The Sect Master's indifferent crimson-red eyes observed his son for several seconds, seconds that to Qin Lei felt like an eternity, before he slowly nodded. "It seems you have taken this lesson to heart… Good."
He let his words hang in the air before continuing, "Now I want you to think, and give me the answer: why did I sacrifice our Sect's face? What were the gains?"
"You have five minutes to think. If your answer isn't to my liking, you'll receive another mental tempering session." With that, he closed his eyes and began to meditate.
Qin Lei momentarily froze in fear, but then his thoughts began to race at extreme speed as he desperately tried to find the reason behind his father's actions.
Time passed, far too quickly for Qin Lei's liking. Large beads of sweat began forming on his body, and it wasn't from the burning heat of the room…
Five minutes later, the Sect Master's eyes opened once more. "What is your answer?"
Gulp.
Young Master Qin nervously swallowed. "I-I think… it's because it would make other cultivators wary of the Savagefang Mountain Range's danger and, consequently, prevent them from digging deeper and discovering the Thunder Vein Dew's existence?"
A satisfied expression appeared on the father's visage. "Good, you understood, this is effectively the primary reason why I did this. Compared to obtaining the Dew, losing a bit of face, and even the Core Elder, Core Disciples, and Inner Disciples that were lost in the previous expedition, are trivial."
"If you consume the Thunder Vein Dew, your potential will transform, allowing you to easily reach the Core Perfection Realm, and within it, reaching the latter layers is possible. Even stepping into the first realm of the Soul Phase isn't impossible! With benefits like that, what are our small losses?"
Qin Lei's expression shifted into a mixture of joy and greed, for while he possessed a general understanding of this Heavenly Wonder, it was far from the deep knowledge his father held, and now, hearing firsthand the staggering benefits it could bring, he found himself more determined than ever to seize it.
Then, a thought struck him. His brows furrowed, and his lips parted slightly—yet no words came. For a long moment, he merely looked at his father, something uncertain flickering behind his eyes. He shifted uneasily, a trace of hesitation marking his posture, before finally speaking, his voice lower now, touched with a thread of unease.
"And… what about you, Father?"
"Me?"
"Yes, if I consume it, what of you? You would get nothing while I get it's in it's entirety… shouldn't we split it between us, each getting fifty percent of the Thunder Vein Dew?"
This worry coming from Qin Lei could seem weird considering how he seemed terrified or at least to be fearing his father to a high degree, at the same time he also got 'tortured' moments earlier by his father but this was how this father-son dynamic was.
The father gave out nothing but tough love and painful lessons and the son, knowing it was for his own good and that it made him stronger, even the mental tempering session earlier helped temper his mind, and so despite everything, he endured it all while both loving and respecting his father.
A hint of gentleness passed across the Sect Master's visage as his previously cold and indifferent expression softened slightly.
"No need to share it. My lifespan is about to reach its limit in a short 100 to 200 years; considering that, and the fact that your potential is higher than mine, it's only logical that the Thunder Vein Dew would be entirely given to you. Me consuming it would be a stupid waste of resources."
"Father, I—"
"Enough. My decision is final," coldly declared the Sect Master.
Seeing his father's determination, Qin Lei didn't dare press the matter further, fearing that he would truly undergo another 'mental tempering session'; he knew full well his father was capable of it, and the thought alone filled him with dread.
With reddened eyes, Qin Lei spoke, "In this case, should we head out to obtain this Heavenly Wonder?"
"No, we can't, at least not right now," his father replied, his tone firm as his eyes lingered on him with an unreadable gaze, "And why do you think that is?"
Young Master Qin forced himself to calm down, pushing aside thoughts of his father's 'approaching' lifespan limit as he sank into silent contemplation, trying to grasp the answer to his Lord Father's question, remaining unmoving as the moments passed, until at last his expression slowly shifted in understanding.
"I think it would be because the three Great Elders and some of our more powerful Core Elders are currently on a joint military mission for the Akashic Records and are, as a result, far away in another realm and completely unreachable…"
He paused briefly before continuing, "And to obtain the Thunder Vein Dew, we would need to either send a large group of powerful Core Elders or have Lord Father act personally, which, given our current situation, without many of our stronger cultivators present, could leave the Sect too vulnerable?" he finished, his tone hesitant, still not entirely certain of his answer.
Fortunately, in the next moment, he saw his father's expression shift with a trace of satisfaction, reassuring him that he had given the right answer, an impression confirmed moments later when the Sect Master spoke,
"Son is right, but you missed some important information that I need to add so you have a thorough understanding of the situation."
"You see, even if a group of our more powerful Core Elders left the Sect to obtain this Heavenly Wonder, we would still have some high-end combat power and the Sect-wide formation, so we should still be able to defend ourselves, right?"
Qin Lei, unsure of where his father was going, gave a hesitant nod.
"Wrong!" his father's thunderous voice resounded.
"The Sect's defenses would be at an all-time low, and while it's true that we'd still be strong enough to repel any second- or first-rate Sect from the Suncrest Region looking to exploit our weakness, if it were one of the other Overlord Sects…"
"Which, in this case, would probably not be the Wandering Sword Sect, but those bitches from the Frozen Serenity Sect—we could risk total annihilation!"
Young Master Qin's eyes bulged in shock. "What! But—but it doesn't make any sense! Even if our relationship with the Frozen Serenity Sect is tense and they want to take advantage of our moment of 'weakness' to destroy us…"
"The moment our high-end combat power returns, we could counterattack, and it would lead to a mutually destructive scenario where both Sects are annihilated!"
The Sect Master of the Flame Sovereign Sect gently shook his head. "What you're thinking is largely true, but you're missing a critical point. If they launch a lightning-fast strike and wipe us out quickly enough, they could seize our entire inheritance and bring it back to their own Sect."
Young Master Qin's eyes widened again as he began to grasp where this was going.
"And then, what would happen is that when we counterattack, they would possess the inheritance of two Overlord Sects—strengthening their foundation even further. After that, if they activate their Sect-Wide Formation and attempt to stall us, they would, unfortunately, succeed…"
"And then?" The Sect Master shook his head.
"They would only need to focus entirely on delaying us, and during that extended window of time, they could begin integrating our inheritance into their Sect—rapidly enhancing their battle power. In such a scenario, their strength would surge to the point where, once confident enough, they would launch another offensive and succeed in annihilating the last survivors of the Flame Sovereign Sect!"
Hisss.
Qin Lei hissed in shock. He had never imagined that sect politics were this complicated, or that every move a Sect Master made was so deeply layered with nuance and long-term implications.
In that moment, his respect for his father, who had managed to consider all of this, deepened, while at the same time, the pressure weighing on his shoulders at the thought of one day inheriting the Sect Master mantle grew heavier.
A few seconds of silence passed as the Sect Master quietly observed his son, watching as Qin Lei slowly began to grasp what it truly meant to lead the Sect, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
After a while, Young Master Qin regained his bearings and looked up at his father, "In this case, Father, does this mean that we need to abandon the Thunder Vein Dew?"
The Sect Master let out a soft chuckle as he shook his head, "Of course not, this Heavenly Wonder is far too precious for us to simply let it go because of some fear, it's true that we can't make a move right now, but the Great Elders and the Core Elders accompanying them should return—two years at the earliest, three at the latest…"
His crimson eyes locked onto his son, "That is when we'll make our move."
"Understood, Lord Father," bowed Qin Lei, feeling confident in his father's arrangement, after all, his wisdom had been fully displayed in the earlier confirmation, and he was sure that his father had taken everything into account and that his plan would work…
From there, the father and son duo spoke in more detail, the father continuing to guide and instruct his son in preparation for his future position as the Sect Master of one of the three Overlord Sects—the Flame Sovereign Sect!
***
Step, step, step.
Soft footsteps echoed through the empty Core Court as a figure made its way toward a particular location where the temperature was already sky-high and continued to rise with every breath, reaching a level of heat that would be unbearable for a mortal.
Step.
Another footstep echoed as the figure passed by a building, and at that moment, his appearance was finally revealed.
It was an extremely handsome young man, carrying with him a certain aura of etherealness that set him completely apart from any mortal—no matter how handsome, none could compare to this unique presence. He had messy, silky black hair, piercing and enchanting emerald green eyes, and a toned figure that spoke not of raw power but of perfectly controlled strength.
Even more eye-catching than all of that was the expression on his face, which was extremely cold and detached as he gazed upon everything with complete disregard, an aura of chilling coldness further amplified by the black, red-edged, cracked longsword resting on his back.
He cast a glance at the sword behind him, and in that instant, his indifference and icy demeanor seemed to melt like snow under the sun as a small smile appeared on his visage.
That figure was none other than Mikael, and the cracked longsword resting on his back, Sangrelia.
Both were making their way to the Forging Hall to have the latter repaired and to decide Master Mardoc's fate…
It had been three days since the Hebdomary Core Disciples Meeting ended, and now the due date had finally arrived.
What would become of Master Mardoc after this meeting would depend on Sangrelia's state afterward, and, of course, on her will…
Step, step, step.
Mikael's footsteps continued to echo as he passed beside obsidian buildings burning with heat, not sparing them a single glance, and soon enough, he reached his destination, the largest and hottest of them all, and without hesitation, he ignored the pressure emanating from the massive black-metal doors and pushed them open.
Crack.
He entered, ignored the burning heat, and then, without wasting any time, made his way into the wooden room to the counter, where he pressed the silver bell.
Ding.
A soft ding resounded, and he knew he only needed to wait, so he closed his eyes in silence as time slowly passed…
Author Note:
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Some worldbuilding was done in the father-son conversation while at the same time we saw that maybe the hope for the Thunder Vein Dew isn't entirely lost, maybe Mikael will need to abandon it for the 83rd times?
That's to be seen but this isn't the matter of the present Mikael, who's about to have Sangrelia repaired by Master Mardoc, what could possibly go wrong?
———
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— End of Chapter —