The night passed in silence, giving way to a tranquil morning. Quickly, a whole day unfolded with Almin immersed in the city. As night fell, the whale, positioned atop a hill overlooking the city, opened its eyes, and a frenetic sensation quickly transmitted through the array.
Ruri, who was nearby, sensed something subtle and ran quickly to the whale’s side, which wore a serious expression. "Master, was he discovered?" Ruri asked, astonished.
The whale remained silent for a few tense seconds before sighing and responding, "Something unexpected happened, but it seems he hasn’t been discovered."
After a few minutes, the sensation changed, and even Ruri clearly noticed that Almin was using the array; he was in a fight!
"He didn’t activate his cultivation and kept the seal intact," the whale murmured. "He’s relying on the array and his limited physical ability... well, compared to alchemists or common cultivators who avoid dangers, he should fare well."
Worried, Ruri nodded. Soon, Langrum and Loeus approached, understanding a bit of the situation. Everyone was mentally prepared for the moment the whale would give the order to attack the city and save Almin, even if the chances of success were minimal.
"Calm down. On the city walls, there are cultivators from the Three Extremes Sect in the later stages of the Core Formation Realm. If your Qi, coming from an evil cultivator, leaks a bit, they will sense it even from a great distance," the whale told Langrum, who already had her sword in hand.
The night was long, and the whale monitored Almin closely. If he were truly in danger, Alm and Bruno would know immediately through the array. Besides, Almin could send a message at any time. If he thought it wasn’t necessary, then he could handle the situation.
In the early morning hours, fire laws spread through the city for a few hours; then, finally, things calmed down. After a while, the group could clearly see, in a nearby location, a hole in the ground opening up. About fifty extremely injured and burned dwarves quickly emerged, heading south in extreme haste.
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"Dwarves have an unbelievable natural resistance to fire. For them to burn at this level, something serious happened..." Bruno murmured mentally, trying to find some clues.
A few more hours passed, and when the sun was at its zenith, a message finally echoed through the array.
’Goku, something serious happened,’ Almin said with a tired voice. ’This city isn’t just responsible for concocting pills. It’s also the second-largest city of alchemists on the continent and had a large auxiliary forge for building alchemy furnaces, run by the dwarves.’
’Had?’ the whale asked.
’Yes, it seems the city and the alchemists’ leader had an irreconcilable conflict with the dwarves. They were all extremely offended and furious as if something very serious had happened, and they quickly turned to violence,’ Almin spoke slowly, indicating that he wasn’t injured, just tired.
’They invaded from within the central building and took control of its formation, so the guards from the Three Extremes Sect couldn’t assist. They wanted to destroy everything, burn all the herbs, books, and furnaces... I couldn’t allow that. So, as I was inside undergoing a disciple test, I decided to act and fight on my own...’
The whale sighed. ’You idiot, you risked your life for something that had nothing to do with you. We could have gone elsewhere.’
Almin fell silent for a few seconds and then commented. ’I... I felt for the first time that I had enough to act.’
The whale didn’t respond but nodded internally. Almin had mentally aged a few hundred years, and his instincts were sharp. Now, his self-confidence seemed to have been revived, and in the end, it seemed like he was right.
’The dwarves were dedicated forgers, but their cultivation was similar to the alchemists in the building. Both sides seemed like children fighting awkwardly; when I joined the fight, in one or two moves, I could easily win without even using Qi. Of course, the spear you made and the laws of the array were crucial,’ Almin continued to explain calmly.
’In the end, I didn’t kill them to avoid suspicion, and knowing their defeat, they used their last resort. The laws of their forge’s fire exploded, destroying all the furnaces and things they could, and then they escaped through a tunnel away from the city,’ Almin concluded.
’I see... wait! Were the high-level furnaces for making the five-ring pill destroyed?’ the whale asked, astonished.
’Yes... that’s what I wanted to talk about. As a reward for saving everyone, I was accepted as a central disciple, and a great senior alchemist took me as a disciple. So, I found out by asking that alchemy furnaces are made with the union of the forger and the alchemist. The higher the level of both, the better the furnace. The dwarves leaving is a serious problem, but... not everything was lost.’ Almin spoke calmly, trying to pave the way for something.
’I took the liberty of saying that I knew a high-level forger who could do the dwarves’ job alone and better than all of them. This... is an opportunity for you to get in and...’
’Idiot!’ the whale interrupted. ’Several of my information leaked to the cultivators of the Three Extremes Sect. How can you involve me like this?’
’The... alchemists of the Three Extremes Sect are the number one competition for this city. I doubt that things happening here leak out, and information from there easily gets here,’ Almin asserted with little certainty.
The whale sighed heavily, leaving Ruri and the rest of the group anxious. Then, he said to Almin, ’I will infiltrate. Say you sent a message, and in response, I will arrive in a few days.’
Turning to the group, the whale shared the plan and informed them that he would enter the city alone in three days, warning that things might take longer than planned. Ruri was extremely irritated to learn that she had to stay and serve as a contact for the rest.
Exactly three days later, when Almin had already been inside the city for four days, the whale took slow steps towards the city. Quickly, everyone in the long entry line turned to him, facing his glorious and imposing corpulence, capable of attracting all attention to himself.
Unlike Almin, they didn’t need to seal their cultivation. Alm, with a thought, could completely stabilize the infernal laws, making it impossible for anyone to feel them. To Bruno’s luck and pride, they didn’t have a great aura of Death around them; they only killed as little as possible since taking this body...
Well, they killed hundreds already... But Alm’s supreme Yin Control could also conceal the aura of Death, which was majorly Yin. Yet, Bruno was right to think like that. If only Alm had existed from the start, he probably would have killed entire cities already.
They quietly reached the end of the line, but it didn’t take long for a guard to quickly leave his post and walk towards the whale. Upon reaching his side, the guard spoke.
"Are you the great FatFluke?"