Bai Qi continued moving, forcing his battered, exhausted, and hunger-ridden body to hunt for every herb he could locate as he did, though; two thoughts, or questions, repeated in his mind. Only two of the hundreds of ones he had, but at the same time, only those two merited enough attention from him not to dispel them as he did with all others, all to keep his focus while forcing his far-from-adequate state to move forward.

The first was also the most recent one, originating from the mysterious voice that had whispered, even if through a mind link, the number of points he held when compared to everyone else.

Not only this hushed-down voice, one that he couldn't recognize, assured him that he was basically the king of the event, but it also revealed the point system, going so far as giving him an extra incentive, explaining that while correctly harvesting herbs would count with more points during the review, they wouldn't do so for the rewarding process, allowing him to pick up a fair amount of loot even if he simply did everything right when picking up far more average herbs.

The other question was far older. It stemmed from the results of the duels, or to word it better, from the information Bai Qi gained after winning them.

Yet, it wasn't just that, as the thought created another barrage of questions and doubts, one that Bai Qi himself resumed into a single one.

Bai Qi had no answer to either, but as he moved forward, yanking at nearly everything he would see, his mind generated yet another one, which, honestly, was the only one that he could at least guess the answer to,

***

Bai Qi couldn't allow himself to ponder much on unrelated matters. But as he avoided the detection of participant after participant, all while moving to another place that nearly called for him, he had to acknowledge that maybe the start from a mortal base had its perks.

It would be while picking another spirit herb that could make even a Grandmaster of the Pill path drool, a [Sunbird's Feather Reflection] of a pure gold hue, Bai Qi answered at least one of his constant questions or doubts, nearly as if hit by a hidden epiphany.

In truth, it was nothing like that, as he basically guessed correctly and confirmed it enough to understand it was so, but in any case, it did allow him to clear at least part of his mind, allowing more of its nearly mortal state to concentrate on his movements;

And while Bai Qi had no real reason to believe it true except his own conclusions, he was almost right. An unknown and unannounced fact about the [Martial Path of the Herbs] was that with every passing hour of the allotted day, the entire area would shrink, with only the zones around the [Petal Stages] remaining by the end.

It would even make some of the herbs relocate. Although the reason for it wasn't for everyone to have a fair chance, but to confuse the participants, their restricted, mortal senses being unable to understand what was happening. All to force them into conflict and make them ascend the [Petal Stages].

The [Sunbird's Talon] was an Earth-tier spirit herb that Bai Qi aneled even himself, as it was one of the few herbs capable of nurturing the namesake Yang-element flames, but even his Yin-element [Ghostflame]. While his nearly absolute [Yin-elemt Spiritual Flame] was a real force, between his cultivation and the faulty method he had obtained the flame with, it was definitively far below the genuine spiritual flame level.

The herb was not only one hard to find or even buy, but it also was hard to harvest, as it would not only call upon fire-element cultivators or flame techniques and skills users but also such an herb would directly merge with any of the latter during their first meeting. And while it seemed nothing harmful for any cultivator, as it would nurture their innate fire and flame paths, it was far from being so, as the [Sunbird's Talon] was actually considered one of the most dangerous Earth-tier spiritual herbs.

And how could it not? After all, the [Talon] main effect wasn't to nurture but to actually rouse a cultivator's flames! And so, without control, one would not have one's flames improved but end up heavily burnt, or even worse, as a pile of ashes!

Yet, knowing all of the dangers of the [Sunbird's Talon], when Bai Qi felt the tug of his [Ghostflame] - urging him to go towards a location, he didn't hesitate in the slightest, not even the sight of at least a dozen people rushing towards the same direction stopping him for a moment.

Unbeknownst to Bai Qi, his actions were being closely followed since the commencement of the [Martial Path of the Herbs]. And even while the actual higher-ups weren't monitoring him at the moment, the elders tasked with it were not only following each and every of his actions but also were discussing them aloud, absolutely concealed thanks to the formations in place around the event's grounds.

"Did you witness the remarkable display of strength and skill shown by that young man during the duels? Or his wisdom when gathering even the most difficult of herbs? I must admit when I got this task, I expected anything but such a remarkable prowess." An aged but at the same time engaged voice resounded as the three elders observed Bai Qi's rush to get the [Sunbird's Feather Reflection]. She spoke as she thought,

"Indeed, his talent is undeniable. It's remarkable that he, a man, could possess such a strong affinity with the [Primordial Root], which we believed to be exclusive to our [Palace]. And that's without mentioning his talent with weapons! Neither of our disciples has shown a similar mastery of more than two weapons!" The second elder speaking voice appeared to be younger, but it still remained aged - if compared to the youngest generation Bai Qi was part of. But as an undeniable fact, she was definitively wise, as she had guessed the first speaker's thoughts, even touching on the [Primordial Root] part.

"His prowess in weapon mastery and the connection to the [Primordial Root] are extraordinary. Our Goddess' legacy seems to have found a vessel in him, even if it goes against the creed of the [Palace]." A third voice chimed in while considering how much the head of the elder's council shared about the matter before commanding the other two elders to be assigned to watch duty hours ago.

"We may still have to guide him with the wisdom we possess. We have to get him to understand the importance of the [Goddess Clearing] and to help the [Palace] on its first and most important task, to honor and control this land." Considering that the orders to observe and record Bai Qi's actions came not from the council's representative - but directly from the [Brave Hairstreak], Hudie Xiuying, the elder considered it a matter of utmost importance. Even if she was mistaken about the actual objectives, the elder never doubted the [Palace] de-facto leader, treating her as the wisest of leaders.

The implied command to look and record everything was easily understood. Yet, the second, if following the hierarchy among - the one to have spoken second as well - found herself at a loss, even going so far as to voice her doubts, "But he's a man, and our creed forces us to accept no one but women, no matter the skill or talent they show... So, if his connection to the [Root] is confirmed, then..?"

"It has been already confirmed, at least from what I see right now, with him easily finding herbs that are usually so well-hidden that not one of the participants finds them..." The first elder spoke up, but before giving a chance to either of her companions to even think about a response, the several hundred of years elder continued, with a laugh and a faked shyness as if she was of the same age as the youngest generation, "So it will go down just to the matter of getting him to cooperate, no matter how. Even if it involves some physical contact."

"Elder Zhi!" The third voice exclaimed, her sudden outburst breaking through at least one of the concealing formations, revealing a truly young and melodious voice that Bai Qi would recognize as Fan Lin, if not for the other remaining - of the 17 in total - concealment formations active around the event's area at the moment.

"Assistant Elder Fan, while I understand your reluctance on such a matter, we should remember that the easier way to get a male cultivator to help and invest himself into our ways is marriage, so Elder Zhi's suggestion isn't something you should shout about." Before the first voice could even react to Fan Lin's outcry, the third person involved in the talks, someone who Bai Qi would also recognize, as it was nobody else but Assistant Elder Ki, replied.

"But..!" Fan Lin attempted to rescue the situation of being chastized by someone of her own generation in the [Delicate Forest Palace] seniority system, as she was cut short by the only actual elder of this conversation, Zhi Fei.

"No need to fret, Lin'er. If you aren't up to it, I am sure there are a fair amount of disciples that would gladly accept someone as Bai Qi.-" Speaking as if it was just some raw resource, or even mortal food, trade, Zhi Fei shrugged, even going so far as to point out Bai Qi's attractiveness, "He's young, a master of at least three weapons, and definitively talented. Also, the young man seems to have no backer who would attempt to control him, so who else would be the perfect spouse for one of the existing successors of their families?"

Zhi Fei didn't wait for any of her current subordinates to answer, still speaking as her station demanded, "Between his looks, strength, and wisdom, who of our top disciples, even if we go to the highest level of relatives, would reject such a way to get a potential Saint into their ranks? Damn, even I would think about it! If not for the difference in standings and being married already! I mean, the [Steel Fang] contacts revealed by Ma Su; Even if you two don't know, they are already worth any sacrifice of such a sort!"

Elder Zhi Fei had revealed something that Fan Lin had no idea about, the contact with the [Steel Fang], but she didn't even notice it, her mind screaming, Fan Lin had no idea just how mistaken she was about Bai Qi's questions, as everyone else was mistaken about Bai Qi's real worth. Thought, maybe it was for the better, in the case of the latter, as otherwise, the talks wouldn't just include forcing a marriage...