Both Aelina and Elder Sandra were momentarily stunned by Mira's answer. They would never have thought Mira would so readily tie herself to the Sect. A Sect that she's spent very little time a part of.
They would understand if maybe she's spent most of her life here and this is her way of repaying the Sect, but that clearly wasn't the case here.
Nonetheless, Aelina smiled, "It seems you're also quite the decisive person. I figured it'd take more to convince you, but this is a pleasant surprise."
Mira raised an eyebrow, "I know an opportunity when I see one. Being the Battle Maiden Sect's Prime Disciple will be my starting line to a higher stage. What is there to be indecisive about? Plus, this is a partnership. You help me, and I help you," Mira paused for a second, "However, you should know that if I'm not satisfied with your performance, this partnership is over. The same can be said for you as well. If you aren't satisfied with me, then feel free to strip me of this position, and I'll work to return everything you gave me."
Elder Sandra almost instinctively began scolding Mira, but Aelina let out a boisterous laugh before she could!
"HAHAHAHAHA~! You're absolutely right, Mira! This is a partnership, one where we both stand to gain enormous benefits. However, you must prove yourself before I declare you as the Sect's Prime Disciple."
Mira frowned as she thought she had already done that in her fight against Zander. She killed someone over an entire major Realm above her, after all! If that's not proof, then she didn't know what was.
"You have to prove to the Sect that you're worthy. A Prime Disciple symbolizes peak talent, hard work, discipline, leadership, and skill for people to look up to. You are new to the Sect and haven't contributed anything. For this reason, the other disciples and Elders won't accept you. I can use my authority as the Sect Master to disregard the complaints, but that's not the way of the Battle Maiden Sect. Whatever you want, you have to earn."
"Normally, I would give this position to someone who has contributed the most to the Sect for years. However, as we are a bit short on time, and since you are by far the most talented in the entire Sect, I'll give you a mission that will allow you to gain the most fame in the shortest amount of time. After completing it, you can return and accept your position as Prime Disciple. For now, this is a private deal between you and me." Aelina explained.
Mira pondered her words and felt like everything she said made sense. That's how the Sect is run, by power and contributions. So, it would make sense that the most powerful, the most talented, and the one who made the most contributions should have the title of Prime Disciple.
"Alright, what's the mission?" Mira asked.
"Go steal 5 Mid-Grade Spirit Stone Mines from the Unorthodox Faction! Your reward is all the loot from the people you kill and half of the Mid-Grade Spirit Stones from the mines you steal. You have one month. I'll provide all the information. Everything else is on you."
Mira could hardly believe her ears.
'What the fuck did she just say? Five Mid-Grade Spirit Stone Mines? And within a month at that?! Impossible!'
Mira rarely used the word "Impossible"; that's just how difficult this task was. Maybe it'd be possible if the mission was only to find Mid-Grade Spirit Stone Mines, but stealing them from a major faction? No, not possible!
The reason is that Soul Transformation Realm experts will undoubtedly guard those places. She can't fight someone with such strength right now. It'd be possible after she breaks through to the Nascent Soul Realm, but not right now.
Aelina could easily discern Mira's thoughts from her expression and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Don't give me that look. I'll send along a few disciples to help you. I'll also give you two weeks in the Sect to help prepare yourself for this endeavor." Aelina winked.
Mira's ears perked up, "Give me a month to prepare, and you got a deal." She then glanced at Elder Sandra, "Also, I'd like to talk to you in private. Since we are now partners, I feel like I should share a few details that can significantly increase our chances of success in placing Top 3 at the next Central Continent Competition."
Aelina was happily surprised by that, immediately wrapping Mira in Qi, then disappeared, leaving Elder Sandra all alone.
"Sigh… It looks like a storm is about to hit not only the Sect but the Western Continent as a whole. Let's hope the Sect Master made the right decision in choosing Mira." She muttered before walking out of the basement.
***
Somewhere on the mountain in one of Aelina's private chambers, Mira and Aelina appeared out of thin air.
The two sat down at the nearest table and began discussing the details of their partnership and Mira's mission. The discussion didn't take long, as they had covered everything beforehand.
However, that's not why Mira wanted to talk to Aelina alone…
"...I have an item that can speed up the growth rate of plants and herbs by 1000 times."
"..."
The room went deathly silent, but Mira continued as if she didn't notice.
"I'm telling you this as a sign of trust and because I feel this is the only way for us to reach our goals within 20 years. There also isn't much you can do, even if you know. That's why it would be in your best interest if you didn't get greedy for it. This item is linked to my soul and can't leave my possession. If I were to die or if you were to try and take it from me, it would disappear along with me and most likely you as well."
"....Are you serious?" Aelina asked solemnly, and the whole aura around her changed. Her once mysterious aura was now fierce and threatening, but Mira didn't waver.
"That's right. I'm sure you understand what this means. Not just me, but you can even raise the level of the entire Sect if used properly! Hell, you might be able to raise your cultivation as well! I don't know what stage you're at right now, but wouldn't it be great to be at the Peak of the Divine Sea Realm the next time you enter the Central Continent? If I place within the Top three, you'd just need to find an opportunity to break through into the Ascension Realm!"
Aelina's eyes shone with a mysterious light, making it clear her emotions were getting agitated. The spark of hope she had seen in Mira had now evolved into a smoldering ember. She could see the path ahead more clearly as dozens of thoughts crossed her mind every second.
Ever since she reached the Divine Sea Realm, natural treasures, pills, and items that can boost her cultivation have become exponentially more difficult to find and create. This is especially so for pills.
Most of the ingredients in Divine-Grade pill recipes are 10,000-year-old plants or perhaps even older than that. Not only are those types of plants very rare, but one has to be incredibly lucky to get them.
Thus, what Mira just said is a complete game-changer! If she could transform thousands, tens of thousands, or even millions of plants into 10,000-year-old plants, she could create tons of Divine-Grade Pills!
It didn't stop there, either! She could raise the strength of the entire Sect, possibly enough that they could even rival some of those powers from the Central Continent!
The possibilities were endless, and for a split second, she couldn't help but feel a sliver of greed appear.
'Why does this little brat have such a good thing?'
'I've worked hard for countless years to reach my position. If I had such an item, I'd surely do more with it than this kid.'
'Should I just enslave her, turning her into nothing more than a glorified gardener?'
Such thoughts unconsciously entered her thoughts, attempting to take over her mind. She couldn't help it! Anyone in her position would think the same thing!
At least, that's what she told herself to try and justify those thoughts.
Suddenly, she slapped herself awake and raised her head.
"I swear I won't leak this information to anyone or try to steal this item from Mira! I also won't force her to use it for my benefit! Should I fail to uphold my promise, may the Heavens strike me down!" Aelina swore, cutting off any thoughts that might hurt her partnership with Mira.
She didn't want those greedy and dangerous thoughts lingering in the back of her mind. She's seen first-hand how greed can grow and slowly get out of hand and didn't want that happening here.
Like Mira, Aelina knows an opportunity when she sees one, and Mira is her opportunity. If she fucked it up because of this, she would never forgive herself!
Mira flashed a small smile, understanding Aelina's thoughts perfectly. In fact, if she were in Aelina's position, she probably would've done the same thing.
She's always been relatively greedy for loot and an item that can speed up a plant's growth rate by 1000 times is hard to pass up on.
After swearing to the Heavens, Aelina turned to Mira with a smile and said, "I look forward to working with you, partner."
Mira smiled, "Me too, Miss Aelina."
The two chuckled. Now that they had discussed everything that needed to be discussed, it was about time for Mira to leave, but Aelina said a few last words right before she left.
"I'll come to find you after a few days to deliver the plants. If you need anything, feel free to tell me. Also, here's a communication talisman you can use to contact me whenever you need something." Aelina tossed her a palm-sized sheet of paper with thousands of tiny inscriptions filled with Qi.
Mira stored the talisman and nodded. Aelina then waved her hand, sending Mira near the Outer Court.
Now that she was finally alone, a massive grin broke out on her face.
"Hahahahaha~~ HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~~! Finally!! An opportunity has finally come!! My dream now no longer seems so far away! HAHAHAHAH~~!"
