After the departure of the Divine Inquisitor Gunar, an unusual calm settled over the sect. But in the Sovereign Blade Sect, chaos erupted. Soon, rumors spread about a terrifying Senior residing in the Sacred Jewel Sect.
The Celestial Mirror Sect, known for its vast knowledge and records, quickly began to raise hypotheses. Some ancient names surfaced as they tried to identify the mysterious figure.
Among the Divine Inquisitors, there were no divisions in the empires, but like in all realms, the levels were divided into lower, intermediate, and higher. Gunar was just a lower-level Inquisitor, while, over the last ten thousand years, a few dozen intermediates had emerged; the higher-level ones hadn’t been seen in ages.
The last known intermediate-level Divine Inquisitors were two women, so they were quickly dismissed. But there were lower-level figures who had vanished, and even their own sects didn’t know if they were alive or dead.
Among the suspects, the name of the old Aberrant was mentioned, the same one who was now just a mere servant. But another Primordial Elemental Spirit was also among the possible names, and it quickly became consensus that he was the Senior in question.
The Celestial Mirror Sect went into a panic, for that Primordial Elemental Spirit had originally been part of their sect. Had he betrayed them and joined another? That was inconceivable!
"There’s no one of the same level to face this traitor..." the Leader of the Celestial Mirror Sect declared angrily during an emergency meeting with his High Elders.
The news of an intermediate-level Divine Inquisitor should have been a reason to celebrate for the sect, but he had clearly abandoned them. The Sacred Jewel Sect, that insignificant sect, obviously couldn’t have created someone of that level.
During that meeting, an Elder rushed in to bring news to the leader: "Sir, the Sovereign Blade Sect sent a message. They agreed to share their chaos crystals. They’ll arrive in a few days."
The Leader of the Celestial Mirror Sect sighed heavily and turned to the High Elders: "Great, a traitor cannot be tolerated anywhere. With this, he won’t be able to do anything against us. We will completely destroy that sect from the inside out."
In the Sacred Jewel Sect, the Sect Leader was explaining some internal secrets to Alm and Bruno that few knew.
"In the three sects, an extreme defensive formation was created by the ancestors to prevent an internal war that could decimate the sects. Since they were always of similar levels, it was impossible for us to completely kill each other. Now this formation depends on chaos crystals, something very rare, and since we declined... we currently have none."
He spoke seriously, with a worried tone: "Senior, there are rumors that the Celestial Mirror Sect claimed you are an ancient ancestor of the sect who abandoned them."
"Hm? Really?" Alm and Bruno laughed at the coincidence.
The Sect Leader sighed: "Because of that, the two sects will likely set their sights on us now. If they work together and strengthen their core formations... in the past, even a higher-level Divine Inquisitor tried to attack the formation and was instantly destroyed by its counterattack."
"I see. They’re confident they can attack us without me being able to do anything," Bruno commented casually.
"Yes, Senior." The Leader said, clenching his fists, "I fear they won’t attack us directly, but rather our disciples. They’ll try to defeat us without direct confrontation."
Alm and Bruno nodded. On Earth, this was known as the tactic of a thousand cuts. A single isolated cut never kills anyone, but a thousand gradual cuts lead to death.
"Let them do what they want; I don’t care," Bruno said unemotionally. "I heard that in fifteen days everyone would be going to a meeting in the capital. An annual tournament among young disciples happens there, with the three sects sending their representatives."
The Sect Leader nodded, sweating profusely. "The Senior..."
"Yes, you and I will go, and our disciples will participate," Alm said bluntly.
The Leader looked apprehensive. Bruno took over and calmly said, "The sect has some rare metals and weapons in its treasury, right? Bring everything. We have fifteen free days, and we’re going to produce resources."
The Leader was confused but nodded. For the sect, what was in the treasury was average, kept due to the lack of anything better. But for the other sects, it was complete junk. Giving that up wouldn’t make any difference.
He left and returned an hour later with various materials and ancient weapons left by disciples over time.
"Great, come back in five days. Prepare several competent people to go to the capital and sell everything as fast as possible. I’ll forge some simple things," Bruno said, dismissing the Leader, who left intrigued.
Five days later...
The Leader was dumbfounded as he held a spear pulsating with incredible elemental power. The weapon had a runic seal of enchantment.
In that place without Qi, almost all runic seals were useless since ordinary people couldn’t activate them. But the enchantment seal was an exception, as the weapons would already have the power infused in them, dispensing with activation.
"Send the people to sell everything. Tell them not to worry about the price, just sell everything in time for us to arrive in ten days. This was something quick I made without effort," Bruno said, dismissing the Leader.
The Leader was paralyzed. There were thousands of swords, sabers, and spears there, each radiating the power of the nine elements. Just one of those weapons could spark a war among powers. He did all that effortlessly?
"Hurry up, what a waste of time," Bruno huffed, sending a gust of wind that pushed the Leader out of the room.
***
It was a bustling day in the capital of the planet, the eve of the big annual event among the disciples of the three sects.
However, the city folks were murmuring about something different: the arrival of a group of disciples led by the Leader of the Sacred Jewel Sect. No one believed they’d dare to come, especially after the rumors that a traitorous elder from the Celestial Mirror Sect was protecting them.
The group arrived quietly in the city, picked a tavern, and paid for a big private courtyard. Besides the Sect Leader and the unknown man, there were seven disciples, including Sesel and Ervly.
Leafar stayed back at the sect just in case. If the other sects tried anything sneaky against Alm and Bruno’s plans, he’d handle it easily.
In the past, the Sacred Jewel Sect owned several properties in every city on the planet, so its disciples never had to stay in taverns. But all those properties had been sold off.
The current Sect Leader didn’t mind finding a humble place to stay; he thought it was smarter to be economical and keep up appearances, avoiding suspicion. After all, they had caused an economic collapse in the two sects, gathering all the money from the top cultivators in exchange for weapons.
After settling in, Alm and Bruno received astronomical profits from the weapon sales from the Sect Leader. Bruno looked at the disciples and casually tossed them a bag full of golden true stones, the local currency. Unfortunately, chaos crystals were rare and treated like treasures, with no commercial use.
"Go have some fun out there. This is your reward for the hard work. Buy whatever you want," Bruno said, waving to the seven young ones.
They opened the bag, dazzled by the sparkling treasure. They’d never seen so many high-level stones together and knew exactly how valuable they were. Even Sesel and Ervly were frozen, speechless; it was the first time they had ever seen that much money.
"Make sure to thank us." The Sect Leader was the first to get his act together and looked at them.
Honestly, he felt the same shock. The Senior was giving away almost a third of everything to these kids? That was insane. ’This is the ancestor for you...’ he thought, watching how the unknown man always did things in such a flashy way without a care.
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The group quickly bowed, excited. Now they were rich, and spending all that cash would be a challenge. There were tons of things they wanted to buy since arriving in the capital, but the lack of resources had held them back until now.
The group dashed off, grinning from ear to ear. Seeing them so pumped up made the Sect Leader feel happy and a little envious. Youth really was incredible, free from so many worries.
But he, responsible for the entire sect, felt like he was walking on thin ice every day, never able to relax. The death of that Divine Inquisitor had already caused a huge uproar on the planet, and the emergence of that Senior seemed to have shocked everyone even more.
A Senior from such a humble sect had defeated such a renowned figure? More importantly, they had offended two sects at once.
Suddenly, the Leader noticed something. Now the disciples were in the city, flaunting their new wealth ostentatiously. How would the two sects react to this display of power?
He turned to the unknown man, wanting to ask something, but found him with his eyes closed, meditating peacefully. Taking a deep breath, the Leader seemed to understand something and silently left, determined to keep an eye on the disciples around the city.
Two hours later.
An imposing figure arrived in the city—a beautiful woman from the Primordial Elemental Spirit race, born of the laws of the winds.
She had a humanoid form, tall, muscular, and imposing, with a grand spear on her back, surrounded by wind runes. She was the leader of the Sovereign Blade Sect. Several figures approached her, whispering about something. She frowned, and her dissatisfaction resonated throughout the area.
Time passed quietly.
Alm and Bruno were calmly cultivating in the open courtyard under a tree. They were nearing the end of the True Champion Realm, about to reach True Transcended, the fourth realm. If everything went smoothly, they’d be back at their peak in a few months.
However, they knew that living in peace was never an option. The seven hadn’t returned from their shopping yet, nor had the Sect Leader.
*Bang!*
Suddenly, a bloodied figure was thrown into the courtyard, landing just a few meters away from Alm and Bruno, who opened their eyes.
It was the Sect Leader, injured all over; all four of his limbs were broken, along with several other parts. There wasn’t a single intact spot—everything was a bloody mess.
He writhed and looked at Alm and Bruno. "Senior… no…" He couldn’t finish before his strength completely faded. He wouldn’t rise again, as death had caught up to him.
Alm and Bruno rushed over to him. Bruno frowned, stretched out his hand, and pulled the body closer. His two tattoos and eyes pulsed, emitting a celestial blue glow and supreme soul power.
In a matter of seconds, he grasped the Leader’s soul, sealing it and recovering his energy while healing the body with the little faith power they had. Surprisingly, even after all this time, the empire was still sending its faith to them.
Within moments, the Sect Leader opened his eyes.
"Senior… did I die?" He said, still confused. He felt like he’d really experienced death for a few moments.
"Yeah, but I brought you back. Good job coming back in time; it saved you," Bruno replied coldly.
The Leader’s eyes widened, overwhelmed by a wave of emotions. The attacker clearly hadn’t held back, causing permanent damage to his soul and body. He really thought he was done for. But he crawled toward the Senior, even if it meant further destroying his soul with no chance of reincarnation.
"The young disciples are in danger." He said anxiously. "The two sects united and captured them. They took them straight to their sects, sneaking out of the city."
"Don’t worry, they’re not gonna kill them without putting on a show," Alm said, then a wicked smile appeared on the unknown man’s face.
"They chose to attack innocent young ones, ignoring all honor and common sense. Happy now?"
The Sect Leader was confused, but Alm’s loud question was clearly directed at Bruno. In the next second, he snorted excitedly.
"Let’s go, I was starting to get bored. Time to see some blood." Alm said, moving quickly, his eyes shining with a murderous intent.