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Owl understood the hidden meanings and reflected on what he should say, or rather, write. His future depended on the next sentences he might write, he had to be careful. The Senior Elder didn't seem to mind him taking his time as he was already getting ready for the second refill. Owl decided to take the opportunity. He would take his time and find a satisfying answer for them both.

It was only a dozen minutes or so later that Owl wrote something on the paper. He wrote for a long time under the scrutiny of the Senior Elder. The man's expression changed slightly with every sentence as he pondered over it.

What Owl proposed was rather simple. He would take in the two kids as disciples and, by association, Owl himself would be placed under his care. The attention would be placed onto the two kids instead of the spiritual beast.

The idea was sound. Since there were few Senior Elders, they could be considered rather important in the sect. Few had disciples and few even wanted to take any in. After all, having a disciple meant spending time with them instead of focusing on yourself. Not everyone with cultivation like theirs had such interests. Without a doubt, if he took in a disciple, it would rock the sect and the attention would be focused on the lucky one. Everyone would know it was a talentless random kid with a spiritual beast. And they would focus on the 'talentless' and 'random' parts. Out of hate, anger, jealousy, curiosity… Regardless of the reasons, they would focus on the disciple and not his beast.

That was because it was nothing more than a spiritual beast.

It wasn't unusual at all for disciples to tame a beast or more down the road. They could be helpful in many ways though most cultivators liked to focus on themselves more. Just like disciples, tamed beasts required resources and time. To someone who truly pursued the peak, it was better to devote everything to himself. It was already close to impossible to reach the pinnacle with no more than a hundred and some at this stage throughout the whole world. Heck, there were only five Saints at the moment, only five beings with cultivation past the 70th stage. So, who would bother nurturing a beast instead of themselves? Unless their own potential reached its limit, no one would.

And that's why the attention would be put on the disciple and not his beast.

The Senior Elder admitted that the plan was viable. However, he had a few qualms about it. For one thing, he didn't want to take in disciples either. His goal was still to reach the top himself. A sentient spiritual beast partner could bring many benefits after a small investment. A disciple? Unlikely. Because it wasn't something that he would be able to truly 'own' like a spiritual beast. He would not be able to control completely a disciple in the future for that disciple would have his own goals and such. Of course, a sentient spiritual beast would be the same. However, Owl wasn't one yet. He was in the midst of becoming one. He had the potential but wasn't one yet. There was a lot he could get from this.

Now, he needed to weight the worth of Owl compared to the loss of accepting this talentless kid as a disciple… It was still worth it. Obviously. But he was still reluctant. His face would be lost if his own disciple was trash. He couldn't help but speak up: "I agree with your idea, it is a viable alternative. However, I don't see why it should be this kid. There are many better ones in the sect"

Owl snickered inside. He knew what the old-aged young-looking man was talking about. It was a matter of face. Then again, he had no personal reasons to keep clinging onto this kid. But there was a practical one. This kid was 'his' people. This kid was someone he found himself and it was someone who believed and trusted him. He had weight over the decisions of the kid. To put it in simpler terms, he could order the kid around.

But there was something even more risky about all this. A spiritual beast could only be in a contract with a single human. If it was a tamed contract. A beast could only belong to one being at a time. However, in the case of an equal's contract, there were no such limits. Here was the problem. Right now, everyone believed he was under a tamed contract with the kid. No one but the two of them knew that. Right now, the elder believed it. This meant that he considered it impossible to have him under a new contract. If he left the kid, he would likely become a real tamed beast under a tamed contract, not an equal one. What's more, it would likely be with a youth with bright prospects, which meant stronger than he was.

Simply said, he would be fucked and enslaved.

His fate was tied to the kid for now. He needed to protect him as it was the only shield between him and the greed of this man. He dipped his brush and wrote: "It was fate. Just teach him well"

The Senior Elder frowned. He didn't like to be told off like that but he understood the hidden words behind the beast's reaction. It was truly impressive how smart it was even before becoming a sentient. Witnessing such smarts, he was even more interested. As for taking in the kid, he would lose some face for sure but he could always regain it. As long as he taught him, he believed he could turn him into something at least decent.

As for the hidden meaning, that the kid belonged to Owl… He snickered. Would the kid remain 'his' after being shown all the benefits he could give him? Greed motivated people. He wasn't the only one. It was even more so for young people. He would slowly sway him towards his side. It would take some time but it wouldn't be too hard either. It was a worthy investment.

Now, however, he didn't want the second one. He didn't feel the need for it and didn't see the point. The guy was the owner of the beast. As for the girl, she was nothing. She was an average outer disciple that wouldn't bring any benefits. Neither now nor later. He did not want to bother with her. He said it straight: "Fine. But I do not see any point to keeping the girl along"

Owl wrote once more: "If you only take an insignificant with a tamed beast, what reasons do you think people will associate with your decision?"

The Senior Elder thought for a few seconds before he laughed. Right, why didn't he think of it? It's true that the attention would first be on the kid but then? People would soon find out he was weak and unremarkable. They would question the reasons behind his choice and, sooner or later, turn their sights towards his spiritual beast… However, what if he also picked the girl? The attention would be directed elsewhere. They would begin to think about the relationship between both new disciples and such. He could easily invent new reasons and mislead people.

It was smart.

He looked at the beast with renewed greed. He definitely couldn't let this thing belong to anyone else. He nodded thoughtfully and said: "If I gifted a spiritual owl to the girl, I could then say I was the one behind you being tamed by the kid. It would make it even easier"

Owl didn't like the grin sported by the elder as he said so. He had to admit however that it was true. He could easily dodge a lot of problems if this became the truth. A truth describes what people believe. If they believed a lie, the lie would be the truth. He could hide easily under such a truth especially since no one could do anything to uncover the lie. Both parties involved would be upholding the lie after all. It wouldn't be too hard to convince the kid either. He could prepare a dumb bullshit-filled story that the kid would easily believe. After all, many pies would soon fall into the kid's lap. A small fake story to wrap it all wouldn't hurt or seem out of place.

He wrote: "I approve"

The Senior Elder grinned as he said: "Well then, to a fruitful partnership, Owl"

After that, the two of them waited for the group to come back, the Senior Elder having sent a spiritual-energy-made messenger.

At the same time, Owl sent a message to Jung-Su: "Whatever happens, never ever reveal that we are under an equal's contract or we will both die. We are under the usual tamed contract, do you understand?"

"I do, brother Owl" was the answer he got. It wasn't satisfying enough and so, he asked the kid to swear an oath to the heavens.

The answer came only some moments later, hinting that the kid thought first before going for it. But it came regardless: "I, Jung-Su, swear to the heavens that I will never ever admit having an equal's contract with Owl"

Now, Owl could sigh relieved. The crisis was over for now.