Weapon seller in the world of magic

Life in the Ancient Lan clan is anything but a home. Due to his stark resemblance to Lan Gengxin or because of his rebellious attitude toward the elders as soon as he returned, everyone mostly stayed away from Mark, save a few. No one cooperates with him. No one tells him any directions to anything. No one returns his greetings. And it didn't take much time for Mark to realize that some of the elders of the clan were behind these unwelcoming reactions. He couldn't care less as he just had to win the heir trials and force them to acknowledge him.

Shang Jiao, on the other hand, had a better life. Lan Ming, The God realm (13-circle) expert takes her as his personal disciple.

Meanwhile, Mark and Shang Jiao join the clan as inner sect disciples.

Ancient Lan Sect is different from Ancient Lan Clan. The Ancient Lan Clan is filled with descendants of the Lan clan, while the Ancient Lan Sect allows everyone else from the entire plane interested in learning from the sect. It is located completely on a different planet in a different star system, light years away from the ancestral residence. So, it is like returning home but still staying away. However, as someone in the ascendant realm (demigod/10-circle), adding with the fact that he is a direct descendant, Mark was given direct entry into the inner sect. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire

Mark met various people there with different surnames over the past heavenly week (~3 earth weeks). All of them looked more or less humanoid, but their skin tones were different from his. Like some have multiple arms, some have green skin, some have red skin, some have multiple ears, some have striped skin like tigers, some have large manes over their faces like lions, etc… but all of them are indeed collectively human races but with different origins. Apart from these, there are also ice elves, a race that looks completely like humans but with icy crystalline skin, who call themselves Glacirians, then there are also ice giants called Ymirkin. And they all speak the universal Orlon language.

Of them, a young disciple, of 48 heavenly years old (~132 earth years) became Mark's close friend. His name is Aerynith, an ice elf hailed from Mist City—an ice planet ruled by Ice elves and comes under the Frosty Elf Empire.

The Frosty Elf Empire is kind of like an ally but not a friend to the Heavenly Ocean Empire. They are also too proud and consider themselves as the superior race. So, ice elves aren't treated nicely anywhere in the human cities. Aerynith was even more of an outcast as the only ice elf in the entire Sect. Perhaps, it was why Mark found it easier to bond with him.

After befriending Aerynith, Mark's life became better. Atleast with little things.

In the past heavenly week, Mark got used to the sect rules, traditions, names of important elites and their personalities and achievements, etc…

The strongest one in the sect is the Sect Master—his great grandfather, who is in mid-14-circle stage, and the three grand elders are in 13-circle. Lan Yuxuan, the one he attacked, is also one of those grand elders. The remaining elders were all in either the Saint realm (12-circle) or immortal realm (11-circle). The immortal realm is the minimum cultivation needed to become an elder in the sect, and the youngest elder—Aerynith is around 82 heavenly years old (~178 years old). The one who has the highest possibility to break that record is an 8-year-old (heavenly years) named Lan Xia.

In terms of earth years, she is roughly around 22, younger than Mark, but is at the peak stage of demigod realm. Because she isn't married yet, she is suppressing her cultivation as once a female becomes an immortal in this realm, they cannot give birth. Her bloodline will end there. According to Aerynith, she was courted by many experts and even a prince from the heavenly ocean empire, but she rejected all those proposals as she intended to become the next clan head, and the head of the Ancient Lan Clan has no place in the royal palace.

It was another casual day for Mark.

The afternoon sun bathed the courtyard in golden light as Mark sat cross-legged on the wooden floor of his residence, eyes half-closed. He breathed in slow, measured intervals, allowing the warmth of the star above to seep into his being. With the Cosmic Essence Absorption skill, he subtly pulled in the energy from the star (sun) even from hundreds of millions of kilometers away, refining it into his ether energy without stirring the surrounding aura too much. Drawing too much attention would only invite unnecessary trouble.

A sharp knock on the door shattered his focus. Before he could react, it swung open, and a familiar figure strode in.

"Shang Zhen!" Aerynith's crisp voice rang through the room. The ice elf warrior stood with arms crossed, her piercing blue eyes locked onto him. "You're being summoned."

Mark exhaled slowly, letting the lingering energy disperse. He cracked an eye open, taking in her slightly tense posture. "By who?"

"Grand Elder Lan Yuxuan."

Mark raised a brow. "Any reason?"

Aerynith hesitated for a beat. "Word is, the clan heiress has returned from her recent expedition. The Grand Elder might want you to spar with her."

That caught his attention. He had heard plenty about Lan Xia from Aerynith—the prodigy, the untouchable heir. A perfect chance to shatter that image.

Mark pushed himself to his feet, stretching slightly before dusting off his robes. "Finally," he murmured, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I was hoping for this. Once I beat her, there won't be any more debate about who the real heir should be."

Aerynith sighed, shaking her head. "Just don't get ahead of yourself. Let's go."

Together, they stepped into the sunlit courtyard, their footsteps echoing as they made their way toward the grand library.

The scent of old parchment and sandalwood filled the air as they entered the vast chamber. Towering shelves lined the walls, each stacked with scrolls and ancient tomes. At the center of it all, seated behind a long wooden table, was Grand Elder Lan Yuxuan.

The elder barely acknowledged their arrival, his gaze skimming over an aged scroll. A moment of silence stretched before he finally rolled it up and looked at Mark.

"You came quickly," Lan Yuxuan remarked, setting the scroll aside. His voice was calm yet carried an unmistakable weight of authority. "Good."

Mark dipped his head in greeting. "I was told you summoned me, Grand Elder."

"Indeed." The elder leaned forward slightly, his sharp eyes studying Mark as though peeling back layers, "Lan Xia has returned. I trust you've heard of her?"

Mark nodded. "Quite a lot, actually."

A small smile touched Lan Yuxuan's lips, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Then you must also know what is expected of you. The two of you will spar. A simple match—nothing more, nothing less."

Mark met the elder's gaze without hesitation. "And if I win?"

"Then that is for the clan to decide," Lan Yuxuan replied smoothly. "For now, all that matters is proving your worth."

Mark's fingers twitched in anticipation. He had waited for this moment. Now, all that was left was to seize it.

"I accept."

Lan Yuxuan nodded before reaching into her sleeve and pulling out a scroll, extending it toward Mark.

"Take this."

Mark grabbed it instinctively and unrolled it. His brows furrowed as his eyes scanned the intricate illustrations of weapons—daggers, swords, spears, even massive broadswords.

"Choose one," Lan Yuxuan instructed.