Li Yuan had been waiting for his seeds to sprout, his path to a fifth rank breakthrough. But after speaking with Gu Xuejian, he was keenly aware that no powerful force could ever be allowed to discover his secret.0

He understood that achieving the fifth rank required a full inheritance of cultivation knowledge—something that always signaled involvement with a formidable faction. 0

The ramifications of openly revealing that he was a fifth rank martial artist, or that he had developed new techniques and drawn three new visualization aids, would be beyond his control. He’d be dragged into complicated power struggles with no way to turn back.3

That wasn’t the life he wanted.0

From his conversation with Gu Xuejian, Li Yuan had also learned that past the fifth rank, weapons themselves were less critical; true experts sought spirit weapons instead.0

Forging a spirit weapon typically required two main...2