Sneaking around

Shui then stayed silent and allowed Emily to process things herself. He wasn't lying so he could swear a heaven and earth oath if necessary, but he didn't think that would be the case. He could tell that Emily wanted Dull Harmony, so she wouldn't try to scrutinise his words too much since it provided a good enough reason for his actions so far.

Just as he thought, Emily lowered the artifact and kept it near her chest.

"I'll borrow it for now. Thank you," she said.

"Good. I expect a lot from you."

Once he gave her the gift, Alicia retrieved her umbrella and the two pairs parted ways. As Shui wondered when Alicia was planning to part from him, she brought up a thought she had.

"Hey Shui, has Emily forgotten about you?"

Shui made sure that he didn't react, but her question was like a clap of thunder to him. He didn't know what she had figured out, so he had to be cautious.

"What makes you think that?" he asked warily.

"Based on what you told Emily, you should have a connection to her master, but not to her personally. But in that case, you believe in her too much. Even if your former master praised her, that shouldn't be enough to give her a precious artifact. I can't sense what rank it was, but judging from how she acted, it's certainly not something you could simply pick up off the road. And even if you didn't have to pay for it, as long as you owned it it would have some value to you and since you were so cautious when you gave it to her, you know how amazing it is. Furthermore, although I acknowledge Emily's talent, from what I can see you're much better than her at array techniques, which means the real reason you gave it to her is actually just to protect her like you said. I bet even if she failed the exam you would still try to give it to her."

As he listened to Alicia's reasoning, Shui frowned at how sharp she was.

'Damn it. Why couldn't she just be a dumb broad?'

All of them knew that he was still hiding something about his motive for being so nice to Emily, but only Alicia was so certain that there was more to the story. Shui knew that it would be difficult, no, impossible to convince her without telling the truth, so he didn't bother.

"I see. And what makes you think I'll tell you anything?"

Though it would be troublesome, Shui wasn't afraid of Alicia or her clan and he showed that in his eyes when he turned to face her. Alicia took that fearless gaze head-on, and smiled. She then tightly embraced his arm, snuggled up to him and said, "I guess I can wait then."

She also suspected that he was the one who made the artifact, but she knew where to draw the line. Shui was surprised by her swift change in tone, but he simply accepted it off with a sigh. Since there was no point in trying to figure her out, he stuck to his own desires.

"By the way, I heard that old man say that the first place winner gets recommended for a spot on the updated Alterna Array Master Minor Ranking, but how do they decide the ranking?" Shui inquired.

Although he didn't plan on interfering with her too much, Shui also wouldn't accept it if someone tried to harm Emily like during this exam. He didn't bother to hide this intention so Alicia understood why he asked and responded honestly.

"Well, I'm not aware of the finer details, but I know that once the council announces the beginning of the evaluation period, candidates will be judged based on two criteria; achievements and ability. Achievements can be anything as long as it adds to your reputation as a skilled array master, but you can't get a placing without proving that your ability is up to par as well."

"I see, so they can cut down on the fakes," Shui commented.

Boasting of non-existent achievements wasn't a mind-blowing idea so it wouldn't be surprising if array masters lacking in confidence chose to spread rumours of their 'great feats'.

"That's right. Once all achievements of the candidates have been verified, the preliminaries for those without major achievements will commence, this is likely what Emily is aiming for."

"Preliminaries, huh? How does that work?"

If it was a normal martial tournament then a fight was the obvious answer, but there were several ways for array masters to compete against each other.

"If I remember correctly, they pick out ten candidates through games of 'lock and key'."

'Lock and key' was an array-focused game that the Myriad Pavilion entrance method was based off of. In it, the player was given a puzzle to solve and a sealed door. The only way to open the door was by solving the puzzle, constructing an array from materials provided by the puzzle and using that array as the key to the door. It sounded fun so Shui wanted to try it, but before his mind and ever growing knowledge, few puzzles could stomp him for more than ten minutes.

Alicia continued, "Those with major achievements and current members on the Minor Ranking automatically move on to the main evaluation while those with less impressive achievements have an advantage against those without any. For example, if two arrays masters tied during the game, the one with achievements would win against the one without."

"So she's really got her work cut out for her."

He still didn't plan on helping her win, but he would cheer her on.

'And after I've taken care of my target, I should seriously investigate what happened to her and Nikolai.'

"That's right. Frankly, I don't think her chances are very high," Alicia added.

"That can't be helped, she's facing veterans after all. Oh, does the Major Ranking work the same way?"

"No, due to the lack of tier 5 and 6 array grandmasters the Major Ranking rarely changes so I'm not sure what system they use."

Tier 5 and 6 array grandmasters were comparable to Masters and True Masters so it was no surprise that they didn't appear often, especially considering the fact that less people opted for the path of arrays and the high difficulty in pursuing the path of arrays without a master.

'Now that I think about it, I wonder who his master is.'

Alicia had determined that Shui was at least a tier 4 array grandmaster, so his master should be of the same tier or higher. However, she got the feeling that his method of constructing arrays wasn't based on any particular school but from the basics. In other words, he wasn't using a special style to make his arrays, he was only using basic techniques that were around since arrays were first discovered by the early races.

As she thought about this, Shui noticed an pensive look on her face.

"What is it?" he asked.

In response to his question, Alicia looked up into his eyes, trying to find something beyond their mysterious beauty. As he grew more familiar with his divine powers, Shui was able to restrain them better. Especially after his recent boost in soul strength from breaking through to the True Earth Realm, people wouldn't be charmed just by looking at him, but it was still ill-advised to stare straight into his eyes for too long.

Shui was worried that Alicia would become further attracted to him and cause even more trouble, but he was shocked to see that her will didn't waver for a second. It didn't please him, but he had once used only the natural charm of his eyes to make the Earth Realm guards of a target obey him, so it was astonishing that she could stare at them without losing herself. For the first time since they met, Shui wondered.

'Who is this girl?'

Alicia noticed that he began to show interest in her, but they were starting to attract attention so she couldn't enjoy it for too long. She turned away and asked him for a favour.

"Say, since I was such a good guide today, would you mind escorting me somewhere?"