"You seem to have your own problems too, little boy…" The veiled woman said with a reproachful voice. She was willing to ignore Ruvan's affairs as long as he agreed to become her apprentice.
"That's completely true... I think it's not something difficult for someone with the senior's experience to see" Ruvan admitted calmly.
"And you don't want to keep it to yourself?" The veiled woman asked curiously.
"Of course… However, I have no problem sharing my circumstances with people I trust"
"It seems illogical to me to have a master that I cannot trust unless my master was an Evil Cultivator. Is the eldest an Evil Cultivator?" Ruvan asked with interest.
"Of course not little boy… If I were an Evil Cultivator I would have already kidnapped you without asking your opinion on the matter" The woman responded with her eyebrow raised. It was not pleasant to be mistaken for an Evil Cultivator. It could even be considered as a kind of insult.
"That's a good thing hahaha"
"So, the eldest is willing to be a little more honest with me?" Ruvan insisted with an innocent smile.
'This little bastard is more cunning than I imagined' The woman cursed internally before sighing and starting to blurt out a bit of information.
"Okay… My name is Xiong Mei and I am the current Matriarch of the Thousand Desires Sect" The woman said as she introduced herself.
"I keep my face hidden due to an injury I suffered many years ago…" Xiong Mei said with a cold tone but one that revealed a multitude of emotions.
"Well, it would be rude if I didn't introduce myself."
"My name is Ruvan Svarnas and I am an exiled member of the Svarnas Family of the Vylas Empire" Ruvan said with a smile.
"The Svarnas family of the Vylas Empire ehh"
"You are surely quite far from your home" Xiong Mei said with some surprise. The Vylas Empire was a powerful empire that was located in the central seas. It was a super power quite well known even in regions as far away as where Xiong Mei came from.
"It can be said that some members of my family did not willingly accept my exile so it was decided to send me to a place far enough away to avoid problems" Ruvan said with a wry smile.
"You sure made a big deal out of it to end up being exiled to a place as remote as this" Xiong Mei said with some interest.
"I'm sure I did…hahaha" Ruvan said without delving much into the matter after all it was not something he considered relevant at this moment.
"And may I know what made the Matriarch of the Thousand Desires Sect interested in me to become her disciple?" Ruvan asked.
Xiong Mei realized that Ruvan evaded her question but she didn't pay attention to it after all, the simple fact of revealing their identities cleared up many doubts. Furthermore, if she wanted to. She could investigate and discover the truth of the matter.
"I think you've realized that your body is something special. I imagine even your family members must have noticed something when you were born?" Xiong Mei said.
"Mm that's right… The elders of my family said that I was born with some variant of Yang body but they were never able to identify it" Ruvan admitted honestly. He was even quite surprised that the woman brought up the subject of his body.
"And I imagine that not only was that particular to you… Certain behaviors and attitudes must have been as well."
"Like having shown promiscuity from a very early age"
"That's right…" Ruvan confirmed as he remembered how his premature promiscuity had caused him countless problems within his family.
"I must also assume that the rich yang energy resources your family fed you did not seem to produce the same results as they did in other young people in your family?"
Ruvan's eyes widened. This woman standing in front of him had just described his condition perfectly. Ruvan always had trouble raising his cultivation level despite training much harder than the rest. No matter what resource his grandfather fed him, the benefits seemed to evaporate to the point that some members of his Family considered it a waste of resources.
Only his abnormal combat talent saved him from being discarded by his family. It was this combat prowess that made his grandfather set his sights on him, taking him as his personal disciple despite the complaints of the other family members.
"Miss Xiong knows what kind of physique I possess?" Ruvan asked seriously.
"That's right"
"However, I cannot tell you unless you accept my condition of becoming my disciple…"
"I'm not doing it to force you, but because this is too sensitive information from the Sect to which I belong."
"I cannot allow this information to come to light under any circumstances" Xiong Mei said seriously.
"I see…" Ruvan said as he took some time to think about it. At no point did he get angry at Xiong Mei for her cautious attitude after all she represented the interests of her Sect as the current Great Matriarch.
Xiong Mei waited patiently for Ruvan's decision, however the words that came out of Ruvan's mouth ended up surprising her.
"May I know what you expect from me as your disciple?"
"And of course what can I expect from you as my Master?" Ruvan asked seriously.
Xiong Mei couldn't help but be moved by Ruvan's words. Eleven out of ten people would have accepted her proposal with the simple fact of discovering her identity as Matriarch of one of the greatest powers in the Middle East region, but Ruvan It did the opposite of what she expected.
His questions were evidence that he truly intended to take her as his Master at heart beyond the benefits he could obtain from having her as his sponsor.
Xiong Mei took a deep breath for a few moments before opening her mouth.
"As my disciple I hope you can help me in my revenge against certain powerful cultivators who betrayed and injured me leaving me in my current condition"
"I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that it will be easy after all some of the strongest experts in the region are on my revenge list…"
"Now as your Master you can expect all my support and guidance during your path as a Dual Cultivator… Although I will not be able to be your Master in the light of day, I promise to be your Master from the shadows."
"I promise to protect you from all those who want to harm you… That also includes your family members."
"Your enemies will be my enemies and my enemies will be yours…"
Ruvan nodded his head and after a few seconds he finally made his decision while bowing respectfully.
"Disciple Ruvan greets the Master"
Ruvan had always been a rebellious and troublesome young man wherever he went, but at this moment he had transformed into the diligent and respectful young man who was honoring his new Master. The experiences he had lived from a young age had molded him into a much more mature and wise young man.
If there was something that Ruvan had learned to value since his exile, it was honesty and above all loyalty. Since his exile he had experienced all kinds of betrayals and lies from many people. Some of them were even people he had considered 'close'.
He had become very good at reading people and his instinct told him that the woman in front of him was someone worth trusting.
It was evident that she was just like him and had experienced firsthand the feeling of betrayal. In that sense, they were both two fearful souls who were giving each other the opportunity to trust again despite past traumas.
"Master accepts your bow," Xiong Mei said with a smile behind her veil.