Chapter 19: Two Epic Grade Rewards
Maren slowly pushed herself up from the floor.
Her arms were still trembling from the shock. She looked at her forearms. The skin was bruised.
An Essence Awakening Level 6 had just overpowered an Essence Condensation Level 5 in a direct exchange of physical force.
It defied all logics.
Harmon stared at the boy standing calmly in the center of the hall.
The cloudy look on the old man's eyes had vanished entirely, replaced by a blazing, razor-sharp intensity that hadn't been seen in decades.
In his forty-seven years of leading this declining sect, he had seen talents. But what stood before him was not a talent.
It was a monster.
A prodigy of the highest order.
Mirravele City.
It was the largest, most dominant metropolis in the southern Outer Frontier. It was a place where absolute geniuses gathered.
Even among those prodigies, Harmon severely doubted any of them could cross an entire major cultivation realm and launch an opponent across a room with a casual punch.
The Azure Cloud Sect was dying. Harmon had known this for years. He had spent his twilight years merely delaying the inevitable, watching their territory shrink and their prestige rot away.
Their founder had been a peak Spirit Manifestation Level cultivator who carved out a modest territory two hundred years ago. That was the peak of their history. Everything since had been a slow, inevitable decline.
But this boy...
This boy could save the Azure Cloud Sect.
No — this boy could make the Azure Cloud Sect surpass anything it had ever been.
Harmon's decesion had been made.
"Rhain," Harmon finally spoke, with a heavy voice, "From this moment forward, you are no longer an outer disciple."
Maren's eyes also widened, she wanted to say something, but she heard Harmon continuing.
"I am promoting you to Inner Disciple, effective immediately. All privileges, resources, and protections of the inner sect are now yours."
"The Azure Cloud Sect will provide you with every resource at our disposal," Harmon continued. "Whatever you need to grow, we will give. Unconditionally."
Harmon looked at him intensely. "Tell me. What do you need right now?"
Maren's shoulders relaxed. The breath she had been holding escaped in a slow, quiet exhale.
But it was still quite shocking. Harmon's words clearly indicated that he had made his mind to bet evrything on Rhain's future.
It was an unprecedented declaration.
She looked at Rhain, wondering what would he choose given such opportunity?
Rhain wasn't surprised from Harmon's proposal. It was the most natural decesion that any wise sect master would take.
Facing Harmon's question, Rhain already had the answer in his mind.
"Herbs," Rhain said smoothly. "I need specific medicinal herbs to stabilize my foundation after breaking through so quickly. I want access to the Herb Garden."
Harmon didn't even blink.
He reached inside his grey robes and pulled out a heavy, dark iron medallion engraved with a swirling cloud motif.
He tossed it to Rhain.
Rhain caught it effortlessly.
"That is my personal master token," Harmon said. "With it, there are no restricted areas for you. It will grant you unrestricted passage to any area within the sect. No one will bar your way."
Rhain looked at the token.
This was far better than he had expected. He slipped the iron medallion into his robes.
"Furthermore," Harmon added, his tone filled with heavy significance. "With that token, you are permitted to enter the top floor of the library. You may study the Azure Cloud Sect's sole Rare-Grade martial art."
It was the sect's greatest treasure. The technique that had built the sect two hundred years ago.
Rhain already possessed a Rare-Grade martial art. Two, in fact.
"Thank you, Sect Master," Rhain said.
Harmon nodded, satisfied. He turned his gaze to Maren. "Take him to the Herb Garden. Let him pick whatever he requires. Do not interfere with his selections."
Maren bowed deeply. "Yes, Sect Master."
She walked over to Rhain, her demeanor completely changed. There was no longer the strict, superior tone of an instructor addressing a disciple.
"Follow me," she said quietly.
Rhain turned to leave.
But just as he took his first step toward the massive wooden doors, the mechanical voice he had been waiting for echoed in his mind.
Ding!
[Location Sign-In detected: Azure Cloud Sect — Sect Master's Hall.]
[Sign In?]
Rhain didn't break stride. His expression remained a mask of perfect indifference.
Yes.
[Sign-In Reward: Epic-Grade Martial Art — Abyssal Sovereign Technique (First Form).]
Rhain's footsteps paused for a fraction of a millisecond.
Epic-Grade.
He had never even heard of an Epic-Grade technique in the original Rhain's memories. Common, Uncommon, Rare. Those were the limits of this desolate Outer Frontier region.
But what truly caught his attention was the name.
Abyssal Sovereign Technique.
It wasn't just a random martial art. It was explicitly tailored to his Abyssal Sovereign Physique.
A stream of profound, absolute knowledge detonated silently in his consciousness.
Rhain's mind buzzed with the huge amount of information.
The sheer complexity of the technique was staggering. It made the Rare-Grade Void Fist look like a child's parlor trick.
Rhain filed the vast amount of knowledge away, locking it down in his mind to digest later tonight.
"Is something wrong?" Maren asked, noticing his infinitesimal hesitation.
"No," Rhain said, his voice as flat and unreadable as ever. "Just thinking about what herbs to pick."
.......
After walking for a few minutes, they reached the fenced herb garden.
Two inner disciples stood guard at the single gate. They straightened when they saw Maren approaching.
Their eyes flicked to Rhain — the outer disciple robes, the unfamiliar face — and confusion creased their brows.
Then Rhain raised the Sect Master's token.
The guards' eyes widened. They stepped aside without a word, pulling the heavy wooden gate open.
Maren gestured. "Take whatever you need."
Rhain stepped through the gate.
He scanned the garden with analytical eyes.
Silverleaf Moss. Ironroot Ginger. Cloudpetal Orchid. Dew Spirit Grass.
He could recognise a few of them.
Most of them were common grade. A few of them he didn't recognise might be the uncommon grade ones, judging from their medicinal fragrance.
But Rhain wasn't here for herbs.
Ding!
[Location Sign-In detected: Azure Cloud Sect — Herb Garden.]
[Sign In?]
Yes.
[Sign-In Reward: Epic-Grade Herb — Spirit-Ascension Lotus.]
A pulse of profound essence rippled through the air, so brief and concentrated that Maren, standing just outside the gate, didn't even register it.
A single flower materialized in Rhain's palm.
It was a lotus, its petals were translucent, light blue, and laced with glowing silver veins that made it look extremely beautiful.
Information regarding the herb immediately flooded his consciousness.
Spirit-Ascension Lotus.
An Epic-Grade spiritual herb born in the thousand years cold lake.
Its effect was as simple as it was terrifying.
Upon consumption, it would forcibly elevate the user's cultivation base by exactly one full major realm for the duration of one hour.
It was effective on anyone below the Spirit Manifestation Realm.
In Aethermere, secret arts and forbidden pills that temporarily boosted cultivation existed.
But they all shared the same fatal prices.
But the Spirit-Ascension Lotus was flawless.
When the hour ended, the user would simply return to their original cultivation realm, their foundation completely untouched and pristine.
Rhain's dark grey eyes stared at the blue lotus in his hand.
Another Epic-Grade reward.