Ever since Faye Webb and the pillar arrived, Skeward Tower had once again become quiet, and for ten whole days, nobody came by.
At the same time, definite news finally arrived, the Hide Immortal Sword Mansion had opened, and all those trapped inside for three years had emerged.
However, those who emerged immediately scattered as if they were each returning to their own homes, each finding their own mother.
Selena Gould tried to contact her father using a Message Jade Disc, but there was no sign from her father, and it was unclear why.
There was no news from Elijah Burch’s side either, and when the pillar inquired with friends from the Lingtong Pavilion, his friend only provided him with eight words: "In an era of great strife, chaos will reign in the heavens!"
These eight words were very cryptic, neither the pillar nor Yusuf Zuck understood them.
Nevertheless, Yusuf Zuck had no desire to concern himself with how the various powers would act; he just wanted to wait for the rest of his family members to arrive in time.
Time swiftly passed, and twenty days before the grand assembly of heroes, Conor Hopkins, the Sect Leader of Heaven and Earth Mystical Door and the Starlord of the bright moon, finally arrived at Ling City with hundreds of followers.
As every inn in the city was packed to the brim, and the Heaven and Earth Mystical Door was not an extremely large sect, they had to rent civilian housing in the commoner area of East City, cramming hundreds of people into five or six households.
"I must make one thing clear," Conor Hopkins gathered everyone in a large courtyard, which was packed full, as most of these people had never been to Ling City or participated in the grand assembly of heroes, so many were excited.
"All actions must follow command, this is the only requirement. If you do not follow orders, do not blame me for being impolite!" Sect Leader Conor Hopkins declared with an icy gaze as he swept it over all those present, "As you know, Ling City is now filled with the world’s heroes. Second Level Earth Immortals are a dime a dozen, and the winds of discord have been rising lately with friction frequently occurring between various powers and races. People die every day on the streets of Ling City, with Second Level Earth Immortals perishing daily."
"Hence, starting now, you may not enter the city freely, you may not leave your courtyards, not walk outside in the alleyways, not meet with friends or make acquaintances, and all movements must be reported beforehand!"
"Of course, I understand that it’s not easy for you to come here, so during and after the grand assembly of heroes, I will give you freedom. But now is not the time, for I have received reliable information that many Second Level Earth Immortals have mysteriously disappeared or been found dead in the streets for no apparent reason."
"I’m saying this for your own good, so I hope you would understand," Sect Leader Conor Hopkins stated coldly.
"Oh," aside from those of Heaven and Earth Mystical Door, the majority here were leaders or elders of other sects from the bright moon star, and though they were reluctant inside, they did not dare to defy after hearing Conor Hopkins’ words.
"There’s one more thing," at this moment, Conor Hopkins suddenly laughed proudly, "Later, a Holy Sect emissary will come to our place. At that time, make sure you all demonstrate proper etiquette."
"What? A Holy Sect emissary is coming here?" The crowd was greatly astonished; the Holy Sect was the largest among all human sects, unparalleled in its greatness. The Holy Sect had existed for an immeasurably long time, with experts as numerous as ants. For many smaller sects, having connections with a single disciple of the Holy Sect was enough to boast about abroad.
It could be said that the Holy Sect leads all human cultivators, acting as leaders and mentors who guide the direction for humanity.
A Holy Sect emissary, undoubtedly, would be a person with an exceedingly lofty status within the Holy Sect.
"Haha, Sect Leader Conor Hopkins, you are too polite, too polite!" Just then, a hearty laugh came from outside the gate, and with that, the doors were pushed open. A young man dressed in apricot-yellow brocade robes with a jade belt hanging from his waist strode in energetically.
He was followed by four men and four women, all clad in bright red brocade robes with feet adorned by Purple Cloud Boots.
"Envoy Liu? Conor Hopkins, the sect leader of the Heaven and Earth Mystical Door from Skeward Star, greets Envoy Liu on behalf of Heaven and Earth Mystical Door and the many sects of Skeward Star." Conor Hopkins bent at a ninety-degree angle, and the hundreds of people behind him also bowed in unison to pay their respects.
"You’re too kind, far too kind. Greetings to all fellow Daoists!" Envoy Liu said, a spring breeze in his demeanor, continuously pressing down with his hands in an embarrassed manner.
"Envoy Liu, fellow Daoists, please, come this way. Tia, Zhong’er, serve the tea!" Conor Hopkins immediately ordered his two daughters to serve tea, while the others made way for Envoy Liu to walk with his four men and four women to take a seat by the stone table in the courtyard.
"Hmm, I heard what my fellow Daoist Conor just mentioned, and he’s not wrong. Recently, demons run rampant in the Spirit City, making it very unsafe. Moreover, the higher-ups of our Holy Sect, Demon Clan, Buddhism, and Alien Race have not arrived. With demon lords lurking within the city and the Ming Clan on the rise, it’s indeed most prudent to remain stationed here for safety reasons. However, these days will only last for another twenty days. On the day before the Heroes’ Gathering, the higher-ups of all four great factions will arrive in the Spirit City, and then you will have no more worries about your safety."
"Then why don’t the higher-ups of the four great factions come earlier? By allowing these demons to run amok, isn’t that creating chaos?" a woman in the crowd suddenly asked.
"That’s an excellent question!" Envoy Liu laughed heartily and nodded, "There’s a saying, ’What doesn’t break you makes you stronger,’ and another goes, ’If the heavens wish to destroy someone, they first make them mad.’ We’re not afraid of demons causing chaos; we’re afraid they won’t show themselves. So when they do, we have a target, and when the time comes, we can eradicate them all in one fell swoop."
"If our high-ups came over now, the demons would only hide away. So we let them cause a ruckus first, we ascertain their identities, we ascertain their locations, and then at the very end, we capture them all at once!"
"So that’s why!" Everyone suddenly realized. The four great factions intentionally let the Spirit City fall into chaos, in line with the idea that what doesn’t break us makes us stronger.
"Mmm, but there’s some good news I want to share with everyone!" Envoy Liu continued, "After negotiation among the elders of our Holy Sect, and consultation with your Skeward Star’s Heaven and Earth Mystical Door, we have finally come to an agreement on a three-hundred-year offensive and defensive alliance with Skeward Star, including five major points and over twenty clauses."
"I won’t go into the details here. I’ll just touch upon some stipulations that are beneficial for you," Envoy Liu said. "One of the stipulations is that, after the Holy Sect and Skeward Star sign the offensive and defensive alliance, all sects on Skeward Star will engage in a talent exchange program with the Holy Sect every three years. This means that every three years, each of your sects can select outstanding talents to study and cultivate at our Holy Sect, while our Holy Sect masters will also offer guidance at your Skeward Star sects, for mutual learning."
"This is a tremendous boon!"
Upon hearing this news, hundreds of people became so excited they were literally short of breath. How could such good fortune fall upon them? Check latest chapters at novel⚑fire.net
"You should really thank Daoist Conor for this. He has been interacting with the high-ups of our Holy Sect, and we were touched by his efforts to secure benefits for Skeward Star."
"Thank you, Sect Leader Conor!" Everyone bowed gratefully to Conor Hopkins.
"And there’s more," Envoy Liu continued. "In terms of resources, we will also favor the sects of Skeward Star. Previously, when we organized expeditions and the like, your sects from Skeward Star were not included, but now you’ll also have allotted spots."
"All in all, there are many clauses that will be supremely beneficial to you, which I won’t list one by one here!"
"I would like to add something here!" At that moment, Conor stood up and said, "This offensive and defensive alliance means that from now on, Skeward Star and our Holy Sect will be connected without gaps. Our affairs are the Holy Sect’s affairs, and the Holy Sect’s affairs are our affairs. If we face difficulties, the Holy Sect will help. If the Holy Sect faces difficulties, we will help. We shall attack together and defend together."