Once Golden Tiger agreed, Howard naturally would not refuse. He had coveted Golden Tiger for quite some time. Within the Soul Contract Magic Array Andrew set up, the two signed an Equal Contract.
With Golden Tiger accompanying him, Janice felt much more reassured. A dozen or so days later, Howard joined a mercenary squad in the imperial capital. The squad was not particularly strong; even its captain was only a peak eighth-level warrior. It was not large, either. Including Howard, it had only twelve members, three of whom were magi. However, they had a good reputation, and all their families lived in the imperial capital. At least Howard would not have to worry about being stabbed in the back by his own people after joining them.
Soon, the mercenary squad received a mission: to capture an Earth Dragon Beast in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.
An adult Earth Dragon Beast was an eighth-level magical beast of the earth element. It had very strong defenses but was very slow. Moreover, Earth Dragon Beasts lived alone. All things considered, this mission posed little danger.
Howard left the imperial capital with his squad. On the day he departed, Janice personally saw him off outside the city and even shed tears. Watching from beside her, Andrew could not help silently asking himself whether what he had done was right or wrong.
Over the next few days, the atmosphere in the residence was rather subdued, particularly around Janice. She complained to Andrew several times. They had been a perfectly happy family, but now Howard had left, Ling'er was studying at Divine Grace Academy and rarely returned, and Andrew spent all day wholly devoted to cultivation. She alone was left with nothing to do.
Faced with her complaints, Andrew could only smile sheepishly. There was nothing he could do. Janice truly disliked cultivating. For her, living happily with her family was the greatest satisfaction.
"I just want this happiness to last longer," Andrew murmured to himself.
Half a month later, in the rear courtyard of the Lance residence, Andrew was refining his battle-qi when he suddenly let out a long cry, startling Janice and Aida. Both hurried over.
"Andrew, what happened?" Janice's voice arrived before she did.
Bare-chested, Andrew stood before a massive stone sculpture, his face brimming with excitement. Just now, as he made the final cut, his entire body had suddenly shuddered, and his battle-qi had broken through. Unable to help himself, he had shouted to release the joy in his heart.
"Nothing. I just made a breakthrough." Andrew happily put on his shirt and smiled at Janice.
"A breakthrough?" Rather than looking happy, Janice seemed somewhat aggrieved. "Are you leaving too?"
Andrew stopped moving, his expression turning awkward. In truth, Janice had guessed correctly. He did intend to go out to temper himself. After all, although his battle-qi had broken through, his realm had not improved much. If he wanted to master "momentum," fighting was still the best approach.
"Ah, your father left, and now you're leaving too. Ling'er doesn't come home, either. In this enormous house, only Aida and I are left..."
Andrew truly did not know what to say and could only smile bitterly. Who told you not to like cultivating? Isn't all my hard work so I can get a Divine Spark from Beirut for you...? Unfortunately, he could only say this in his heart.
Janice's sadness did not make Andrew abandon his plans. That very afternoon, he went out. This time, he intended to find himself a weapon.
After wandering around the imperial capital for half a day, Andrew was somewhat disappointed. He had not found a weapon he liked.
This world's combat power is formidable, and its weapons come in all varieties, but a saber should still suit me best. Fusion battle-qi has strong explosive power. Only a saber can bring that characteristic to its fullest...
Andrew knew how important a suitable weapon was to a warrior, so he had already spent a long time considering this question.
I always used a long saber before. Long sabers are suited to chopping and slashing, but they limit speed and are somewhat lacking in sharpness. Now that my understanding of strength has reached a certain level, I must choose a weapon for my future cultivation.
A weapon was a warrior's partner. For beginner and mid-level warriors, the weapon they chose did not matter as long as it allowed them to bring out their strength. For high-level warriors, however, a weapon often represented their martial path.
For instance, Polite and Howard followed similar martial paths, and both chose heavy swords. In the original novel, Linley cultivated the laws of wind and chose "Mirage" as his weapon. In fact, that choice was inseparable from the Purple Blood Soft Sword he had used earlier. For the laws of earth, however, he used a heavy sword.
Andrew possessed lightning-fire fusion battle-qi, so his choice of weapon had to account for its characteristics.
Fusion battle-qi has strong explosive power and great might. When choosing a weapon, I don't need to pursue weight. It only needs to be sturdy and sharp enough.
Andrew already had an idea. Holding on to one last shred of hope, he entered a weapons shop called "Blood Peak."
The weapons shop was small, with a languid drunk sitting inside. The drunk seemed not to have noticed Andrew's arrival-or perhaps he had noticed but did not want to acknowledge him. That attitude could already be considered terrible. Unlike other weapons shops, where someone immediately greeted customers as soon as they entered.
Andrew did not mind his attitude. Everyone had their own way of doing things. He was merely a customer and had no right to demand anything of others.
"Are you the owner here?" Andrew asked, walking up to the drunk.
The drunk opened his right eye slightly. "That's right. Boy, are you here to buy a weapon?"
Andrew nodded, looking at the weapons hanging on the wall with some disappointment. They seemed no different from those in other weapons shops.
"If you want to buy a weapon, you'd better go somewhere else. We don't have the extraordinary weapons you're looking for here." The drunk appeared muddled, yet he had accurately grasped Andrew's thoughts at a glance.
Andrew turned his head and smiled. "You're an odd one. You open a shop for business, yet you turn customers away."
He looked the drunk over. The man was middle-aged, in his thirties or forties, with messy brown hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked utterly disheveled.
"Besides, I never said I wanted an extraordinary weapon. But after hearing what you said, I actually think that although your shop is small, it has extraordinary weapons hidden inside!"
"Hahaha!" The drunk stood and laughed several times. "Interesting boy!" Before his words had faded, he had already appeared before Andrew. Andrew's pupils contracted. Just now, he had actually failed to follow the man's speed.
He's an expert, and he should be Saint-level! Andrew immediately reached that conclusion. A ninth-level warrior could never possess such speed!
He was confident that no matter how fast a ninth-level warrior was, they could not escape his eyes. He himself specialized in speed!
Holding a wine flask in his right hand, the drunk reached out with his left to pat Andrew's shoulder. Andrew's heart leaped, and he hurriedly retreated. Faced with an expert whose allegiance was unknown, he instinctively wanted to dodge. But...
Is this what Saint-level is?
The man's hand landed squarely on Andrew's right shoulder. Andrew could not move a muscle, as though he had been frozen in place. The air, which had possessed almost no weight, seemed to have become a mountain pressing tightly down on him.
Saint-level-so this is what a Saint-level expert who has touched upon the laws is like! Below Saint-level, all are ants!
In an instant, this thought rose in Andrew's mind.
"Good, boy. You're very good!" The drunk smiled and praised him twice. Then Andrew felt the pressure around him disappear.
"Thank you for your guidance, senior!" Faced with an expert of such unfathomable strength, Andrew had to remain respectful.
The drunk waved a hand. "No need. In all these years, this is the first time I've met a young man like you. Mature beyond your years, exceptionally talented, yet neither arrogant nor impatient. Very good indeed. If I hadn't stopped taking disciples long ago, I might truly be unable to resist..."
Andrew lowered his head, inwardly grumbling, You old fellow, you're only Saint-level. In a few more years, I'll reach your level and surpass you. Even if you wanted to take me as a disciple, I'd still have to agree!
As a transmigrator, Andrew had very lofty aspirations, and his sights were set on the Higher Plane. How could he possibly take a Saint-level expert in a Material Plane as his master?
Of course, if the drunk knew what he was thinking, he might slap him to death...
"I like you, boy. Come with me and pick a weapon. You really did get it right. My place may be small, but it has quite a few extraordinary weapons hidden away!"
Andrew's eyes lit up at those words. Now that was a tangible benefit. Along with it, he found the drunk much more agreeable to look at. The drunk took two steps forward and pressed his hand against the wall. With a rumble, the seemingly ordinary wall split down the middle like a great door, revealing a passage.
A magic array!
At the instant the wall moved, Andrew sensed the aura of a magic array.
Following the drunk, Andrew stepped into the passage. After walking roughly two hundred meters inward and another hundred meters down, they reached a secret chamber nearly a hundred meters long and wide. Several enormous racks stood inside. Weapons lay quietly upon them, seemingly awaiting their masters' arrival.
"Look at these weapons!" The drunk pointed at the racks and said proudly, "Don't be fooled by their ordinary appearance. Every one of them is a divine artifact! Back then, I nearly lost my life collecting them! But I think it was worth it!"
"Divine artifacts?"