novelraw Chapter 523 - 522 - Ruffled Feathers
Chapter 523 - 522 - Ruffled Feathers
News spread across the Floating Isles down to the lower world. Moebius Sect was hosting a competition. Cimmeria was rife with rumors but then an announcement came down.
Moebius Sect was accepting applicants from the lower world as well!
The qualifying requirements were strict but something that made many sects like the Dancing Flame Sect jump for joy. A Diamond or Gold Tier World Realm under 150 years old that reached the peak of grade 3 was rare but not impossible!
Further, the leaders of those powers were all invited as guests so long as they were Diamond Tier or tier 1 Sky Realm.
It was an unprecedented invitation.
It was also the point that made many guilds of the Floating Isles irritated.
"Impudence! We have traditions going back billions of years but this upstart thinks he can overthrow all of that!" A wizened old man used a cane to slowly move down a hall of gilded dark wood.
It had a plush violet carpet while several windows let in glorious sunlight. It was a luxurious hall and the old man was jealous of it.
He had a young girl following behind but she said little as she was only a Gold Tier while he was a peak tier 7 Sky Realm. He was also a peak heaven grade 3 master of alchemy.
Master Ye was one of the 3 grand masters of the Profound Miracles Guild. They provided pills, talismans, and supplies to all budding and powerful alchemists of the Floating Isles. If one wanted the best, they came to that guild.
He finally came to a massive double wooden door but it was inlaid with a powerful grade 5 formation laced with elemental crystals. He took a moment to straighten his robes before turning to the young girl.
She bowed respectfully and opened the doorway for him.
He entered a larger circular room filled with the mumble of people speaking but few words could be made out. Personal isolation wards kept the words unintelligible but many smiled as Ye came in.
He saw his assigned seat and made his way over. None dared stop him. Infirm as his body had become, his skill making pills remained top notch. No one sane would sneer at him openly or behind his back.
Ye took a seat as the young girl stood just behind him to fulfill his needs but sitting was plenty as he looked around. He saw he fellows of similar standing as well as many high grade guilds.
He noted a complete lack of sect leaders which he found odd.
"Find out where Filly is." His words were not loud but the girl nodded before blending into the crowd. Ye waited as he tried to find the old crone himself. She was the sole leader of the Nirvana Flame Sect.
It was a powerful refining and formation sect. It was head and shoulders above any guild but did not discourage competition. In fact, it loved crushing challengers. It was also one of the few sects to be left completely untouched during the recent unrest.
Nirvana Flame had a lot of Sky Realms but no Star Tiers. The only reason it was left alone was the fact all the weapons and armor that was the best was bar none held at that sect. They used them too!
It was a one sided slaughter for any idiot that attacked them.
A single Star Tier was dangerous but not impossible to kill with enough support. They also would not risk their precious cultivation for anything less than sure victory.
Thus, the sect had been left in peace. Filly had boasted enough about it that Ye was long tired of her words but he had not seen her when he arrived.
The young girl returned and her pale face seemed paler.
"M-master, she is not coming." Ye was about to ask why when a chime sounded. It signaled the start of the meeting as the many old masters took seats. Now that he had a clear view, Ye was certain.
Not a single sect was there!
He saw the Empress of Arrays that led the rival to the Starfire House, Dragon Treasure House, but few others from the auction houses. Why? Where were they all?
He noted similar guilds to his own in formations, refining, and even a Forging power that had risen in the last few centuries. Their craft was not as good as Moebius Sect but the latter had never held back teaching so they were improving.
The one hosting the meeting, however, was the leader of Paths of Heaven Guild. They were similar to Moebius Sect in that they incorporated several professions to extremely high grades.
Their alchemy was on par with Ye's guild at least but they did not specialize in it. It simply was easier to have a cultivator's needs fulfilled by a single guild versus having to move around and negotiate multiple times.
While the rare or difficult requests had to be outsourced to guilds like Ye's, Paths of Heaven would pay a fair price to keep their customers happy and with them. It was how they afforded the peak grade 5 table Ye saw now.
It was embedded with high end jade stones that now relayed the words of their host, a gorgeous young woman of pale green eyes and skin the color of cream.
Her slicked back dark hair was very appealing but Ye was not moved. He knew the heart of that being was cold. All she did was calculated and benefited her alone.
"I thank so many of our fellow masters for coming to this meeting. Before I open up the main topic I am the bearer of unfortunate news. Due to the Babylon Guild endorsing the competition, the sects and kingdoms will not openly dissent against the Moebius Sect." Ye felt his heart freeze.
She was leading with that?!
It was disastrous and made him question why they were having a meeting. If the Babylon Guild was behind Moebius Sect, the meeting was pointless. It seemed others shared his view but then he noted her face. It was not troubled at all!
The Ice Heart, was living up to her name.
"Lady Relina, while we are all bothered by recent news, it is no–" One of the old men near her went to speak up but Ye narrowed his pale eyes. He knew that man was practically an extension of Ice Heart's will.
He would not speak unless she wished him to.
She smiled as she waved him off. She then looked up at all of them around the massive table.
"I already knew about the Babylon Guild and we are not here to find a way to back out of our agreements." Ye was now interested. She must have a plan. "As you all recall, we are required to submit judges to this contest for our respective fields. I assume many of you have begun selecting such people?"
All nodded, even Ye. He knew more than enough of his people were qualified to judge an alchemy contest. He was even wondering how they would show off the pride of their sect as they picked up on details others missed!
"If you are thinking of shifting results, I would remind Lady Relina that not only are the new Warders going to be watching, but so will the Babylon Guild itself." The latter was a standard issue between any powers holding contests.
The new Warders was a different topic but one that at least had precedent. It also did relieve many powers of worries about how security would be run. Since many of the new Warders' leaders were from supreme sects or high powers with no interest in lower powers lives, it already reassured many.
"I would never dare to suggest that, but we are being offered a rare opportunity. While Moebius Sect shares many lessons with us all, they still have the best for themselves in 2 fields we desperately need." Ye perked up at that. He suspected weaving was one of them.
While Moebius Sect did share insights openly about elixirs and Forging, the best products stayed with them. Weaving was practically their monopoly.
If they could truly gain the secrets of Moebius, it would be a major breakthrough! Ye now leaned forward as did many others.
"We can begin by approaching the competitor via our own candidates. They will learn their weak points–" As she spoke, Ye's eyes lit up but he failed to notice that the young girl with him had slightly changed.
Her eyes were now cold and staring at the group around the table. She was not alone as the other aids and helpers from the various guilds suddenly seemed to disdain their masters. Only Relina and a few of her close pawns could note the change and she smiled.
She was going to use the fact that Lind Frey invited lower world experts up to the contest to guide these old fools into angering Moebius Sect. She wanted to then step in as the peacemaker and negotiate concessions to make the contest shared between the Path of Heaven and Moebius Sect.
None of the idiots drooling saw the true potential of the contest.
She laid out her plans and simply smiled inside until a beautiful woman in pristine white robes with bright pink hair tore open the air and appeared.
"Well, this saves me time!" As if she made a great joke, the Heavenly Maiden laughed as all present felt their hearts freeze.
Star Tier!
"Master Frey was wondering where you all had gone since he called a meeting but you were all so busy it seemed." A blatant lie as Relina had been careful to avoid that very issue, yet the Maiden did not seem bothered to reveal the truth.
"Senior, I simply thought my fellow experts—" Relina tried to play it off as a meeting of the guilds but suddenly the young girl behind Master Ye screamed.
All looked over as she fell to the ground squirming and crying in pain.
"Dear, dear. Nasty bit of work there Ice Heart. You tried to use your spy in the Profound Miracles Guild to pry at me?" Relina's face actually flickered. How did she know?!
Ye also snapped up at that and it was as if some things came together for him.
"That was why my disciple left?!" The door was cracked open and the plan sounded so similar to what Relina just outlined that they all turned to look back at their aids. Some were better at hiding it than others but far too many panicked.
"Fools!" Relina saw the true reason the Maiden came!
"For the record, Lind was against my plan, but he has more faith in people than I do. Or maybe more hope? Regardless, I have been watching you since long before, Ice Heart. You are dangerous for many reasons, but not least that you possess Fiend artifacts." A pillar suddenly appeared and 4 prongs generated a display of 3 red dots on Relina's body.
The meeting room turned as silent as a tomb.
"Now, will you come with me or will you make this fun for me?" The Roman smiled wide as Relina, the Ice Heart of the Path to Heaven Guild crumbled into a heap. All her plans in ruins and the other guilds trust in her guild shattered forever.
Romana of course had not told Lind a thing but she figured promoting his sect was not a bad idea as she sealed Ice Hearts cultivation and took her away. The rest of the mess they could clean up themselves.