“You were offered the Prime Disciple position?” Laia asked, clearly surprised to hear such a thing had happened. However, after thinking about it for a second and who John was, it made sense after all. If there ever was a disciple worthy of the position, it would him.
“What? Is the Prime Disciple position impressive or something?” Miko asked curiously, while the others looked at Laia with curious gazes as well, indicating that they didn’t know anything about it either.
“I guess it makes sense that none of you know about it,” Laia sighed, “as the last Prime Disciple of the Honorable Alliance was over ten thousand years ago,” she explained.
“What? That long? Wait, why do you know about it then?” Adam asked curiously, as Laia wasn’t even part of the Honorable Alliance.
“Being a princess of the Astral Empire requires me to know a bit about the continent we live on,” she replied.
“Ah…I guess that makes sense. Anyways, what is a Prime Disciple?” Adam asked.
Seeing John not speaking up about the position, Laia briefly explained the history of the position, as well as what it meant to be the Prime Disciple. The group’s eyes widened as they heard just how important the position was, and after Laia was done explaining, the group turned to John and congratulated him with wide smiles.
“Congrats! If anyone deserved the position, it’s definitely you,” Chase said cheerily, while the others nodded their heads in agreement.
“Ah…about that,” John replied with a wry smile.
“I knew it!” Miko exclaimed loudly, while the others looked at him with confused expressions. “You declined it, didn’t you? There’s no way you would allow yourself to be tied down to such a position.”
“What? Did you really decline it?” Laia asked for confirmation, to which John nodded his head.
‘I did,” he replied.
“Ah, why am I not surprised,” Iris sighed, not too surprised that John had declined the offer. Her, Adam, and Chase also knew John’s personality almost as well as Miko, and were not too shocked to hear his response.
“Such a shame,” Adam sighed, “you would have been showered with treasures and spirit crystals. Such a waste.”
John shrugged his shoulders at Adam’s antics, and decided to change the topic.
“Ah, right. I might have declined the Prime Disciple position, but I was able to get the Alliance to agree to a few of my requests,” John spoke up, while the others listened closely.
“I asked the Alliance Head about formation masters and alchemy masters, and apparently the best of both arts are part of the Council of Elders. Both Elder Clearheart and Elder Myriad RuneKing have agreed to accept you both as direct disciples,” John said as his gaze shifted to Adam and Chase.
Both Adam and Chase were surprised to hear John had asked for such a great favor from the Alliance, while John gazed at Iris apologetically.
“Unfortunately there isn’t a good match for your talents in the Alliance, so I wasn’t able to get you a master,” John sighed.
“I already have the Grand Elder as my master, who is perfectly suited for my talents,” Iris replied, not disappointed at all. “Besides…” she mumbled as her gaze shifted to Adam for a split second, causing John to frown for a second as he could tell something was up.
“Can we still remain part of the Heavenly Lightning Sect as well?” Chase chimed up.
“You can,” John confirmed.
Chase fell into deep contemplation for a short moment before he nodded his head in agreement.
“Ok, I accept,” he replied cheerily, clearly excited to have a powerful alchemy master to study under. “How is Elder Clearheart?” he asked curiously.
“Very…interesting,” John replied as he thought back to her heated discussions with Elder Bluestar, “but I like her. She defended me before the other Elders despite not knowing me, so I can tell she is a good person. I’m sure you two will get along quite well,” John conveyed his thoughts.
“Good, then I’m looking forward to studying under Elder…or Master Clearheart,” Chase replied happily.
John smiled and nodded in approval, and gazed back at Adam, who clearly had a conflicted look on his face. John remained silent as he allowed Adam to process whatever he was thinking about, which lasted for a short while before Adam spoke again.
“Thanks for looking out for me John, I really appreciate it,” Adam said.
“But…” John could tell there was more.
“But…my formation arts are quite unique, handed down directly from my father. Its unlike anything on this continent, and so while I’m sure Elder Myriad RuneKing could help, I don’t think staying in here would be the best thing for me,” Adam replied. “Exploring the continent and seeking out opportunities is the only thing I can think of to raise my strength to the level it’s needed in time for what I need to do.”
“Are you sure?” John asked. “Not only is exploring the continent dangerous, finding opportunities that have not been discovered already is next to impossible. It might be all for naught in the end.”
“I am,” Adam nodded with firm resolve. “I’ve already made up my mind that the best thing for me is to journey across the Divine Martial Continent, searching for opportunities on my own. Besides, I’ll have something I can count on to find the opportunities with no problem!”
John raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, as the Adam he knew from before would never dare to do such a dangerous thing. However, he could clearly tell Adam had changed after his death, and that he had things to resolve that required power, such as the matter with the Starforge Clan.
John’s thoughts shifted back to the start of his cultivation journey, where he had done the exact same thing once he started to cultivate. He had set out on a solo journey into the Dreadel Kingdom and beyond, forcing himself to improve or perish. It had worked out quite well for him, and so he couldn’t fault Adam for wanting to do the same thing.
“I won’t try to change your mind, but just be careful out there. Journeying alone is very different when compared to traveling with a group, so don’t get into any situations where you can’t get yourself out,” John gave some words of warning.
“Ah, about that…I won’t be alone,” Adam replied meekly, causing John to frown for a moment as before his gaze shifted to Iris. The look she had given Adam just moments ago finally made sense to John as he put two and two together.
“It seems you two have discussed this beforehand and planned this out already,” John said as his gaze shifted between Adam and Iris. “So, this is what you meant when you said you’ll have no problem finding unexplored opportunities? I suppose with your formation talents and Iris’s eyes, it’s not impossible for you to find something out there,” John replied.
“Wait? What’s going on? Oh. OH? OHHHH! Are you two…together?” Miko chimed in loudly with great excitement as he finally figured out what was going on.
Both Iris and Adam became reddened in the face, and they exchanged a quick glance between each other, becoming even more red in the face before looking away from one another.
“We’re not together,” Adam replied sheepishly, “we’re just going to travel together is all,” he continued, while Iris remained silent through it all.
“Hahaha, whatever you say. Did you forget I can read soul fluctuations very easily? Both of your emotions are practically written on your sleeves. Way to go Adam!” Miko cheered proudly, while Laia and Iseria giggled lightly, clearly happy for Iris as well.
A thousand questions flooded into John’s mind as he came to this realization, as it was the last thing he ever expected to happen. Iris and Adam had been completely antagonistic for the longest time, with both seemingly hating the other.
John stared at the two, realizing that something must have happened between the two of them during the Jade Dragon Empire Realm for them to get to this point. However, Adam and Iris had spent many months together in the realm, and had gotten through many perilous and sorrowful situations together, which obviously had an impact on how they felt about each other.
If there was one thing that forged lasting bonds, it was wading through perilous waters together and getting through by relying on each other, as Iris and Adam had done in the Jade Dragon Empire realm.
Although it was the last thing John ever expected to happen, he felt happiness for both of them for how things had developed.
From very early on, he could tell that Iris had feelings for him, but unfortunately for Iris, he did not feel the same about her. It seemed as though Iris had come to this realization, and had buried those feelings that would never be requited.
At the same time, the thing Adam needed the most at the moment was a person he could truly depend on that was not John, as John knew he would not always be there to protect Adam.
‘Both of them are also probably feeling pressure by falling behind me more and more, and have determined this is the best way to raise their strength. It has the biggest risks, but also the biggest rewards. I can’t fault them for thinking this way,’ John mused as he stared at them, deep in thought.
“Well, if that’s how it is, then I have full confidence that you two will achieve great things together on your journey through the Divine Martial Continent. I look forward to seeing your progress when we eventually meet again,” John said happily as he smiled at the two of them.
“To Adam and Iris! May their relationship bear many fruits-OW!” Miko stood and toasted with his wine, his words clearly suggestive, at which point Iris flicked a beam of Qi towards him, slamming against his head and knocking him backwards onto the ground.
“Hahaha,” the others laughed loudly as merry laughter drifted throughout the top floor of the restaurant for quite some time.