novelraw Chapter 718 - 717 - Long View
Chapter 718 - 717 - Long View
Romana had felt the time after Lind Frey's return and rise were almost idyllic. The Fiends had been dealt a massive blow but they had ravaged many of their lands at the same time.
Still, the speed with which the Alliance recovered was due to the constant flow of goods from the Law Binding now open to them. It not only gave them a reprieve but a massive influx of Immortals!
Not long after, the newly risen Sanctuary Empire began to prove their approach to finding talent by taking in many orphans that few powers could do little more than support as mortals only.
A few geniuses might be discovered or sects take them in for their own tests to try and increase their numbers. Still, most simply dismissed the large mass of displaced children due to the never ending wars and in fighting.
Demons tended to take in their own orphans but still put them in the lower echelon of their armies or sects.
Yet now, after only a decade or so, many powers are demanding the testing artifacts that could reveal the potential of pure mortals! Romana had a laugh as a consignment had been sent to her own sect before anyone asked!
In less than a year, the sea of mortals had been combed for potential and shocking numbers had been found, but the basic response was unchanged. Only the truly talented were taken in.
Resources were still limited but Lind, strangely, kept happily taking in more. The math did not make sense until Romana went to see it, herself.
He only got them up to the Gold Tier. A feat most could reach with minimal teaching and few precious resources that were somewhat easy to set up on a regenerative or harvest cycle that would never run out.
After they got to the Gold Tier, they then got counseling on what they needed to do. Any profession skills were highly sought after as they often needed many apprentices to keep up with the constant demands from many powers.
Those were allowed to be scouted by various powers but most stayed in the Sanctuary Empire to grow their market in the future. Romana put a conservative estimate that the range of grades available in quantity would explode in a few years.
It was that thread of thought that made her realize why Valkyrie was concerned about Lind's actions. It was seemingly inviting condemnation to keep raising orphans up that had no talent but both she and Valkyrie knew Lind was not a fool.
Only now, when the results began to show, did they grasp the essence of what he was doing.
He was raising a terrifying number of cultivators for the war.
Where once it was still heavy recruitment that raised the cultivators, now there was a wide range of quality and quantity to choose from in the future. Further, ascenders were changing as Lind had sent out envoys to spread his teachings to as many as possible.
His teachings had only been half heartedly spread as what mortal realms did were not really the concern of the Heaven Realm unless they became a threat.
Lind did not view things that way and once more, the return on investment was horrifyingly fast. It was clear he had learned a lot in the nearly 2000 years he had been gone.
As Romana studied it, she began to see a puzzle come together that made her sad.
Lind Frey had not forgotten or forgiven the death of Lanbao. He was currently seen as being back to the scholar leader even if it was as Emperor but they overlooked the change in his actions.
Before, he sought out knowledge and tried to spread it and increase his abilities to create more powerful elixirs, artifacts, and so forth but that was all. Now, she had seen him working on teaching combat and tactics to all the orphans that came to his power.
Even though many went into production professions, they still seemed focused on healing, strengthening, and other battle oriented items compared to cultivation resources.
He also had children but almost no one had seen them save very few outside the family. Rumors had it he was embarrassed but more likely he was trying to protect his children for as long as possible until they could defend themselves.
He understood that Fiends were not the only threat against him.
It just proved he truly was an Emperor and further, that he wanted to exterminate all the Fiends.
She wanted to win too, but it made her sad that the powerful scholar was gone. He was only pretending now.
She understood he was creating forces and numbers to wipe away the Fiends forever! They had literally poked a sleeping dragon and he would never let them escape!
She also suspected his wives were understanding his actions as the last time she spoke with Qing and Annabelle, they were concerned about Lind. He seemed fine but clearly he was pushing things towards his goal.
There were 3 new disciples with powerful physiques still under his care despite reaching the peak of Diamond Tier from the last she heard. Yet, their training had taken a turn recently to be far more martial.
They were training how to not only fight but to lead soldiers in war. While there was wisdom in training them like that, they were only World Realms! It was far too soon!
The old Lind Frey would never force children to go to war!
She finally arrived before the massive white door that marked the Sect Master's quarters in the heart of their compound.
While there were massive towers around the central area, the Sect Master quarters were not exactly in the same space as the rest of it. There was only one entrance and trying to bypass it would simply find twisted space doing so.
Romana bowed and the door swung outward to reveal Valkyrie in a meeting but Romana simply entered and the door closed behind her.
"As you suspected, the walls have recently been Forged to low grade 7 but could stand up to mid to high grade 7 items without issue." The image bowed before Romana could see who it was but Valkyrie let out a sigh as she sat back.
While she had recovered from her major injuries, she had more white streaks in her hair than before. It had cost her to speed up the process but with Zerod dead, she was a true deterrent to another major attack.
"You were right, Sister Romana. Lind Frey is setting a stage to lay waste to the Fiends in a century or less." Such meticulous planning was not something the Alliance was known for. In fact, they usually undercut each other but Lind was taking a different approach.
He was showing results that made finding geniuses easier and proving how cheap it was to raise a cultivator to the Gold Tier. Once someone showed it was possible, others would follow.
"Yet he is not choosing to lead the Alliance?" Romana had been concerned her old friend was entirely gone but Valkyrie confirmed he was not.
"It is an oddity. He is focused on raising the power around him as quickly as possible but he is not running on the momentum of his success to bring others under his wing. One even offered to help him rise up more but Lind ignored them." Romana felt a bit of the sadness leave as that was very much like Lind.
"What do you think he is hoping for then?" Valkyrie sat back as she looked up at the 5 golden chandeliers glowing softly over the massive room.
It was a combination office and bedroom but the last few years had let it return to mostly an office.
"If it was just revenge, he could build a fleet of those sky ships but he seems to hold back on that. Artifacts can be destroyed, but the sheer number of cultivators is harder to stop when each generation rises up constantly to take the place of those we lost." It was true.
There were times they built up good forces but other times they barely survived as not enough cultivators raised up to replace those who died.
Lind had solved that so easily it was disturbing.
"Then he is still teaching us all?" Romana almost felt hopeful but Valkyrie shook her head.
"He has learned how dangerous Fiends are. He is using their most fearsome weapon against them. He is laying out a plan over centuries so when it closes over them, they have no chance to escape." Romana felt a shiver down her spine.
If that was true, it meant he was seeing people as things to use. It seemed wrong to her but also logical.
The existential threat of the Fiends did that to many people. She mourned the loss of her friend but would not abandon him.
"What do you want me to do?" Valkyrie waved her hand and they saw some of the Immortals speaking about the Dao for the other sisters. They were so different from most Immortals in that they felt it was important to impart their comprehension to inspire others.
"See what we can do to help. We can't afford to let them go off on their own in the future." Romana frowned but bowed as she left the room. It seemed she would be a spy once more but this time it would be one she called a friend.
Life was never fair.