“She went were?!”

  This was the booming voice of the Sect Master of the High Flame Sect. They too received the news of Rellia’s travels and although they weren’t necessarily first in line for such news, they got it all the same.

  It then reached them especially fast when they learned where Rellia actually landed.

  The Vice Sect Master wasn’t bothered or surprised by the shock coloring the voice of the Sect Master since he himself reacted the exact same way when the news reached his ears.

  “Reports say she entered the stronghold amiably and has not left.”

  Silence.

  There was nothing but silence in the room for more than just a few moments. The implications of what was just stated could not be ignored even if the High Flame Sect had the bravery of a 1000 Immortals.

  Which was why it was again not a shock that the Sect Master did not speak again for two full hours as he made sure to comb every possibility and scenario he could possibly think of, take them to the end of a path, and envision exactly which one would put himself and his sect in the best place possible.

  “Bring the one who visited the stronghold, and I want every detail regarding the interaction between the Kingdom of Three and the group. Don’t leave a single thing out.”

  Not even an hour later, a nervous Core Formation disciple was standing without so much as a twitch in their stance, and an extremely comprehensive dossier of the events between Raizen and the Kingdom of Three was given to the Sect Master.

  The latter contained many new pieces of information that wasn’t relayed to the Sect Master initially.

  He spent another hour combing though every single word in the dossier, making sure to read everything twice and understand it beyond the surface. Nothing was left to chance. He would make no mistakes here.

  He simply couldn’t afford to.

  Once he was satisfied he lifted his gaze to the disciple before him.

  “Lift your head.”

  The disciple did so and then immediately spoke with a clear and firm voice despite his nervousness.

  “This disciple greets the Sect Master!”

  The man receiving the greeting nodded once then spoke.

  “Explain every single thing that happened when you visited the stronghold in the south. Do not miss or skip anything. Anything.”

  He made sure to stress the fact he wanted to know every single thing that happened, and the disciple in question didn’t miss that fact. He quickly yet without missing a beat, explained every single he could remember about that interaction.

  From his conversations with his juniors, to all the observations he made, to nearby being forced to his knees, and even his own thoughts, even if they were …unprofessional.

  Nothing was left out.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  He knew better than to try and keep secrets before the stern gaze of an Immortal let alone one that was also his Sect Master.

  While he didn’t know the full capabilities of an Immortal, he’s heard enough stories over the years to know the type of fate that would be waiting for him.

  The second he finished with his full accounting of what happening from start to finish. The Sect Master immediately dismissed him and fell into thought once again. This time only a few minutes passed before he turned his gaze to the Vice Sect Master who’d been nothing but a silent observer this entire time.

  “What do you think?”

  “Pay them what we owe and cut all ties immediately after.”

  “So you’ve reached the same conclusions as me then?”

  The Vice Sect Master just nodded grimly.

  The conclusion mentioned here was rather plain and practically shouting death and destruction in the ears of both men right about now.

  Infernals.

  There were thousands of Infernals south of them and they were preparing to antagonize them. They wouldn’t even know how they died if they actually went through with such a plan.

  What happened in the Herlash Empire would still be fresh in the minds of Immortals thousands of years later let alone not even two centuries.

  It was the Sect Master who broke the silence in the room.

  “I agree…or I normally would, but I’m of a different opinion. This is an opportunity. I am willing to bet my entire cultivation that there aren’t many others who are allied with Infernals on this planet.

  “Based on everything we know I believe there is a chance we could do just that. Something that is worth almost more than any treasure in all of Acuva.”

  “…Do not let greed kill you.”

  “If you were anyone else I would’ve turned you to ash where you stood before those words finished coming out of your mouth.”

  The Vice Sect Master did not speak and only stared back without a change in expression.

  “…Fine. Though let me explain, this is not a thought borne of greed or foolish thinking. You have received the same reports I have. Members of that group have been busying themselves completing various missions near and far.

  “From gathering resources to killing bandits and criminals. They’ve done it all. We have been struggling with our very own problem for too long. There is no other option but to keep pressing, but just how many disciples have died just to be where we are today.

  “This could change that. Even if we cannot entire a true alliance, we have work and funds to pay them. I do not doubt that they would accept.”

  “Your willing to forsake the knowledge our Sect has spilled blood to keep secret after all this time?”

  The Sect Master followed up with a question of his own.

  “Are you telling me this secret and the treasure it holds is more valuable than the opportunity to work with an Infernal? To be allied with one? To let the weight of their name being associated with ours spread?”

  The Vice Sect Master did not reply.

  …

  While the High Flame Sect was coming to decisions of their own…so too where others. The King of the Kingdom of Three did not retract his order to prepare for war and instead doubled down on those efforts.

  He made sure not to spread unrest among his entire Kingdom by doing his best to ensure those preparations were kept close to the vest, but it wasn’t so easy to hide the building tension among the soldiers who would be participating in something of this stature.

  But that was the actions of the King…and a majority of the Kingdom of Three.

  There were others though…moving in a direction of their own.

  The location was a room. One small, without any ornaments or decorations, save for the thousands of inscriptions scribbled into the plain wooden walls. These were of course a part of a formation.

  A highly complex one meant to block all manner of senses or techniques to gleam any information at all.

  The location of the small room itself did not matter because it was never in the same place for longer than a minute. While it had no official name, to those who made use of it, such a thing would not matter.

  The room…the very special room…had once purpose.

  To allow two parties to meet.

  One would fill the role of client, while the other would be rendering a very simple service to said client. A service seemingly as old as life itself.

  To Kill.

  Yes…this box and a few others like it was where those of the Rahk Guild took requests.

  The room was empty…then a split second later two figures shrouded in not just garbs, but truly powerful Qi.

  “I’d like to make a request.”

  The client in this scenario spoke up…and the one provided a service responded.

  “Speak.”

  Neither voice was easily distinguishable as both were heavily distorted by Qi.

  The client then displayed an image of Raizen for the other to see.

  “Kill this man.”