The Undying Immortal System

Chapter 472 – Life 120, Age 40, Martial Grandmaster Peak

Kan, JiuLi, and I sat in a narrow office on the third floor of the local Sect Affairs Bureau. A light formation glowed overhead, and the air carried the soft, floral scent of illusory incense. Across from us, an elder rolled a pair of ancient walnuts in his right hand. He looked half-asleep, but the weight of his gaze told a different story.

“Do you understand what advancing to a First-Class, Six-Star Sect will require of you?” he asked, voice mild.

Kan straightened in his chair, hands resting on his knees. “We need to secure victory in the Heavenly Ascension Tournament, winning at every level—Disciple, Master, and Grandmaster. We also have to prove that our sect is proficient in at least one profession.”

The elder’s lips curled into a faint smile. “That is correct. But that only earns you the right to advance. It does not grant you the ability to advance.”

He placed his walnuts into an ornate sandalwood box, then leaned forward, elbows on the table. “If you only wished to become a Third-Class, Six-Star Sect, you wouldn’t need to bother with the tournament at all. You could simply find a city you like, capture it, and declare yourselves Lords.”

The elder waved a lazy hand, dismissing this option. “The martial prowess of your sect is well known, so entering the Heavenly Ascension Tournament and winning the right to advance properly shouldn’t be too difficult. Once you secure victory, choose a city, conquer it, and you will be recognized as an official Second-Class Sect.”

Kan pressed his lips together, as if swallowing his first response, then settled on a polite smile. The elder couldn’t have been foolish enough to think that we would be satisfied with a demotion to Second-Class status, yet he continued to drag things out, subtly steering us in some unknown direction.

“Advancing as a Second- or Third-Class Sect is relatively simple, but it comes at the cost of losing the Bureau’s protection. Whichever city you seize will remain under its King’s authority, and if that King takes a dislike to you, they can send their armies to remove you and restore the former Lord. You would find yourselves in the awkward position of being a Six-Star Sect that cannot elevate its members to Martial Lord.”

He let this hang in the air for a moment, watching Kan’s jaw tighten.

“First-Class Sects are different. After you capture a city as a First-Class, Six-Star Sect, no King will be allowed to lay a hand on you—not even your own.”

Kan’s muscles were starting to twitch, irritated by this roundabout conversation, but he reined himself in and cut straight to the point. “What do we need to do?”

The elder’s smile sharpened. “Before conquering a city, you must first be given permission to do so by its ruling King. If you cannot find a King who will let you conquer one of their cities, then you cannot remain a First-Class Sect.”

He reached under his desk, pulled out a stack of papers, and placed them down in front of us. “The advancement of your Amorphous Blade Sect has been impressive—so impressive that we have already had to implement secondary tests to ensure you are following all regulations. At this rate, I am confident you will be looking to advance to a Five-Star Sect in another decade or two.”

Kan glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, but I kept my expression neutral.

The elder tapped the stack of papers with a fingernail. “Tell me, how many King-level forces do you think would be willing to nurture such a beast? Most newly risen Five-Star Sects don’t march off to conquer faraway lands. They usually attempt to seize the crown of the kingdom in which they already reside. How many Kings would foster a sect that might one day try to replace them?”

“Not many,” said JiuLi dryly.

The elder leaned back in his chair. “Exactly. Ascending to Five-Star is worse. Most King-level forces have served their Emperors for centuries. Even if an Emperor wanted to replace one of them, why would they hand that kingdom to an outsider? Your sect might be able to better manage the territory, and you might even generate more Emperor-level karma, but most Emperors are aiming to advance to Sovereign. Putting you in charge means they can’t give the position to a member of their bloodline.”

The elder let out a light chuckle. “There are tens of thousands of cities in the Heroes Domain, and finding one where the King is unhappy with the current Lord is not too onerous a task. But doing so will take time. Three or four decades of sending messages and gifts, cultivating relationships, and proving that you will be obedient little Lords.”

His eyes glittered. “Normally.”

He turned in his chair and gestured to the far wall. A large map unfurled itself with a rustle, pinned in place by a flick of the elder’s qi. Colored markers glowed faintly along the border between the Heroes Domain and the Nine Rivers Domain.

“Lucky for you,” he said, rising from his seat, “we are in the middle of a war. And war brings opportunity.”

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We rose as well and moved closer. Kan folded his arms, studying the map. JiuLi’s gaze slid over the marked cities, expression cooling at every bead of red.

“This,” the elder said, tapping a cluster of red markers, “is the current state of the war. The Nine Rivers Domain has already occupied six of our cities. At this pace, they’ll be ready to establish a kingdom in just a few short years. We’ve sent some of our best Martial Kings to stop this, but all they’ve managed to do is slow the advance.”

He dragged his fingertip from one red marker to the next, tracing a zigzag path. “Whenever we show up in force to reclaim a city, the invaders vanish. Before our Kings can reorient, the enemy appears somewhere else and takes down some different city. It’s as though they have a spy embedded in every command hall, tracking our every movement.”

“So, you want us to reclaim one of these cities?” asked Kan, gaze still locked on the map.

“No.” The elder turned back to us, his expression hardening. “This land belongs to the Heroes Domain. Even if you were to reclaim one of these cities, you would still need to prove yourselves in the Heavenly Ascension Tournament and obtain the ruling King’s permission before being allowed to ascend to a Six-Star Sect. The rules would not vanish just because you were helpful.”

“Then what do you want?” I asked.

He extended his hand again, this time gliding it past the border, to the left side of the map where the markers changed color.

“This land belongs to the Nine Rivers Domain. The Bureau does not govern there. You do not need our permission to claim a city on that side of the border. Establishing even a kingdom or an empire is simply a matter of claiming enough land and holding it.”

He smiled, and this time it was all teeth. “Also, any conquest of Nine Rivers territory is counted as wartime merit. If you can take and hold one of these cities, your sect will automatically be promoted to Six-Star. If you can continue on and take control of kingdoms and empires, you can advance as high as Four-Star without needing to ask anyone for permission.”

“And the downside?” asked JiuLi.

“You will be operating under the rules of war. Any force up to one Rank above your own may attack you. If you seize a city and your people advance to Martial Lord, you will have to defend that city from the Nine Rivers’ Kings. If you advance to Lord and fail to hold any territory—if you come running home with nothing to show for it—then upon your return, you will be automatically demoted to a Third-Class Sect.”

JiuLi tapped her chin. “We aren’t the only ones you’ve approached with this, are we?”

The elder gave her a single nod. “We have informed all of those we judged capable of seizing and holding enemy territory.”

He lifted his hand again, drawing a small circle around the cluster of occupied cities. “Of course, where obligations exist, so do benefits. If you can force the Nine Rivers’ armies to retreat, allowing our domain to reclaim its lost land, you will be granted generous rewards.”

Walking over to the map, I studied the layout of both the Heroes Domain and the Nine Rivers Domain. When my eyes fell on the name of a familiar city, several ideas clicked into place.

“The moment we take over a city,” I said, “our people will be allowed to advance to Martial Lord, correct?”

The elder’s eyes flicked to me, narrowing slightly. “Yes. Once you establish Lordship over a city, your members may advance to Martial Lord without forfeiting your First-Class status. However, you must still follow the rules of the war—and the rules of a First-Class Sect. You are not allowed to receive assistance from outside powers. Any karmic energy you use to advance must be earned by your own efforts.”

I lowered my head in thought.

This was an opportunity. We could rapidly elevate our sect’s Rank, and we could deal with Jon before he had any more time to grow.

Kan looked at me. I met his gaze and gave a small nod.

He drew in a slow breath, then turned back to the elder. “Alright. We’ll do it.”

The elder’s smile returned, smooth as polished jade. “Excellent. I look forward to seeing how far the Amorphous Blade Sect can climb.”

Once we were back on Pale Mist Mountain, Kan and JiuLi immediately put the sect into motion and directed people to handle the preparations for our upcoming campaign. Disciples hurried down the sect’s thoroughfares, arms laden with crates and weapon racks, while teams of Masters barked orders and checked supply lists before loading everything into their storage bags.

After recruiting a hundred new Disciples every year, we now had more than a thousand people in our sect. Not all of them were combatants, and not all who were could be spared. We needed some of them to remain behind and guard Pale Mist Mountain.

In our main strategy hall, a large stone table had been transformed into a topographical map of the Nine Rivers Domain, with lines of light marking the important mountains, rivers, and cities. JiuLi stood on one side, arms crossed, while Meng LuYao hovered beside her.

“JiuLi will be in charge of the sect during our absence,” I said, looking at the two women. “LuYao, do your best to train our newest recruits. With any luck, they won’t be needed, but we have to prepare for a drawn-out campaign.”

I gestured toward the map, and a city near the heart of the Li Clan’s territory flared to life. “This is where we’ll start—Black Eagle City.”

YuLong frowned. “Are you sure? That’s… pretty far in. If we end up surrounded…”

I nodded. “Our job is to force the invaders to pull back, right? What better way to do that than to attack their home base? The leader of the invasion is Yong JinZhan, a member of the Yong Clan from Proud Eagle Kingdom. Taking one of his clan’s cities is the best way to drag him off the front lines.”

“Are you sure it’ll work?” asked Kan.

“No, but if he doesn’t respond, then we’ll just keep taking cities. Fighting deep behind enemy lines might be dangerous, but as long as the Nine Rivers Domain follows the rules of war, we shouldn’t run into anything we can’t handle.”

I tapped the table, and three lines of light appeared, each one tracing a different route from Pale Mist Mountain to Black Eagle City.

“We’ll split into three groups. These paths cut through territory that’s heavily infested with Rank 3 and 4 demon beasts and will keep us away from any major settlements. While we’re traveling, we need to take out as many Peak Rank 3 and 4 beasts as possible. As long as we collect a few dozen carcasses, we’ll have a surprise for Jon that he’ll never see coming.”

YuLong’s grin widened. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go hunting.”