I think if I hadn't the experience and memories of my previous life, I would have responded differently. I had recently celebrated my nineteenth birthday, an adult by the standards of both worlds, but that was an arbitrary number based on when an individual could safely open their spirit root.

It had nothing to do with maturity and wisdom, and considering how long an Elf might live, the life experience I had accumulated on Shijie was laughable, it was barely worth mentioning. I would have liked to be angry, to storm out of the tearoom, fight in the next match, prove I could win, then refuse the invitation to join the new Sect.

But that would have been idiocy, and I had long passed the stage where I would cut off my nose to spite my face.

Elder Shadow had made decisions for me, and that was the crux of my feelings of betrayal. He had orchestrated events, so that there were only three paths forward. I could ignore the offer they were making and still accept the transfer to the new Sect and move forward forging my own path. I could refuse the offer and the transfer, return to Flowing Water and Elder Tye's protection as a Core Disciple. Or I could agree to their plan, as nebulous as it was, trusting that my initial instincts about Elder Shadow had been correct.

"How am I supposed to help?" I asked. "Just as important, if I am being used as bait as you suggest, how will I be protected?" I wasn't sure I wanted anything to do with whatever they might have planned, but I was sure I didn't want decisions being made for me anymore. And if I was going to make a decision, I wanted more information.

It was true that staying at Flowing Water Sect had become more and more problematic. Things had calmed down when I'd returned carrying the wounded Nero, but I knew that this was just the calm before the storm. I had been involved in too many run-ins, been blessed with too much good fortune for jealousy, envy, and greed, and shown myself to be more talented than both of Elder An's sons.

Yes, things had calmed down, but that wouldn't last. Elder An's anger was simmering at the moment, when he finally acted, I wasn't sure Elder Tye could protect me.

In the back of my mind, I had made plans. Plans to select a plot of land for my fief that was remote enough and far enough away from Flowing Water that I could cultivate in peace. I would keep my alignment with the Sect, visiting occasionally, but I would use the excuse for setting up and running a barony to maintain my distance.

And as angry as I was at Elder Shadow, and I was angry I had to admit to myself, he had protected me this past year. It was his prodding, his efforts in devising a training program and making sure I diligently followed it that had allowed me to eclipse Braun and defeat him in battle.

I had wanted to focus more on alchemy when I first joined the Sect, the desire to help my family and improve their circumstances my driving motivation. He had made sure I had the funds and opportunity to learn the skills best suited for me, extorting Braun and his father for contribution points in the process. He had guided me during my training to perfect the control of my meridian channels and the creation of nodes and nexus I needed, to build pathways for all my elemental affinities.

It would have been much worse if he had manipulated events and left me to sink or swim. He had been a shadow in every major exchange between the Sect, Braun, and I. His involvement instrumental in making sure that I was protected and compensated. Certainly not an easy thing to do considering the history behind Elder An's family in the Sect.

"For the most part, you just continue as you are," Umbra answered. "Training skills, cultivating, and perfecting your alchemical abilities. For the foreseeable future, there shouldn't be any danger, anything to worry about.

"The schemes and plots have already been enacted, but the building of a Sect takes time. The Sect itself is close to completion, but the supporting city has barely been planned. Everyone will be too busy building the infrastructure, housing, protection array's the city will require. That and hunting will take up much of anyone's time."

"You will be just as busy, perhaps more," Elder Shadow warned. "You will be expected to help build up the new Sect's stock of pills and herbs while being assigned to some task to advance the Sect.

"You will be assigned an apartment, but you will still need to build your own home once you have chosen a fief. Add in the time and energy you will need to invest in establishing your barony, and that leaves little time for anything else.

"We will only ask two things from you," he promised. "As you go about your day, pay attention to those around you. Listen to the whispers and gossip the servants are trading. Try to notice members that are acting strangely or stirring up trouble."

"The other request we have for you has to do with your barony," Umbra stated. "Everyone that has not claimed a fief, and those willing to sell their existing fief and move to Mount Seia will be given a tract of land to choose from.

"I, as Patriarch, have some discretion in how to allocate those resources," she informed me.

"There is an inlet, a place where a small community has already taken root. We would like you to claim that village and inlet as part of your barony. I will approve your claim, no matter who else may be interested in the area."

"You expect that parcel to be contested?" I remarked. "Why?"

"I do," she replied. "There are a few reasons this area might be attractive for those hoping to build a thriving barony. It has an oyster bed that has been carefully nurtured by the Hindel and farmed for pearls by the villagers. Oyster beds that the Hindel traded away when they ceded their claim.

"The surrounding land is rich and fertile, perfect for raising food crops or spirit herbs. There is a barely explored forest near that can be sourced for construction material or hunted for beast cores, meat, and leather.

"Barely any of the lands that would come with the village have been explored, so we have no idea what spirit herbs, fruits, plants, animals, or ore might be located once you get around to exploring the area.

"The inlet's shape works like a chimney, drawing in ocean air to keep the temperature constant. The reef that protects the inlet is established and has been tested and proven to protect from even the worst of hurricanes," she promised. "Of the area that has been explored, the small river that feeds into the inlet generates a sizable amount of water element.

"The rich and abundant air and water elemental forces make it an ideal place for you especially," Elder Shadow emphasized. "The mixture of fresh water, seawater, brackish water, and air currents, create an environment that had optimal conditions for you to advance your cultivation.

"If you build your home in the area, the Sect will provide you with the materials to create a meditation room that will increase the density of those already abundant elements."

"All good reasons for why I should select that area," I agreed. "I gain much, but that still doesn't explain what you expect and how you plan to protect me if I do draw someone's attention that would rather see me removed."

"Excuse me, Honored Elder," Tibes my guide said standing outside the door patiently. "The next bout is about to begin; I have been tasked with escorting candidate Jai Myche to the next bout."

Elder Shadow and Patriarch Umbra stilled at Tibes entrance; any emotion, any semblance of life that had been present in their faces gone as they turned their heads towards the door. Tibes immediately dropped to his knees and began kowtowing at their scrutiny. I wasn't sure what he had seen in their faces, but something in the look they had given him had scared him immensely.

"Where are my attendants, and why are they not guarding the door?" Patriarch Umbra demanded.

"Apologies," Tibes managed to stammer, "there were no attendants or guards at the door."

"How did you know Cultivator Jai was here?" Elder Shadow demanded.

"The jade token each contestant carries allows the organizers to track where each person is. When I couldn't find the young cultivator in the room she had been assigned, I reported her missing to competition staff, and they used the tracking signal to give me her location," he answered fearfully.

"See to it," Umbra directed Elder Shadow. "And find out why my people have gone missing."