Having arrived in front of the door, the Third Elder gave Hizumi a nod who, in turn, gave Bando a nod. Just as Bando stepped forward to knock on the door, several cries from behind stopped them.

“Wait!”

“Hold on, Third Brother!”

The Fourth and Sixth Elders were stumped as to how a little girl that had spent most of the time since her initiation inside her cave than out was able to grab another elder’s attention.

“Are you here to see Hirai Hikaru as well, Third Brother?”

Aside from the two elders who were still in disbelief that the Third Elder had come to punish Martial Niece Hirai, the casual Second Elder merely inquired from afar with a joyful grin on his face and an empty teacup in his hand. He seemed to have forgotten that the Third Elder had come to punish a disciple.

Troubled frowns appeared on the faces of Hizumi and his junior brother, but they did not say anything to stop Third Elder Kondo from returning back to the other elders with a look of confusion on his face.

“Yes, Second Brother, I am. Is she the new architect you found? And why did you two tell me to stop?”

The sharp whistling of a finished pot of tea preceded a wondrous aroma that filled their noses.

Without giving a thought to his other two brothers, the Second Elder spoke without reservation, “She is. She triumphed over First Brother’s challenge in one go! Come sit and listen to the story over a cup.” His single eye glimmered from behind his monocle in anticipation as he gestured to a vacant location next to them.

Four seats and a table made of hardened rock rose from the luminescent grass before sprouting three earthen cups. One chair was slightly higher than the others to accommodate the Fourth Elder.

The Fourth and Sixth Elder’s eyes twitched. The Second Elder had just told the story in its entirety. What else was there to tell?

They decided against saying anything as they seated themselves. Since there was no point in withholding anything at this point, they would take this opportunity to come clean before asking what Hirai Hikaru had done to his disciple that incurred his ire.

Gao Diao nodded to Shimizu Mizutani who nodded back in understanding. She formed several hand seals, and a barrier of water appeared around the elders, Aracha, Matsushita Hizumi, Bando, and her, blocking their conversation from the ears of the awed disciples.

Ariyoshi Miji saw that Sixth Brother was still a whole head and a half taller than him, so he elevated his chair’s seat to the point where his knees were above the table, eliciting a “Che-che” from Gao Diao. The Fourth Elder scoffed at him without responding.

Ignoring the little exchange between his Fourth and Sixth Brother, Third Elder Kondo impatiently watched as Aracha poured tea for them. The unintended pressure of his gaze on Aracha gave her a feeling of being smothered as she tried to pour the tea without spilling.

Second Elder waved his hand and wrapped his aura around Aracha to shield her. “No need to worry, Third Brother. There’s plenty of tea for all of us.”

Everyone but Aracha struggled to maintain a steady expression after hearing these words. Only the Second Elder would believe that the Third Elder’s impatience was tea-related.

Third Elder Kondo rubbed the side of his head exasperatedly as he gave a sharp, doubtful look at Bando who quickly hid behind Matsushita Hizumi. It seemed that they had left out some information about Hirai Hikaru.

…

Although the disciples that were awoken from their cultivation could not hear what was being discussed, they could still make out their appearances through the water which was enough incentive for most of them to stick around. After all, witnessing one elder was already a rare opportunity, let alone four with the illustrious Fifth Elder’s pending arrival.

Many of them spoke with each other about the progress and insights they made the past three days; some decided to sit back down and cultivate a bit more, and a few continued monitoring the elders in an attempt to discern their topics of discussion.

“Looks like they’re done, disciple. Shall we proceed?”

Kenja had reached the encirclement around his master’s caves, inspecting the giant sphere of water isolating the elders. A glimmer of amazement shone in his eyes as he wondered when and if he would ever be able to replicate such a feat.

His good mood was elevated further with the spectacle. Today was truly a wondrous day!

“En. We shouldn’t bother anyone now.”

The scene was no longer dead silent with the elders and hundreds of disciples cultivating. Moreover, he no longer had to seek one of his other sisters to obtain information on their master’s arrivals.

Kenja casually strode past the disciples and water barrier to his door without drawing anyone’s attention. Even though Snail’s current disguise would capture the focus of any gazes that landed on him, Snail also had a couple of tricks that made it easier for Kenja to pass through the crowds unnoticed.

Unnerved by the fact that he walked past hundreds of people without a single person sparing him a glance, Kenja could not hold himself back from asking, “Are you hiding my aura so that no one sees me?”

Snail chuckled.

“Disciple has a grand imagination. Do you notice every blade of grass that sways with the wind? Do you look at every grain of sand you walk past? I’m merely blending your movements and aura with our environment, but it is not as effective as you believe. Such a trick only works in a situation like this where no one has their guard raised, and you’re not rushing anywhere.”

Kenja’s interest was piqued.

“Is this something I can do by myself?”

Snail raised one eye suspiciously at him.

“With a little practice, this Great One can teach you, but it’ll cost you.”

Kenja nodded.

“En. We’ll talk about it later then.” He had arrived in front of the cave with the numbers ‘5-5’ inscribed on it.

He took a deep breath as he calmed his nerves. He had a great deal of anticipation for the energy that was stored inside his personal Immortal’s cave.

The last time, there was a great deal of energy that had been rewarded from the two challenges he cleared in the apothecary and the Second Elder’s studio, but the feeling was akin to receiving a scrumptious meal fit for a King without having the means to taste it.

After having beaten several challenges in the Dragon’s Basin and receiving countless acknowledgments from the seniors in the pillars, the accumulated Qi within his cave should have reached an inestimable volume. If he was still unable to absorb the Qi within the cave…Kenja did not want to think about it.

He steeled his resolve, took out his keystone and held it to the cave’s door.

It opened and he walked inside without hesitation, letting the door close behind him.

Behind the screen of water, Aracha blinked her eyes several times in confusion at the door she had watched over for the past few days in between her periods of tea-making and cultivating.

Strangely, she had not noticed the inner sect sister approach the door until she had stopped in front of it. Because of the water barrier, she could not clearly make out the sister’s appearance but that did not matter after she saw her raise a keystone and enter Hirai Hikaru’s cave.

She walked over to her master who seemed to be in the middle of one of his rants and whispered to him, “Master!”

Blind to her attempt to interrupt him, he continued explaining all his previous attempts to fix the broken TD, “I had Fifth Sister redo the enchantment markings. Third Brother remembers how I propositioned a new Planktin Repeater, but that didn’t work. I even replaced all the Dual-Pronged Pistons and switched out the Clouded Cylinders for purified ones…”

The part of the story involving Hirai Hikaru had not extended much past his first statement as the remainder entailed his amazement at her feat while he went over the many things he had tried that failed to make the TD work.

With glassy eyes, the Third, Fourth and Sixth elders did not interrupt him as they knew whoever stopped him must go next in explaining his intentions concerning Hirai Hikaru. While the Fourth and Sixth Elders knew each other’s stance on the subject, they were hesitant to speak without knowing the Third Elder’s side of things and vice versa.

“...ho-ho, the little genius even beat Sixth Brother’s challenge.” The Second Elder stopped talking to drink from his cup, giving Gao Diao a nod to elaborate in his place.

Gao Diao’s face blackened.

Thanks to Second Elder Inazuma, he could not remain silent any longer.

Ignoring Ariyoshi Miji’s sniggering face, he recounted the story as it was told by his apothecary’s attendant, even holding up the bag of pills he was delivering to Martial Niece Hirai.

Aracha was indignant that her master had failed to notice her, but she did not show it on her face as she had long gotten used to his eccentric behavior. She did not make another attempt. She might be able to interrupt her master without being scolded too harshly, but unfortunately, it was extremely improper for her to interrupt the other elders. Thus, she decided to wait for a lull in the conversation before speaking up again.

After the Sixth Elder explained a bit about the Red Fireroot and how the challenge was related to finding a suitable disciple with good aptitude, he made things difficult for the Fourth Elder, “And why does Fourth Brother wish to accept martial niece as his disciple?”

Ariyoshi Miji gave Gao Diao a dirty look for cornering him.

If he refuted the claim, he was basically forfeiting Hirai Hikaru to his brothers and Fifth Sister. If he did not deny it without giving an appropriate reason for pursuing her, it would be an admission to poaching Fifth Sister’s disciple while she was away.

In other words, both sides resulted in a shameful appearance.

“Che-che-che, something wrong, brother?” Gao Diao sneered at him.

Ariyoshi Miji returned the sneer with one of his own.

“Unlike Second and Sixth Brother, fate has already brought martial niece and I together once before. Her back, straight as a blade, arms, toned and well-built, height, taller than most girls her age, her body’s foundation for martial arts are leagues above most women and many men in the Qi Flourishing stage. She is perfectly suited to study under me. Alchemy and fabricating tools would be a waste for someone like her.”

Ariyoshi Miji wished he could pat himself on the back as even he began to believe his own words halfway through.

Remembering their fateful encounter, he was surprised at himself for not discerning her exceptional build earlier. Hirai Hikaru’s body proportions and disposition did not fit the same category that many women her age and cultivation stage would usually be placed in.

She could become a phoenix amongst her disciple sisters!

Ariyoshi Miji derived pleasure from Gao Diao’s sour face who decided to steer the topic away from Fourth Brother’s ‘fate’ bullshit, “What kind of dispute occurred between your little disciple and Martial Niece Hirai?”

Third Elder Kondo’s expression darkened when the spotlight landed on him.

He had not expected that the little girl who tricked his little disciple and his friends had also beguiled, not just Fifth Sister, but also three of his other brothers.

All he wanted to do was scare Hirai Hikaru a bit into quickly removing the Soul Oath and returning the keystones she took before Fifth Sister arrived, but he could not readily admit the altercation that the disciples had as it would become apparent that his side was in the wrong. If the other elders became aware of the truth, not only could they shield the little troublemaker, but they might even report his shameful actions to Fifth Sister, worsening his relationship with her.

Disciple Hirai’s words should not yet carry much weight with Fifth Sister, but the same could not be said for the elders of the sect.

Noticing a break in the elders’ chat, Aracha took advantage of it without restraint, “Master, Senior Sister Hirai has returned.”

The four elders looked at Aracha who was unprepared to handle the simultaneous attention of four Nascent Soul elders and stumbled backwards several steps.

“Ho-ho, where is she? Just point to her, and we’ll go meet her.” Without any warning, Second Elder Inazuma disintegrated the table, chairs and three cups while gesturing for any remaining tea to fly back into the teapot.

Having grown accustomed to it, none of the elders said anything about his sudden change in behavior nor of his tea repossession. Gao Diao forcefully dissipated Shimizu Mizutani’s water barrier before they all turned to Hirai Hikaru’s cave, expecting to see her.

When they saw no one in front of the cave, they turned back to Aracha which made her wince backwards another step.

“Where is she? Did she already leave?”

“Which way did she go? How long ago did she left?”

“Mizu, take Second Brother’s tea girl, and go bring martial niece back.”

Aracha quickly shook her head to gain herself another chance to speak. “She has not left. She returned to her cave a little less than two incense sticks ago.”

Confusion was apparent on their faces.

“You mean to say she just left her cave and then went right back in?”

Knowing the reason for their misunderstanding, Aracha shook her head once more. “This junior only saw senior sister enter the cave from the outside. I don’t think she was inside the cave to begin with.”

Taking a breath of time to process her meaning, an awkward silence sprang up between them as their brows furrowed in disbelief.

“Are you certain, Aracha?”

She nodded in affirmation.

Ariyoshi Miji and Gao Diao looked at each other meaningfully, “Does that mean we’ve been guarding an empty cave for three days?”