.

Soon enough, they once again ended up in the armour section of this other area, which was completely free of people.

"I sense, but it is just an inkling, that to keep going for ten whole years, and yet never bother to train physically, that you must have earned yourself the good graces of plenty of your fellows, did you?"

"Well, you are pretty perceptive, dare I say! I- I guess I wear it on my face, but people call me 'Merchant Shu', you see, I came to the Myriad-Arm Sect first to get away from some rather unsavoury people, ruffians you might call them! I had no particular talent but I really needed to stay as a disciple as even if I am pretty weak compared to my peers, the status is a great defence in itself!"

"So anyways… Do not get booted out as an outer disciple, I had to find a way to get people to vouch for me, so I… Please don't report it to the elders, I sort of sneak forbidden items into the sect for my fellow disciples… Things like certain alcoholic beverages… Goods from the black markets… Messages that they wouldn't want just anyone to potentially read… Or money earned from casinos… You see, certain things are permitted when we are outside the sect, but it must remain outside, whilst some others are strictly forbidden…" explained the disciple, a bead of sweat forming on his face under Edrick's scrutinising gaze.

"And you've never been caught?"

"Nope, I have snuck in items that should get be slapped across the face and kicked out instantly without problem, neither for me nor to the person I delivered the goods to, you see, I specialise in stealth" Shu had even geared his cultivation efforts toward making his dealings smoother and more secure, although as an inner disciple his place within the sect should be secured, he had made dealings with too many people, including core disciples, he would not pull out even if he wanted.

"So, you can snuck in anything?"

"Pretty much, yes"

Anoteros put his hand on Shu's shoulder.

"That's great to hear, I am Edrick Lucien Anoteros, by the way, although my real name would be Zixuan Elt- You should come by my place sometimes, we'll discuss business together"

And with that, Edrick turned around and decided to go further into the armoury, to a section an inner disciple could not go.

'Did he just say Elt?'

'Oh, by the gods… No shit he is a special disciple then!' Shu wiped his forehead and regained his bearings.

'Calm down… I just need to get to see who those two other special disciples are, hopefully they are not like him…'