The Innkeeper

Chapter 2253: Prove it

Lex did not need to expend any energy at all to see through River’s entire body and cultivation. He was a mere mortal, with signs that he had previously been in the Qi training realm. Even if Lex had only a pathetic amount of energy, he still had the foundation of a peak Heaven Immortal. The things he could do with even that small amount of energy was beyond River’s imagination.

Lex could also devise the perfect cultivation technique suited to River if he so wished. Not only would that allow him to embark on the True Path of cultivation for humans, it would also allow him to cultivate with speed greater than if he was merely following a single path and using a generic cultivation technique.

Still, he chose not to do that.

It wasn’t because for cultivation River would need to heal his meridians first. For Lex, healing River was not an issue, though he would have to use up his spiritual energy to make that happen. No, the reason was something else entirely.

Lex had never trained someone personally, and he did not really intend on taking up a disciple at this random moment. He also didn’t know River’s temperament, and did not want to personally enable someone who might change down the lane. Sure, he claimed to be dedicated to Pearl, however Lex had seen enough people to know how circumstances could change someone’s personality over time.

In comparison to an all powerful cultivation technique, the path of Paladins that functioned based on an oath was a much more reliable way of keeping him true to himself. It would also offer River a continuous path of promotion, which is the recompensation Lex planned.

After touring the city and observing how meticulously the flow of natural spiritual energy was monitored and regulated, it became obvious to him that he would need to go to the earlier location he had marked. For that he would need River’s and Pearl’s cooperation, thus helping them out was his form of payback.

Compared to how he normally behaved, Lex was being somewhat reserved with these two. After all, normally he wouldn’t mind just giving them a technique simply because he liked them. As for what they might become one day... that could not be his concern. No one could promise what tomorrow might hold.

The reason for his reservations was, very much, because of how uncertain the future was. Although Lex’s main body was under protection for now, and so it was running the Masterless technique, Lex wasn’t aware if that would extend to his necklace as well. He wanted to minimize his actions and influence, and focus solely on recovery.

At the same time, he didn’t fully understand how his enemy had been able to get so much information on him so easily. Had he been too open in flaunting his strength, or was this the inevitability of facing someone who might be supported by Dao Lords?

Even if the Dao Lord themselves didn’t take any action, simply looking into Lex and determining his weaknesses was sufficient.

Beyond all these, there was one more reason Lex wanted to focus on the Paladin path to power. He had nearly sacrificed himself to save Almira, and when that had happened he hadn’t done it with any ulterior motives. Even so, his actions adhered to his own oath of protecting those he cared about. Moreover, he’d saved her from a situation where survival was nearly impossible.

As such, the feedback in terms of his strength was actually tremendous! Lex had a feeling that, solely relying on his Paladin powers, he could reign supreme within the Heaven Immortal realm!

The more that his Paladin powers grew, the more he realized that he had underestimated the potential of this path. There were secrets related to this path that he had not yet uncovered, and Lex felt like uncovering them would be a great help for him in the future. For example, the feedback he was getting was still ongoing, and he had a feeling that the feedback had slowed down to adapt to his necklace form.

To solve the mysteries of the path of Paladins, not to mention do a bit of research on the potential cultivation path of humans, Lex decided to guide River onto this path.

River was not in the best state, but even if he were deaf, dumb and blind he’d be able to recognise an opportunity for redemption when it came before him. Although he did not know the origin of this unusually dressed senior - whether he was the Lord from the statue or someone else - River had little choice. Perhaps this was what his intuition had been guiding him towards the entire time!

"If it means protecting Pearl and making her happy, I can make any oath you want senior," River suddenly said as he kneeled, ready to receive any instruction at all. Long gone was his pride, his ego, or anything else that may have caused him to hesitate. It wasn’t his own suffering that had broken his ego, but the numb eyes Pearl showed him.

The senior shook his head.

"Do not think of me, or my desires. Instead, think of what you desire most, and what price you’re willing to pay for it. Do not oversell yourself in momentary zeal - only make an oath that you can adhere to. I will merely listen, and see for myself how you judge the worth of your love."

Another thought could not help but float up in Lex’s mind as he watched River. If this boy truly did prove himself worthy, and his character was not problematic, then it might not be a bad idea to cultivate him as a hidden ace for the far future. Just as the necklace he had prepared back then had saved him now, he should already start preparing for future problems as well.

River thought for a moment, unsure of what to say. If he was in a better state, it would not be difficult for his oath to be eloquent, but right now the words escaped him. So, all he could do was speak from the heart.

"I swear, while I have breath in my body and heat in my blood, I will do whatever I can to give Pearl a better life so that heaven and earth can bear testament to our love."

Lex raised an eyebrow, but supposed that was good enough.

"In that case, prove it. You two have been tracked by your enemies because there is a tracker fused into your bones. The bones of your ring finger on the right hand, and the tip of your middle finger on the left hand both have tracking Qi attached to them. How will you deal with that?"