19 No choice

"Okay, I hope everyone enjoyed their first practical activity. We will be doing these types of activities every so often to give everyone experience against fighting beasts. A lot of sect missions involve finding and harvesting certain plants or minerals, and the majority of the time these resources are guarded by beasts who also need the resources."

Miss Covington was impressed with the level of skill that all her students performed with since she didn't have to step in once to save any of them and although some were injured with a few scratches here and there, most were alright.

"Now for the main part, hand me the spatial rings I gave you earlier and I will inspect them. Remember to earn the cloud points you must have identified the plant correctly and extracted it perfectly. If either one of them is incorrect then you won't get a mark for it. Also, I will only hand out the cloud points after I have checked everyone. Now line up in a single file."

The students did as were told and Miss Covington went through them one by one.

"Talia,16 plants correctly identified, 15 plants perfectly extracted. Pass."

"Rena, 19 plants correctly identified, 19 plants perfectly extracted. Pass."

"Jude, 15 plants correctly identified, 15 plants perfectly extracted. pass."

"DT, 12 plants correctly identified, 8 plants perfectly extracted. Fail."

"Asher, 17 plants correctly identified, 15 plants perfectly extracted. Pass."

"Jaxon, 15 plants correctly identified, 17 plants perfectly extracted. Pass."

"Witney, 15 plants correctly identified, 15 plants perfectly extracted. Pass."

"Vasari, 19 plants correctly identified, 18 plants perfectly extracted. Pass."

'Must've been that damn plant that smells like shit.' Vasari thought after hearing his score.

As Vasari was about to turn and walk to where the other students were standing after receiving their scores, he suddenly heard Miss Covington's voice sound in his head.

'Must be nice to have such a considerate girlfriend?'

Vasari did not bother turning around after hearing Miss Covington's sly remark that contained a little bit of jealousy hidden within. He grinned and replied in a voice that he knew only she could hear.

"Very."

Vasari continued walking to where Talia, Witney and the boys were standing while talking about their time in Mammoth Grove.

DT was the one who had the most horrid time out of those in the group. He had a few scratches on his face and his gym top was covered in blood and torn in a few places.

"I ran into a group of freaking 10 killer squirrels and no matter how far I ran they constantly chased me down. Those fuckers were relentless, I spent over an hour fighting those buggers." Killer squirrels were mostly adolescent-stage beasts but occasionally it was possible to come across an adult-stage killer squirrel although it was unlikely.

"Haha, unlucky mate. The only beast I came across was a 2 tongued rat and it ran away once it spotted me." Jaxon could not help but rub salt into his friend's wounds as he narrated his experience.

"Mehmehmeh mehmeh meh shut up."

"Cheer up buddy, you did well fighting a bunch of cute little squirrels."

"How about I give you a full squirrel experience and shove my nuts down your throat."

"Haha calm down."

*Clap* *Clap*

Miss Covington claps her hands together twice to get all the student's attention before proceeding, "Those who passed, take out your cloud badges, I will send the 20 cloud points now."

The students who passed did as she said while those who failed looked on with envy. As promised, Miss Covington rewarded them each 20 cloud points which brought Vasari's amount to 47.

"This concludes today's lesson, you may all go home and rest. Tomorrow is a big day so I hope everyone will be here."

The students all left the school gym after changing back into their sect robes.

Walking out of the building in their usual formation with Vasari in the middle, Witney on the left and Talia on the right. Talia recounted her experience in Mammoth Grove, besides running into the 13m snake she also fought and killed another adolescent beast called the Mammoth Dog which was a native to the Mammoth Grove.

"Hey young man, I've been waiting for you."

Just when Witney wanted to retell her enjoyable afternoon in Mammoth Grove and brag a little to her friend, an old yet lively voice called for Vasari.

Vasari could instantly figure out who it was. Just like the saying 'Never forget a face', Vasari could never forget a voice.

"Elder Equus I did not think we would see each other again so soon." Vasari turns to the voice and starts walking towards it.

"Same here young man, but there are some people who want to speak to you. It is quite important."

Elder Equus's tone suddenly became solemn when he mentioned his visit is important. He then noticed the two girls stuck to Vasari like glue and flashed a knowing smile at them which caused them to blush.

"Vasari don't tell me you've already sunk your dirty fangs into these two little lambs. Why don't you introduce them."

Vasari had a frown on his face when Elder Equus mentioned that there are people who want to speak to him and he tried racking his brain for anything he might have down wrong. However, he put those thoughts aside for now and introduced the girls to Elder Equus.

"This is Witney Jacobs and this is Talia Timore. Witney, Talia this old man is Elder Equus who supervised me when I was working at the cloud stables."

Both Talia and Witney stared at Vasari in shock. Vasari might not know who Elder Equus really is, but Talia who has siblings in the sect and Witney whose father was once a Core Haven Disciple, definitely knew how high Elder Equus was in the pecking order within the sect and the Noblia World in general.

"Disciple Talia greets Core Elder Equus!"

"Disciple Witney greets Core Elder Equus!"

The girls bent their upper bodies 90 degrees as they greeted Elder Equus.

"Huh? This old man is a Core Elder? Who knew."

"You brat! I swear you are the only disciple who dares to speak to me like HAHAHA that's why I like you."

The old man let out a good laugh but suddenly turned solemn once again.

"Sorry young lambs but I'm going to have to take Vasari with me. Don't worry I'll give him back soon."

The girls could do nothing but back away from Vasari, although reluctantly. How could they, mere students, go against the orders from a Core Elder? Even Talia's father, a king, would bow their head in front of this man and wouldn't lift it until ordered to.

"Don't worry, I'll see you girls tomorrow." Vasari pats both their heads which elicited a smile from them.

After the girls said their goodbyes and headed home, Elder Equus walked up to Vasari and put his dry, wrinkly hand on his shoulder. The sight was quite comical due to their height difference, Vasari being nearly 2 metres tall while Elder Equus was not even 170cm tall.

"Young man I advice you to grit your teeth."

Elder Equus said before disappearing from the spot alongside Vasari. Vasari felt his head spin and he was unable to move at all. The sensation he was experiencing was similar to when he entered the spatial portal. However, he instinctively knew that they were moving over a shorter distance but it felt like he was constantly entering a space portal and then exiting before once again entering a space portal.

'Elder Equus's usage of spatial energy is rudimental at best and the only reason he can 'Space jump' is because of his absurdly high cultivation.' Vasari was able to instinctively deduce this in less than 5 seconds. He felt he could perform the same feats as Elder Equus was currently performing although on a lesser scale, when he reached the next cultivation realm.

"We are here." Elder Equus announced and let go of Vasari.

Vasari noticed that there was no wind and he could not hear the noise of the city meaning he was most likely inside a building. The next thing he noticed was the air felt a lot thicker and it was somehow easier to breathe.

Feeling the gaze of 10 people trained on his every movement, some were curious, some indifferent and a few were heated, Vasari turned to Elder Equus and asked, "Why are these people just staring at me? Is it them that asked for my presence?"

Elder Equus awkwardly coughed when he realised that he did not inform Vasari about who these people were and the power they held in the sect.

"Vasari you are in the presence of the Sect Master and the 9 other Core Elders. The reason is that we need you for a special mission."

"Hmm, I see." Vasari turned to those seated around a round table and clasped his hands in greeting. "Greetings Sect Master and Core Elders. This young one is Vasari, it is a pleasure to meet you."

There was silence for a long while before Vasari heard a female voice shatter the silent atmosphere. Her voice was soothing to the ears and Vasari had to admit that it was very alluring, it was mature but there was a bit of teasing hidden within.

"Elder Equus it seems that your words were not falsely spoken after all. After seeing him I already know what you plan to use him for. How guileful~"

"Haha Elder Equus although we most likely already know your plan by now, would you mind confirming it with us." Another voice sounded out, this time it was deep and booming.

"Sigh it seems that I've been seen through. My plan involved sneaking Vasari onto the Farming planet and having him work his way into the Church of Parasufis. His main objective would be to catch the eye of Archbishop Joana Mota. I believe once she lays her eyes on Vasari she won't want anyone but him to be hers. Vasari will then slowly gain her trust and report any information he finds."

The more Vasari heard, the lower his jaw dropped.

"Hold up! The special mission is just me being a prostitute!?" All of his previous composure flew out the window. What were these old cogs thinking? They were discussing things as if he had already agreed to do the mission.

"Don't worry I heard that Joana Mota used to rank within the top 10 Maidens when she was a youth. So she is undoubtedly a world-class beauty.

"Old man are you forgetting that I am blind, why would I care about appearances."

"Child I think you are misunderstanding something here. You do not have an opinion on the matter. You are a disciple of the Cloud Haven Sect therefore you will do as we say."

The man sitting at the head of the table suddenly spoke out. His tone was absolute, carrying the authority and bearing that only a true leader amongst men can perform. Vasari assumed that he was the Sect Master based on his seating position. The Sect Master snapped his fingers and Vasari suddenly found himself unable to move a muscle or even speak a word.

"Carry on Elder Equus." The Sect Master ordered causing Elder Equus to nod and continue.

"I have already started the preparations and it will be complete in more or less 6 months. In the meantime, Vasari will continue school and cultivate as normal. However, I have found a problem and it is that there are multiple pictures of Vasari on the Mananet and it is quite popular at that. Fortunately, the Church of Parasufis have banned their members from using ManaPhones so it is highly unlikely that they would find out that he is a spy but we can't be too careful."

"Ok proceed with the plan and make sure that no more pictures of him get posted on the Mananet until the completion of the mission. Understand?"

"Yes, Sect Master."

"Then everyone is dismissed."

All of the 9 figures sitting around the table disappeared into thin air leaving only Vasari and Elder Equus in the room. Feeling the restrictions being released from his body Vasari adjusted his posture and stood as straight as an arrow.

"Listen, kid, I know you probably hate me right now but I had to do what I had to do. That particular farming planet was under my jurisdiction and using you as a spy was the only way to get the planet back without starting an all-out war which is good for nobody."

"..."

Hearing no response from Vasari, Elder Equus sighed but he felt no regret from his decision. The world was a harsh place and Elder Equus knew this better than anybody. It was either eat or be eaten and that was the hard truth.

"Sigh...the rewards for this mission are really good. 10 000 cloud points, 1 heaven grade weapon or artefact and 3 cultivation techniques heaven grade and below."

"..."

"Take me home."

Elder Equus sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time.

____

Outside student house 69, two figures, one tall and the other short, suddenly appeared in the street.

"Vasari I will let you know about the mission in more detail at a later date. For now, just concentrate on your cultivation and school."

Vasari did not bother to reply and walked straight into the house.

Inside, Asher was scrolling through Managram on his ManaPhone when he noticed Vasari walking towards his room.

"Vasari, Timo woke up and said he will go to school tomorrow."

Asher saw Vasari put a thumbs-up sign before walking into his room.

'Hmm weird...he seems to be in a bad mood. Oh well. I can't wait for Y5A to release their new album!!'

Inside his room, Vasari had a massive smile on his face.

'There is no way I'm getting rewarded to seduce a MILF. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!'