Weapon seller in the world of magic

The summons came less than an hour after the explosion.

Mark and Lan Xia hadn't even left the outer perimeter of the trial field when a silver-robed messenger, riding a wind spirit mount, landed beside them with a polite but urgent expression.

"Command requests your presence immediately," he said with a bow, eyes flicking warily to the black pistol at Mark's side.

Mark tapped the grip idly. "That fast, huh?"

Lan Xia's expression didn't change, but Mark saw her fingers twitch slightly, in preparation for anything unexpected. After all, they came together, and he blew up the testing platform. Fortunately, they didn't show any aggressiveness and instead requested their presence.

They followed the messenger through a series of guarded passageways, crossing through the teleportation hall's inner sanctum, up towards a mountain cliff citadel that jutted over the Immortal Plane's skyline like a blade ready to strike.

The air changed as they stepped past the gates. Invisible threads of Qi prickled over their skin, tugging at their aura, trying to scan them as if to make sure that none of them were beasts in disguise.

"Divine pressure field," Lan Xia murmured under her breath. "Never expected that the Sky Pavilion Sect also possessed this."

Mark stayed silent; his AI, on the other hand, was already busy, scanning the entire surroundings and feeding the information in real time to him.

Inside, the command chamber was built in concentric rings, each one higher than the last.

Various subsidiary sect leaders or their envoys occupied their designated seats along with the Sky Pavilion Sect Elders. A war map hovered in the center, depicting the Feline Empire's rough area of administration. Red pulses marked recent skirmishes. For Mark, it looked quite like a star map of a galaxy.

However, Mark's attention soon shifted to the people sitting there above. Overall, there are about fourteen 13-circle realm cultivators and five 14-circle realm cultivators. The strongest being on the highest seat, probably the sect leader, who is still an advanced-14-circle realm expert, weaker than his great-grandfather. However, the leader's throne is seen empty though, for some reason.

As soon as they entered, almost every eye was already turned toward them.

An elder with a hawk-like nose and crimson robes raised a hand. "Lu Zhen, Shang Xia." His tone was precise, like a knife testing flesh. "Step forward."

They did. Lan Xia's gaze swept the room once and then lowered, her stance easy but alert. Mark looked like he was just happy to be here.

A different voice spoke, softer, but older. A woman with moon-white hair and a crystalline monocle over one eye leaned forward slightly.

"Your soul-bound artifact," she said, "bears traces of anti-magic radiation. That… is a forbidden phenomenon. Even the Archivists from the Time-Sink Worlds sealed such technology. You didn't inherit it from there, did you?"

Mark blinked once. "Ah… this baby?" He patted the weapon lightly. "It's my creation." Of course, it is not. He got it from the soul weapon creation scroll from the Lan Sect, but Mark couldn't reveal his origins. And moreover, he had to make the sale. With prospective buyers around, he couldn't help but brag about the lie. Of course, not that he can't make it. He made an antimatter warhead. Surely, making anti-matter bullets and a gun that can handle them shouldn't be hard for him, right now.

"You made the anti-magic soul weapon?" another elder echoed. The tone hovered between awe and alarm.

"Would you like to order a few?" Mark asked, smiling brightly. "As long as you provide materials, I can make weapons for you, although it is quite time-consuming and won't be ready for the war against Felines for sure."

The room stirred with muted murmurs. One of the generals whispered something to the hawk-nosed elder, who frowned deeper.

Lan Xia gave Mark the briefest glance but said nothing.

Then the light shifted.

A golden rune circle bloomed midair above the map. It rotated, deepened, and from it emerged a projection, a tall figure draped in star-cloth robes, its face hidden behind a smooth, obsidian mask inscribed with a glowing spiral. Space around them warped slightly, like gravity itself bowed in their presence.

Silence fell. The projection didn't speak immediately. Then, a voice, not male, not female, but resounding and distant, like the echo of a god remembering its own name, spoke.

"Lu Zhen," the voice said.

Mark's eyes narrowed the faintest bit. "Yes?"

The projection inclined its head. "I speak for the Voidbound Celestials. I'm not sure if you have heard of us, but we operate from the Null realm, and our job is to protect the magic. We received information that your weapon contains anti-magic, and the anti-magic weapons have long been forbidden in this plane of existence."

"Wait a second, Elder," Mark said lightly. "I think there has been some kind of misunderstanding here. I would like to slightly adjust my statement." Summoning the Anti-matter gun, he said. "This isn't anti-magic. This is anti-matter. It doesn't annihilate magic. It converts my Qi into unique energy and annihilates matter around the magic, like any object or air. If anything, this is magic."

"Eh?" The projection was taken aback by Mark's response and intently observed the gun. "I have never heard of such a weapon."

Mark replied. "The universe exists in balance, elder. I don't need to remind you of such a simple fact. If good exists, then evil does, too. If light exists, so does darkness. If a Deity exists, demons will also exist. And if magic exists, then anti-magic also exists."

Murmurings soon filled the hall.

After a brief pause, the projection slowly said. "If that was the case…" The projection glanced at a specific elder. "Then I advise the Sky Pavilion Sect not to disturb us in haste before confirming the facts." It vanished like mist, after a brief statement, but many of those elders sweated at those words, especially one particular elder.

The command room stayed silent a few heartbeats longer. Then the hawk-nosed elder cleared his throat. "Lu Zhen, you are required to go through another test for us to confirm that what you used is not anti-magic. I hope you don't take it as offense."

Mark shrugged. "That's alright, Elder. We are all gathered here, having come from far away to join the subgation force, as we all were being threatened by one common energy, the Demon Cat Empress. Making a fuss over such matters will only show nothing but immaturity. I may be young, but not immature."

"Well said." An elder smiled, stroking his beard.

"This young man has quite a character. Bitter on the inside, but not an ounce of that bitterness is shown on the outside. He knows how to mask his feelings." Another elder muttered under his breath. "I like it."

The hawk-nosed elder then left his seat and leaped to the center of the hall, landing before Mark.

Lan Xia tensed a bit, but she stayed silent and continued to be a silent spectator. Whether it was helplessness to interfere or confidence in Mark, only she knows.

Meanwhile, the elder spoke to Mark. "Display the prowess of your soul weapon, Lu Zhen. And don't worry. Under my watch, you won't be able to cause any trouble."

Mark didn't ask why or express his surprise. He raised the anti-matter gun and poured only ten percent of his ether energy, shooting at the elder without any warning.

In the blink of an eye, the antimatter left the barrel and already struck the elder in the abdomen, piercing his abdomen, exploding inwardly. This content was first released on MV_LEMPYR.

The elder's expression changed in an instant as a massive explosion struck his organs, all at once.

*Puchi*

He spat blood, went down to his knees. "You…" His voice quivered as he stared at Mark in horror.

The elders got up from their seats one after another in shock. Lin Xia had her face covered by her hands. "First, you destroyed the testing platform, and now injuring an elder? You were going completely against your plan to stay low…" She thought.

Mark stared at the elder. "But as you can see, the moment my attack detonates, it comes in contact with the matter and causes an explosion."

"Then why didn't you warn me before?" The elder growled.

Mark shrugged. "I thought a 2nd stage transcendant like you should be fine. Under your watch, a junior like me is unlikely to cause any trouble." He gave another gaze, a cold one this time, staring down at the kneeling elder. "Right?"

"I knew it. Since when would this resentful man let go of a grudge? I'm sure he did this on purpose." Lan Xia murmured.

A general, who was still seated, laughed aloud. "Hahaha, I like your attitude, young man. Someone like you is perfectly needed for my regiment."

Before anyone even made a move, the general took out a jade scroll and threw it over. As Mark caught in reflex, the general spoke. "It's a command over Outpost Forty-Seven. Borderland sector near the Feral Rift. A High casualty zone, and I think it's perfect for someone like you. There shouldn't be any beast over a 1st transcendent stage over there. Go to the barracks to pick people, not more than 1000, but none stronger than an ascendant."

Mark twirled the scroll once without speaking much. "Alright. I understand."