Koenn POV

“Wonderful, now he doesn’t even want it,” Cassandra said to his back after the boy left. She made it sound as if it was all his fault.

He didn’t even bother to respond to her. He knew that she was just venting. But still, his mind went back to what happened moments ago.

“So what did you think?” She asked him suddenly.

He slowly turned around and stared at her. “Where did you find him?”

“It’s a secret.”

“Screw secrets. Where did you find him? He’s very young to be Tier 4 and with a solid foundation to boot,” he said with a narrowing of his brows.

The boy hid it well, but he had some powerful senses of his own. There were very few Seeds of Authority that could make his spine tingle the way the boy’s authority did. There were some extremely potent aspects to it that he hadn’t been sure were even possible. Yet, the boy proved that they were. If that wasn't enough, then the boy's body was definitely something to note.

Koenn didn't know how the boy was managing it. That was too much power for any Tier 4 to handle. There was something else he was missing.

“I know, which is why I wanted to bring him into the sect. But then you had to come in and ruin it.”

He buried his feelings of regret for how he handled the situation. “You see how he handled my aura and presence?”

She grunted in annoyance. “Yeah, I did. He handled mine similarly.”

“Hmmm.”

“What?” 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“We shouldn’t tell the others about him. They will swarm him like bloodhounds if they get the slightest inkling of what the boy is,” he finally said.

“Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Let him be for now, let him get used to the sect, and we can always try to bring him into the fold later. But for now, can we please try to be nice to him?”

“Of course. Do you think he would be open to a personal discipleship?”

She shook her head at him firmly. “Nope, I don’t think he has any plans to do so. Don’t worry, I practically offered one already, and he wasn’t even tempted a little bit.”

He cursed silently to himself. That would have been one way to get the boy on his side.

“You said you were going to let him stay at the Sunfire Pavilion?”

She tilted her neck. “Yeah, you still have an issue with that?”

He shook his head. “No, he should be able to handle it.”

That was a minor understatement. It was obvious to his senses that the boy’s seed heavily emphasized fire. For many, a place like the Sunfire Pavilion would be extremely dangerous. He knew several disciples who tried to sneak in and cultivate there, but ended up heavily injuring themselves.

However, it would be a great boon to a person like him who cultivated such fire skills and who had such a special seed in general. Koenn even managed to sense the initial markings of an advanced fire hidden deep beneath the surface. A very menacing one at that.

It wouldn’t be usable until the boy progressed his seed for a while longer, but it was there, and it was powerful. He was more concerned about how well the boy would control it. If that soul-bound treasure on top of his head was any indication of what was to come, then Koenn was worried for any rowdy sect member who might be stupid enough to cause issues with Julius.

There were very few flames in the world that radiated that level of hunger and destruction.

Koenn could only hope that he hadn’t offended the boy too badly and that a relationship with the sect wasn’t out of the question.

***

Julius POV

He was a little disappointed, but didn’t spend too much time wallowing in his sorrows. There would be other chances, and to be fair, the tradeoff seemed too high. He had other treasures to worry about, too, some that he hadn’t even gotten the chance to examine.

He mumbled to himself as he dug through his storage ring and removed the sack of goodies he got from Reinera.

He was currently sitting inside what would be his new home for the time being. He had to say it was absolutely breathtaking. When Cassandra mentioned her spare pavilion, he had been expecting something a lot more… simple.

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However, he should have known better. He was informed that it was called the Sunfire Pavilion, a fitting name, too, because the entire pavilion was surrounded by sunfire. It reminded him a lot of the Hyperius Estate and the secret ritual chamber.

The fire mana was so bright that it practically blinded his mana senses. But he could also tell how good it was for his Seed of Authority. His seed sucked in this mana voraciously, and it invigorated him.

There were some dangers, of course. The heat itself was a problem. It wasn’t an uncomfortable, skin-itching heat, but one that focused on his soul. One that tempered it with each second that passed.

Cassandra gave him a quick explanation about how it worked and how he could adjust the enchantments so he would be comfortable while he slept.

The pavilion wasn’t a luxurious residence so much as a powerful cultivation chamber. It was no wonder that Cassandra didn’t use this place as her primary residence. But she rightly assumed that he would love it.

She also explained to him that Grand Elder Koenn seemed to like him and that he should seriously reconsider accepting the affinity treasure. She even went as far as to wave the gemstone in his face like it was some delicious treat.

It required all of his mental fortitude not to snatch it out of the air. He knew that patience was key.

Speaking of patience, he had been patient enough and finally wanted to examine his rewards from the tournament. He excitedly rubbed his hands together as he turned his attention to the treasures laid out for him.

Drasil must have felt his excitement and appeared out of his soul space. The little guy hung off his shoulders and gave a confused whistle. He must have thought that the excitement came because of food, but there was no food to be seen.

“I’m just checking out the rewards I got from the tournament. I’m not sure if there will be anything that will be edible for you, though.”

Drasil warbled out a sad whistle.

Julius petted the little guy on the stomach and laughed. “How was the last treasure you ate? Have you completely absorbed it yet?”

Drasil shook his head and sent several bursts of emotions.

“Oh, it transformed into something different, and you can’t eat the final layer?”

Drasil nodded with a dissatisfied grunt.

“Interesting.”

Julius reminded himself that he would have to think of a way to help Drasil, but in the meantime, he removed the first object from the sack.

It was a small, but beautifully carved wooden box. There was a small latch that required his aura, and he gently fed it into the keyhole. The latch popped open, and he was welcomed with a glowing white orb and a piece of paper.

He grabbed the piece of paper and opened it up.

Imperium Resonance Orb

An Imperium Resonance Orb is a highly coveted treasure that strictly enhances one's Seed of Authority. It also leaves a lasting effect that will increase gains for a short period of time. What makes this treasure so desirable is the lack of side effects.

It is a pure condensation of energy without any attributes and can be used for any type of authority.

Its maximum effectiveness relies heavily on one’s own efforts and the strength of their Seed of Authority.

Julius grinned widely and picked up the orb from the box. He knew he would be getting at least one or two treasures like this. But he had a suspicion that this was much better than other treasures that enhanced Seeds of Authority.

For now, he left the orb inside the box and removed another box. When he opened up this box, he was curious because it wasn’t a treasure, but an item. Before him was a small necklace, but instead of being shiny or metallic, it looked as if it were woven from black thread. He examined the necklace closely and realized that each thread had the faintest runes etched on its surface.

He smiled with curiosity and twisted the threads in between each finger. The box didn’t carry any notes or paper, but he could feel himself get drawn closer to the necklace. Inquisitive, he placed the necklace around his neck.

He widened his eyes as the enchantments snapped into place the moment they touched his aura. In fact, he was surprised when he received a notification and read the item's description.

Umbral Loom Necklace (Soul Bound)

Made by a master craftsman and from the fibers of an Umbral Weaver, this necklace subtly distorts the flow of mana around the wearer. Allowing the wearer to blend their presence with the surrounding environment.

While active, the wearer’s aura becomes faint and indistinct—like a quiet ripple in a vast lake. Creatures that rely on mana detection will struggle to pinpoint the wearer unless they actively search for them.

The Umbral Loom Necklace does not grant true obscurity, but it makes the wearer remarkably easy to overlook.

He had a feeling that Reinera had specifically chosen this item because Julius lacked his own means of stealth. While his mana control was exceptional and able to accomplish most tasks, there were things he couldn’t do that a specialized skill could.

Furthermore, it took a lot of focus and effort to hide his mana manually. Sometimes, he wasn’t able to do that along with all of his other abilities. All in all, this was a great item to have. It didn’t offer much in terms of offensive power, but it was a great utility item that would help him hide his powerful mana without increasing his already restrictive mental capacity. Even with his recent advancement, there was a limit to how much his mind could handle at once, and knowing him, he was going to strain those limits soon.

He was also pretty certain that he knew who made this item. In fact, the soul-bound function felt very similar to what he had experienced with the other necklace he was wearing. He examined the Lightweave Necklace on his neck and compared the two items.

Even the descriptions were similar. Both of them were made by a “master craftsman”.

He grinned and analysed how his mana presence was already lowered. Even more interestingly, he was able to adjust how much mana it distorted. He could completely deactivate it if he wanted to. Or he could make it seem like he was a weak Tier 4. After all, his mana had become quite powerful since he advanced, and even when it was shrouded, there were slight hints of its quality.

He doubted anyone but an exceptionally skilled mana user could tell, but it could make a difference in the future. He was quite happy with the item and felt even more excited when he removed the second-to-last item.

He giggled to himself as he took out a small black pouch made of some kind of velvet material. He trembled with excitement as he unwrapped the package, but that excitement quickly turned into confusion when he was greeted with a plain black pebble.