The giant moon and her butterfly companion found nothing. The asaan water elemental scoured the oceans without success. Shen and everyone else were just as unlucky.

That planet was empty and lifeless except for other talents, who refused to join the group.

There was no monster attack. No fights. Time passed, and the deadline approached.

A few talents got anxious, but most could see the obvious: they wouldn't get killed. There was no reason to go to such lengths to kill them. It was also too much of a waste to kill first-class talents for failing to accomplish such a stupid mission.

"We'll die, right? Die. Die, die, die," the D-rank sulvor said. The mud it was made of trembled in unmistakable fright. "I don't wanna die. I heard dying hurts. I don't wanna hurt. No, no, no. No hurting. No."

A few leaves floated his way from the D-rank sulkor treant. Thinking about it, their races' names—sulvor and sulkor—were quite similar. Was it a coincidence? Probably not, because they interacted so well.

"Eat," the treant said. "Quiet."

The mud ball accepted the agreement, the leaves disappearing into its body.

The eight talents who had met each other at the beginning had reunited and now traveled together as they kept inspecting the ground beneath them for a last-time clue. That was the only way of guaranteeing no one had hidden anything. The moon was a bit farther than the others, up there in the skies, but no one wanted her to get closer.

The asaan never spoke. Despite also being C-rank, she submitted to the high elven rulership. She communicated by pushing water from her body and forming floating letters in an unknown language that the system auto-translated.

The omnispider's voice was as ominous as its appearance. It sounded like five people of different genders and ages speaking in unison, but the voices changed with every syllable. Worse, it spoke using its leg hairs. They vibrated to produce sound. She rarely had anything to say, though.

Shen himself also only spoke when needed. He had nothing against these beings, but they were his competition. More importantly, they might be enemies. After Liya's warnings, he would not share too much information about himself. It might be used against him in the future.

That left the high elf, and after he realized this test was a sham, he became a chatterbox.

"...and she said, 'You don't have enough spare lives to challenge me.' Crazy hot, right?"

No, it wasn't.

"Have I told you yet that I'm a verbal masochist?"

Yes, he had. Multiple times.

"No using your hands to slap me, sister, no, thank you. But destroy my ego with your delicious tongue, and I'll love you forever!"

What a terrible mental image.

"And by Sharyan, she even swore at me creatively! No 'you're pathetic' or 'you have eyes but can't recognize Mount Statros.' No, she has a way with words, that one."

That Mount Statros thing sounded strangely familiar.

"She's the one, I tell you. No doubt about it."

Shen doubted it.

"She's even better than the previous guy I was in love with! Alathor became boring and doesn't like dudes anyway. Which makes him double boring, I guess."

Getting over someone who wasn't attracted by your gender was one of the only sensible things the high elf had said until now.

"But Yraphyria... Yraphyria has it. She has everything. Totally."

For some reason, Luthdel had decided Shen was interested in whatever he had to say. The cultivator guessed he was the most physically similar to the man, the only biologic humanoid around, so there was some logic there.

And, well, to Shen's surprise, he found he was slightly interested.

In a very roundabout way, Luthdel shared interesting bits of high-elven culture. High elves were so different from the drow that it didn't sound right to call both races "elves." In fact, high elves were shockingly similar to Eternal Empire's cultivators.

His unceasing talking was also valuable in keeping everyone entertained. It even decreased the mud ball's anxiety. They had decided to get together ten minutes to the end instead of checking the world for the thousandth time and had nothing better to do.

Well, they were inspecting the ground, but the guy's monologues didn't get in the way.

Lastly, telling Luthdel to shut up would be needlessly rude and egotistical. If anywhere there hated it so much, they could just go underwater, disable their auditory systems, or something of the kind.

"But of course, my family's patriarch had to act like a dick. Don't tell him I said that. Actually, don't tell anyone I said that. I never did. You never heard it from me. I'll admit nothing. But that dick said I can't marry. I'm too important because of my talent or whatnot. Screw that. I have to have something to fight for, right?! We all do! But he'll not have the last word. It's my life! And I have a plan!"

Shen had feared that.

"Have you heard of haktual serfdom? The serf can't be physically punished for anything! It's meant for cowards, which adds an extra layer of degradation and humiliation! Everyone looks down on haktum serfs! They ever get verbally harassed sometimes! How perfect is that for me? Huh? Huh?"

High elven culture was similar to Eternal Empire culture in many things, but there were stark differences here and there. Such a system and the acceptance of harassing those under it was ridiculous.

Shen guessed only a people who had created something like that could breed someone like Luthdel.

"Well, the patriarch won't let me marry? Guess what! I'll turn myself into Yraphyria's haktum serf! That'll show everyone that they can't ignore my feelings!"

That was probably the dumbest thing Shen had ever heard.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"I'm just such a genius! You see, it'll solve everything. We'll be tied by a sacred contract, so no one will be able to do anything about it. Yraphyria will feel grateful, love me, and call me names because I'm a haktum serf. I'll love her and support her. A perfect match! It's perfect! Perfect!"

Shen sighed and, despite his caution, decided to legitimately help the due. Maybe he was showing a façade to get the cultivator to lower his guard, but the high elf sounded well-intentioned enough. Shen would hate to see him throw his life away.

"I see three issues with your plan," Shen stated.

Everyone looked surprised at him as they kept flying. If whatever they were supposed to see passed by them right now, they would die because of this single mistake. But he didn't blame them. He had kind of created a mysterious, brooding, arrogant, asshole persona.

"Aha!" Luthdel smiled in triumph. "See! I knew you for a philanderer when I saw you! I can always tell! Teach me, master! Enlighten me! How should I improve my plan?"

The talents that had eyes looked at Shen in a weird way at the "revelation."

Shen chuckled and shook his head. Maybe Luthdel was pretending to be someone he was not, but it was entertaining.

"First, I don't know how high-elven culture works, but where I come from, gratitude doesn't necessarily blooms into love," Shen said. "Just because someone did something to you, you don't owe them your heart or body. Likewise, just because you do something for Yraphyria, she's not obligated to fall for you. If being nice forced anyone to fall for you, everyone would fall for their servants."

"I fell for a waitress once, too!" Luthdel replied. "Syphria was absolutely delightful! But even after I gave her a large tip and got her promoted, she didn't return my love. So that is why! Master, your wisdom knows no boundaries! Please, teach me more!"

Shen rolled his eyes. And Shen was the philanderer?

"Second," the cultivator continued, "if you're as important as your patriarch said, becoming someone's serf will be awkward for everybody. You would make Yraphyria's life harder, your family's life harder, and even your life harder. And as I just said, that might not even make her like you. She might end up liking you—I don't know her or your culture—but I doubt it. After you make her life harder by unidirectionally making a decision that will change her life, she will be very unlikely to feel grateful."

Shen himself was surprised at seeing that. He knew his EQ wasn't very developed, and he had no experience. He credited his "wisdom" to the Realization Impartation in both how it had expanded his mind to be comparable to C-rank and the conclusions he had reached from it.

"What do you mean?" Luthdel asked, confused. "She said she wouldn't date me even if I killed all men in the Alliance. If that's not a signal, I don't know what is."

A rainbow-shaped stream of water floated until it was in front of the high elf, then turned into letters. "That was not a signal!" the water elemental wrote.

"What?!" the elf was shocked. "It's not?!"

The moon shook its body in three successive directions, which the system translated as "No."

"But my brother said it is!" Luthdel insisted. "And he has three wives and eighteen concubines! He knows what he's talking about!"

"Speaking of which," Shen said, "your bother clearly either a prankster or wants you gone. Or both, I guess. Would I be right to assume you talk to him whenever you're free?"

"Of course I do. What else—" Luthdel stopped, then widened his eyes as if he had gotten a revelation. "Oh. Oh! He wasn't kidding when he said I annoy him! I didn't stop it, so he started saying whatever makes me get away from him as fast as possible!"

That was the less likely and the less hurtful of the possibilities. From everything the high elf had said, his brother wanted to take control of the family, but Luthdel had been selected as successor instead.

"We can go with that," Shen replied, uninterested in focusing on that subject. He was even less interested in risking indirectly calling the man an idiot. That might be enough for the "verbal masochist" to gain an interest in Shen.

"So?" Luthdel asked. "The third issue?"

"You shouldn't make a life-changing decision on a whim," the cultivator said. "You're quick to love and even quicker to replace that person with another in your heart. Your emotions are too fluid."

"What?! No! How can you say I must change? Whoever truly loves me will love me for who I am!"

Shen shook his head. "I'm not saying that at all. I mean, go ahead and change yourself if you want. But what I'm saying is: what if you become Yraphyria's serf but then stop liking her, just like how you stopped liking the boring Alathor? What if you find someone else you like more? You would feel imprisoned by the sacred contract. Also, what if she starts liking you back, but you go away to other pursuits? You would break her heart. That's not fair. You should think long and hard before deciding you're ready to dedicate your whole life to a single person. And I mean long as in dozens of years."

Luthdel's eyes widened in realization. "Yes! Of course! You! You're a genius! Anyone is only worthy of becoming my concubine if they don't bore me to death within a few years! Master, this lowly disciple will forever remember your care!"

That's not at all what Shen had said, but he guessed it was better than the alternative.

Then, the high elf turned to face the others. "Speak your hearts! My master, the Heart Sage, will help you find true love! Who's first?"

"Me," the water elemental replied at once. She wrote so fast that Shen couldn't even follow her movements.

Shen instantly stopped feeling entertained.

Either they were making fun of him, or this conversation had just entered the realm of stupid.

The cultivator looked suspiciously at everyone. Nothing he had learned from Liya suggested they were pretending. But this could not be real.

The high elf and asaan were C-rank and likely much older than him. How sheltered did one need to be to reach their ranks so clueless about anything?

Well, Luthdel constantly mentioned training for decades without end. Whenever he went anywhere, his master and family bodyguards followed. He hadn't mentioned a single time when he was alone that he wasn't training, and he rarely directly talked to anyone in an informal setting.

It didn't take a genius to see he was purposefully being left clueless about relationships because of his importance as a first-class talent. They would rather he be oblivious than risk him actually getting into a relationship. It was easier to get rid of suitors when there were fewer of them.

But could it be so common? Certainly not enough that all talents were raised like that, but even one C-rank already greatly surprised Shen, much less possibly two.

The water elemental's question answered it for him. "My half-progenitor said I'm the future of our race and the Alliance because I'm a first-class talent. I can't waste time with breeding rituals. She also said talents live short lives. It's not fair for me to leave behind offspring for someone else to care for. Talent isn't hereditary, so I'm not useful that way. I'm only worth as much as the number of Void Spawn I kill. The Seven Elders confirmed it. Did they lie to me? Am I allowed to procreate?"

Well, Shen was very glad that the time was up, and he received a system window, an individual one this time. He didn't want to answer that.

Demonstration #1 of 5: Pathfinders

This demonstration is now over. No one has lost or will lose their lives in this demonstration. More details will be supplied shortly.

You will now be teleported away.

Do not resist the teleportation or the enchantment that will redimension your body for indoor activities.

If you resist, you'll be expelled from this Summit.

Seconds later, the eight of them were teleported away.

----------------------------------------

It wasn't a system teleportation but a domain one. Shen barely felt the mana touch him before space twisted, and he was taken away.

An instant later, he found himself in a vast, luxurious room. White and gold dominated the walls. Silver and golden floating orbs provided light. The spotless floor that could even work as a mirror was made of dark bronze wooden tiles with engraved golden animal silhouettes.

Forty-five chairs, separated as pairs except for a lonely one, created a wide circle in the room. A red cushion lay on the ground before each chair. And in front of each pair of cushions was a small table. Only the cushion that stood by itself didn't have a table.

Twenty-two cushions—including the lonely one—were already occupied. Most races kneeled or sat on the cushions, but some stood on or floated above them.

Shen and the other talents materialized already sitting—or as close as some races could do—on a chair beside their guardians. He appeared on the chair beside and a little behind Liya, who was kneeling on a cushion.

He immediately felt the forementioned enchantments trying to affect him and allowed it to happen. His body grew a little bigger, but nothing much. It wasn't painful or uncomfortable at all.

"Kneel beside me," Liya commanded at once. "The Welcome Banquet is about to begin."