“This sect has no future…”
Elder Frenzied Purity snorts, raises his hand, and suddenly hundreds of golden firebirds appear around him.
“Without being willing to sacrifice anything… you will lose everything!”
Serene Will's words echo in the silence. In many ears, that sound takes on meaning, while others ignore it, unwilling to face reality. The strong always prevail over the weak, that is the only truth they are willing to accept.
“I gave you a chance, and that is all you have to say?”
The disciples might think the elder was magnanimous for letting the criminal speak, not knowing that Serene Will was able to speak with her own strength because Elder Frenzied Purity was afraid she would reveal the truth!
“Die.”
The golden firebirds fly towards Serene Will, regardless of whether she has hidden her level or not, she will not survive.
When the birds were about to take her life, a sigh is heard.
In the next instant, all the birds disappear.
“You…! You were behind all this, weren’t you?!”
A man appears in the same place where the magic was destroyed, a man with green eyes and wrinkles near his mouth that denote him as someone who smiles frequently.
“Dire Passage!”
Dire Passage, the elder of the Eternal Wind Sect, protected Serene Will.
He takes a deep breath and then sighs. After this, Dire Passage shakes his head. “There is a destiny between that girl and me, I cannot allow you to destroy a good sprout. Not when she has done nothing wrong.”
Meeting her in Ice Petal City was no coincidence. After living for so long, Elder Dire Passage knows how to recognize causality. That this woman has appeared before him a second time in his life must have a greater meaning.
“Are you implying that my disciple’s death is irrelevant? That nameless hunter hid her level, otherwise, my disciple--”
“If someone is capable of hiding their level in front of me, then present them to me. If you waited until this moment to stop the duel, it has no other meaning than to protect your disciple’s life. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
No one knows who is telling the truth. Nothing good comes from meddling in the fights of old foxes. None of those present are willing to risk their lives for anyone, but this event is drawing too much attention.
While some arrive, others leave, fearing to know too much.
“What will you do about my disciple’s severed arm? That woman spilled blood in our sect. You know that if he weren’t under my protection, anyone else in his place would have to live with the loss of their arm for the rest of their life.”
But Elder Frenzied Purity did not want to back down.
“An arm in exchange for his life is not a bad deal. Instead of trying to turn black into white, shouldn’t you reward that huntress for sparing your disciple’s life?”
Frenzied Purity grits his teeth. He didn’t know this old womanizer was so good with words. ‘Turn black into white? Who spared whose life at this moment? If the duel hadn’t been interrupted, Decaying Flame would be dead!’
It’s too late for either of them to step aside, admit their mistakes, and apologize. Knowing how all this will end, Elder Dire Passage calls his disciple.
“Earthly Balance.”
A man with black hair and blue eyes appears behind Elder Dire Passage. He looks about 27 years old, but given the lifespan of hunters, his real age must be much older. He doesn’t show many emotions on his face, but that doesn’t mean he’s uninterested in anything. He is what one would define as a cold man.
He is Earthly Balance, his disciple. Level 806.
“Take her out of here.”
“Yes.”
He approaches Serene Will and gives her a medicinal pill. He blinks with curiosity after seeing that this woman doesn’t hesitate to consume it. Of course, this pill is meant to bring back to life someone on the verge of death, but what if it hadn’t been? Isn’t this woman too trusting?
Without stopping there, Earthly Balance walks towards the injured Decaying Flame.
“W-What?”
“Tsk.”
Without any mercy, he holds his arm and takes his storage ring. Despite the tantrums of that inner disciple and the bloodthirsty glare of Elder Frenzied Purity, he walks towards Serene Will and throws her the storage ring.
“Let’s get out of here. Your business with the Eternal Wind Sect is over.”
She doesn’t follow him immediately but looks at Elder Dire Passage, the same man who helped her in Ice Petal City and does so again now. She always kept his name in mind, waiting for the opportunity to repay his favor, she didn’t think that today she would incur another debt.
“This sect still has a future if there are people like you.”
Dire Passage is still arguing with Frenzied Purity, but she knows he is listening to her.
“I will never forget this favor.”
She leaves the Eternal Wind Sect with Earthly Balance’s help. Meanwhile, the argument between the elders is interrupted when Frenzied Purity takes the excuse of healing his disciple’s arm to leave.
Once no one is watching them, Elder Frenzied Purity slaps his disciple.
“Master, I--”
“Silence!”
A second slap makes Decaying Flame fall to the ground, bleeding from his nose. Both cheeks are red, but it’s the second blow that caused more damage.
“You’re a disgrace! Not only did you promise to give your life in that duel, but you lost it and forced your master to go wipe your ass. I have turned a blind eye to your desires for women, I thought you would get bored of them sooner or later, but instead, you only brought more problems!”
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“I apologize, master, I promise--”
“Don’t you understand? Your word has lost its value!”
Decaying Flame looks at the ground. Hearing this from his master’s mouth causes him terrible pain, but not only that, humiliation! He had never felt this way before!
“No one will trust your word from now on, you should never have accepted that duel. What is your relationship with that woman? What was she here to find?”
“…”
Elder Frenzied Purity sees his disciple remain silent, and his inner rage drives him to get answers by force, but at the last moment, he stops his hand. Instead, he roars and destroys everything in his path.
When he finally calms down, he turns his gaze to his first disciple.
“Chaotic Dispersion, find that woman and kill her. Leave no trace that connects us to her disappearance.”
“What if Earthly Balance gets in my way?”
“Dire Passage has already shown his true intentions. If his disciple wants to follow in his footsteps… make him know his place.”
“Yes, master.”
He doesn’t change his expression as he accepts his master’s order. The life or death of that woman doesn’t matter to him, but it’s different if it involves Earthly Balance.
Chaotic Dispersion moves away from his master and fellow disciple, then leaves the sect.
+++
‘Gravity?’
Around her, gravity disappears. Serene Will is surprised to see how her flight speed increases without any additional effort.
Not enough time has passed to feel safe. The Eternal Wind Sect may have disappeared from view, but if someone is truly determined to follow them, a few minutes would be enough to catch up. They must hurry.
‘His Way is related to gravity…’
This is the only explanation. Earthly Balance used his ability to control gravity and increase flight speed to keep her up to speed with him.
Then… in an instant, Earthly Balance stops.
“What’s wrong?”
He doesn’t respond immediately, looks into the distance, and then resumes the flight. Only this time, he surrounds Serene Will with his mana, forcing her to follow him. She resists, but against the strength of a ranker nearly 200 levels above her, it’s a futile attempt.
“They are following us.”
Serene Will’s expression changes. He continues speaking, “I couldn’t distinguish their identity, but it must be someone closely related to both of us.”
“Who?”
“Chaotic Dispersion, Elder Frenzied Purity’s first disciple.”
She remembers the strength of that elder and bites her lips. If Decaying Flame has achieved such a level at his age, what about his first disciple?
“What is his level?”
“I don’t know. Why do you want to know? You couldn’t do anything against him.”
Serene Will snorts. As long as he doesn’t surpass level 800, she has a way to deal with him!
“I’m sorry to tell you, but that guy has more resources at his disposal than someone like me. Due to your low level, you can’t distinguish my level and don’t know the situation you’re in… 806, that’s my level.”
“806…”
She thinks carefully about how to get out of this dilemma, but in the end, the solution always lies in what she trusts most, the magic formation.
Due to the reputation of the Eternal Wind Sect, she believed that as long as she followed the rules, the result would be accepted even if it was a defeat for the sect. After all, who is Decaying Flame but a mere inner disciple? She was sure no one would stand in her way… not until she left the sect.
That’s when she would use this mysterious formation to escape.
Everything was ruined when Decaying Flame’s master decided to cancel the duel by force and not only that, accuse her of something she didn't do. Now his direct disciple is chasing her, and the magic formation would only grant her a few breaths of time before collapsing.
Serene Will carefully evaluates Earthly Balance and then clenches her teeth.
“I have a way to escape, but I need your help.”
He looks at her with skepticism. It’s fine, he gives her credit for being able to defeat an inner disciple as a lone hunter without belonging to any faction, but there is a huge gap between that and this.
“If you’re willing to help me, not only will I be able to escape, but... you will gain a significant advantage against Chaotic Dispersion.”
Earthly Balance doesn’t trust this woman’s word, not because of her sincerity, but because there is no one who backs her up.
“Lead the way.”
He agrees to do it only because he has a method to stop Chaotic Dispersion if the worst happens, but if possible, he doesn’t want to use it.
“There’s no need, it’s already here.”
“What--?”
Without knowing when, Serene Will places a flower behind her ear, and in the next moment, the surroundings change drastically.
If before the landscape was distinctive and limitless, now a detailed view would show that there are places that repeat, as if God were lazy and decided to copy and paste nature when creating the world.
“A magic formation?”
Earthly Balance is considerably surprised because... ‘This magic formation is restricting me! If only my level were lower by a few numbers, I would have to spend considerable resources to get out of this place!’
He quickly turns his gaze to Serene Will, but before he gets the answers to his concerns, she says: “I will grant you the authority to temporarily control this magic formation, but in return, its weight will fall on you. If you are willing to give part of your strength, it’s possible it might be able to withstand a ranker that surpasses your level.”
Earthly Balance smiles wryly. “You said,
“Everything will depend on you.”