Elaine's gaze wandered over the sea of raised hands in a vain attempt to single someone out to answer her burning question.
Why are there so many people? What happened to her quiet lecture hall devoid of anyone paying attention?
It was a surreal experience to see such class engagement for once as she often felt ignored—as if her presence brought boredom upon her students rather than intrigue. Which was a shame as she had a deep passion for the subject she was teaching. It just didn't seem to carry across in her presentation somehow.
Trying to single out one person from the hundreds of hands was an impossible task, so Elaine randomly pointed into the crowd. Due to her inaccuracy, a small group of people exchanged glances as if trying to determine who had been her gesture's target.
"Person with the pale blue hair," Elaine said as she managed to single one out from the smaller, confused group.
A few grumbles of those not chosen accompanied the creaking of the wooden bench as a slim man with icy blue hair and eyes cleared his throat, "Ahem, I cannot speak for everyone here, but I was drawn to enroll in the prestigious Academy of Darklight City after hearing news that House Redclaw was looking to take on fresh talent from the Academy in the coming weeks." His accent was crude and fake, as if hastily rehearsed for putting on a show.
Elaine raised a brow.
Since when had the Redclaws started a recruitment drive of rogue cultivators like this young man? It was incredibly rare that one of the noble houses would take in a single person without the house's blood or affinity, and it was unheard of for a house to do mass recruitment. Just what were they thinking?
Unsure if this man's answer didn't reflect the entire class, Elaine queried the crowd, "Is this true for everyone else? Are you all here in hopes of being chosen by House Redclaw?"
As she glanced around to summarize their affirming murmurs, Elaine noted that the large influx of cultivators was predominantly rogues, likely from the city or from afar. Which in turn made the small increase of cultivators from other noble houses stick out like a sore thumb in a sea of shabby brown cloaks with their all-knowing arrogant air, luxurious clothes, and spatial rings adorning their fingers. The difference between those raised in a noble house with access to vast resources from a young age compared to those who had to fight for every last beast core was terribly obvious in just about every way from a mere glance.
Elaine had noticed these nobles trickling into her lectures one by one over the last few days since the alchemy tournament. But the rogues had come in a flood, clearly desperate to seize the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of a noble house opening their gold-plated doors and granting access to their seemingly endless riches. A rogue cultivator may need to work for days, if not weeks, for a rich mortal merchant to acquire enough Golden Crowns to purchase a beast core, but for a noble? They could have beast cores for breakfast without lifting a finger.
If only they knew how cutthroat being in a noble house is, and to join as an outsider… Elaine returned to the board with a frown and shook her head. Even though she now despised many of her family members, they had given her access to their expensive void chambers and vast cultivation resources before they realized it was a waste and sent her here to work under the Head Librarian.
For that, she was thankful. The void Qi cycling through the veins and the knowledge crammed into her head wouldn't have been possible without their somewhat twisted form of support.
I wonder if I should visit the Void Chamber in the family mansion in the city after class. I can't see a reason they would deny my access now that my cousins have returned to Slymere. And I need to get stronger in both Qi and swordsmanship quickly so that I can venture into the next Mystic Realm.
The murmur of the students behind her made Elaine realize she had her finger on the board but hadn't written anything. Rectifying that by imbuing her finger with Qi and writing out the lecture's starting point she had come up with only a few hours prior, she turned on her heel and faced the curious crowd once more.
"Welcome to a lecture on the fundamentals of affinity counters. Focus up, and I might just put in a good word for you with the Redclaws."
***
Elder Margret strode down the steps of the grandest pillar in the cavern below the White Stone Palace with conflicted thoughts as the portal closed behind her. Under the dim blue hue from the luminescent round-head mushrooms jutting out of every nook and cranny of the cavern, she rotated the truffle Stella had gifted her.
It was a sign they acknowledged both her loyalty and skills, which made it even more conflicting that she had uncovered a deep-rooted lie. The question on her mind was, should she expose it?
Elder Margret was sure the elusive Ashfallen Sect had their reasons to obscure their true existence behind a veil of lies, as did any demonic sect. But the more they interacted, the more layers of the onion of lies were peeled away. The truth would be revealed eventually, either through their choice or negligence.
Briefly pausing her step, she made her decision and summoned a communication talisman to her hand. As her finger tapped its smooth surface, she noted that the cold chains of oath encircling her soul did not tighten—meaning informing the Grand Elder of this lie would not go against her loyalty to the Ashfallen Sect. How curious.
That further cemented Elder Margret's decision to inform the Grand Elder of the lie she had uncovered, as even the heavens deemed it favorable and made no effort to punish her thoughts.
Her Soul Core hummed in her chest as fire Qi was pulled toward her into a torrent that encircled her as she continued to walk down the stairs. In truth, she had no idea if such measures could hide her conversation from the immortal, but with heaven's blessing, she decided it would be fine even if he heard her words.
"Elder Margret?" The Grand Elder's serious voice emerged from the talisman in her palm after inserting some Qi into it, "Why do you call me? Is something the matter?"
"I was just over in the cavern with Stella. We discussed what pills should be mass-produced and shown to the Merchants in the upcoming meeting when the topic of the Blood Lotus Sect's Patriarch came up," Elder Margret explained, "It was during this conversation that I discovered something… a lie."
"What was the lie?"
Elder Margret: "Neither Stella nor the immortal had any knowledge of Vincent Nightrose, which I find peculiar considering Stella claimed the Ashfallen Sect was the true ruler of these lands and Vincent Nightrose was just a puppet to the immortal. So how could they now feign ignorance of their own puppet's capabilities?"
There was a long pause as the Grand Elder mulled over her words.
"Elder Margret, in a way, this information only reinforces our suspicions," The Grand Elder said, "The immortal is powerful but in some critical condition and trapped down here in a lower realm. It would explain their odd gap in lower realm knowledge and sect politics. In fact, it's entirely possible that when we first met, and they forced us into an oath of loyalty, they were at their weakest and fooled us with smoke and mirrors. I say this because we have noticed the immortal's powers progressing exponentially in recent weeks, and then there was that time another immortal descended and froze space just to speak with his injured friend. This further confirmed our theory that the immortal is real, weakened, and needing our help."
"So what does this all mean?" Elder Margret asked, "What should we do about these lies?"
"We have no need to dwell on the past. We should only look to the future. Forget about their past lies to win us over, as our loyalty, both in oath and mind, now lies with the Ashfallen Sect. If they decree for Vincent Nightrose's head on a silver platter, then let it be so; we will rise to the challenge and see that it's done to repay the kindness they have shown our family."
Elder Margret now felt silly reporting this lie to the Grand Elder and saw why the heavens didn't see it as a betrayal. What had she expected? For the Grand Elder to go and call the Ashfallen Sect liars and demand compensation? Elder Margret may dislike the fact her family had been tricked, but she could empathize with the predicament the Ashfallen Sect had been in, and it would be outrageous to demand anything after the kindness they have shown thus far.
"You're right. I should forget the past." Elder Margret said, gripping the truffle in her palm a little tighter.
"Good. Let's speak another time. I am busy with requests from the immortal, so I must go."
The connection cut, and Elder Margret dispelled the swirling flames around her and found she had reached her destination. Up ahead, slumped over a fiery cauldron of fruit, was an exhausted Kane Azurecrest. He would be the first she would teach the new recipes, too.
***
With the afternoon to himself since Stella was sleeping and Elder Margret was busy, Ashlock gazed down at the vast mountain ridge between Red Vine Peak and the White Stone Palace.
Once a barren mountainscape devoid of life, it was now a vast scarlet forest of bustling wildlife and friendly demonic trees that made the air shimmer due to the amount of fire Qi coming from the Blaze Serpent Roses growing on their trunks.
This fire Qi then drifted toward the White Stone Palace, where the Redclaws diligently cultivated in the open courtyard. A setup that had worked well but needed to change.
The demonic trees on the mountain were beginning to form their Soul Cores, and he didn't want an entire forest of only fire affinity trees, and he also didn't want fire and spatial Qi to dominate the land. He needed diversity, as he had seen the fate of noble families that fostered a single affinity and didn't wish to repeat their mistakes.
Therefore, he needed many groves on the mountain with different affinities, and these would also serve well as meditation spots for the future rogue sect members he had requested the Grand Elder to bring in, as he didn't want to reveal the Mystic Realm's existence to untrustworthy people. There was just a slight problem… it was going to be a costly project.
An entire forest that spanned a mountain range covered in Blaze Serpent Roses barely produced enough fire Qi for the youngsters in the Redclaw family to advance and for the Elders to maintain their cultivation, but to advance, their only hope was the Mystic Realm.
To put it another way, his flowers could make the air hot, but the Redclaws wanted to cultivate within a firestorm. It simply wasn't good enough. Luckily, there was a solution. An expensive one, but a solution nonetheless.
"If I turn the entire mountain into one massive Qi-gathering formation that reroutes the untamed Qi from the world into my children's roots. My offspring can then convert the untamed Qi into the affinity of their Soul Core and then expel it into the air around them."
Ashlock sighed, "But if I were to set that up now, I would turn this mountain range into a volcanic region."
Summoning his {Blooming Root Flower Production} menu, he got to work and hoped he wasn't too late to change his offspring's affinities.
