Dahlia walked around the flying ship. She ran her fingers along the wooden edge, inspecting it.
"Looks small. Are you sure it won’t fall apart midair? We’re going to the dangerous Demon Gate Island, right?"
The old man smirked, his beard twitching as he held back a laugh.
"These flying ships have carried numerous elders far stronger than you before you were even born, girl. It will surely hold unless..."
He paused, his eyes narrowing.
"Unless something beyond the Second Realm attacks us. But that is beyond rare."
Garion chuckled and stepped onto the ship, stretching his arms wide, grinning.
"Relax, Dahlia. The chance of something above the second realm showing up is low. Besides..."
He then stomped on the deck of the ship, trying to show her how steady it was.
"See? It was not that weak. Even my stomp couldn’t make it creak."
Dahlia let out a breath and followed him up the short steps.
"Okay, okay. I hope what you said is true, Elder. If this thing breaks, I’m blaming you."
The old man only smiled faintly and climbed aboard last.
He walked to the bow, placing his wrinkled palm on one of the glowing runes.
The lines lit up brighter, and in an instant, the ship shook once before slowly lifting itself from the ground.
Garion grabbed the edge right away, his eyes wide as the city below grew smaller.
"Whoa... It’s really flying."
The old man smirked, seeing Garion’s reaction.
"You’d better get used to it, as I’m about to speed up. It’s quite far."
Dahlia stood near the railing, clutching it rightly with both hands before glancing at Garion.
"Master, don’t fall."
Garion threw his head back and laughed.
"Fall? Are you kidding me? This is the best ride I’ve ever had! And make sure you’re not the one who fell."
He spread his arms wide as if he were flying himself, the wind whipping the robe behind him.
Dahlia sighed and shook her head.
"You’re such a child, Master."
Garion just grinned, ignoring what Dahlia said.
The old man just chuckled at their bickering and adjusted his stance at the bow, keeping one hand to steady the ship.
"Save both of your energy. The flight to the Demon Gate Island is not short. Enjoy the view while you can."
Garion leaned over the edge, watching the horizon stretch out before them, and just kept smiling.
Meanwhile, Dahlia kept her grip firm but allowed herself a small smile as she was also amazed by the view.
In another part of the world, inside a vast hall, numerous elders from various sects had gathered, sitting around a huge table.
Their faces were tight. Eyes didn’t leave the centre where a thin elder spoke first.
"How can this be? He was just a First Realm cultivator, and four Second Realm cultivators had come for his life? How can he still be alive?"
Another elder pushed his cup away and leaned forward, rubbing his temples.
"I don’t know how he managed to do that, but still, the most important thing is that I lost contact with the four Second Realm Cultivators."
He then set his hand on his chin, trying to speculate what had happened.
"The only thing I can think of is that all four of them had died, and this had really turned into bad news."
Another elder frowned, slamming down his hand on the table.
"How can that be possible? Are you saying that Garion... a first realm cultivator managed to kill four second realm cultivators?"
The elder nodded, eyes narrowing grimly.
"Indeed. That’s what I thought as Garion is indeed a bit weird. And now, thanks to him, the balance has shifted."
They looked at one another. Worry made their voices low.
Then another elder with a broad shoulder tapped the table slowly.
"If what you said is true, then it’s indeed bad news. This isn’t about the mockery of our sects anymore, but our future."
Someone else snorted.
"But now, he was going to the Demon Gate Island. You know how dangerous that place is, right?"
He then shook his head, shivering, thinking about that place.
"That place is not only soaked with dangerous demonic mana, but the demonic beasts there were also so strong."
A younger-looking elder in dark blue then smiled, reassuring him.
"Do not worry about that. If we can’t survive in that place, how do you expect him to survive there?"
A few elders whispered to each other about the possibility of Garion dying in that place.
Still, one elder leaned back, folding his arms, thinking differently.
"But still, what if there is a slight chance that he managed to survive in that place? What will we do after that?"
This quickly made the other elders frown again, even though the chance was relatively small.
The younger-looking elder then became serious as he replied to him.
"But what can we do? Remember... we are told not to disturb him. So how do you plan to get around it?"
The elder only smiled as he shared his thoughts with the others.
"The decree only limits sects. It didn’t bar independent groups, such as... some assassin group or mercenaries."
A small, keen-eyed elder at the far end smiled thinly.
"Indeed. What you’re saying is right. We can just use others to eliminate him and, fortunately..."
He took out a small wooden emblem with a unique pattern.
"I have a contact with one of the famous assassin groups. They also owe me some favours."
All the elders’ eyes lit up the moment they heard what the keen-eyed elder said.
The thin elder stood slowly and began to announce to the others.
"We cannot let one man change everything. Our sects didn’t rise by chance. We hold the world steady."
He looked at the keen-eyed elder, ordering him.
"Tell your assassin group to send their best assassin for this mission. This is a top priority target."
The keen-eyed elder nodded as he began to leave to contact the assassin group.
The thin elder then turned to the remaining elder, reminding them.
"If any of you have contacts, either assassins or mercenaries, send them. Tell them to go and kill Garion."
He paused, letting the words sink in.
"The first to do it will get the huge reward."
The elders nodded as they began to think which one they should contact.
The thin elder just smiled as he watched the others leave one by one.
"Garion... blame yourself for being too arrogant... And now the hunt had begun."