The lone imperial messenger was a distant speck on the horizon, fleeing with a tale of impossible power, leaving behind two crippled warships and a profound, deafening silence.
That silence was shattered by a single, powerful voice from the crowd of inner disciples. It was Han Jian, his face alight with a fanatical pride. "ALL HAIL THE SECT MASTER!"
His cry was the spark that re-ignited the world. The thousands of disciples below, their minds finally catching up to the reality of their impossible victory, erupted in a thunderous, unified roar that seemed to shake the very heavens. "ALL HAIL THE SECT MASTER! ALL HAIL THE SECT MASTER!"
High in the sky, the sect elders, who had been frozen in a state of dumbfounded shock, finally broke their silence. First Elder Jin Wei, his face a mask of utter bewilderment, simply shook his head. But then, a slow, proud grin spread across his stern face, and he began to clap. Elder Ning, a look of profound, weary amusement in her eyes, joined him. One by one, the other elders began to cheer, their voices joining the great, rolling wave of adulation from below.
The Sect Master stood in the center of it all, his robes flowing in the wind, his expression one of profound, magnificent satisfaction. He drank in the sound, the worship, the absolute, undeniable victory. For a hundred years he had been a quiet, cautious steward. Today, he was a king.
He finally raised a hand, and a respectful silence fell over the sect. "Elders," he commanded, his voice ringing with a newfound, unshakeable authority. "Secure those vessels. They are the spoils of our victory. Their materials are of the good grade, their arrays are of imperial make. Strip them of everything of value.
The weapons, the armor, the crystals… all of it belongs to the Green Mountain Sect now. And," a grim, practical light entered his eyes, "recover the storage rings from the… remains. A price was paid for our peace today. It is only right that we collect on the debt."
"Yes, Sect Master!" the elders replied in unison, a new, fierce pride in their voices as they flew towards the two crippled ghost ships.
The Sect Master then turned his gaze downwards, his voice once again booming across every peak and valley, a message for every disciple of his sect.
"War has been declared upon us!" he proclaimed, his voice a clear, ringing bell of warning and resolve. "The Boreal Frost Empire has shown its hand. They believe us to be weak, a flock of sheep to be slaughtered for their political games. Today, we have shown them their mistake! We are not sheep! We are the wolves of the Green Mountain!"
His voice rose to a crescendo. "But this was only the first wave! A greater storm is coming! Do not let this victory make you complacent! Every disciple is to redouble their training! Every elder is to ensure our defenses are at their peak! We do not seek war, but when it is brought to our doorstep, we will meet it with iron and fire! We will show the world the price of provoking the Green Mountain Sect!"
With his final, stirring declaration, he turned and flew back towards his peak, leaving a sect that was proud, unified, and battle-ready.
He did not go to his public hall. He went directly to the hidden chamber, where Grand Elder Chen and Grand Elder Mei were waiting, their faces a complex mixture of pride, shock, and profound amusement. Li Yu was summoned. He arrived a few moments later, his expression as calm and unassuming as ever.
"Little Yu…" Grand Elder Chen began, his voice shaking slightly with suppressed laughter. "'Let me show you my true power!'? Really? Is that the best you could come up with?"
Grand Elder Mei was less restrained, a series of delighted, grandmotherly chuckles escaping her. "And the pointing! Oh, the pointing! I thought poor Jin Wei was going to have a heart attack from the sheer audacity of it all!"
The Sect Master, his grand, majestic demeanor completely gone in the privacy of this chamber, could only offer a shy, slightly embarrassed laugh. "It… it felt right at the time," he mumbled, his ears turning a faint shade of red.
"Oh, I have no doubt it did," Grand Elder Chen said, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye. "It must have felt wonderful, after all these years, to finally let loose like that."
The Sect Master's shy laugh turned into a genuine, contented smile. "Yes," he admitted. "Yes, it did."
The lighthearted moment passed, and a sober reality returned to the chamber. "But now we must face the consequences," the Sect Master said, his expression grim. "I have sent a message of defiance to a powerful, wounded empire. The next wave might not be so small." He looked at Li Yu. "You said you would gather information. Have your… partners found anything yet?"
"The report hasn't come yet," Li Yu said calmly. "My people are efficient, but even they need time. Give them two days."
And so they waited. For two days, the Green Mountain Sect was a hive of activity. The spoils from the warships were a massive boon, their armory now filled with high-grade imperial weapons and their treasury overflowing with the wealth from the storage rings of two Core Formation experts and their elite guards.
The disciples trained with a new, feverish intensity, their hearts full of a fierce, defiant pride. They were further moved by what the Sect Master had shown them. A sect that would stand by their side if they were being bullied.
On the evening of the second day, Li Yu returned to the hidden chamber. He held a new communication jade in his hand. "The preliminary report has arrived," he said, his expression serious.
The three sect leaders leaned in, their full attention on him.
"The civil war is a true quagmire," Li Yu began, relaying the information from Fengliu. "The forces are, for now, relatively balanced. The Third Prince's faction, the one that attacked us, is a military powerhouse. His most loyal and powerful general is a man named Kaelen, a 6th-level Core Formation expert known for his brutal, head-on tactics. He has the support of several major sects, including the Frostwind Sword Sect, whose leader is now deceased, and the Black Iron Fortress. They command a handful of other Core Formation experts, mostly in the early stages, but the bulk of their power lies in their vast, disciplined army of Foundation Establishment cultivators."
He paused, letting them absorb the scale of the force. "The Seventh Princess's faction is a mirror image. Her own sworn protector is a 6th-level Core Formation expert, a master of assassination and intrigue. She has her own allied sects, and her forces are roughly equal to her brother's. They are currently locked in a bloody stalemate, fighting over the empire's central territories."
"So their forces are divided," Grand Elder Mei mused. "That is to our advantage."
"It is," Li Yu confirmed. "And the loss of two Core Formation experts and two warships is a significant blow to the Third Prince. It is unlikely he can spare a force of that magnitude again anytime soon without fatally weakening his position against his sister." He offered a reassuring smile. "The message you sent, Sect Master, was likely very effective. It has made us seem like a hornet's nest that is not worth the cost of kicking."
"But this is not the full picture," he continued, his voice growing grim again. "Fengliu's instincts, as a sovereign who has watched the world for centuries, tell him that this is not the true extent of the empire's power. He believes there are stronger, hidden masters at play."
He took a deep breath. "His informants have confirmed the existence of at least one such power. An old monster, a 7th-level Core Formation expert known only as the 'Imperial Guardian.' He was the personal sworn shield of the previous Emperor, and his loyalty was to the throne, not to any single heir. He has not been seen since the Emperor's death, but no one believes he is simply gone. He is a lurking dragon, and whichever side he chooses will likely be the ultimate victor."
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy. A 7th-level expert. That was a power on the level of Spine that Li Yu had introduced. Not an enemy they could fight themselves.
Seeing the worry on their faces, Li Yu spoke again, his voice firm and confident. "Do not be alarmed. I spoke with the Grand Elder of my organization. He gave me his word. If a threat of that magnitude were to truly threaten the existence of our sect, he would intervene. The Golden Shell Guild protects its partners."
This was the ultimate reassurance. The sect was protected by a greater power than even themselves.
"There is one more thing," Li Yu said, his voice softening as he looked at Grand Elder Chen. "Fengliu was not just investigating our enemies. He was also tasked with finding any information regarding the Fourteenth Princess's mother."
Grand Elder Chen, who had been a silent, grim statue, looked up, a flicker of pained hope in his eyes.
"She is alive," Li Yu said quietly. "After the old Emperor died, she knew the capital would become a slaughterhouse. She used her family's remaining resources and connections to escape. Fengliu's network has tracked her movements. She is in hiding, moving from place to place in the chaotic borderlands between the empire and the northern wastes."
He looked at the three elders. "This is a delicate matter. But Fengliu believes he can find her within a few weeks. If he finds her, if she is willing, he will personally escort her here. The First Elder is a dear friend of her family. It is only right that we offer her sanctuary as well, if she will have it."
A wave of profound, complicated emotion washed over the three leaders. To reunite mother and daughter would be a great and joyous thing. But to bring another high-value target into their sect… it would be like painting an even larger target on their backs.
But as they looked at each other, they knew there was no choice to be made. The Sect Master's words echoed in their minds: We do not abandon our own.
"Find her," the Sect Master said, his voice a low, firm command. "Bring her back here, it would not only bring Su Ling joy but the first elder as well. He has served the sect for even longer than I have, since we are doing this, we might as well do it to the end."