“It’s a terrible idea.”

Before Red could even speak up, though, Domeron already protested the decision.

Hector didn’t seem too happy at this. “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”

“It’s an opportunity for another sect to poach our talent.” The swordsman shook his head. “Even if Allen is not a consummate genius, he definitely has the potential to become an Inner Disciple of the Crystal Sky Sect. They will do everything they can to recruit him. In fact, I think they only accepted your offer exactly because of that!”

The elder snorted. “I have been instilling the importance of continuing the legacy of our sect to him throughout his whole life. You might think of him as naïve, but if there’s one thing that I am sure of is that he is not ungrateful.”

“It’s not about what he wants to do. If they want to recruit him, there are many ways they can go about it, none of which involves force. You should know yourself how crafty these people are.”

“Of course I do, which is why it’s important that he experiences what those places are like! If he can’t keep from being manipulated by these people, then he can only blame himself!”

Domeron frowned. “This is not a test he can measure up to right now. You are simply throwing him into the den of lions and expecting him to come out on top.”

“That is exactly what he needs!” Hector pointed at Red. “Besides, he will have this kid at his side. If someone knows how to handle these kinds of situations, it’s him!”

The swordsman didn’t say anything and looked over at Red. The youth, however, was still processing what he had just been told.

“Red can’t stay in that place.” Domeron said with a severe expression. “You know that very well.”

“That’s not for you to decide.” Hector looked over at Red. “I know that you have a lot that you want to hide, but you have to understand the kind of opportunity this is. It’s entirely possible you could earn a Parting Sea Pill during your stay with enough contributions - something that I trust you will be able to accomplish with ease.”

This was the first time Hector had ever offered him such genuine compliments, and the youth knew he was speaking the truth about how rare an opportunity this was. However, the major problem was evidently the numerous secrets he had to keep from others, lest he be outed as some kind of threat to humanity.

“I have been able to hide my own abilities because I lived in a rather remote region of the world.” Red said. “If the sect cultivators are as strong as I think they are, I have no confidence in being able to accomplish the same.”

“You won’t be in the sect proper, just one of the subsidiaries in their territory. It won’t be much more different from a common town.”

“I imagine there will still be plenty of strong cultivators there, or am I wrong?”

“You’re not wrong at all.” Domeron interjected. “Even in one of these subsidiary settlements, there will probably be dozens of Lesser Ring Realm cultivators and at least one Outer Sect Elder, who must be at least in the Spirit Core Realm to acquire that kind of position. This is not even mentioning all the hidden experts that might be wandering around. It’s an entirely different world compared to what you know.”

Hector glared at the swordsman before turning his attention back to Red. “You don’t need to worry about your demonic corruption. It’s not uncommon for cultivators to become infected by such forces during their travels, and as long as they are still of sound mind, their sects will provide all the treatment they need to cleanse themselves.”

The youth frowned. “It’s not as simple as that.”

His demonic tendencies were just one of the secrets he wanted to hide, and the elder also seemed unaware of how deep that aspect alone went. He had his curse to worry about too, alongside everything involving it, such as Aurelia and the Moonstone Energy in his veins - and even that wasn’t the biggest risk for the youth. No, the biggest danger was the partial inheritance he carried with him from the trial.

His master was a supreme cultivator of his era and was most known for winning a war against almost all the sects in the world. To this day, these sects probably remembered this affront to their supremacy, so much so that they pretty much wiped any knowledge of this defeat or the one who perpetrated it from the annals of history. To put matters into perspective, even knowledge about the demonic invasions of old could still be found in common history books available to anyone.

The main difference was that the sects won the war against demons, while they lost the war against this rogue cultivator.

This just went to show how much of a stain in their history this conflict against Red’s master was. The spirit hawk told him that if any of these sects knew about his connection to his master, then the youth would most certainly be hunted down without qualms, perhaps even more so than if he committed some horrible atrocity. This, above demons and curses, was one of the main reasons as to why Red would never join a sect or stay near one for extended periods of time.

That and the fact he was strictly prohibited from doing it by the hawk as one of the conditions to become a disciple of his master.

Hector frowned in thought at the youth’s words. “There are… some people I know that can help you hide certain matters where you are going.”

Red was surprised. “You mean spies?”

“Something like that.” The elder nodded. “Some of them are just guest elders from my now-destroyed sects. I have a lot of pull with these people, so they could provide you a lot of cover, even in the territory of the Crystal Sky Sect.”

“Can you trust them?” The youth asked.

“Of course he can’t!” Domeron interjected. “Do you know in what kind of terms he parted ways with some of his old colleagues? While I’m certain that a lot of them would be willing to help, it’s impossible to trust them with such delicate matters. They are more likely to sell you out to their hosts than to risk their hide for you.”

Hector glared at the swordsman, but he didn’t refute his claims.

He looked back at Red. “Listen, what he says is not wrong. However, I can’t stress it enough - this kind of opportunity to cultivate under the protection of a sect, for as limited of a time as it may be, is something that most cultivators would kill for. There are obvious risks, of course, but most of their attention will be placed on Allen because of his talent, leaving you to move as you please. If there’s any possibility that you can hide your peculiarities in that kind of environment, then I advise you to take a chance - not only for our sect, but for your own sake, too.”

Red was silent for a while. “… This is the kind of opportunity Narcha would have liked.”

Hector frowned. “Unfortunately for her, back then there was no compelling reason for me to put my life on the line in exchange for these benefits.”

‘She would probably try to strangle you if she could hear this.’

“… If I go with them, will I still be able to leave?”

Hector nodded. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t. In fact, I imagine that they would be eager to send you and Rimold on your way and leave Allen isolated to make his recruitment easier.”

“Or they could also kill them if they refuse to leave.” Domeron said.

The elder snorted. “For all you can say about the Crystal Sky Sect, they are still the most honorable sect out there.”

The swordsman laughed. “Considering some of the stories you told me, that’s not a very high bar.”

Red was expecting Aurelia to quip in with some observation, but the woman remained silent.

After some thought, the youth came to a decision. “As long as I can leave at any time, I might go and check the situation. If it seems like I can cultivate in that place without problems, then I will consider staying. That is the only thing I can promise you.”

Beyond just hiding his secrets, Red also had matters he wanted to explore after he opened his Spiritual Sea that would make him reluctant to stay in one place for too long. However, just as Hector said, being provided free cultivation resources from a sect was the dream of any cultivator, so Red thought it would be worth to at least ascertain how viable this plan was.

It just so happened that he had a former sect cultivator he could question before he made any final decision, too.

“If you decide that place isn’t suitable, you might as well bring Allen away with you.” Domeron said. “I don’t fancy his chances in that sect by himself, even if Rimold also stays by his side.”

“He will do no such thing!” Hector glared at the swordsman. “I won’t allow it!”

Domeron smiled. “You won’t be there to stop him.”

“You…” The elder looked at Red. “You won’t do that, will you?”

Red frowned. “Unless the situation is dire, then probably not.”

Allen was a powerful and talented cultivator, but he was far too inexperienced for the youth. Dragging him along would instead put Red at risk for what he planned to do in the future, not to mention that he preferred being by himself in the first place.

No one who had gathered as many secrets as Red would ever feel comfortable travelling alongside other people, not even with companions he trusted.

Hector grunted. “Hmm, if that’s the case, then I guess I can’t complain… There is another matter I wanted to ask you about, though.”

“What is it?” Red asked.

“You’re not responsible for what happened with the Moon, are you?”

For a second, Red felt a shiver run up his spine. His expression didn’t change, though, and neither Domeron nor Hector seemed to notice the shock the youth suffered.

The youth stared at the elder with some confusion. “Why do you ask?”

“It just seems strange, is all.” Hector shook his head. “Every time you leave for some quest or mission out of town, something odd happens.”

Domeron frowned. “There is a difference between something odd and an apocalyptic omen, and I don’t think he has the power to cause the latter. Besides, didn’t you tell me the Blood Moon is a natural phenomenon? How could he be involved?”

“I was under the impression it was natural, but upon asking some of former companions, the timeline seems a bit off.” Hector said. “The Blood Moon never had a fixed interval between appearances, but it also never appeared so soon after the last one. It should have taken another one hundred years, at least.”

The swordsman also seemed surprised at this. “They think someone might have caused it to appear this soon?”

“Well, it’s far from a settled matter, but they would be fools to not consider the possibility when it concerns something so dangerous.”

Domeron hesitated. “… Still, you don’t think the kid would have something to do with it, right?”

“I don’t know.” Hector shook his head. “He still hasn’t responded.”

They both looked at the impassive youth. The swordsman still seemed unconvinced, but after the elder’s explanation, he was definitely recalling the strange ritual Red had been undergoing moments before the Moon appeared in the sky. Even if he still might think it was all coincidence, it was impossible that not even a bit of suspicion would arise after learning about this.

‘This isn’t good…’

A few seconds later, Red shook his head. “I didn’t cause it.”

This was the simple truth. He definitely did not cause the phenomenon, but as for if he was involved in it in any way though, that was another matter.

Hector nodded in satisfaction. “I didn’t think so either, but I’m glad to hear it coming from your own mouth.”

The elder spoke as if he could tell Red was telling the truth - which probably wasn’t outside the scope of his abilities. It made the youth glad he chose his words carefully.

Hector waved his hands at him. “Now go take a shower and rest. I want you to be in a presentable state when the Crystal Sky Sect agent comes here tomorrow.”

Being excused out of the meeting, Red got up and returned to his room. Domeron and Hector remained behind, likely discussing even more behind his back. It left the youth wondering whether they believed what he said, or if the swordsman was revealing everything that happened during the trip to Hector. Surprisingly enough, though, Red didn’t feel worried.

It was the trust built over all this time, he supposed, that had finally made its nest in his mind. The youth wasn’t entirely sure if he was comfortable with it.