The real face of Suiko, or Inari as she liked to call herself these days, was something that even Yui could not really grasp in its entirety. She knew that there was much information she was not given about her own mother.
One of the reasons for this belief was the fact that Tsubasa still considered Inari as her mother.
Yui knew very well that beneath the visage of the perfect Yamato Nadeshiko, Tsubasa was a very dangerous and deranged woman who had the blood of countless people dyeing her hands. Perhaps, the total count was more than Yui herself. If she had not recognized Inari as her mother, she would have attacked her without a shred of doubt.
Yui lacked important information and this was one of the reasons she simply decided to withdraw herself.
"Well, in the end, I am not a true member of the Hanekawa family so there are many things I am unaware of. I am just a Jukugo in their eyes. In fact, I am far more useless than a Jukugo since I broke away from what should have been my role and made a separate life for myself that deranged from my destined path."
"I think even without the special circumstances of your birth, you would never have stayed put in a golden cage without trying to escape in one way or another."
"Heheh~ You know me so well…"
Both of them already knew that what Adam said was ludicrous at best. If Yui didn't have her divine blood, many things would have changed and the Yui of then would have a different personality than the Yui of now.
Even so, it just felt good to hear that statement come from the mouth of the one she cared for and Yui never pretended that she was above compliments.
"Anyway. Since this woman is betting on you, it seems like the situation is truly becoming quite dire."
Yui drank the glass of whisky with an absentminded expression on her face, "Say Adam…Would you…"
She hesitated ever so slightly before deciding to shut her mouth.
"You know, I hate this kind of half-assed approach. Finish your sentence or don't say anything in the first place, okay?"
"Heheh… I guess it can be quite irritating for the other party…"
She laughed lightly before speaking, "Very well. I told you about my origins, right? I have technically three moms, a demigod, a tiger, and more yadayada."
"I believe it would be hard to forget about such a piece of information even if I wished to."
"True, heh. Well, anyway, I am part of an organization…"
She trailed her words, frowning a little before speaking out in a quiet tone, "You could say that it's a large organization. Something that has control over all of Asia as a whole."
"You are speaking about the Heavenly Court, I presume?"
"...Yes." Yui did not ask questions pertaining to how he was able to guess the name of the organization; it made things easier for her anyway so she just blurted out the rest of her words, "The Heavenly Court gives a new system of power, so to speak, to humans."
"I thought humans could only use the Heart Chakra."
"Yes. That is one of the absolute rules of this world. Supernatural races can have access to any Chakra except the Heart chakra. Humans can only have access to the Heart Chakra."
She scratched her head, "Some people in the Heavenly Court judged that humans had greater potential when using chakra other than what they had access to and they were not satisfied with only having the Heart as a base. So they researched new ways to utilize the other chakra pathways. The way of Cultivation… is what they named the system they developed…"
"Like in novels? Things like dual cultivations, devil cultivations, and whatever?"
"Yeah… But not really. Well, it is similar but not quite exact… Ugh, how do I say this…?"
Yui groaned out loud, feeling her head hurt at everything she would need to explain to him so that he was able to distinguish the path that the members of the Heavenly Court were walking.
"Okay, let's make things simple for everyone. The cultivator divides Prana usage into three types. External Cultivation. Mental Cultivation. And Internal Cultivation. Those who can tap into The Crown Chakra down to The Throat Chakra are Mental cultivators. The ones who are able to cultivate the Heart are Internal cultivators, and the rest are called External cultivators."
She moved her hand and the wind began to stir and swirl. "All the roads lead to Rome and all the ways lead to Heaven. Even so, there are ways that produce better results. Internal cultivators who have opened the Gate can use elements. But 90% of them will fail in their endeavor. Meanwhile, external cultivators can use elements easily."
The difference between humans who had opened the gate and humans who did not was like heaven and earth. It was a world of difference that could not be explained by mere words.
However, reaching such a level was not something that the majority of cultivators were able to accomplish. One needed an extraordinary level of talent, willpower, and luck simultaneously to be able to unlock the hidden potential of their cultivation paths.
With such small odds, humans always found themselves at a disadvantage when faced with supernatural creatures.
But Humans were anything but a race prone to giving up. When problems arose, they would change their ways if necessary.
"You want me to become a so-called External cultivator now?"
"No. You are the equivalent of a mental cultivator. One of the rarest types out there."
In the first place, only pure humans could switch to the External cultivation path by giving up on their Heart chakra and using Supernatural creatures' blood as a catalyst.
The cultivators were essentially the people who found ways to make their growth more easier and far more streamlined. They had created different systems that could help one reach a higher ceiling far faster.
But at the same time, the inherent selfishness of humanity was once again proven even in this endeavor.
The different ways of cultivations that were researched and analyzed were considered as prized treasures and the Heavenly Court had a near-absolute monopoly when it came to this matter.
"I wonder if you would be interested in joining this organization."
Yui started her speech and trailed her words… This was not something she really wished to do. But at the very least she wanted to give Adam the option to choose for himself.
"The Heavenly Court is no different from the Hunter Association in a way. You could say it's also seen as a super large guild. But unlike the Hunter Association, there are few restrictions placed on the members."
The Hunter Association was nothing more but a loose group that gave limited advantages to those belonging to it.
The relationship between the Hunters and the association was more akin to a relationship between a client and a mercenary.
The Heavenly Court, at least the one representing this world, was very different. It was a company and the Hunters under it were not mercenaries but trained soldiers or basically akin to employees.
They gave many advantages, money, and cultivation techniques in exchange for helping to run the organization.
"One of the greatest advantages we have is the lack of discrimination. Many of the members are actually Hybrids or Earthly Supernatural creatures."
This was another contrast to the Hunter Association which was too human-centric.
When she stopped speaking, she immediately looked at Adam and asked,
"What do you think?"
"I heard everything and it really seems like a great place."
Adam leaned back on his chair and placed his hands together. He only had one question for her at this moment.
"What is the catch?"
There was always a catch. Even more so when it was related to the interest of an entire organization.
Yui smiled bitterly, "The catch is…"
———
[Thursday — 6th December 2030 — 10:30 pm]
A little while later, Adam could be seen walking quietly in the darkness with his hands in his pockets.
His conversation with Yui ended in a sort of low note. As Adam, while interested in the Heavenly Court, had to refuse Yui's proposal in the end.
One reason was the fact that he simply refused to be bound to this organization.
After all, one of the prices they asked was for the member's very soul to be bound to the Heavenly Court in the Samsara or the circle of Reincarnation, thus binding them to the organization for all of eternity.
Basically, once someone joined the court, their souls would forever belong to them.
If one died they would enter the Hell Underworld region of the court, then drink the soup of Old Lady Meng to have their memories wiped out before entering the cycle of reincarnation.
But even in their next life, they would still belong to the court.
There were other restrictions of this kind and though Adam knew he would never die. he didn't just plan to sell out his soul to anyone.
'Though this would be an interesting scam.'
Another reason Adam refused the offer was far simpler than the previous one.
From what he had read, the Heavenly Court was never really depicted in a good light.
They did not hesitate to bring a war between the immortals just to seal their souls and make them Conferred Gods of the court. This was basically a glorified title for slaves. Nothing more, nothing less.
Finally, if the Heavenly Court learned of his identity…
Adam could only give a bitter laugh at that thought.
'I should really ask Eve just how bad the relationship between Cain and the Heavenly Court is…'
With how those guys always exterminated nine generations of those who slighted them, he very much doubted that they would let him go if they learned about his existence.
Such was the burden of being the Son of the Greatest Sinner of Mankind.
'Well, I guess this is a trade-up for all the advantages I get…'
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