Kade’s haul from the expedition to the Demon’s Fang had turned out much better than he’d expected when he initially agreed to follow Catarina on the journey.
At first he’d only gone as a favour to the girl and because he wanted to test his newfound strength against a different challenge than the usual sparring to be found in the sect, however he’d ended up progressing another two stages in his cultivation.
Not only that but the spatial ring he’d been lent by Aurora, which when he tried to return it to her she’d simply refused and said it was a gift, was full to the brim with qi crystals, various pills and talismans and even some new equipment and artifacts.
Since he didn’t have any burning desire for a specific piece of loot, content with his Resonant Echo Staff and his cultivation which now ranked among the top of the entire outer sect, Catarina had just given him the lion’s share of the qi crystals and whatever was left after everyone else selected what they needed and they portioned off the five percent tribute for the sect.
Excluding the rest of today, there were four days remaining until the first round of the inner sect examinations began.
Kade felt confident that his current self would be able to pass with ease, perhaps even earning himself a spot among the top ten disciples to achieve promotion, giving him a stronger chance to perhaps become one of the sect’s core disciples in future.
He’d asked around a little after returning, but no one had seen or heard anything from Aaron since he’d vanished from the medicine hall a little over two weeks ago, lining up perfectly with the memories Kade had experienced.
As long as he remained wary, there was little to be worried about. He’d beaten the bastard once and he was sure he could do it again, even if Aaron had received the Demon God’s inheritance.
Besides, it was possible the Realm Engineer System would assist him if it came to a one on one, given that he was dealing with an Anomaly.
The tug on his mind had grown stronger since returning from the Demon’s Fang, but he had no inclination to hunt down the boy.
If Aaron was going to target Kade for revenge then he’d likely want to do so on the most spectacular stage and embarrass him thoroughly - the tournament round of the inner sect examinations.
Thinking about the system so much reminded him that he’d received another pull on the Realm Engineer Gacha as a reward for completing the mission while out on the expedition.
The Resonant Echo Staff had been an incredibly potent addition to his arsenal and helped him to defeat a few opponents he otherwise would have struggled greatly with, so anything that was on par with it would be sure to bolster his chances in the examinations.
Once he’d arrived back at his home on Sunforge Peak, Kade undressed and took a much needed bath, relaxing in the hot water for nearly an hour before getting up to dry himself off.
He hadn’t been that physically exhausted, but his mind deserved the rest after an intense week and a half of exploration and battle.
Since the last time he’d been invited on such a journey with other disciples nearly eight months ago, Kade had basically spent all his time in the sparring grounds or hiding from various bullies as his cultivation slowly fell further behind his peers and even juniors.
Examining his physique in the mirror, he gave an approving nod at how much more muscular he’d become thanks to the results of his training and improved cultivation.
His skin seemed even softer and unblemished and he wanted to believe he’d even managed to grow a few inches, which wasn’t so unbelievable as he was still a teenager.
After admiring himself for a while, Kade got dressed in a fresh set of outer sect disciple robes. One reason he desired advancement to the inner sect was that their robes were far more stylish than the gaudy saffron and orange he currently had to endure wearing.
It worked for some disciples, like Aurora with her fiery autumnal complexion, but was a total mismatch to his curly black mop of hair and piercing eyes.
Pulling up the Realm Engineer System, he was greeted with the main page, slightly more filled out since the last time he’d had need for it.
Realm Engineer System
User: Kade Trelawney
Cultivation: 6th Stage Martial Refinement
Tier: 1
Functions:
Fate Assimilation
Anomaly Identification
Realm Engineer Gacha (1st Grade)
Mission Log
It was a great satisfaction seeing his cultivation laid bare like that. It proved undoubtedly that he was no longer the wimp who’d forgotten his true ambition and drive that he’d been before his heaven blessed encounter with the system.
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Opening the Realm Engineer Gacha, he was greeted with the familiar counter, once again showing the number ‘1’, and without delay he activated his pull.
The jingling of coins rattled around in his ears for a while until eventually it began to slow and the fanfare of trumpets rang out along with the golden glow of before.
Technique Refinement Bookmark (King grade)
This reward was completely alien to him. He knew what the concept of refining a technique meant, honing its efficiency or power through one’s knowledge of cultivation, yet this was often something achieved only by the greatest masters as many techniques had already reached the pinnacle of collective knowledge after being worked on for centuries.
Given that the only eligible techniques he had at the moment were the 【Nurturing Radiance Art】and his 【Flowing River Art】, he opted not to withdraw the reward from the system just yet.
Improving the sect’s cultivation method might have been beneficial if he was just starting out his journey to defy the heavens, but he was well beyond a point where scrapping his cultivation and starting anew would provide a tangible benefit.
As for the 【Flowing River Art】, he’d barely unlocked the mysteries of the first page, so making it even more profound seemed an illogical course of action.
It was sure to come in handy at some point in the future, perhaps if he discovered an incomplete ancient manual or some similar artifact he wished to cultivate.
With little else to do with his time but refine his staff technique and continue to cultivate the 【Flowing River Art】, Kade left his house and headed to the sparring arena.
While they’d been travelling back to the sect from the Demon’s Fang, he’d tried simply chanting the mantra during the journey, which had proven fruitful when at the end of the two days yet another dizzy spell had struck.
That brought the total number of times he’d triggered it to six. Would it just keep happening, each time growing more intense, or would he reach a threshold and trigger something in his cultivation of the technique?
Kade was frustrated at his lack of insight and he didn’t want to reveal the manual to any of the elders, in case he’d stumbled on a rare and valuable hidden gem that they might covet for themselves.
Disciples were everywhere at the sparring grounds, with the majority of the outer sect desperately putting the final efforts in before the examinations began, each of them hoping for a promotion to the inner sect to secure their future.
Not wanting to be caught up in the hubbub, Kade sought out a secluded corner of the field, setting up a dummy to train his precision with the staff.
Tap.
CLACK!
THUNK.
Sounds of the poor training dummy getting battered rang out as Kade barraged it with an endless wave of strikes and thrusts.
He was using one of the wooden training staves for his practice, since the Resonant Echo Staff would probably blast its way through tens of dummies by the time he was finished and he had no desire to pay
most of his newfound wealth in damages.
“What a surprise to catch you here, Junior Brother Trelawney. I was starting to wonder if you’d fled the sect and returned to your hometown after I couldn’t find you for the past week,” said a familiar and alluring youth who’d been leaning against a nearby training post.
It was the mysterious grandson of Senior Elder Fang who’d interrupted his training back before the expedition to the Demon’s Fang.
He immediately tensed up, guarding himself against his Senior Brother, though such actions were pointless given the youth had shown just how easily he could defeat Kade during their previous encounter.
“To tell the truth, I’d not expected to see you again. Grandfather’s memory can be quite short when it comes to the scuffles among outer sect disciples and even he gave up on Byron, the brat was fairly untalented among his many grandchildren after all. Unfortunately for you, Edwin Stye just so happened to be at the top of his recruitment list for potential core disciples. Frankly, after hearing what he did to his fellow disciples and attempted to do to the sect leader’s daughter, I feel no sympathy towards him, but I have to warn you that your future looks dangerous indeed. Be on your guard during the examinations,” he said before turning to leave.
“Why are you helping me? Shouldn’t you be on your grandfather, I mean Senior Elder Fang’s side?” Kade asked.
The youth paused, hand on his chin while he gazed contemplatively at the sky. After a moment of thought he grinned and his figure blurred, vanishing from sight.
“You interest me, that’s all, Junior Brother Trelawney,” he whispered from behind.
Kade ducked, expecting a flick like the last time, but his world spun as his legs were swept from underneath him and his head smacked into the sandy ground.
Senior Elder Fang’s grandson had already disappeared, but his parting words made Kade shudder in worry.
“What exactly did he mean by interest? Does he like men? Sure, he’s a handsome guy but I don’t exactly swing that way. I have to hope it was purely a martial curiosity, I have progressed rather rapidly of late,” Kade muttered to himself.
At least he had a man on the inside of the enemy camp, so to speak. It was just headache after headache since he’d returned.
He was already preoccupied with having to worry about dealing with Aaron and making sure the boy didn’t ambush him before the examinations and now Senior Elder Fang was out to get him again.
On the plus side, it was highly likely that most of his enemies would use the tournament round to strike, so as long as he polished his battle skills and made sure to stay on his toes, he felt confident in coming out victorious.
As for Aaron, all he needed to do was beat the boy senseless and use the Realm Engineer System to Assimilate the Demon God’s inheritance - no problem.
When it came to the Senior Elder, Kade actually had a solid strategy for getting the pesky old man off his back.
All he needed to do was impress one of the other Senior Elders with his skills during the examinations and secure himself some powerful backing to rival Senior Elder Fang’s influence.
If all else failed, he could just run to Aurora and beg her to use her father’s influence to keep him safe with their newfound friendship as a bargaining chip.
After all, who could rival the Sect Master himself when it came to power and influence in Mystic Solar Valley.
The man was not only the most prominent figure in the sect, but also the patriarch of the founding Solaris Family.
Having concluded the day’s training, Kade packed up the dummy and made his way back to the canteen for some food.
In the forests near the sparring grounds, right where he’d been practising, there was a flicker of demonic energy and a cackle as he left the area.
“Let’s see just how long you can keep up the facade, Kade. That strange necklace may have saved your life before, but I’ll claim that strength for myself soon enough,” a sinister figure shrouded in shadows muttered.