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“No, not this time. I should get some rest. Tomorrow I’ll be busy rescheduling classes and informing students and their families. Hopefully, we don’t lose anyone after this...” Mertin sighed, turning to leave. “Good night, Father. Don’t keep him up all night.”

As Mertin walked away, Hurman patiently stepped off the roof and waited until Mertin was no longer in view. Now alone, Hurman brandished a soft smile and calmly rapped on the door. There was no answer at first but Hurman was patient. On the third round of knocking, the door finally opened.

“Hurman?” Oli blinked in surprise.

“What, were you expecting someone else?” laughed the old man.

Chuckling, Oli looked around them and opened the door wider. “Come in, I guess. What’s up?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?” Hurman entered with a questioning look on his face, letting Oliver close the door behind them.

.....

“What brings you here?” Oli rephrased, taking out a second cushion as a kind gesture for the old man.

Getting back on topic, Hurman sat first and asked, “I thought you would be sleeping well tonight, not training.”

“Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself. I’m accustomed to cultivating in my sleep, though it’s hardly effective.”

“Ahhh... What an intriguing technique, though you make it sound somewhat ineffective.”

Oli commented, “It’s technically a battle art, but not a very good one.”

“For the amount of mana you were attracting, I’d say it was quite effective,” replied Hurman.

“Is that the only reason you came to check on me?”

“No... That’s not...” Hurman sighed, letting young Oliver change the topic. “You were quite curious about using dual essences yet you never mentioned what your second essence is. Would you mind sharing that information with me, as the man hiring you and trusting you to guard our product and my grandsons?”

“... I’m not entirely against it,” Oli stated, “but I’d like to ask your thoughts on something first.”

“Go ahead.”

Framing his thoughts carefully, Oli asked, “Based on your own experience, do you think I should attempt to create my own cultivation technique?”

“Hmmm... Is your current technique insufficient?”

“Not entirely, but I have more than enough reason to create my own. But don’t worry, those reasons have nothing to do with the battle art that I’ll trade you for Pauller,” added Oli.

“Oliver, would you mind if we added to the deal?”

Curious, Oli asked, “How so?”

“You haven’t revealed your true strength but, from what I’ve seen, I’ve grown more and more curious. I’m curious what your cultivation technique and how it makes your essence so wild.”

“What do you mean?” asked Oli, hoping the kind old man was as gentle as he appeared to be.

“Your essence nature is firm and steady, among the strongest essence natures that I’ve seen of young cultivators. But there’s something else. Moments ago I didn’t sense this difference while you cultivated but there was something peculiar about your earth essence when you fought Jonon. Perhaps it was my old eyes deceiving me, but for a moment you felt more like a beast than a human.”

“Oh, that...”

“Yes, that. Of course, if you’re willing to discuss your cultivation technique, then I’m also willing to do so,” Hurman added.

Taking a moment to respond, Oli commented, “I’d rather not discuss my cultivation technique, but I may be able to trade you a similar one.”

“Oh?”

“But I will be upfront since you’ve treated me so kindly and now depend on me for your son’s life.” Oli made a straight face and stated, “If I trade you this technique, I would want your hand-crafted technique in exchange.”

“Wow... That’s quite a claim to make, comparing your technique’s value to my one-of-a-kind technique... Tell me why such a deal would make sense.”

“Because perhaps it would help you breakthrough.”

“...” Hurman blinked, unprepared for Oli’s unexpected declaration.

“If I trade you this technique and you adapt it to your technique, it might help you breakthrough and should compliment your unique cultivation technique.”

Stunned by the confidence in Oli’s gaze, Hurman questioned, “Oliver, is this technique a perennial technique?”

“Are you willing to trade?”

“I could just kill you and take it,” stated Hurman.

Oli replied, “And who will go retrieve your lilies? Besides, you wouldn’t want to kill an upstart like me, someone wanting to follow in your footsteps and create their own cultivation technique from scratch...”

Sighing, Hurman couldn’t stop a chuckle from escaping his lips. “Fine, but you’ll hand over your technique first. I’ll determine whether it’s valued as highly as you claim.”

“Then you’ll share your technique with me?”

“You first.”

With Hurman agreeing, more or less, Oli smiled while leaning forward toward Hurman. Suddenly, a small yet speedy stream of essence passed from Oli’s forehead to Hurman’s. It was a fast and easy process but Oli noticed a look of shock and confusion riddling the old man’s face.

“Hurman? Is something–”

“Oliver, what did you just do?”

“I passed you the technique. Didn’t you–”

“But how did you do that?”

Unable to understand the cause of Hurman’s shock, Oli asked, “What do you mean? I just passed it over.”

“But how? How are you able to do that?” questioned Hurman, not getting louder but still showing a firm tone.

Only now noticing that he may have done something he shouldn’t have, Oli put his mind into overdrive. “Well... I’ve gathered a few different techniques and skills during my travels, so some minor telepathy isn’t too startling, right?”

Hurman examined the young man cautiously, not showing anger or malice. His inquisitive gaze was soft but overbearing on Oli’s conscience.

“Tell me the truth...” Hurman stated, following his gut feeling. “Have I given you a reason to see me as your enemy? I thought we’ve both proven trustworthy?”

“Then tell me, why is it so suspicious to pass things telepathically? What’s wrong with that?” asked Oli.

“It’s not suspicious, it’s incredibly rare,” Hurman corrected. “For a lowly nomad to have such a skill on top of having a perennial grade technique is suspicious, not to mention you having other techniques based on your previous statements.”

Caught in an accidental trap of his own making, Oli backtracked through his thoughts and tried to come up with a solid response. But Hurman questioned Oliver again before the young man could devise a new statement.

“Oliver... Are you a runaway noble?” Oliver blinked and let Hurman continue sharing his train of thought, “If you are, I’m not against you staying here or helping you as we’ve already planned. I just want to know the truth.”

“Um... I guess that’s one way of putting it...”

“How many territories have your traveled?”

“More than I could count...”

Unraveling the partial truth to Oli’s situation, Hurman asked, “How powerful is your former family?”

“You won’t tell anyone or try and sell me off? Or kill me for my belongings?”

“You’ll be helping my son remain alive and I’d rather not steal something from someone with a background greater than mine,” reasoned Hurman, still showing his friendly smile.

“... Let me put it like this... I was forced to flee from my home territory long ago and haven’t been able to find my way back. But I can say that I was previously the young master of my territory.”

“That explains a lot...” Hurman felt somewhat at ease hearing that. Though it was nice to assume that Oli was just powerful for no real reason, having a perennial grade technique and spectacular, natural-born talent was something suspicious about the young visitor. At least now those traits correlated with something Hurman was able to understand to a degree.

“Are you still trying to get back to your territory?”

“At the moment, no. But I will be at some point in the future,” stated Oliver.

“And I’m considering it’s a far journey if you haven’t yet returned?”

“Yes, beyond the scope of the region I believe...”

Hurman gasped, “That far...”

“I won’t tell you what region because you won’t know anything about it or its existence, so there’s no need for that. But that cultivation technique is genuine, proof that I’m linked to at least one perennial grade cultivator,” Oli continued. “Do you believe me?”

“Honestly, your character makes more sense knowing this.” Laughing lightly, Hurman added,

“Does this mean helping you will curry favor with a territory leader, or are you on the run due to–”

“I’m not on the run from my family. I was genuinely kidnapped but found a way to escape, which resulted in me fleeing far from the territory. Now, I’m trying to grow stronger before returning home, and going to that institute will likely help me plenty,” Oli reasoned. “What’s the point of trying to cross so many territories if I’m not strong enough to protect myself. That’s why I isolated myself in the Taltin Mountains to ascend.”

Thrown for a loop again, Hurman eyed Oli in surprise. “You just ascended? Yet your energy is so steady? Add the telepathy... If I could only hear you stating facts and was unable to see you with my own eyes, you would seem to share more similarities with beasts than with humans...”

“That sounds nice and all, but dreaming of becoming a beast won’t help me right now. If I can learn to create my own cultivation technique, then I’d be confident enough to return home.”

“What if I requested to join your territory?”

“What?!”

Hurman repeated himself, “What if I requested to join your territory? Of course, you would need to prove your allegiance and standing in a territory before deep discussions, but if you’re truly the young master of a territory then you should be able to vouch for my family as a territory representative. Correct?”

“That’s true... but I’m not in communication with them at the moment nor am I able to guarantee your safe arrival to our far-away territory,” argued Oli. “I’m not against you joining us, but I don’t think you’d fit in very well.”

“Why? Do you have too many noble swordsmen in your territory? I wouldn’t believe you, considering your useless skills with a blade,” Hurman stated firmly.

.....

“Why bother migrating your family like that? There’s no point in–”

“If I can help you, then wouldn’t that be best for us both? I can protect you and keep your identity under wraps while you train at the institute. In exchange, I would ask for the privilege of guaranteed work and sponsorship of your territory.”

Baffled at their ever-changing conversation, Oli shook his head. “Hurman, I’m not against you relocating but it’s not that simple.”

“Why not? What if I paid for a messenger to visit your territory in secret. They would only need to verify the territory and its connections to you, which you can explain for yourself beforehand so that we won’t need to do much digging. If anything, this would give you the chance to reconnect with your territory without the need for you to leave here empty-handed.”

“I thought you couldn’t afford something like that?”

Smiling and shaking his head, Hurman respond, “True, but if you’re truly the family of a territory leader, I’m sure I would be reimbursed upon reconnecting you with your family, unless you’re lying and don’t want to meet up with them, or aren’t related to any territory leader and have given me a reason to skin you alive...”

“That’s not it...” Oli sighed, trying to imagine a proper explanation without saying too much. “First, let’s set some ground rules. You want to gain favor with a territory leader and are willing to relocate your family to a new region to do so. Right?”

“If you’re proven as the heir of a territory, then yes.”

“While I want to learn how to create a new cultivation technique from scratch and take in as much information that the Trighton Institute will allow me to have. There’s no telling how long such an endeavor would take.”

“I can wait, so long as you soon prove to be a territory’s young master,” Hurman stated, sticking to his guns. “I feel I’ve proven to be a generous host and worthy of your trust. Also, you were right about this technique ceiling compatible with my unique technique. Given some time I’ll be able to adapt mine and most likely breakthrough, should my health start improving.”

“And you haven’t received proper medical aid thanks to your son’s medical expenses?” Oli deduced, getting a nod from the old man. “Maybe you need to hire a doctor.”

“Our budget can’t afford that. If I dared mention it, Mertin would go on a tirade of my recklessness bringing the family to the brink of collapse,” reasoned Hurman, with a guilty chuckle.

“Well, in the case that we can come to an agreement about you directly protecting me and your family relocating, what if we funded the medical bills?”