Chapter 10
“Your weapon is an extension of you,” Elder Qiang began, pacing before the Outer Disciples within the sect’s arena. “It represents your intent. Your passion. Your mind. To pursue the Heavens in defiance of the natural order, you must forge yourself like a blade. Over and over again until the fires of tribulation have torn away your mortality and left behind only strength. That is why we as cultivators practice the martial arts for in the martial world are we the most likely to see enlightenment. In the primal fight for life and death, we are the closest to the true nature of the world. Such are the words of our venerable Patriarch.”
That’s a lot of words, Riley thought, doing his best to look like he was paying attention. When do we get to the freaky Jedi shit?
The stern man paused before Riley, eyeing him carefully. “Disciple Ri Lee. What is your weapon of choice?”
“Uh . . . I don’t know, sir.”
Elder Qiang quirked an eyebrow, his typical frown deepening. “You don’t know? How can you claim to be a disciple of the Whispering Glade without a weapon.” The elder gestured towards the others, who stood alongside Riley with their weapons in hand, blades gleaming sharp. “Look at your fellow, disciples. See Heron with his glaive, Egret with his spear, and Snake with her daggers. They already walk the path towards becoming One with their weapons and understanding themselves and their Dao. You are far, far behind Disciple Ri Lee.”
I don’t know what the Dao is but I do know that I’m getting motherfucked right now. Riley glanced at the others, noting Snake’s satisfied smirk and the twins’ growing discomfort at his dressing down from the elder. Is this some sort of ritual ‘fuckin’ with the new guy’ thing?
“I’m sorry, sir,” Riley said, electing to just roll with the punches. “Should I pick a weapon from there?”
Elder Qiang turned towards the rack of weapons that Riley pointed towards along the wall of the arena, a scowl upon his face. “You don’t just pick a weapon. You must feel it. The one meant for you shall resonate with your chi, plucking at the very fabric of what makes you, you.”
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“Riiiggghhhttt,” Riley drawled out, sliding towards the weapons rack. “I’ll do that.”
Ignoring Snake’s derisive snort and Qiang’s harrumph, Riley turned his attention to the weapons before him. Swords, spears, axes, hammers, daggers, glaives, staves, you name the weapon and it was on the rack. Every blade gleamed with a keen edge and every haft or handle was perfectly crafted, without bend or crack.
Jesus, this would be Kyle’s wet dream, Riley thought, running his hands over a particularly large sword’s blade. He was always the one into this shit.
“You need to feel the blades with your chi, Disciple Ri Lee.” Elder Qiang’s voice cut in on his thoughts. “Not fondle them.”
Riley rolled his eyes. Dick. As if I’d fondle a blade. Now, my shotgun . . . that’s a different thing entirely.
Nevertheless, Riley complied, closing his eyes and reaching out with his hand to hover above the blades, starting from the far left of the rack. As he made his way down the line, a faint tingle sparked to life in his fingertips. The further he moved to the right, the stronger tingle grew until it was a powerful vibration that ran down his entire arm. Riley paused, finding the point where the vibration was the strongest before finally opening his eyes.
Huh. Not what I expected.
It was a staff. A very, very large staff.
Honestly. it’s more like a really long fuckin’ club, Riley thought lifting the staff off of the rack, feeling his muscles strain ever so slightly as he hefted the weapon. Roughly six feet long and with a diameter that was nearly double the other staves on the weapon rack, the staff was heavy. Unadorned of any engravings, two thick pieces of metal were banded at each end of the staff adding to the sheer weight of the weapon.
“The Heartwood Staff,” Elder Qiang murmured, watching Riley spin the staff around experimentally with a strange look. “A powerful weapon, Disciple. For choosing such a weapon, I cannot have you disappoint it's name and legacy. This will be a long day. For all of you.”
Despite the groans from the others and the hateful looks that went his way, Riley could not help but grin. He hefted the staff, enjoying the sheer weight of the behemoth hunk of wood.
Yeah. I think I’m gonna like this.