After a short flight on the boat, Rand found himself on the southeast slope of the volcano, near a relatively small house partially protruding from the rock. Most likely, the majority of the structure was inside the volcano. At the entrance, they were greeted by a young-looking woman, but from Rand's experience, he guessed that she was quite old and only concealed her age with her cultivation and special techniques.
"Welcome home, my lord," she greeted Byron.
"Martha," Elder Byron addressed the woman, "Has Moraine not arrived yet?" His question was met with a negative shake of the head.
"I sent her a talisman asking her to come as soon as she's free. When she arrives, invite her straight to my room. And for now, escort this young man to the guest room and attend to all his requests. He's my new apprentice," he said, turning to Rand.
"Obelin, this is Martha, my servant. She takes care of the house and knows how to do a lot. If you want to eat, drink, or anything else, feel free to ask her. In twelve hours, she'll take you to lunch, where you'll meet my daughter, and we'll discuss a few things. Manage your time wisely, don't read that book yet, it's better to rest. Tomorrow awaits you with another equally challenging day," he said to Rand, who replied:
"Of course, teacher, I will do as you say." Hearing the positive response to his advice, the elder nodded and went in the direction of the house.
As soon as the elder was out of sight, Martha approached Rand and said, "Young sir, please follow me. I'll take you to your room where you can rest."
"Okay," Rand replied and followed the servant into the depths of the house to one of the doors.
"This is your room. Make yourself comfortable and feel at home. If you need anything — food or anything else — just call my name, Martha, out loud, and I'll hear you and come. At the moment, do you need anything? Perhaps you'd like me to prepare a bath for you so you can wash up, or maybe you'd like to have some food?"
"No, thank you, nothing is needed right now. I'm very tired and just want to sleep," Rand replied. Although he wanted to eat a little, he wished much more to be alone and contemplate the situation.
"Then I wish you a pleasant rest and sweet dreams," the servant said before closing the door behind her and leaving.
Finally, for the first time left visibly alone (though in a cultivator's house, someone could always be watching), after a long eventful day, Rand first glanced at the large wall mirror in the room and saw that all his wounds had already healed, leaving only a few traces of blood. He quickly washed them away in the sink also located in the room.
Then he sat down on the bed, which could easily accommodate a dozen people, and began to gather his thoughts: "He's too kind to me. He gave me a high-quality healing pill, and spending something like that on a mortal with such trivial wounds is a real waste of resources. And for what? So that the pain would disappear instantly, and the wounds would heal a couple of minutes faster? Many cultivators even treat their children much worse, and I've only met him less than a day ago. And all this is happening in the Fire Dragon Sect, where it's not customary to help the younger generation. He definitely needs something from me, but it's not clear what yet. My talent shouldn't evoke such a reaction from the elder, who has lived for hundreds of years and seen a huge number of 'geniuses' of various calibers. But he definitely doesn't wish me harm in the near future; he needs me safe and sound."
There were several layers to his intentional attempt to stumble and hit himself. One of them was to finally get the old man to shut up without showing that he wasn't interested in listening to his stories about the "almighty Qi, immortality cultivation, and unique techniques." Another purpose of his action was to see and evaluate his reaction to the fatigue and injury of his apprentice. And this reaction told him a lot.
"But these thoughts won't lead to anything now. In the worst case, I should be able to escape from him, but then I'll have to leave the sect and try to get back into it under a different identity in the future, otherwise, it will all be pointless. But resorting to that extreme option is full of difficulties and I really don't want to do it, nor is it necessary at the moment."
At that moment, fatigue truly began to overwhelm Rand; after all, the body of an ordinary mortal teenager was making itself known. The prince decided to leave his problems for later, sinking into a deep dreamless sleep.
He woke up many hours later from a loud knock on the door.
"Young sir, wake up, Lord Byron and Lady are expecting you in the dining hall in fifteen minutes. Let me know when you're ready to come out."
Rubbing his eyes, Rand immediately realized that almost twelve hours had passed. He couldn't even remember the last time he slept so long; apparently, he was really tired yesterday, and the lack of any cultivation was showing. And this deficiency needed to be addressed soon.
Rand washed up and then took out one of the crimson robes given to him by the sect from his bag; now he would have to wear them permanently, so why not start right now. When his preparations were complete, there were still a few minutes left until the appointed time, but Rand decided it was better to arrive early than to be late, so he loudly, even though it wasn't necessary, said:
"Martha, I'm ready."
The door opened immediately, and behind it stood a young woman who seemed to have been waiting there all along.
"Please follow me, young sir, I'll take you to the dining hall."
Walking through the corridors of the house, Rand took the opportunity to examine them for the first time. Yesterday, he was too tired for such a thing. And immediately he felt a strong sense of déjà vu. These marble floors lined with carpets, walls full of paintings with breathtaking landscapes, these unnecessary small tables with vases placed in strange places. It all reminded him of an imperial palace, but in this sect, even the sect masters had empty walls and floors, and they generally disliked excesses and extravagances. Very unusual for the elder of the Fire Dragon Sect.
But the house was not too big, only a few dozen rooms as far as Rand could tell, so within half a minute, they were already entering the hall, where a couple was waiting for them at the table. Elder Byron and his daughter, Moraine.
The old man sat at the head of the table, and his graceful, even by Rand's standards, daughter sat to his right. She bore no resemblance to her father at all, tall, standing half a head taller than the fourteen-year-old Rand, with eyes the color of the clear sky and a face worthy of paintings in an imperial palace.
"Come, have a seat," Byron indicated the place to the left of him, and when Rand sat down, he introduced his daughter.
"Meet my daughter, Moraine. You may have seen her on the square, but the situation wasn't quite right for introductions, so I decided to postpone your meeting."
"My name is Moraine, as you've already heard. Father has told me quite a bit about you, Oberin. It's a pleasure to meet you," Moraine interjected into her father's monologue, and for a moment, Rand thought he detected a hint of sadness in her voice.
The prince did remember her, she was the one who tried to object to the elder when he wanted to take him as his disciple. Interesting.
"And I'm very pleased to meet you too, senior Moraine," Rand replied, maintaining a friendly atmosphere.
"I called my daughter here so that you two could meet, of course, but primarily so that she could witness the initiation ceremony. Let's get started right away and finish as soon as possible, and then we can have dinner like a real family. Do you know how the ceremony goes?" Byron asked Rand.
"I think so, yes, teacher. I've been told about this ceremony back in the village," he briefly recounted what he had been "told" in the village to "make sure" that it didn't differ from the ceremony practiced by cultivators.
"You speak correctly. Then let's begin," with a wave of his hand on the table, a tea set appeared. Rand approached it and began to brew tea. Once it was ready, he poured it into a cup and knelt, offering the drink to Byron. Throughout this time, Moraine stood nearby silently watching.
" Please take me, Oberin from the village of Lar, as your student," Rand requested, bowing his head.
"Are you ready to follow the teachings of the master?" Byron intoned majestically.
"I am."
"Are you ready to respect the words and will of the master?"
"I am."
"Are you ready to support the master, even when everyone turns away from him?"
"I am now and for all the years that await me in the future."
“Good. I accept you as my disciple and, as a master, I will teach and protect my student to the best of my abilities.”
"I have seen and heard everything that is required. Oberin from the village of Lar, you are now a disciple of Byron Gerano, the elder of the Fire Dragon Sect. May the Heavens strike down anyone who breaks these oaths," Moraine spoke the words required of the observer.
"Well, well, well. With that, the ceremony comes to an end. From this moment on, you are my disciple. You can now call me not only teacher but also master. You may rise."
Unexpectedly, Moraine approached Rand and spoke with feigned joy, "Little brother, let me call you tha, and you can call me elder sister, for we are now one big family."
"Of course, elder sister," Rand replied.
"It's customary to give gifts upon entering discipleship. I didn't have much time, but I've prepared something. I used this when I was a disciple, and it helped me a lot back then. With this, you'll be able to defend yourself even if your opponent is stronger. Although at first, you'll have to reach the Qi Condensation stage, but with your talent, it shouldn't take more than a couple of days. Here, take it," and with these words, she handed Rand a faintly glowing bracelet, which quickly lost all its light in his hands.
"Peak magical artifact, with powerful offensive potential. Not bad for starters," Rand reasoned, examining Moraine's gift.
At that moment, Byron approached the two of them and addressed Rand, "Since my daughter came with a gift, how can I, your master, stand aside? I also have a few useful trinkets for my disciple." He snapped his fingers, and several items appeared on the table.
"This is a new robe, replacing the junk they gave you in the sect's Repository. Even without infusing Qi, it boasts impressive defensive properties; mortal swords won't even scratch it. And with Qi, it transforms into a powerful artifact with many properties and embedded defensive techniques.
"Another peak magical artifact. Most cultivators at the Qi Condensation stage can't afford even a second-rate magical artifact. Of course, compared to what I had in the palace, this junk doesn't compare, but it should be enough to solve most problems in the near future."
The next item was a nondescript ring. "This is a spatial artifact, similar to the pouch they gave you in the storage, but much better. The space inside is much larger, and no passerby can try to steal its contents. It's not empty, but let its contents remain a secret for now. Once you can use it, you'll see everything."
"And finally, there's this jade talisman. Even as a mortal, Rand felt a huge accumulation of Qi in this seemingly fragile stone.
"This is something I hope you never have to use. If you feel that your life is in danger, and there are no other options, direct it at your opponent and squeeze it. An attack similar to what a weak Core Formation stage cultivator is capable of will burst from this stone, but only one. And as soon as you use it, I'll know and rush to help. But remember, don't use it for trivial matters, like competitions during training or teasing another novice. There you must handle things on your own. Understand?"
"Yes, master, I'll only use it when there's no other way."
"Good, then let's finish with the ceremonies and gifts for today and finally eat. You must be very hungry, haven't eaten for over a day, so I asked Marta to prepare something special today. Today you'll try food worthy of a cultivator. It not only tastes good but also brings benefits."
The next half-hour was filled with countless praises from Rand about the greatness of the cook, as he "never" ate anything like unicorn meat or titan snake soup.
"Teacher, I feel like I'm overflowing with energy, as if I could go without sleep for several days or run around the mountain. " Rand enthusiastically shared his feelings.
"Not surprising, although Marta specially processed the food so that a mortal could eat it, it still contained a significant amount of Qi. Your body can't store Qi for long in such quantities, so it'll dissipate completely in a couple of days if nothing is done. I think we can use this moment. We'll go to the sect's Library now and get your first cultivation method and technique. Thanks to the Qi inside you now, it'll be slightly easier for you to reach the Qi Condensation stage, although with your innate Pure Lotus Body, there shouldn't be any problems anyway. If you try hard, by tomorrow, when you come for lessons, you'll be the first cultivator in your group. So, are you ready to start the path to immortality?"
"Of course, master, thank you so much for everything you do. Since my parents died, no one has treated me as well as you, master…"
"Don`t worry about this, I do what every master should do. Isn't that right, Moraine?"
"Yes, father," the girl replied with an almost imperceptible hesitation.
Giving his daughter a meaningful look, Byron turned back to his disciple, "Now that we've finished lunch, let's move on. We have a lot more to do today."
After a short flight on the boat, Rand found himself on the southeast slope of the volcano, near a relatively small house partially protruding from the rock. Most likely, the majority of the structure was inside the volcano. At the entrance, they were greeted by a young-looking woman, but from Rand's experience, he guessed that she was quite old and only concealed her age with her cultivation and special techniques.
"Welcome home, my lord," she greeted Byron.
"Martha," Elder Byron addressed the woman, "Has Moraine not arrived yet?" His question was met with a negative shake of the head.
"I sent her a talisman asking her to come as soon as she's free. When she arrives, invite her straight to my room. And for now, escort this young man to the guest room and attend to all his requests. He's my new apprentice," he said, turning to Rand.
"Obelin, this is Martha, my servant. She takes care of the house and knows how to do a lot. If you want to eat, drink, or anything else, feel free to ask her. In twelve hours, she'll take you to lunch, where you'll meet my daughter, and we'll discuss a few things. Manage your time wisely, don't read that book yet, it's better to rest. Tomorrow awaits you with another equally challenging day," he said to Rand, who replied:
"Of course, teacher, I will do as you say." Hearing the positive response to his advice, the elder nodded and went in the direction of the house.
As soon as the elder was out of sight, Martha approached Rand and said, "Young sir, please follow me. I'll take you to your room where you can rest."
"Okay," Rand replied and followed the servant into the depths of the house to one of the doors.
"This is your room. Make yourself comfortable and feel at home. If you need anything — food or anything else — just call my name, Martha, out loud, and I'll hear you and come. At the moment, do you need anything? Perhaps you'd like me to prepare a bath for you so you can wash up, or maybe you'd like to have some food?"
"No, thank you, nothing is needed right now. I'm very tired and just want to sleep," Rand replied. Although he wanted to eat a little, he wished much more to be alone and contemplate the situation.
"Then I wish you a pleasant rest and sweet dreams," the servant said before closing the door behind her and leaving.
Finally, for the first time left visibly alone (though in a cultivator's house, someone could always be watching), after a long eventful day, Rand first glanced at the large wall mirror in the room and saw that all his wounds had already healed, leaving only a few traces of blood. He quickly washed them away in the sink also located in the room.
Then he sat down on the bed, which could easily accommodate a dozen people, and began to gather his thoughts: "He's too kind to me. He gave me a high-quality healing pill, and spending something like that on a mortal with such trivial wounds is a real waste of resources. And for what? So that the pain would disappear instantly, and the wounds would heal a couple of minutes faster? Many cultivators even treat their children much worse, and I've only met him less than a day ago. And all this is happening in the Fire Dragon Sect, where it's not customary to help the younger generation. He definitely needs something from me, but it's not clear what yet. My talent shouldn't evoke such a reaction from the elder, who has lived for hundreds of years and seen a huge number of 'geniuses' of various calibers. But he definitely doesn't wish me harm in the near future; he needs me safe and sound."
There were several layers to his intentional attempt to stumble and hit himself. One of them was to finally get the old man to shut up without showing that he wasn't interested in listening to his stories about the "almighty Qi, immortality cultivation, and unique techniques." Another purpose of his action was to see and evaluate his reaction to the fatigue and injury of his apprentice. And this reaction told him a lot.
"But these thoughts won't lead to anything now. In the worst case, I should be able to escape from him, but then I'll have to leave the sect and try to get back into it under a different identity in the future, otherwise, it will all be pointless. But resorting to that extreme option is full of difficulties and I really don't want to do it, nor is it necessary at the moment."
At that moment, fatigue truly began to overwhelm Rand; after all, the body of an ordinary mortal teenager was making itself known. The prince decided to leave his problems for later, sinking into a deep dreamless sleep.
He woke up many hours later from a loud knock on the door.
"Young sir, wake up, Lord Byron and Lady are expecting you in the dining hall in fifteen minutes. Let me know when you're ready to come out."
Rubbing his eyes, Rand immediately realized that almost twelve hours had passed. He couldn't even remember the last time he slept so long; apparently, he was really tired yesterday, and the lack of any cultivation was showing. And this deficiency needed to be addressed soon.
Rand washed up and then took out one of the crimson robes given to him by the sect from his bag; now he would have to wear them permanently, so why not start right now. When his preparations were complete, there were still a few minutes left until the appointed time, but Rand decided it was better to arrive early than to be late, so he loudly, even though it wasn't necessary, said:
"Martha, I'm ready."
The door opened immediately, and behind it stood a young woman who seemed to have been waiting there all along.
"Please follow me, young sir, I'll take you to the dining hall."
Walking through the corridors of the house, Rand took the opportunity to examine them for the first time. Yesterday, he was too tired for such a thing. And immediately he felt a strong sense of déjà vu. These marble floors lined with carpets, walls full of paintings with breathtaking landscapes, these unnecessary small tables with vases placed in strange places. It all reminded him of an imperial palace, but in this sect, even the sect masters had empty walls and floors, and they generally disliked excesses and extravagances. Very unusual for the elder of the Fire Dragon Sect.
But the house was not too big, only a few dozen rooms as far as Rand could tell, so within half a minute, they were already entering the hall, where a couple was waiting for them at the table. Elder Byron and his daughter, Moraine.
The old man sat at the head of the table, and his graceful, even by Rand's standards, daughter sat to his right. She bore no resemblance to her father at all, tall, standing half a head taller than the fourteen-year-old Rand, with eyes the color of the clear sky and a face worthy of paintings in an imperial palace.
"Come, have a seat," Byron indicated the place to the left of him, and when Rand sat down, he introduced his daughter.
"Meet my daughter, Moraine. You may have seen her on the square, but the situation wasn't quite right for introductions, so I decided to postpone your meeting."
"My name is Moraine, as you've already heard. Father has told me quite a bit about you, Oberin. It's a pleasure to meet you," Moraine interjected into her father's monologue, and for a moment, Rand thought he detected a hint of sadness in her voice.
The prince did remember her, she was the one who tried to object to the elder when he wanted to take him as his disciple. Interesting.
"And I'm very pleased to meet you too, senior Moraine," Rand replied, maintaining a friendly atmosphere.
"I called my daughter here so that you two could meet, of course, but primarily so that she could witness the initiation ceremony. Let's get started right away and finish as soon as possible, and then we can have dinner like a real family. Do you know how the ceremony goes?" Byron asked Rand.
"I think so, yes, teacher. I've been told about this ceremony back in the village," he briefly recounted what he had been "told" in the village to "make sure" that it didn't differ from the ceremony practiced by cultivators.
"You speak correctly. Then let's begin," with a wave of his hand on the table, a tea set appeared. Rand approached it and began to brew tea. Once it was ready, he poured it into a cup and knelt, offering the drink to Byron. Throughout this time, Moraine stood nearby silently watching.
" Please take me, Oberin from the village of Lar, as your student," Rand requested, bowing his head.
"Are you ready to follow the teachings of the master?" Byron intoned majestically.
"I am."
"Are you ready to respect the words and will of the master?"
"I am."
"Are you ready to support the master, even when everyone turns away from him?"
"I am now and for all the years that await me in the future."
“Good. I accept you as my disciple and, as a master, I will teach and protect my student to the best of my abilities.”
"I have seen and heard everything that is required. Oberin from the village of Lar, you are now a disciple of Byron Gerano, the elder of the Fire Dragon Sect. May the Heavens strike down anyone who breaks these oaths," Moraine spoke the words required of the observer.
"Well, well, well. With that, the ceremony comes to an end. From this moment on, you are my disciple. You can now call me not only teacher but also master. You may rise."
Unexpectedly, Moraine approached Rand and spoke with feigned joy, "Little brother, let me call you tha, and you can call me elder sister, for we are now one big family."
"Of course, elder sister," Rand replied.
"It's customary to give gifts upon entering discipleship. I didn't have much time, but I've prepared something. I used this when I was a disciple, and it helped me a lot back then. With this, you'll be able to defend yourself even if your opponent is stronger. Although at first, you'll have to reach the Qi Condensation stage, but with your talent, it shouldn't take more than a couple of days. Here, take it," and with these words, she handed Rand a faintly glowing bracelet, which quickly lost all its light in his hands.
"Peak magical artifact, with powerful offensive potential. Not bad for starters," Rand reasoned, examining Moraine's gift.
At that moment, Byron approached the two of them and addressed Rand, "Since my daughter came with a gift, how can I, your master, stand aside? I also have a few useful trinkets for my disciple." He snapped his fingers, and several items appeared on the table.
"This is a new robe, replacing the junk they gave you in the sect's Repository. Even without infusing Qi, it boasts impressive defensive properties; mortal swords won't even scratch it. And with Qi, it transforms into a powerful artifact with many properties and embedded defensive techniques.
"Another peak magical artifact. Most cultivators at the Qi Condensation stage can't afford even a second-rate magical artifact. Of course, compared to what I had in the palace, this junk doesn't compare, but it should be enough to solve most problems in the near future."
The next item was a nondescript ring. "This is a spatial artifact, similar to the pouch they gave you in the storage, but much better. The space inside is much larger, and no passerby can try to steal its contents. It's not empty, but let its contents remain a secret for now. Once you can use it, you'll see everything."
"And finally, there's this jade talisman. Even as a mortal, Rand felt a huge accumulation of Qi in this seemingly fragile stone.
"This is something I hope you never have to use. If you feel that your life is in danger, and there are no other options, direct it at your opponent and squeeze it. An attack similar to what a weak Core Formation stage cultivator is capable of will burst from this stone, but only one. And as soon as you use it, I'll know and rush to help. But remember, don't use it for trivial matters, like competitions during training or teasing another novice. There you must handle things on your own. Understand?"
"Yes, master, I'll only use it when there's no other way."
"Good, then let's finish with the ceremonies and gifts for today and finally eat. You must be very hungry, haven't eaten for over a day, so I asked Marta to prepare something special today. Today you'll try food worthy of a cultivator. It not only tastes good but also brings benefits."
The next half-hour was filled with countless praises from Rand about the greatness of the cook, as he "never" ate anything like unicorn meat or titan snake soup.
"Teacher, I feel like I'm overflowing with energy, as if I could go without sleep for several days or run around the mountain. " Rand enthusiastically shared his feelings.
"Not surprising, although Marta specially processed the food so that a mortal could eat it, it still contained a significant amount of Qi. Your body can't store Qi for long in such quantities, so it'll dissipate completely in a couple of days if nothing is done. I think we can use this moment. We'll go to the sect's Library now and get your first cultivation method and technique. Thanks to the Qi inside you now, it'll be slightly easier for you to reach the Qi Condensation stage, although with your innate Pure Lotus Body, there shouldn't be any problems anyway. If you try hard, by tomorrow, when you come for lessons, you'll be the first cultivator in your group. So, are you ready to start the path to immortality?"
"Of course, master, thank you so much for everything you do. Since my parents died, no one has treated me as well as you, master…"
"Don`t worry about this, I do what every master should do. Isn't that right, Moraine?"
"Yes, father," the girl replied with an almost imperceptible hesitation.
Giving his daughter a meaningful look, Byron turned back to his disciple, "Now that we've finished lunch, let's move on. We have a lot more to do today."
