"Instinct Realm and Blue Depth…" Narrowing his eyes viciously, the minister said, "You're referring to the rumored Blue Depth Arcanist from Firecast, Protector Avin Arcellius."
"Yes, as well as the rumored Instinct Realm swordsman, Sword King Sin Quelldown."
"This is the first time I'm hearing about this."
"I learned about it only recently from our informants. The key here is that we know what a Rank 3 King means and what they can do. Suppose we are wrong about our assumptions and the Featherwind Sect retaliates, then we might have to clash with a Rank 3 King in the end. It would be best if that never comes to pass, since we neither have a Rank 3 King, nor do we have any counterplay, but it is important to remain prudent."
"I agree," Minister Keigon said. "But the fact remains that we are bound by the Nine Regrets Reincarnation vow. Although I'm not an Arcanist, I can still feel the binding force on my actions. I can instinctively feel the consequences of betrayal. One-ninth of our memories might not sound like a big deal, but we cannot underrate how frightening that is. Have we discovered the method to break it yet?"
Prime Minister Pon-Wai's smile widened. "That is why I called you here."
Meanwhile, there were a few red-crowned cranes on the pond surface, looking at the two men peculiarly. Their dark black eyes seemed to sparkle with a strange light before they flapped their wings and took off. As they soared, Prime Minister Pon-Wai and Minister Keigon glanced at them and felt offput. Something felt wrong, but they had no idea why, so they kept their silence. If they knew that the other felt the same way, then they might have realized it was not a fluke. The cranes flew over the gardens, as every Imperial Sentinel noticed them. Cardinal Loujin and Yongyu even spared a glance, but nothing more. They flew unhindered past the island and the lake where the capital resided to a hidden cave in the middle of a forest. A dozen more animals were gathered there, happily eating food that was presented to them. A person was sitting there in deep meditation and opened their eyes when the cranes returned. They walked up and nestled the person's legs with a fawning purr.
"Good job." The man combed the birds' heads one by one. "Now, what did you learn for me?"
Holding one of them gently, he channeled Martial Energy into the bird's body. Externalization of Martial Energy! This was not something that Fundamental Realms, like Benedict, could accomplish. Much like how Freon could not extend his Magic Perception outwards as a Gaseous Fog Arcanist, the same went for Benedict. Rank 1 Mortals were incapable of it! Instead, externalization was a hallmark sign of a Rank 2 Lord. In other words, the person here was a Perception Realm at the minimum! Furthermore, he was completely at ease, as if repeating something a thousand times over. There was not the slightest sign of discomfort! His elegant mastery over Martial Energy revealed he was a true master of the art!
Sense Link! His martial technique activated, allowing him to recall the last few hours of the bird's memory. Of course, rather than reliving it firsthand, it was more like reading a book. All the bird's actions, thoughts, and feelings were recorded therein, as well as its experiences. He skimmed through the contents without much interest. He was looking for something abnormal, anything that might be a clue, but what a shame. Having spent a week in this dreary cave without a single lead left him miserable.
However, it was not out of his expectations either. How could it be easy to find a Half-Monarch Grade treasure? They took centuries to form, for the World Energy to coalesce into a supreme treasure. Exceedingly rare and priceless, they were born in extraordinary circumstances in extremely hostile environments. Whether it be a toxic miasma, a frozen wasteland, a volcanic pit, or a land of Beast Kings, just the act of getting to it killed countless people across the ages. And they were not just petty thieves either, but genuine Rank 3 Kings! It has been said that whenever a Monarch Grade treasure was found, a bloody war would ensue, a war of Rank 3 Kings! Suffice to say, they were both a source of great fortune, and terrible misfortune.
He sighed. He could spend his entire life searching and fail to find one; they were that rare. There was nothing he could do about it, except shrug his shoulders and laugh at his bad luck. In the first place, it was too unrealistic a hope anyways. The Xingyuu Empire was a Rank 3 civilization, which meant it had a Rank 3 King as its ruler. They would have surely combed through the entire empire and found any outstanding treasures and any places fit for treasure nurturing. Finding a Half-Monarch Grade treasure this close to the capital city was impossible, and even if, by some stroke of luck, he found one… The Rank 3 King ruling the empire would not respond in kind. It would be courting death! Perhaps, it was a good thing that he found nothing.
The man was about to release his martial technique when his brow furrowed deeply. Near the end of this crane's memories was a record of Prime Minister Pon-Wai and Minister Keigon's conversation. Although the bird could not understand it, the information was still recorded in its memories. More importantly, it was close to the pondside pavilion, so it heard everything. To think that such a private and secure conversation was violated by something that no one could expect: a simple bird! When the man finished, his face was dark as night and an unbelievably dense murderous spirit emerged! Scaring the animals away, his body began glowing in a vivid white and dark aura. It was pure Martial Energy! A Perception Realm Expert!
Channeling his rage and energy into his fists, he slammed into the ground with earthshattering power. The force was potent enough to send fissures throughout the stone cave, cascading up the walls and towards the ceiling. Less than a second later, the rock walls turned to dust and the entire cave collapsed inwards! As the forest trembled and startled everything nearby, a figure erupted out of the rubble and flew high above in the sky with a terrifying aura. Unfurling his majestic wings, he was furious! Unbelievably, this person was not a human, but a large magpie bird. He was Elder Unvo from the Featherwind Sect!
Despite both sides tricking each other, it was hard not to feel angry. The Featherwind Sect collapsed, and they were nothing but runaways. They needed the protection of a superior power against the natural wilderness and the Luminous Central Origin. Judging from the scale of the Xingyuu Empire, one would be inclined to believe it was a powerful civilization, at least of the Rank 3 level. That was why they made the decision to negotiate and bind themselves with the Nine Regrets Reincarnation vow. It was all in the pursuit of reviving the Featherwind Sect!
But now, the situation changed. According to what Prime Minister Pon-Wai said, the Alzar Kingdom had the Rank 3 Sword King Sin Quelldown, while the Zino Kingdom had the Rank 3 Protector Avin Arcellius! Two Rank 3 Kings! That was a terrifying amount of combat strength that these two civilizations wielded. The Xingyuu Empire facing against two Rank 3 Kings without any of their own was a huge disadvantage in war. Look at the commanders from the Luminous Central Origin for example. In the extermination of the Featherwind Sect, the three of them were strong enough to reduce an area equivalent to Yongtein to ashes. City-level destruction was the standard of Rank 3 Kings! And since the Featherwind Sect allied themselves with the Xingyuu Empire, they became their enemy too. It was the exact opposite goal the birds had in mind!
Furthermore, the Imperial Council planned to break the Nine Regrets Reincarnation vow unilaterally! This contract spell operated independently, which meant that if one side broke the agreement, then the other side would still be bound. If the Imperial Council comes to attack, the Featherwind Sect would have to flee! That would be the absolute worse case scenario: chased out from the Xingyuu Empire and wanted by the Alzar Kingdom. They would have to flee the human world entirely! However, the wilderness was extremely inhospitable for anyone weaker than Rank 3. Although they recovered from their injuries, that was on the surface. The backlashes from the Luminous Central Origin would take a long time to heal without Half-Monarch Grade medicines. So, by forcing them to enter the wilderness again, it would be tantamount to suicide.
"I have to tell the others… We need to break the contract as soon as possible!" Elder Unvo mumbled. Raising his Martial Energy to the maximum and channeling it into his wings, he shot off across the skies at monstrous speeds like a shooting star. His destination was Tian Monastery!