…but the collision never occurred.

A feeling of weightlessness prompted Kenja to open his eyes.

Two centimeters from the tip of his nose, an open palm had appeared between his face and the ground, halting his downward momentum.

The hand waved upwards toward him, Kenja’s body moving with it until he was standing once more, the dizziness vanishing imperceptibly, his arms and legs no longer limp.

A man whose bald head barely reached Kenja’s belly button stood in front of him, smiling up at him.

Kenja clasped his hands and greeted him, “Disciple has seen Fourth Elder.”

“What a coincidence running into you again, girl. One really cannot tell how fate ties two people together,” he replied while tugging his beard hairs down in a sage-like manner.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, you shameless old goat!”

A torrent of water poured onto the posturing Fourth Elder, soaking him from head to toe.

Kenja looked at the source of the sound and found the tall elder with a thin moustache scowling in the short elder’s direction.

In front of him stood the Third Elder who had retreated away from Kenja at some point.

He was currently wrapped in vines growing from the grass below his feet. Red and white flowers bloomed from his thick mutton chop.

Steam came off Fourth Elder Ariyoshi Miji as he instantly vaporized the water drenching his body. Paying his rival no mind, he addressed Third Elder Kondo, “What’s the meaning of this? Bullying my little niece—”

“Our niece,” Sixth Elder Gao Diao corrected him. He was annoyed that he could not personally rescue Kenja, but beating Ariyoshi Miji in a footrace was not something he could accomplish in this lifetime.

“—We won’t stand and watch anyone punish an innocent disciple, even if it’s you, Third Brother,” Ariyoshi Miji added additional flowery rhetoric in hopes of appearing noble and honorable to Kenja and the rest of the sect.

“Who’s bullying whom? You two interrupted our acknowledgment ceremony! We have already exchanged offerings, and now she only needs to kneel.”

Smoke rose from the vines restraining his body as they ignited and burned to ash.

“Now move away, so that Little Hikaru can complete the ritual,” he called Kenja by his fake given name to create the illusion of intimacy in front of the other elders.

It took only seconds of stunned silence for them to understand the situation. Both faces of the Fourth and Sixth Elder darkened, simultaneously sending Elder Kondo a cold glare.

He had failed to undo the Soul Oath placed on Matsushita Hizumi, so his next best idea was to become Kenja’s master.

After becoming Elder Kondo’s second disciple, Kenja would also become the junior sister disciple of Matsushita Hizumi, naturally reconfiguring their relationship.

If that was insufficient, Elder Kondo could also command Kenja to release the Soul Oath since disciples must accept their master’s instructions.

“Impressive. You can throw away your dignity so easily while keeping a straight face.”

“Che, this isn’t what we agreed upon, Third Brother.”

A formal acknowledgment ritual involved several details that were often considered necessary.

Similar to when two got married, the ritual needed witnesses to recognize the legitimacy of the new master-disciple relationship—the more, the better.

While it was not a mandatory step to complete during the ritual’s process, the future master and disciple would exchange personal gifts as commemorative tokens of this day.

Similar to how a dowry and betrothal gift were used to showcase the extent each party in a marriage valued the other person, the quality or sentimentality of these personal gifts would demonstrate each party’s sincerity.

Finally, the ritual would culminate in the disciple kneeling or kowtowing to the master they wish to worship, and the master approving their offer of reverence with a nod and official acknowledgment of their new relationship.

Even though their conversation was blocked from prying ears, Elder Kondo had the whole sect watching. After tricking Kenja into handing his own sword over and holding the sword Elder Kondo had crafted, all he had left to do was make Kenja‘s forehead touch the ground.

By that point, very few could do anything to refute him.

With so many witnesses and an elder’s word, even if the other elders did not believe him, the circumstances would be out of their hands. Hirai Hikaru’s reputation would be tarnished if she claimed otherwise, eternally besmirched as an ungrateful and unfilial disciple that immediately renounced her master shortly after worshipping under him.

“Little Hikaru wishes to study my craft. I hope my brothers can congratulate me for finding another good seed.”

It was true.

With this performance, Elder Kondo’s first and main goal was to undo his primary disciple’s Soul Oath.

If Kenja were a mere servant or outer sect disciple, or just a new inner sect disciple, he would not resort to such drastic deception. But because Kenja was a disciple of another elder, it was inappropriate to interfere with a fellow elder’s disciple too much unless Kenja became his disciple as well.

He had more than one reason for coercing Kenja under his tutelage.

Kenja was not just any elder’s disciple. He was Elder Kazane’s disciple.

If Kenja became his disciple in weapons and smithing, a link would naturally form between the two masters that could bring them closer together.

They could meet to discuss Little Hikaru’s progress and chat about her advancements.

He could inquire of Kenja for bits of information regarding Elder Kazane, such as her likes and dislikes, her dreams, and maybe what she desired in a man.

Perhaps he could recruit Kenja’s assistance in his plot to capture Elder Kazane’s heart.

He could definitely shave a decade or two off his century-long plan to romance Elder Kazane!

And most unexpectedly, Kenja demonstrated the traits of a potentially good seed for one embarking on the path of weapons.

He was loyal to his sword despite its horrendous status and appearance, treating it like a person rather than a tool.

Moreover, his strength was unusual.

Kenja could hold up Elder Kondo’s sword without circulating any Qi.

This was not a feat any regular little boy at the Qi Flourishing stage could handle, and it was usually those with natural talent or a deep foundation that could do such a thing.

As for a girl, at least in Elder Kondo’s many years of life, he had yet to see a display of such strength at such a weak cultivation without utilising Qi.

Females proficient in the Dao of Weapons or in smithing were a small fraction compared to the males. Being the master of such a woman in the future would bring him great pride and boundless fame.

The more he interacted with Kenja, the more convinced he was that accepting her as his second disciple would not end in a loss.

“Third Brother has been spending too much time with Sixth Brother. Now, I can’t tell which of you is more like a weasel.” Fourth Elder Ariyoshi Miji leaned down to take off his shoes, spending several seconds wiggling his bare toes.

Sixth Elder Gao Diao took out several bags and tossed them to Shimizu Mizutani before unfastening his sleeves. “Che, the goat’s speech might lack in eloquence, but he has a point. I did not know Third Brother could be so sly.”

Shimizu Mizutani passed an order to several disciples who made the remaining disciples withdraw several dozen meters backwards.

Third Elder Kondo saw that things were getting serious, so he put on a pair of black, leathery gloves before taking out the largest sledgehammer Kenja had ever seen from a storage bag and standing it vertically beside him, causing a small tremor underneath their feet.

The handle’s length exceeded Elder Kondo who was already several heads taller than Kenja, and the size of its head was bigger than the entirety of Fourth Elder Ariyoshi Miji.

He refused to confess to their accusations, “This old man has always been open and aboveboard, but since my brothers are eager, I will oblige. It’s been several years since we last sparred, hasn’t it? Who wishes to go first?”

Fourth and Sixth Elder exchanged a quiet glance before snorting.

“Che, no need for turns.”

“Yes. The winner takes the prize.”

Third Elder Kondo nodded to show he understood their meaning. “Agreed.”

…

With very little warning, the elders had adopted battle stances. The other disciples had retreated far away while Kenja was still standing behind the Fourth Elder stunned.

“Senior sister.”

Kenja turned his attention away from the impending war to see Aracha had approached him seemingly unaffected by the current situation.

“…Sister Aracha, it’s good to see you again,” he greeted with a smile.

Aracha was momentarily taken aback that Kenja had remembered her name.

Even though she was the Second Elder’s assistant, the entire sect knew she was just a glorified tea girl.

She was not an elder’s disciple.

She was not an inner sect disciple.

In fact, it was the First Elder who promoted her to the outer sect because she was an eyesore. A tea servant did not have the qualifications to accompany an elder for an extended period of time.

Because of her special status, she was often ignored by the inner sect and despised by the outer sect and servants.

Although her first interaction with Kenja several days ago was a pleasant one, Kenja had been a newcomer seeking information from her, unfamiliar with everything in the sect. She did not expect the same treatment once he had become more accustomed to the social intricacies of the sect, especially from such a high profile sister.

With a hopeful smile, she gestured to the side, “Second Elder invites senior sister to join him for a cup of tea.”

Kenja saw a bald man sitting at a smaller table much further away than the previous table situated in front of his cave.

Without the water barrier distorting his vision, he could see the man was riddled with scars and burns all over his face. His large build seated next to the table with two cups and a teapot on its surface resembled an adult waiting patiently for a kid’s tea party to begin.

“I understand. Just let me retrieve my sword first,” he spoke in a soft voice, hoping his volume did not interfere with the three elders’ standoff.

When he turned his head back to Sakura who had been abandoned on the ground during Elder Kondo’s defensive retreat from the Sixth Elder’s attack, Kenja was surprised by what he saw.

A green vine had wrapped itself around the blade and grew all the way to Kenja, placing Sakura gently into his hand before retreating into the Sixth Elder’s sleeve.

“Don’t forget your sword, little niece, che che che,” he chuckled while pretending he had not heard Kenja whispering a moment ago. Earlier, he felt the Fourth Elder had pulled ahead of him, so he was eager for the opportunity to shine in front of this potential disciple.

Kenja bowed while holding Sakura horizontally with both hands. “Disciple has seen Sixth Elder. Many thanks to Sixth Elder.”

The other two elders grumbled, the Fourth Elder because he did not react quickly enough to retrieve the sword, the Third Elder because his previous efforts had been undone.

“Little niece’s grace and conduct is ex-che-eded only by her beauty.” His sly smile, wily eyes and thin moustache gave the other two elders an impression of a weasel trying its best to appeal to a little girl as a lovable pet.

Kenja’s face blackened from the compliment. His eyes squinted eerily, and his jaws clenched forming a near-indiscernible frown. His aura instantly became frosty.

The three elders were taken aback by this sudden change in aura around Kenja, especially the Sixth Elder who had no idea what he had said to cause this extreme transformation.

While resheathing Sakura, Kenja responded calmly, “Sixth Elder praises excessively. Disciple will now take her leave to report to Second Elder.”

He bowed to the three elders and motioned for Aracha to lead the way.

She sensed a change in Kenja’s temperament but could not grasp what it was or what had caused the change.

Since Kenja was still polite, even with his chilling departure, the three elders did not dwell too long on the matter.

If their many years had taught them anything concerning women, it was the futility in trying to understand them completely.

Thus, they returned their attention to one another.

…

“Hahahahaha, you’re beautiful, disciple! Did ya hear that? Beautiful!! Hahahahahahaha…”

Snail’s laughter continued echoing in Kenja’s ear all the way to the Second Elder’s table.

Kenja secretly plotted the many ways he could torture Snail once they were alone, but for now, he required Snail’s assistance to maintain his disguise and female voice.

Sprinkle salt on him.

Or maybe bury him alive.

“I really must thank that weasel elder. If it weren’t for him, I would never have known you could pull off the ice queen look, disciple. I almost thought you were someone else.”

Bury him alive in a mountain of salt!

Cook him in boiling salt water!!

Aracha and Kenja reached the table where Second Elder Inazuma was seated.

Approaching the Second Elder, Kenja saw many more burns covering the elder’s face and hands than he examined earlier, including a burn patch completely covering one of his eyes.

“Disciple Hirai Hikaru has seen Second Elder,” Kenja greeted another elder for the fourth time today.

He did not expect to meet so many members of the sect’s leadership in such a short time span.

From what he learned about the sect and cultivators in general, the higher one’s status and cultivation, the more detached and distant they would be from the young and inexperienced disciples.

It seemed those stories were a bit exaggerated.

The Second Elder returned an amiable smile and waved him off, “Forget all that. Come, sit. Aracha, tea.”

With little warning, the makeshift chair moved on its own and picked up Kenja before scooting him to the table.

Aracha walked to the table and poured tea into the two cups, placing them in front of Kenja and Elder Inazuma.

Kenja was a bit unsettled by the elder’s abrupt treatment, but he did not ask any questions.

Staring at the cup of hot tea, the pleasant aroma from several days ago wafted across his nose. His recently strenuous cultivation experience worked together with the memory of the tea’s heavenly taste to stir his appetite.

Watching the three elders face-off against one another in the distance, he picked up the cup and took a sip…

…except as the hot tea neared his lips, it vanished just out of reach.

Snail!!!