The Weapon God - 674

"And what makes you think that he will be able to match the Serpent Master?" The Commander asked.

This was an important matter, one that involved the security of the entire Empire. Such assumptions could not be casually made.

"He is following the path of poison, and has already experienced great success. In addition, he has received physical modifications from me, enhancing his strength, speed, and reaction time. If anyone has the potential to match the Serpent Master, then I can only imagine it is him." The Imperial Scholar explained.

The Emperor remembered the name. "Isn't that the boy that you said would most likely become the next Imperial Scholar?"

"It is. As well as Sword Master Skybelle's younger brother." The Imperial Scholar said while looking at Sword Master Shang.

After a brief silence, the Commander spoke. "If what you say is true, then should we not assist his growth so that it can progress in the fastest manner?" 

The Imperial Scholar shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure. I believe that we should leave him alone to develop on his own. Interference on our part may end up having negative effects on his imagination and creativity. However, at the same time, perhaps we could provide him with things that he would not normally have access to, allowing him to create a unique poison that can defeat the Serpent Master. It is all one big gamble."

The Commander nodded. This was indeed a tricky situation.

"Isn't the Serpent Master also proficient in poison?" Sword Master Shang said, speaking for the first time.

"Not nearly as much as Skymender could be. He's too busy playing with snakes, and all of the poison he uses is naturally made." The Imperial Scholar said.

After a bit more discussion, they came to a conclusion. "Since the best poison expert in the Empire is the Imperial Scholar, and the Imperial Scholar said that there is not much more he can teach him, then all we can do is allow him to access rare plants and materials in order to assist his progress. Everything else is up to him."

A letter was written and sent out by the Imperial Scholar the same day, but it would take a while for it to reach the Sky Barony. 

A few weeks passed, and Skymender turned 12 years old. His mother and father held a small celebration for him, but at this point, he was far more mature than most adults would be. 

Even they could somewhat see that just by looking at him. 

Skymerge showed up, most likely because he was dragged down. He was glued to a book the entire time, and only spoke once to Skymender.

"It won't be long before my first book is finished. Make sure you come and read it."

Skymender agreed. He was very interested in what Skymerge had been up to.

Skymender's assassination business was thriving even more than before. After a while, Violet was finally tasked with a few assassinations, something she was not sure if she was happy or upset about. 

Regardless, seeing the money she received made all of her hesitations go away, accepting her new life as a servant/assassin.

The police didn't bother Skymender at all in this time, and their organization was slowly becoming more of a legend than a known thing.

Even more time passed, and Skymender was summoned by Baron Sky. Entering the office, the Baron handed him a letter.

"This is from the Imperial Scholar. Don't take it lightly." He said seriously.

Skymender nodded. To others, the Imperial Scholar could only be called a legendary being. However, to him, it felt as though he was just an abnormally smart person.

He opened it and read it.

"Dear Skymender, In the interest of your talents, the Empire has opened up the classified material storage to you. For a price, you can obtain just about any material known by the Empire. A catalog is in this envelope along with the letter. Do not read this near anyone, and absolutely don't share it. From, the Imperial Scholar."

Skymender did not take the catalog out, first leaving Baron Sky's office and returning to his room.

He opened up the catalog, and did not recognize a single thing. Luckily, there were descriptions of the materials properties and known usage. He could see at a glance why they were classified. 

Some were already poisonous enough to take out a small village without any sort of added supplements.

He had no need for any of them right now. He would need to perform research and calculations before he spent the massive amount of money required to buy them. Luckily, his assassination business was doing well.

Skymender made sure to spend even more time than usual researching poisons. However, he soon realized that he needed to visit Skymerge. His book should be done by now.

He waited until night, and entered the secret room in the library.

Skymerge was reading, and when he saw Skymender enter, he pointed to the far side of the room. On a shelf were ten books, each thicker than most of the books Skymender had ever seen in his life. 

It was a series called, "The Weapon God". 

Skymender did not waste any time, as he knew this would be a long read. 

It started off classically, in a small mortal village, but as the story progressed, it was learned that there were beings known as cultivators in the world. The protagonist, a boy, slowly climbed his way up, mastering weapons to incredible degrees. Skymender did not read all of this at once. 

He spent hundreds of hours over many days. 

Summer came, and Skymender finally turned the last page.

"The Weapon God stood tall on the sea of stars below his feet. Pulling back his bow, he released an arrow that combined everything he had ever comprehended into one point, a single arrow tip. The being that considered itself an almighty lord stood shocked as the arrow pierced his forehead, ending his trillion year reign as the god of the universe, and freeing all beings from his tyranny."

There was an afterward that spoke of what happened after that moment, but that was the final climax of the story.

Skymender sat, stunned. This was the greatest thing he had ever read, only matched by something like The Plot of a Thousand Years.