Chapter 266 – Life 75, Age 16, Martial Disciple Peak

A week later, JiaQi and LiTing showed up. I gave them the same rough information that I had given YuLong and showed them to a room where they could cultivate in seclusion. 

Then, I entered seclusion as well and began cultivating a new technique, the Writ of Metal from Charred Earth, as quickly as I could. Since I was returning to the Nine Rivers Sect, it might have been better to take the opportunity to cultivate the fire essence technique to permanently raise my fire affinity to peak four-star, but changing one’s cultivation technique after ascending to the Ruler Tier was a bit complicated, and I needed access to both metal and earth qi if I wanted to learn how to make memory orbs.

This technique was similar to the Writ of Wood-Burned Earth which I had cultivated previously, so there wasn’t much new that I needed to learn, and thankfully, this technique didn’t require experiencing the pain of burning alive. 

With the help of pills and formations, I was able to return to Peak Disciple after only a few weeks.

---------------------------------------------------

At the end of the first month, Yan finally made an appearance, so I gathered both my friends and my two disciples in the manor’s sitting room. As I looked around at everyone, my feelings were… mixed. I was happy about seeing them again after so long, but I was worried about how they would react to what I had to tell them.

I closed my eyes, breathed out, and began.

“Let’s start with some introductions.” I looked at Bao and SuYin and gestured at the others. “These are Zhuge Yan, Shi YuLong, Chai JiaQi, and Lin LiTing. They are the companions who joined me the first time I entered the Nine Rivers Sect.”

Bao and SuYin both gave the others a quick martial salute.

I turned to this group of four and gestured to the pair opposite them. “This is Bao Wen and Ye SuYin. They are personal disciples I accepted in my most recent life.”

My four friends gave this pair martial salutes in return.

“So, as I have already told everyone, in the past, the five of us made it to Heaven City in the Nine Rivers Sect. We did this twice, in fact. After the first time, I took the Path of the True Chosen and was killed nearly instantly. While I still have questions about that path, I have been convinced that the sect is looking for people who have found a way to cultivate their physical bodies instead of their energy bodies.”

Yan looked like he wanted to ask questions, but I held up a hand to stop him. “We can discuss everything in more detail later. Suffice it to say that my first trip to the Summit ended in near immediate death.”

Yan nodded in acceptance, but I could see a glint in his eyes that told me we would be having a talk later.

“For now, what is important is this: the Summit is a lie. You might be allowed to ascend if you make it there, but whether you are allowed to ascend or not, reaching the Summit means you will be required to swear a venomous Oath that locks you into a soul contract. Through this Oath, you will forswear all of your existing allegiances, friendships, and familial connections. If you are unwilling to swear, they will simply implant you with a soul gu and force you to do so.”

Bao, SuYin, LiTing, and JiaQi gasped at this news. YuLong got angry. Yan… Yan just looked disgusted.

“Successfully walking the Path of the True Chosen might allow you to get around this Oath, but I doubt it. The Saint’s emissary didn’t give me the impression that the Saint was any better than the Sovereigns under him. My guess is that you will simply be required to swear an even worse Oath to the Saint himself. So, in short, joining the Nine Rivers Sect means nothing but eternal servitude to the Sovereign Clans.”

This caused Yan to clench his teeth in anger, but I just smiled viciously at him.

“That’s why I plan to break the rules. You may have noticed the others in this manor house. They are members of my new clan. I intend to use them to break through to Sovereign without the Saint or his lackeys even knowing about it. I don’t know how easy it will be to bring you with me, but if you’re willing to work with me, I will do my best. So, the question is, are you willing to join my clan?”

LiTing’s response was muted, but it was nearly instantaneous. “Yes.”

JiaQi cocked her head to the side. “What does joining your clan mean?”

I dipped my head to her. “You will each be named Revered Elders and placed above everyone except for myself. I will not ask you to forsake any of your current bonds, and I will not hold you to any promises beyond this life. If you wish to quit, you may do so. All I want is for you to help teach the existing members of my clan and guide them through the Nine Rivers Sect. I plan to plunder as many of the sect’s resources as I can to grow my people to an absurd level of strength. Then, we will skip to the next cycle, keeping any Sovereigns and Saints blind to the force that we are developing.”

I looked at Yan. “I want the light and dark essence cultivation techniques the Zhuge Clan possesses. Not only that, but multiple members of the Zhuge Clan have actively offended me. I plan to repay this debt, but first, I want to create a force capable of suppressing them. Will you help me?”

Yan’s eyes widened and a wicked smile appeared on his face. “Sure.”

After a bit more thought, JiaQi agreed as well.

YuLong sat with both fists balled. After a minute of silence, he finally nodded.

“Give me my memories once I am ready for them, and I will help you in this life. As for the future… I will let you know after I have my memories back. Joining a new clan is… I don’t know if I can do that.”

I bowed my head. “That is all I ask.”

I looked around the room.

“I would like each of you to lead a group into the Nine Rivers Sect. While Bao and SuYin have never been there before, they should be able to handle matters on the Wood Peak, and once Jin ZiHan is old enough, I may ask her to help them.”

I gestured to each of them. “LiTing, I would like you to lead a group to the Metal Peak. JiaQi, the Water Peak. Yan, the Dark Peak. YuLong, the Earth Peak. YuLong, I know that you went to the Lightning Peak last time, but… that wasn’t a good idea. The Master of the Lightning Peak is a prick, and going there without cultivating lightning qi will only make him mad.”

For the first time in this meeting, YuLong cracked a smile and let out a soft chuckle.

Yan cleared his throat. “What about the others?”

“I will lead the group on the Fire Peak. I have a recruit who I hope will take over the role of Revered Elder of Fire in the future, Cao MeiLan, but she isn’t ready. The same is true for the Light Peak. Meng LuYao will make a strong Revered Elder of Light, but she isn’t ready yet, and I don’t have anyone to assist her. I can only hope that she will be able to manage on her own. I know that Cai XiaoYu would prefer to be your assistant, but I was hoping that she would consider going to the Light Peak to help Meng LuYao instead.”

Yan stroked his chin. “I’ll go with this Meng LuYao to the Light Peak. I’ve already spent one life, possibly two, on the Dark Peak. I need to experience something new. Once XiaoYu is old enough, she can take over the Dark Peak.”

I nodded, accepting this arrangement.

“What about Wind and Lightning?”

I grimaced slightly. “For the Lightning Peak… I know of a man who seems like he could make an excellent Revered Elder of Lightning, but he is too old to join the sect. For now, the Lightning Peak cultivators will be on their own, and we will need to do the best we can to help them from afar.”

I took a deep breath. “As for Wind… No one in my clan cultivates wind qi. Aside from the fact that I don’t have a Wind Essence Gathering Formation, there is also the problem that I would prefer not having people capable of controlling others through soul gu around me.”

Yan’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Gu are used for a lot more than just controlling people’s souls. Having Gu Keepers with us could be extremely helpful.”

“I know… I just… I would prefer to put that off for now.”

I glanced around the room. “Does anyone have any questions?”

---------------------------------------------------

An hour later, I held a meeting between my clan’s leadership council and my new group of Revered Elders. We all sat around a circular table with the ‘world orb’ inset into its center.

“ShouLi, Liang, Mo, NiangBa, GuiAi, GuiMing. The six of you form the clan’s leadership council and are responsible for ensuring that it continues functioning properly. I appreciate your service, but if we want to take the next step forward, we will need more help.”

I gestured to Yan and the others. “These six will take up positions as the clan’s Revered Elders. You are already familiar with Elder Bao, and I am sure you know how capable he is. The other five at this table are no less so. They will help guide our clan forward, and they will help each of you as you ascend through the Ruler Tier.”

Everyone on my leadership council tensed at this. They likely felt that they were being replaced.

“The Revered Elders will not interfere in the day-to-day operations of the clan, and I would be surprised if they even had any desire to do so. Instead, they will simply serve as protectors and guides as we take the next steps on our journey.”

ShouLi still seemed nervous, but she bowed her head to me. “Yes, Ancestor.”

I did my best to give her a comforting smile. “We are headed to the Nine Rivers Sect. This sect is divided into nine factions, one for each element. The Revered Elders will lead groups to the Wood, Water, Earth, Metal, and Light Peaks. I will lead the group to the Fire Peak.”

I looked at Liang. “We do not have a Revered Elder of Lightning, so I will need you to do your best to lead anyone who chooses to follow you to this peak.”

Liang, filled with mixed emotions, gave me a nod of assent, and I turned to ShouLi.

“I do not expect anyone to go to the Wind Peak, but there may be a few of the illusionists who wish to join the Dark Peak. Since there is no Revered Elder of Dark, I would like the council to appoint someone to serve as their leader. Liang, we will discuss the situation in the sect with both you and whoever is leading the team to the Dark Peak, but you should come to us if there are any questions. Elder Shi has extensive experience on the Lightning Peak, and Elder Zhuge has experience on the Dark Peak.”

After a long pause, I revealed the oath stone that I had acquired from Emperor Li.

“While I trust everyone here, the Nine Rivers Sect is a dangerous place. Aside from the risk of someone betraying us willingly, there is also the possibility that someone will be forced to do so. If that were to happen, it would put everyone in the clan in danger. So, anyone who chooses to join the sect will need to swear an Oath. If this Oath is violated, they will instantly be struck by lightning and destroyed. While I do not enjoy asking this of you, I hope that you all understand the reason for it.”

I passed the oath stone to Yan, and he placed his hand upon it.

“I, Zhuge Yan, hereby swear that I will not divulge anything that Su Fang has told me is a core secret of his clan to anyone who has not sworn this same Oath, including his name, his appearance, and the existence of his world orb.”

This wording was a bit broad, but I felt that it struck a balance of covering everything that might be dangerous to spread around while not feeling too restrictive.

After swearing, Yan passed the stone around the table, and everyone copied him.

When it was her turn, ShouLi gave me a strange look, and I realized that this was the first time she had solid confirmation that I was not Prince Fang of the Proud Mountain Kingdom. I was Su Fang of the Su Clan.