"First, I'd like to raise a toast for our fallen comrades who had sacrificed their lives to give us and the city a better future. For Gustavo, Gil, Bruno, Luis…" The mayor counted the names of the fallen one by one.
"For the fallen!" Everyone raised their wine and drank.
"Brother Ken, I see you can handle your liquor," Elodie sat down next to Ken and complimented when she saw him drink.
"Alcohol is bad for my growth and development, I destroy it with my Alchemical Qi while it's still in my mouth," Ken shrugged. He treated it the same way he treated other poisons as he did not want to get drunk.
"That's no fun, you should drink a real cup with me, or I might think you're not truly seeing me as a sister," A slight blush adorned her tanned cheeks from the alcohol as she poured down the wine for both of them. Inwardly, she was surprised to hear he was an alchemist as well.
"Since Sister Elodie put it this way, I shall not decline. However, I will only drink a single cup," Ken raised his cup and drank it in a long sip. He swallowed instantly to show he did not decompose the alcohol in his mouth.
"Haha, good!" Elodie laughed and drank her own cup, unaware of Ken's efforts to destroy the alcohol in his esophagus, the tube that links the mouth to the stomach. He only had to destroy it before the alcohol was carried to his brain by the bloodstream.
"Sister Elodie, won't you tell me about your clan? I've seen your team's battle tactic, and everyone seems to work together to let you wound the enemy lightly. Once you inflicted a wound, your teammates took it down quickly. Are you perhaps poison masters and your blades are coated with poison?"
"Brother Ken, don't you know of our Aspis clan? That can't be, we are one of the biggest clans in the sect even if we are weaker than the Sue clan!" Elodie exclaimed.
"I've been secluded since birth and don't know much about the sect. Why not begin by telling me about what makes your clan so famous?" Ken asked.
"It's easy! My clan is the only clan with a grand master alchemist, meaning a grand elder of the Alchemy division. It gives us a lot of power, but it's limited since the other grand elders stop him from abusing his power too much, and the culture there is against elite clans," Elodie said cheerfully. She herself was an alchemist.
"That's indeed impressive, I can only imagine the benefits your clan gets by having an ancestor in the leadership of the possibly most important division in the sect. Does it mean you're coating your blades with special poison your clan concocts?" Ken complimented her before continuing to his next question.
"No, even better. It's not a secret, we cultivate a special type of Qi called Poison Qi, it's an inheritance our sect managed to get in their exploration of the Qiteria continent. It's special even among the top five sects, and other than us, only the Serene Lotus Sect has a full inheritance for Poison Qi cultivation," Elodie said proudly.
As a member of the Aspis clan, she learned a lot about her clan's uniqueness; it was a common practice in clans and other communities to create a feeling of belonging to the group. Ken also remembered the history classes in his previous world, they were meant to connect the young generation to the country and develop pride and special feelings toward their culture and land.
"It does sound unique and lethal. Do all your clan members cultivate this Qi?"
"No. Only direct descendants are allowed to cultivate it, while branch families are not. Furthermore, the grand elder decided that only those who practice Alchemy can cultivate Poison Qi, making many disciples unwilling to pay the price."
"The price of learning for hours every day?"
"That too, but there's a greater price for being an alchemist in our sect. Didn't you say you were an alchemist yourself? You should know the downside," she said while squinting her eyes in slight suspicion.
"I am an alchemist, but I'm not aware of the price you're talking about. What is it?" Ken asked patiently.
"It's the price of becoming useless after the seventh rank. We lack the knowledge to produce eighth-ranked alchemists, so everyone in the sect who chose to become an alchemist will be stuck with an almost useless type of Qi when reaching the eighth stage," Elodie said with a hint of depression. As an ambitious woman, she was not satisfied with being limited. She aspired to ascend one day.
"I see. It discourages disciples from exploring this path, which holds the sect back from research and development in this field. It's a positive feedback loop and the result, lack of practitioners, enhances the original reason, the lack of knowledge, since there are no alchemists that can research the field," Ken saw the problem in the sect's situation.
"Exactly. But enough about such depressive matters, let's toast again!"
"I said I'll only drink one cup, Sister Elodie," Ken refused the wine and went to sit with his companions.
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"Thank you for the banquet, the food was delicious. We will take our leave now," Ken thanked the mayor as the latter left his mark on the mission token. The five of them walked to the stable where their birds were fed and kept safe.
Everyone was well-rested, and they already parted from Elodie who departed earlier. As for Dustin and his group, they did not attend the banquet but left instead after cleaning themselves.
"Thank you for helping us save the city, remain vigilant on your way home," Steven cupped his fist and bowed slightly to Ken. It showed his respect; stronger cultivators rarely bowed to those weaker than them unless they were their family's subordinates.
"Hi Eta, hi Rikka. The seating arrangement will be the same as on our here," Ken said to the birds as he stroked their feathers. Everyone climbed on the birds' backs, and with a chirp, the two took off toward the sect.
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