Word got around to the Elders of the Crushing Mountain Sect quite quickly that Cain was not only proficient in the lost art of the Cultivation diagrams but also in the lost languages in which the skill books were written. All of them were interested in learning what he had to teach, so they began to work on a plan to get him to hold more than one or two lessons about the subject.
"We could always sacrifice the Divine Elder to him. I don't think that she would object." One of the Elders suggested with a smirk.
"I get the feeling that she already managed to get the knowledge of the diagrams, at least, from him. She looks way too happy right now, and they're just watching the Disciples practice and drinking Ale with the brewery Elder." Another one pointed out.
"I have never seen her flirt before. It's both adorable and somehow disturbing." A female Elder with gray hair pulled into a tight bun added with her lips pursed in a tight line of disapproval.
"Come on, Elder. Surely you're not that adverse to public displays of affection." The first man to speak asked her.
"It's not that. It's just some harmless flirting, but they're both Divinities and not even from the same species, should there not be some level of decorum?"
"You always were a stickler for the rules. But that Sect Master, he's hard to anticipate. He might do it simply because one of his Disciples wants to learn the skill, but he might limit the audience on a whim as well." The first Elder sighed.
"Bah, just ask and offer something fun in exchange. I will go talk to him about the subject." The big Elder, who Cain had made an ax for back in the city, replied, then strode out of the room, leaving his startled compatriots behind.
"So, they sent you to negotiate? Now the Divine Elder owes me a silver coin. She thought that hanging off me would be enough to have them send a honey trap to do the pleading for them." Cain laughed as the big man flopped in the seat in front of him.
"They talk too much. I gave up on waiting and came to ask." He shrugged.
"We already agreed that I would teach the Disciples until it was time for me to head out. The Elders are welcome to sit in on the lesson, of course, but I think for the first week, we will keep it to the older Disciples so that we don't influence the applicants too much. Critical thinking skills are part of the test, and if we just teach them everything they need to know to pass while they're still doing the entrance exam, what is the point of testing them at all?"
Well, that's good news. I would let the others know, but I'm sure they're eavesdropping already." The big man chuckled.
"Of course they were. We only blocked the room they were in from our senses for the sake of our wager. They've been able to hear us all along." The dwarf laughed.
"You were in on this as well? What did you wager on us picking?"
The Dwarf drained his Ale and set the mug aside before replying. "The Divine Elder wagered that it would be a honey trap, Master Cain thought it would be one of the strongest in the room instead since the room was full of meat heads, and I wagered that someone would get impatient and leave to come to talk to us before they decided, so both of us won the wager."
"You know us too well. But how is your brewery coming along? I heard that you were making a new ale to go with the new whiskey that you shared with the Elders."
The dwarf shook his head. "The new brew mistress Cain summoned has gone into seclusion with the lead blacksmith, so we have to wait to make new brews until they return."
"Hmph. I knew that man was a bad influence on the Elders. Everyone just goes off snogging and shagging and forgetting that they have duties to perform." The Elder with the tight gray bun grumbled in their room back in the Elder's quarters.
"I hear he can make physical changes permanent. Perhaps you'd be less grumpy if you were young again?" One of the other Elders asked her.
"It's a lack of discipline. My love life has nothing to do with this." She complained, making the other Elders chuckle.
Nobody mentioned her love life, just her strict and matronly appearance, but they all knew it was a sore spot with her, as she had gone gray very young in life.
When Cain and the others finally left the arena with his Disciples following them, all of the Crushing Mountain Sect Elders decided to tag along, just in case he was going to teach a lesson right away.
"Since you're all so eager, how about we hold a special preparatory session so that all of the Elders have the knowledge to answer the questions of the Disciples after I start to teach them? There is little doubt that all of you, who have much more experience in cultivation, will pick it up quicker than them, so one lesson tonight should be enough to get you out ahead of the students, and then you can sit in on the ones starting tomorrow to brush up on anything you missed and help the Disciples?" Cain suggested.
"That's an excellent idea. How about we use the small auditorium in the Elders section for tonight? It's nice and quiet, and the Disciples know not to bother us while we're holding discussions there." One of the Elders suggested.
The Elders led the way while Luna and the Divine Elder of the Seaside Sect fought for the spot closest to Cain's side, each finding ways to sneak between the other and the Sect Master.
"You do know that he has two sides, right?" Penny asked Luna when she lost the spot again.
"But he always carries me in the right arm. If I'm standing on the left, how will he pick me up?" Luna whispered back.
Penny was about to point out that it wasn't correct, Cain picked her up with whatever arm was closest, but they looked like they were having fun, so she let them go at it all the way to the auditorium.
Once they arrived, the Divine Elder gave up on the game and took a seat in the audience, bringing a notepad and pen out of her storage ring and getting ready to properly take notes.
Cain had transferred all the knowledge to her, but interpreting it wasn't always as easy as simply knowing the facts, and she was determined to gain all of the knowledge that she could tonight.
For her part, Luna simply took the victory and climbed into Cain's lap when he sat down to begin the lesson.
"You're not going to join us, little one?" One of the Elders asked as the other Disciples took their seats for the lesson.
"I already know how they work, and I speak most of the Forgotten Languages, so I don't need to take notes. I can just sit here and help the Sect Master demonstrate." Luna replied.
"In that case, you'll need chalk because there are a lot of diagrams to put up on the board." Cain reminded her.
"You're no fun at all. I just got my spot back." She pouted and moved to sit between Penny and Divine Elder Mariel.
The Elders all chuckled at the upset Disciple but got their notebooks ready for the lesson as if they were the newest of students.
Cain began the lesson with a simple demonstration of the diagrams and all of the usual diagram keys that were used in the skill texts. There weren't all that many of them to begin with, so that part of the lesson was only really an introduction, but it was a great revelation to many of the Elders present.
Then Cain began on the practical demonstrations, using the [Crushing Blow] skill as the basis of his lesson and going through every diagram that was in the skill book, including all of the advanced notations on how to properly alter the skill to use it at Awakened levels up to Spirit Rank.
It was a skill that most of the Elders already knew, or at least had thought they knew until Cain began getting in-depth with the details of the skill book and adding in some of the notations that they had never been able to read that gave pointers on optimizing it to their own particular physique, since [Crushing Blow] could be implemented in so many different ways, unlike a less versatile and specialized single attack.
By the time he was done, it was getting close to morning, and the Elders had written half of a skill book each in notes and copied all the diagrams, including their keys, in ways that they personally could understand more easily than the way they were written in the texts.
"Now, do we have any more questions, or does everyone thoroughly understand how to implement the [Crushing Blow] skill? As the Crushing Mountain Sect, it's only right that all of the Elders should be able to use that skill to perfection, even if they're more of a tradesman than a combatant." Cain asked.
There were no more questions, not even from Sabbat, who had dutifully made notes on how the diagrams worked but couldn't possibly use the skill they were demonstrating due to her class restrictions.
"Excellent, then we should all get some sleep, and I will begin lessons for the Core Disciples after lunch today. The Inner and Outer Sect Disciples will begin lessons at a later point, once the Core Disciples and Elders are all confident enough to use the diagram knowledge to teach their juniors new skills." Cain announced, ending the night's meeting.
