Weapon seller in the world of magic

After one became an heir of the Lan Clan, Mark had an easier life even inside the sect.

Doors opened before he knocked. Elders bowed slightly in greeting. Both outer and inner disciples, those who cheered for his death a month ago, no longer whispered in contempt but in awe, reverence, or a cautious mix of both.

Of course, his sister, too, underwent transformation.

Two weeks after his ceremony, Shang Jiao was anointed as the princess of the clan. The clan leader gave her a new identity: Lan Fei.

Though honored and celebrated, Lan Fei didn't get the same freedom as Mark. She remained in the inner clan grounds, secluded in the ancient jade pavilions of learning, undergoing brutal but prestigious training under the two Grand Elders and also the Clan leader. They were teaching them everything they could as if they were preparing her as the next head, and other heirs only have titles and nothing else.

Mark didn't know what the Blizzard Pegasus had told her, and neither would his sister tell him, but Shang Jiao was quite diligent in training, staying in that imprisonment. Mark visited her regularly, but she only kept a strict one-hour visitation every time and spent the rest of the time in training. Her goal is to attain immortality.

Meanwhile, he also got closer to Lan Xia and almost became best friends with her.

She was like a koala bear that wouldn't just stop clinging onto him. She was always by his side.

And whenever he visited, Lan Xia came with him.

They trained together often, both intending to polish their techniques. She was trying to make her clan techniques better while he tried to create his own fighting style centered around the gun, mixing the Lan Clan's martial arts footwork with his gun.

Sometimes, they spent more time arguing about form than fighting, though.

They ate together almost every day, shared roasted meat buns or fish hotpots from the sect kitchens. During long breaks, they stroll through the gardens or go on outings in the nearby towns, browse through old technical manuals in the library, or just wander the mountain trails.

And whenever he returned to the clan to see Lan Fei, Lan Xia would be by his side, blank-faced and animated as always.

Lan Xia even shifted her residence next to Mark's, just so that she could visit him whenever she wanted.

It didn't take long for the sect and clan to begin whispering.

"Prince Lan Zhen and Princess Xia… they're always together."

"He teaches her swordplay… she brings him food in the middle of his practice… I don't think you can call it simple friendship."

"Ahhh! I wish I could also find a girl who would do that…"

"But, don't you think she is a bit too obsessive?"

"Did you see them walking down Moonlit Steps last night?"

"She calls him by Gege! Isn't that… a bit intimate?"

"Hah! The beauty falls for the hero. He beat her squarely, and she was obviously attracted to him."

Whispers and murmurings like these were also a daily scenario, seen everywhere in the clan.

But Mark didn't think much of it. Whatever friendship they have is temporary anyways. Once his goal is accomplished, he would neither return to the clan nor meet her again.

*

At Present;

Just as every night, Mark and Lan Xia sneaked out of the sect, mainly Mark and Lan Xia just tagged along.

Snow crunched softly beneath Lan Xia's boots as she paced around a little hillock, arms folded, her breath misting in the crisp mountain air. A wind blew now and then, just enough to tug at the end of her braid, but she didn't flinch. Her gaze stayed locked on the lone figure seated cross-legged atop the snowy outcrop a few meters ahead.

Mark sat perfectly still.

His eyes were closed, and his hands were on his knees. The moonlight spilled onto his shoulders like silver silk, catching on the frost lining his coat.

Above them, the full moon loomed in the sky, large and luminously pale. This has been the routine for the past few months, ever since he stopped annoying the Demon Cat Empress, except that during these past ten weeks, Lan Xia was with him.

She tugged her sleeves tighter and sat down beside a half-buried boulder. From her pouch, she pulled out a roasted meat skewer, still warm. She chewed thoughtfully as if she were too bored to do anything and not interested in meditating either, eyes fixated on Mark.

Just like this, Mark trains here secretly, and Lan Xia keeps an eye on the surroundings like a bodyguard.

But what was Mark exactly doing? One might wonder.

Basically, what he was doing was training the cultivation technique of the Cosmic Essence Absorption skill, which allows him to absorb energy from celestial bodies like moons, planets, stars, black holes, etc… The energy was absorbed and then refined into his Ether Points.

The best way to amass a large number of Ether Points is simply to absorb them from a black hole, which could even simply kill gods if they aren't careful.

But, as someone who is extremely cautious when there is a risk of death, and extremely reckless when he had confidence, Mark wouldn't obviously approach that thing, not in the present and perhaps, not even in the future. Maybe, if he ever reaches the 14-circle realm.

And stars? Stars were giant death furnaces. Sure, the energy was dense, but they generate gamma rays, which will be like poison to his cultivation.

Planets? Too risky. He didn't want to accidentally nuke a civilization or suck out life from some random race of lizard-people or giant fungus or whatever. And he was too lazy to search for a perfect planet. Of course, he couldn't absorb the planet Lan Clan, and the sect's main branch was based on. It was his second home, after all.

So, that leaves the moons. But the problem is that there are no portals to travel there directly, and the closest one he can see right now is still like 200,000 kilometers away. So, he could only absorb every night, traveling to the location on the planet where the full moon is visible and absorb its essence, because the rate of absorption from a full moon is 40% higher than a crescent one.

As he greedily absorbs it as fast as he can, Ark, his AI, ever helpful, takes care of refining the raw power into clean, usable Ether points. The process wasn't fast. But it was safe. And subtle.

After weeks of grinding, Mark finally felt the threshold approaching.

99.9 billion Ether Points.

Just a sliver away from a full round number.

A quiet buzz echoed in his core, as if his body knew what was coming.

And then…

The final wave of moonlight energy surged gently into his body like a tide, and the internal system pinged.

*Ding! Master, you reached the threshold. You cannot absorb the energy anymore

The AI replied in his head.

Mark's breath misted as he exhaled slowly, opening his eyes with a smile on his face.

"Ark, Open Character Interface."

Name: Lu Zhen (Mark Spencer)

Rank: 10

Strength: 10.9

Intelligence: 10.9

Defense: 10.9

Agility: 10.9

Vitality: 10.9

Resistance: 10.9

Charisma: 9

Luck: 7

Bloodline: Primeval (Blizzard Pegasus, Immortal Phoenix, Gargantuan Leviathan)

Attribute: Lightning, Ice, Space, Gravity, Oil, Poison, Antimatter, Fire, Water

Spirit Path: Summoner, Mage

Ether Quality: Max.

Ether energy: 100,000,000,000

[Breakthrough]

Special skills: Ultimate Defense I, Ultimate Defense II, Thunderblast, Lightning clone, Seal breaker, Devil's hand, Taming, Enhanced Durability, Ether regeneration, No touch, Gravity Dome, Eyes of God, Metal Armor, Weapon Transmutation, Cosmic Essence Absorption.

Bloodline skills: Absolute freezing, Ice bolt, Blizzard Wings, Freezing gaze, Blizzard Pegasus Transformation, Instant Resurrection, Celestial Flare, Flame Burst, Eternal Flames, Phoenix Transformation, Abyssal Resilience, Maelstorm, Tsunami Charge, Ocean Sovereign, and Leviathan Transformation.

Titles: Master of Holy Beasts, Absolute Authority (Equipped)

Special items: Danya (the divine throne), Missile Defense system-VII, B-2 spirit bomber, Mark 14 nuclear bomb, Ring of luck, M134 Minigun, M999 Minigun, Battle Tank-VII, Space station-V, Unnamed, Helicarrier, Amulet of Bael, Scroll of Alloces, Elixir of Eternal Springs, Fan of Ephemeral Storms, Flag of Huangdi, JAS 39D (Fighter Aircraft), Amulet of Diyu, lamp of wishes, and Staff of Blessing.

Assistants: 1 (Alina Spencer)

Contracted beasts: 10

Contracted demons: 1

Store branches: 2

Headquarters: Lunaris City, Western Moon Kingdom, Vermillion Bird Continent.

Affiliations: Dominion of Genesis, Heavenly Ocean Empire.

Lifespan limit: 2085 years (2056 years left)

*

"Hmm? Breakthrough?"

He blinked.

Lan Xia tilted her head, wondering what that face was for.

Mark called out his AI. "Ark, why didn't I get a breakthrough automatically?

*Ding! According to the creator's database, Master will face the tribulation from the heavens as he was trying to defy the natural laws of mortality.

"Oh, so tribulation isn't just for others. I, too, have to face, huh?" Mark muttered under his breath. "But, it's alright, I have enough skills to face this."

Taking a deep breath, Mark looked at Lan Xia. "Xiaojie, I'm going to break through, right now."

"Eh? Gege will break through? Seriously?" Lan Xia's eyes widened. She sprang up to her feet immediately.

Mark didn't clarify anymore and proceeded to click on the breakthrough option.

*Ding! Proceeding to a breakthrough to Rank-11.

"Let's see what you've got."

The moment Mark tapped the breakthrough button, the surroundings changed.

Above him, the clouds twisted unnaturally. Dark and violent, they spiraled out of the clear sky as if someone had ripped a hole in the heavens.