The rest of the Elders from the Crushing Mountain Sect didn't take long to get down to the brewery to see what in the world was worth keeping an entire Sect from Cultivation that night but were left to gather outside in confusion after a stout, bearded woman in the Immortal Realm slammed the door in their faces.
"Master Brewer Jurgen, come out here right this instant and tell us what is going on." One of the men shouted.
"Ah, shut yer yap. We're just trying to celebrate our success. You can survive one night without meditation." The dwarf shouted back, prompting the irate man to kick the door down and force his way into the building.
Before he could strangle the very drunk brewmaster, he was grabbed by a huge Elder and placed back outside.
"Elders, how about you show me what is going on? Master Cain? When did you get here?" He asked, sidetracked when he noticed that the strange Sect Master who made his new ax was here in the Crushing Mountain Sect.
"Just yesterday afternoon. My Disciples spent the evening in the training grounds with your Sect, letting Carnage teach some combat techniques that they weren't familiar with." Cain explained.
"And what prompted this party?"
"Party? This is just a few old friends having a drink. But we've got plenty if you want to turn it into a proper party. In fact, grab a mug and have a seat. Hey, someone pour the Elder a drink." Cain shouted back, weaving slightly on his feet.
The Puppet poured a flagon full of whiskey and handed it to the Elder, who downed half the mug before he realized it was whiskey and not ale.
"By the Gods, that nearly killed me. How much of this have you lot had to drink?" He wheezed, trying to soothe the burn of the Dwarven Whiskey on his throat.
"Not much. There's still most of the barrel here. Bring the others in, and let's drink to celebrate the completion of the Sect's new still." Cain informed him, staggering over to the wall to grab a case full of mugs.
The puppet filled them and handed them out the door, still blocking the other Elders from entering, and then refilled the mugs of everyone inside.
"You might want to sip that if you're not much of a drinking sort. This brew has a large number of medicinal purposes, from preventing infection to lowering blood pressure, and it even has a chance to invoke an epiphany state." Cain informed the Elders outside.
They looked truly impressed at first until they tasted it and realized that it was really just extremely high-quality whiskey with a lingering magical effect that they couldn't identify.
"That epiphany that you mentioned, might it have something to do with the realization that they had made an incredible mistake and even an Immortal should not drink like that ever again?" The Elder sitting with the Dwarves asked.
"An Immortal Human. That last word is important." The Blacksmith laughed.
"Wait, is this the legendary Dwarven Whiskey that you have been going on about for centuries? Have they finally learned to make it?" The Elder asked.
"Indeed they have, with the help of Elder Cain and his summoned brew mistress."
"Crushing Mountain will be famous in no time with this. Good liquor that can get an Immortal Drunk is hard to come by anywhere in this world. We owe you again, Sect Master Cain." The big man laughed.
The Elders outside began to calm down as the liquor took effect, and when the morning work bells chimed, the weary, sleep-deprived Disciples made their way out to start the day's chores and found the whole courtyard around the Brewery was filled with drunken Elders sleeping off the effects of the drink.
"Should we go rescue Sect Master Cain?" Penny asked, wondering if he was going to be alright.
"Don't worry about him. He can drink like a dwarf, and he can cleanse his own hangover when he wakes up, so there's nothing to fear." Luna shrugged, trying not to giggle at the sound of snoring coming from that direction.
"Let's practice a bit more. I think I'm almost there. But we really do need the arena if we are going to fight all day. Getting everyone healed is a real pain." Penny told the group, not looking forward to having to wake Cain up.
"Oh, give me a second. As long as none of the Elders are going to be there, I can make one too. It's not as good, but I can totally do that." Luna insisted.
She might be a War Princess now, but she was a Puppet Master at birth, and she had watched the summoning a few times now and had updated her recording of Elder Ling after the spell was learned.
"Everyone, please clear the courtyard. We are going to create an arena for training, where the wards will eject and heal the combatants before they take critical damage." Jen shouted, letting her voice carry across the Sect.
"The grass over behind the dorms is way bigger and almost as flat. Can we make it there? It would give us more room to fight." One of the Disciples who had seen the one they made in the City of Knowledge asked.
"Sure, that shouldn't be an issue. Lead the way." Luna agreed, brushing the last crumbs from breakfast from her uniform.
If she was going to imitate the arena made by Cain, she needed to look her best. Shiny things required showmanship when they were made, or people wouldn't appreciate them enough. She had learned that from watching her father.
Once they got to the field behind the dorms, Luna summoned her flying sword so she could get a good look at the area where the arena would go, then summoned her Dragon Princess Robes and Crown, which bathed her in red light, making her glow like a gem in the sky.
Then, she raised her hands to the sky and summoned the Seraphim Arena, using a merged version of Elder Ling as the base.
All of the Disciples clapped and cheered as the bright white light filled the area, condensing to a mist and then into a fully formed training arena, with its door carefully placed to line up with the main walkway into the open space.
The light faded, and Luna dismissed all of her additional effects, then flew down to the ground and dismissed her flying sword.
"What do you think? Did I do it right? Were they suitably awed and impressed?" Luna asked, giving everyone a pleading look that left no doubts about her need for assurance.
"You did magnificently, even better than the Sect Master. He just flew up and summoned it. Everyone will love your arena, and they won't mind at all that it caps out at the Spirit Realm." Jen assured her, accepting the happy hug she got in return.
"What's all that noise? Oh Gods, I think my head is going to explode." An Elder mumbled, staggering past them to see what had everyone so worked up that they woke him up for the second time that day.
He walked directly into the new arena in his attempt to take the shortcut to his quarters, then popped a pill in his mouth, letting his eyes and mind clear from the hangover as the cleansing Pill took effect.
"Was there always an Arena here? No, I should be on the right path." He mumbled.
"Sorry, Elder. We made it especially for today's training, and this was the closest convenient spot for it since the main courtyard wasn't large enough for multiple fights. Miss Luna made it herself since Sect Master Cain is still sleeping." Penny whispered, sparing the man any loud noises.
"That explains it. The Brewery mastered a new Immortal Realm liquor recipe that packs a bit of a punch, so the Elders might not be available to help referee the matches today." He informed them.
"That's fine. This is Luna's version of the Seraphim Arena that was erected in the Lotus Blossom Sect Camp, and it comes with its own arena and recovery room, so we won't even be using up the Disciples' training resources to help them recover after their matches." Penny explained.
"Oh, I heard about that. I think I will stay and watch for a while." The Elder answered brightly.
"In that case, I suggest the VIP booths at the top. The Disciples all understand that they're normally off limits, and they have comfortable seating, as well as being out of direct sunlight." Luna offered.
"You are a lifesaver, Miss Luna. I will take you up on your offer."
The arena blocked most of the noise from the fights, making the Sect a bit quieter than usual, much to the Elders' and the cultivating Disciples' relief. Not even the sound of the snoring Elder in the VIP booths could be heard from further away than the lower Disciples' dorms, and all of them were already at the arena or doing chores in the Sect.
Cain joined them just in time for lunch, with a chipper-looking bunch of Dwarves holding mugs full of liquor strong enough that the smell made Penny's eyes water from three seats away.
"That's what you fed the Elders? Are you sure it isn't poison?" The Lycan asked, moving one more seat away.
"It's not poison, but in a way, I suppose that it is as well. They will learn a fine lesson in temperance today." The puppet laughed, winking at Penny.
"I bet that they will. Life is all about lessons, right?"
