Arising Conflict

"Look, here he comes."

A voice suddenly spoke out.

Immediately, everybody stopped talking and kept their gazes on the gate of the family garden. Even the family Elders and the family head looked forward to the choice of the top witches of the family.

The choices depict the character of the witch. If you take the strongest Familiar without any thought of the future path and development, then this means that you aren't worth cultivating. After all, sabotaging such a good chance for a short-term benefit shows the narrow mindedness of the witch.

If someone chose the familiar with the most potential, these people are worth paying attention to.

But still, there is a variable of future growth. Nobody knows the future and the developmental path taken by the young witches. This is also the reason, the top five Witches get all the support from the Family, allowing them to open their chakra point.

Of course, anomalies like Ricardo still exist. To be able to ascend to the chakra level without any prior foundation stunned the whole family. Even the branch of the Carefree Alliance and other Witch families have been paying attention to Ricardo.

As Sigil slowly stepped out, the attention of the whole group fell on the small Silver-Furred Chimp walking behind Sigil while its active eyes scanned the surroundings.

"Hmm? This fluctuation.... Soul Familiar?" Garthe looked and frowned. His voice wasn't loud, but his words were heard by almost every Elder and their expressions couldn't help but change.

Only John had a calm expression on his face.

On the other hand, the reaction of the younger generation was even more exaggerated. They started to back away from Sigil and created a distance of five metres. Looking at this situation, Sigil couldn't help but shale his head. Only Martha and Alicia decided to join Sigil, but he could feel that these two girls also had some awkwardness in their hearts.

Nodding at the two beauties, Sigil made his way towards John and bowed slightly before speaking.

"I express my gratitude to the Family Elder for giving me a chance to select a suitable Familiar. I will not disappoint the family's trust in me."

Hearing his words, Garthe's expression changed slightly and John couldn't help but smile internally. Meanwhile, Ricardo's and some of the Elder's expression also turned strange.

Even though the younger generation couldn't understand Sigil's intent, the mature Elders did. They have years of political experience and they have already formed an instinct towards the methods of handling social situations.

Through his words, Sigil conveyed two things, first, he announced his intention to cultivate in soul path. After all, he did say that he selected a 'suitable Familiar'. Secondly, he also attached the future cultivation of the family on himself.

Soul path is frowned upon in the Witch's World and even if he exhibited unnatural talent in soul path, he will face many hurdles in the family. By saying that he wouldn't disappoint the family's expectation, Sigil made clear that the family will have to cultivate him properly to realise the said 'expectation'.

Of course, all of this is just a show of political eloquence. But this aspect also gained the attention of most of the Family Elders.

Even though the individual power is the most impressive methods to handle the situations of life, sometimes, a person's creative mind and flexible eloquence can achieve more benefits than simply using your power to bulldoze the hurdle.

"Sigil... is he really the Sigil of my previous world?" Ricardo couldn't help but fall into deep thoughts.

"Good." John only said one word and Sigil went back.

"Wait.... look at the Ghost Chimp. He already looks tamed!" An Elder couldn't help but speak as he noticed the strange situation.

According to common sense, taming is one of the harder aspects of cultivation. Every living being has its own thinking and personality.

This is true even for plant lifeforms.

But this personality does not refer to the personality of a human being like a stubborn or gentle personality.

It is the personality of the soul of the living being.

Some Familiars have stubborn quality in their souls, some are instilled with gentleness or craftiness. These personalities may appear from the time of birth or these may be gained through the experience of life.

Till now, the world of witches could only speculate about such vague concepts.

After all, external personality is already intangible, then the measures of personalities of the soul can already be a pipe dream.

But now, in front of everybody, Sigil has shown yet another quality of himself. He has actually tamed a Familiar in such a short time!

As the Elder's voice fell, everybody's expression changed sharply.

Before the chatter about such a talent could begin, John coughed and started sending other witches to take their pick from the Elite Garden.

***

"Alright, the four juniors have already selected their Familiars. Only one elite Familiar is left in the family garden. Other juniors and Elders will be given a chance to observe the Familiar and make the decision."

Without wasting, John waved his hand and a small red light erupted from the gates and shot towards John's palm.

When the figure of a red wolf cub became clear, John spoke lightly.

"This is the blood path, Blood Fur Wolf."

Seeing the figure of the wolf, the excitement of the family dissipated and all of them looked disappointed.

Even though the Blood Path is related to body strengthening, its methods are heavily criticised and also discriminated against. Furthermore, this wolf itself does not have any outstanding quality and looks weak compared to the other four Familiars.

Seeing such a reaction, John nodded internally. Even he did not know the reason behind the Silver Fang Wolf selecting this Familiar.

"Maybe, they are both wolf type, is that why?" John spoke internally. He even tried asking the wolf, but the wolf itself gave a vague reply and said that it did not know the true potential behind the red wolf.

"Well, even if it has a godly potential, what is the use if it cannot be identified?" John thought and waited for some time.

"I would like to tame this wolf." A faint voice attracted everybody's attention.

It was Ricardo!

Even Sigil's eyes shone like a bulb and looked at Ricardo's movements.

Every single step taken by Ricardo is in consideration with the benefits retrieved in the future. After all, Sigil knew that he was a person who is reincarnated from the future.

"This wolf has a special significance." Sigil immediately connected the dots.

First, the blood path is heavily discriminated and no person will choose the Familiars of this path easily. Especially, in front of a crowd.

Second, this wold doesn't show any outstanding talent, but is still favoured by Ricardo.

This aspect itself shows that this Familiar's potential is recognised and understood by Ricardo.

"Now, should I stop him from gaining an undue advantage because of his rebirth? Or should I simply ignore him and retreat from his path."

"No, since he understands the potential of the Familiar and is even willing to take up this path in front of a crowd, this means that the benefit provided by this Familiar will easily cover the loss of his recently gained reputation."

After making his mind Sigil's eyes looked at Ricardo.

Till now, their relationship has always remained subtle.

Sigil used to bully him and then he took the initiative to apologise. Then, they also took a mission together. Till now, their relationship is mostly based on their previous lifestyle, the life before they both took over again.

One transmigrated and turned over a new leaf, other reincarnated and started taking benefits of his knowledge about future events.

"But still, I can only cultivate one path. Even if I am talented enough to gain Two Sky Chakra Points, do I need to change my future path to Blood and Soul path because of one single advantage?"

Sigil suddenly hesitated.

He was still new to this world and both the laths are frowned upon.

He wasn't like Ricardo that could easily change the situation because of his knowledge about future events.

Meanwhile, Ricardo was still anxious.

"Alright, the first step is taken and still need to wait for the Silver Fang Wolf to make an appearance."

Ricardo thought for a bit and spoke once again.

"Family head, I am willing to abandon my chance to explore the family garden to tame this Blood Fur Familiar."

Ricardo's words made many Elders speculate about the path taken by Ricardo. After all, he still hadn't disclosed his chakra path.

Now, actively asking for blood Familiar made most of the Elders come to the conclusion that Ricardo had taken up the Blood Path.

Speechless!

First, Sigil decided to take up the Soul path, and now, Ricardo took up the Blood Path.

Before John could say anything, his body flashed silver and a small silver coloured wolf shot out of his body and picked up the red fur wolf from his palm.

The situation changed too quickly.

Aoooo

The Ancestral Wolf of the Family walked towards Sigil elegantly and placed the Blood Fur Wolf in its mouth on the ground, as if presenting it to Sigil.

'Can you be anymore high profile?' His mouth kept on twitching as the gazes of everybody present concentrated on Sigil.

He looked towards John, his eyes begging for an animal translator.

John looked around and he felt even more bitter. Why beg me? I am as shocked as you are!

He slowly walked towards the Ancestor Wolf and picked it up.

"Sigh, Silver Fang Wolf wants you to take the Blood Fur Wolf."

John's voice made everyone frown.

According to the set regulations, this is not possible. After all, Sigil has already chosen a Familiar.

If John actually allowed such a thing to happen, his influence among the family Elders will surely diminish, tarnishing his magnificent reputation.

Even Sigil understood this point. But still, he looked at the Blood Fur Wolf intently.

As if sensing the burning gaze, the wolf cub looked up and their eyes matched for the first time.

Shiver!

Previously, the wolf was sealed in an ice cube, so he couldn't make out its gaze. But now, meeting the wolf cub's gaze, Sigil felt a shiver run down his spine as the dormant wolf constellation suddenly let out a soundless roar, as if wanting to emerge from his body.

Sigil gulped and looked around. Now, he was certain that this wolf is extremely special. After all, his wolf constellation has evolved twice and he still doesn't know much about the situation. But this wolf could actually evoke a strong reaction in his constellation formed by his own energy gates!

"I don't think this is very appropriate. After all, the rules set by the family shouldn't be changed easily."

The family had dozens of family elders while tens of guest Elders. The one who spoke was one of the family Elders.

"I think we should discuss such a situation before we decide anything." Another one spoke out.

Slowly, many of the Elders started to present their opinions while some chose to remain silent. It was to be noted that the young and old family Elders chose to remain silent, while the Elders that grouped along with the Supreme Elder Garthe spoke their opinions with great gusto.

"This decision should be based on the family Head and the Ancestor Familiar of the family. We have no right to present our opinions on this matter."

This statement caused everyone to look at the speaker in shock. Even John's face changed slightly.

These words really put him in a difficult spot. Even though the statement sounded respectful, in reality, the statement implied that if the Family Head wants to break the rule, who can stop him. Even if these kinds of situation occur in the future, the Elders won't have any right to intervene.

John looked towards the speaker deeply. Surprisingly, these words weren't spoken by the Supreme Elder Garthe, but the most recent Elder, Ricardo.

Right now, his expression was serene and he looked extremely respectful towards John.

Even Sigil was stunned by his words. But he wasn't surprised because of the implied meaning. He was stunned due to the fact that Ricardo was willing to offend the Family head and risk his placement in the family for a weak Familiar.

This changed the situation entirely.

Previously Sigil thought that Ricardo wouldn't mind giving up his reputation for the familiar. In reality, the cost of the reputation is almost nil and the profit he would gain in future may be great.

But now, he was willing to offend the family head. This meant that his cultivation resources could be limited by John if he wanted to.

This meant that the benefit gained by this wolf is definitely greater than the benefit provided to Chakra Points Practitioner for their Cultivation.

This left only one answer.

Grimoire Master!

This wolf cub is the key to a treasure trove that can probably give out a Grimoire Master's heritage. Just like the Inverse Witch's Inheritance.