A simp stays a simp, and in the end, gets nothing.
The boy glanced disdainfully at the others, clearly unimpressed.
"Who are you?" Xu Zimo stepped forward and asked.
"My name’s Cui Yuan. My grandfather is Cui Yaoguang, an Inner Court Elder," the boy replied proudly.
Lin Ruhu smacked him on the back of the head. "My grandfather is the Third Grand Elder, and even I don’t brag like that. Since when did being the grandson of an Inner Court Elder make you hot shit?!"
In the True Martial Sacred Ground, ever since the Sacred Lord left, Sacred Vice-Lord Xu Qingshan held the most power.
Next came the Seven Grand Elders, followed by the Inner Court Elders, and then the Outer Court Elders.
"You had no reason to hit me!" Cui Yuan snapped back. "If you’ve got guts, let’s fight for real."
"You want to spar with me?" Xu Zimo asked with a smile. "Alright, but what are you betting that’s worth my time?"
"Let’s fight directly, no need for insight or comprehension contests," Cui Yuan said confidently.
He had started cultivating over a year ago and had already opened his first meridian gate, reaching the Spirit Meridian Realm, making him an official Outer Court disciple.
"If you win, I’ll wager this Dragon Pearl," Cui Yuan said, pulling out a dark yellow orb from his storage ring.
The orb was covered in intricate, chaotic patterns. At first, Xu Zimo didn’t think much of it,
“Searched high and low in my past life and never found it... And now, it just falls into my lap.”
With excitement in his eyes, he snatched the orb and studied it closely for a while before confirming its identity.
"Where did you get this?" Xu Zimo asked, staring intensely.
Cui Yuan was startled by the heat in Xu Zimo’s gaze. “I-I found it while playing near the river behind the mountain,” he stammered.
"Perfect," Xu Zimo nodded, satisfied. "Then it’s mine now."
"But we haven’t fought yet!" Cui Yuan protested.
"What fight?" Lin Ruhu glared at him. "Brother Zimo taking your stuff is the best thing that’s ever happened to you."
"You’re just bullying me!" Cui Yuan backed away, tears welling up.
"Scram," Xu Zimo waved his hand dismissively. "Run along, or I’ll beat your dumb ass."
"Y-You’ll regret this!" Cui Yuan burst into tears and ran out of the Gravity Tower.
Xu Zimo didn’t care. Among the younger generation, unless someone crossed a major line or caused serious harm, the elders rarely intervened.
Besides, as a proper villain, doing things like reneging on deals and stealing loot was par for the course.
Fair play from a villain? What are you, high?
That orb was the Hell-Suppressing Pearl.
No one else may have known its secret yet, but Xu Zimo knew very well.
In his past life, it had been one of protagonist Chu Yang’s ultimate trump cards, and it had given Xu Zimo hell.
After securing the Hell-Suppressing Pearl, Xu Zimo continued cultivating in the Gravity Tower for the rest of the day.
The double gravity of the first floor was no longer enough for him, so he moved on to the second floor, which had twenty times normal gravity.
The jump between the first and second floors was massive, so the sect had cleverly added intermediate gravity levels on the staircase leading up.
It started from triple gravity and increased gradually, four, five, all the way to nineteen times,
Xu Zimo sat at the midway point, exactly ten times gravity.
He trained like that the entire day. As the sun set behind the western peaks, he finally exhaled a long breath.
His foundation had grown even more solid.
A stream of warm white mist escaped his mouth. He was nearly ready to break through to the Spirit Meridian Realm in the coming days.
Night had fallen. Xu Zimo bid farewell to Lin Ruhu but did not return to his residence on South Goose Peak.
Instead, with guard Zhang Zhongtian accompanying him, he made his way to the Divine Armory Pavilion.
It was time to choose his weapon.
“Blades, spears, staves, swords, halberds, axes, and pikes, The full array of eighteen weapon types.”
His father had once said, “Every weapon has a soul. Never treat it like a cold, lifeless tool. For many warriors, their weapon has been with them since they first stepped onto the martial path. The connection between a cultivator and their weapon is mutual. You choose it, and it chooses you. It is your partner, not a tool for slaughter. A true cultivator can awaken a weapon’s spirit, Only then does it truly belong to you.”
The Divine Armory Pavilion had ten floors. Weapons in the Primordial Heartlands were graded just like techniques and cultivation methods:
Universe, Galaxy, Star, Planet, Heaven, Earth, Profound, Yellow.
The first floor contained basic weapons, mortal-grade items made from high-quality materials.
Many disciples were confused by this. If the materials could be used to craft Earth-grade or even Heaven-grade weapons, why would the blacksmiths intentionally lower the grade to mortal?
This was something most disciples in the sect never understood, which is why they usually started picking weapons from the second floor and up.
From the second to the ninth floor, weapons were categorized by the eight standard ranks: Universe, Galaxy, Star, Planet, Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow.
But on the tenth floor, that was where the truly legendary weapons were kept:
True Emperor Weapons, left behind by Grand Emperors of past ages after they ascended.
These weapons had followed their masters through wars and tribulations. They had been tempered by the Heaven’s Will itself.
Their power far exceeded even Universe-grade weapons.
Yet Xu Zimo ignored all the ranked weapons and headed straight to the first floor, where the mortal-grade weapons were kept.
“Master Xu, all of these are untempered mortal weapons,” Zhang Zhongtian said in confusion. “Why would you want one of these?”
“Because they’re in their most natural state, that’s exactly why I want them,” Xu Zimo smiled.
“A piece of uncut jade, given to a skilled artisan, Whether it becomes trash or a priceless gem depends entirely on the craftsmanship.”
He sighed wistfully. “A true priceless work of art.”
Most people only cared about high-tier weapons, Universe, Galaxy, or Star-grade.
But they forgot, many of those weapons had started as mortal-grade, evolving step by step.
If you never stood by a weapon in its weakest form, how could it ever recognize you as its master?
In his past life, Xu Zimo had known a blacksmith, an old man who only forged mortal weapons.
He never made ranked items.
He once told Xu Zimo: “A weapon that starts out as Universe-grade without ever going through the Mortal, Yellow, or Profound stages, its soul will always be incomplete.”