Lu Er followed Xia Wakumi as she led him toward a strange building. It wasn't the appearance that was strange; it was the aura of the structure that made his hair stand on end. The whole building was shrouded in a pall of death.

  Xia Wakumi noticed the caution and hesitation in Lu Er's posture. "Don't worry. The Treasury is like this because of all the different monster corpses and dangerous treasures sealed inside. It is completely harmless."

  Lu Er nodded slowly. "Living near such a place must be a challenge on its own."

  "It used to be," she admitted, her voice soft. "But there is actually a large plantation of herbs and a vast training ground between the Treasury and the residence. They are always filled with life and vitality; thus, all of these effects never reach there."

  "I see…"

  Both of them entered. The interior was a stark contrast to the oppressive exterior aura. They entered a vast, high-ceilinged hall, illuminated by soft, crystal-set lanterns. It resembled a grand library, but instead of books, the endless rows of tall, polished wooden shelves were laden with an astonishing array of materials.

  There were also a few wooden puppets moving silently around the hall, organizing items. At the direct opposite end of the hall was a giant gate, locked away tight. It was obvious that more precious materials were stored there. What lay on the shelves here were just the cheap materials.

  Beside the entrance, in a small, comfortable nook, an elderly man dozed in a high-backed chair. He was an old man of average stature with a long white beard. He seemed to be taking a nap, his chin resting on his chest.

  "Elder Jia! We need something," Wakumi called out.

  The sleeping Elder was jolted awake, looking left and right in a panic. "What—what happened? Who attacked?!"

  "Nobody attacked, Elder. We need your help." She replied.

  "Eh, it's you, W—" Her hand slithered like a snake and shut his mouth as she dragged him to the corner.

  "I will tell him what he needs to do. You can make a list of all the material that you need until then," she said to Lu Er while the Elder's words were muffled by her hand.

  "Got it." Lu Er hesitated a bit but agreed. She turned her back on him as she filled the Elder's ear with whispered instructions.

  Lu Er shook his head and started writing.

  Finished, he placed the parchment on the desk before the now-seated elder, who had regained his composure.

  The elder cleared his throat gruffly, adjusting his robes. "So, you are Lu Zhiheng? I remember Sahui mentioning that you would come for some materials."

  "Greetings, Elder." Lu Er paid his respect with his hands cupped and head bowed.

  "The total cost for these ingredients will be 197 Essence Stones. Hmm? You also need a copy of these books? Then the cost will be 199 Essence Stones. I have already prepared the contract earlier; you just need to write the cost, seal the vow with a drop of blood, and agree to the conditions."

  Lu Er focused on the contract scroll, and as expected, a window appeared.

  [Heaven and Earth Vow Scroll (D?grade): A one-time-use scroll made specifically for the purpose of binding the contractee to follow the contract terms.]

  'Are there no other methods to create contracts except these weak Heaven and Earth Vows?! Aside from that, these scrolls are different from the orbs. The orb granted them control of my life and death if I don't pay the money or break the agreement, while the scroll makes me unable to even break the agreement.'

  He read the terms carefully. The interest rate was indeed ten percent per annum. The principal was to be paid through a combination of his salary and a percentage of his earnings from missions. The language was airtight.

  Satisfied, he took the proffered needle, pricked his thumb, and pressed a bloody fingerprint to the designated seal on the parchment. A brief, warm glow emanated from the scroll, and another window appeared in front of him.

  [Agree?]

  Lu Er affirmed, and the process went smoothly.

  After the process was completed, the scroll created a copy of itself. The Elder took a copy of the scroll and gave Lu Er the original one. It was to make sure both sides had evidence in case they ever needed it in the future.

  As soon as he completed the transaction process, one puppet came from inside the shelf maze in the surroundings, holding a wooden box full of ingredients that he required. The puppet put the box on the table and went back inside.

  "Thank you, Elder. I will take my leave now." Lu Er bowed once again and picked up the box.

  "You are going back?" Xia Wakumi asked.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Yes, I need to do my research on the Assign Techniques and find a way to get stronger."

  "There are a lot of empty rooms here. You can take one and do your research there."

  "No, no, I can't. I have already taken such a high loan; I can't burden the Xia Family more. I respect their generosity, but my own conscience won't allow it."

  "Then at least wait till lunch. You can go after having the afternoon meal."

  'I cannot meet with Xia Sahui right now; otherwise, I would have accepted!' Lu Er thought. Aloud, he smiled warmly. "Thank you for the offer, Miss Servant, but let's do it another day. I promise I will definitely eat lots of food next time I come."

  "It's a promise then." She let out a soft sigh, resigning herself, giving up on the invitation.

  "It's a promise."

  "We have many private carts; you can take one of them to go back. Come, I will show you the way." She led him back out into the sunlight, the oppressive aura of the Treasury falling away behind them.

  Soon, Lu Er was seated in a comfortable, enclosed cart drawn by a single, sleek-coated Imoogi horse. He directed the coachman, "To the Grand Awakening Ceremony Hall, please."

  The coachman took him out of the manor from a separate door.

  As they reached the main transit plaza, Lu Er leaned forward and tapped on the partition. "Actually, I've changed my mind. Don't go to the Ceremony Hall. Take me to the Fifth Zone instead. Do you know the Sungtae Pavilion?"

  "Yes, Young Master. I know it."

  "Good, take me there."

  The coachman nodded and changed the path.

  Meanwhile, Lu Er took out the books he had just bought along with the ingredients and started reading them. These few copies had cost him 2 Essence Stones; they were extremely precious.

  …

  Lu Er arrived in front of the same old home, carrying a box of ingredients and a bag of simple groceries and basic utensils. 'Never thought I'd come back, but I guess it was inevitable.'

  He had thought that once he awakened either soul or physical body after the ceremony, he wouldn't return to the house. According to the agreement, if he didn't pay the money in one month, the house would be sold, since it was taken as collateral. There was still some time before the house would be sold.

  His new home would be in the Central Zone.

  Currently, he still didn't need the house as he could still live in the Ceremony building, and after the competition, he would live in the Academy dorms. So, the house was not necessary, but it was still one of the only safe and ‘spacious’ places for now. That's why Lu Er had chosen to come back.

  The key was still hidden at the same place, beneath the Cheryl rose flower pot, which was still full of life despite weeks of no water. It was fake.

  He stepped inside and was met with a thick layer of settled dust. The house had not been cleaned in more than two weeks.

  Lu Er locked the door behind him and took the box full of ingredients to his bedroom, which was also the living room. Opposite to this 'bedroom' was the kitchen. He took the edibles to the kitchen and put them there. Fortunately, the water artifacts were still drawing water from outside, so at least he didn't need to worry about that.

  Although Lu Er could work despite the dust, he still decided to clean everything first. The house wasn't that big anyway; it only took him around half an hour to clean it.

  After cleaning, he took a quick shower and cooked himself a nice meal. Once he was full, he finally decided to perform what he had come for: Assign Technique. 'The first step is to be at your peak mental and physical state. That is done.'

  For the next step, Lu Er spent the next 10 minutes switching with Lu Yi, who then changed his body into the Void Body. The familiar pitch-black figure appeared in the middle of the room.

  Lu Yi opened the box and took out a few specific ingredients.

  This step involved creating the 'ink' which had to be used to draw the formation circle.

  '3 full Blood Astrantia flowers, 50 gm of Coat Clematis, 40 ml blood of Endes Sphinx, and 10 gm of brain matter from a Caolong tiger.' Lu Yi read the manual that he had.

  He arranged a heavy stone mortar and pestle. One by one, he added the vibrant crimson Blood Astrantia petals, crushing them into a thick, fragrant paste. He added Coat Clematis and the brain of the Caolong Tiger and also ground them.

  Finally, he uncorked the small vial of Endes Sphinx blood. It was a deep, iridescent purple, thicker than normal blood. He poured it in a slow, steady stream, stirring constantly with the pestle.

  As Lu Yi continued, sometimes the 'ink' would either get too thick or too dry, so he had to be careful to add the ingredients; otherwise, the batch would be ruined. This was the reason he had chosen to switch. Every step and every moment required extreme care, and Lu Yi, who had more memories related to experiments along with the Void Body with more stats, was just a better pick.

  After carefully grinding for a bit longer than half an hour, the 'ink' was ready. Lu Yi moved on to the next step and took out another material for this step. This ingredient was a bundle of tail hairs from a Caolong Tiger, shaped into a thick brush. He dipped the hair into the 'ink' and drew the circle onto the floor.

  The formation circle was an even bigger challenge. Its details were so intricate that even the manual felt like it had a few retries on it. There were hundreds of different strokes and patterns all connected in various ways.

  In the end, Lu Yi had to spend more than 2 hours on creating the circle. He even had to take apart the thick brush a few times and use single strands to draw the thinner lines during this process. But he still managed to do it.

  Thanks to his enhanced physique, he was not even slightly exhausted as he continued the ritual.

  He reached into the box and placed the rest of the ingredients into their respective positions on the formation.

  The rest of the ingredients were three offerings: two kidneys and a heart of the Stormcloud Iguana.

  He put the organs in their respective places and sat in the middle of the circle. Everything was ready. A weapon was summoned out of thin air into Lu Yi's palm. It was the Heaven's Efface.

  Though Lu Yi wasn't sure whether the Heaven's Efface would actually work for this ritual, he still decided to bet on the probability that it would.

  Simply because the definition of a Spiritual Emulsifier was something exists physically and can interact with the soul, thus forming a bridge allowing the Assign Techniques to connect with the soul.

  There were still many flaws in this reasoning. Firstly, the Heaven's Efface wouldn't actually connect Lu Yi's soul with the body, because the moment a soul comes in direct contact with the Heaven's Efface, it would destroy both of them.

  Thus, if there was no connection, how could it act as a bridge?

  Furthermore, the Heaven's Efface was a killer weapon; even if it somehow acted as a connection, there was always a threat to his life. Yet he was doing something so foolish.

  Why?

  It was because he didn't need the whole weapon. Heaven's Efface was a weapon because it was made as such.

  What he was about to do was something very stupid. He was essentially going to butcher a legendary weapon just for his instant gains. He could have just asked for a Spiritual Emulsifier on a loan and basically guaranteed his success, but no. What did he decide? He decided to destroy a weapon.

  Lu Yi took out an axe and lined it parallel to the hilt of Heaven's Efface. In one clean slice, a long and thin part of the wooden hilt was sliced off.

  Cultivation ? Progression ? Dark Fantasy