Scene 4 - Raxis

Two men sat at a table, two glasses and a flagon of wine between them. One had a slight smile on his face and sat stroking his beard, while the other, a man in a red jacket, took the flagon of alcohol and filled both of their glasses as his eyepatch flickered with golden light. The man stroking his beard was Master Mo, the leader of the Sectless Sect, and the man in the red coat, of course, was Raxis, the Master of the engineering mountain!

“Hehe... I can’t believe that old fart Absinthe gave you one of his precious bottles of fifty year Dew Drop Wine! Many thanks, Sect Master for sharing a cup!”

Taking the cup in his hands, Raxis toasted Master Mo, who returned the gesture while still stroking his beard. They both took a sip of the wine before suddenly pouring the whole cup down their throats with a grin.

Master Mo placed his cup down and started stroking his beard again while waiting for Raxis to speak. He already knew what the man wanted and why he had sought him out but opted to stay silent and watch the man squirm.

Raxis fidgeted on his mat, waiting for Master Mo to speak, but was finally unable to take the silence, “My dear Elder Brother Mo, can you do this little brother a favor and let this little one take on that kid Saren as my apprentice? You have eight others, surely you can spare one?”  

Master Mo looked at Raxis with a faint smile, “Eh, you wish to have my disciple Saren younger brother? Well, you should talk to him and ask for his opinion! If he wants to join you, then I see no problem with letting you have the boy.”

Raxis filled Master Mo glass with a smile plastered on his face, ‘Hehe... I get to train a monster, this is going to be so much fun! Oh yeah, I almost forgot…’

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“Oh, there is another matter I need to speak about Elder Brother. Are you really going to have those kiddies join the sect by having them go through the ‘selection?’ What if they die inside?”

Lifting the glass to his lips, Master Mo took a sip and gazed meaningfully at the ceiling.

Time ticked by as they sat in silence, and when Raxis was starting to get annoyed Master Mo finally spoke, “Even the most beautiful gems needed to be cut and polished first before becoming stunning items that can entrance the soul. They must be tempered with a trial by fire in our sect labyrinth; we don’t need silk pants that only feed off the golden spoons they were born with but rather geniuses that can sweep across the land with ease.”

Raxis grew serious when he heard his elder brother's words, pondering over the meaning within, ‘Sweep across the land? What does elder brother mean? The cultivation world is at peace and only the mortal world is in turmoil. Is there something brewing in the lands that causes even Elder Brother Mo to feel fear?’

Raxis opened his mouth to ask Master Mo what he meant but noticed that his brother's eyes suddenly sharpened, his head turning towards a certain direction. That direction so happened to be where the sibling’s room sat.

Seeing Master Mo’s strange actions, Raxis closed his eyes and attempted to feel what his elder brother was sensing. His mind lingered in confusion until he saw the strange fluctuations coming off of one of the kids Master Mo picked up.

‘Eh? Is that kiddie binding her weapon already? Wait, to connect with its master so quickly... it must be the weapon's 'Trail!' Damnit, we have to help her before that ferocious thing swallows her soul!’, Raxis moved to get up, his eyes flickering towards the door.

“Sit down, younger brother.”

Stunned, Raxis whipped his around to stare at his elder brother, who was already on his feet, “Why? Your disciple is in trouble, we have to help her! Her body won't be able to handle the 'Trail,' it's too soon!”  

Raxis moved towards the door again only to have a massive pressure weigh down upon him as a cold voice rang in his ears, “I won’t tell you again, younger brother. Sit down.”

Cold sweat poured down his back as Raxis turned around and sat, frozen in confusion and fear. Lazily turning his head towards his trembling younger brother, Master Mo spoke simply, “Listen to me younger brother, we cannot help Xue. We don’t need such a ‘genius’ if she can’t even pass this simple test. We need cut and polished tempered gems, not mere broken rock. She can only rely on herself for this.”

“Besides,” he turned his head back towards Xue's direction, “She will be fine with that mask helping her.”