Chapter 272 Chapter 272 – Arriving at the Serene Lotus Sect
"Your friends are in trouble right now."
"What is it?"
"The guy is quite passionate about justice…" Elmer chuckled.
Elmer recounted the events according to the news he received on his communication device a few days ago.
"Oh, so Alaric judged someone. But since they were able to defeat three inner disciples in a higher stage, the punishment can't be too bad, can it?"
"Well, they destroyed the whole floor, including decorations that cost a small fortune. Including all the food they spoiled, the bystanders they injured, and the furniture they broke, they owe about a million Qi Stones. Apparently, Alaric paid 500,000 to cover for Tiara but did not have enough left for himself."
"Haha, did Tiara help him?" Ken laughed in amusement when he remembered the lady's greed; he already knew the answer.
"Sounds like you know she didn't. She only thanked him and said it was his own fault for losing control and dragging her into the fight, so he should just work at the restaurant as a guard or a waiter until he can pay it back."
"Don't worry about it, I will pay his debt for him. What happened to the three they fought?"
"Still unconscious. An elder dining in the floor above intervened when they were about to die, so your companions were not charged for murder. You should warn them about it; our sect does not mind inner fighting as long as it facilitates mutual growth, but the Discipline division will execute anyone who commits murder out of the arena. No matter how talented a disciple is, they'd only bring harm if he has no inhibitions and self-restraint."
"I see, thank you for the advice. I will make sure it will not happen again," Ken nodded seriously and cooperated. There was no reason to insist on murdering others in an unfamiliar environment, and if he had to murder someone for some reason, he'd just have to do it without getting caught or by shifting the blame to someone else.
"Tiara also rented a house and a personal maid for you in advance, although she only paid for the first month and said you'll deal with the rest."
Ken rolled his eyes but said nothing. The sphere of Darkness Qi was opened, and the sight of the sect's territory was revealed underneath him while he stood on a step made of Darkness Qi.
He could see many small figures walking on the roads, training in different areas, or just hanging out in different places. Many areas were blurred, meaning there were formations that hid whatever transpired there to give the residents some privacy.
"Welcome to the Serene Lotus Sect. At last, you're finally here. We are currently in the outer sect's territory, while the inner part is beyond the gates over there. I will take you to your house this time, but you can ask your maid for a map for future navigation. I will send other servants to bring you new discipleship robes. As for a token, you can use the one I gave you in the past. If you have any other questions try to ask your friends, they have been here for quite a while."
"You've done plenty for me. Thank you, Grand Elder Elmer."
"Don't worry about it, I just liked your disposition and talent."
The two soon landed in front of a house, and Ken knew it was his place. It was neither big nor small, neither fancy nor shabby. He opened the door and found a young woman at the table, eating lunch. From her aura, he could sense she was at the third stage, and he estimated her age as around 17 years old.
When she heard the door, she hurriedly got up and looked at the newcomer. She blushed for a moment when she saw the beautiful teen in front of her, turning nervous instantly.
"Hello, I… good to… You must be Young Master Ken," she stuttered, changing her sentence a few times indecisively. Tiara and Alaric said she would recognize Ken easily, describing him as a male teenager more beautiful than a fairy with penetrating red eyes and long black hair. Seeing him, she finally understood why he was so distinguishable.
"Yes, and you are?" Ken asked, feeling a little bit nervous, too.
"Hello, Young Master Ken! I'm your personal maid, Soul!" She bowed.
"Sol?"
"No, Young Master, it's Soul," she corrected him.
'Damn, I knew it!' Ken cursed in his mind when he heard the maid's name. He did not know how it made sense anymore, but he just put it aside and sighed.
"All right, work hard. Please show me around the house for now."
Soul took him on a small tour around the house, showing him the study room, Alchemy room, bedroom, and guest room.
'I guess I can practice Formation Mastery in the study room or go to the backyard,' Ken pondered when the maid led him outside through a backdoor, showing a relatively spacious backyard.
"All right, thank you. Now, this is Emrys. Emrys, this is Soul. You can play with her whenever you're bored."
Ken brought the wolf out of the backpack he was carrying on his back ever since he left the Phoenix Feather Sect. The pup was closed inside the whole time, and he was starving for a breath of fresh air. Emrys instantly jumped out excitedly, running around the new place.
"Aww, he is so cute!" Soul exclaimed when the pup got close to her and placed a paw on her knee. She was around 168 cm (5'6) tall, and Emrys's head reached just above her knee.
"Ah, but she's weak, so be careful not to cut her in half or something by mistake. Be gentle with her," Ken ordered the wolf who replied with a quiet growl to show his understanding.
"Wait, he's that strong? Young Master, isn't it better if you buy him some toys instead of sending him to play with me?" Soul asked in a worried tone.
"You will be fine, I'm sure you'll need his company too," Ken shrugged and turned around to leave. "Oh right, bring me a detailed map of the sect's base. I want it here by the evening," Ken ordered before entering his study room to cultivate and work on forming his nascent soul.
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In the evening, Ken left the house with the new map Soul had provided him with etched into his mind. He walked straight to the sect's prison as there was no reason to keep Alaric locked up.
Showing his discipleship token, the guards let him in without any trouble, and he soon found himself in front of a counter.
"Hello, how may I help you?"
"I want to pay the debt of a friend and set him free. His name is Alaric Sonora."
"Let me check… 500,000 medium Qi Stones or 475 high ones for a 5% discount." The clerk did the math quickly and specified the costs.
"Sure, you can have 500,000."
All cultivators wanted the high ones for much more convenient and efficient cultivation sessions when they were in higher stages, thus their price was higher than their worth in Qi quantity and quality.
"All right, thank you. You can wait here for him to come out."
Alaric soon appeared from a door at the back, wearing the green robes of the sect. His eyes lit up as soon as he saw his idol, and he approached Ken quickly.
"Team Leader, it's good to have you here!"
"Hello, Alaric. You should consider your actions more carefully next time," Ken greeted back but also scolded the irresponsible man.
"I'm sorry, but it's all Tiara's fault. I'm telling you, Team Leader, she's also a backstabber, we should get rid of her! Can you believe that she did not agree to lend me any money after I paid her bail?" Alaric's face contorted when he remembered Tiara blaming him and leaving.
"She was right though, you did drag her into the situation recklessly instead of challenging those guys officially," Ken pointed out Alaric's wrongdoings.
"But Team Leader, real friends wouldn't just leave their friend in jail even if he made a mistake! She can't be trusted!"
"Relax, fake friends would not stand by your side in a fight that has nothing to do with them. She knew I'd come to bail you out, so it was just her way to get back at you for causing her trouble."
Alaric froze for a moment when he recalled that Tiara truly helped him out in the battle and that it was indeed obvious that Ken would come to help him a few days later.
"I see, I've been wrong," Alaric admitted.
"Just be more trusting toward your companions next time. Anyway, I must warn you that we are new here and have no connections aside from Elmer, and we don't know how much he'd stick out for us. Don't act recklessly anymore; if you want to judge someone, do it through the sect's procedures instead of destroying a restaurant. You should think about all the inconvenience you caused to the other guests and the place's owners."
Ken did not want Alaric to become a wild card that caused problems everywhere and might commit murder at any time, so he did not hold back his scolding. Alaric looked at him like a puppy that got yelled at by its owner, nodding at every sentence.
"Anyway, go back to your training. We will train together when Henry comes here, he is another member of our group."
"Wait, Team Leader, I also have a surprise for you. I challenge you to a duel tomorrow, do you dare accept?" Alaric grinned at him.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢