Returning from the Body Tempering Peak, Shen's mind was lost in the choice of his martial art.
"What weapon should I go with? A sword? Nah that's too generic, A spear? Hmm, it sounds cool but never used one, A staff? That's too uncool, A knife? Nah...."
Lost in the choices he had, Shen was like a child failing to end up at a conclusion.
It was currently night-time, cicadas were humming in the humid summer night, and spring had long passed and carried away the little rain it came up with.
"Ahh.... I'm basking in sweat right now, how about I go for a bath and then think of a weapon."
With a flash of motivation, Shen's figure vanished, quickly moving through the paths, approaching any lakes nearby.
Soon enough, Shen arrived near a lake.
"The last thing that this Sect lacks is Lakes," Shen quickly disrobed and dipped himself in the soothing cold water under the moonlight.
"Hell yeah.... this is good shit..." Shen closed his eyes, relaxing in calmness.
"Now that I think about it when I killed those villagers, I simply ripped them apart with my own hands..."
"Hmm.... Speaking of that, why don't I feel bad for killing them at all?"
Shen opened his eyes and started thinking and observing his behaviours.
"If I ever did it on earth, I would feel bad and guilty, but what changed when I killed in this world?"
"If I had to list the reasons for such, could it be that reading all those fantasy novels numbed me to killing?"
"But that doesn't make sense, does it? The system called me a psychopath, but I was a normal person back then?"
"Nah, this shit is kinda serious, so basically, I didn't think of them as people themselves? Because if I did then I would surely feel remorse committing those atrocities, If I were to pin my feelings back then, it felt more like experimenting, I held no value and respect for their lives?"
It was weird!
Shen felt that something felt off.
He was just wondering about choosing a weapon and then this massive mood swing?
Shen looked at his hands, remembering what he did back then, flashes of red and mists of meth, ripping apart those villagers be they young or old.
But that wasn't the problem.
"I just.... don't give a shit?"
"When did normalising genocide and manslaughter become my thing?"
"Tsk, this is ruining my mood....."
Shen closed his eyes and dived into the river.
He already had Water Breathing and Dolphin's Grace activated, thus he felt like a fish swimming in the water.
Trying to get away from the negative thoughts, Shen came all the way down to the bottom of the ocean and spent some time there before coming out and dressing himself up again.
"Bruh..... whatever.... I don't give a fuck, so what if I killed mortals, it's not like anyone is going to come arrest me."
Being dressed up and refreshed, Shen started heading towards the Outer Sect Martial Hall.
The Martial Hall, as the name suggested, was a hall for martial arts practice.
Interestingly, The Martial Hall was adjacent to the Lecture Hall as well.
Being a place for martial arts and cultivation-related academics, it was naturally a hotspot for the sect's disciples to gather.
There would be lectures held for outer sect disciples in the lecture hall, however the timings were never set in stone.
On the other hand, the martial hall was almost always full, disciples would gather from all over the Lake Lotus Sect's territory to seek guidance from the Elders stationed there.
"The previous Shen Wang had never visited the Martial Hall, however, he had attended the free lectures held periodically at the Lecture Hall," Shen Wang mumbled as he began retrieving the location from his mind and began walking towards that direction.
Walking in clutters disciples shuffled through the manuals one by one, it was a giant adobe of manuals, and visuals of disciples sparring, with bot figurines and amongst themselves could be seen. Shen Wang stood outside the hall, what seemed like a giant open library was protected with formations, many of which had been reinforced after a certain someone plundered the alchemist reserves of the outer sect.
"Name and medallion," a coarse voice was transmitted, directly into Shen's mind as his fingertips reached into his torso, taking out his spiritual pouch, he grabbed his medallion and raised it towards the protective formation.
An ethereal wave washed over, as subtle cracks appeared in thin air, revealing an entrance to the martial hall.
"Shen Wang, first time coming to the martial hall," a middle-aged man, wearing golden-azure robes, the symbol of an outer sect elder, made his appearance.
"It seems that you have quite a profound vitality even before learning martial arts, a vital lotus body, what a rare seedling," The man praised Shen Wang, seeing through him in a single glace.
Shen Wang's look turned from that of a subtle smile to that of surprise, the martial hall elder had seen through him in a single glance!
No wonder, many of his secrets were exposed in front of the Alchemist Elder Jian Hu!
"Elder's insight is profound, this junior just found compatibility with the Vital Lotus Breathwork and condensed the Vital Lotus Body, this junior was merely lucks," with his fists crossed and body bent in a bow, Shen Wang respectfully paid his greetings to the martial elder.
Visually pleased, the martial elder patted Shen Wang's back.
"Haha! A humble one I see, The last time someone condensed a Vital Lotus Body was just 5 years ago, you must have great innate vitality, good! If that's the case then martial arts will suit you, as your mentor here, let me help you select a martial art which suits you the best,"
As the duo walked through the hall, Shen saw various sights.
Training mechanisms, food stalls, dozens of disciples sparring, many freshers using training dummies to hone their skills, and racks of cold weapons were stored in a designated area.
A walk through all that still took around half an hour, coupling the speed at which they had been travelling, Shen made a rough estimate of the dimensions of the martial hall.
It was a dozen kilometres long and a few kilometres wide, equipped with many necessities for nurturing a martial artist's growth, it wouldn't be an understatement to compare it with the cutting-edge infrastructure of martial arts.
"This right here is the martial hall's library, equipped with over a hundred kinds of martial arts, each with various uses, each disciple has the right to issue one manual, however, you cannot choose another one before completely mastering the one you have already chosen, so choose wisely, any questions?" As the duo approached a pavilion, the martial hall elder explained.
"Elder, I have one indeed, can you guide me as to which martial art suits me the best?" inquired Shen Wang.
As if expecting this question, the martial elder smirked a little.
"Looking at your posture, you haven't had any training before, there should be a few weapons lying around here and there, why don't you brush your hands with a few of them,"
Following the advice, Shen Wang went to a nearby mud field and glanced over the few weapons stationed there.
Sword, Spear, Halberd, Bow, Daggers, Axes, War Hammers, Staffs, Maces and their variations, all lined up in a neat row, clearly depicting the hard work of the Lotus Servants.
"Pick any weapon and test it on that wooden scarecrow, I'll observe you and tell you if the weapon suits you or not," The Martial Elder, gracefully smiled with the ethereal aura of a foundation establishment cultivator.
Shen Wang smiled as a blaze flashed in his eyes.
"Sword!"
Clumsily, Shen slashed away at the scarecrow, only to scrape away a few twigs, which re-grew immediately after.
"Hmm, no natural talent for swords, try again".
"Spear!"
This time, Shen stabbed away from a long distance, reaching at least a few metres before launching a deadly strike! His natural talent awakened as the spear made a swoosh sound in the air, filling it with thrill, and an expectant gaze Shen looked up, only to see a few more bamboo twigs falling from the scarecrow, which, needless to say, got regenerated in a few seconds...
"It's alright, many people are suited for a different combat weapon than normal martial artists!"
Watching the expectant gaze of his martial elder, the fire was ignited again, as Shen domineeringly picked up a halberd.
As his muscles twitched and the effects of strength were applied to his muscles skyrocketed his combat power from a measly 9th realm Qi Condensation to Middle Foundation Establishment.
The deadly force was unleashed as the scarecrow was sent flying.
"A-Amazing! To think you have such raw power! I was right, You have a special constitution! Good! Good! Good!"
"However it seems that your technique is still lacking, if you used the halberd properly, you should have at least produced a sonic boom, alas it seems that the halberd is not completely suitable for him."
Shen stood there listening.
Was this not enough?
Was his technique this bad?
"Shen Wang, don't be too dejected, maybe another weapon will fit you!" Martial Elder consoled him.
A Bow!
Fail!
A War Hammer!
Fail!
Axe?
Fail!
Staffs?
Not a chance!
A Mace?!
...
Fail...
"Just.... Just use your hands and punch," By now, the nerves on his head were twitching.
Just how incompatible could a cultivator be with weapons?
It was as if he had never handled a single weapon in his entire life!