100 The Elders (1/2)

Standing, staring, an old man with obtuse eyes sighed as a large collection of disciples stood in front of him. Faces varying from confusion to outright panic spread out from this crowd, yet the old man remained silent as the air whistled waves of pressure unto everyone.

”I am sure, and those who have already heard, I need to say no more! Leave this sect, Elders, Disciples, all who inhabit this plagued place.”

His voice quaked into everyone's ears like the ring of bells, brimming with age and old power. Everyone remained silent as they gazed at the Sect Master's dwindling robes and the odd melancholy that shrouded him.

It was strange, no one erupted into discussion nor discord, they just accepted it. Maybe it was because of the way the sect built them, or maybe it was something inherent to them.

Respect, one might call it.

The Sect Master gave the group one last look and found that the Elders seemed to want to speak to him. Alas, he knew that this was pointless.

His face lit up with a smile, but no words came out as he turned around and took a slow stroll in the air. Aloof in the air. A scroll was in one hand, grasped tight with a trembling palm.

Cool, he may be, but the world seems to be collapsing in his eyes.

An echoing and distraught woosh of thoughts, battering him every second. Terrifying deductions from a terrifying set of divinations, all rushing in his mind like it wanted to break him.

Yet, and through all this, he remained placid. He has done the deal for the sect, after all, so even if he dies, his sect will not. That deal, proposed with such great rewards, he just couldn't say no...

Nonetheless, greed comes and goes, and what it leaves is death. A world of death, and the only way to surmount such death is through power.

He found that the world seems to revolve around power. No matter the action, with power, it doesn't matter if it was wrong. The world is insidious in a way, but he has no one to blame.

A step at a time, he thought.

He won't force anyone to leave, but they wouldn't disobey. He knew it, of course.

He dwindled in these thoughts, and all until he was reminded once more of that day.

The deal, a deal that took the many edges of dignity out of him...

A snarly man, that bloke was to him. His robed posture was eery at the s, but he wouldn't dare ask him to leave.

Most of the memory of the deal was a blur, but he can always remember the distraught and hair-raising speech the man gave him.

A voice akin to the scrapes of chalk on a chalkboard; it roared in his mind.

”Sect Master, I come with a deal, you see. I know that your sect has been chosen to house the Heavenly Overseer's daughter!”

His smile was creaking, and his bristling arm lifted and revealed a blood-red orb. It expanded, and from the Sect Master's memory, a crimson world seethed within. This thing, it was a great treasure.

”Jejej, Sect Master, all he wants is the pleasure of this daughter's death. In fact, he asks for her skin to be strewn; her bones grated, and her organs placed in a jar for each! All while she remains alive, and all while her agony is as clear as day. For this, he will be within a disciple of yours, and you must have the sect bring her to her knees in trepidation! Maybe have an accident occur, maybe invoke despair. But, at the end of it all, for as long as he asks, she shall be dead with a face brimming with the pain He suffered all long ago! If you succeed, and the Overseer remains in the world in another land, then the Trapped Dragon Law of Slaughter shall be yours!”

The world of sects was a ruthless place, and to stand atop all you must remain on top. He was the strongest power within the sect, but this power only amounted to a measly 9th step.

A Peak Mid Mortal Dao Sect, nothing to scoff at.

Still, he wanted more...

*Haise..*

His face paled as he appeared before a peaceful garden. Birds chirped and flowers sparkled dew.

”To save myself, I do not know of a method... Using Wen Mian as a card against the Overseer isn't of great hope, considering that a beast is sitting next to her...”

His gaze shined an odd light as the crystalline grass gleamed under the sun.

”I didn't expect that guard to stop Chang Hui at such a time; why did I have to be out of the sect? Fate must really want me dead, heh... Yeah.”

Regret was one of the few things he was feeling. Nonetheless, it was pointless to dwell on the past.

”Well, let's wait and see.”

Everything he does is meaningless if the Heavenly Overseer returns, but if not, then that's a different story. It was just that this wasn't likely, as everything was way too coincidental; but, the Sect Master found it strange that nothing has happened yet.

'He should arrive soon.'

His thoughts raced as he continued to wait. The sect was already beginning to empty as the Elders gathered all the disciples, with the exception of Wen Mian. The Elders were in a rush, they could feel that a disaster was brewing.

He could go in desperation and try to kidnap Wen Mian; he could assemble the entire sect to do so, and win out of sheer numbers. Yet, that wouldn't be wise.

It's the case of sending those he has brought up to the malign jaws of unsuspecting death; if he has to die, then he will be the only one to do so.

...