After a short discussion with Rufus about recent events and the progress of Artisan Palace, Shui returned to his residence. He couldn't afford to have any interruptions, so he activated the protection, sound dampening, and concealment arrays around the house. It would raise suspicion if he made the house invisible, so the concealment was limited to aura and foundational energy.
He had also transformed one of his previous housemates rooms into a forging area. He planned on restoring the room when he moved out of the house, so he didn't bother getting permission.
Most of the materials that were on his list were for Reinhart's sword. To re-forge the Red Tiger Paws, only the core of a flash tiger, the blood of a jade pigeon, wind elemental crystals, and a rare-grade ginseng were needed. A scarlet tiger's beast core would have a better synergy with the gloves since the scarlet tiger was the most common evolution of red tigers, but the flash tiger was a better fit for Kate as it had superior senses. The jade pigeon blood and ginseng would boost Kate's strength and vitality, while the wind elemental crystals would be the reagent that combined everything together.
Shui took his time to envision the process and settle his heart, before taking out a spirit-rank cauldron he got from one of the Darino Gang members he had killed at their headquarters. Using a special liquefication array, he changed the wind elemental crystals into viridescent elemental fluid and poured it into the cauldron. He then added the Red Tiger Paws to the fluid and placed his heart flame beneath the cauldron.
As Shui maintained the flame, the gloves began to lose their colour and eventually became pure white. This meant that he could go to the next step of adding the other materials. He started with jade pigeon blood and added the ginseng soon after. Once the ginseng dissolved and the mixture had a faint red glow, Shui added the flash tiger beast core. As the beast core dissolved, Shui didn't forget to prepare for the final step of adding inscriptions to the gloves using the mixture. In addition to reapplying 'Memory' so that the flash tiger's innate skill could be used by Kate, Shui planned to add 'Combine' so that the gloves could possess a unique skill based on the properties of all the ingredients.
Shui used martial intent to draw the inscriptions and aid the gloves in absorbing the mixture. This was to add the harmony effect to the gloves. Although he had decided to no longer sell artifacts from the harmony series, Kate would benefit more from the harmony series than the resonance series. Once the inscriptions were complete, he only needed to focus on flame control until the gloves absorbed the mixture.
By dawn the next day, a low-pitched roar could be heard from the cauldron. Shui removed his heart flame and then took out a pair of amber gloves, which exuded a feral pressure. The gloves seemed to be of blessed spirit-rank, but Shui could tell that the artifact would show its true rank once Kate wore them. As he was satisfied by his creation, Shui placed the gloves in a box with 'Conceal' and headed towards the core section. There was a bit of fatigue from forging, but he wanted to hand over the gloves as soon as possible in case Mater made any more trouble for him.
Reinhart and Luke gave him their tokens so he would be able to enter the core section once he showed one of them to the elder on duty. He was worried that there would be a problem with using Reinhart's token since he was out on a mission, so Shui picked Luke's token. However, even after showing the elder the token, he told him to wait until he confirmed it. This was strange, as the tokens possessed by the core disciples were imbued with their auras, so they would be very difficult to fake. Shui had a bad feeling, but he didn't feel pressured to force his way into the core section.
Unfortunately, Shui's bad feeling was on target as five core disciples, including Tark, appeared to block his path.
"Unfortunately, Junior Brother, Luke can't see you right now. I'll have to ask you to leave."
If he was dull enough to miss the clues so far, the core disciples besides Tark made it much more obvious with their sneers.
"Is that so? Is he not inside the manor?"
"I can't answer that."
Shui was tempted to force them out of his way, but they had the rules on their side, so it wouldn't be wise to take that route.
"I see. I suppose it can't be helped then."
Acting as if he had given up, Shui turned around. He waited until the gate opened for the five, who were confident that they had driven him off, and sneaked into it behind them. Even when they left the cave and entered the core section, Shui's presence was undiscovered. With disdain in his eyes as he looked at them, he made his way to the collective administration headquarters. Since he didn't know where Core Elder's Ren office was, he went to his assistant. Shui wondered how to explain himself, but as soon as the assistant saw him, he got up and led him to meet the elder.
"The elder has been expecting you."
The assistant said this after knocking twice on a door and stopping beside it. The door had a sign that read 'Head of Resources Department', so Shui was sure that this was the right destination.
He didn't think he had any need to be nervous, but Shui still took a deep breath before opening the door. Waiting for him was a kind-looking old man seated behind a desk. The room he was in had a shelf with scrolls and another desk with scrolls scattered across it, but not much else. It looked like a room that was strictly for work purposes only. The concentration of nature energy was still higher than outside the building, and Shui could sense that powerful restrictions were placed on the scrolls.
Just as Shui was examining the man and the room, the Core Elder Ren was also examining him. Amused, he nodded his head while suppressing a laugh, and stood from his seat.
"Teo, you can close the door."
Once the door was closed behind Shui, the room became a separate space that cut off sound and energy fluctuations. Slightly impressed, Shui faced Core Elder Ren, who gestured for him to sit on the chair across his desk. Shui followed his recommendation, and once he sat, the elder also returned to his seat.
"I'm glad to finally meet you, Shui. You might have already heard about me, but allow me to introduce myself. I am Ren Talios of the Clinden family, currently serving as a core elder and in charge of the Resources Department of Storm Sky Manor."
"Clinden family?"
"Yes, Reinhart and I are distant relatives. I always saw promise in the boy, but I waited until he became a core disciple with his own power before making him my disciple."
"I see. I'm sure you already know this, but my name is Shui, and I am currently an inner section disciple of Storm Sky Manor. I'm also glad to make your acquaintance, Core Elder."