A Snail's Wisdom

With his disciple's departure, the Third Elder cleared his throat and redirected his gaze to the sheath at Kenja's side. Made from jade with the color of blood, such a sensational sheath should contain an impressive weapon.

"This old man has a thing for weapons. May I?"

His gesturing eyebrows and explicit request left Kenja no room for misinterpretation. Hiding his reluctance, Kenja swiftly unsheathed Sakura and passed her to the Third Elder, praying nothing would go wrong.

The Third Elder examined the sword closely, bringing the blade to his eyes for a closer inspection. He slid his thumb against the edge with the air of a professional.

Sakura remained motionless.

While the elder did not show any change in emotion, he was thoroughly unimpressed.

The sword had the appearance of mortal iron. Moreover, countless years had passed since it had left its originating furnace…

No additional alloys…

No extra enhancements…

No infused inscriptions…

No reinforcing runes…

…Nothing!

Even the wooden hilt appeared to have been carelessly carved into a perfectly plain mold!

A sword in this condition was sure to break within the next five strokes against any other common blade.

The elder coldly glanced at the blood-red sheath, feeling that his expectations were led astray because of it.

Carrying such a faulty sword around, it could only be for sentimental reasons.

"Disciple seeks elder's advice."

Kenja's sentence that was neither hurried nor impolite brought him back to the present.

Elder Kondo puffed his c.h.e.s.t out and cleared his throat a couple of times to build up suspense.

"There is a saying that the sharpest blade is the simplest one," he stated while nodding his head in feigned approval.

He was hoping to pay a compliment to Kenja's sword in order to improve this niece's perception of him, but how was he supposed to know that the beautiful and expensive-looking sheath would hold a worthless blade?

His indirect, flowery words might have sounded extravagant and praiseworthy, but this philosophical balderdash was all he could conjure up without blatantly lying through his teeth, hoping Kenja and the other elders would not see through his act.

Kenja believed the praise was sincere, so he was happy for his companion and replied, "Her name is Kimura Sakura."

Third Elder Kondo was dumbfounded by Kenja's reply. He blinked several times at him to see if he was joking, but seeing no sign of falsehood in Kenja's enchanting smile, he could only play along.

He cleared his throat again to wipe away the awkwardness in his mind.

"An exquisite name."

It was odd for a sword to have a name like a human, let alone a gender.

Many big-headed cultivators would gloat about their weapons, shamelessly bragging about some name or story they fabricated for glory.

Over the years, Elder Kondo had witnessed plenty of these incidents—Thousand-Armed Blade, Twin Dragon Edge, Elegant Tiger Knife. One idiot servant who did not understand the concept of time thought he had found an unparalleled magic sword and named it the Century Millenium Sword.

Such stupidity!

But Kenja did not throw out any airs nor was the name imposing. He behaved as if the name was just a fact unrelated to him, treating the sword not as an object but a respected person with their own identity separate from him.

To a blacksmith who pursued the Dao of Weapons, Kenja became more pleasing to the eye.

Third Elder knew a good bond with one's weapon was paramount to understanding the Dao of Weapons. Cultivators of such temperament were rare but would often accomplish great things in the future, especially in regards to the weaponry they wielded.

Such a shame…

He held Sakura by the hilt and waved her a couple of times through the air.

That a sword of such poor make and quality would receive such good treatment from its owner.

Sakura was too light and flimsy to be classified as a good weapon. The metal blade was dulled from the passage of time, and the hilt had been worn out to the extent that it might shatter if he exerted a little more force.

"Un. A good heirloom. It must have gone through many fierce battles in its prime."

Kenja was uncertain why he called Sakura an heirloom, but he went along with it. As soon as this elder was done talking with him, he could return to his cave and resume cultivating until Elder Kazane returned.

It took three years!

Three years of continuous training and repeated spying, with the help of a magic snail and sword, while being coerced into masquerading as a woman, and he could finally, barely cultivate.

Now that he had made some progress, he wanted to resume meditating in seclusion as soon as possible.

He had a lot of time to make up for, so the sooner this elder would leave, the sooner he could get back inside!

It took everything he had to withhold excusing himself prem.a.t.u.r.ely.

Third Elder Kondo peeked back at the other elders before covertly erecting a barrier around Kenja and himself, isolating their conversation from the others.

The other three elders frowned when they saw this.

"Che, what does he mean by this?"

"It's obvious. He wants to intimidate my little disciple."

"Whose little disciple? Fourth Brother shouldn't joke about such things else I'll tell Fifth Sister."

"Sixth Brother must be the one joking. You're here for the same reason."

A spark flashed between the Fourth and Sixth Elder's locked eyes.

"I came to deliver pills in accordance with my responsibilities, che che che," the tall elder chuckled sneeringly at the short elder.

His meaning was obvious: he had a good reason to start a dialogue with Hirai Hikaru while the Fourth Elder was here to shamelessly poach a direct disciple from his Fifth Sister.

"I didn't know being a delivery boy was one of Sixth Brother's duties," Ariyoshi Miji jeered in retaliation, "Besides, Little Hikaru and I have already had a fated encounter, tackling the same challenge side-by-side."

"My challenge! Che, you guessing randomly for many years while she did it on her first day. I can definitely see the fate between you two! At least Fourth Brother's stories are tall," he replied with seething sarcasm while mocking him.

Both of their faces darkened as the sparks between them intensified.

The sound of someone sipping another cup of tea nearby reminded them that they had one more competitor that might pose a bigger problem than each other.

They brought their conflict to an end with a snort and refocused their gazes on their Third Brother who was having a private conversation with their shared target.