A teenage girl in a rather scandalous dress, short and low cut enough that it left little to the imagination and made of thin black silk, appeared in front of the golden-haired woman, who was looking at her with disgust.
"I went out for a bit, and you thought you had the chance to sneak out on a date? Think again. Now, put your hand on the statue and channel energy." The girl's Mistress demanded.
"Yes, Lady Anna." The girl muttered, ashamed of having been caught and shamed in front of so many esteemed Cultivators.
The blade lit up in a nearly even mix of blue and red, and the right arm of the statue, the one holding the blade, lit up with a strong red glow.
"The chance isn't high, but if it does happen, it seems this girl could be a great war hero, and the potential isn't bad. A nearly fifty percent chance of reaching the Divine Realm." The City Lord commended her.
The Demigod known as Lady Anna looked proud for a moment, then recalled that her Disciple was in trouble for sneaking out and took out a Monk's Cassock, dropping it over the girl's head before tying the waist rope a bit more loosely than most would have, almost completely hiding her figure under thick gray wool.
"I think we have caused enough of a scene here for the moment. I will place the statue in my storage ring for now, and I will prepare a spot in the city for it to be erected by the end of the week." The City Lord announced, bringing a round of quiet grumblings of discontent from the Cultivators who had hoped to test themselves right away.
A week wasn't a long time for an Immortal, though, and they would often go into secluded training for months or even years at a time if they thought they had sensed a chance to break through or had an epiphany on some topic.
"Next up, you, with the Cat in your arms. Cain called, then realized that it was Elder Dragon Fang in disguise.
He instinctively checked her status with his System interface and found that she was still in the Witch Class and hadn't advanced despite her level, but she had learned the transformation skill that he had made for her just the night before, which was an astounding level of comprehension.
Learning a skill from a book usually took months or even longer. She had managed to activate it well enough to fool all of those around her in a single night.
The woman, who Cain's interface identified as a Disciple of the Shadowed Blade, despite the fact she was wearing a plain sky-blue dress, stepped forward to make her request.
"I would like a book of [Deadly Muse] if you know the skill." The woman asked politely.
Cain searched through his references and found that it was an exclusive skill of a Vampiric Demon, the ancestors of Vampires, and it let them assume a much more powerful Immortal Form, one that could withstand even direct piercing damage to the heart, which would normally be their weakness.
How the woman even learned of the skill confounded Cain. It wasn't the sort of knowledge that you would expect people to just casually ask about in any world, much less this one.
"Do you mean the transformation skill?" Cain asked, just to make sure.
"Transformation? No. It is an assassination skill." She replied with confusion, and Cain saw the skill she meant in her thoughts.
[Lethal Muse] was a shadow assassin skill that called a Specter with the face of a beautiful woman to leap out of the darkness and kill the target with soul damage.
"Ah, I understand. The name I know that one under is Lethal Muse. They are very similar in name but very different in practice. Yes, I can create that book since it isn't exclusive to any Sect, as far as I know." Cain agreed.
Some of the assassin sects looked disgruntled at that news, as they all had members who knew the skill but wouldn't share it easily, even among their own members.
"What will it cost me?" The woman asked carefully, knowing that the skill was very valuable and that she would be targeted on her way back to camp once she had possession of the book.
"That is a very interesting kitten you have. You may not know this, but I am also fond of fluffy things. Bring her here, and let me pet her while I write, and I will give you the book." Cain requested.
The look of offended rage in Elder Dragon Fang's kitten eyes was enough that the killing intent made some of the nearby cultivators shudder. They assumed that it came from the woman holding the cat, despite her placid look, and began to wonder if there were some history between her and Master Cain.
"I am sorry, but I am not permitted to set her down." The woman replied, taking a step back.
"That's fine. Come and sit here between Luna and me. She loves fluffy things as well." Cain decided, patting the cushions on the ground.
It would be suspicious to everyone if she declined since the man was asking such a small price for an incredibly valuable skill, so she took a seat, ignoring the look that her Elder was giving her.
Elder Dragon Fang's hope for peace lasted all of two seconds after she sat down when she felt small hands gently stroking her head.
"She's so soft. It's a shame we can't keep her." Luna pouted while Solara stared at the Cat, just now realizing who it was since she wasn't used to checking everyone she interacted with by using her interface.
Without it, her senses didn't detect the trick at all, and it seemed that none of the other Immortals in the crowd had noticed either. She had been there when the book was made and given to the Shadowed Blade Elder, but she still couldn't believe that it had been mastered and made so effective already.
"Why don't you just beg your Sect Master if you like the cat so much?" One of the Cultivators standing near Luna asked.
"She's not from my Sect. No matter how cute and fluffy she is, it would be rude if I asked." Luna explained, causing the man to misunderstand her concern as a courtesy to the girl holding the cat and not Luna being concerned about asking an Elder to defect just because she was soft on the hands.
Cain narrated the skill as he made it, giving pointers on the energy control used to make Skill Tomes and throwing in some friendly conversation about the competitions that were going on. The skill was C Ranked and not immensely powerful. It would be D ranked, but the surprise factor of the Spirit coming out from the shadows was enough to put it over the threshold, according to the System.
"Come back again anytime. But first, I have something for you. It would be a travesty if you were to lose such a magnificent creature, so you should take this." Cain informed the Disciple.
He merged with a Gold Elemental and made a small flat link collar with a tag that read "Princess." The Disciple didn't dare to attempt to affix a collar around the neck of Elder Dragon Tooth, so she simply accepted the gift and held it awkwardly in her hand after she put the Skill Tome away in her storage ring.
"I thank you for your consideration. I will see what she thinks of it once we are safely back at my Sect Camp." The Disciple told Cain with a smile that said Elder Dragon Tooth had already expressed her exact opinion on the topic.
"I am sure she will love it. After all, you wouldn't want anyone mistaking her for a stray, and no stray would wear such a lovely accessory." Cain replied, then waved her away to return to her Sect.
She had only taken a few steps when Cain remembered his quest to not start a Sect War today and called out to stop her.
"Take this guy with you. It is getting late, and a young lady walking with valuables could become a target for the unscrupulous."
Cain summoned a single copy of Vala to accompany her back to the Shadowed Blade camp. The Demon was a bit conspicuous, but she was an incredible close combat fighter, and he could now Summon her using one of his [Supporter] slots now that he had freed the original.
"What is that?" One of the Cultivators standing next to where Vala had appeared asked.
"Did you just call me a What? Do I look like an inanimate object to you? Perhaps an animal?" The offended Demon asked, and Cain realized that maybe her personality wasn't the best choice for avoiding conflict.
Vala was about to draw her sword on the little offensive human, who was only half her level, and Cain was about to order her to stop when the Disciple stepped in between them. She wasn't trying to stop the fight. She was entranced by Vala's appearance.
"Is that an actual Blood Dancer? They are super rare. I mean nearly extinct rare. Where did you manage to find one? Is she tamed with a skill, or did you make friends and get her to agree to a Summoning Contract?" The disciple asked, looking at Vala from every possible angle, even flying using her energy so she could look at the tall Demon from above.
"She is an old friend and will escort you safely home. Vala, please try not to stab anyone. We don't want to have any Sect Battles break out today." Cain replied.
"No problem. Where did you call me to, anyhow? This place reeks of unwashed humans. Is it the Western Continent? I hear they don't have amenities like showers there." Vala asked.
"Long story. But it's not the same world. Just make sure that she makes it back safely, please." Cain told the Demon, who looked at the curious Disciple and resigned herself to playing twenty questions until they could find the girl's home.
