151 Sect Leader Long (1/2)

Ed lost himself in thought as he walked away. 'One week... I don't have much time. Sect Leader Fang should find out that I escaped the training room soon. Given the circumstances, he'd probably be happy to have an ally if it wasn't for the upcoming wedding. Too bad for him. But what can I prepare in such a short amount of time? I lack resources and men. Haru and Hina might barely be useful... Flair won't be able to throw anything of real use together in just a week.'

He frowned. This was a new challenge he hadn't expected to come across. All of his self-raised power was halfway around the world. 'Maybe explosives again?' He thought before shaking his head. 'No, that won't work. Moving past the fact that I'm not familiar with the geography, I'd probably get caught if I tried planting explosives within the sect. Plus, I don't even know where the wedding ceremony is being held, though Sect Leader Fang's castle would be my best guess.'

The upcoming war would likely be on both a smaller and larger scale than he had ever experienced before. That may sound contradictory, but it made sense in the context of espers and humans. The Harmony War involved hundreds of thousands of ordinary humans on both sides. The espers were few in number, and most of the fighting was left to the humans. The upcoming sect wars would involve far more espers while including few to no humans. The damage would be far greater despite the soldiers being fewer in number.

'Perhaps I'm looking at this the wrong way...' He rubbed his chin. 'Why limit myself to myself? If there are no solutions in such a narrow area, then I just need to look elsewhere. I'll take advantage of someone else's forces during the chaos until the ideal time to strike out on my own. Now, who should I side with? Sect Leader Fang and the Purple Origin Sect are out by default. Even if we are officially allies, I'm not a door mat. I'll get revenge on that old bastard one way or another during this war. Who else? I haven't seen Mr. Sai since coming here. Sect Leader Fang must have gotten rid of him temporarily somehow, not that Mr. Sai would be willing to side with me anyways. I could probably side with the six sects unifying against Sect Leader Fang, but they likely wouldn't trust an unfamiliar foreigner right before the war starts. Not to mention that it would prevent me from looting the archives of the six sects. That leaves only one option.' A gleam appeared in his eyes. 'Tai, it looks like we'll be fighting side-by-side again soon. I wonder, which side will Sect Master Long choose? Is he really working with Nexus? Is the goal of their actions in China related to me? Or is it just a coincidence?' He shook his head. 'It doesn't matter. If Sect Master Long sides with Sect Leader Fang, it'll give me the opportunity to raid the six other sects while also granting time to plot revenge against Sect Leader Fang. If he sides with the six other sects instead, well... the Purple Origin Sect will likely be finished. In that scenario, I'll just raid their archive instead.'

Having made up his mind, he now needed to return to the Fire Dragon Sect. It would only take him a day or two by flight, and with no forces of his own to prepare, he was actually faring well on time for once. 'Well, best to grab the others and leave before the old bastard gets wind of my escape from the training room.' Right as he finished his thoughts, he returned to his courtyard. To his surprise, he saw that Haru, Hina, Flair, and Tao were all already waiting for him just outside the house.

”See!” Hina pouted. ”I told you he was coming!”

”Humph.” Haru snorted. ”What kind of freak talks to plants.” He looked at Ed, reverence in his eyes. ”Welcome back, Master!”

”Stop calling me that.” Ed frowned. ”At least go with Teacher or Sensei or something. Anything less creepy than Master.”

”Yes, Sensei!” He shouted enthusiastically.

Ed's eye twitched, but he quickly moved past the issue. ”Everyone ready to leave?” He asked.

”Eh, where are we going?” Hina asked in confusion.

”We'll talk about it later.” Ed replied. ”Everyone ready?”

They all nodded.

”Good. Follow me and keep quiet.” He ordered. ”We'll be leaving the sect by foot before taking to the skies.”

The group quickly left the courtyard. With the various groups rushing to the training grounds and other important sect areas, they fit right in. Soon, they returned to where Ed had just come from. The table he spoke with Dupe at was still there. He hurriedly used his powers and etched the words 'Meet me at the Fire Dragon Sect.' into it. Then, he moved past it and continued down the mountain through the wilderness.

The tall and thick trees were surrounded by mist, giving the forest an eerie vibe. However, they were all strong espers, and they easily made their way through. Surprisingly, there were even hints of others having taken similar paths to sneak out of the sect. Well, the usually lazy Sect Leader probably had his hands too full at the moment to worry about a few traitors sneaking away.

Once leaving the mountain, Ed took the skies using his silver flames, Tao riding on his shoulder. Flair easily followed behind him by using her odd water jetpack she had invented.

”Should we carry one each?” Ed questioned Flair.

”The jetpack can support another person, but I'm not strong enough to carry them.” She shook her head.

”Master!” Haru grimaced. ”I mean, Sensei! Please don't worry. I can keep up on my own!”

Hina fidgeted nervously. ”I...” Her voice was like a quiet whisper, barely louder than the wind. ”I can keep up too.” She unconvincingly claimed.

Ed frowned but nodded anyways. ”Let me know if you have trouble.” He turned around and began to fly, keeping low to the ground to keep an eye on the brats.

”Don't hold Sensei back.” Haru scoffed. He knelt down on the ground like a runner would before a race. His body glowed with blue light, and then, he took off with a big push. Each step carried him forward dozens of meters. Though he couldn't fly, it was clear he excelled at physical agility.

”Hmm.” Ed looked on with interest. ”Wasn't he only supposed to be fast when the moon was up?” He asked Flair.

”He is.” She nodded. ”Right now is when he's slow.”

”Oh?” He grinned. ”Such an interesting power.”

Hina seemed surprised by Haru taking off without her, but she didn't wish to be outdone. Her own powers activated, and a green glow spread to her surroundings. The grass and flowers floated into the air and weaved together before rushing towards her body. They stuck to her like glue, gradually covering her entirely. However, that was not the end. The grass and flowers grew longer, while more continued to fly in and intertwine with the others. Soon, she looked like a giant vine monster that stood ten meters tall. The various flowers decorating the vine-like grasses made it look rather comical. Especially when considering how it contrasted with the look of a giant plant monster. If one inflated it another 500 meters, then one might even suspect it for being a new type of nightmare. The grass giant began to crudely run. It seemed she still had difficulty controlling so much at once. Fortunately, she was barely able to keep up with Haru for now.

Ed rubbed his chin as he flew. 'Well, that's a little less discreet than I'd have liked... I wonder if that's how my powers would have worked if everything I used them on didn't melt.'