Silence reigned in the place. Unlike the previous times, there were no reactions. The crowds just watched as the lever stopped rising until it fell, all the way to the ground.
"Clang."
The sound of a metal object hitting the floor broke the silence, and the crowd woke up from their stupor.
"Woaaa!"
After a moment of silence, the bystanders went crazy.
"He broke the scale."
"He actually did. Am I dreaming right now? Someone slap me."
"Slaaap!"
"Dude, what the hell!?"
"You asked someone to slap you."
...
After the lever fell on the floor, Kaelen placed the hammer on the ground and walked towards Tang Feihu.
"Senior Tang, we're going to choose our prizes now," he said.
Tang Feihu was still a bit shocked at what he just witnessed.
"These boys are clearly in the early stage of Xiantian, and the last one is even at the first stage, yet they're all so strong. The sect really found some gems this time," Tang Feihu thought.
"Sure. What will you guys choose? It can be source stones, a weapon artifact of the spirit grade, a martial skill at the earth grade, or become my disciple," he said lightly as he crossed his massive arms.
Kaelen looked at the other two and thought for a moment. "I mostly want source stones, but the other stuff seems interesting. Also, Rai and Thor may need a foundational manual for their weapon choice. As for the spirit-grade artifact..."
"Senior, what is a weapon artifact?" He asked.
The man looked at him surprised at the question but answered shortly, "It's just a weapon that is made with some special material by a spirit Smith, a weapon forger that can forge spirit artifacts. They're basically weapons of higher quality than mortal weapons, with some special ability. Here, let me show you."
He quickly explained, taking two weapons out from his spatial ring, a sword and a dagger.
The sword was a simple iron weapon, while the dagger was made of bizarre blue ore.
He swung the sword at the dagger, and to Kaelen's surprise, the sword broke instead of the dagger; it barely had a scratch.
"Woaw," he said, his eyes glowing.
"Yeah. Artifacts can be a game-changer. This one specifically is a low-grade spirit artifact. There are still treasure grade, sacred grade, and the extraordinarily rare divine artifact. A divine artifact can make a mortal slay a powerhouse in seconds, provided he can wield it. So, what will you choose?" Smiling, the man asked once more.
Kaelen turned to the boys. "I'll take the source stones; do you guys need anything?"
Rai thought for a moment. "I'll take the martial skill. Do you have any quick sword or blade foundational techniques? I just recently started using dual blades, so I mostly need something to get a good foundation for my blade skills." Finally, he asked Tang Feihu.
"Oh!? A foundational skill? You're pretty disciplined. Alright, here's ten thousand high-grade source stones. As for you, this is a short blade earth-grade martial skill that includes the foundational blade techniques to master before practicing the skill, The Flashing Thunder Blade skill." He threw a storage pouch at Kaelen and a yellow book at Rai.
"What about you?" He turned to Thor.
"I'll take a weapon then. Do you happen to have a great saber by any chance?" Thorin asked.
"A great saber, you say? I have plenty of artifacts like that, since I used great blades myself. Seems like we are fated, boy. Here." He casually threw a huge six feet long blade at him.
Thorin caught it by the handle and admired the weapon for a moment.
Its blade was five feet long and ten inches wide, about the length of the distance between the index finger and thumb finger of a stretched adult hand. The weapon was a beautiful dark red color, and its blade was mostly straight until the last few inches of it, where it curved upward.
Thorin was visibly very satisfied with the weapon.
"That weapon is pretty cool; does it have a name?" Kaelen asked, admiring the weapon in Thorin's hand.
"Yes, the name of that great blade is called Red Moon Great blade. I used it a lot in my younger years. Kid, make good use of it. It's a high-grade spirit treasure, made of ten thousand pounds of blood titanium and a thousand pounds of moon source stones. It weighs about eleven thousand pounds, but when it absorbs moonlight its weight grows, so be mindful of how you use it," the man said, a sentimental light flashing in his eyes as he spoke of his past.
"Red Moon Great Blade," murmured Thorin. "I love it. Thank you, Senior Tang." He bowed as he thanked the Tiger King.
"No problem, boy, you deserve it. I'm a bit disappointed none of you wanted to become my disciple, but it's fine."
"You!" He turned back to Kaelen, who looked back at him.
"Yes, Senior Tang?"
"Since you kind of broke the record possible, I'll allow you to choose a second time. Ahahaha."
"Oh?" Hearing that, Kaelen was a bit taken aback, but then he smiled brightly.
"Alright. I'll have a weapon as well, preferably a spear or halberd." he said excitedly.
"A weapon too? Why don't these boys ask me to be their master? Is my reputation waning? Maybe I need to go out again and make some contribution for the empire." Dejected, he took out a seven-foot-long spear and threw it at the boy.
Catching the spear, Kaelen also began admiring it.
The spear was very similar to the silver weapon he used to practice, but it was much more beautiful: It was a crimson and silver spear, its shaft was silver with intricate patterns inscribed on it. The blade was the crimson part, about forty centimeters long and five inches wide. It was shaped like a sword blade so both sides of the blade could cut with an equal amount of sharpness. A destructive aura emanated from the weapon.
"That spear is called Blood Swallowing Spear. Its blade is made from a blood source crystal that absorbs blood energy for sharper cuts and greater power. It's a high-grade spirit weapon. It's quite heavy since it's made of crimson profound gold and a source crystal, both materials of very high density, and can weigh thousands of pounds per foot respectively. That spear was made using a twenty-foot-long profound gold rock plus a four-foot-long source crystal. Spirit smiths can refine material while keeping most of its weight, so its weight should be around twenty-four thousand pounds. To wield it, you need at least two hundred fifty thousand pounds of strength." Tang Feihu described the blade as Kaelen was admiring it.
While the four were engaging, Xue Qing and Tang Hao finally reached their side. Both had been walking towards the boys but had been completely shocked when Kaelen broke the scale, so they paused a bit.
"Uncle!" Tang Hao shouted.
"Hm?" Tang Feihu turned towards the shout and noticed the duo amongst the crowd. His eyes lit up as he waved at them.
"Hao'er, Qing'er. I haven't seen you two in two years; you've grown a lot." He shouted as he waved.
Hearing the names, Rai's ears pricked up. He looked in the direction Tang Feihu was waving at.
"It's Xue Qing," he thought. His mood instantly rose even more as he put the manual he was just reviewing in his storage ring.
The two quickly made their way toward them.
"Hey, you guys." Tang Hao greeted them first, and Xue Qing followed suit.
"Hello," she said.
"Oh, it's you guys. Hey, we met your uncle and got a few gifts. Ahhahah." Seeing the duo, Kaelen warmly greets them as he brightly smiled. He waved his new spear as he casually unleashed a few moves of the foundational spear technique, showing off his new spear.
"Yeah, we saw you guys from afar. I knew you guys would cause commotions once you began exploring the whole sect. Ahaha." Laughing, Tang Hao tapped Thor's shoulder.
"Oh!? You got uncle's Red Moon blade; he must see himself in you." He commented as he noticed the weapon in the latter's hand.
"Alright, you kids, I'll leave you at it. You three, here." Tang Feihu threw three tokens at Kai, Thor, and Rai.
"With those, you can come and go in Sundering Tiger Mountain where you can compete with other disciples of the sect and receive teachings from me. I expect to see you guys there often; only through battles can powerhouses be formed." He said valiantly as he made a fist with his right hand.
"Alright, Hao'er, Qing'er, come visit me as well, goodbye." He waved as he soared into the sky and disappeared shortly after.
"Okay, guys, let's go eat some good food." Putting his spear in his ring, Kaelen enthusiastically said.
"We'll join you guys then if that's okay." Tang Hao asked.
"Of course, the more the merrier." Raizel nodded as he looked smilingly at Xue Qing, who consequently lowered her head in slight embarrassment.
"Great. Tang Hao, do you know a good place?" Looking meaningfully at him, Kaelen asked.
"Huh!? What's that supposed to mean? Just because I'm a bit round, I should know the right places to eat??" The latter retorted with an annoyed expression.
"Ahahaha, maybe you don't, but we're pretty sure you do. Don't you?" Thorin added on the side.
"Of course I do. Follow me, guys." Giving him a side glance, Tang Hao excitedly took the lead as they headed up the mountain, leaving the crowd that was watching them at a loss.
"I guess, we'll leave as well."
"Yeah, the action is finished anyway."
"Damn, that was pretty wild."
"Yep. The whole sect will know about these three young boys soon."
Like this, the crowd dispersed as the bystanders gossiped about what they had just witnessed.