Having arrived at the City of Zyne, Rein gained a much better understanding of the Xuere Clan. he had been told that the Xuere was only recently recognized as a clan. That remained true, but in advancer metrics. Seeing as the Dingien Clan’s succession might take decades into centuries, perhaps the ‘recent’ rise of Xuere actually covered the past few decades up to a century.
As for Zyne-- he was the man who brought the Xuere Clan to the pinnacle. Lyne informed the two groups that Zyne was still very much alive, secluding himself as a hidden security blanket for the Xuere.
Anyhow, this stronghold was just a departure point for the Halls members. It also functioned as a point of trade between the western wilderness and the Minhr Nation. The primary function of the stronghold was naturally to prevent the demons and devils from entering the Minhr Nation, and as such, was a highly surveilled place of no freedom.
They soon departed southward to the northern beginnings of the Evergreen Mountains. Rein had been invited by Aizen to visit the Harmony Sect, and it was best to visit the sect for benefits. Rein wasn’t sure whether he himself would directly draw any of the benefits, but he could not deny the value of that water-based tempering art for Suey. In his mind, any additional strength to a member of their team was a benefit to him. And… she is his kitten!
Speaking of Suey, with the threat of the western wilderness, she wore appropriate leather armor with the Halls robe’s inscriptions activated for a complete defense. They all did.
Rein and most of the members resided inside a horse carriage. Their wooden carriage was pulled forth by two stallions. Currently, Xeeseir along with Jory sat at the very front of the carriage to control their path. They had opted to take turns leading the carriage in teams of two, while others rested within.
As for the other contents of the carriage? They had been instructed to escort its resources to a Halls outpost in the western wilderness before going even deeper into the west for their intended mission.
They soon arrived at an archway decorated with the sigil of intertwined swans, an entrance to the Harmony Sect. One man and one woman wrapped in a robe of pastel blue and pastel lavender respectively guarded this archway.
“Greetings, seniors,” Rein and Suey hooked their fingers and bowed. “We’re here at Aizen’s invitation.”
“Inners…?” The woman glanced at the man and they seemed to reach a conclusion with just a single look. The woman entered the archway while the man remained to guard the entrance.
Rein could only patiently wait. He recalled information of the Xuere Gap. This was an opening in the land between the Evergreen Mountains to the south, and the Sheer Peaks to the north.
Any invasion of the Minhr Nation by the inhabitants in the western wilderness had to pass through this gap. The Evergreen Mountains are occupied by the Great Sects-- the sects had long set up many defensive formations and traps in the humongous mountain range.
Any opening farther north was not the Minhr Nation’s concern, as those invasions would lead into the Golden Desert of the desert tribes.
As for why the Harmony Sect was located at the northern tip of the Evergreen Mountains-- The Harmony Sect and Demon Taming Sect were not trusted due to the nature of their advancer arts, and was pressured to set up their sects in northern Evergreen Mountains to guard the gap.
The woman in pastel lavender robes soon returned, and Rein recognized the face of the man she brought back.
“Well met, friend.”
“We will soon truly be brothers, I’m certain of it,” stated Aizen as he returned the greeting.
Rein and Suey followed Aizen through the arch, and they began ascending a stone path. The others had to wait outside.
It was the first time Rein had been inside a sect, but he doubted that what his eyes recorded was the norm in most sects. As he ascended the path, he noticed many openings leading to teahouses, lakes, massage parlors and the like, filled with men and women engaging and indulging in one another’s company.
“These are troubled times, brother Rein,” Aizen muttered softly. “We need to protect those close to us.”
“More than normal…?” Rein wondered. He lacked any previous reference points.
“The new prodigy of the Uni Sect, Wahrzein, wreaked havoc a year ago. He vanished six months ago, and this can only mean a calm before the storm. Moreover, you Halls retrieved an ancient treasure from the Wildwoods past the western wilderness…”
Rein was surprised to learn this new information.
“Whenever such an event occurs…waves of demons enter the western wilderness then assault this gap.” Aizen’s tone was grave.
“This new prodigy… Wahrzein. What did he do?”
“The Uni Sect is, in fact, a religious sect across many realms. They believe in the legend of Uni, the belief that all things originate from one. They worship Uni and seek to merge all advancer arts. As such, their recruitment is based on finding saplings where there is a balance in between as many elements as possible.”
“It does not matter to them if one has a peak affinity with an element-- they'd rather take one whose elements are all balanced at average level of affinity.”
“When it comes to Wahrzein, he has a high affinity with all elements of the world. Not even dragons can match this-- the demonic dragons only have affinity with nature-based elements.”
“Here is the crux of the issue. The Uni Sect has a skill called ‘Infinite Faces’, which has stringent demands to use. And Wahrzein has mastered it. This is all known by the Great Sects, due to the infamy of its previous user many years ago.”
“You surely know that despite each of us having different elemental affinities, we are all made of the elements in the world. The ‘Infinite Faces’ art allows an advancer to quite literally generate a shell of real skin, and requires an advancer to have balanced elements combined with deft control.“
“Wahrzein…. He imitated many advancers and sabotaged many plans, and unveiled many secrets. He vanished over six months ago. Ever since his appearance, us members of the sects can’t even trust our fellow disciples.,” Aizen sighed exasperatedly.
“Surely, there are methods to detect it…” How intimidating. The man had done nothing the past six months and yet these sects could not rest easy.
“How? It’s not like the bastardized devilish ‘Hundred Faces’ version of it, where an outer advancer steals the skin of another to stitch it over theirs with aurae tendrils.”
“Under that situation, a probing aurae tendril of an outer advancer, or the divine sense of a telekinetic advancer, would easily sense the mismatch of the skin and the internal body.”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“But this ‘Infinite Faces’ art-- the skin is constructed by the user’s aurae into perfect and real flesh. Its downfall is its stringent requirement, and thus, a prodigy who can use it has only shown up recently after centuries of failed inheritance.”
“Do take care,” Aizen whispered to Rein, somewhat aware of the expectation of the Halls’ initiates. “He might be lurking about pretending to be someone while robbing others’ treasures in the western wilderness.”
The two arrived before an enchanting mature ivory woman with highlighted dark brown hair flowing down to her waist. An incredibly busty woman with melons the size of a head, barely contained by the loose robe of intertwining streams of pastel lavender and blue. Both her shoulders were revealed , the robe threatening to drop straight onto the ground, only held up by those proud melons.
The beauty was smoking from a pipe, and she blew out a ring of smoke at their approach.
“This is the couple?” She sternly asked as Rein could not resist giving her humongous chest a good look. “This man already wants to violate my body.”
“Sect Leader Meynzy,” Aizen bowed his head. “Please don’t joke around. Every man and even some woman would wish to… violate you if given the chance…”
“Including you?” The Sect Leader of the Harmony Sect whispered enticingly. “What would Yuynan say?”
Aizen only coughed in reply. He must have long been teased by this Sect Leader…
Rein lowered his eyes. He did not know this was the Sect Leader of the Harmony Sect, and could only hope that he had not gotten on her bad side. After all… the Sect Leaders of the Great Sects should all be in the telekinetic realm!
Sect Leader Meynzy strode forth, and to Rein’s shock and pleasure, pressed her heavenly orbs against his chest. Due to Rein’s body-tempering, he was much taller, and had the chance to peer deep into her wondrous cleavage.
Her hand slipped under his robes and trousers to gauge his manhood.
“I do love a virile young man…” She grinned.
Rein turned his head sides to see Suey stripping out of her leather gear in a huff, ending up in only undergarments wrapped in the Halls robe.
“Calm yourself, silly one,” chortled Sect Leader Meynzy.
She waved her arm. Rein, Suey, and Aizen felt their bodies lifted into the air by some unknown means, and they floated behind as the Sect Leader led them in flight towards the central mountain peak in the area.
On arrival, Rein’s eyes came upon an exquisite wooden structure decorated with carvings of swans.
“This is the temple of love trials.”
A man dressed in a similar intertwining of blue and lavender streamed robe was already waiting in front of this temple.
“Seeing as Aizen recommended you, we will hold this trial to test if you’re worthy of our assistance. If so, we simply expect you to also provide assistance to other lovers during your future journeys. You are also welcome to join us if you ever become shell advancers.”
“Let the trial begin!” The temple was split into two paths. Meynzy gestured for Rein to follow her.
“You will follow my husband Aihr.”
Suey followed the man down the other path.
Rein trailed after Meynzy into a half-room filled with various wooden furniture. Many carvings of couples engaging in various acts decorated the walls.
“You had better be honest, youngling,” said Meynzy. “We telekinetic advancers are not easy to trick. Especially when it comes to perceiving love.”
Rein nodded, He wondered what this trial might be.
“Do you love her?” Meynzy’s words sent Rein into a double-take. Was he simply going to be interrogated? Rein could only sigh as he decided that it was best to be honest. Although he might have fooled Baejenh in the past, it was probably because Baejenh’s truth-seeking art relied on detecting killing intent, and she was possibly going easy on him as well. He wasn’t sure if Meynzy might have a different truth-seeking art.
“I don’t know,” Rein replied. “I’m not even certain what love is meant to feel, to be like.” He had felt numb after the events in the Golden Desert Town. Ever since then, he was never quite sure of where he stood when it came to love.
“Yet, you dare to come here, knowing that we only seek lovers?!” Meynzy glared at the youngling in front of her, miffed at his response. “What would your partner Suey feel if she heard your words? I know she must have thrown herself at you many times.”
“I’ve never sought to deceive her in any way,” replied Rein. “I can only treat her fairly for her desires. As long as she does me no harm, I do sincerely hope she will live a good life. That she would save her home. I’ve already lost my home, and am willing to give her a hand if I am in the position to do so.” Rein believed that such information would not reveal Suey’s unique nature in any shape or form.
“As for coming here,” Rein continued undauntingly, “I may not know what love is anymore, but I am certain that I wish for her to obtain methods such that she can grow stronger and more capable, to increase her chances at success.”
“As for our physical pleasure… My upbringing has long taught me that it can exist without emotional intimacy. As such, I dare not claim that love has birthed itself out of our interaction. Regardless, I have no intention of mistreating her.”
“Is it only for her benefit? Or yours?” Sect Leader Meynzy harrumphed unhappily.
“I won’t deny that one of the arts I hope she will obtain is the water-based tempering art of your sect. I, myself, am a body-temperer, and do not wish to have to hold back during our… fun. Her increase in strength will also increase our mission success rate, which is certain to provide both me and her with many benefits.”
Meynzy’s expression turned inscrutable, as she squinted at Rein before her. She suddenly had an odd feeling that the man before her was but a numbskull.
Meanwhile, she shared senses with her husband-- they ruled the Harmony Sect together, and all the information she had just obtained was transmitted to the man through divine sense. The information her husband received was also sent to her.
“Your partner dared not claim to be in love with you. What say you?” He bluntly informed Suey.
“I don’t blame him,” muttered Suey with a lowered head. “I was desperate for progress and thus launched myself at him.”
“But your physical intimacy?”
“There are sex slaves across the realm. Some are even captured just to function as cauldrons, power sources for the eventual devourer. I never expected love to be born out of it.”
“So do you love him?”
“A version of him.”
Aihr widened his eyes. A version of him? By the fallen gods-- what does that even mean?
“Has he done anything… romantic for you?” He asked. “Flowers? Sharing the most aromatic tea at sunset?”
“No…” Suey shook her head. “But he did buy a unique face paint to decorate my scar. I use it every day.”
In the other room.
“So… you bought cobalt blue face paint sourced from the Golden Desert for her?” Meynzy pointed out. “Why?”
“Why not?” Rein shrugged. “She told me that her scar reminded her of the necessity of saving her home, and she was clearly also concerned about her looks. I had knowledge of this lovely paint, so I simply purchased it. If a stranger on the street told me a similar concern, I would give the very same recommendation.”
Rein’s words only made the woman squint her eyes even narrower.
Back to Suey’s room.
“Do you not wish for him to shower you with flowers?” Aihr questioned.
“I am not a naive woman,” Suey beamed. “Some men shower their women with flowers while fooling with many on the side. Others, despite their loving displays, abandon you the moment the sky falls.”
“I wish for him to gather strength. If he spends an extra few heartbeats everyday gathering strength instead of buying flowers, he’d be far stronger in the future, for me. The occasional display of his heart is a good enough surprise for me!” She had a determined expression.
“That is true. And yet, feelings must be cultivated, no? To encourage his presence on the day of a sky falling,” Aihr probed.
“Not necessarily,” Suey shook her head with a small smile. “Many men do not take action simply because of their feelings. At least… I believe when the time comes, Rein will do what needs to be done. I, too, strive to be such a person. If I require a man to hand me flowers in order for me to take the correct course of action, to adopt the correct set of behaviors… then I am simply… lesser.”
“If one day our hearts combine to become something more… Well, such a thing cannot be forced.”
Meynzy and Aihr communicated with one another. What an odd couple. And yet… they felt that there was something potentially beautiful hidden underneath it all. Just that, a step was skipped…
“We will proceed to the final test,” the husband and wife simultaneously stated. “Strip.”