Chapter 326 Chapter 326 – Preparations for the Mission
"Join the Jade Sky Sect and weaken it from the inside?"
"Yes, and weaken the Divine Lightning Sect from the outside during the two sects' skirmishes," Ken declared his intentions.
"Hmm, are you going alone?" Elmer asked. "I'm not sure whether you would be recognized or not. Although you look different from the last time you made a public appearance, it's probable that spies from within the sect had reported your current visage to the other sects. Besides, your face is too unique, and you only look a few years older compared to fifteen years ago."
"I understand the problem, but there's nothing to worry about, I got it all covered," Ken reassured the elder.
"How? I'm not going to just take your word for it and risk my golden goose's life. No matter how strong you are, you will die from a single slap of a Supremacy-phase cultivator, and that's not something I can approve of. Besides, it's not that easy to gain the trust of a sect when you're at the peak of the sixth stage, they would want to know your whole past."
Ken sighed. He did not want to reveal his techniques and secrets, but it was the only way to make Elmer trust his capability to pull his plan off. Everything would be much easier if he had the sect's support than doing it on his own.
"Am I really in the sixth stage?" Ken said, and his aura shrunk at a rapid pace until it was gone, leaving behind only the weak presence of a third-stage cultivator.
"That's… interesting," Elmer leaned back in his chair and focused his mental power on Ken, probing his aura. He was trying to find a hole in the technique that would give away the truth.
"You can't see through my disguise, you are wasting your time," Ken spoke in confidence. In the sixth stage, his mind was strengthened and everything he had done was executed more perfectly due to the increased mental capacity.
"Cocky," Elmer frowned when he realized Ken was correct. However, he was not one to admit defeat. He vanished from his chair and reappeared before Ken, grabbing the young man's shoulder. His Qi seeped into Ken's body, trying to break the fa?ade that hid Ken's true stage.
"Well, found anything yet?" Ken smirked, annoying the elder. His pose was calm and he did not budge at the least from Elmer's invasive actions.
"Fine, I will break through it forcibly," Elmer was just about to follow his statement when Ken slapped his hand away and stepped backward.
"Don't injure me for no reason. We both know that no elder would even superficially check a third-stage cultivator, let alone try to break their disguise forcibly," Ken refused to have his meridians cracked for the sake of Elmer's pride.
"You are right, I was rash. But you still haven't solved the problem of your face. I know you love your masks, but you cannot wear them there. They'd be even worse giveaways than your real face."
"First of all, I have plenty of masks, I'm sure many of them would fool the sect, but it was not my intention. Give me your word that you don't share my secret means with others, I only show them to you to reassure you that everything is under control."
"You have my word," Elmer agreed. There was no need for something dramatic like an oath. First, it would be disrespectful, second, Elmer would have found a way around it if he really wanted to. People at Elmer's stage gave a heavy weight to their face and credibility, so having their word was usually enough.
Ken produced a few pills from his storage ring and put them on display. Next, he took out a few small bandages inscribed with many small runes on them. Last, he set aside a set of makeup he made himself.
"Is this your disguise kit?" Elmer asked, guessing what was going to happen next.
"Indeed. Watch it."
Ken first started with the pills. One changed the color of his eyes to green, and the other made his face-bones softer. The last pill added a bit of fat to his cheeks, making him look chubbier.
Elmer sat silently and watched the process as Ken took a few minutes to digest the pills and let them work their magic.
Next, Ken took the bandages and plastered them on his high cheekbones, changing the structure of his face. The runes sucked some Qi from Ken and assimilated into his face as if they were never there.
For the final touch, Ken applied some makeup, using a lighter shade foundation on his skin to hide his tan. He completed the art with a few touches of powder and creams until a whole different man stood in front of Elmer.
Now, his skin had a lighter color, his face was longer, and most of his prominent characteristics were gone. The fat in his cheeks made him look more childish, and as a result also more trustworthy and amiable.
He could have gone for the gender-bender solution again as he did to run away from the secret realm, however, he preferred not to. This time he would be in disguise for a long time, and while being a girl had its own benefits, he did not want to handle wooers or horny fellow disciples for months. He'd rather leave those hardships to Vivienne and Tiara.
"I see, this is indeed quite the transformation. Those plasters are a great invention, why don't you share them with the sect?"
"Because then people would know about them, and countermeasures will be made against those tactics. I can share them with the sect after this operation is over and I won't need them as much anymore." By the time he was done with the Jade Sky Sect, he planned to be at the seventh stage, and whole new possibilities would be at his disposal after that breakthrough.
"Fine. Are you going alone?"
"No, I will take my teammates with me, the five of us will go."
"I see, good luck. You may leave whenever you want, make sure to dispose of any belonging that connects you to a different force before you enter their territory, and preferably, leave everything you don't need here. Furthermore, we have been lenient with you for the past years, but whoever takes a mission classified as extremely dangerous must leave their inheritance behind in case they die."
Ken took a few moments to ponder about the issue, but Elmer did not show any signs of changing his mind.
"Those are the protocols, they aren't going to change for you. I promise that nobody will copy or steal the inheritance before three years pass from your departure. If you are not back or showing a clear sign of well-being after three years, the inheritance will be taught to a promising young disciple."
Ken nodded slowly, knowing that he couldn't get out of it. Since this was the case, he would only need to write lesser versions of his sword techniques. Good enough to be considered heaven grade, but not strong enough to be considered peak heaven grade.
As thankful as he was to the sect for the resources and trust they had showered him with, he wouldn't risk his secrets, and he didn't care about the sect's development in case he died.
"Fine, I will leave the five inheritances in your hands before I go, but I expect to see them still sealed when I'm back," Ken agreed and turned around, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
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"We are leaving right after the challenges against us are over. I wrote your inheritances for you and sealed them, you can hand them over to Elmer before we depart to complete the mission."
Ken and his four teammates, all adorned in white with a pinkish lotus on their shoulders, walked toward the arena where the duels would take place. Ken's robes were also embroidered with the design of a Xuanwu, the black tortoise that represented the Sue clan. Although he was not part of it, he liked the way it looked on his robes.
Soon, they had a face-off with a group of ten disciples. The audience for the event was huge; Tiara used her charm to ask some of the most influential figures in the sect to publicize the battle, an action meant to ensure many would witness the difference in power. This way, nobody would try to take their spot while they were away.
"Are you telling us you don't need to rest between our fights? Being overconfident will cost you the victory, Brothers," One of the opponents frowned at the blatant disrespect.
"We are telling you that we don't need to separate the fights. It's a pain in the ass, and I want to get it over with so I can go tour a few restaurants in the city instead," Vivienne let her tongue loose.
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