“Excellent work young master.” An elder praised.
“Yes, if you keep this pace the elite exams will be a breeze.” Another elder smiled warmly.
“Hmph, of course they’ll be a breeze. The young master’s talent is simply unparalleled.” A third said arrogantly.
Several more elders talked while Tai cleaned up after his training. “Thank you all for your kind words and training. When I gain that elite spot, I naturally won’t forget the effort you put in to making it possible.” He praised them all with a slight bow.
They all smiled happily and praised him for his open mind. They talked for a few more minutes before they saw him off. Their eyes shined with hope and expectations as they weighed on his back.
A tired sigh made its way out of his mouth when he finally entered the sanctity of his room.
If there was one thing he was looking forward to from going to the academy, it’s that it would give him some space from the elders. He didn’t hate them, but being around them was too exhausting.
“Those old guys stressing your soul again?” A tired yet cheerful voice sounded from his bed. Ellen was smiling at him while sitting on the bed.
“I’m glad to see you’re back safely.” Tai smiled as he said the first genuine words he’d spoken all day.
“Talk is cheap. You can come over here and prove it though~.” Her smile turned more provocative as she teased him.
Tai trembled at the temptation, however he shook his head. “Work first.”
“Boo.” Ellen pouted, causing Tai to laugh.
“Come on, I promise to spend the rest of the night however you want afterwards to prove how much I missed you, but the report comes first.”
“Deal!” Ellen’s eyes twinkled with a mischievous glint that almost immediately made Tai regret his words. Ellen quickly started her report before he could change his mind.
It’d been a relatively inconclusive investigation. On the second day, they’d learned from one of the Norn family members that hadn’t left yet that Marina had a connection to a leading Norn family members, but couldn’t find any details on who specifically or how strong of a connection.
It made sense that member wouldn’t know the specifics. To begin with, the only members of the Norn family the Vault family could frequently mingle with were those with weak status, that’s part of the reason that he didn’t think Marina had a high position originally.
Even after two months of investigating they hadn’t learned much else. There were some unsavory rumors about Marina, the big one being that she had a public falling out at a big event last year with someone. The name of the other party, the houses attending the event, or even what the event was were shrouded in mystery that weakened the validity of the rumors.
“Hmm,” Tai reviewed the info in his head. Based on what Marina said about her goals, Tai was inclined to believe that there was some truth to the rumor of her falling out, he could draw some potential conclusions from there.
He briefly wondered what kind of falling out would cause someone to give up so much at a shot at revenge, but he soon crossed the irrelevant thought out of his mind. His goal was to assess how dangerous Marina’s existence was to the Vault family and Raul, he didn’t really care about her own personal drama.
The relevant info he’d learned here was that she used to have a relatively high status in the Norn family, meaning he couldn’t take her getting disowned seriously and should treat her with a certain level of care, and that her target must also come from a very powerful family and be quite capable. It was rather telling that Marina’s name was included in the rumors, despite her backing, yet they couldn’t hear so much as a whisper about the other person.
“It was the right decision to stop there, if you’d tried to dig any deeper we might’ve been stepping on more than just the Norn family’s toes.” He nodded in appreciation for Ellen’s foresight.
The situation was a little tricky, he’d pretty much verified that Marina was a bomb waiting to happen, but he couldn’t toss the bomb out now that he’d accepted it. He’d have to find methods of making sure it didn’t explode, hopefully Raul would have more info on her after his smelting period finished.
It wasn’t all bad though, her having a big backer in the Norn family meant that bridges could be made. If she was reinstated, then the Vault family would get the usual benefits of having a Norn family member marry in, as well as forge a connection with Marina’s backer.
Even taking a step back, his guards had informed him that a well-crafted detection and alarm formation was created around the training house he’d assigned for Raul’s smelting period, proving that Marina was, at least, an exceptional formation master.
If she was also adept at the other professions she’d asked materials for, then even if they couldn’t reconnect with the Norn family she was already an incredible asset in her own right.
If he managed to diffuse this bomb well, there were plenty of benefits to be gained, his eyes were blazing with ambition!
Ellen broke him out of his thoughts when she grabbed his shoulders and looked up into his eyes with her equally blazing eyes. “Like I said, talk is cheap, show your appreciation more directly.” She said before tugging him backwards. This time, Tai didn’t resist.
…
“There’s one more month left. You’ve done everything I’ve asked of you perfectly, and grown so fast I’ve had to constantly intensify the program simply to keep up with you. Your hidden injuries are already healed, and your base is strong. You’ve done well.” Marina said in her usual frozen manner that he’d learned to appreciate.
“Mhm, I couldn’t have done it without your support.” Raul comfortably muttered despite the needles sticking out of him. “And don’t worry about getting some things wrong, it’s amazing enough you could keep up with this amazing geniuses progress as is.” He laughed arrogantly. His fear of Marina had decreased dramatically over the last two months.
Marina’s hands twitched with the desire to cause pain, but she suppressed it. “I will admit you are indeed talented, but this is far from your true potential.”
She let that sink in while she finished removing all the needles from his chest before taking the plunge. “We could continue the smelting period as we have for the month and you’ll end up with a base stronger than most have after a year, or w-“
“The second one.” He interrupted her without a second thought.
“…It will be painful.” She warned.
“What hasn’t been?” Raul snorted. “I’m used to pain.” Raul wasn’t simply bragging. Everything he’d endured here was relatively minor compared to the pain of his body rejecting primordial qi. He’d feel uncomfortable because of the varied ways the training made him experience pain, particularly the stuffing hell, but it was far from actually hitting his limits.
“I know. I’m saying this as someone who’s observed your pain tolerance for two months, it will be hell.” She continued to caution him.
“Hell is what I signed up for. That you’re suggesting it means it must be worth it, and I trust you won’t do anything that’ll permanently harm me.” Her goals were long term, a short-term doping would be useless.
It was already evident that her methods were effective from his crazy strength increase, he wasn’t even in the qi refining realm yet, but it was already possible for him to crack the ten-year old Soil Tree post. He had no problem enduring pain if it’d make him stronger and bring him closer to his own goals.
“…Do you really trust me that much?” She couldn’t help asking.
“You asking that now already tells me all I need to know.’” Raul rolled his eyes. “You may be a psycho, but you’re not nearly as cold as you pretend to be Miss ‘I only know how to be strict’.”
Raul immediately shivered with regret as the temperature in the room dropped several degrees. ‘Crap, overplayed my hand.’ He tried to get up, but her hand was already around his neck before he knew it.
“Very well then, I won’t give you a chance again, even if you beg me.” Her cold voice towered over him. Even as he was losing consciousness, he couldn’t help smirking at the smallest hint of embarrassment on her cold face.
Marina found his sleeping expression so annoying that she covered it with a pillow before leaving the room.
