“Fifth Elder Kazane from the Flowing River Sect has arrived and wishes to meet with the Eastern Breeze Sect’s leader,” Jin declared to a closed wooden gate several times his height.

Jin paused to give the sect time to answer him. He looked at himself before turning around.

Elder Kazane stood behind him with her eyes closed and a placid smile on her face, her snow-white hair swaying with the breeze. Her unblemished robes and spotless shoes drew a sharp contrast with Jin’s dishevelled garb.

Even though he had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, allowing him to unshackle his mortal binds to the ground, he couldn’t be expected to traverse all over the Yuanxi continent without breaking a sweat like Elder Kazane.

“Would Fifth Elder like a foot wash?”

As the solitary assistant representing Elder Kazane’s retinue, he was responsible for preparing food, taking notes, announcing her arrival, dealing with the riff-raff and washing her feet and clothes. This was neither a burden for a Foundation Establishment disciple nor was it disgraceful to do all this for someone of Elder Kazane’s standing. On the contrary, his peers envied him.

“Thank you, martial nephew, but there is no need. You may fix yourself up if you desire.”

Jin nodded in understanding while hiding his disappointment. The male elders and vice elders always accepted his offer to wash their feet even if they were clean, but despite travelling to all the major sects in Yuanxi within three days, Elder Kazane had not once used his cleaning service.

Was he doomed to a life of washing only big, manly feet? He wouldn’t criticize a foot at the Core Crystallization or Nascent Soul stage, for even a man’s foot would look finer than the most beautiful mortal woman’s foot, albeit slightly larger. But Jin was still a man with preferences; the simple memory of cleaning Elder Kazane’s feet could make his future foot washing less unpleasant.

Jin sighed before patting some dust off himself. He took his shoes off and rubbed a wet towel across each foot before tapping the sand out of his shoes. He re-examined himself afterwards and nodded in approval. Now, he wouldn’t bring shame to the Flowing River Sect or Elder Kazane!

Even though they both looked around their mid twenties, Jin was in his early forties and Kazane was supposedly double his age or more although he couldn’t be sure of her exact age. The only thing more dangerous than inquiring the age of a woman was inquiring the age of a woman that could flatten a mountain with her glare.

The large wooden gate opened and a man at the Core Crystallization stage with a purple striped robe walked out and bowed to them.

“The Eastern Breeze Sect welcomes the Fifth Elder Kazane and the Flowing River Sect. Sect Leader has informed me to tell you that the Seer won’t be here for another quarter day. He wishes to inquire whether you would like to wait in our guest house till then or meet with him first.”

Jin gave the man a puzzled look, unsure of what this ‘Seer’ business was about.

Their primary objective was to invite the major Yuanxi sects to partake in the Freezing Desert’s elusive Mirage Cavern that appeared once every few years at a random location within the desert. Jin was too low on the ladder to know the nitty-gritty details, but gossip among the vice elders and their assistants claimed that one of the sect’s elders had deduced the cavern’s next appearance down to the year after spending the past few centuries studying its patterned behavior.

The Mirage Cavern supposedly housed a wealth of treasures, but if anyone at the Nascent Soul cultivation or above attempted to approach it, it would vanish long before they could reach it, as if it hadn’t appeared in the first place. Thus, it became a place for experiential learning for the youths at the Flowing River Sect. Once it spawned, the elders would detect its appearance and send a few disciples of the inner sect to challenge it, and everyone would return with some measure of growth, sometimes in the shape of a treasure, but most often experience or enlightenment.

Why would the elders want to give up their monopoly on it? Jin had no idea.

“You have my appreciation, junior. I have things to discuss with the Sect Leader before the Seer arrives, so I will meet with him first.”

Her soft gaze placed a weight on the Eastern Breeze disciple, but it wasn’t uncomfortable or overbearing. It was gentle and endearing, as if he were an animal with its head being pet or ears being scratched.

“Please follow me,” he said with a sincere smile on his face before turning around and entering the gate.

Jin followed him with Elder Kazane trailing behind him.

This small sect was located on a grassy plain northeast of the Freezing Desert, and in comparison to the other sects Jin had visited, it was the closest one to Ryuga. Its buildings and gate were made from cheap wood, and the nearest mortal settlement was a small village a fortnight’s journey away.

While the sect appeared insignificant, it was common knowledge amongst cultivators that the Eastern Breeze Sect and name came from Dongze, not Yuanxi. Five years ago, the sect leader suddenly migrated to Yuanxi and opened a small branch for the sect at the northern tip of of the continent. Once every year, he would move and rebuild the branch further south than before, and now he was skating alongside the Freezing Desert.

Considering the Eastern Breeze Sect was one of the world’s Great Eight, the Flowing River Sect didn’t have the power to belittle their small branch, especially if their sect leader resided there.

The disciple led them past several dozen cabins to the only three-storey building with some minor decorations that signified its importance. On the way, a group of Foundation Establishment disciples that had been chatting around a table stood up and bowed to them. They didn’t sit back down till Jin and Elder Kazane neared the center cabin’s door.

“That is an elder from the Flowing River Sect? What’s a nobody from a nothing sect doing here?” One of the disciples whispered to the rest, not bothering to speak telepathically.

A second disciple theorized, “She probably wants to borrow our power. Remember what Elder Lin said, ‘The strong is fated to lead the weak.’ We shouldn’t be surprised at every nobody that stops by.”

“You two put her down because she came from a nothing sect. If leader has her join us, we would have a strong and beautiful elder care to our needs,” advertised the third disciple while winking at them, causing the other two to snicker and grin in agreement.

Despite their whispering, Jin heard every word, and he knew they did it on purpose. He took a glance at Elder Kazane who was following behind him, and her face maintained that calm, unperturbed smile with clear eyes, showing no hint or acknowledgment of what she had just heard.

Jin faced forward and increased his pace, venting his anger with every step while maintaining proper decorum. He circulated his Qi and calmed his heart down; Elder Kazane’s stoic attitude only made him angrier at the disrespectful twerps who would belittle her and his sect.

The leading disciple led them up one flight of stairs and paused in front of a curtained entryway.

“Sect Leader, Fifth Elder Kazane is here to meet with you,” he announced with a downcast gaze indicative of junior showing respect.

Jin felt a heavy pressure coming from behind the velvety curtains, similar to Elder Kazane’s except that it felt more overbearing and melancholic. It was difficult for one at the Foundation Establishment stage to gauge the difference between those who had achieved the realm of the Nascent Soul, but Jin gathered that this sect leader’s new soul was more developed and pronounced than the Fifth Elder’s soul.

Since even he could discern the gap between them, then Elder Kazane had no chance of standing against him if things went sour. At least in the other sects, there wasn’t such a clear difference between her and the other sect elders. He had best avoid making any mistakes here, lest Elder Kazane might not be able to save him.

A firm voice echoed out from behind the curtains, “Let her in. And bring the food and drink out now.”

The disciple bowed to the curtains and departed as Jin stood aside to let Elder Kazane enter alone. She walked through the curtains, and shortly after, Jin heard her voice.

“The Flowing River Sect extends their greetings to Sect Leader Heng Chixin.”

“No need for the formalities. You may address me as your brother.”

Jin grimaced at the sect leader’s words from behind the curtain. His command lurked with several implicit undertones naked to the untrained ear. As long as they addressed each other with their sect’s positions, Elder Kazane could maintain an equal status to the sect leader, but if she had to address him differently, she had to make a choice between addressing him as ‘brother’ or ‘senior brother’, putting Elder Kazane in a lose-lose situation.

If she addressed him as a peer, she would be outright stating they were on equal standing which was definitely not true when comparing either their individual strengths or their sect’s influence, and it could also be construed as belittling the hosting sect leader.

If she addressed him as her superior, she would be immediately placing herself and the sect she represented in a weaker position for their future discussions.

She could choose to decline dropping the formalities, but refusing the sect leader’s kind gesture could create a rift between the two sects. This sect leader was truly sly.

“Would Sect Leader Heng prefer ‘Brother’ or ‘Senior Brother’?” Elder Kazane responded.

Jin’s eyebrows shot up at Elder Kazane’s impressive reply. Giving him the decision of which she should use completely resolved Elder Kazane’s conundrum with no risk of backlash.

If he chose the first option, the sect leader would appear magnanimous for placing each of them on equal terms, and Elder Kazane wouldn’t appear disrespectful by going with his choice.

If he chose the latter address, he would appear two-faced concerning his kind gesture, and Elder Kazane’s position as the Flowing River Sect’s representative wouldn’t decrease much for accepting how he wanted to be addressed. From her standpoint, it would just be appealing to the host’s wishes and not lowering herself beneath them voluntarily.

Jin could imagine her undisturbed smile through the curtains.

Twenty seconds passed in silence as Jin felt the overbearing aura from behind the curtain grow heavier. All of a sudden, a loud booming noise resounded through the hallway.

“HA HA HA HA HA HA.”

The laughter continued for half a minute before the elder could stifle it.

“Smart girl. I hope my daughter can be like you in the future. Since you’re leaving it in my hands, call me ‘little brother’. After all, I am still a spring chicken!”

Jin was surprised by the situation’s reversal, but he was glad to see not everyone in the sect was condescending towards them.

“Ahem…as you wish. Martial nephew, prepare some fruit for ‘little brother’ and I.” For the first time ever, Jin could hear a hint of irritation in Elder Kazane’s voice, but he couldn’t fathom why. To be addressing one of the Great Eight’s leaders as ‘little brother’ was definitely something to be happy about.

“Right away, elder.”

Jin parted the curtains and walked into the room to prepare the fruit in front of their eyes. Elder Kazane had already explained to him that viewing the fruits’ preparation often increased the viewers’ appetite and anticipation for it, and they had done it at the other sects they had visited, receiving exceptional acclaim.

Jin walked into a large, yet simple room with one open window and two torches hanging on the sides. On the center of the floor was a circular mat too small for more than one person to sit on. Elder Kazane stood to the left of the mat, staring at the man opposite of her with a pained smile.

Jin immediately understood why Elder Kazane was disgruntled.

Sect Leader Heng Chixin was a little taller than her with a bald head and a greying beard. His physical appearance was around fifty or sixty years of age, but if you considered his current cultivation, his actual age was likely between two and four centuries.

Spring chicken my ass! Did you already pass summer, fall and winter, all the way to next spring?