"Cough, cough... I didn't know he was your father. Sorry if I offended you."
The man shook his head.
"There is no need to apologize. I'm just an old man who likes to cook, that's all."
Krune then thought about something.
"Oh, right! I understand that Tulike somehow trusts me, but why would his mother? Could it be that it has something to do with senior being a Spiritual Chef too?"
The old man's brown raised a little.
"Why you say that?"
Krune then explained.
"Well, as a Spiritual Chef myself, I can see a lot of the other chefs' personalities through their dishes. That's not something that only I can do either. Most of the Spiritual Chefs I interacted with, especially the one who showed me this path, could also more or less do it."
The old man smiled.
"The Spiritual Chefs' most important trait, the love for food. This is the absolute requirement to become one. Obviously, we all can more or less judge a character through their cooking skills."
Krune nodded.
"Tulike didn't always eat in my restaurant. Sometimes he would be in a hurry, so I would make Spiritual Food for him to bring it with him. I guess he brought some of it to senior, right?"
The man laughed out loud and didn't try to deny it.
"You got me. Indeed, way before Tulike found about your employee's bloodline, I had the chance of trying your food. That's why I told him that you could be trusted. I can see this much in the way you prepared the food and the care for those who eat it. Such a person would never betray his friends. So it was indeed me who told Franlia to let you off the hook."
"However, the thing about the Earth Dragon Bloodline is outside my reach. You will need to see if you can convince her by yourself. Well, you could say that you are already quite lucky that you even have a chance to talk with Franlia. It's hard for others to get an audience with her in times of peace, let alone during the war."
Krune nodded once more and bowed to thank the man.
"By the way, how should I call you, senior?"
"You can simply call me Rag. I have no status in the Sect, and only a handful knows about my existence to start with. I'm somewhat accomplished in cultivation, but I'm far from being a match to my wife. Hahaha!"
Tulike shrugged his shoulder after that.
"Well, that's basically the truth. The one who really liked you was my father. After all, I know nothing about Spiritual Food other than eating it. However, I trust my father's judgment, so I really consider you a friend."
Krune talked with Tulike and Rag for some time before Rag returned to the kitchen. Krune had nothing to do, so he also accompanied Rag there, and they began to talk about their food ideas. Rag was a lot better at cooking Spiritual Food. After all, his rank was several times higher than Krune. Still, Rag was quite pleased with Krune's ingenuity. Without a doubt, Krune and Rag were having quite some fun during their talk.
As for Tulike, he went somewhere else since he couldn't really understand much about Spiritual Food. It was better to leave those two foodies alone.
Time passed in a flash, and without Krune or Rag noticing, night time came. It was then that Tulike entered the kitchen with a woman. However, neither Krune nor Rag saw the two coming inside. At that moment, they were looking at the food on a pan. Rag was concentrated in the harmonization time as Krune didn't lose a single detail. That was an idea that popped out while they were talking.
Only a few minutes later did Rag finally finish the dish. It was also at that moment that the two of them noticed Tulike and the woman. Krune didn't need to think much to understand who she was.
"Hello, senior, my name is Krune. Thanks for not locking me up as well."
The woman was obviously Franlia Katuas, the Sect Master of the Sky Shifting Sect.
"I only did that because Tulike and my husband vouched for you. Also, I believe you should know, everyone thinks I'm single. Don't go around opening your mouth. Well, no one would believe you anyway, but just in case."
Krune nodded.
"I wouldn't dare. The reason I came by was so that I could ask Sect Master to release my two employees. Nina and Lino might have Agaran's bloodline, but they didn't even know about that until the day they were caught. During the time Nina was below the Core Formation Realm, I used a blood contract on her, so I can guarantee that she isn't lying."
Franlia looked at Tulike and Rag with a weird expression.
"Didn't you tell him about that?"
Tulike shrugged his shoulder before saying.
"I thought it would be better for mother to be here too. I would give more credibility."
Krune was confused. He had no idea what they were talking about.
Franlia sighed in the end.
"I don't know this food character relation that my husband talked about. If it was me, I would just have killed you and your employees before locking those siblings. However, Rag kept nagging me about it, so I decided to take his word. Consider yourself lucky."
"As for releasing Nina and Lino, that won't happen. You didn't need to use a Blood Contract to see if your employee had talked the truth or not. I'm 100% sure that she didn't lie to you.
Krune was taken aback.
"Then, why? Is it so that you can use them as hostages?"
Franlia heard that and laughed out loud.
"Hostage? Although Nina and Lino will have some uses, being hostages is the last of them. The Three Peaks Sect wouldn't give a damn whether they were captured or not. Why do you think it is?"
Krune pondered a bit before saying.
"The number of descendants. Their Sect Master got his wife thousands of years ago. Without a doubt, descendants are what he lacks the least. Am I correct?"
Franlia smiled as she nodded her head.
"It's good that you understand. That being said, why do you think Nina and Lino appeared somewhere remote like Immai City, which is so far away from their Sect?"
Krune could think about a single possibility.
"I see... So it was really on purpose. Could it be some type of training?"
Franlia confirmed.
"Smart! That's how the descendants that don't have much talent are trained. It's not only the Sect Master's descendants, a lot of the Three Peaks Sect Elders like to do the same thing. The kid's memories are sealed, and they are sent to several different corners of the planet. This is also done while they are very young, usually between three to eight years old. It depends a lot on their parents' mood."
"Once alone, they will need to struggle to survive. If they die in the process, it means they were too weak or unlucky. Since they didn't have any worth talent to start with, it doesn't matter if they are gone. However, if they win over the adversities and rise above the others, they will be called back into the Sect. At least, they proved that they were strong enough to be considered a real descendant of the Sect Master."
Krune understood where she was coming from.
"So as to say, that Seal on their memories will be released once they reach a certain level of cultivation. Is that what you mean?"
"Correct. Usually, it happens when they reach the Divine Path Realm. All the sealed memories will come out. There is also the case of the children who didn't have any memories before being sent away. Together with this Seal, there is a set of memories that will be released into their Divine Senses and enter their souls at that cultivation level. So even if they didn't know about the Three Peaks Sect, they would still understand that they are part of them."
Krune couldn't help but ask.
"What about their own decision? Would they simply go back to the Three Peaks Sect just because they found out from where they came? By that time, they would already have formed their own character and opinions, right?"
Tulike scratched the back of his head as he explained that part.
"Unfortunately, it isn't that simple. That set of memories left behind on the Seal will take priority over the owners' memories. It won't wipe them out, but those descendants will instead think that they simply went through a test. After that, unless their previous memories were really important to them, they will simply go back to the Three Peaks Sect. Also, in case such memories were really that important, chances are that those descendants will try to bring it all back to the Sect with them."
Krune narrowed his eyes after hearing that. He knew why this Seal was so effective. That was because it was set while the descendants were only babies. They had no real 'will' at that point, so it was easy to force the Seal onto them. It then became a time bomb, just waiting for the right time.
If they never reach the Divine Path Realm, they could live a normal life in case they don't die. However, with the help Krune gave Nina and Lino, they will definitely reach that Realm sooner or later.
Krune came back to himself and then asked what really mattered.
"Is there a way to get rid of that Seal?"
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