A Necessary Trip

Reinhart had parted ways with Serina and Fatty in the inner section, before heading straight to his master's office after returning to the core section. Kate went to see Reinhart as soon as she received the news of his arrival. When she arrived, Reinhart was still giving his report, so she managed to catch a certain name being spoken. Originally, she only cared about getting the core material for her phantom palace, but once that name was said her attention shifted.

"You met Shui?!"

"Calm down, Kate. You're before the master; I'll talk to you afterwards."

Although Kate was very eager to hear about Shui, she listened to Reinhart and let him finish his report. He had just brought up how Shui left them to handle his own business, so there wasn't much left to say. 

"... and that's everything that happened during my mission."

"Hmm, I have some questions, but since Kate seems so worried I'll let you talk to her first."

Reinhart thanked Elder Ren on Kate's behalf and then turned to face her. At first he was going to scold her for her earlier disrespect, but he changed his mind when he saw the passionate look in her eyes and recalled that she didn't know of Shui's survival. Since he knew she wanted to listen to him talk about Shui the most, he started from the day when Shui helped him defeat the three from the Darino Gang.

Kate was silent for the entirety of his tale, but he could tell that she was seriously listening to his every word. When he was done, Kate made a pensive expression so he also stayed silent. However, he never would have guessed what she would say next.

"Okay, I've decided. I have to see him before I break through to the Earth Realm."

"What? But why?"

Reinhart knew how eager Kate had been to reach the Earth Realm, especially due to the pressure she faced from certain core disciples, so he couldn't understand why she would halt her cultivation to see Shui. 

"So that I can fight him."

"Huh?"

Both Reinhart and Elder Ren seemed confused by Kate's answer, so she gave an additional explanation.

"When we were little, Shui was the only one who could fight me on the same level, and even now that hasn't changed. Based on what you've told me, I'm sure we can still have a good fight once I break through to the Earth Realm, but I feel that if I fight him while I'm still in the Soul Realm, I'll be able to push myself to a new level."

Reinhart was still not in complete understanding of what Kate meant, but Elder Ren showed comprehension.

"I see. It is true that he's likely the only one who you can use your full strength against in the same realm, but can't you see simply wait for him at the manor?"

"Shui's not the type to flaunt his strength without purpose, so I feel he would be more comfortable if we fought away from the city."

"Hmm, but how do you plan to find him?"

"Knowing him and what Senior Brother went through, I think he might be mixing up with the Darino Gang so I'll start my search from there while heading towards where they parted ways."

Kate didn't have an accurate means of locating him, but she had a hunch that she would be able to meet him if she followed the trail of the Darino Gang. Furthermore, based on what happened in Malirin Forest, Shui might have the ability to detect her so she could rely on him to find her once she was close enough. 

Seeing how eager she was, Elder Ren decided not to interfere with her idea, but he still put forward a condition.

"Very well, but, let your senior brother accompany you."

"That's fine with me, but are you okay with it Senior Brother? You only just returned to the manor after all."

"It's fine. I can't say that I don't hold some interest in seeing the two of you in battle."

"This old one agrees. I'm sure it'll be quite the confrontation so it's a bit of a shame. Sometimes having a high position comes with such irritating burdens."

"Don't worry, Master. I'll pay attention to every detail so that I can share it with you when we return."

With everyone in agreement, it was decided that Kate and Reinhart would leave in three days. Elder Ren took this time to check on Kate's core material while drafting an excuse for their excursion. While he could protect her within the manor, there would certainly be malicious eyes following her, so he had to make some moves to restrain them.

Kate and Reinhart didn't do much to prepare so most of their time was spent peacefully with the occasional meeting to exchange information and talk about Shui. Reinhart brought up the possibility of Kate meeting Fatty and Serina before they left, but she refused.

Kate still told Cassandra that she would be leaving the manor with Reinhart. She didn't mention her objective, but Cassandra knew that Fatty and Serina had returned without Shui, so it was simple for her to connect the dots. She also wanted to be there for their reunion, but she couldn't wander around without a fixed destination and leave her maids behind.

On the day of their departure, Elder Ren gave Kate the core material Reinhart got for her.

"It would be best if you used it within the manor, but you should take it with you just in case. Since Shui is an array grandmaster, after your fight if you're so inclined, you could also have him construct a space for your breakthrough."

"Yes, Teacher."

Meanwhile, Shui woke up next to the Angel of Shadows' treasure chest. Although Calus had said that an exceptional mortal would have a chance at passing his trial, at the time of its creation he had no such expectation. Possible, it might have been, but he never thought that there would be a mortal capable of confusing his presence detection system and figuring out a way to reach the treasure chest without their consciousness. Even the best thieves of his time would likely be stopped before the treasure chest and eviscerated once they lost the consciousness needed to maintain their concealment.

Nevertheless, Calus was an angel of his words.

After a fairly short nap, Shui awoke and retrieved Sui along with the spirit iron he used to test the system. He then carefully examined the treasure chest. Despite its ancient design, it didn't appear to be anything but an ordinary chest with nary a lock to stop anyone skillful enough to make it here. Shui was still wary that there might be a trap which he missed, but it felt wrong to look into the treasure chest with the Sage God Eyes before opening it, so instead he took a bit of distance and pulled it open with a polearm artifact he stole from some sorry enemy in the past.

"Uh, hmm."

What he found was without a doubt treasure, and if anyone else in the mortal world found it they would certainly agree, but it was a bit lacking for something kept by the divine. If Calus had cared enough to consider the chance of a mortal getting his treasure, he would have left an irritating message about how these were only the items he stole from mortals, but Shui was able to guess that much once he recalled that this treasury was made by the inexperienced Calus.

"Now that I think about it, if this contained divine treasures then I probably would have died without a chance to make contact, so I suppose I should be glad to get something."

Inside the chest were sacred gold coins, instruments made from precious materials, blessed jewelry and two vials of blood. He wanted to take his time examining them, but leaving this place had a higher priority. He stored the treasure chest in his storage ring and began looking for clues. He didn't see anything in the space that the treasure chest had occupied, but when he turned around, he found that a door had appeared just outside of the presence detection system.

"...so this is what it means to have a blasphemous urge."