Ling flew up beside Cain, using her own powers, not a sword to fly on, which intrigued Cain. Flying with energy control and not wings or an enchanted item wasn't something that he thought the people of this world were capable of.
"You don't need to worry so much. Very few would dare to attack our group, the Lotus Blossom is a very large Sect, and close to the city." Ling told him.
"I still worry about them. I inherited most of them very recently, and I haven't had enough time to properly train them, thanks to our travels." Cain explained.
"Hmm, that explains a lot. Their energies all feel very different from each other. If I hadn't seen them all arrive as friends, I would have thought they were strangers, and not from the same sect at all." The Immortal told Cain with a raised eyebrow, waiting for his answer.
"That is actually a feature of my teaching, not a defect. Every disciple learns a different path that is best suited to them, instead of teaching them all the same core technique. Once they have mastered one, they can start on another, though it is easiest if they are closely related."
That should explain the classes well enough without making the old woman even more suspicious.
"You should stay in the city for a while. There will be a lot of challenges, trials, and seminars held here beginning in a few days. Every Sect is interested in new techniques, and it seems that is the specialty of your Sect." Ling told him.
"Yes, the Lightning Dance Sect said the same thing, they were very happy to get a chance to spar with my disciple so they could begin to understand combat against a dual-wielding combatant without risk of death."
"Oh, the Lightning Dance. They're a bit of a joke, thanks to their incomplete technique and low power, but they are good people." Ling replied with true fondness in her eyes.
"They just need knowledge. Knowledge is power, and those wise enough to seek it out first usually end up the furthest ahead at the end." Cain agreed.
"If you want to stay in the area where our sect is, I can arrange it. Your little Sect will be safe there, you just need to watch out for the Elders. Men are not allowed near our disciples unsupervised or without previous permission, and the Lotus Blossom is very strict about that." Ling offered.
"I am sure the disciples would enjoy that. I will stay close by in case there is trouble. Since I arrived here, I have met an incredible number of idiots, and it is better than I deal with them than to leave it to become a mess." Cain told her with a conspiratorial wink.
"The best defense is a good offense? That can work. But how do you plan to distract them if they are after the disciples? I hate to break it to you, but you're not exactly the type that the lechers drool over."
She had a good point there. "Is this world really so short on women that they have to resort to such things?"
Ling shook her head no. "There are far more women than men. But most of them don't build up their power. Power is everything to most of these Immortals, so they want an equal that can potentially keep up with them and spend eternity with them, so they are only interested in the ones that belong to a Sect. The commoners at the taverns and such are mostly immune to their more annoying tendencies."
"Hmm, then I am glad I brought the girls to you. One of them is my own daughter, and I hold a similar view to your sect about the idea of her being involved with a man." Cain chuckled.
Not that Luna would be interested. She wasn't mentally mature enough to be wanting that sort of relationship, and any boy who tried would be more likely to get stabbed than kissed. That was just how Luna was at this point in her life, and possibly always since she was an Avatar of the War God.
The two leaders of their respective groups flew along in peace for a while, Ling's white robes and Cain's black suit with a peach-colored sash around his waist drawing odd looks from travelers who knew how the Lotus Blossom felt about males in general.
The rumors that Cain could hear were that they weren't just a female cultivation sect, but a Sect of Man Haters. Unlike other Female Sects that held social events every few years for their disciples to meet potential partners, the Lotus Blossom never did any such thing. Even seeing them come out to an event like this one was a rarity.
The words didn't seem to bother Ling, despite the fact that Cain was certain she could hear them as well as he could as they approached the city and the Sects traveling started maintaining a careful ten-meter radius around their disciples to prevent sneak attacks or unwanted interactions.
The Lotus Blossom Sect stopped at a clearing that was already filled with ladies in white robes, and Ling led Cain to greet the other Elders of their Sect.
"This is Master Cain of the Forbidden Treasures Sect. The disciples in Peach are all his, and I have offered them a safe spot to stay while they are in the city. Master Cain understands to leave our disciples alone, and he promises he won't cause any trouble." The Immortal Ling began.
"Look at him, how could he not be trouble? He's got half the sect drooling over him from across the clearing. Tell me, Cain, what sort of Sect Master are you? Do you train the Demon Techniques? Divine Tomes?" A very powerful Immortal with one eye scarred over and blinded asked him.
"I train my disciples in individualized techniques. I value knowledge above all else, so each of them has a very different fighting technique. Only Luna fights in a similar way to my own. But let me ask, was that a Curse that took your eye? Might I take a look at it? I believe that I can fix it." Cain replied.
"You can fix an eye blinded by a cursed weapon? That I would pay to see." The old Immortal snorted in amusement.
[Cursed Wound] Mythic Rank Curse. Scar tissue reduces healing to the area by 100 percent.
The curse wasn't that bad, only Mythic, but with their limited healing abilities, that was more than they could hope to deal with. He wouldn't even need to use [Modify] to fix this, just remove the curse and heal her.
Cain brought a Record Keeper into his [Merger] and used [Nullify] to break the curse and any lingering debuffs on the Elder then used [Holy Light] from the Seraphim Inquisitor still merged with him to heal up her face.
The effect made her look years younger, giving an ageless appearance suitable to a proper immortal. If it wasn't for the white hair, it would be hard to place her as young or old, simply indeterminate around middle-aged.
"You can open your eyes now. Sorry, I should warn people about the light before I do that. It's a unique technique that I learned from the Seraphim, and it can heal most things once the curse is broken." Cain explained.
"That is incredible. Can you teach that technique to others? There are many events here for learning, and an energy control technique that can heal blindness would be in high demand, even if there aren't many magical cultivators around." Ling gasped.
"That one you would have to ask the Seraphim for, but I can teach other healing techniques, and I occasionally do. I gave the Divine Light Sect Master a tome on how to resurrect the recently dead when we were in the valley." Cain told her.
"So that's why he announced that he was canceling his attendance and that Master Moon would be taking over his position while he was in seclusion. He must be working to master the technique before he comes out again." The Elder that Cain had just healed told her companions.
"Master Moon is coming here? Oh, that will be a treat. I didn't think he would leave the valley, with the attacks and all, but it will be good to see him again." Cain laughed, being the only one here that knew that he was no longer crippled.
"Sect Master, we have arranged the extra tents, as you instructed." A disciple whispered from the doorway, not wanting to interrupt their conversations.
"Excellent. Follow me, Master Cain, and I will show you around. Once you have seen the layout, you can call your disciples to one of the tents, and take the other for yourself. It might be a bit loud, being right beside the kitchens, but at least it will be warm." The Immortal informed him.
It would also ensure that there was no point when he was not under surveillance, thanks to the busy nature of a kitchen in a crowded compound like this one.
The problem was that he had at least one devoted foodie with him, and being next to the smell of cooking food all day could be an issue.
Especially if their sect weren't good cooks. Luna would never stand for that and would bother him constantly until he got the Lotus Blossom to give her permission to help out. How well she herself could actually cook was a mystery, since she only ever wanted to eat meat, but if it was about meat, she was a true connoisseur.
