The night continued with no more unexpected challenges or additional portal openings. There was a large amount of Spirit Growth stage demons, which made things even easier to clean up.
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As the final village was cleared of the Sun Sect’s abyssal corruption, the Southern Continent fell into an eerie stillness.
The mission was quick with the Shadow Sect’s vessel and team. They had fought tirelessly, purging the remaining demons that had plagued the region, but now it was over. The Sun Sect’s lingering presence had been wiped out, and peace, fragile though it was, had returned.
Though, the loss of an entire sect and a massive amount of Day elemental cultivators across an entire continent was going to be a serious problem for the heavens to consider what to do in the coming days. How they would handle it was above Lassim’s pay grade though, so he didn’t waste any extra thoughts worrying over it.
Standing on the deck of the shadow vessel, Lassim watched the horizon as dawn began to break on another morning as they began to head under the perpetual storm’s cover above the rebuilding Lightning Sect Headquarters..
The scent of ash, corruption and burning wood still hung heavy in the air despite the light rain that was falling, a solemn reminder of the sect war’s outcome. But there was also a strange serenity to the efforts to restore the sect that spoke of survival beyond the abyss’ attempts.
Lustria stood beside him, her sharp eyes scanning the landscape. They had worked side by side over the last few days, their partnership rekindled, though both knew it wouldn’t last much longer.
The Shadow Sect was most likely going to prepare to leave soon now that the job was finished, and with them, Lustria.
"Well, that should be the last of them," the First Blade said, his deep voice cutting through the early morning silence. He cast a critical eye over the landscape below as he then gave a few hand signals to the vessel’s captain to change the ships direction.
Lassim nodded, still lost in his thoughts. "Yeah."
"Seems like we’ve cleaned up your mess," the First Blade added with a faint smirk. "I’ll say this much, boy—you’re not as weak as I thought. But your techniques… Well, let’s just say they need a bit of refining. Yet, I guess that makes sense when I remember you’re still practically a newborn."
Lassim raised an eyebrow, but before he could respond, Volten’s presence filled his senses. The Lightning Sect’s Sect Master stood at the courtyard below, arms crossed, his expression unreadable.
Their vessel hovered to a rest in the outer courtyard, its sleek, shadowy form casting long, dark shadows across the ground as the group descended and met with Volten.
"Good work. The Lightning Sect will remember this aid and will be willing and ready to send assistance at any point in the future, should the Shadow Sect require it. I’d offer you and your disciples lodgings to rest but as you can see, most of the living members of the sect are in tents or worse. I hope you understand." Volten gave a short half bow as thanks at the end of his words.
"Very well. We’ll accept your offer and will be sure to use this favor when it’s required. We’ll not put your already struggling disciples out of their beds just for us. It’s much better for us to return back to the north for our next assignments.
I can’t have my personal disciple growing any softer while in the presence of this boy." The First Blade replied as he sent a small, harmless shadow dart towards the back of Lassim’s head, giving him a small knock that made him take a step forward.
Lassim just glared back in response to the Spirit Mystic’s antics.
The First Blade then turned to speak with his elites, "Alright, time to head out. Everyone back up on the ship. Shadow Sniper, you can take a moment to say goodbye, but remember the rules and Sect’s code." He gave her an additional pointed look as he reminded her.
Lustria stood by the edge of the courtyard, her eyes distant as she watched everyone else leave and Lassim approach. His heart was heavy with the fact that they would soon part ways once more.
"Well, it was short, but I’m glad I got to see you again," Lassim said softly, his voice tinged with reluctance.
Lustria nodded, her expression calm but sad. "Yeah. But we’ll see each other again, just like my promise. I’ll work even harder to catch up to you to be by your side."
Lassim pulled out a small version of his contact rune on an embossed paper, pressing it into her hand. "Here. Use this when you’re free on your communication disc. I don’t care if it takes a year or longer—just send me a message when you can."
Lustria chuckled softly, the card disappeared with a sleight of hand trick into some magic pouch or other container since he didn’t see a pouch on her waistband like he carried. "The Sect’s rules state that active and new disciples are unable to contact others until we meet a certain rank.
I can ignore this as my master is the First Blade, but he’s decided the Sect’s rules aren’t harsh enough so my requirements for outside contact are much stricter than regular disciples. I promise we’ll speak again when I’ve passed his training…"
There was a moment of silence between them, the weight of their unspoken emotions hanging in the air.
Then, before Lassim could second-guess himself, he leaned down and kissed her cheek, his face turning bright red as he quickly pulled away.
Lustria blinked in surprise, her eyes wide as she touched her cheek. "You… idiot."
Lassim grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, well… I had to give you payback for doing it to me all those years ago."
Lustria shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips. "I’ll contact you, Lassim. I promise."
With that, she turned and boarded the vessel with a quick shadow step, her figure disappearing into the shadows as the ship rose into the sky.
Lassim watched her go, his heart both heavy and light at the same time. He had no idea when they’d see each other again, but for now, he could take comfort in the fact that their bond was still as strong as ever.
"It’s time," Volten’s voice called out from beside him. "My new personal disciple, we need to have a conversation. Follow me."
Lassim’s stomach clenched slightly at the words. He had known this moment would come.
With one last glance at the departing vessel that had shot off into the distance, he turned his attention to the Sect Master.
Volten didn’t wait for him to reply, turning on his heel and walking toward one of the inner chambers of the Lightning Sect’s main buildings.
The tension was palpable as they entered the Sect Master’s office, Lassim’s first time being here as the door closed behind them with a soft thud. Volten gestured for Lassim to sit on the chair directly across from his desk.
The desk was a beautiful deep, dark purple with scorch marks across it, but encased with some sort of finish or lacquer that preserved the natural markings of a tree struck by lightning.
"I’m not going to sugarcoat this, Lassim," Volten began, his eyes sharp. "I apologize for my coldness towards you up until this moment. Originally, I was amused by a potential disciple so confident and powerful enough to take on not one but two of our guard disciples upon arrival.
Even if you had been a rogue cultivator trying to gain entrance, I would’ve made you a Skilled Ranked or higher disciple just from your courage and willingness not to take shit from some bullies right away. Yet, the recommendation letter you gave me had some choice words from your old Headmaster, Ferrum."
Lassim blinked in surprise, his brow furrowing. "Headmaster Ferrum? The recommendation letter?"
Volten nodded. "Yes. He was concerned about you—worried that you were growing too powerful, too quickly. That this rapid rise would corrupt you, make you prideful, and lead you to disregard the humanity and lives of others.
He told me about your history of already coming from the Iron Marquis’ family, and well… with how most nobles’ first and only child being a son turn out… I can understand his potential concern."
Lassim’s fists tightened instinctively. The accusation stung, not because it was true, but because it seemed so far from who he knew himself to be.
"I’ve never been like that," Lassim said, his voice quiet but firm. "I’ve always cared about others."
Volten’s gaze softened, and for the first time in what felt like forever, his tone lost some of its usual coldness. "I know that now. That’s why I am apologizing for myself and for him. But understand, at that time Ferrum didn’t. You were just 8 years old and in less than a year were advancing too fast for him to see the man you’d become.
I don’t know what you went through between leaving the Myriad Spirit Academy and then arriving here several years later in the Southern Continent, but He feared what could happen if that power got to your head. I’m honestly a bit surprised you have turned out that way either, to be honest with you."
Lassim’s mind raced, remembering his days at the Myriad Spirit Academy. Headmaster Ferrum had always been supportive, but looking back, he realized there had been moments where the headmaster might have hesitated.
Yet, despite that, Ferrum had tried to even help Lassim’s physical body adapt to his growing power because he was so worried. He had him spend countless days enhancing his body with Ferrum’s self-created [Elemental Forge] technique to better adapt to the sudden spike in power. He was a kind man and cared a lot about Lassim becoming too powerful too quickly. His actions showed that.
"To continue with what he wrote, he wanted me to make sure you were tested on your morals and how you’d react to adversity," Volten continued, his tone thoughtful.
"That’s part of the reason I was hard on you when you first arrived here. I didn’t want you to just rely on your strength. I wanted to see if you could handle pressure, failure, and responsibility without losing sight of what’s important."
Lassim looked up, meeting Volten’s gaze. There was a softness in the Sect Master’s eyes that hadn’t been there before, and it caught him off guard.
"I judged you too quickly," Volten admitted, his voice lowering. "I was wrong. You’re not full of pride or arrogance. In fact, you’ve shown nothing but kindness and care for your fellow disciples, even going beyond what was expected of you. You’ve fought with humility, even when you could have let your power define you."
Lassim didn’t know how to respond.