A look of pure shock covered John's entire face as he heard this. His head swiveled back and forth between the faces of the Sect Leader and the Vice-Sect Leader, trying to put two and two together.
However, he could not find any matching features, making the subject matter all the more confusing.
"Adopted daughter," the Vice-Sect Leader clarified as she sat down per her fathers request.
She had seen John's confusion, and decided to clear it up right away. However, she truly did treat the Sect Leader as her true father.
John's reaction slightly faded upon hearing this, as it made much more sense now. However, the news was still completely shocking, and quite frightful. He had hoped to seek bastion with the Sect Leader, but now found out the Vice-Sect Leader was his daughter.
Not only that, but he had insulted her multiple times, causing a shiver to crawl up his spine. His face became quite grim.
'I'm fucked.'
The Sect Leader noticed John's look of despair, and began to lightly chuckle. However, he said nothing as he once more focused on the teacup in his hands. His face lit up in excitement and anticipation as he took his first sip.
John watched the Sect Leader carefully, as his reaction was everything. Only if the Sect Leader was pleased by his gift would he be able to escape the Vice-Sect Leaders clutches.
The Sect Leaders eyes popped open, as a large and elated smile appeared on his face. He quickly took another small sip, making sure to savor every bit of flavor.
After a moment of silence, he finally spoke up. "Incredible, this is the best tea I've ever tasted."
John breathed out a sigh of relief upon hearing this. This was the reaction he was hoping to see.
The Sect Leader took another sip and closed his eyes. He savored every bit of flavor, and also basked in the Heavenly Dao's that were imbued with each sip. Even at his level of cultivation, each sip was giving him new insights into both his own Dao's, as well as the heavens itself.
This alone showed how incredible the tea was.
John turned to look at the tea in his own teacup. After a brief pause, he took a small sip as well. Warm, fragrant, and incredibly flavorful tea poured down his throat and warmed his body. The flavor was unlike anything he had experienced before, and he could even feel a strange energy flutter within his body.
These were the Heavenly Dao's John was feeling, but unfortunately his cultivation was too low to isolate and learn from these Dao's.
"Good stuff," John couldn't help but exclaim as he took another sip.
The Vice-Sect Leader sat there in silence as she watched the two men before her continue to sip tea. Both of them had looks of relaxed elation on their faces as they sipped the tea nonstop.
After a while, curiosity welled up within her as she too poured herself some tea and took a sip. Her face instantly lit up upon tasting it, and she took several more sips while savoring both the flavor and the Heavenly Dao's flowing within her.
Like the Sect Leader, she too felt her comprehensions slowly but surely increase, satisfying her greatly.
Like this, the three of them sat in silence for quite some time, sipping tea. It was a rare moment of peace in John's life, and he savored every second of it.
A while later, the Sect Leader finally set down his cup. He sighed out in pure contentment, as a warm smile stayed on his face. He looked over to John, who was long done with his cup of tea.
"Thank you for that, and the gift of the plant as well. You have brought great joy to this old man."
John smiled as he heard this. "No problem. It's the least I could do."
The Vice-Sect Leader put down her cup as well, as her hawk-like eyes locked onto John once more.
"Now that this is done, you're coming with me."
John's face instantly soured as he heard her say this.
"Why the hell are you so obsessed with training me? Don't you hate training disciples. Go back to that attitude of yours and leave me alone," John replied, his voice filled with discontent.
"What did you say to me? You keep getting more and more brazen with how you speak to me. Don't worry, I'll fix that flaw of yours soon enough," the Vice-Sect Leader replied.
Sect Leader Thunderzen chuckled as he heard the exchanges between the two of them. It was quite refreshing for him to see someone treat his daughter normally, as well as her reactions without her usual stiffness.
"Come now Lilian, we should at least explain to him why we're training him this hard. He should understand the severity of his situation then, and be more obliged to cooperate," Thunderzen spoke up.
'Lilian? I guess that's her actual name. I guess I only ever called her Vice-Sect Leader.'
The Vice-Sect Leader frowned, but didn't argue. She sat back down in her chair, giving the green light for the Sect Leader to explain their actions.
Sect Leader Thunderzen looked towards John, his warm smile slowly turning serious.
"Lilian is not only pushing you to your limits because she enjoys it. It's true that she's quite heavy handed, but the intention behind her methods are pure," Thunderzen explained.
John frowned at this explanation, as he strongly disagreed, but he remained silent to let the Sect Leader explain himself.
"This news relates to a subject in which you have great interest in...the Bloodfiend Sect."
John became serious upon hearing the Bloodfiend Sect brought up. With his desire to destroy the entire sect, he treated every matter regarding the Bloodfiend Sect of utmost importance.
"Our spies within the Bloodfiend Sect's lands have indicated that they're starting to make quite a few movements, and appear to be preparing for something. We are not sure what they're up to, but it's most likely not good news for the Yuan Continent."