Darts, as manufactured by the Ancient Crane Monastery, tended to come in two varieties. One was a sort of talisman that exploded after use. They were made with the cheapest possible materials and still managed to be outside the budgets of most Level Nines. The cultivation art for people that used them was “Throw it that way.” Tian didn’t even dream of owning a set. The other variety incorporated some of the same techniques as flying swords.

“But I thought only level nine Earthly Realm cultivators could make flying swords fly, Sister Su?”

“Correct for swords. However, swords are larger, heavier, and are entirely driven by the Vital Energy of their Level Nine users. You will be throwing your darts, meaning your body is providing much of the force and direction. Here are three that I feel would suit you. There is a summary section at the front of each book for you to read and review. If you don’t find them suitable, please remain at the table and raise the green stick. The Scripture Pavilion will not compensate you for any soul incineration or loss of limbs should you attempt to reshelve books.”

Sister Su took a little breath and continued in the monotone of someone who has made the same speech a thousand times before.

“Attempting to read the sealed pages will subject you to a ban from the Pavilion, a fine of five hundred spirit crystals and the Pavilion staff pointing and laughing as you try to reassemble your limbs and teeth with just your lips, as your lips will be the only part of you still capable of movement. You will also be charged a cleaning fee, plus additional fines and fees for any damage your blood, bile, spinal fluid, urine and pulped intestinal contents does to the books or furnishings. May your path towards eternity be ever-smooth.” She handed him a green stick and showed him a small table with a short wooden screen to provide a little privacy.

The first book had a golden silk cover. Vermilion threads embroidered the title- Imperial Heavenly Swallows. He decisively set it to one side. He didn’t know what it was about, but anyone cultivating a hidden weapon art with that name was clearly kicked in the head.

Book number two looked like it had been charred and put out with someone’s blood before being rescued and stabilized by the librarians. Promising. Tian nodded approvingly. Little Nippers. Yes, this sounded much, much better. Much more in line with the sneaky yet direct nature of darts.

Book three reeked of scams. Dart Throwing For Fun and Profit. Ten Simple Tricks, Easy To Learn, Guaranteed To Impress! It came with a bright cardboard cover with a laughing man throwing a dart at a flying fan on the cover.

Tian was tempted to raise the green stick immediately and demand, politely, to know if the Sister required brain treatment as he was a minor expert on the subject. He controlled himself. He got a sort of familiar feeling from her. Not that he knew her, but that they were two of a similar kind. She probably took her job very seriously. He sighed and opened the golden book.

It was, to his quiet surprise, quite legitimate. “Imperial” in this case referred to the fact that the darts were controlled by the will of the user. Tian had a vague recollection of seeing other arts called “Imperial” this or that, but had never looked at them. Perhaps they all were flying weapon arts. “Heavenly” was, unsurprisingly, there to make the art sound more impressive. As for swallows, the author just really liked swallows and thought the way the darts swooped around looked like them.

The art was more complicated than he was expecting. Insanely complicated. Even the summary ran to two full pages. The art also required “binding” the darts to the user, essentially refining them a second time with the user's blood and vital energy. This not only allowed powerful control, it made them easy to recover later. And you would need to recover the darts later, as you couldn’t use the art without them.

Slow to master and quite complicated to use in the field. Highly limited by the base darts. It was, however, quite strong. The author claimed an ordinary steel dart could penetrate a thick shield and good armor once a basic mastery was achieved, and you could, with practice and adequate cultivation, send flights of darts just ripping through your enemies even if they were behind cover.

Little Nippers was alarmingly straightforward. The circulation paths were downright crude, and the control offered by them was just bad. Even the author admitted as much, saying that it was more to keep the dart on course than to steer through obstacles. Balanced against that was the fact the art deployed fast. The recommended usage was to call the dart into your hand from your storage ring and cast the art as you were throwing it, all in one motion. The art would accelerate the dart to several times your normal throwing speed, depending on your mastery of the art, and gave the dart a metallic edge.

Simple and effective. It did one thing really well, with the Metal energy a distant afterthought. It did mark the darts quite firmly when they were thrown, as they tended to travel quite a long distance and were a pain to find afterward. Tian could see it. You could launch a devastating barrage as fast as your hand could move. If you had enough darts, it could overwhelm almost anything.

Dart Throwing For Fun and Profit came with a little preface to the summary section at the front of the book. The Scripture Pavilion assured the reader that no, this was not a joke, and yes, it really was an Earthly Realm combat art. The art was created by a member of a minor sect in Broad Sky Country who was sworn brothers with some mortals in the Beggars Sect, which wasn’t actually a cultivation sect and was a mortal self-protection group. The Beggars Sect disguised itself as beggars, and would frequently put on street performances as a way to earn some coin. Dart throwing was one of those ways.

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That cultivator created a book of throwing skills, and loved it so much that he spent much of the rest of his life working out a version for Earthly Realm cultivators complete with ten ‘tricks’ of varying usefulness. It eventually reached the hands of cultivators in the Ancient Crane Monastery who fixed the more glaring problems with the energy circulation method, printed new copies and put it on the shelf. The note concluded that, despite the title, it was the fourth most popular dart art over the last three hundred years, and seventh most popular thrown weapon art overall.

Tian quickly figured out why it was so popular. It was easy. Most of the “tricks” were just ways to disguise the throw or to hit moving targets by controlling your strength. Nothing simpler for an Earthly Realm cultivator who put any effort at all into martial arts. The second was that while the art wasn’t particularly outstanding in terms of power, speed or sophistication, nor did it provide much of an elemental edge, and the range wasn’t very good either, it was fun.

Tian found himself imagining practicing the art. It would be so much fun. He would be bouncing off every surface, going high and low, his darts flying in from every direction. Hit a flying insect? No problem! Cut a cherry from the tree without harming the fruit? Can do! Punch through the steel helmet of a heretical warrior? Well. Maybe. Might need to go for the eyes. Or a gap in the armor.

It was also, not coincidentally, the second cheapest of the three arts.

Little Nippers was a paltry thirty Military Merits- practically a tip for the Scripture Pavilion. Depending on the missions you accepted, you might earn that in a week or two. Hilariously cheap for an art you could use for, potentially, the rest of your life. Or more optimistically, for your life in the Earthly Realm.

Dart Throwing for Fun and Profit was slightly more expensive at fifty merits, but that would be doable for anyone taking combat missions within a month. Again, cheap. Tian had a growing suspicion that not many people bothered to buy dart related arts. His original rope dart came with Snake Head Vine Body, and both were a fraction of what a flying sword cost. He wouldn’t be too surprised to learn the more popular arts were also the most expensive.

Interestingly, Imperial Heavenly Swallows was a much more hefty one hundred and fifty merits. Tian tapped the silk covered book and dove back into it. Clearly he was missing something. It didn’t seem five times better than Little Nipper. Five times more complicated, maybe, but not better

.

He read through it a second time and still didn’t get it. Eventually he caved and asked the Sister Su.

“It’s usable through the Heavenly Person Realm and you are practically turning your set of darts into a part of you. You can control them like they were your own fingers, they punch through armor like paper, and with considerable effort and practice, you can even recall the darts to your hand. That would require much more cultivation than you currently have. Despite having said that, I must remind you again that such darts are non-optimal for numerous reasons, including the time-cost of cultivation. Regardless of which is optimal for you.”

It was always about suitability. It had been when he first picked his rope dart, it was when he learned Thunderous Palm, and Brother Fu’s kindness in picking Advent of Spring as his cultivation art would never be forgotten. It too was the most suitable possible art for him.

So what was the most suitable for him now? His first instinct was to grab Little Nippers. It was clearly made, and used, by very pragmatic sorts, and he really liked the idea of having a dart that he could make a fatal throw with almost instantly. There was also the increasingly petty part of him that was determined to prove that the silly luxuries demanded by his sectmates were just that- silly. He was aware that calling protective talismans or high quality silk armor ‘silly’ strongly suggested that he was the one who had been kicked in the head, but the urge was still there.

Little Nippers did one thing really well. Since when was that a bad thing? In fact, some of the best predators were like that. Snakes didn’t even have arms and they were great predators. Little Nippers was cheap enough that he could pick it up along with Dart Tricks For Fun and Profit… he’d just call it Dart Tricks… and it would still be cheaper than Imperial Heavenly Swallows.

Tian thanked her, his mind racing. All were good. But which one was, for him, the best?

“What do you favor for a ranged weapon, Sister Su?”

“Darts.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I cultivate an earth hardening art. I mix my blood with sand and fine stone, form it into darts, and harden them. It takes almost no blood at this point, and the whole process can be completed in less than a minute with practice. It is very relaxing. I keep the completed darts in my ring, of course. Usually several thousand build up before I have to use them again. It is satisfying to see all the piles.”

Tian noticed she had a storage ring on each hand. She didn’t sound like she was exaggerating either.

“That’s nice, Sister Su.”

“Yes. As is being able to throw literal fistfulls of darts at a target with each move of my hands, accelerated by Little Nippers, not caring if I ever get the darts back or if they break off inside of the target. It does make cleaning the battlefields afterwards quite messy. However, despite this, it is the optimal choice.”