That was funny. I wasn't even mad that the guy escaped. Well, escaped was a loaded word. I could have followed if I really tried, but I didn't want the hassle. So, yeah, I let him escape. He even dropped his hand in his haste. To be fair, it was useless to him. The wound I inflicted would not heal for a long time. Not unless he spent considerable effort and money on fixing it.
It was a smart choice to discard it, really, he couldn't use it anymore anyway. Besides, it tasted delicious. One more reason I was not mad Hei Yu escaped. What a funny name, by the way.
This world was so full of pleasant surprises that I really began to like it.
***
The next day proved to be slightly frustrating, unfortunately. When I woke up from my night meditation session, training the Spirit Body, and checked on the Eclipse, I realized it was gone.
I had many false positives of my alarm system acting up for no reason during the evening, so I turned it off. Not the best decision in hindsight, but I was getting annoyed as it was disrupting my peace. Especially since even when there was actually something happening, it was usually an animal or beast snooping around, and they died immediately upon contact with the weapon. I had no reason to be concerned.
But, yeah. The Eclipse was gone. I stood in the sky, looking at the hole where it used to be. I then turned towards the North-West, where the energy in the air was slightly thinner, and followed the path the thieves took. Oh, and there was a visible trail on the ground. That helped, too, I guess.
A short time passed, and I came across a group of 20-30 people pulling a large wooden wagon carrying the Eclipse. None of them was strong enough to carry it without consequences, and it couldn't be stored in a space ring, so that was their best choice. The ground was constantly being reinforced beneath the wheels so as not to sink into the ground.
The wagon itself was also reinforced with magic, as the weight of my weapon was just that great. Also, the weapon itself was constantly draining the power from the enchantments, so that was something.
I flew ahead of the group and landed on the ground, arms crossed and an unhappy expression on my face. I was noticed immediately, and the group came to a halt.
There was chatter, and people gathered at the front, looking to see what was going on.
Without a word, I simply grew to my giant form and took the Eclipse, crushing the wagon in the process.
"Hey! What are you doing?! Thief!" One of the people shouted in an accusatory tone.
"We found it first! Finders keepers!" Shouted another, shaking his fist at me.
Ignoring the two guys, I looked at the rest of the people to see what their reaction was. Depending on how they acted, I was going to decide how to proceed.
"Shut up, you idiots! He's clearly the owner!" A guy with a brain said and stepped forward, bowing.
I stuck the Eclipse on the ground and rested my hands on its hilt as I waited.
"Forgive us, Senior. We did not know the weapon had an owner. We thought it was discarded."
I rolled my eyes. [In the middle of a working Energy Gathering Formation? Yeah, right.]
The guy speaking gave an awkward smile. Obviously, I was not buying his bullshit. Even his mates looked at him sideways, wondering if he could have come up with a worse explanation.
[You know what? I'll give you a chance. I'll count to ten. Whoever stays behind once I'm done, I'll kill. Got it?] I casually told them.
They stared at me dumbfounded, like a fish out of water.
"Wha-"
[One.] I began. People immediately scrambled over each other, running and flying in all directions to escape. Well, most of them did anyway.
"Hey! Get back here, cowards! So what if he's the owner? We can take him if we work together!" One of the guys shouted.
"Yeah! What he said!" Added another, agreeing with his friend.
"Are you stupid?! Run you morons, he's not joking!" One of the guys shouted back before his form shimmered and he disappeared in the distance.
Meanwhile, I slowly continued to count.
[Eight. Nine. Ten…]
I looked around and everyone was gone. Everyone except the two fools who still tried to fight. As I looked down on them from my immense height, and they realized they were alone, some of their blind confidence diminished, but it did not fully disappear. They still wanted to fight.
I lifted an eyebrow.
"Don't look down on us, you giant freak! I bet you are all bark and no bite! Those fools might be afraid of you, but I'm-"
I blasted him with a quick pulse of Arcane Blaze from my eyes and incinerated him on the spot.
"B-Brother!" The other guy shouted as his family member died.
He also received a short burst of energy, dying before he even knew what was happening.
I took their Souls but did not absorb their memories. There was a risk of getting infected by their stupidity. It just went to show that idiocy really was the norm and not the exception. Having wisdom did not correlate with how far a person could go with Cultivation at all.
That's because the basics of Cultivation were quite simple. Most people could learn it, even if it took some time. Having a better Cultivation Manual also didn't do a whole lot. There was not much of a difference since everyone was similarly held back by the ability to absorb Qi based on their Talent.
That was the main thing dividing the Cultivators, while the intelligence levels were all over the place and only helped with learning various Martial and Mystic Arts.
You could have a complete dumbass who managed to become an Elder simply by following an already established path, while a genius could get stuck in the Golden Core Realm simply because his Talent was trash.
The world was unfair like that.
***
I went back and placed the Eclipse on the charger. Again. I seriously hoped it was not going to become a repeating issue, or else I would have to bolster its defenses, and I really didn't want to waste my time with that.
As I returned to base, Onyx came to greet me.
"Master! Welcome back." He began. "I was wondering if I could borrow the Spirit Body Cultivation manual?"
[The manual? What for?]
"Well, I have been trying to enhance my body, but this metal shell does not want to be modified." He explained.
[I could upgrade it if you want. I have some Celestial Metal left.]
"I appreciate the offer, Master, but I'll have to decline. I'd like to try forging my own body. A real one. Who knows, perhaps one day I'll be able to speak to you, face to face."
I smiled and placed a hand on Onyx's shoulder. [Good. I'd like that. I'll be expecting a lot from you then. Here.] I handed him the manual, and he took it with reverence, his fingers gently brushing against the cover.
Onyx bowed deeply. "Thank you, Master, for trusting in me. I swear I shall not disappoint you."
I smiled.
[Learn and grow, my friend. Together we shall conquer this world.]