Those words were a blow to Red’s confidence.

“That is not all either.” the hawk said. “My master found out that the absorption grows stronger over multiple cycles of the Moon’s phases, which is why even if the monster in the Lesser Ring Realm could recover their Moonstone energy in the Full Moon, they would still die all the same in a matter of a few cycles.”

This didn’t surprise the boy. He doubted the curse would be so simple, or else he wouldn’t need to worry about opening any more of the special acupoints with the technique Viran had taught to him.

“I see you’ve come up with a clever method to store Moonstone energy in your body despite not having opened your Spiritual Sea.” the spirit said. “Unfortunately, that doesn’t solve the root of the problem, and you’re still at risk of having more of your life essence absorbed.”

Red looked at the hawk. “Is there really nothing I can do about what I have already lost?”

“You don’t need to despair yet.” the hawk said. “Although your life essence has been drained, as long as you break through into higher realms, you will live for much longer.”

The boy frowned. “Maybe, but life essence is an important factor in a cultivator’s breakthrough. How hard will it be for me to open my Spiritual Sea?”

“For a normal cultivator? It would be nearly impossible. But you are now my master’s disciple and nothing is out of his reach.” the hawk said.

“Will you be giving me a Parting Sea Pill?” Red asked.

That would certainly solve the problem of opening his Spiritual Sea.

“No.” the hawk shook its head. “I will give you something better.”

Red stared at the bird in suspicion. “What is it?”

“I will explain it later.” the hawk waved its wings, dispersing the image of the scorpion and the formation. “First, we need to talk about some conditions before you receive your rewards.”

The boy’s suspicion was raised even further. “You never said anything about any conditions.”

“That’s because that is the concern of the winner of this trial alone.” the spirit said. “If you don’t agree with these conditions, you will still receive rewards, but you will not be acknowledged as my master’s disciple.”

Red frowned. “Is there a difference?”

The hawk nodded. “There is. My master prepared different rewards for the individual who accepted to become his disciple, since this would incur greater risks to this person.”

Red sighed. He could already imagine where this was going. “Does this have to do with what that ghost told us?”

“Indeed. I will now list the conditions my master put forward if one would like to be his disciple.”

‘I hope there are no more impossible promises involved.’

The boy braced himself.

“First of all, by winning this trial, you only receive part of the rewards my master has prepared for you.” the hawk said. “The entirety of the knowledge and treasures my master left behind for his disciple will only be available to you once you reach the Spiritual Awakening Realm.”

Red frowned. “The fourth realm? Isn’t that too far?”

“It is very far.” the spirit nodded. “However, this is the condition my master put forward. He wanted his disciple to reach the Spiritual Awakening Realm without relying on the riches he left behind. It was how he reached that realm too - by relying on himself and the opportunities he carved out through his suffering and hard work. He was a rogue cultivator and had no backing from large factions or stronger cultivators. It is only natural that his disciple should be able to do the same.”

‘With my talent, I don’t think I need to worry about any large factions backing me.’

Red had little understanding of how hard it was to reach the fourth realm, so he couldn’t judge his “master’s” decision. He could also understand the man’s perspective - a master would always want their disciple to at least measure up to what they themselves had accomplished. If Red couldn’t do even that, how could he be deserving?

“Finally, to the first condition.” the hawk looked at Red with a piercing gaze. “By accepting your master, you inherit both his riches and his enemies in the outside world.”

‘Here it comes.’

“So that ghost wasn’t lying?” Red asked.

“That man told a lot of lies to you, but on that topic he was being honest.” the hawk said. “My master was at war with almost every sect in the world by the time he set up this inheritance ground. Of course, he still had allies, but his enemies heavily outnumbered his supporters.”

The boy started to feel the weight of the situation. “… What did he do to warrant that?”

“He did nothing.” the hawk shook its head. “He was merely repaying the wrongs committed against him. They slaughtered his people by the hundreds of thousands when he was young as a result of their wars.”

“So he attacked them for revenge?”

It was a simple motive, as far as Red was concerned, but an understandable one.

“You could say that.” the hawk nodded. “However, my master’s heart was always set in pursuing his path as a cultivator first. He only sought to punish those involved with killing his family and people, and wasn’t seeking to declare war against the rest of the sects. Yet, things developed outside of his control, and soon enough he found himself at war with almost the entire cultivation world in his quest for revenge.”

Red couldn’t imagine what could have happened for a simple quest for revenge to develop into a world war against one man. He was even more impressed that this one man stood alone against the forces of the sects.

“Many of the sects tried to paint my master in a poor light, even branding him as a demonic cultivator despite the fact he practiced orthodox arts.” the hawk said. “This was how that foolish alias of Dread Viper came to be.”

“Did he win that war?” Red asked.

“Of course he did.” the spirit nodded. “It was close, but my master still won in the end. If he hadn’t won, then you would probably have read the story about how the sects all banded together to kill this terrible demonic cultivator by the name of Dread Viper.”

That seemed almost inconceivable to Red. A cultivator alone winning against the absolute behemoths that sects were supposed to be? On top of that, this same cultivator was now supposed to be his master. The boy found this almost too good to be true.

“Of course. Suffice it to say that my master chose to spare some of the sects he was at war with.” the hawk said. “He was afraid that their fall would be too heavy of a blow to humanity and would give the opportunity for demonic cultivators and other evil forces to rise in their place.”

Red couldn’t even imagine what kind of power one needed to have considerations about the fate of humanity as a whole, but it wasn’t his concern right now.

“I sincerely doubt that any of those sects were grateful for his mercy, though.” the spirit said. “Most of them most likely still hold grudges, which is why if you accept to be his disciple, you should be careful about letting this kind of information slip out, or else you’ll be hunted down and killed.”

Red frowned. “What about the others in the trial? Couldn’t they leak this information?”

“They could, which is why I will wipe most of their memories about this place.” the hawk said. “It’s not a fool-proof method, however, and if any strong cultivators get curious, they could probably notice traces of my technique. It is of little importance, however, considering there are others out there that know about these grounds already, but it should protect your identity for the time being.”

Red nodded. “Are those all the conditions?”

Although the boy was intimidated by the prospect of being an enemy of the sects, how could he pass up such an opportunity to change his fate? He hadn’t even considered denying it yet.

“There is another condition.” the hawk said. “As long as you accept him as your master, you are not allowed to join any sects. Should you do so, you’ll renege your claim to his inheritance even if you reach the fourth realm.”

Red frowned. “I’m already part of a sect.”

He thought it was better to come clean with such matters.

“Are you?” the hawk seemed surprised. “What sect took someone like you with such poor talent?”

“I don’t think it can be considered a sect proper.” the boy said. “The Sect Master is an eleven-year-old kid and the Grand Elder is in the Lesser Ring Realm. However, they have connections with a destroyed sect.”

The spirit seemed to consider his words in silence. “What is the name of this sect they have connections with?”

Red recalled the name Reinhart mentioned to him. “The Ocean Bearers Sect.”

The hawk sighed. “That was one of the sects my master was at war with. It is surprising that they have been destroyed even after my master spared them.”

“Will that be a problem?” the boy asked.

“As long as you limit your relationships with them, it shouldn’t be.” the hawk shook its head. “My master doesn’t seek to limit who you interact with, even if they happen to be sects. You may even work together with them in the future, should you so wish. The only thing you won’t be allowed to do as his disciple is take their oath and become one of their members.”

Red nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”

With his talent, what sect would have an interest in recruiting him? There was another thing that was bothering Red, however.

“Those people that came in with the compasses…” the boy thought about how to approach the subject. “They said they were descendents of the creator of this place. Was your master a member of the Empire?”

The hawk shook his head. “There were a handful of empires in my master’s time, but he was most definitely not a part of any of them. My master didn’t leave behind any descendants either, and most of his fellow countrymen died during the sect wars. It could be that some of them have lived to this day, but my master never left a faction behind or any inheritance other than this one. None of them have any more of a legitimate claim to his legacy, even if that was the case, though.”

“Your master… What happened to him?” Red asked.

“… I don’t know.” the hawk said after some hesitation.

“You don’t know?” the boy was confused. “Isn’t he dead?”

“Not necessarily.” the spirit shook its head. “One of the last things my master did in this world was create his inheritance. After that, he left to attempt his trial for ascension. Whether or not he succeeded, I do not know, but what I can tell you for sure is that he is no longer in this world.”

“Ascension?” Red frowned. “What is that?”

“This is not something you should concern yourself with right now.” the hawk said. “If you’re truly worthy of being my master’s disciple, one day you’ll learn more about it on your own.”

Although Red was disappointed, he didn’t push the subject. “Are those the only conditions?”

“They are.” the spirit nodded. “Do you accept them?”

“I do.” Red nodded back.

“Then from this day forward you can call yourself a disciple of Silas and will bear everything that title carries.” the hawk said. “Now, I will distribute your rewards.”

The spirit waved its wings, and several shining lights appeared in front of Red.