917 Teacher

He observed Alex and Aria for a moment before asking, "Anyway, with the timing, you are rewarded seven thousand points, and if you want to buy the information about the third test, I will retract five thousand points from your reward."

"Excuse me, Senior. I want to confirm it once more. You can't attack anyone in the first and third tests, right? And there is no additional rule, right?"

"Yes. Except for that, you are allowed to use everything you have, including your brain and knowledge to get the points to reach the third test. As for your second question, yes, we don't want to restrict the disciples with a bunch of rules." He nodded.

"I see. That's something relieving to hear." Alex smiled inwardly.

Alex and Aria exchanged looks as Alex just got an idea and sent it by thought transmission. 'How about only one of us paying for this and let the other know? Maybe we can use this opportunity to give the information to your brother and allow me to share the information for a certain amount of points. This way, he will also get some benefits.'

Aria widened her eyes. The idea was shocking, but it was lacking compared to the other one. She simply couldn't believe that Alex abandoned the idea and gave the opportunity to her brother, even though she had gotten all these benefits just by following him.

She remembered how the sword actually told her how lucky she was when Alex approached her. She thought it must be because of this. If she followed him, there would be much more benefits she could get and not only her but also her family. 'Thank you.'

'So, what do you think?'

'I will follow your decision. And if that is the case, I will pay the fee since this is for my brother.'

'No need. I have another idea. Besides, you are not powerful enough to gather the additional five thousand points by killing in the second test.'

'I…'

Alex didn't wait for her and immediately grinned while saying. "Yes, please retract my points… Only my points."

"Oh?! We have an intelligent one here." The old man also made the same grin as he stretched out his hand, asking for his token.

After Alex handed him his token, the old man's face was filled with astonishment as if he just witnessed something absurd. He looked at Alex and Aria back and forth before letting out a long sigh. "I give up. I need to take back my earlier word about you.

"It turns out I am not overestimating you. Instead, I have been underestimating you this whole time." The old man certainly realized why they could get twenty thousand points in their token. They must have met the secret organizer of this event. "This is your two thousand points, but the girl needs to stand back a little since she can't hear."

However, Alex made a big brain move by taking out a memory crystal.

When the old man saw it, he facepalmed. "I have been beaten by a youth… Such a monster."

"There is no rule other than fighting?" Alex grinned.

"Indeed." The old man nodded.

Alex decided to do this because he wanted to have secret protection among the sect. And this old man who seemed to be a Rank 4 God would be perfect for that. At the same time, there wasn't anyone here, so his identity was safe with only this old man.

There was a chance that the other elders knew about it, but in a big sect like this, the last thing they wanted was to get a certain talented disciple snatched under their nose. In that case, this old man would surely keep the secret for the time being.

He might be able to utilize Aria for this, but the old man seemed to have marked him instead of her. As much as he wanted to hide it, he decided this course of action would be better.

"Since I have gotten the points, I will get straight to the point. The last test is a kind of reward. If you get to the third test, you will be able to perceive the Sword Stone for three days."

"Are the days included in our time limit?" Alex asked.

"The third test time is two days, and it's not related to the overall time."

"I see. I can utilize this full week then." Alex grinned.

"I know what your aim is, young man. Since you remind me of a certain daredevil in the past, I will give you additional information as a special reward. There is a teleportation array hidden near every entrance of the test. You can travel anywhere using that and don't need to care about the Spirit Crystal usage." The old man smirked.

"Oh?! This is certainly an interesting piece of information. I will utilize it well." Alex nodded with a serious expression before he went outside the Sound Insulation Array.

"I am looking forward to your achievement, young man. Still, I am asking if you are interested in studying under me. Not only your talent, but your brain is also top-notch because you are the first one to discover this. Albeit, it seems you don't have the heart to stay in the spotlight…"

Alex only smiled, not answering his question.

"Haiz. This is why I hate the unknown; they are hidden experts that are far stronger than your famous people. Though, it's certainly exciting if you know one of the hidden experts. Since that is the case, to hide yourself well, I won't say anything about your identity. Besides, hidden experts can only grow in someone's shadow… Oh, now that is interesting." He suddenly recognized why Aria was with him. "Good luck to you then. Let me see how far you can reach the sky… I wonder if you can replicate his achievement."

Alex narrowed his eyes before shaking his head. He threw the memory crystal to Aria. "This is the memory crystal. Watch it and stay here for a moment until your brother catches up. Hand him this and tell him the plan."

"Are you hunting alone?"

"Of course not. I am planning to go with you." Alex shook his head and handed him his token. "If you channel your Spiritual Energy here, you will know my general position. Go there and we will meet. The time limit is tonight."

"I understand. I believe my brother can come out of this cave within that time." She nodded and remembered they only needed eight hours to come out of the cave. Even if it was a bit different, it shouldn't take that long.

"In that case, tell your brother that he needs to go there if the situation goes wrong." Alex pointed at the wall. "Channel his Spiritual Energy there and make sure no one notices him."

"I understand. Thank you for doing all this." Aria nodded with a smile.

After giving all the instructions, he leaped off the cliff. Yeah, a cliff. They were above a cliff this whole time, and the bottom was filled with trees and many monsters.

He couldn't see the end of this place, so he knew this place would be filled with at least a hundred thousand monsters. It was a perfect place to get points.

"Make sure you use the token to absorb a bit of the monster's Spiritual Energy to raise the count." The old man shouted before Alex disappeared.

"Thanks." Alex nodded and disappeared inside the woods.

He then looked at Aria and sighed. "I don't know whether you are fortunate or unfortunate."

"I am fortunate." Aria smiled confidently, remembering the sword's words.

"Since you believe that, I won't say anything then." He closed his eyes. "This world is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. And you will find there are more of these guys when you are stronger. This is why I don't want to die yet because it makes this world far more interesting.

"And one piece of advice for you, little girl. Keep a man like him close because when he succeeds, he will become a dragon soaring in Heaven. But if he fails, he and the others will go deeper than hell itself."

"I know. The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. As long as he stays hidden as long as he needs, he will surely succeed. And I will be the light that will blind the surroundings." Aria smiled.

The old man only smiled and asked, "Do you want to become my disciple then?"

"Eh?!" Aria opened her mouth in surprise.

"He is surely not one who wants to be restricted, but you are different. Although having the recommendation is making you go to a certain peak, it doesn't mean you can't be my disciple. I don't have any favorite disciple at the moment." He smirked. "Besides, I don't have a peak as well, so I can just get lodging in whatever peak you belong to."

"Ehm…" Aria hesitated for a second. "I am afraid I can't accept your invitation even if I want to. I might be the light, but it's just artificial light. I need to find my own source of light first before anything else."

The old man smirked. "No wonder a guy like him wants you. Besides, there is a hidden meaning behind my invitation. With me loitering around you, I can monitor him as well."

"…" Aria fell silent as she sweatdropped. It was good that she didn't accept him earlier, or else Alex wouldn't get the privacy he needed.

"Anyway, I will give you this token. If you need my help, activate this token, and I will come."

Aria caught the token and thought for a moment before bowing her head. "This life-saving effort from Senior will be engraved in this junior's head. If there is something that Senior wants me to do, please don't hesitate to ask me. As long as I can do it, I will help."

"Haha, to think you have caught my intention again. Well, you don't need to worry about that. With the way you act around me, you are surely clueless about my identity. Consider this as a special prize for getting me interested in you as well. My name is Ravagera."

"!!!" Aria was shaken when she heard his name. "You are Elder Ravagera? The 'Ravagera?' The one who was said to be the teacher of the Peerless Sword God?"

"Hyo-ho. It's the disciple's duty to surpass his teacher, and he perfectly did that. Unfortunately, it was such a shame that your disciple passed away before you… I just wanted to see whether there would be another person like my disciple, so I tried to test both of you. Now I could see that the potential is there, so I want to see whether it can grow."

"…" Aria was speechless. She just rejected the invitation from the one who led the Peerless Sword God to be the first and only Rank 1 God from this world. Still, even if she knew his identity earlier, she wouldn't accept his invitation.

Knowing that the sword spirit knew Alex's real identity, Alex must be a big shot as well. It might not be compared to the Peerless Sword God, but he must be well-known. It made her more and more interested in this person who called himself Nyx.

"I have felt the Sword Energy in your eyes, so I guess you have gotten his recognition as well. That's why I talked like this. Else, I will be treating you just like a normal disciple." The old man waved his hand. "Anyway, I won't participate in the business of young people and let you grow alone since that is the way to let you become the strongest."

Aria clasped her hands. "Thank you for Senior's praise. I will do my best to fulfill your expectation."

The old man nodded while Aria looked at the forest and clenched Alex's token tightly as her heart was filled with excitement.