Now then, how shall things proceed from here? Considering that it's only two more months until the annual sect competition, it might be better for my disciples to remain in the sect and attempt to make another cultivation breakthrough.
But on the other hand, it would be better for my disciples to enter the battlefield at a certain risk to gain precious combat experience in large scale battles.
Ace was stuck in this dilemma even after he returned to his dwelling.
"What's wrong? Wasn't the sect just graded to be at the 4th black star and maybe even above?" Charlotte asked as she walked out of the kitchen holding two bowls of rice which she just placed onto the table.
"There's a demon beasts invasion that's going to attack the nearest kingdom to us." Ace replied as he sat down on the chair.
Charlotte sat down opposite of him and asked, "Are you referring to the Valor Kingdom? Don't they have an expert possibly in the four domains and transcendent realm cultivators?"
Ace shook his head and sighed, "Things aren't that simple this time. The beast invasion this time is infinitely close to the sixth tier and to make matters worse, only the king of the Valor Kingdom is in the four domain realm from what I know."
Charlotte smiled as she stuffed a piece of meat into Ace's mouth, "Is there even a need to worry? I'm sure that the kingdom will reward your disciples accordingly based on their contribution, for now, just enjoy my cooking ya?"
Ace laughed as he spent the rest of the day Charlotte, a break was what he needed the most right now?
The next day, Ace opened his eyes when the first ray of sunlight shone into his eyes through the partially opened window.
Waking up carefully, Ace used the blanket to cover Charlotte's body before leaving his dwelling.
"All elders, emergency meeting is called for with immediate effect. Gather all disciples and report to the main hall as soon as possible excluding those at the important stage of their cultivation and those out on a mission."
"Sect master, did something happen?" The one to ask was Cidd who was actively involved in sect masters.
"I'll see to it right away." As for Arith, he kept his words short and did as told as per usual.
"What's with the sudden meeting in the early morning, don't you know that sleep is important to maintain my skin condition?" Clarissa said with a yawn, but still woke up and gathered her disciples.
While the sect was in a rush even though the sun had just risen, the disciples still washed up quickly before heading towards the main hall. As for the few who were still in the process of a cultivation breakthrough, Cidd made sure not to disturb them, especially when he saw a youth already breaking through into the peak stage Martial Master realm.
To think that they would have access to so much cultivation resources and such a heavenly cultivation environment since young, not to mention that the intents that they cultivate actually possess minor benefits to their cultivation base. Cidd thought to himself with a smile as he stepped into the main hall as the last person to arrive.
"Since everyone is here, I'll cut straight to the chase. Has anyone here ever heard of the Valor kingdom?"
One of the disciples stepped out and said, "Sect master, I'm the fourth prince of the Valor kingdom. May I inquire, is my kingdom under another beast invasion?"
This disciple had an elegant aura, his facial features were sharp and his brown hair was neatly combed and divided into two as they fell behind his shoulder.
"It seems that you know of the beast invasions. If you don't mind, come up here and introduce everyone present to what the beast invasion exactly is?"
The fourth prince nodded his head and stepped up onto the stage, "Let me start by introducing myself,I'm the fourth prince of the Valor kingdom, Garen."
The disciples looked up to him in surprise, what was the young prince of a kingdom doing in a sect like them?
"My reason for coming here isn't important, what's important here is the beast invasion and things aren't looking good this time based on the information I received. The beast invasion this time wasn't one that's infinitely close to the sixth tier, but an actual sixth tier beast invasion that's actually sieging eight kingdoms at once including the Valor kingdom."
Lancelot who sensed the burning desire to step onto the battlefield and utilise his full strength stepped out and asked the question everyone wanted to have an answer to, "Fourth prince Garen, what exactly is a beast invasion?"
Garen looked down, only to see Lancelot staring into his eyes without backing down. Retracting his gaze, Garen explained, "The beast invasions occur once in every ten years usually, this is due to the fact that the demon beasts had an ambition to conquer the world for themselves just like us. Thus, the wars between us cultivators and demon beasts started and had been going on for hundreds of years."
Garen, once again, explained everything in one breath without breaking it down into chunks for the others.
"What about the tiers of the demon beasts, what do you mean by that?" Lancelot asked another question before stepping back.
"The beast invasions are divided into tiers depending on the strength of the demon beast leading them. Under usual circumstances, the fifth tier demon beast invasions are of the fifth tier which are led by the transcendent realms demon beasts, but this time, a demon beast of the sixth tier and more than of them are leading the siege."
Turning towards Ace, Garen bowed towards him, "Sect master, that's all I have to say. Don't worry, since I've joined the sect, I'll be joining in this defense mission as a disciple, not as my identity of being a fourth prince."
"It's fine, just remember that you'll always be a disciple of my sect. It doesn't matter what identity you join the kingdom defense mission as, but the fact that you're willing to defend on the side of human cultivators against an external threat." Ace gave Garen a pat on the shoulder before he stepped down the stage.
"All disciples take heed, upon arriving at the kingdom, all of you would be required to gather in groups of ten."
Lancelot, knowing that he would definitely be appointed a leader, was curious about who the other nine leaders stepped out once again, "Sect master, who are the ten leaders you've chosen."
Ace glanced towards him for a moment before speaking, "The chosen leaders are elder Cidd, elder Clarissa, elder Arith, elder Jay, the three respective disciples under Jay, disciple Lancelot, disciple Ray and for the final candidate, it would be given to disciple Garen."
"Yes, sect master." The young blood he called out stepped out eagerly, hoping to enter the battlefield to show their skills.
Yet the elders all had a solemn face, as for Jay, he was just here to fool around. But if the worst case scenario takes place, he might consider making just a tiny move which might hopefully spare a demon beast strong enough to sustain that attack so that its carcass can be obtained.
"We'll be leaving in the afternoon, if things go well, we should be able to arrive at the Valor kingdom before nightfall. Everyone's dismissed."
"Yes, sect master!"
As the disciples left the main hall to get ready, Ace looked towards Clarissa, "Clarissa, I need you to concoct as many healing elixirs as possible right now. If possible, the Spirit Explosion Pills might play a key role this time."
"By the way Arith, what's your current cultivation base?"
"No worries, I'm already half a step into the Great Martial Master realm. If I'm lucky, I might be able to find the chance I need to make a breakthrough during the defense."
"Jay, just let me know if the demon beast invasion this time is just a surface attack, my instincts are telling me that things aren't as simple as it seems on the surface."
Jay replied with a smile and nodded his three.
"The three of you, make sure to take care of my other disciples."
"Yes, sect master."
"Ray and Lancelot, I believe that the two of you are mature enough to enter the battlefield and come back alive with the other disciples."
"Yes, sect master."
"Sect master, I've returned." A hoarse voice sounded from outside the main hall as the galloping or horses soon followed, coming to a sudden halt outside the main hall.