Luca brought Hayes to the boxes he had stored each of the infused wood in as he carefully took them out as Jin returned with a stack of leather pieces from the village.
"A few were damaged in the process, it seems there had been deformities in the woods or the wood hadn't dried enough but these are the results." Luca explained.
"Hmm... Jin. Are you proficient in using the bow? If so, what kind of combat style are you looking for? This may change the design quite a lot." Hayes asked as he examined the wood pieces.
"I played around with a few but they were all a bit too long for my arm length. I was hoping for a shorter bow that is easy to wield and shoot out quickly" Jin replied.
"Hmm, speed over power. Pretty fitting for a wind user." Hayes spoke. "Alright, come over here and spread your arms apart wide."
Hayes then started to measure Jin's overall sizes before quickly sitting back beside Luca.
"I can make him a bow fitting for an early stage body enhancement stage cultivator but he's likely going to need another one for once he reaches the peak stage." Hayes spoke to Luca. "The materials we have currently won't be able to user the strength of a peak stage body enhancement cultivator efficiently."
"That should be fine, he won't need a bow once he reaches Qi condensation anyway. If he really wants one then he can go seek one himself" Luca responded.
"Wait a minute, why not?" Jin butted in.
"Why what?"
"Why wouldn't I need a bow at the Qi condensation stage?" Jin asked in curiosity.
"My god Luca. Does he know nothing? What have you taught him?" Hayes turned to Luca in shock at the lack of knowledge Jin had about the power of cultivators.
"Mmm, I wasn't expecting him to learn all of this information until he was older. He's still 9 Hayes." Luca sighed. "Once you reach Qi condensation, you can use your Qi to manifest weapons."
Kakakakak!
Hayes had reached down with his hand as a stone sword rose out from the ground.
"Elemental weaponry is one of the first things a Qi condensation user learns as its the most efficient way of fighting someone if you aren't literally rolling in money." Hayes explained. "Of course, if you can afford a Qi condensation level weapon then it would be much stronger than one's own Qi but not everyone can afford to do that."
"I can probably afford a Qi stage weapon. Even I myself don't have a spirit stage weapon for myself." Luca explained. "Materials that can withstand the violent Qi of a cultivator over and over without breaking apart are rare. It's not a matter of infusing a certain material with elemental qi but rather the material being able to quickly store and release that qi repeatability. As for spirit level weapons, perhaps only the four great families or high ranking members of great sects have access to them."
"Wait, what about above the spirit stage? Aren't there weapons for cultivators at the peak?" Jin asked.
"Well, cultivators of the demonic path likely won't use weapons since their bodies would be stronger than most things they can find. And cultivators of the elemental path won't use weapons against demonic path cultivators for a similar reason, it simply wouldn't be effective. As for battles between elemental path cultivators, it's more of a battle of firepower." Luca explained. "There are indeed weapons suited for cultivators at that stage but those are called Heavenly Artifacts mainly because they have to come from materials of the higher plane."
"...Is there a Heavenly Artifact that's a bow?" Jin asked with a glint in his eyes.
"Hahaha!" Hayes roared out loud "The nerves on this kid!"
"Haha." Luca chuckled too. "Jin. Heavenly Artifacts are strategic resources of powerful beings. I do believe there is indeed a Heavenly Artifact in the shape of a bow currently in the hands of the Ryong family."
"The Ryong family of the eastern islands? Is it in possession of the guardian god?" Jin, seemingly disappointed, asked.
"No." Luca responded. "It's likely in the hands of the family head. He's a bow user as well."
"Don't worry about it Jin, that stuff is just fantasy to us. One step at a time, daydreaming won't make you stronger. Who knows, you might really be able to win it from the Ryong family's hand in the future but not now." Hayes spoke out. "It should take a few days for me to make the bow so stick by me and I'll try my best to customize it for your use as much as possible."
"I'll leave you too then." Luca smiled before quickly disappearing before their eyes.
"Hmph, isn't he worried I might abduct you or something?" Hayes spoke out grumpily.
"He told me we had to prepare for a feast for you so... He's probably out hunting for meat." Jin responded, remembering Luca's words from a few days ago.
"Haha! He knows me best!" Hayes roared out in glee before happily moving towards the pieces of wood.
-----
"What do you mean? Luca has been quite for decades, there's no reason for us to force him out. He might've forgotten it all by now!" An old man, seemingly in his 70s from his appearances, spoke out in frustration.
"Second elder, just because you don't have any enmity with him doesn't mean you should just ignore his potential. Do you not value the lives of your family?" Another old man, a bit younger than the second elder, spoke out across him.
"Humph. He's your grand kid fifth, its your 'family' matter. Whose fault is it for basically taking both his parents away from him?" The second elder spoke out.
The fifth elder sat across from the second elder as he fell into thought. There were a few other people in this room but only the two of them were discussing the current issue.
His name was Hiru Ho and he was indeed the grandfather of the current Luca Ho, the thorn on his side. "He refuses to meet me, it's likely that our blood ties mean nothing to Luca." He said in a solemn manner.
"We don't even know how strong he is... How strong was he the last time we saw him?" Another man, around the age of 40, spoke whilst sipping tea.
"You're right, third elder. I believe he was at the early stages of the spirit stage the last time we collided with him but that was decades ago... Do you think he could've reached the fourth stage?" The second elder asked as well, a tint of worry in his face.
"Elders." Ahn, who had been listening to their arguments, spoke out. "Why do we speak as if fighting Luca is the only way out? Compromise still exists."
"Boy, if someone took both your parents away from you and left you all by yourself in the corner of the world, would you do nothing?" The third elder spoke.
"Stop mentioning that." Hiru Ho replied in annoyance.
"Elders." Ahn continued. "He has a son."
"What!?"
The eyes of everyone in the room opened wide.
"Is that why he has been quiet for so long?" Hiru Ho asked in shock.
"Most likely. But there's another thing, that child is favored by her holiness." Ahn spoke out. "She has noticed his talent and has gifted him the eyes."
!?
"Hmm... This complicates things." The second elder spoke out with a thoughtful expression.
"How is his talent?" The oldest man in the room, who had been sitting at the head of the table silently, spoke out all of a sudden.
"...Immeasurable, lord elder." Ahn bowed as he responded. The man who had spoken to him was the First elder, he was the man who had the 3rd greatest power within the entire family after her holiness and the family head. "I-I fear that he has the potential to ascend."
"..."
Silence fell upon the room.
A potential for ascension wasn't common.
Even in this entire room, perhaps only Ahn and the third elder had the potential to ascend before their lives were over. The rest had exhausted too much of their lives and didn't have much hope to reach such a level in their lifetime.
Of course Ahn could be wrong as well. But as another person who had the talent to ascend, it's likely that his guesses were true.
But it would probably be better if they could know for sure.
"If that boy really has the talent to ascend then... It's best we do all our can to appease Luca. We've been at the bottom of the four families for so long..." The first elder sighed out.
The world of politics between the families were complicated.
But power difference was as clear as day. The current ruling family, the Zak family, had the most power. This wasn't enough of any other reasons except the fact that they had more powerhouses than the Ho family.
As for the Ho family, they had been at the bottom of the four families for centuries.
This was mainly due to the lack of enthusiasm of their guardian god for training others but also because the area they lived in at the smallest amount of population. This caused a situation where it was more difficult to unearth hidden gems since there was much less of the population they could find them from.
"We need to find out if he really does have such talent first." Hiru spoke out. "Ahn, how old is the boy?"
"He's under 10 years old but has likely already reached the early stages of body enhancement." Ahn responded.
"...Could you try to invite them to the capital? Even if Luca's animosity reaches the heavens, he might hold himself back for the benefits of his son. I'll try to plead with her holiness to personally meet them. If not then I'll promise to instruct him personally we can also provide them resources." The third elder spoke out carefully.
The third elder, Farea Bloomfeather ,wasn't a descendent of the Ho family but someone that had joined the family's army at a young age and had climbed up the ranks with his own power. He was currently 90 years old and at the peak of the spirit reinforcement stage, someone who would likely ascend in the future.
"Understood, Elder." Ahn responded before quietly leaving the room.
"As for my payment and the resources, you'll be in charge of that second elder." Farea spoke to Hiru.
"...Fine." Hiru, the root cause of this entire situation, agreed in reluctance.