Molting the Mortal Coil

Things went as Sage had assumed. They were all given a substantial amount of contribution points, ten thousand to be exact, based upon their work for the six months and also the bonus based on discovering the Soul Taming Abode. Each of them were also cleared to learn one technique without cost, which was to be chosen from a supplied list. Sage knew the list wasn’t complete, but merely those which they had permission to learn. He was quite sure dozens of the techniques were too rare, sensitive, or dangerous for all Disciples to study.

Upon his return, Sage was planning on a retreat to study, train, and review all of his gains. Unfortunately, his new appearance became a hindrance. When he slithered in along with the Peak Master, five Elders, and fifty Inner Court Disciples the greeting party mistook him for a foreign envoy. Since he wasn’t in chains or locked up in a cage he was presumed to be a friendly foreign delegate. Non-human races weren’t unheard of in the world of Cultivators, nor were they even rare. Powerful Demonic Beasts could take on a human form and… copulate with Human Cultivators. Many powerful clans rated their members on how much of an ancient beast bloodline they could call upon. If the human-formed beast had enough children it could form into a race of its own. On the other hand, if the beast only had a few descendants that mixed back in with humanity, it would merely leave a beast bloodline within them. After many generations, members of the clan would be born with varying levels of influence from their ancestor. In these cases, a Clan might develop special methods to enhance their bloodlines and attempt to pair up those with strong bloodline powers.

Sage’s appearance matched up quite well with a close descendant of a powerful Demonic Beast. The greeting party of a dozen Elders was lead by Great Elder Guo and after a bow to Peak Master Zhen he turned towards Sage, the Serpent Man, and waited for an explanation. It was at this point that Sage realized that most of the people in the plaza were staring at him. When the Holy Flame Sect’s Flying Ship descended over Central Plaza, hundreds of nearby Sect members came out to watch. They quickly learned it was the return of the Inner Court Disciples, back from a training mission, and spread the news to their friends. Peak Master Zhen looked back over her shoulder at Sage and then at the crowd around them before breaking into laughter. The hundreds of spectators had quickly multiplied when the rumors of a snake-man started to spread. Great Elder Guo was stunned speechless at the sight of Peak Master Zhen laughing uncontrollably in his face. He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry at this ridiculous spectacle. Elder Shuren stepped forward and cupped his hand over Great Elder Guo’s ear to clear his confusion.

A look of confusion passed across Great Elder Guo’s face before understanding dawned. A moment later, understanding turned into annoyance as Great Elder Guo saw the still laughing face of Peak Master Zhen. The Peak Master seemed even more amused by Great Elder Guo’s reaction and broke into an ever louder laughing fit. At this point even the crowd had caught on to the laughter and everyone gradually grew silent, wanting to hear what exactly was going on.

“Everyone welcome back Peak Master Zhen and her group. Their mission was a success.”

Great Elder Guo’s voice cut the silence as it boomed through the Central Plaza, backed by his Qi in a special technique to enhance his voice. As amused as Peak Master Zhen was, Great Elder Guo was the opposite, wanting to get this whole affair over with as quickly as possible. Contrary to his desire, the crowd seemed confused. Instead of a welcoming cheer, his proclamation was met with mumbled questions and only a smattering of staggered claps. This caused Peak Master Zhen to laugh even more, a loud guffaw coming from the lovely woman’s mouth until she finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“What’s wrong, Great Elder Guo? Don’t you still wish to throw a welcoming banquet for Lang Sheng? You sure looked like you wanted to congratulate an Outer Court Disciple on being transformed. What a great honor it would be to have a lofty and pretentious Great Elder fawning over you.”

Nobody else seemed to get the joke, but Peak Master Zhen knew Great Elder Guo was obsessed with on custom and proper manners. She found the misunderstanding so funny she couldn’t even wait to see it happen, breaking into laughter at merely the idea of seeing him bowing and scraping to an Outer Court Disciple. It hadn’t even happened, but she couldn’t stop herself from enjoying her imagination. Great Elder Guo on the other hand seemed to be turning red in the face. He wasn’t sure what exactly Peak Master Zhen was imagining, but he could guess. The laughter was definitely at his expense and despite not having actually done anything to earn it, he still felt just as humiliated as if he had. Her status was just as high above him, as he was above Sage, but he was still left with a face red with embarrassment.

The crowd was still quite confused, but some began to figure it out. Sage wasn’t that popular, but he was known to quite a few and the name Lang Sheng passed around a bit until a few started to make the connection. He was still wearing his Holy Flame Sect robes, the many Profession badges apparent on his chest. Once a few people made the connection the news seemed to spread like wildfire and Lang Sheng’s popularity became notoriety. The Outer Court Disciple who only had talent for learning professions and not Cultivation had now been transformed into a Snake-person. Word of mouth quickly spread Sage’s new appearance along with his prior reputation, soon putting him among the most well known of Outer Court Disciples. He was soon just as well known as the top ten in the Outer Court Disciple power ranking chart even though he had never even competed in the ranking tournament.

The crowd rapidly dispersed as Great Elder Guo called off the whole affair, the welcoming party having turned into a joke he had no more patience for things to continue. Peak Master Zhen was still chuckling happily, not only did she get to enjoy herself at Guo’s expense, she didn’t even have to explain their journey. There were quite a few Storage Chests of goods to unload and she had been preparing some plausible stories for their contents. The Soul Taming Abode was to remain a secret and all in the Expedition had already been given their instructions, but there was no telling if there was any spies among the crowd. The chests going completely unnoticed among the distraction was even better for her than having a cover story. Sage’s transformation into a snake-person had given her a good smoke screen to draw attention. The Disciples moving storage chests were barely noticed as the rest of the crowd was busy spreading rumors about Sage and Great Elder Guo’s embarrassment.

Sage on the other hand, was anything but amused.