Ascension of the Immortal Asura

The man smiled as he heard John say this. He didn't expect him not to want the weapon after subduing it, but he was unsure if John truly had the money to pay for it. 

"Excellent," the man replied. 

John threw him a spatial ring, which contained eight hundred thousand spirit crystals. Although it was a hefty sum for a weapon, it was well worth it. The weapon would last him all the way through the Meridian Forging Realm, and would even be useful in the Heaven Tribulation Realm as well. 

With the money he had fleeced from Thunderpill, as well as the money he had found in the spirit crystal cave, John had over ten million spirit crystals to his name, and so money was not a huge concern of his.

The man happily caught the ring and inspected its contents, before putting it away. His smile grew larger as he looked at John.

"Are there any other weapons you're interested in?" the man asked.

"No, that's it for now," John replied.

He had accomplished what he came here for. The man frowned as he heard this, but quickly put his smile back on his face.

"Surely you must have your eye on something else? A dagger perhaps? Or a Bow? A strong looking boy like you must have a fancy for a powerful weapon, like an axe or a greatsword," the man replied as he stepped in front of John.

John shook his head and walked around the man. "Thanks but no thanks. I'll be heading off now."

The man frowned but said didn't argue back. He had identified John as being quite rich, and was hoping to make more money off of him. However, John had shot him down completely.

"Oh, there is one thing," John suddenly said as he turned around. The man's face lit up, but quickly soured as he heard John's question.

"Do you happen to know why the Elder's of our sect wear cultivation shrouding artifacts?" John asked. 

"I do not," the man's response was quick, but John could tell that he was not lying.

"In that case, I will be off then," John replied as he turned around once more.

John shook his head as he walked down the stairs and strode out of the building. 

'I had quite a good impression of that man, but I suppose I am in the Bloodfiend Sect after all.'

As he walked, nearby disciples warily looked at him, as if he were a leper.

John ignored the glances, as he knew the disciples were just wary of him. The killing prowess he had displayed had been incredibly shocking, and many of the disciples glancing at him warily had bullied 'John' in the past. As such, they stayed far away and kept their guards up.

The sun hung directly above in the sky, when John stumbled upon a food market. His stomach growled in protest for a good meal.

He entered the food market and perused the various stalls, before choosing one of them and ordering a meal. After getting the meal, John looked for a place to sit and eat, when he stumbled upon a familiar face already eating.

"Chase," John called out in greeting as he noticed Chase eating a meal alone at a table.

Chase glanced up from his meal at the sound of his name, but his guard was relaxed as he saw who it was. John sat down beside him at the table, deciding to eat his meal with new only acquaintance in the sect.

"John,' Chase greeted with a headnod as John sat down.

John sat down and took a bite of his food, which was still steaming hot. After finishing his bite, John looked towards Chase once again, who sat there in awkward silence.

"How's your day been so far?" John asked, breaking the silence.

"Alright," Chase replied with a single word.

"Do anything fun today?" John asked another question before taking another bite of food.

"Not really," Chase replied before going back to his food.

John smiled wryly as he shook his head at Chase's antics.

'Clearly this boy is quite awkward, or really hates small talk.'

An idea popped into John's mind, and he took another bite of food before speaking out once more.

"How are your alchemy studies going?" John asked.

As if roused from a deep sleep, Chase looked straight at John, his face full of excitement.

"Great! I just started learning about Heaven Tribulation Grade medicinal pills, which I should be able to start making once I reach the Meridian Forging Realm. Also, I just made a batch of Thousand Poison Nullification Pills this morning, which were quite exhausting to make. Then I…"

Chase began to babble non-stop about his Pill Arts, causing John to shake his head slightly.

'He truly is a pill fanatic.'

John sat there in silence as he ate his food and listened to Chase prattle on about pills. The one sided discussion ranged from pills crafting, to ingredient theory, to things John had no idea what they were. However, he remained silent as he listened to Chase talk, as he had nothing better to do while eating his food.

He also gained some useful information about the Pill Dao here and there, making the one sided discussion at least slightly beneficial for himself. After talking for nearly half an hour straight, Chase finally realized what he had been doing and became silent.

"Sorry, I prattled on about the Pill Dao again," Chase apologized.

"Don't worry about it," John replied. "I learned some useful things from it."

John had long since finished his food, and was about to stand up and part ways with Chase, when a question that had been burning in his mind came forward once more. He had asked the man in the weapons hall, as well as a few other people afterwards while walking through the sect, but none of them had the answer.

"Chase, do you know why the Elder's of this sect wear cultivation shrouding artifacts? I've inquired quite a bit about it, but couldn't find the answer," John asked.

His studies in the Bloodfiend Library mentioned nothing of the matter, and so he knew it was not a well known or widely discussed topic.

Chase raised his eyebrows at John's question, as it was quite unexpected. 

"It's not surprising you don't know the answer, as all the Elder's keep their reasons a secret. But I do happen to know the reason," Chase replied.

"Oh? What's the reason?" John asked.

"Much like the disciples of the sect, the Elders of the sect are constantly fighting against each other for top positions within the sect. These battles can be ones of subterfuge, or literal battles, but all are conducted with the intention of raising their own status. As such, those who can afford to, shroud their cultivation. If other Elder's within the sect do not know their true cultivation, they are much less likely to challenge them," Chase explained. "Think of it as a self-preservation mechanic."

"So that's why!" John replied as he listened to Chase's explanation. 

He did not know that the Elder's were also constantly battling for higher positions like the disciples, but such a thing would be a very good reason to hide one's true strength.

"Where do they get all the cultivation shrouding artifacts though?" John asked. "I thought they're quite rare and expensive."

"They are," Chase replied. "However, due to the high demand within our Sect, there is a dedicated artifact crafting hall, the Artificer Hall, which specializes in creating such things. However, even with the dedicated hall, they are still quite expensive," Chase explained.

"Oh, that makes sense," John replied absentmindedly. 

He was already thinking of how to put this information to good use regarding his true mission within the sect.