After equipping their coats, the six boarded the leaf-shaped flying artifact of a core elder and flew deeper into the sect. As Fatty and Serina watched his fading back, both of them were filled with the motivation to be in the same place that he stood.
On the way to the core section, Shui looked at the passing scenery. He had walked down this route before, but there was a fresh feeling in viewing it from above. Looking down, he could see that much thought had been put into the arrangement of buildings and floral decorations, which improved both the aesthetics and the flow of energy. Despite only being in the Soul Realm, Shui was able to fly if he wanted to, and this experience made him consider doing so more often. Lionel continued to glare at Shui, but he didn't do anything. The others could sense the tension, but they tried not to get involved.
While he had accepted the result of the exhibition, Clyde knew that Lionel would find it hard to do the same. After all, this was the same man who had challenged him countless times after being defeated in a spar.
After around a minute of moving through the air, they eventually reached the entrance to the core section. The core elder spoke to the War Department elder briefly before the door opened and they were allowed through. There were two gasps of awe, from Deidre and Tora, respectively, as they moved through the cave. Given their statuses and connections, it was likely that everyone else already had a chance to enter the core section.
In a short time they made it through the cave, and the elder landed on a misty plain. Shui thought that it was time for them to get sent to their designated courtyards, but suddenly a being in the form of a small orb of light appeared before each of them.
"Eep!"
One of the six let out an embarrassing yelp, but the rest ignored it since they were more interested in the creatures in front of them. They floated in the air with their palm-sized bodies and seemed so endearing that even Lionel couldn't keep his anger in front of them, but Shui saw through them. The six of them were low-rank spirits who could only follow simple orders, but they were still spirits, so they had an innate charm ability that affected all beings born of nature.
'I didn't expect to see spirits here, but it's probably just a stunt.'
Once he realised that they were spirits, Shui wondered who was the spirit walker controlling them. Spirits were born from the world itself and so had innate understandings of one or more of the world's natural laws. They rarely appeared in places populated by other living beings, and even when they did, they were normally hidden from those who did not have the right aptitude.
Spiritualists and spirit walkers were born among those who had the aptitude to see and form contracts with spirits. The difference between the two jobs was that a spiritualist allowed the spirit to inhabit their bodies, while a spirit walker commanded spirits from a distance. It was a rare aptitude, and most who had it weren't very impressive, but if a spiritualist or spirit walker was talented enough, then even without a high cultivation, they could become unrivalled. In fact, there was once someone known as the Spirit Emperor, and he was a top expert on the continent thanks to his contracted spirits despite only being at the peak of the Soul Realm.
"Welcome to the core section of Storm Sky Manor, also known as Storm Court. These spirits will lead you to your respective courtyards where you will find a jade plaque that will brief you on what you need to know. I look forward to hearing of your future accomplishments."
After giving a short welcome speech, the core elder left on his flying artifact, and with a spirit for each of them, they were led to their new homes before the spirit vanished. Unlike in the inner section, Shui had a courtyard for himself here in the core section that not only had its own cultivation room and training room, but there were also rooms for alchemy and forging.
Shui considered taking his time getting familiar with this place, but he decided to send a message to Kate and the others informing them of his arrival. Thanks to his new coat, this could be done simply by designating the target and using intent communication. He received several responses quickly, and they agreed to meet in the night after sending invites to Fatty and Serina.
Luke offered to be the one to send the invites since he had followers in the inner section, and everyone agreed. As a core disciple, Shui could also recruit Fatty and Serina so that they could stay by his side like Cassandra's maids, but they had refused when he brought it up, saying that they wanted to enter the core section with their own merits. He likely wouldn't be there when it happened, but he wished them all the best.
While waiting for the night's celebration, Shui considered what arrays to place around his courtyard when he detected incoming visitors. He narrowed his eyes in preparation for battle, but these visitors didn't seem to be hostile.
"Core disciple Shui of the fallen Heaven clan, we come with a message from young lord Pon."
Arrogant, but not hostile. Although he could ignore them, that approach would likely cause more problems, so he clicked his tongue and went out.
"I am the Shui that you speak of. What business do you have?"
The visitors were a group of three core disciples, one woman and two men, all with cultivations in early Earth Realm. One of the men took the lead with the other two by his side.
"Be proud. You have been invited by the young lord to join his retinue."
Shui tried his best to hold back his laughter as he asked, "And who is this young lord Pon?"
"Hmph, how deplorable. Do you mean to say you do not know of the scion of the Xin clan despite being a core disciple?"
The given name hadn't rung a bell, but once he heard what clan this young lord was from, Shui was able to put the pieces together. Any core disciple had the qualification to enter the battle to determine the next manor lord, but all previous manor lords had come from one of three clans. These three clans are the Chun clan, the Xin clan, and the Rai clan. The Rai clan had decided to withdraw from the current competition, so it was likely that the next manor lord would be from either the Chun clan or the Xin clan.
As was customary, the current manor lord accepted the top candidates from the Chun and Xin clans as direct disciples, but although the candidate from the Xin clan was accepted first, he was replaced as eldest brother a year after the Chun clan candidate, Mater, became a direct disciple. Since then, his appearances became infrequent, and his faction dwindled until everyone assumed that he was out of the running.
'So he's still aiming for the manor lord seat? But why is he trying to recruit me?'
At first he was going to refuse, but he had time to spare, and he was slightly interested in meeting Pon, so he changed his mind.
"I see, so it's young master Pon. In that case, may I have a chance to meet with him before I make my decision?
"Hmm, very well. Follow me."