For the Elders who didn't know what to expect, it took a few seconds to notice that the Sect Master's aura was changing, gaining more of a primal sense of authority to go with his power. For the Divine Realm Cultivators, it was clear that the amulet was actually changing his body, increasing the potency of his bloodline so that he was slowly moving from an ordinary Mortal Lycan toward the Immortal bloodline that the more powerful of his species possessed.
That bloodline was extremely rare in this world, mostly reserved for the few most powerful Royal Packs, but in the Divine Realms, it was the basic standard to be considered an actual person and not an intelligent insect.
Divine Realm visitors weren't completely unheard of here, and the Sect Master was often the one to greet them, so having the bloodline to get a bit of respect for more than his cultivation would be a pleasant change.
"We also have a gift for the Sect as a whole. Where are the lead Inscriptionists?" Cain asked.
"They're likely in the library. That's where they do most of their work, and they are also in charge of the rare texts." The Sect Master offered, extending a hand to show that the others should follow him.
He also sent a mental message to the Inscriptionists, who met them out front of the library, accompanied by their senior disciples and a few curious onlookers wondering what the fuss was about.
It was uncommon for any of the Elders in the Inscription department to greet someone, much less for all of them to come out at once, so the spectacle had caught everyone's attention as soon as they started moving toward the door.
"Greetings Elders, it is good to see you all in one spot again. My travels are about to take me away, and I thought I would leave you all with a gift of goodwill to remember our visit by." Cain greeted them.
"You have already given the Sect Master such a wonderful thing. It would be too much to ask for more." One of the Elders replied politely.
"That was for him personally. This is a gift for the Sect as a whole. It's not as simple as touching this gift, though, you will have to put in the time and work to make the most of it, but I have confidence that you will eventually be able to make the most of what I am about to give you." Cain told them, then held out the book he had made.
They all looked at it curiously, as it was bound in unmarked leather with no title or ornamentation, but they took it anyhow, knowing that it would be an insult to the Sect Master not to accept his gift.
When they opened the cover to see what he had gifted them, their entire attitude changed in an instant.
"Introduction to Skill Crafting, Volume 1," One of them read, speaking in a reverent whisper.
"Is it true? This is the lost art of skill crafting?" Sect Master Moonie asked.
"Not all of it. In fact, not even most of it. This is the very first of over ninety chapters. Even I haven't obtained and mastered them all, but this will teach them the basics of how to craft new Mortal Grade skills individually to give to the Disciples.
I also included a small bonus at the end, the [Minor Resurrection] skill. As long as they are intact and very recently dead, it will bring them back to the land of the living, though not by much. But if you truly master the tome and the skill, you should be able to dissect it to create a few more healing skills for your Mortal Disciples." Cain explained.
"This treasure, how did you come across such a thing?" One of the Inscriptionists asked curiously.
"I was exploring the ruins of a lost civilization on another planet, and I found one of the original tomes in their library. This one is a translated copy of the first chapter of that book since writing it in the original language would most likely only slow down the comprehension process." Cain told them with a smile.
That was true. Many magical tomes were innately resistant to being read and chose the ones that could comprehend them with great care. Or so the common sense of this world told them. Really it was a matter of compatibility and bloodline, since if it were written in Ancient, the books really would be enchanted so those without the bloodline would see gibberish if they tried to read them.
Only after much hard work and suffering could the truth of a tome in the Ancient Language be deciphered without at least a little bit of the Ancient Bloodline in the reader. Even Luna had trouble with some of the more complex topics, and she was half Ancient. Though, it was possible that the problem was due to her age and thought processes, not her ancestry.
"I think that should be enough to keep you busy for a year or two. Who knows, the next time I visit, maybe your disciples will all be a bit more like mine, with a number of personalized skills granted to them by their masters."
The pure absurdity of the notion made the Elders laugh. There were only a handful of them who had the level of knowledge necessary to even begin making sense of this book. Unless Cain were planning to wait a thousand years before he visited again, there would only be a few dozen out of hundreds of Disciples who could possibly have been trained with a fully customized suite of skills.
"I believe that your work here is done. Should we go gather your Disciples? They seem to have wandered away again." Divine Elder Mariel suggested.
"Give them a few minutes. I'm sure they just want one last swim in the ocean since we don't know where we will land after going through the portal. But once they are properly wet, we do need to get going." Cain sighed.
It wasn't long before the Disciples rejoined the group with wet hair and water dripping down onto their uniforms, looking the perfect picture of the innocent children that they could have been if they had been born into peaceful worlds with no cultivation.
It would be incredibly dull but possibly blissful.
"Is it time?" Penny asked, then did a double take when she noticed how much Sect Master Moonie's aura had changed.
Cain knew that she would be asking for a similar talisman soon enough, but that could wait until they were settled in the world that the Ancients called home.
"It is time. Elder Mariel, if you would be so kind as to lead the way, so we don't trip any defensive measures on our way to the portal." Cain asked politely.
"Of course. Sect Master Moonie, I will see you soon. There is someone that I simply have to see on the other side of that portal. I have the skills to make my own way back afterward, but I can't pass up that sort of learning experience." She replied, smiling at her Sect Master.
"Of course. You can't advance past the level of demigod if you always stay in one spot. You need to travel and learn. We will be here waiting for your return." Moonie told her with a wink, deliberately misunderstanding her intentions.
Mariel wasn't about to tell him that she was going to study under one of the most notorious Divinties that they knew of, so she simply smiled back and let the Sect Master assume that she was eloping to become Cain's mistress.
How the Lycan thought that would work out when his wife was waiting at the other end was a mystery best left unsolved, so she turned away and led Cain's group through the spells, walls, and traps that surrounded the portal that led to the Ancients' homeworld.
The portal itself was buried inside a large stone boulder with layers and layers of inscriptions on it to prevent anyone from accessing it in either direction. Twenty Immortal Realm guards were staring intently at the portal, watching for the smallest change that would indicate someone was trying to come through from the other side.
"Divine Elder, it is good to see you again, but this is a restricted area." The leader of the guards greeted them.
"We have permission from the Sect Master to exit the world through the portal. There is an opportunity waiting for me on the other side, and the Forbidden Treasures Sect is on a search for their Sect Master's wife, who is somewhere in that world." She explained, handing the guard a note from Sect Master Moonie.
As a pair of Demigods, they could have gone through by force or stealth, but it was much better to have permission, so there were no hard feelings when and if they wanted to return.
"Alright, I will lift the boulder so you can pass through. It will only be up for a few minutes, so be certain that this is what you truly wish." The guard reminded her.
"It's a chance to advance from Demigod to Minor God. I am certain." Mariel told him, and the man began to laugh.
"I can't argue with that. I won't ever make it to either unless something miraculous happens to me, so I can only envy your chance. Now go before I get all weepy at losing a drinking partner." The Guard chuckled.
