The clean-up of the Outer Sect took another two weeks to be fully completed. Unfortunately the rate at which bodies were found accelerated as the remains started to decompose. John had long since stopped working on the recovery efforts, he could no longer stand to hear the inflammatory words of the callous faction. His time was much better spent working on his own power, not to mention it wouldn't do for him to kill fellow disciples no matter how distasteful he found them.
No, John spent every waking moment of the last two weeks cultivating in one way or another. The first thing John did was buy a bag of grain pills, these large pills could be eaten in a few bites and were made of a combination of spirit rice, sap from spirit trees, and a number of powdered qi-beast parts. They were basically tasteless but the ingredients dissolved into pure energy through digestion, completely replacing meals for cultivators who still needed to eat, as well as eliminating the need to defecate. The only downside was that they were relatively expensive for John's dwindling pile of contribution points.
Most of John's point supply was going to his ongoing training in the spear, but as he hadn't been completing missions lately, he was working solely off of buffer with no income. It frustrated John that he would need to continue to engage with the sect in this manner, but it really couldn't be helped. John wanted to continue training, purchase grain pills, and most importantly he needed to experiement with new and faster methods of advancement. His garden was performing fine but it was no longer sufficient by itself, John was going to try something new.
Spear trainig itself was going well, at least. John trained before dawn for several hours each day, one hour of which was with the sect spear master. Given his recent live combat experience and advancement, John could feel himself approaching the limit of the technique. Until he improved his muscles and organs, he probably couldn't get any better at fighting, at least with the spear. When John identified that he was in a bottleneck with his spear technique, he decided to go to the Sect Library and finally look for claw techniques.
----------------------------------------
John made his way to the Inner Sect Library. Compared to the building in the outer library, this pagoda was less impressive in a few ways. It was way less busy, where the outer sect building was a hive of contstant activity, John could only see a few individuals coming and going. It was much smaller too, the Outer Library had to serve close to ten thousand disciples as well as address a huge number of basic foundational techniques, the Inner Sect held more advanced or precious books. At least the building was more finely constructed.
Walking inside, John was stunned to see the exact same Head Librarian that had helped him in the outer sect nearly a year ago.
"Ah, John, I was wondering when I would see you again!" He greeted cheerily.
"What in the world are you doing here, aren't you in charge of the Outer Library?"
"What do you mean?" The man just smiled dumbly.
"Why are you in the Inner Library if you are in charge of the Outer one?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" he said, just as cheerily.
"... Right."
'What is wrong with this man,' John thought.
"I'm looking for claw techniques this time." Might as well make use of the guy, even if he was acting extremely bizarre.
The LIbrarian led him to a secluded corner of the library that was marked 'Esoteric Weapons', claws weren't actually that uncommon but most people used straightforward options like swords, spears, or bows which could channel qi techniques easily.
"Now, what kind of claws would you like?"
John could scarcely believe how many varieties of claws there were. Some were basically swords or axe heads on the end of a grip, There were several varieties that put claws on the tips of one's fingers, long blade-like varieties down to small tiger-like retractable claws. Most were some kind of blade attached to a grip held in one's palm with straps along the wrist. Even then, some claws had only one blade, some had three, some had five or more, variations in length, curve, attack style, it was nearly endless.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Eventually, John settled on a relatively simple claw style to work with that was similar to what he used in his qi--three short and parrallel claws that curved wickedly at the tip. From there, John was able to look at a number of various techniques and styles that work with such specific weapons. Assassination techniques were prevalent; John considered them reference for ambush attacks since he didn't expect to do any assassination. Aggressive slicing and tearing styles really fit with John's current style since he could use his qi to block opponents physically. Animalistic movement and evasive techniques also appealed to him.
Nevertheless, as John tried imagining himself performing the techniques, or in some cases walking through movements in the limited space between bookshelves, he found that they all felt a little off--slightly lacking in some way that he found difficult to identify.
"What do you think? Do most people struggle to find techniques that feel right for them?" John asked the Head, at a bit of a loss.
"Hmm, no. Most people find techniques that work well for them and then transform them to a more personal style later in cultivation. Wasn't your Lethal Bite Spear much like that?" This was the first time the librarian was not acting completely oblivious or cheery the whole afternoon. John was glad he was taking it seriously at least.
"Yeah learning the spear was fine, but it also fits my aggressive fighting style really well, is that it? But claws seem to work well for me otherwise."
"Well in that case, I do know one claw style myself that might work!"
"... Yeah?"
"..."
The Head seemed excessively excited, grinning ever wider as he refused to elaborate. John was trying to figure out how to break the awkward pause when he was suddenly interrupted by a horrific creaking sound.
The Librarian's bones were creaking and cracking as his limbs distorted, forearms becoming unnaturally long, his hand morphing into three bony claws as he, or it, fell forward into an animalistic crouch. John stared in horror as the Librarian creature continued to shake in joy, his face splitting literally into a huge pointed-teeth smile.
"Sooowgh Jahgn... Ghyou want to learn my claaaawhs..." It's voice became an inhuman bark, barely able to pronounce human words. John was frozen, unable to move his qi and unable to even twitch a finger, despite his desperate efforts to do so. "Itsh a little. Like. THIS!"
It leapt forward with a roar and stabbed into John's throat and waist at the same time, ripping out his trachea and tearing delicate arteries in his neck, as well as the space where his dantian ought to be. The world spun as John collapsed, blood splurting everywhere covering the bookshelves, floor, and himself in his own thick life-blood. John could barely hear the crack of his skull hitting the floor over the deafening ringing in his ears. The last thing John could see was the Librarian's form bubbling and shifting into something he barely couldn't see--the darkness of his fading consciousness and the raw incomprehensibility of it's shape hiding it from his perception. The world went black.
----------------------------------------
John awoke with a gasp, hand gripping his throat, which was to his surprise, intact. Other hand to his waist, also intact.
The clatter of books falling out of his lap brought him back to his surroundings. John was sitting in a very comfortable chair within the little 'Esoteric Weapons' nook, piles of Claw-related books surrounded him.
"Ah..." His voice was completely fine, despite his throat still feeling sore. A quick inspection of the shelves and floor showed they were clean, conspicuously clean, not even a speck of dust could be found. John was freaking out internally, his body was fine and nothing in the surroundings could possible endanger him right now, but the nightmare of the librarian transforming and killing him was simply too vivid. Was it really possible John fell asleep reading and dreamt the whole thing?
John shivered and hurriedly put away all the books, trying to leave as soon as possible. He barely acknowledged the missing space for a final book before he sped out of the bookshelves heading for the exit.
"Can I help you young man?
Chills went down John's back, he turned to face the speaker anyway. It was an extremely mild looking older man with a bookish vibe about him. John was about to deny and continue his escape when he thought better of it.
"Yes actually, have you seen the Head Librarian?" John tried to keep his voice steady.
"The Head Librarian?" The man seemed confused. "He never leaves the Core Library, it's impossible for him to be here."
"Are you sure? I thought I met him near the entrance..."
"Not possible, young Disciple. I'm the Deputy Librarian, I run the Inner Library, I would have noticed his arrival to be sure. Are older cultivators pulling tricks on you?" the Deputy seemed genuinely concerned.
"N-no, nothing like that." John's voice cracked and he backed away slowly before turning tail and running out of the building. John had never felt such vicious killing intent as he had from the Head Librarian, or whatever that was. Combined with the vivid feeling of his throat being ripped out, the pall of death seemed to hang over him even now.
John ran all the way back to the garden that was his safe-haven, retreating to the small shack of a building that held his seedlings, tools, and various other ends, shutting the door behind him. As he was breathing a sigh of relief, getting ready to calm his nerves, he felt a flash of the incredible killing intent that strangled and paralyzed him, disappearing just as suddenly.
A blood soaked book appeared on a table in front of him, flapping open to the first pages. Splatters of blood, still damp on the page, suddenly wriggled and moved, reshaping into recognizable letters.
It read 'Sparasso Claw Technique.'