Soon enough a week passed.
A lot of things happened in this week. First of all, I gained a new member of my faction, Telferr. She was a card that would be saved for later. Her element of surprise was an aspect I couldn't waste. Of course, I made sure to tell her this. If I withheld information from her, she would think I was no different than Convir. So I made sure to tell her what her course of action would be once the time came, but no more than that. If I gave up too much at once, it would take away the mysterious presence I've cultivated.
The next interesting thing that happened occurred yesterday actually. Medisma and Convir officially released news of their two factions combining into one faction called the "Sect Faction". It's not hard to see how big of a jump this was from a simple alliance. Now that they were one faction, they had a lot more unification, something that Medisma wanted.
This was something that I was afraid could interfere with my plans, so I made sure that Beulus and Hasrem paid special attention to collecting information about anything they were up to. The only way to stay ahead was to stay informed, and a great way to do that was by spies. And I was far too busy to be doing it on my own, plus it would seem suspicious. Why do something yourself when you can get someone else to do it for you? It was much more efficient that way.
On top of that, I introduced Vernam back into class the day after I had that spar with Telferr. It wasn't hard to make a cover story for her, and she was actually really good at acting, so she integrated back into the group with no suspicion. The only reason I was able to figure her out so easily was that I'd intensely practiced my powers of observation over a long period, otherwise, I would be none the wiser. Now she was my spy, sent to mingle with the elders and get information out of them that I wouldn't be able to without taking a risk. Of course, that was after wringing out all of the information she had on her.
The next thing of note would be that a couple of days ago, I finally got to grade D in Cultivation Talent. This meant I would finally be able to ascend to Stone Class, but I won't do it for now. I had to wait until the midterms started before doing that, otherwise, my ruse would be discovered before the timing was right. And nothing would really change if I were to ascend to Stone Class right now. At best I would be able to get a small head start in cultivation, but due to time restraints, I wouldn't have any time to practice Martial Arts or Physique Techniques, the two things that made Stone Class Cultivators a lot stronger than Dirt Class. It just wasn't worth it to throw away the publication I would get from the correct timing.
Other than those things, nothing big happened. Things are still the same with the Elders and the students as well. But today I would do something out of the normal. For the past week, I had been spending my free time with Telferr to reinforce that initial heat-of-the-moment decision of hers. It would be dumb to assume that just because she agreed once to something, she wouldn't back out of it if she started to regret that decision. But now I believe I have fully pushed her into the deep end, so she wouldn't back out if I took my attention off her for a bit.
I only had about a month until midterms began, and I still had one more key to collect along with four and a half more Elders. I was starting to feel pressed for time. So the best thing would be to get the easy things out of the way first so that the more difficult tasks can become easier. That "easier" task would be finally making good on the old man's promise. Of course, I wasn't actually going to rely on something as fragile as a promise, but it still had some value in it. He gave me what he needed to see to switch leaders, and I've fulfilled those desires of his.
I've also spent enough time around him to realize that, behind that tough and wise exterior he puts on, he really is just an old guy who wants to contribute to something big before he dies of old age. I wasn't particularly worried about him rejecting me, but that didn't mean I could be complacent. I still had to try as hard as possible, that way he would believe in me as much as possible. A lackluster performance here would only result in me getting a lackluster performance from him later.
I had that thought going through my head as I knocked on the double doors in front of me. After waiting for a while the door slowly creaked open, but once the old man saw me, it was flung open. He was wearing a white robe that was dirtied with splotches of ink and went down to his ankles. He folded his fingers into his hand multiple times as he said to me, "Come in, come in."
I followed his request and followed him inside of classroom. The inside was a mess as usual with pieces of wood in all different shapes thrown around, books lying on the ground some with bookmarks others with none, stacks of papers placed on the occasional table, multiple chalkboards with a mess of notes I could rarely understand, and finally one cork board with documents pinned into it with string connecting them. It was a huge mess, but surprisingly, it was actually more organized than the last time I was here. It was probably because the old man discovered how to keep papers in stacks, not tossed around the room. Next, he would need to learn what a bookcase is.
But something did seem odd about the old man today besides his upgrade in organization skills. He was a lot more excited than he would normally show. I wasn't arrogant enough to assume that he was excited because of my presence, so I sat down at the table he guided me to and decided to wait before I made my pitch to him. A change like this could be detrimental to my original argument if I wasn't careful. It was best to observe first and then adjust accordingly.
Once I sat down he began to run around his room and pick up a couple of books along with a stack of papers before slamming them onto the table in front of me. I raised my eyebrow and questioned him, "What has you so giddy today?"
He sat down opposite me before he began to talk, "I figured out something big Quis! If you did not come in today, I would have sought you out myself. So, you know how I had you run all of those tests some months ago with the Magic Arts you were developing?"
Curious about where this was going, I simply nodded my head to allow him to continue, "Well, I have been putting all of the knowledge I derived out of it to use. And I have finally got something! Those books in front of you are all accounts of Magic Path scholars who wrote down the details of the Magic Path they have discovered over their life. The Magic Path is very expansive, so of course, besides the basic stuff, their literature was different. That was beside one thing though. They all pointed out the obscurity of how the Magic Path relies on Fruits so much more than the Technology Path."
He then pointed at the stack of papers and continued his ecstatic speech, "So that got me thinking, "Why is that the Magic Path is more reliant on Fruits than the Technology Path?" According to most things I have read, they are meant to be equal paths with the final product relying on you. But then how come the Technology Path allows you to train your body, practically giving you a passive effect while the Magic Path does not allow this? I am under the belief that the two Paths have to be equal in nature, otherwise, this would have been discovered long before I have, and every region would develop the Technology Path. Magic Path would cease to exist today."
He then stood up and began pacing around, unable to keep himself seated, "So that gave me the idea that something must have changed without notice. But how could something like that happen without anyone noticing? The only being capable of such a thing would be a Sovereign! So I looked to history. There were only a few Sovereigns I believe could be behind something like this. It had to be either the Wood Sovereign, who was the only one to come from the Jungle Region, the Code Sovereign, who was the most recent one, or the Illusion Sovereign because, well, the name is self-explanatory. After some digging, I noticed that after the Code Sovereign's reign ended around 500 years ago, the Magic Path slowly began to lose popularity in many Regions."
His voice grew more hurried and excited as he continued to talk, "So I came to the conclusion that the Code Sovereign must have done something that got rid of a function of the Magic Path. And I also came to the hypothesis that it had something to do with a passive effect, similar to the Technology Path's Physique Techniques. That was two months ago. And after a lot of trial and error, I have finally found it! And since it came from your accounts, I figured it would be best to tell you. I will just go ahead and show you."
I'll be honest, this guy was good at getting people excited for something. I was very interested in what he learned, if was actually something big, then it could help me a lot in the future. Anything is possible in this world, so there was a chance I could eventually switch to the Magic Path, in which case this would be very helpful information. So I watched him with very intentive eyes.
He closed his eyes and stood still for a moment, not even a breath leaving his mouth. Until suddenly he took a deep breath through his mouth and once he did that, the air around him began to glow as if outlining him in white marker. He breathed in and out in a strange manner over and over, and after a couple of minutes of this fascinating process, it ended. He opened his eyes and gave a jovial smile, "I call it a Soul Technique. Want to know what it is?"
I nodded my head, but I'm sure he would explain either way, "Well the first thing I considered was that a Physique Technique targeted the body, and the equivalent for the Magic Path would obviously be the brain and soul. When in doubt, you turn to Genesis Essence, so I had the idea to try cultivation but instead guide it into my brain and soul, not my Duranian. This turned out ineffective, as it was impossible to direct Wood Genesis Essence anywhere else but my Duranian. But that is only through the pores, correct? What if I tried something like the mouth? So I spent a long time focused on developing a breathing technique that would allow you to suck in the Genesis Essence around you at all times. And I finally found a way to get it working!"
He finally took his seat once again as he began to cool off, "But you want to know what truly makes this revolutionary? The Genesis Essence can only be led to your soul, not your brain. And ever since I started testing this technique a week ago, my Magic Arts have gotten less reliant on my brain, and more reliant on my soul. This tells me that eventually, I might be able to use Magic Arts with only my soul! This is huge Quis! This alone would make using Magic Arts much less exhausting, and I still have more to learn! Right now, studies have shown that Technology Path has been making a comeback in the last 500 years, but with this, Magic Path and Technology Path will be equaled again!"
I waited to see if he would continue talking, but after nothing was said in the next ten seconds, I opened my mouth to comment on what he just explained to me, "I'm gonna be honest, that's incredible. It shows that all of your years of research haven't been for not. But I ask you this. Do you plan to share that information?"
My words were a breath of fresh air to him, he seemed happy that I was excited for him. But once I asked that question I could feel his attitude drop. His happy smile turned into a frown as he answered my question, "Unfortunately, no. I am not so dumb as to not understand the dangers that would come with telling others such information. It is completely possible that the information I discovered has already been figured out and others are just withholding the information for their own selfish reasons. Plus this is something involving a Sovereign, and if a Sovereign wants something, they will have it even after their death. They are all cunning bastards, especially the Code Sovereign. Who knows if something horrible will happen if this method gets publicized again? And as much as I hate to admit it, I know that such a method would give me a distinct advantage over others. In a world as such, an advantage could mean you keep your life, so I can not reveal this information."
I gave him an honest smile when he said such words before congratulating him, "This is why I like you so much. You are realistic, unlike some others. But knowing that you are realistic, I do wonder, why did you tell me?"
He seemed happy to get such a compliment, and once I asked him another question, his smile got even bigger, "Well, for one you are a part of the reason I was able to have such a discovery. And, well, I already know you would not go around telling others about this for the same reason I would not. Plus, I know your goal, so I'm not scared of you trying to kill me or something silly like that."
Yup, this guy was a realist for sure. He wasn't just some old man focused only on his research. He understands the ways of the world as well. I liked that in a subordinate, because not only did it mean he would make correct decisions, but it also made him easier to control. So control him I would do, "In that case, I think you know why I'm here in the first place. So let's drop the subtlety. Hey, old man, would you like to join my faction?"
He got excited again as he suddenly stood up and declared, "You already know what I will say! So go on, just tell me what my role is gonna be in your immaculate plan. I can not wait to see what you've cooked up. Staying in this place has been interesting for sure, but I have already made my big discovery, so I am done with playing research. I am no scholar. I am not a true researcher either. I am and always have been a fighter. I may be old, but I am ready to get my blood pumping again. Of course, I will miss my teaching duties, but hey, that is just how it goes."
I put my hand up and gave him a confident smile, "Good, I'm glad to hear you are so ready. But I'm going to need you to play researcher for just a little longer. The time isn't right yet, but once it is, you can place hope in me not having you sit back."
He nodded his head, "Good, then go on, tell me. What is it that you'll have me do when the time comes? Better to be prepared than it is to be unprepared."
This was one thing I couldn't avoid, nor did I want to.
So I told him his place in my plan.
The plan that would end with me at the top of this sect.