"Mary Sue and Naomi Geller."
'These bitches!' Elodie shouted angrily internally but showed a pleasant smile outside. 'Are they aiming for Ken too?'
"Of course, they can come and dine with us. Make sure to bring more food."
"Yes, Young Lady."
Soon, two beautiful ladies entered the room. Ken and Henry were the only ones wearing the formal robes of the inner sect.
First, entered a woman with black hair and the same phoenix eyes Ken had, but in brown. Her body was wrapped tightly in a black mandarin gown that revealed her long legs and accentuated her slim waist.
By her side walked a woman that did not lose in terms of beauty; her slightly thicker shape allowed her to show her assets better in a long and tight red cheongsam.
Elodie herself wore a short green qipao, and the three women formed a strong contrast when standing near each other.
'The woman wearing a black dress should be from my clan. Mary Sue, huh, I wonder if she lives up to her name.'
Ken knew his clan's affection for the black color, making him guess which one was his relative. He knew her name; she was in Henry's age group, but she was a core disciple and one of the strongest members of the young generation in the sect.
"Young Lady Mary, Young Lady Naomi. I'm glad to have you as our guests, please sit down and eat as much as you like; everything will be on the house today."
Elodie got up and performed a small bow, showing the newcomers held higher statuses than her. Ken only watched them with curiosity, and Henry followed his example.
"Who are you two?" Ken asked without getting up.
"Brother Ken, how can you not know your own cousin? I'm Mary Sue, my mother is Eleanor, and we are direct descendants of Grandfather Fernando. I'm your third cousin."
Mary explained her roots in order to make Ken understand who most likely sent her there, and what kind of bond they share. If Ken was right and the one who sent her was Fernando, then it meant his teacher expected him to welcome and entertain her.
"Nice to meet you, Mary, I've heard of your unparalleled talent before. And you are...?" Ken turned his head to the other woman. He knew the Geller clan; they were an elite clan at the top of the sect, and their power was equal to the Sue and the Han clans.
"I'm Naomi Geller, I heard you were a promising formation master, and wanted to meet the youth that had shocked the Formation Mastery division with his talent."
She smiled at him, parting her red lips slightly and revealing two rows of perfectly white teeth. Most elite clans had specialties. The Sue clan's specialty was their Darkness Qi inheritance, and the Aspis clan had their Poison Qi and Alchemy. As for the Geller clan, they were among the best formation masters in the sect.
The three women exchanged knowing glances. They were all there on the instructions of their clans, and their mission was simple.
'Don't leave any of these hoes alone with Ken for too long.' They all thought.
"What a nice dress, Elodie," Mary complimented.
"Thank you, Young Lady Mary."
The honorifics were Mary's way to bully Elodie with her superior background and status within the sect.
"Don't play these games around me, or I might get too tired and leave. Everyone, this is Henry, my companion and bodyguard. Let's raise a toast!"
A waitress just entered the room with jugs of wine, and with a nod from Ken, she poured it into five cups.
"Cheers!"
He said, and the three scolded girls raised their drinks. Henry held his cup with two hands, raised the toast, and drank it all at once. Purifying golden light spread inside his body and cleansed the alcohol, but nobody could see it. As always, Ken himself destroyed the alcohol in his bloodstream using his Alchemical Qi.
"Sister Naomi, I can see a reason for Sister Mary to be here, but how come you're here?"
"Brother Ken, can't I share a drink and lunch with a youth I admire?" She smiled, unaware of Ken's disregard for formality and code.
"Sister Naomi, I'm still a child and don't understand when others hide their intentions behind social norms. How about telling me your reason for being here directly?" Ken used his 'child card' without hesitation, making the beautiful woman smile awkwardly.
"I wanted to get to know you better, Brother Ken," she said hesitantly. Elodie threw a glance of contempt at her; the Aspis girl knew how to deal with Ken's personality better after talking to him on different occasions.
"And then what?"
"Ahm, and then to see if you'd be interested in getting closer to my clan. My grandfather has been interested in you and considered doing things differently than usual and offering you to be his direct disciple despite not being part of the clan. He is an eighth-rank formation master, a supreme elder of our sect. Supreme Elder Zadkiel."
Her words made the other girls' smiles freeze. The Aspis clan could not gain status as high as the other clans because their cultivators' battle prowess was lower as alchemists, and their highest-ranked alchemist was only at the eighth rank.
'Ah, these politics are bothersome… but I must do it if I want to be protected when the Four Seasons Sect come for my head.'
The only reason Ken put up with all these little schemes was to get additional supporters when he needs someone to fend off the Four Seasons Sect.
"I'm honored to receive such an offer from Supreme Elder Zadkiel. However, just like I told Sister Elodie a moment ago, I do not wish to tie my future to others so early in life, thus I cannot accept any offer that is more than a teacher-student relationship."
Ken rejected Naomi's offer without a second thought. He knew he would not learn anything significant from these elders by the time he departed. Although they knew more than he about the higher ranks, they would only teach him the ropes of the fifth rank in the next months since they thought he was a fourth-rank master.
"Anyway, Sister Elodie, do you remember the research I submitted about Alchemy? I have good news; I'm researching something else of the same importance right now, and I believe it will have a great impact on the Alchemy division, just like the previous one. I expect results within two months."
"Brother Ken, I didn't know you published a research. You're so talented in Formation Mastery, why don't you try to research in this field?" Naomi asked bitterly.
"Haha, Sister Naomi, I do research the field. It's why I can barely leave my house and my days are too busy even to cultivate! I will have something interesting to present to the Formation Mastery division soon as well."
"Hmm, I will be looking forward to it then."
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