Some Serpent Vines could even fight against dao formation experts without losing a step. Of course, these weren't the level of vines that were in their corner, or else there would be no hope of dealing with them.
However, there were many on the essence level, with a handful at the saint level. If their battle power was coordinated, they could be very useful. The problem was that Dyon didn't have a method for controlling them so he could only turn to Eli.
According to Eli, he wasn't entirely sure of a way either. Apparently, no one had a foolproof method of controlling Serpent Vines, but he was confident that once Delia returned, he'd be able to start studying them properly. He even got Dyon to buy him a few Serpent Vines embryos to begin early.
After dealing with all of that, Dyon left. He didn't need to see Ri through her breakthrough, he had the utmost confidence in her. But, for now, he had to deal with Soul Rending Peak.
It was a good thing those Devil Practitioners didn't dare to enter the tower just yet, or else Dyon would have been frozen out of their corner. It seemed he would have to deal with that before he left the 98th quadrant.
Dyon directly teleported to the Soul Rend Corner and left, appearing above the lake that housed the two pillars that led to their Gate.
'They must have left already, then.' Dyon had expected the same air ship that had brought them here to be waiting to take away those who had legacies, but it seemed he had wasted a bit too much time. 'It's fine. The fact I did this would make me even more of a target.'
Dyon quietly slipped into Soul Rending Peak, making his way into the courtyard he shared with little Rose and Vice Master Evangeline Moon.
The first thing Dyon saw when he walked in was an adorable little girl running up to him with a smile on her face.
"Little Rose." Dyon smiled, rubbing her small head. "Did you miss me?"
Rose smiled shyly before running off. Judging by her glance toward the back portion of the courtyard, Dyon assumed that Evangeline wanted to speak with him.
Walking through the large home, he eventually made it to its backyard. He was greeted with the same serene river and lush greens he had seen before. Even the singular white table fashioned with intricate designs and tea were there. Yet, this all paled in comparison to the golden-haired beauty that sat elegantly on a chair beside it.
By now, it was getting very late and the moon hung high in the skies, yet it was still dim in comparison to Evangeline.
"Come, let's have some tea."
Dyon sat down under the moonlight, accepting the cup of tea Evangeline poured for him.
Oddly enough, they sat in silence for a long time. Dyon wasn't sure what Evangeline wanted to speak with him about, but he had his own guesses. The events of the valley of geniuses could be ignored by stronger quadrants, but for a pitiful 98th ranked quadrant, if any one of their disciples gains a legacy, it would be akin to ascending the heavens in a single step.
Dyon already come to understand that quadrants as weak as this one already took Earth level treasures as impossible and out of reach. Even though the Caedes family had a Peak Heaven Level technique, that was them alone. In addition, it could only be used by those of their bloodline.
As for the rest of the quadrant, they had Common Level techniques at best.
Of course, Dyon knew that Soul Market was relying on a Mystic Level Technique. But, did that mean everyone else did? He doubted it.
"Why were you so late?" Evangeline suddenly asked.
When he heard this, Dyon's hand paused. He had just been about to raise the teacup to his lips, but when he heard the concern in Evangeline's voice, he was shocked.
He had heard the Evangeline was often kind to a fault, but for her voice to be so broken and hoarse over him being just a few hours late was a bit too exaggerated, no?
What this did prove to Dyon was that Evangeline was very much aware of Soul Market. Clearly she assumed that Dyon hadn't come back because he was taken away for the sake of his Legacy.
It was no secret to Dyon that the Soul Market wanted one last large profit margin before officially shutting down, and the valley of geniuses was the perfect stage for this.
Although Anak had demanded that Ri leave her legacy behind for Chrysanthemum, this wasn't actually possible, not after resonance was complete. It was either Anak was stupid, or he didn't care about the logistics, and just wanted to embarrass Dyon.
However, the Mystic Technique of Soul Rending Peak could force the issue. There was no need to explain how valuable those geniuses who resonated were.
Suddenly Dyon froze. He just remembered that Sophia had resonated. At first, she could have kept it a secret, but because of Arthurian, that was no longer possible. 'Dammit.'
Dyon shook his head, focusing back on the matter at hand. "I was handling a few things. Did I miss something important?"
In the end, he decided to pretend as though he hadn't noticed the oddity in Evangeline's voice.
After a pause, Dyon heard Evangeline take a deep breath as though she was calming herself. "Considering you snuck back in, you're already aware of the danger. So, why did you come back? You have no idea the level of formations there are that protect this school. Since you're here now, they know you're here. They're only looking for an excuse to take you away now."
Dyon smiled lightly. "I'm counting on it."
"You!" Evangeline was so angered by Dyon's words that the cup in her hand shattered. Even the liquid within it completely evaporated to nothingness.
Dyon sighed. "That one small cup had at least 10 saint stones worth of tea within it, such a waste, such a waste."
Evangeline grit her pearly white teeth adorably, completely exasperated with Dyon's behavior. Of course she knew how expensive the tea was, but was this really the time to be bringing it up?
"You're still so reckless! A complete maniac! You're a measly half celestial and you think you can change something?!"
"Still?" Dyon raised an eyebrow. No matter how much he wanted to ignore what Evangeline was saying, she kept making slips of the tongue. If she was trying to be covert, she was terrible at it.
"Of course, still." Evangeline stuttered. "You challenged so many elders at the assessment!"
Dyon's eyebrow only reached higher heights. She had just admitted she knew he had a celestial body, why would he be worried about the weak elders of a backwater sect? Too weird, too weird.
Evangeline quickly covered her tracks. "You're thinking you shouldn't be worried about them? Well what about the Devil Path Cultivators? Can you so easily ignore them too? Reckless!"
Dyon laughed. This "old lady" was too adorable. He felt that he was missing something about her, though. This definitely wasn't the way she normally acted.
When Dyon sat down to have his first teatime with her, he felt that she was calm and quick witted. In fact, her personality was very similar to his own. Clever, arrogant and a little too self-indulgent. This flustered version of herself was definitely very much different from the Evangeline who warned him that she'd cut his penis off if he tried to take advantage of "this old lady".
Of course, he found this even more odd considering her persona as a goddess of the people. Philanthropy was a bit out of place with that personality type. Although Dyon often helped people, he didn't classify himself as a Mother Teresa type person like Evangeline was portrayed.
Yet, that same two-sided personality seemed to have gained a third. As though she was an arrogant, kind woman who somehow still had the disposition of a little girl.
Suddenly, Dyon gave Evangeline a meaningful glance. "I wonder. Does this overly worried version of yourself have anything to do with the fact you're trying to poison me right now?"
Evangeline's hands froze. But, after a while, she only sighed. "How did you know?"
