The public duel seemed to have been enough to ensure that they weren't bothered for a little while, and Cain's walk with the Lotus Blossom Sect went much more smoothly for the rest of the morning.
The girls found a load of interesting shops and picked up a few small things each, but it was clear that the great attractions were the two that hadn't properly started yet.
The Grand Tournament and the Lectures.
What was happening in the city was small-scale recruitment, but they would have expert seminars later, where the truly knowledgeable could present theories to be verified or overturned by their Immortal Peers.
The bit in Cain's mind that he had always identified as the Laughing God seemed way more interested in the Lectures than anything else, and Cain decided that he would have to make time to see them, even if he didn't know much about the particular topic that they had picked.
There was an interesting caveat to participation though. There were no bystanders, everyone who entered either had to present a theory of their own or have successfully presented one in the past. Those whose theories were shot down were asked to leave the venue, while those who were approved of by the group could return at will and without charge.
But first, he had to check on his experience gains, since he got three quests for the duel that he was in earlier.
[Core Integration 16->22 Percent Complete]
[Repeat Quests will grant reduced experience from the third completion onward]
So, just letting stupid people start trouble with his disciples wouldn't be a long-term plan, even if it was quite entertaining. Cain would have to find new things to do that would help him toward his goals.
Going to see the Ancient Dragon that Master Moon was speaking of earlier would be a good start, the Dragon should have lots of fun ideas on how to pass the time and experience new things.
The group returned in the early afternoon so that another group from the Sect could go to the city for the evening. It wasn't wise to leave the compound too unattended, and the city limited the total number of visitors at one time, so the Sects were all going in groups, posturing and trying to make themselves look good for the potential disciples that most of them were here to try to claim.
The competition was much more fierce among the male sects than it was between the all-female cultivation sects, though the resentment that the Female Sects got was ten times more intense than most other Sects.
It wasn't that they were the biggest threat to the Sects, but that they stole away the few women that the others had managed to recruit, making their Sects even more unbalanced, despite attempts to bring balance back to show that their technique was a universal one that was worthy of being regarded among the great styles that any Cultivator could master.
They might talk a lot about eternity, and self-reflection as a method of growth, but Cain noticed right away that those sects who only embraced one side or the other of the divide were all imbalanced by their very nature.
Some, like the Lotus Blossom, embraced it and focused on what they were strongest at, but others had a style that didn't work as well in such a biased environment, since it was based on complementary abilities supporting each other.
Paladins were like that. Alone, they knew a little bit of everything but were easily overwhelmed. But in a group, even with very different classes, the Paladin became an anchor that kept the group stable against large odds.
As they were approaching the Lotus Blossom Sect's Camp, a young Acolyte in a plain white dress quietly slipped into their ranks, and the Disciples moved to surround her without a word.
It was very smooth, and clearly practiced. This must be the way that they accept applicants while they are here in such a crowded area full of other sects. Elder Ling had mentioned multiple times that it was the purpose of them being here, other than the ones who would be showing off their talent later, so it should have been expected.
They made it a few steps further and noticed a group of angry-looking cultivators moving their way, clearly searching for someone. Stealing Disciples might be the point, but most Sects didn't give their own up willingly, with the exception of a small group of failures who didn't fit well with their membership and style.
"Don't speak, and just stay in the crowd. I will disguise you." Cain whispered, and let Record Keeper use an illusion to disguise the new arrival.
"Have you seen our Disciple? She seems to have gotten lost on the way to fetch water from the river." An Elder asked politely as she approached Elder Ling.
"Your green and silver are fairly distinctive, I don't think I have seen those robes lately, not since leaving the city for sure." Elder Ling replied in an even voice, while the others with the Elder visually scanned the group.
They noted the strange attire of the girl hidden in the middle, but her hair color and face were both changed by Record Keeper, so they simply passed her over as acquired from another Sect.
"Thank you, Elder. If you see our little delinquent, please do let us know." The Elder replied, then led the group onward to keep searching the area.
"That is a risky method of finding a new home, isn't it? I mean what Guarantee does the disciple have that the new Sect they found will be a better place than the one that they left? It's not like they are the top performers with some sort of positive reputation behind them." Luna asked Cain quietly.
"It certainly is risky. I think it's partially on reputation, and partially on the technique that the destination practices. Think of it like a calculated risk, like only calling one group of summons to hold an area, where you balance their strength against the chance that a larger number would overcrowd the battlefield and cause more issues." Cain explained, and the disciples of the Forbidden Treasure Sect all nodded in agreement.
"It's the same with joining a Sect the first time. You don't know anyone there, and most of the time you have hardly heard anything about them and only know like one basic technique, and have almost no strength of your own. So you just go and hope for the best." Sabbat offered.
Luna tapped her chin as she thought about the options she had learned. "Since you can't really leave after you arrive, because you know secrets and their style, it is important to find the right Sect, but you don't know what one that will be until you know more than you do without a Sect.
These things really are difficult, aren't they? I should be more thankful that I got started so easily."
"How did you get started? Even though you're family, most wandering Cultivators would let their children grow up and pick a Sect, or remain with like-minded people until they were much older than you are." Jen asked.
"Hmm, the first thing I remember after being born was him stopping me from bullying my siblings, and then he just let me stay with him all the time," Luna told the Paladin.
"So it's just because Master Cain is an oddball then. That makes a lot of sense actually. Do you ever get the feeling that you are an experiment in his eyes?" Jen asked.
"Me, no I'm pretty sure I'm more of a protege than an experiment. Though sometimes I wonder about how he views everyone else." Luna quipped back, making all the other girls laugh.
She had a point, he was clearly experimenting on everyone around him or using them for his own entertainment. Even the ones he accepted as his disciples.
"Do you think we should enter the Youth Division of the Competition? They verify that you are under twenty years old using a skill that verifies the age of your bones, so disguises won't work. I think it would be a good way to prove that we are worthy of additional training, and not being ditched at a hotel again." Tena suggested, making a crack at how the others were simply ditched because Cain forgot that they were studying the book he gave them and waiting for his return.
"I know, we can put a bell on Luna. He wouldn't leave Luna behind, and if we hear the bell ringing at random, he has wandered away again." Sabbat joked.
"Keep up the jokes and I will braid bells into all of your hair," Cain replied over his shoulder, bringing more laughter to the group, and a bit more hope to the eyes of the new arrival, who hadn't had a chance to properly meet anyone yet, since they were still in public.
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