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Chapter 256: Monsoon’s Provocation
🕑 Added 2023-08-10 17:36:01 +0000 UTC“The pleasure is all mine, Sophina,” Monsoon replied, standing in the skies above her estate. “I just heard you’ve gotten a new batch of million-leaf tea. I couldn’t stop myself from coming to get a taste!”
“Of course, a pot of million-leaf tea is nothing before such a distinguished guest,” she replied diplomatically, not inviting him to her manor. “However, I am not used to Elder Monsoon visiting me for such a trivial matter. Is there something else, too?”
Monsoon smirked. He raised both open palms and said, “Ah, you got me. There is another reason, of course, but nothing too important.”
He was a charismatic man, Monsoon. He displayed confidence and assertion, joking around with Sophina like they were alone instead of watched by hundreds of eyes. He seemed almost perfect—if not for the clear malice hidden in his sudden arrival. After all, Monsoon and Sophina were opponents for the Grand Elder position; there had to be a reason for this sketch.
“And what could that be, Monsoon?” Sophina asked, clearly not willing to play the other elder’s game. “For it to coincide with Elder Mahadaji’s visit, it can’t anything too small.”
“Oh, just a coincidence. If I knew Elder Mahadaji would be present, I would have brought that gift I owe him as well.”
The scholarly man dressed in white and black nodded. While he was positioned next to Sophina, as a guest should, he didn’t seem inclined to participate in this discussion.
“Jack!” A voice came from the side. Turning, Jack found Auburn flying beside him, her auburn robes and hair fluttering in the wind. “Shit! This is bad!”
“How so?” he asked, eager to know more.
“Well, that’s elder Monsoon, and that man over there is his head disciple, Qian. If they came here together, they probably want to cause trouble and force a duel between Qian and brother Shol…” She bit her lip.
Jack, however, wasn’t convinced. “If forcing a duel was so easy, why haven’t they done it already?”
“I don’t know…but there has to be a reason. Maybe Monsoon has a new card up his sleeve.”
“Hmm. What about that other man? Elder Mahadaji?”
“He’s one of the neutral elders, but he has some clout. Sophina and Monsoon have both been trying to swing him over. Since Monsoon chose to arrive while Mahadaji was here, too, he probably plans to use him to put extra pressure on our master. After all, refusing a duel in front of Mahadaji will certainly make him see Master Sophina as…the least favorable candidate to support.”
“I see.” Jack’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the sky. “In any case, there is nothing we can do. Let’s just wait and see.”
“Yes.”
Up there, Monsoon suddenly smiled as he spread both hands apart. “I heard some wonderful news the other day, Sophina. You took in a brilliant disciple—someone who can jump a tier to defeat other personal disciples.”
Every immortal at low altitude turned to look at Jack. He wanted to curse. His words just now, that there was nothing he could do, had been tossed back at his face.
“Indeed,” Sophina responded, showing the rare smile. “Jack is a talented young cultivator. If nothing goes wrong, I trust he will be a great asset to our faction in a few centuries.”
“Talented youth is always nice to have,” Monsoon agreed, nodding. “I only hope the price was worth it.”
Instantly, whispers spread amongst the immortals. Even Elder Mahadaji glanced at Jack from up high, somehow discovering him in an instant.
Sophina’s face remained relaxed. “The price?”
“The price,” Monsoon confirmed. “I heard that you made a promise to this disciple when recruiting him. That you would use the Exploding Sun’s resources to poach his recently Integrated planet from under the Animal Kingdom’s nose.”
More whispers. Elder Mahadaji raised his brows. “Is that true, Sophina?”
Jack bit back another curse. This was supposed to be a secret—after all, planet poaching relied on the enemy not expecting it. Monsoon, however, not only knew about this, but he also chose to publicize it.
Of the many thoughts that raced inside Jack’s head, one rose above the others: Shit.
“It is true,” Sophina replied without the slightest hesitation. “May I ask how you heard about this, Monsoon? Such matters are supposed to be secret. Making them public is unexpectedly unwise of you.”
“I am simply looking out for my faction’s interests, Sophina. In fact, that’s why I came directly to you; if I told the other elders of your willingness to risk the delicate balance between our faction and the Animal Kingdom, just to recruit a promising disciple for yourself before the Elder Assembly, they wouldn’t take it too well, would they?”
“You accuse me of risking the faction to help myself,” Sophina said sharply, dropping the pretense cordiality. “Is that right, Monsoon?”
“Yes,” he replied simply, staring at her in challenge.
“You know I would never do that. Jack is not a boon to me—his recruitment was to the benefit of our entire faction, an investment in our future. Compared to his talent, which you already admitted yourself, one more conflict against the Kingdom is nothing.”
“Those are strong words, but of little essence. Does our faction not have enough disciples? Do we not possess young talent? What about all the immortals floating below us, your treasured personal disciples? Do you not believe in them? Is our faction’s talent so low that we need to recruit high-cost outsiders?”
Monsoon’s words were now striking deep. However, she replied with grace and ease.
“You can exaggerate, Monsoon, but you cannot change the truth. Is it not common for our faction to recruit outsiders? To pad our forces with the talented youth of this and other constellations? We do not lack in talent, but only a fool would miss the opportunity to make themselves even stronger.”
“We may not lack talent, but what about resources? The more disciples you accept, the less you can assist each of them. Every Dao treasure he consumes is one that your other disciples will not.”
“What are you trying to say? That I should limit my number of disciples?”
“That would be wise, too, but it is not my point. I am simply saying that one disciple, no matter how talented, is not worth the price you promised. Inter-faction relations are far more important than someone who will probably never reach the C-Grade. By recruiting this man for your own benefit, you want to waste years of the Elder Assembly’s efforts.”
“Hmph!” Sophina’s snort echoed across the sky, accompanied by the subtle release of her aura. Jack felt a wave of heat pass over his body, making him sweat, along with a colossal presence pressing down on his head. Sophina’s aura wasn’t the slightest bit lacking compared to Monsoon’s. Neither was her temper.
“Is your young brain filled with rot?” she asked. “Or are you really that naive? Do you think anyone here will fall for strongly-worded fallacies? I have served the faction for seven millennia, never betraying it in the slightest, and I do not intend to start now. Since I recruited Jack, I naturally believe the benefits outweigh the costs. How can you come here, possessing far less information than me, and claim that my decision was wrong? How dare you insinuate that I would harm the faction for my personal benefit!”
The air was billowing and heated, like everyone was placed inside an oven. Monsoon raised his hands, and an invisible Dao bubble was formed around himself and his head disciple, protecting them from Sophina’s wrath.
“Pace yourself, Sophina,” he said without the slightest crease in his frowns. His smile remained friendly. “I am not here to accuse you, only to ask you whether the things I heard were true.”
“Hmph.” With a second snort, her aura disappeared like it had never been there. She’d made her point. “Spare me the acting, Monsoon. Just get to the point.”
“Very well. As I said, I am here to take a good look at this disciple of yours, so I can ascertain whether his talent is as great as you make it to be. Could he rise so we can all see him?”
Jack did not move. He glanced at Sophina, who met his eyes and nodded. “Fly higher, Jack Rust,” she commanded, and he obliged.
As he rose, he met Auburn’s worried eyes, as well as the eyes of all surrounding immortals, some of whom he’d never met before. Many held accusation in their gazes—others, curiosity, and a few more, amusement.
When he finally reached an altitude close to that of the two elders, he flew behind and below Shol, who was behind and below Sophina. He had no idea if this was the right etiquette, but it felt appropriate. He also positioned himself low enough that Elder Monsoon had a clear view.
“Say nothing about the ninth ring,” Shol’s voice rang in Jack’s mind. “I will explain the reason later. For now, just stay quiet.”
Jack did not reply, remembering how the planetary overseer had demonstrated the ability to spy on his telepathic conversations. If she could do it, so could Elder Monsoon.
Instantly, the eyes of both Elder Monsoon and Elder Mahadaji landed on him, inspecting him thoroughly. He felt naked and vulnerable. It took all of his concentration to keep his face calm, pretending to feel nothing.
“Interesting,” Monsoon spoke up. “A perfect foundation… You don’t see that often. What ring of Trial Planet did you reach?”
Jack tried to reply. “Honored Elder, I reached the eighth—”
“Silence, disciple!” Qian, the head disciple of Monsoon, who’d remained quiet up to now, berated him. “You will not speak before the elders.”
Jack held his tongue. He’d just been asked a direct question. What was he supposed to do, ignore Monsoon?
Asshole.
In any case, he understood that this was not his field. He looked to Shol and Sophina for guidance.
“He reached the eighth ring,” Sophina replied in Jack’s stead.
“Decent. However, a good foundation doesn’t guarantee success. I believe a direct demonstration would be more convincing—how about we let Jack prove his prowess by sparring against my disciple, Qian?”
And there it was.
The other shoe had finally dropped, and Jack could see the core of Monsoon’s ploy. If he and this peak D-Grade guy sparred, it wouldn’t even be a demonstration. Jack would lose instantly, which was obviously the expected result, but it would give Monsoon the grounds to keep pressing the issue. Most importantly, it would be humiliating for Elder Sophina to submit her own disciple to a beating just because Monsoon asked her to.
On the other hand, if she declined this duel, he would have grounds to ask for other things. Somehow, he would reach the point of Qian challenging Shol, and that would be the end of things.
Not to mention that Elder Mahadaji, an important person, was present.
