Novel Full 635 635 Cain the Businessman
That change was enough that their section of the bleachers was swarmed with Elders, all intending to pry the secret of the technique out of Cain by any means possible.
“Everyone, calm down, please. We are currently between fights, and congratulations are in order for the Lotus Blossom Sect on their crushing victory, but the technique will not be spread outside my own Sect.” Cain informed them.
“Name your price. I can offer you anything. Money, treasures, land, titles, beauties for your bed.” One of the Elders demanded.
“First off, if I needed beauties for my bed, I could have made them out of any random desperate cultivator I met. I am also on a journey, so land and titles don’t do me any good at all. Even my disciples are unlikely to need them.” Cain informed her.
The bit about making beauties out of random cultivators raised more than a few eyebrows, but the Shadowed Blade Sect Elder looked especially intrigued.
“How much to make a beauty out of a random Cultivator?” She asked suddenly, with an evil glint in her eye.
“Most such skills are not permanent and can be broken with strength, but the best ones must be put on willing targets. If you just want to play a prank on a Sect mate, I can teach you a lesser transformation spell later.” Cain told her.
“I am starting to see why people suspect that we are secretly an evil Sect,” Penny muttered as the two shared a look of understanding.
“I think he is just bored. The fights were lacking all morning, and Luna inherited her father’s attention span.” Tena suggested.
“And you all should be thinking of what techniques you need to round out your skill set and advance, not criticizing your Sect Master’s hobbies,” Cain added.
“What would you charge to transcribe a skill at the level that you gave your disciple? There are all sorts of vanity pills that can reverse the appearance of aging or increase your beauty. These ladies just don’t want to expend the resources.” An Elder in peach robes similar to the ones Cain’s own Disciples were wearing asked.
“If it’s one that I know, I will do it for one item interesting enough to catch my eye,” Cain replied honestly.
“So, you don’t need money. You just want new things?” The Elder verified.
“Exactly. I want things that I don’t have, and I have enough random enchanted weapons and armor to equip a small sect. Unless it’s got a really interesting effect, I am not short on the basics.” Cain explained.
That made all of the assembled Sects stop to think for a while. What do you give a man who can make nearly anything that he wants? Maybe potions or pills since he wasn’t known to be an alchemist. Or truly rare and unique treasures, but many of those are worth significantly more than the things they would have asked for on behalf of their Sect.
The complexity of the issue silenced them all through the next few matches, and only a half dozen fights later, they called the matches for the day. The group wasn’t as large as others, and the fights had all been somewhat short, so the twenty fights they had scheduled for the day didn’t last until late in the night as they would in some other arenas, where matches often went nearly to the full one-hour time limit.
“We will be headed back to the camp for the night, but we will likely return tomorrow unless the Disciples get a good idea and need time to practice new skills for the day,” Cain informed their neighbors, letting them know where he could be found if they really did have something cool for him.
“That sounds good. We will look for you tomorrow once we have come up with a plan to appeal to your esoteric tastes.” The Elder in Peach Robes agreed.
They all filed slowly out of the arena and started making their way through the city toward the Camps. Or at least that was the plan eventually. The Lotus Blossom Disciples wanted to stop by some of the other arenas on the way out, to listen to the broadcasts from the announcers.
They reminded Cain of radio sports announcers in his first life, giving a vivid play-by-play for those outside the stadium who couldn’t see the matches, keeping the general population involved in the tournament, even if they couldn’t get seats.
The matches in the first stadium that they passed by sounded rather dull, and even the announcer was getting bored with the stalemate that was nearing the one-hour maximum time between two evenly matched Sects. The vendors outside the grounds had the most amazing hotdogs though, with spicy chili and cheese sauce.
That was really the highlight of their walk out of the city. The fights that were going on were all mediocre, and they didn’t feel like waiting for the next one. On top of that, this area of the city was so swamped with people that they had to press their way through the crowd to move, and all of the shops were sold out of anything even vaguely interesting that wasn’t food.
“Well, that was a bust, but we can still go back and train for a few hours. I think that is going to be the best way to tell us where we are lacking.” Jen suggested.
“I think so too. New opponents let us practice our teamwork, but against an opponent that knows all your moves, you can really learn what you need to improve.” Tena agreed.
Cain was momentarily started by the wise advice, and he realized that he had started thinking of Tena as being the age of the body that he had put her in. Roughly the same as Luna was clearly still just a little kid at heart.
Even if Luna still had a Demon’s enthusiasm for bloodshed and everything else in life, her mind was still that of a child.
Elder Dragon Fang caught up to them on the way to Camp, holding a small book in her hands and grinning at Luna.
“I have a proposal for you. One book for one book.” She offered.
“And what book do you want for the one in your hands?” Cain asked, wondering what she had brought him to make her so sure that he would accept.
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Cain glared at the Shadowed Blade Elder. Even if he wanted to, there was no way that Luna would let him turn down that offer. It was practically blackmail to offer up a book full of legendary sweets with his daughter present, and she was even handing Luna the book to examine its authenticity.
“Fine, follow us to the Lotus Blossom Sect, and I will make you a copy of the book. How much of a transformation do you need, and for how long?” Cain asked.
“It needs to last at least 24 hours so that it can be refreshed at night when nobody is around. How much of a change isn’t a deal breaker, as long as they won’t be recognized out of disguise.
The most important part is that it is a true transformation that won’t be detected by talismans and abilities that detect ongoing disguise abilities. They pick out all the disguise pills and other abilities that we have, and you can’t use makeup and clothing for every situation.” The Elder explained.
That made it a good deal more difficult since true transformations of human forms were almost universally very high-level abilities.
“Do they need to be human? I can make them a cat or fae much more easily.” Cain suggested.
Both of those were lower-level witch and nature mage abilities, but they were true transformations and lasted until the user chose to end them.
“Why would anyone want to be a cat?” Elder Dragon Fang asked, confused.
“To infiltrate. Nobody ever expects the cat to be a high-level opponent. They even let them into houses and barns unsupervised and unquestioned.” Cain replied simply.
The Elder thought for a while before her eyes lit up as she began to see the possibilities. “So you don’t try to mingle with the target. You just wander around all furry and cute, then kill them when nobody is looking.”
Luna giggled at her assessment. “Then you find a nice warm lap to curl up in and have a nap while everyone freaks out about the body.”
“That is genius. Not only do you get to complete your task, but you can also stay around to see the aftermath. How long does it last?” The Elder asked.
“Until dismissed. I highly suspect that at least one user has remained a cat for most of their natural life because they hate being bothered, and cats can’t speak.” Cain told her.
“You have a deal.”