"That will be all for this lecture on how to overcome the limits of your affinity. Are there any questions?" Elaine scanned the lecture hall for any raised hands or confused faces, but all she got back were bored looks or lecherous stares.
She stood on a raised wooden platform surrounded by rows of benches curved around the circular lecture hall. This was so all students, no matter where they sat, could get a good view of her, and the wall behind her that was painted in a thin sheen of low-grade spirit stones so she could draw and write things with her Qi.
Written on the silvery wall in glowing black lines were the fundamental truths that her uncle had taught her, and since she was relatively familiar with this topic due to her own research in an adjacent field, she decided to memorize her uncle's left-behind lecture notes and give the talk today.
A small sigh escaped her lips. The students had come from far and wide across the Blood Lotus Sect to attend this Academy. Most were from noble families, but a few mortals that awakened their spirit roots were sprinkled here and there in their little clusters. They were easy to spot due to their lack of majestic robes and fingers weighed down by golden spatial rings.
Without a noble family to provide the cultivation resources and facilities needed to advance, these cultivators raised by mortals had to spend every Golden Crown they could work for on those resources that the nobles got for free.
Elaine would pity them if not for their and everyone else's utter lack of interest in her lecture. She knew she was partly to blame as she had never been the best at public speaking. However, she wasn't the sole reason for their disregard, as it was also known throughout the sect that Darklight Academy was where the talentless, delinquents and descendants from side branches came to study.
Why would anyone willingly attend Darklight City's Academy when Slymere was a quick airship ride away? Darklight was known for its mining and farming industries. In contrast, Slymere was known for its creative sector and top-tier Academy attended by all noble families, including the Nightrose family.
Comparing the two was like night and day.
"Seriously, no questions?" Elaine glanced at the top row, wholly occupied by those from the Redclaw family. Unmistakable due to their crimson hair, dark red robes, and similar features. Even they seemed a little bored, which hurt Elaine's pride a tad.
It's not my fault that uncle is gone, and you're stuck with me. I wonder how the Redclaw's attitude would change if they knew I was with the Ashfallen Sect. That's a funny thought...
With nobody engaged or asking questions, Elaine checked her internal clock. Qi followed the will of the realm, so it was easy to estimate the time by checking the density of various Qi types floating around, such as light.
Mhm, around half an hour before midday. If I end the lecture early, I could stop by the study on the way to the dining hall to meet Douglas.
Elaine touched the silvery wall behind her and pulled the Qi back into her Soul Core. It was teacher etiquette to remove one's Qi from the spirit stone wall, and there was no way Elaine would waste the precious void Qi she had managed to accumulate by leaving it here.
"Well, since nobody has any questions, I shall end this lecture a little earlier than planned. Have a good day, everyone... Oh, and don't forget about the alchemy tournament happening in two days. Everyone from the Academy is allowed free entry."
Elaine's words were drowned out by the sudden chorus of students standing up and gathering their things before leaving the room. Only a few cultivators—mainly from the Redclaw family—gave her a short nod as they walked out. As the region's ruling family, they had been told by their Elders to respect the teachers at the Academy.
With another sigh, Elaine gave the now empty lecture hall a quick glance to make sure nothing was left behind, and then she followed the tail end of the students down the corridor.
Her mind wandered as she walked alone through the hallways.
Ugh, what do I do about Douglas? He is handsome and kind, but I thought I would end up with a bookworm like me rather than someone from the Terraforge family.
Elaine frowned as she imagined her father's face if she told him she had almost slept with someone from the Terraforge family. Raised as a scion of the Voidmind family, Elaine had been taught that the Terraforge family were no better than the beasts that howl beyond the walls.
Why should I care what my family thinks anyway? They abandoned me, so I owe them nothing. But I do have to admit Douglas is rather rough around the edges, with a very down-to-earth personality.
But it was nowhere near as bad as the stigma her father had drilled into her head.
Should I just commit to the relationship and stop leading him on? We already slept in the same bed, so the jump to the next step feels a little easier, but still, I want to take things slowly to make sure he is the one for me. My world has been flipped upside down since that fateful night when Diana pressed a dagger to my neck, and it's taking some time for me to readjust to the absurdities of the Ashfallen Sect.
Elaine rounded a corner. Her eyes followed the floor as she mulled over her thoughts; however, her brain recognized the changing floor pattern to mean she had entered the teacher's area. So she glanced up and was taken aback when she saw someone leaving her study. Even worse, it was a man with an all too familiar silhouette.
She only caught a brief glimpse of Dante shutting the door behind him before he used Void Step to vanish. The runes engraved in the walls and doors of the corridor flashed with power as they attempted to suppress the influx of Qi, but there was very little in this world that could stop Void Step—the famed movement technique of House Voidmind.
He shouldn't have detected me coming because of the runes in the walls. Did I catch him leaving because I ended my lecture early? What the hell was he doing in my study?
Technically it was a joint study between uncle and her. And it wouldn't be peculiar for the scion of the Voidmind family to enter a study run by his Elder and sister, but it still struck her as odd.
Elaine approached the study's door with bated breaths. The bland wooden door looked normal, like always. It clicked open when she inserted her Qi, and the insides looked as disorderly as ever. The central desk was still covered in parchments.
What could he possibly want from here? Elaine tapped her chin as she walked around. Every shadow or corner she passed made her heart race. She knew deep down that Dante wouldn't directly harm her, but that didn't mean she wasn't a little terrified. What if he discovered her secret and tried to force her to tell him about it? The oath would kill her before he could.
We did plan to have our next meetings here. Should I tell Douglas to move them someplace else?
With the tournament so close and all the noble families arriving today, she saw little need for more meetings, so maybe she could just tell Douglas to call them off. The stage was already set, and they all knew chaos was on the horizon.
I do want to figure out the real reason Dante is here. His nonsense about overtaking Darklight City doesn't make sense. Why would the scion of House Voidmind, one of the most powerful and influential families, deem it necessary to overtake Darklight City? A backwater mining city with little going for it?
Elaine wasn't buying it, but she couldn't find a way to get to the truth without confronting Dante about it, and that was an interaction she wasn't eager to participate in.
There were many ways to die in this ruthless world, but asking too many questions was one of the best to find a sword through one's back.
Elaine sighed as she left the lecture notes on the desk and ran a hand through her silky hair. What was she to do? Why was everything so stressful now?
I must be careful what I say here... there's a chance Dante left a recording artifact. Should I still go to see Douglas now and confront him about our relationship? Or should I head back to the mansion and confront my brother?
She found herself pacing the messy room. All that lay before her were twisted paths without clear results—something she hated.
Just relax, Elaine. The Ashfallen Sect knows of Dante's invasion and should be able to handle any other nonsense he's got hidden up his sleeve.
She stopped her pacing and glanced out the window.
I should get a move on. Douglas is likely waiting for me.
***
"Not enjoying the soup?" Douglas looked at her with those warm brown eyes. Elaine just stared and got lost in them. Her mind told her this was illogical and that she was only enthralled with him due to the circumstances surrounding their meeting.
Yet after a few days apart and spending them alone meditating in the Void Chamber or reading research notes, she felt the same warmth she had the first time they met.
Perhaps I'm really in love...
"Is there something on my face?" Douglas started licking his lips as if trying to remove nonexistent food from his stubble.
"No, I was just enjoying the view," Elaine smiled—glanced away, and decided to hide her shamefulness by dipping bread in her soup.
Douglas snorted, "Bold today, are we."
"Perhaps," Elaine tapped his shin under the table with her foot, "But wait till after the big day."
Telling Douglas to wait until after the tournament to avoid blowing their cover had been her tactic to delay things so she could get a better feeling for the relationship. She was now more sure than ever that this was a relationship she wanted to pursue after spending time apart. The problem was she had zero experience in dating as she had been moved out of the family before she could be used as a marriage pawn.
This lack of experience had been fine when she felt her life was at risk if she didn't latch onto Douglas. But now it was different. She could approach it with a calm mind, and that just made it all the more stressful.
"Stop teasing me then," Douglas grumbled.
Elaine continued smiling, lost in her own little world.
***
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Ashlock awoke to his system notifying him that yet another day had passed. Honestly, the last two days had been rather dull.
"Isn't the meal at the Immortal Gourmet Pavilion happening tonight?" Ashlock slurred to himself as his mind kicked into gear.
Other than watching the various noble families arriving, he had spent his days overseeing Stella in the cavern, trying to improve the Mind Fortress pill.
On the topic of noble families, he had expected all of them to turn up with big-shot scions after the Voidmind and Skyrend family, but that was not the case. Azurecrest, Starweaver, and Terraforge all showed up with people from side branches or low-ranking scions if the grumbles of Elder Brent were anything to go by.
However, this information didn't put Ashlock at ease. Instead, it made him even more worried. Dante Voidmind's reason for being here was discovered by his sister, so why was Theron Skyrend here with his sister?
"No way he plans to invade too? I still don't understand why Dante needs an alchemist tournament to justify his invasion." Ashlock felt a headache coming on so early in the morning. He needed more information, but the mansions controlled by the various families throughout the noble district were heavily guarded, just like the Voidmind mansion had been.
While mulling over his options, a portal appeared.
Stella and Diana strode through and glanced around.
"Okay, after a few days, I think I have perfected the ratios as best I can," Stella said while holding up a purple and green pill with spots of yellow. "You can speak to Tree with this."
"I can?" Diana's eyes widened a little, "You're not trying to poison me, are you?"
"I..." Stella blinked, "I'm not even sure how to feel insulted by that. Are you suggesting I would backstab you or that I am so incompetent at alchemy that I would accidentally kill my friend?"
Diana snorted, "It was a joke, Stella, just give me the darn pill."
"Oh... sure." Stella frowned and placed the odd-looking pill in Diana's palm, "I don't see how that was funny."
"Shhh, now tell me what to do." Diana held the pill and inspected it, "Just eat it?"
"Wait a moment. This pill is the strongest one yet, so Tree may need to start the connection first. Once you see the white fog appear, then eat it."
Honestly, that was unnecessary. {Abyssal Whispers} was an A-grade mental attack skill, it could force its way past even the {Mind Fortress} fruit if he put his full power into it, but he hadn't, as hurting Stella had never been the intention. When he saw her struggling, he'd pulled back his presence and tried to avoid sending any mental attacks her way.
Diana stood there glancing around as if trying to find the white fog Stella was talking about, so he activated the skill and targeted her. He only used a fraction of its full force as she was a realm weaker than Stella. Within a second, he had smashed through her mental defenses and weaseled into her consciousness.
It was a surreal experience, even for him. The sensation of his voice actually being able to leave through his trunk and travel down the mental link through the skill was magical to him in a bizarre way.
"I see the white smoke!" Diana shouted and then ate the pill.
Immediately Ashlock felt a force try to push him out, like a hot blast of air. He could resist it by dialing up the power of the skill, but he did so in a way that focused on telepathy rather than all the hallucinations.
"Can you hear me?" Ashlock asked, and Diana practically jumped out of her skin.
"Yes, I can. Wow... this is so weird." Diana's monotone voice came straight into his mind and didn't sound slightly distorted like usual.
"Why are there floating ears with wings near the Patriarch?" Diana asked Stella.
The blonde girl laughed, "They are all illusions. Just ignore them."
"I see... and it was worse than this before the pill?"
All the color drained from Stella's face as she shuddered, "Yes... yes, it was."
"Sorry, Patriarch, I am just a bit distracted." Diana said through the mental connection, "I didn't expect your voice to sound like this."
"Does my voice sound weird?"
"It's hard to describe, but it's like a chorus of a thousand tortured souls all shouting at once past my ears and straight at my soul." Diana laughed, "Meanwhile, I thought you would sound like an old grandpa... no offense."
"None taken," Ashlock replied. It was unfortunate to learn his voice was so hard to listen to, but with a skill named {Abyssal Whispers}, it made sense that he wouldn't have the voice of an angel.
"I can feel a pressure on my soul that's making it hard to stand here," Diana admitted, "As if your words are direct attacks wearing away the barrier on my consciousness from the pill Stella gave me."
She then looked back at Stella, "How did you survive this without the pill."
Stella shrugged, "No idea. I'm unsure if my brain is still in one piece."
"How many pills did you make?"
Stella counted on her fingers, "Maybe thirty? It's been a long two days. Actually, on that note, I used up quite a lot of Dragon Marrow practicing the Body Strengthening pill alongside the twins. Elder Margret says there's still enough for the tournament, but I was going to ask how we plan to acquire it in the future."
This was actually a topic Ashlock had some ideas for but hadn't had a chance to bring it up.
"Diana, you see that pile of bones over there?"
She turned around and saw the pile, "Yes, Patriarch, I see them? Aren't these the bones left over from the hunt a few days ago?"
"Yes, they are the ones Stella didn't snap in half because they didn't have enough Qi to be Dragon Marrow. I had a thought. Would either you or Kaida be able to artificially create Dragon Marrow with demonic Qi?"
Diana was nursing her head after his words, but she slowly nodded, "It's possible, but I wouldn't advise it."
"Why not?"
"Well, if you order me to, I can force my demonic Qi into a single bone, and it may transform the insides into Dragon Marrow. But then I would have wasted weeks of cultivation and thrown off my body's harmony between demonic Qi and water Qi." Diana paused to massage her temples and close her eyes, "Kaida is much the same. It just doesn't seem worth it to me."
Interesting. So it was, in fact, possible, or at least Diana thought it was. But it was such an inefficient method that it was basically off the table.
"Sorry, Patriarch, do you mind retracting from my mind?" Diana half begged, "My soul is trembling."
Ashlock said nothing to avoid inflicting further pain and turned off the skill.
Diana stumbled forward and collapsed on the bench while breathing heavily. "Stella... I have... no idea... how you managed to survive... making this pill."
"I have no idea. Just rest easy and recover." Stella sat beside her, "I need you well rested by this evening."
"Why?" Diana slurred as she massaged her forehead with her eyes closed.
"I didn't get a chance to tell you yet, but the Redclaw Grand Elder requested we attend the feast tonight at the Immortal Gourmet Pavilion."
Diana's eyes shot open, "What? I thought only I was going? Why would you come as well?"
"The Grand Elder told me through Elder Margret earlier today that with Dante Voidmind and Theron Skyrend there, he needs another Star Core cultivator beside him to avoid being looked down upon. So he asked if I could attend the event."
"And you agreed to that?!? Ow ow..." Diana clutched her head and fell backward again.
"Well, not initially, but after some thought, I decided it would be a perfect opportunity to practice socializing with other cultivators. Also, I can wear my mask and just stand in the corner if it's too much."
"That has to be the worst idea I have ever heard." Diana groaned, and Ashlock had to agree. There was no way Stella could navigate such a political gathering and not cause problems.
"I'm not that bad at socializing." Stella pouted, "Come on, trust me! I have been speaking with the twins all day without a problem. And remember all the times I talked to the Redclaws?"
There was a long pause before Diana replied, "Fine... but we got a lot of work to do to get you ready."
