“Of course not… and that’s why I was about to report this matter to you as soon as possible… but that doesn’t matter as he has accepted me on his own… and you know that in the end, it’s the will of the disciple himself that matters the most… so even if I had notified the sect beforehand, if he had still decided to choose me as his master, the sect couldn’t have any objections regarding it and the result would’ve been still the same…” The pagoda master logically responded in a way that would make sense and free him of any punishments.
“You’re right… but if you had notified the sect before he accepted you as his master, the sect would’ve placed much better options in front of him to choose from… like in the matter of choosing his master, the sect could’ve placed much better candidates than you, with myself included among them… and who knows… the result might have been completely different then… don’t you agree?”
‘This bastard…’ The pagoda master thought inside, but promptly thinking of a solution to counterattack his words, he stated out loud, “Yes, that’s true… and that’s why… if he ever wants to stop being my disciple, I will allow that… or if he decides to choose someone else as his master… I allow that too… even if he wants to accept a second or third master… I’m fine with that too. With these conditions, there shouldn’t be any more problems now… right, respected Sun Elder?” The pagoda master announced looking at the Sun Elder.
‘Damn it, he’s truly a cunning fox…’ The Sun Elder frowned for a moment hearing his words, but soon the frown disappeared as he replied, “If it’s like that.. then naturally, there will be no more problems whatsoever.”
“Okay…” Then looking at Virus, the Sun Elder began with introducing himself, “This junior, let me begin by introducing myself…I’m called the Sun Elder, the current highest authority in the sect… first let me begin by saying that it’s our sect’s greatest fortune and honor to come across and have such an amazing genius among us…”
Listening to the Sun Elder’s words, Virus replied casually, “Thank you.”
The Sun Elder couldn’t help but frown a little when he heard the casual tone with which Virus talked to him, as he thought, ‘Why is it that the more of a genius a person is… the weirder of an attitude and personality that person usually has…’
Then, ignoring his previous casualness on the account of him being a genius, the frown on his face disappeared immediately as he proceeded while trying his best to approach Virus, “Vee junior, our sect greatly treasures and values talents like you… and that’s why if you allow me, I’ll make the sect provide you with the best resources available to us so your true potential would blossom in the shortest period of time possible… I will also guide you personally as my own direct disciple… what do you say? Do you accept my offer?”
Staring into his eyes for a short while, Virus replied, “Thank you for the great offer, but I will stick to my decision temporarily, though be rest assured, as I will seriously consider your magnificent offer from now on and I will notify the Sun Elder as soon as I decide otherwise… oh and if you allow me, I shall pay you a visit personally later.”
Listening to his tacit half-rejection while also leaving some leeways for the future to change his mind, even though the Sun Elder was feeling a little dissatisfied inside for his half-rejection, he thought it was good enough for now.
So nodding his head in satisfaction on the outside, he stated, “Okay, you considering my offer is enough for the moment. Then, I will wait for your visit… at that time, I’ll explain the advantages you would have if you accept my offer in more depth.”
Then, glaring at the pagoda master on purpose for a moment, he continued, “Oh, but be careful as the people you have decided to trust may not be that trustworthy after all… just mark my words and be careful.”
“I shall do that.” Casually saying that Virus thought to himself, ‘Of course I won’t easily trust any of you… if anything I’ve learned in the countless years of my existence… it’s that the monkeys are the least trustworthy beings out there in the world… and you both are one of them in the end even if you’re not really from the same Earth…’
‘However, It’s actually good that you appeared here… because now, I can use both of you to achieve what I really want more easily.’ He concluded his own thoughts with that.
After listening to Virus’ response, the Sun Elder no longer paid him any further attention as he focused on the pagoda master and warned him, “Take good care of him, and remember that I will pay close attention to our new genius disciple from now on…”
“Yes, that was my plan from the beginning, respected Sun Elder…” Bowing in respect, the pagoda master replied.
Then, no longer having anything else to add, the Sun Elder took another casual glance at Virus before disappearing instantly, like he was never there to begin with.
After he left, Virus looked at the pagoda master and questioned, “Who was he?”
Looking in the direction he left, the pagoda master replied, “As he said it himself, he is the current highest authority in the sect in absence of the sect master… you could say he’s the acting sect master of the Silver Sky Sect right now.”
“Oh… so this place is called the Silver Sky Sect…” Virus mumbled, finally coming to know the name of the sect.
Though he had only mumbled it, how could it escape the sensitive ears of the pagoda master, so hearing his words, he immediately became speechless and asked, “… You… you volunteered to be a disciple of the Silver Sky Sect without even knowing its name beforehand?”
Not wanting to talk about this matter for now before understanding the previous topic, Virus inquired, “So why is he the current highest authority? And where is the Sect Master?”
Seeing him not respond to his question, the pagoda master thought he was embarrassed to respond to his previous question, so putting it aside, he answered, “Well… this has got to do with the Authority Tablet… you see, the Authority Tablet is something that is originally owned by the sect master of our Silver Sky Sect himself… and it’s like a symbol of authority each sect master of the sect comes to posses…”
“Now, what’s special regarding the Authority Tablet is that there are rules attached to it… the first of which states, the true owner of the Authority Tablet is always the sect master… while the second rule attached to it states that if any of the other members of the sect come to possess the Authority Tablet, that member would have the highest authority in the sect just after the sect master himself!” He continued his explanation.
“Which means in case the sect master is not around… the possessor of the Authority Tablet would have the highest power in the sect…”
