What comes later?

"Are you sure about that?"

It comes as no surprise that Eve would be reluctant to accept this token. While its worth might not be much per se, it implicated great responsibility and a chance to obtain great rewards! I didn't even need to ask what kind of remuneration would Stella offer me if I were to score nicely, but it all wouldn't matter a shit if my actions would lead to certain groups of people taking an interest in me. 

"While I don't want to push this responsibility on you, I can't deny the points that you brought up. As someone with a bit of the history within the sect, it would be easier for people to digest that you stumbled upon some kind of fortuitous encounter that allowed your cultivation to soar. On the other hand, if someone like me showed out of nowhere and claimed a high seat in the tournament, people willing to thoroughly investigate my roots are bound to appear. The questions is, are you willing to accept it?"

The change in the situation is quite simple here. Even if some greedy fuck were to investigate Eve's background, he could see that she has a nice mansion in the sect while keeping a great relationship of teacher-disciple with a damn sect master. Considering the option that this kind of people would still be keen to uncover her secrets in an unfriendly way, I would still be there to help her out. 

Reversing the situation, on the other hand, could lead to a disaster. With no sufficient information about my standing on the past, potential enemies would contribute a lot more strenght and resources to force me under their wing as to let them dissect me in an attempt to locate the source of my strenght.

While it means pushing some risks and responsibilities on Eve, this is a situation when such a gamble is almost necessary. And even if we were to ignore such potential problems, She is incomparably better versed in controlling her cultivation than me, giving her better chances at scoring high in the tournament!

"While I can agree to it for now, if you ever change your mind, feel free to speak to me. And about creating area densely infused with energy, we would need help of formation master to achieve something at that. Sadly, we don't have such an expert in our sect, so the only way to obtain this kind of help would appear during the tournament."

Figures. With the vast knowledge about cultivation from various books and novel I got my hands on the back on the earth, I found it strange that our sect lacked not only expert of the certain obvious profession but even the amenities to keep them if they were to appear!

"I guess there is nothing we can do about it for now. Before I forget, I remember some images of a person called 'master' by Stella herself. I recall hearing something about Sword Sect. Is this some kind of parental organisation to our small and rural family?"

While I could guess the meaning of their entire dialogue, I still wanted to make sure I didn't make a mistake in my assumptions. After all, if I were to suddenly say that this sect traded its best cultivators for the resources… I would either be right or turn into public enemy number one for stating such a derogatory accusation!

"I can only help you by sharing my guesses here as well because I'm simply not privy to such information as to confirm it for sure. From what I think, this sect is just a grooming place for cultivators. Only when someone completes mortal level cultivation will one be able to reach higher. Since my father was immortal, at least know for certain that there is a whole world of higher beings out there. If this sect is closing its disciples withing the mortal realm, I guess this tournament is the opportunity to move on as well."

While it's not exactly what I believed to be, her idea still bears a lot of similarities to my assumptions. But the points that we figured out in a difrent way, don't really change anything. We can say for certain that this sect is just a beginning, the tournament is bound to the number of resources the sect receives every year and there is a way to advance through the ranks as soon as one reach required strenght. 

"If we take this tournament as an opportunity to advance then, having just one token might prove problematic. If only someone who wins reaches a certain threshold during the competition can move on, we would either separate for a year or give up on the chance to keep growing altogether."

While it's not certain what are the requirements to join this 'sword sect', I guess that its either one's personal performance or reaching a certain place in the tournament ledger. No matter which one of tho is the true way to achieve it, the only thing we can do is to keep preparing!

"If I'm supposed to go to a different place without you, I will give up on…"

With a resolution written all over her face, Eve was already soo eager to claim something outrageous! As someone who I bestowed with my affection, how could I stall her growth? Considering what she went through in her past, I can feel a strong urge to reach a level when she will be able to not only take revenge on her oppressors but uncover the truth about her father disappearance as well! How could I support her current decision then?

"Don't worry about it. We don't know whether our guesses are right in the first place. Instead of worrying about it, we should go back to training as soon as possible. If I manage to reach a level far higher than the winner of the entire tournament, they shouldn't have any qualms about letting me follow your steps!"