"Truly, this world's view always surprises me"
I went for my usual walk, a daily routine of strolling through the sect. The temperature had dropped noticeably with wind moving through the grounds sharper now and carrying the promise of snow.
Eventually the main gate of the sect came into my view and the guards recognized me immediately, straightening to attention.
"To town."
They agreed and unlocked the gates. Inner disciples were allowed to go wherever they wanted without having any restrictions or any sort of permissions required.
After a while, I walked down the mountain trail and entered the town under the Clouded Peak Sect.
Spiritual lamps were beginning to glow as I walked past familiar buildings, restaurants where I sometimes ate, a store, before finally reaching my destination.
A weapon shop.
Entering it, Old Chi emerged from the back room, his wrinkled face breaking into a genuine smile when he saw me.
"Young sir! "You come just at the right time!" He took out a wooden box, which was hidden under the counter, and opened it.
"Your order, as you requested."
Within the box were small blades, lined in neat rows. Each blade was thin and approximately the length of an index finger. The metal was dark, almost black. I picked one blade up and examined it closely, testing its weight, and checking how it felt on my grip.
Good work, but it was still lacking.
"Fifty blades total." Old Chi's pride was evident in his voice. "Each one individually forged and tested for flight accuracy."
"Excellent work, Old Chi."
Then, I took out three small bags from my robe. Inside were spirit stones as payment we'd agreed on when I placed the order. Old Chi's eyes shone at the amount, though he still accepted it with a respectful bow.
"Hoho! My shop is always open for the young sir."
I chatted with him for a few more minutes, then left the shop with the box tucked under my arm and continued walking away from the center of town until I reached the forest.
The deeper I went the denser the trees became, their canopy swallowing the last sounds of the town behind me.
(No one would disturb me here.)
I stood in the center of a clearing and pulled out ten blades from the wooden box.
"Let's try it."
I set the box aside and took a fighting stance, for I'd been practicing the Spectral Thread Technique for weeks now.
The technique was a bit complex, channeling spiritual essence through your fingers and extending it outward as thin threads, one per finger and ten maximum when using both hands.
If not for the system giving me the Spectral Thread Technique as a reward which my body absorbed, it would have taken years to learn.
And now I have mastered it, able to create the threads reliably and control them with reasonable precision, making them cut through flesh like wire through soft clay.
But I have found various drawbacks in this technique…
(Haha, after coming into this world, a habit has developed in me now to first find problems before using something.)
Yes, the threads were strong but not permanent, for when cutting through resistance like bone, thick muscle, or spiritual energy barriers they would grind away and weaken, eventually dissipating after enough friction.
While they were effective for quick kills against unguarded targets but limited against serious ones.
Until I'd had an idea.
What if I didn't rely solely on the cutting power of the threads themselves, but instead used them as delivery mechanisms too?
And now here I was with my idea. Adding blades with the spectral thread technique.
I extended my right index finger and channeled spiritual essence through it as the thread formed instantly, and using it I lifted one blade into the air, the essence wrapping around the metal and bonding while I felt the blade's weight settle at the end of my thread like an extension of my own hand.
I started directing it with my mind as the blade moved through the air, right, left then up and down.
Perfect control, the thread handled the weight of the blade easily, so I added a second thread and a second blade, both hovering now and moving independently as my mind split its focus between them.
Harder, it required more concentration, but manageable, and so I added a third blade, fourth, fifth, then sixth and with each addition the pressure on my mind built slightly as my focus stretched further and further.
Seventh, eighth, ninth and lastly tenth.
Now it became truly difficult controlling ten separate blades with ten separate threads, each one requiring constant attention, and all of them circled around me now, weaving between each other without collision.
The mental strain was enormous, but it was working.
I focused on a tree about fifteen meters away, large with a thick trunk and a perfect target.
Just with a thought.
All ten blades shot forward simultaneously, moving fast and they struck the tree in rapid succession, tearing deep into the wood, chunks flew off and gouges spread across the trunk's surface.
Absolutely deadly.
I pulled them back, but halfway through the return all ten blades fell to the ground, for it was me who had stopped, my mental control gave up under the strain and I dropped to my knees.
The top of my head felt like someone was hammering inside my skull, the exhaustion was overwhelming, far worse than physical cultivation fatigue.
Yet I couldn't help but smile widely, because it worked; ten blades controlled at the same time and attacked with lethal accuracy that had cut through the trunk of a tree as if it was paper.
But…
The drawbacks were severe.
First, the mental pressure was enormous, and after just one attack sequence left me completely drained.
Second, what about enemies with defensive techniques, barrier arts that created invisible protective layers around the body? My blades could probably penetrate weak ones, but against a skilled cultivator with strong defenses, someone at Qi condensation or higher?
The blades might not be enough.
Third, while my mind was focused on directing ten threads and fully committed to offense, how was I supposed to defend myself? If someone attacked me during those crucial seconds when.. I'd be vulnerable.
I needed protection, some way to guard myself while using the threads, and though the concealment token I had used when following Zhang Kun came to mind it was largely useless in a real fight given its time limit, for even the higher grade tokens lasted only five minutes at most.
The obvious answer was another technique, a defensive one, some kind of barrier art or spiritual shield.
But it was impossible.
Mortals were limited to one technique at a time and no cultivator could actively use two simultaneously, the mind simply could not manage both at once, which meant that while I was using the Spectral Thread for offense I had nothing left for defense.
Just as one problem wasn't solved another had appeared.
I sat down in a lotus position and closed my eyes, breathing slowly and letting my mind sink deeper.
My thoughts drifted.
(Why not just use concealment tokens continuously…. Foolish…
What if I used some blades to attack and some for defense… I could try, but it would need practice and splitting focus between two purposes could create mistakes while putting enormous pressure on the mind….)
Answers appeared and disappeared… only now one question was left in my consciousness.
"Why is it impossible.." With that I opened my eyes, the night had fallen completely, dark forest and only starlight filtering through bare branches providing any illumination.
I stood slowly and stretched out my stiff limbs before heading back toward the sect.