The Tenth Awakening

The next morning, Arya was sitting in his parents' room with his father while his mother prepared snacks in the kitchen, leaving them alone so Bryan could give him a lecture on weapon types and weapon masters.

"First, I'll explain weapon rankings and where your weapon fits in," Bryan began. "Technically, weapons don't have official rankings, but we categorize them based on their offensive and defensive capabilities. Generally, weapons fall into three categories: those without any offensive power, normal weapons, and advanced weapons. Normal weapons, like yours, have basic attack and defense properties.

However, there are two higher classifications: Good Weapons and Excellent Weapons. But don't worry about your weapon's rank for now. Every time you break through and acquire more stone seeds, your seed weapon will upgrade and evolve. No weapon starts at the Good or Excellent level; they all progress step by step through continuous upgrades."

Bryan then demonstrated with his own weapon. "Take my weapon as an example. It's a bit special—not because of its raw power, but because only those with our bloodline (though not the pure ancient bloodline) can possess it. Its initial form was a dagger, a normal weapon. But when I reach Level 50, its quality will evolve into the Good Weapon category, transforming into a Wind Sword."

"This means your metal staff could evolve into something entirely different. While the chances of it becoming an axe are low, it has a high possibility of evolving into a spear, which would place it in the Good Weapon category, on par with my Wind Sword."

"Now, recall your weapon and summon it again," Bryan instructed. Arya obeyed, retracting his weapon and transforming it back into his stone seed. This time, the process was much faster than when he first summoned it.

However, when he tried to summon his metal staff again, something unexpected happened—no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't transform the seed back into his weapon.

"Haha! Don't worry, this is completely normal," Bryan laughed. "This leads us to your next lesson, which is also connected to Weapon Masters. I haven't mentioned this before because it wasn't necessary, but now that you've officially started your cultivation journey, you need to understand that there are two primary types of cultivators in this world."

Arya listened carefully as his father continued.

"The first type is Seed Masters, which you already know about. Seed Masters possess Seed Rings that grant them elemental skills. The second type is Weapon Masters, whose primary power comes from their Seed Weapons."

"Don't get confused," Bryan cautioned. "A Seed Master can still wield a strong weapon, and a Weapon Master will always possess a Stone Seed—because seeds are the foundation of this world's cultivation system. However, the difference is in their focus: Seed Masters concentrate on developing their elemental power and the skills granted by their Seed Rings, while Weapon Masters devote themselves to mastering and strengthening their Seed Weapons."

"But it's not as simple as it seems," Bryan warned. "Each system has its own cultivation methods and unique strengths. Technically, a cultivator who possesses both a strong weapon and powerful Seed Ring skills could be considered both a Weapon Master and a Seed Master. However, trying to master both paths is extremely difficult—you would have to be completely dedicated to cultivation to succeed. Otherwise, you risk being mediocre in both fields and never reaching your full potential."

"As a Seed Master, your main focus will be controlling your elemental energy, improving your Seed Skills, and obtaining higher-ranked Seed Stones. Your cultivation will revolve around the quality of your seeds, their types, and their skill ranks. And once you reach Level 50+, you'll begin selecting elements for Fusion Attacks, a whole new level of power."