A few minutes later, Raoni was left chained up and alone in the deepest part of the prison, in a dark cell.
With their eyes closed, Alm and Bruno were working on piecing together the fragments of the memories they had gathered. They were disjointed and random, but since the event was recent, each person involved had some info about Alci. It took an hour for them to sigh with the conclusion.
In short, one of the few Unmatched Pills in the sect, a poisonous one, was used by the conservative faction.
Alci initially leaked internal information from the radical faction. However, when his master mentioned a high-level meeting to discuss whether it was worth betting all resources on Raoni, he leaked the info and got caught up in something much bigger.
Alci would accompany his master, an important Elder, to this meeting. When the enemies found out about this, they proposed a plan: he just needed to take the poisonous pill, and they would activate it at the right moment.
This would kill him too, but he would receive another pill that would give him time to escape without emitting poisonous fluctuations and drawing attention. After that, he was supposed to return to his home and forge his own suicide. The plan was perfect: Alci would be seen as responsible for everything, and no one would find concrete evidence linking the other faction directly to the events.
How did he get the poisonous pill? No one will ever know. Schemes and murders were common in this sect. The sect would investigate thoroughly, and they’d probably even check the memories of some Elders, but since only the High Elders knew about the plot, no one would dare investigate them without solid proof.
Alci, young and desperate to save his sister, was manipulated. Disjointed fragments showed that they even let Kanci and Alci meet once, encouraging him to go along with the plan.
In the end, he executed the plan flawlessly. At the meeting were his master, a dozen of the top High Elders from the faction, and some Elders, including Cioni. They were all killed without a chance of survival. This blow devastated an already weakened faction, all on the eve of the sect’s most important event: the opening of the World of the Nine Red Lotuses.
***
In a heavily protected room in the sect, Zemuo and some important figures were urgently gathered.
Fate favored Zemuo. He was supposed to be in that meeting, and he should be dead by now. But the Sect Leader summoned him for another last-minute issue, something related to a surprising event among the disciples of the Phoenix Feather.
"Damn, Raoni killed a lot of people. If this had happened earlier, it would have just been a minor problem... but now we’re too fragile," Zemuo said coldly, reading the report on the incident.
Everyone had encouraged Raoni to stir up trouble, and he did exactly what they asked. But the circumstances changed suddenly. He got too reckless, losing control after someone close to him died.
"Raoni’s potential is terrifying. If we train him properly, he’ll become an excellent chess piece. He’s our last hope. We need to protect him," commented an influential figure, his voice heavy with weight.
The mood in the room was one of gloom. They had lost nearly two-thirds of the most influential figures in the faction in that blow. If the vice-leader were still alive to support them, the situation would be manageable. But now, it seemed catastrophic.
One of the High Elders spoke harshly: "I disagree. This is the perfect opportunity for a relentless counterattack. We shouldn’t protect Raoni; on the contrary, we should send him to destroy everything."
Zemuo frowned, intrigued. "What do you mean?"
"Fortunately, we haven’t lost our alchemy geniuses, and the remaining High Elders are the best we had. That’s enough. We can’t afford to create another alchemy genius, but we can turn Raoni into a deadly piece immediately."
The alchemist spoke with a cold light in his eyes: "Raoni may have impressive talent and spiritual power, but his alchemy skills would take at least a decade to make a difference. He has the potential to surpass us, that’s undeniable. But it’s just potential, nothing concrete. We don’t have that time; we’ll be devoured before then. Our only chance is to use him as a chess piece right now."
"You mean…" Zemuo was confused.
One Elder present, one of those who freed Raoni from prison the first time, said: "Yes, it’s clear. After our preparation, Raoni’s confidence has grown into arrogance. He already believes he can defeat anyone. A young man from a humble background like him carries an innate sense of inferiority. Out of control, he’s become recklessly bold. Don’t you notice the disdain in his eyes when he looks at us? He may seem respectful, but underneath, there’s contempt. He believes he’ll stomp on us at any moment. His mind is already distorted."
"That’s true. Raoni has been insolent recently, proving it by killing so many without hesitation. Training him as an alchemist will be a much longer and more complicated process," agreed another High Elder.
Conflict after conflict, Raoni’s arrogance only grew. He seemed to enjoy showing off, especially in front of everyone. It was infuriating.
Zemuo understood what was happening. After being shy and repressed for so long, Raoni’s resentment was finally being unleashed. His showiness was a natural reflection of that process.
The real problem was that a young alchemist should never be so strong in combat. They allowed him to act freely, thinking he’d suffer some losses and thus learn to control his arrogance. But instead, he proved to be an invincible savage in fights, complicating everything.
"I’ll be direct. I have a method to fix this, a demonic technique that can only be used by someone with supreme control over flames and a powerful soul. It offers supreme and infinite capability, but if used beyond its limits, it results in total and destructive suicide. When the time comes to enter the World of the Nine Red Lotuses, he could go mad and massacre the greatest geniuses of the conservatives. That will give us enough time to regroup. What do you think? Hehe…" The High Elder laughed, his icy face twisting into a sinister expression that sent chills through the others.
He briefly explained the technique. It was necessary to invest merit points to acquire many beastly fire runes. These runes would fuse with Raoni’s body, generating supernatural power. The maximum number of runes he could use depended on his capabilities. The cost of this power and the extreme degradation of his body.
Everyone was surprised and excited. The plan was cruel, but it was the fastest way to turn the tide. Raoni was a key piece that could save the entire faction.
Would they lose a talent that could benefit the sect? Would they kill countless other talents in the sect? No one bothered to think about that. Deep down, the law there was every man for himself.
"This is the fastest way to use him. With the spiritual power and alchemy talent that gives him high flame control, he’ll surely wipe out all the young conservatives. Without the new generation, it’ll take decades for them to find other talents, forcing them to burn many resources on that. When it’s over, we’ll shift all the blame onto Raoni, making him the scapegoat so no one can blame us."
Zemuo’s eyes sparkled. He never liked Raoni, but he didn’t know why. He just wanted to exploit his talent to the max. Now, the plan seemed perfect.
"We’ll use the one who challenged him to a life-or-death battle recently. He’ll have to die or hurry up and cultivate this technique in a limited time." Another High Elder added, and everyone nodded in agreement.
A few hours later, in the dark prison, Zemuo stood in front of Raoni, alongside another High Elder.
"This is really problematic…" Zemuo said coldly. "You killed many, breaking the sect’s rules. We can’t fully protect you. We’ve reduced your punishment as much as possible, but the conservatives won’t let it go. We managed to negotiate... if you accept the death challenge against that disciple, they’ll forget all this."
"No problem. Killing one more or less is irrelevant," Raoni replied indifferently.
Zemuo roared furiously, "Don’t be arrogant, you brat! That disciple is a warrior and a Conqueror. You will definitely die!"
At that moment, Raoni’s eyes widened in surprise. "Sorry, master... I think I lost track of things…"
With a huff, Zemuo said, "That’s why I came here personally; I have the solution. The battle is in two days, and you’ll need to work hard to cultivate a supreme combat technique. We’ve managed to secure two days for your training. But this technique is going to be extremely terrifying and painful…"
Zemuo chuckled to himself. The High Elder explained the technique in detail: they would fuse a lot of fire runes into him. After fighting and winning, the technique would alter Raoni’s fluctuations to an extreme level, practically turning him into a flame entity.
And what’s the advantage of that? They could place a slave seal on him. Due to these fluctuations, not even the most experienced cultivator at the peak of divine cultivation would be able to tell he was a slave.
The sect prohibited such practices, as it was a serious crime. But Raoni wouldn’t exist anymore after the event in the world of the Nine Red Lotuses. There were only a few days left until the opening, and even if something unusual happened, it was a perfect plan.
"Thank you, master. I want to start training this technique right away. I’m looking forward to it," Raoni said confidently.
"Alright, this High Elder is completely trustworthy. He’ll train you secretly during this time. Good luck."
Zemuo gave Raoni an encouraging pat on the shoulder. But as he turned to leave, a cold smile crept onto his face. When Zemuo exited, an even colder and more villainous smile appeared on Alm and Bruno.
***
A day passed quickly. In Zemuo’s private chamber, the High Elder entered in a rush.
"How’s Raoni doing?" Zemuo asked urgently.
"Everything’s going really well. This Raoni is undoubtedly a genius with a terrifying ability to comprehend. Plus, his willpower is impressive. He chose to use the maximum level of the Furious Flame Rune Tempering process. Even when his body is being burned, his expression doesn’t change. He’s relentless. The rate at which his body is strengthening is monstrous. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t believe it. He’s really ready to push this technique to the limit…" the High Elder said excitedly.
His body was "strengthening" at an incredible speed. Alm and Bruno were really using this technique to temper Raoni’s body. The gains from this technique were a thousand times greater than normal, thanks to the tattoos.
"Great, in the fight, he won’t lose. As long as he can force a draw, we can get through this. Looks like I was worrying for nothing... However, we can’t be careless; everything must be 100% guaranteed. Since there’s not much time left before the opening of the Nine Red Lotus world, you need to boost his power as much as possible. No matter how many resources it costs, it’ll be worth it. Give him everything he can absorb," Zemuo said.
The High Elder nodded, "Yes, all the High Elders have already sent me their merit points. I’ll buy all the runes he can absorb. I won’t let him relax at all."
This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.
***
The next day, with only a few hours left until the battle, in the underground prison.
CRASH!
Wild flames covered everywhere. Raoni was surrounded by countless fire runes, looking like a god of fire. Fire runes even appeared in his eyes.
"Hahaha, excellent! Raoni, after exhausting so many beastly fire runes, your physical body is already comparable to cultivators who fight day and night," the High Elder laughed.
BANG!
He was laughing when Raoni’s fist slammed hard into his face. The High Elder was thrown back with a groan of pain.
"Are you crazy?!" the High Elder roared angrily.
"Not yet... just wanted to test my power," Raoni said coldly, making the old man break into a cold sweat. "I can’t wait... I want to rip someone’s head off…"
His eyes held a cold killing intent that made the High Elder tremble. But at the same time, excitement welled up inside him.