Sorry, Could You Say That Again?

Alice felt that she had ultimately arrived a step too late. When she sprinted to Master Sart's residence, she could already sense the thick presence of the Rat-Faced Cult.

Clearly, another Heretical Cult incident had broken out here just moments ago.

She clenched her pearly teeth, secretly regretting why she had let Aaron leave.

She had known perfectly well that he had already been targeted by the Rat-Faced Cult!

Still, she secretly let out a long breath of relief.

If that was the case, then she probably would not have to marry him, right?

Though she was prepared to sacrifice everything for her family, she was still a girl under twenty.

She could accept a political marriage between nobles, but marrying a penniless, down-and-out noble...

And this noble had actually sold his family's ceremonial sword?

Fortunately, as long as he was corrupted into a member of the Rat-Faced Cult, he would no longer be able to keep his noble status.

The Yagrant Kingdom would never allow a Heretical Cultist to become a noble.

No matter how harsh her family was, they would never associate themselves with a Heretical Cultist.

With that thought in mind, she did not even bother knocking. She shouted and smashed through the wooden door with her shield.

For a Bronze Tier Sword Affinity Transcendent, smashing through a wooden door was effortless.

If the difference between ordinary people and Black Iron Tier Transcendents lay in whether they could accept and understand transcendent aura, then the difference between Black Iron Tier and Bronze Tier lay in whether they had begun to use it.

For example, Sword Affinity Transcendents used their will to guide transcendent aura, tempering their bodies with it and continuously strengthening themselves.

It was also at the Bronze Tier that the distinction between professions emerged. Based on the different ways of using transcendent aura, there came to be the four major paths: the Gold Coin Path, Sword Affinity, Scepter Affinity, and Holy Grail Path.

Yet right now, Alice wished she were merely an ordinary person.

This was so embarrassing!

After rushing into the room, she saw only Sart and Aaron staring at her in stunned silence.

There were no mutations on Aaron's body. The room was plain and tidy, with no signs of battle whatsoever, while Master Sart was using Spirit Powder to disperse the Heretical Cult aura in the room.

Clearly, she had chosen the wrong way to enter.

"Respected Lady Alice, may I ask what brings you here?" Sart recovered quickly. After steadying himself, he spoke coldly, though he was also secretly breaking into a cold sweat.

He had actually forgotten to set up a few protective barriers before conducting the Enlightenment Ritual.

Any ritual involving the soul generally required protecting the caster, especially one like the Enlightenment Ritual.

The recipient could only barely enter the edge of the Dream Realm through the connection between Spirit Powder and the physical body. If anything changed in the real world, it could very easily interfere with that connection, with consequences nearly equivalent to forcibly interrupting the Enlightenment Ritual!

Had Alice arrived even half a step earlier, she might have directly disrupted the ritual. The outcome would have been almost impossible to predict.

Even if his teacher Julian had been present, he might not have been able to retrieve Aaron's disconnected soul within such a short time.

And without any protection, an ordinary person's soul could only endure for a few breaths in the Dream Realm.

Aaron was an important aid to his future advancement, and Alice's actions were no different from deliberate murder!

"I..." Alice was at a loss for words. Naturally, she could feel Sart's anger and knew she had done something foolish. "I sensed the aura of a Heretical Cultist here and suspected that you had been assassinated, Master. I did not realize you were conducting the Enlightenment Ritual."

Fortunately, she reacted quickly. Taking advantage of the time it took to sheath her longsword, she calmed herself slightly and found an excuse to justify her actions.

Sart also realized that he had made an error worthy of being written into a textbook. His face grew faintly hot, and he could not continue using the matter as an excuse to press her. He snorted coldly. "Now that you have confirmed it, nothing happened here. Please leave. We will need to change rooms shortly."

He looked around, glanced at the completely shattered door, then gave Alice a sidelong look.

He was a distinguished prophet and Julian's apprentice. In terms of status, he was not much inferior to House of Iris of Yagrant, so he had no need to hide his dislike.

Only then did Ed rush in. Seeing the scene inside, he keenly sensed that something was wrong and asked in a low voice, "Miss, are you all right?"

Alice shook her head. She glanced at Aaron, who was silently watching the show from the side, and instead asked, "Did you bring that sword?"

Ed froze, then immediately understood. "Miss, we were in a hurry when we came, so I did not bring it..."

"Go back and get it now."

Ed glanced at Sart and Aaron, respectfully acknowledged the order, then turned and left.

"A sword? What sword?" Aaron noticed that Alice had been staring at him the entire time she spoke. He vaguely sensed that this sword seemed related to him and asked curiously.

Alice had just suffered a small setback at Sart's hands, so her tone was somewhat unfriendly. "Your sword, dear Lord Aaron. The family sword you pawned at William's Blacksmith Shop."

Aaron was briefly speechless. He had wanted to argue a little, but wisely chose not to speak, merely grumbling inwardly.

The one you should blame is Aaron, who knows where he is by now. What does that have to do with me, Qin Ming?

After becoming a Transcendent, he could more clearly sense Alice's imposing presence, as well as the vast gap in strength between them.

Could this be called cowardice?

A true man knows when to bend and when to stand tall!

"Thank you for redeeming my family sword for me." Following his memories, Aaron hastily performed a noble's salute.

Alice's expression softened slightly, and she returned the salute with a small bow.

This man might be a little bastard, and his salute is not even proper, but at least he knows to salute...

"May I ask, Miss Alice, how much was the redemption fee for this sword?" Sart asked.

He had conducted Aaron's Enlightenment Ritual, so in theory, he counted as half of Aaron's mentor. Since they would have to act together for some time to come, he naturally needed to help Aaron resolve a few unnecessary troubles.

For instance, why would Alice, the third daughter of House of Iris, help an obscure, down-and-out noble redeem his family sword?

Sart knew these nobles' nature very well. Their foolish minds contained nothing but profit.

"Master Sart, it was only a small sum of money." Alice brushed it off casually.

The Albert Family's ceremonial sword was merely a somewhat well-crafted longsword. It had not been enchanted by a Holy Grail Path Transcendent, nor blessed by a Gold Coin Path seer, so it was not worth much at all.

As the third daughter of House of Iris, she naturally would not care about such a small amount of money.

"But why would you redeem my family sword for me?" Aaron keenly seized upon the crucial point.

Alice's expression stiffened. Somewhat unwillingly, she said, "Because you are my fiancé."

Her voice was low and muddled, completely lacking the forcefulness she had shown earlier.

"Huh?"

Aaron scratched his head. "Sorry, I didn't hear that clearly. Could you say it again?"