Back in the Yang family manor.
Two soul lamps broke.
A panic appeared on the face of the attendant.
He rushed toward the room of the family leader and started calling.
"Lord Yang, Lord Yang, Lord Yang"
Hou Yang replied, "What is it?"
The attendant said, "This humble servant has something important to report."
"Say it."
"Lord Yang, it's about two young masters. Their soul lamp had broken."
Hou Yang stood from his seat, "What did you say?"
He was angry.
There was only one outcome when the soul lamp was broken, 'Death'.
Hou Yang gave an order. "Go inform the Instructors and tell them to investigate the matter."
"Yes Lord"
The attendant departed.
"Who would be able to kill Peng Yang? He was a mid-evolution realm cultivator like me."
There was wariness and vengeance in his eyes.
***
The attendant reached the academy and informed them about the death of the Yang brothers.
The instructors were shocked.
The tournament was nearing, and they didn't want to make a ruckus. So, they decided to investigate in secret.
First, they tried to find where the body of the Yang brothers was. However, they could not find any clues.
Then they started questioning the disciples if they had seen the Yang brothers.
A few disciples came forward and testified.
"They had seen the brothers going out of the academy. But, they didn't know where they went."
The instructor told the disciples not the spread the news and started further investigation.
***
In front of Runermaster's door.
"Senior Zhu, senior zhu."
Grim called for Zhu Yi.
A noise came from inside, and the doors opened, "Come in. Brat."
Grim went inside and greeted Zhu Yi.
"Greetings, Senior Zhu. I have brought the materials you assigned."
Zhu Yi replied, "You are quite reliable. Hand me your token. I'll transfer the points."
"Thank you, Senior Zhu."
Zhu Yi returned the token to Grim and chase him out.
But, before he was about to leave he said, "Senior Zhu, don't forget to tell me if you have a mission."
Zhu Yi snorted, "Fine, brat."
Grim left for the treasury hall.
***
He arrived at the destination after a few minutes.
"I should get a weapon."
He started looking for weapons suitable for him.
"Hmm. What should I choose?"
He started analyzing.
"My biggest advantage is the raw strength. So, I should look for a heavy-handed weapon."
He started searching for greatswords, battle axes, and halberds.
He tested all of them. But, they were too light when he used 'vigor' to his limit.
Grim asked the treasurer, "Senior Xia, Is there any heavier weapon than what's out on display?"
Ren Xia responded, "Let me look up."
He went into the storage room.
***
A few minutes later he came with something and placed it on the table.
Bam!
A loud noise spread.
Grim was taken back.
He couldn't help but ask, "How heavy is this thing?"
Ren Xia replied, "Why don't you check for yourself."
Grim inspected the treasure carefully.
It looked like a blade of some sort. It had a length of 18 inches (45 cm).
He tried to lift it. But, he couldn't even move an inch.
Ren Xia laughed, "Now do you understand how heavy it is?"
Grim could easily lift a weight of 300 kg (661 lb). Yet, he couldn't even move the treasure.
'Vigor'
He multiplied his strenght by 30x and lifted the treasure. But, he couldn't handle it properly.
'Vigor'
He multiplied the strenght by 35x. Now, he could wield it comfortably.
"It should weigh around 10 tonnes."
He started playing with the treasure in front of Ren Xia.
Ren Xia said, "Alright kid, you can lift it. Now stop."
Grim stopped immediately and asked, "Senior Xia, what kind of blade is this?"
"It is the blade of a glaive made from the meteor, and it's mid-evolution grade treasure."
Grim asked again, "What happened to its pole?"
"The previous poles couldn't withstand the weight. So, all of them broke. That's why it has been left to collect the dust."
Grim replied, "I'll take it."
Reng Xia was surprised
"Kid, this weapon is useless without a handle."
He tried to dissuade Grim. But, Grim was adamant about his decision.
In the end, Grimm purchased the blade for 700 points.
When Grim was about to depart, Ren Xia jokingly said, "You can use it as a short sword if you can't find a pole."
Grim returned to the room.
***
"Now, I have a weapon even if it's half complete."
"There are still five months before the tournament."
"I'll try to search for suitable poles for the Glaive."
Grim went to the market in search of poles, and he bought some.
He set the poles with the blade. However, they couldn't even withstand a single swing and break immediately.
Then, he went to the blacksmith. But, the blacksmith declined the request after inspecting the blade.
The blacksmith turned him away saying, "You are wasting time with that glaive kid."
***
Grim returned to the training room.
He gave thought to what Ren Xia had said.
"Use it as a short sword."
"I'll give it a try."
He tried swinging the blade like a sword. But, the result was as anyone could have expected.
He was swinging it like a baby holding a knife.
The blade was not balanced. So, his hands had to go through much pressure.
Other disciples were looking at him like an idiot.
But, he didn't care.
'Vigor' He multiplied his strength by 50x.
It made wielding the blade very easy. He used brute force to deal with the problem.
He would practice blades during the day and enhance muscles by night.
***
A month later.
His mastery of the blade had improved greatly.
Now, he could wield the blade like a normal sword. So, he decided to reduce his strength by 5x while handling the blade.
His end goal was to wield the blade with minimum force while maximizing mastery.
His rigorous training started.
***
A month later.
A rumor started to spread about the disappearance of the Yang brothers.
The instructors had tried their best to investigate. But, they couldn't come up with proper evidence.
They knew the brothers had gone in the 'west' direction. But, they couldn't figure out where.
Lou Xiang said, "It could be anywhere in the 'west'."
Gong Wei agreed with her. "You are right. It will be like finding a needle in a haystack. Instead, we should be careful about the culprit."
Bai Hua said, "The culprit must be at the peak-evolution realm. We should warn the disciple."
"I agree"
All of them agreed.
Soon, an announcement was made to not take any missions from the 'west' direction in particular.
[Evo points left: 128,750]