“Three-Headed Snake Sect, huh.” he finally said after a moment of thought.

  May had never heard that name before, so she was somewhat skeptical that this was a well-known sect. She was familiar with the map of the region and had never seen a sect with that name. However, judging by Scar's reaction, she thought there might be something to it.

  “I've never heard of it. Do you know anything about it, Scar?” she asked, wanting more information.

  “You haven't heard of it because it's not a sect from this region. They're a fairly well-known evil sect, they're notoriously cruel. But it's suspicious.” He commented.

  “Suspicious? Ha!” He laughed in their faces. “You obviously aren't up to date.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We're just broadening our business... After all, your beloved region will soon be in chaos, an ideal environment for us.”

  Scar frowned. He wanted to dismiss it as a fable or a poor excuse made up on the spot to avoid death. Unfortunately, he subconsciously sensed that his words were not far from the truth.

  An attack by goblins, then parasites from the Swamp Monster's territory... And now an evil cultivator from beyond the swamp. Everything seems to be connected to this hellish swamp... Could it really be a coincidence, or is something bigger brewing?

  “Even if you're telling the truth, it doesn't change anything.”

  “You'll regret this. We're more powerful than ever.”

  “I do not care. A sect as mighty as yours would not be concerned with the death of a piece of trash like you.” He said coldly. “I know you mean nothing to them.”

  He said and slit his throat, and he collapsed to the ground. May sighed, but suddenly remembered something.

  “We have to help Frondo!”

  “Calm down, he's alive and he'll be fine.” He said, wiping and hiding his blade. Then he took out various potions. “As soon as I got here, I checked his condition. He's fairly seriously injured, but it's nothing peculiar for a troll. A month and he'll be as good as new.”

  She was impressed that he was able to assess his condition without even examining him. He really was on another level.

  “You went out for the first time, just for a moment, and you got yourself into trouble right away.”

  “It's not my fault that guy showed up out of nowhere.”

  “Yes... It's not your fault. But I have good news for you,” said the elf, while applying various ointments and bandaging for the rock troll.

  “Good news?”

  “Yes, it looks like the war with the goblins is over. I heard that people in town are talking about the High Elder arriving. The parasites are also fleeing in mass numbers. We’ll have to say goodbye in a few days.”

  She nodded. Although she was not complaining about the conditions, she had already learned most of what he knew about alchemy. After all, his specialty was agriculture, so he did not know that much about alchemy.

  She sighed, realizing that she still couldn't think of anything that could help Zhifang get out of prison. Was he really going to die?

  She nodded, she still had some time. But in the worst case, she had no choice but to let him die.

  Soon after, Frondo woke up and they returned to the cave, his steps even slower than usual.

  After a while, they went to eat dinner. May decided to bring up the subject of the prisoner. To be honest, she didn't care that much about his fate, but she was afraid of feeling guilty later.

  She started talking to the elf, but he didn't respond, just sipping his wine and nodding from time to time.

  “I understand where you're coming from, but I'm afraid you don't know what you're asking for,” he replied after listening to her entire speech. “He's a risk not only to me, but to you as well. I'm sorry, but nothing good ever comes from demons, even half-demons.”

  “The sect may look for his body.”

  “I doubt it. He's no one special, and the higher-ups in the sect will consider it a matter for the lower ranks.”

  “They also know who he is. They know he is a cambion”

  “If they know that, they'll kill him anyway.”

  “Then let them carry out their sentence.”

  He took another sip of wine and sighed.

  “You really don't want to give in.” He said with slight irritation. “I'll think about it. But handing him over to the sect will only prolong his sentence. To be honest, it might even be better if I killed him myself.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  May was surprised by his words.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The sect may torture him, conduct experiments on him. Human-demon hybrids are rare and only occur among demons descended from Lust. The children of Eleora the Pregnant Mother.”

  “The Island Mountain Sect is a righteous sect, not evil. It doesn’t do things like that.”

  “At least officially. Believe me, people will do anything for even a chance at a little power.”

  May thought about it. She couldn't even argue with it, because she didn't know the truth. She was just a peasant, the daughter of an Outer Sect Member, and she never even saw the Inner Court, which was the real center of power for the entire sect.

  Although she didn't want to believe that anyone could experiment on people there, she couldn't completely dismiss the possibility.

  “I don't know if I have the right to decide for him...” she began. “But death at your hands is certain. In the sect, he has some hope. I trust that the sect will act righteously.”

  He looked at her as if she were a naive child. He thought that he had been wrong to consider her an adult, because in her heart she was still a child.

  “All right. But there are only two possibilities: either he will suffer in the sect, or you will suffer because of him.”

  That was the end of their conversation, as neither of them wanted to continue. May had a lot to think about. She didn't know what the right option was.

  Was letting him die truly any better? She came to the conclusion that neither option was good, but she decided to choose what she considered the lesser evil.

  Meanwhile, a certain figure entered the city located about fifty kilometers from Mount Rotira. Having a serious and focused expression, the individual was a muscular man with long, dark hair. He was distinguished by his dark eyes and neatly trimmed mustache and beard. He had modest sideburns. Furthermore, he was wearing a light orange robe. His arms and upper chest were adorned with substantial tribal-style tattoos.

  He emitted an extraordinary aura of power and strength. One glance was enough to know that it was better not to mess with him.

  His name was Ze Yun. He had been dispatched there from the battlefield to quell a disturbance at one of the Outer Court Academies.

  They are wasting my time. I am much needed in the city of Kung Ang. A wave of goblins has just passed through there.

  He did not consider the invasion of the academy to be significant. Most of the children there had no chance of getting into the Cloud Academy anyway, so the death of one year group would not hurt the sect, especially as the east was the worst of all the Outer Courts.

  Essentially, he was not wrong. The goblin invasion threatened the entire sect and was something much more urgent.

  Under normal circumstances, the sect would never have sent a valuable High Elder from the battlefield to a substandard academy. However, he was required to go there as soon as the situation calmed down a little. It was an order from one of his ancestors. Although she had no real power, he still reckoned with her judgment.

  As much as he detested her, he knew she had a reason for sending him there. He was somewhat intrigued by it. Recapturing the academy was only a superficial goal; his real objective was to confirm that one of the students was alive and to protect her if necessary.

  That old woman had never been so deeply interested in anyone. Well, maybe she is a nutcase, but she is hardly ever wrong.

  He looked around and snorted at the sight of the overall impoverishment and the stench of the town.

  It is worth mentioning that Ze Yun was not a pompous and pretentious cultivator from the Inner Court, who spent all day cultivating by candlelight and attending endless parties, but a warrior and soldier who was accustomed to modest conditions and a life that did not pamper him.

  But what he saw was not the result of poverty or frugality. The excrement on the ground and the general stench were the result of the behavior of its inhabitants. He thought that the stereotypes about the Eastern Court did not come from nowhere.

  He simply shook his head; he hadn't come here to contemplate about sanitation or to preach to anyone. He had a mission to accomplish, and that was his priority.

  He decided to go to the city outpost, where one of the Inner Court members was staying. Every major city has its own people for defense.

  It was essentially a job for rejects from the Inner Court. A small town, far from civilization, and in the Eastern Outer Court to boot. Nobody dispatched to such a place from the Inner Court was a respected cultivator, yet at the moment, it was the only decent location for gathering information about the situation.

  “Who are you?!” Upon entering, he heard a squeaky voice. It was an extremely skinny, up to an unhealthy extent, man with bloodshot eyes.

  He was in his late sixties, but was still only at the ninth stage of Qi Refinement. He had no chance of further progress. Ze Yun sighed when he saw him, realizing immediately that he would most likely be useless.

  “Ze Yun, High Elder of Island Mountain Sect.” He replied briefly, knowing that his title alone would suffice.

  The man immediately fell to the ground, bowing.

  “Please forgive my rudeness, I bow before the great elder and serve you faithfully.”

  He looked at the situation and nodded. That was how it was supposed to be.

  “Get up.” he ordered.

  Although he was at the pinnacle of the sect, it was normal for the plankton not to know what he looked like, therefor he did not feel insulted. In fact, Ze Yun's opinion of him improved when he fell loyally to the ground. He had respect for those who were loyal and obedient to the sect and its elders.

  “I came here to take control of the situation at the academy.”

  “The ac-academy?” He replied doubtfully, stammering with fear.

  “Yes. The situation at the academy. Don't make me repeat myself.” He said in a sharp tone. “You were sent here by the Inner Court, yet it is evident that you have done nothing to help kids at the Eastern Cloud Academy.”

  He did not respond, ashamed and, above all, frightened. Poor and scared, he asked himself: What was I supposed to do?! They are real monsters!

  “You should fight and, if necessary, die for the good of the sect.” said Ze Yun.

  He looked at him with fear.

  “Are you—?”

  “I'm not reading your mind. I just know what you're thinking.”

  At his words, he fell silent and was afraid to say anything more.

  Just as I thought. I won't learn much from him. The coward shut himself off and barricaded himself away when the children at the academy were abandoned. Truly a reject of the sect.

  He had to take matters into his own hands. He yelled at the man, then left and headed toward the academy to find the individual he was looking for: someone named May Shang!