*Knock knock!*
Ace, who was currently cultivating his slaughter law and ascending the eighty-first step of the tower, was disrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the door.
Ending his cultivation session which only started moments ago, he stood up and opened the door, surprised to see the young beauty standing outside of his door, "What's the matter?"
Grace's face was flushed red when she saw Ace, her hands were tightened to the side of her body as she whispered, "Would you be able to help me with a small request of mine that's related to Garen?"
"Of course, just let me know what you need help with." Ace found it bizarre that Grace was requesting help from him, but still offered to help her out considering that her request had to do with Garen.
"Would you...be able to set the marriage date right after the Annual Cultivation Forces Tournament?" Grace's angelic voice was barely audible, but to Ace who was a cultivator with heightened senses, her intentions were conveyed to him clearly.
Ace pondered for a moment on the surface before answering, "I'll help you with it, as for whether Garen agrees to it, it's all up to him."
"Thank you, Sect Master." Grace thanked and left in a hurry being too embarrassed to stay here any longer.
"Haish, young people these days." Ace sighed in exasperation, neglecting the fact that he himself was only fifteen years old.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, the turbulent storm still brewing without any commotion taking place in the past three days, but it was apparent that the higher echelons of the Nebula Kingdom have already caught wind of the incident.
Sitting on the throne was the Nebula Emperor himself, the creator of the Nebula Kingdom and also Ace's master who led him onto the path of cultivation. Below his throne, countless subjects could be seen standing on the ground, which was slightly inclined towards the throne.
The incline was barely visible and unless one measured it with precise tools, even a cultivator would not sense the difference in an angle towards the throne. This was to create a subtle sense of superiority or those who were of a higher position.
"Emperor, the situation is worse than we think, now that the seven stars are seriously injured and recovering from their injuries, it would be difficult for us to even contend against the Moonlight Cult."
"Emperor, I have received news that the Moonlight Cult seems to be participating in the Annual Cultivation Forces Tournament, not only that, their Cult Leader seems to be leading a team himself while suppressing his cultivation to the Martial King Ninth Realm."
"Emperor…"
The subjects raised problems one at a time while providing their personal opinions after pondering for some time, but none of them could come up with a situation to deal with the Moonlight Cult.
What all of them didn't know was that Ultric was a Martial Saint that had long exceeded the Martial Emperor Realm, the second thing none of the subjects knew was that the Moonlight Cult Leader was a Martial Saint as well.
"Moonlight, I hope you don't disappoint me when the time comes." Ultric thought to himself, but those weren't the words that left his mouth. "Don't worry, the Moonlight Cult would definitely lay low for now unless we threaten them too early on."
Ultric then turned towards the grand strategist and called out, "Morven, I'll have to trouble you to set up an array to defend everyone in the Nebula Palace."
Morven, the sharpshooter who had been out with Ultric, Chloe and Graves back then. Morven was on an undercover mission this time just so he could assist Ultric and most importantly, he had to be careful at all costs to not use his Saint energy at all.
That was the restriction of the Fragmented Cultivation World. They could make use of their Saint energy, but the moment they do so, the path to the Divine Realm would open up and force them to ascend to the Divine Realm.
For this reason, Ultric's main body had already ascended to the Divine Realm years ago and the Emperor they see now was nothing more than a clone as well. The same applied to Morven, whose main body was currently in the Divine Realm as well.
As for Moonlight, the cult master of the Moonlight Cult, he himself was a Martial Saint as well. To be more precise, Moonlight was going through this much effort to take revenge against Ultric who defeated himself three hundred years ago.
(Martial Lords live for five hundred years, Martial Kings live for a thousand years, Martial Emperors live for ten thousand years while Martial Saints have a lifespan of ten thousand years)
"Emperor, who is this person?" One of the subjects who was extremely close to the throne cupped his hands and asked with respect.
These subjects might only be Martial Lords with some Martial Kings mixed in, but all of them were of a certain age and having lived for this long despite being in the palace, their ability to judge someone's capability was the only craft that kept them alive.
"This person is the Grand Strategist of the Nebula Kingdom, he's a Martial Emperor Realm expert as well and is also a 7th grade Array Master at the same time," Ultric answered calmly, gaining the respect of his subjects.
As expected from their Emperor, even an array master of such calibre and cultivation was willing to serve him. Was the common thought they shared.
"Grand Strategist Morven, why don't you show all of them what you're capable of?" Ultric suggested with a sly smile concealed under his poker face.
"Your wish is my command." Morven followed up even though he was clenching his teeth and cursing Ultric deep down in his heart.
The next moment, Morven took out a circular array plate and equipment that could be easily found anywhere. He was going to make use of the common tools that even 1st-grade array masters could afford to prove his skills.
This move of his gained the respect of many as he started to draw array lines on the array plate. In just the matter of seconds, he had already drawn tens of array lines as he placed his array brush down.
Morven then walked towards the nearest strategist and told him, "I want you to use this array towards anyone you believe has strength comparable to a Martial King first realm."
The subject nodded his head and called for his friend to step out with him. The subject then activated the array plate with his spirit energy, warning his friend to be careful.
Drops of water formed on the surface of the array plate, configuring a water jet that dashed towards the other subject who was in the Martial King First Realm, sending him sliding backwards without causing any severe injury.
"How is this possible?"
Someone blurted out as he turned towards Morven, reverence in his eyes as he lowered his head slightly and with great determination, bowed towards Morven. "This subject accepts array master Morven as the Great Strategist of the Nebula Kingdom from the depths of my heart."
The rest were influenced by this and in the end, all of them agreed that Morven was more than qualified to be the Great Strategist of the Nebula Kingdom.
Ace was currently in his room making an important breakthrough to the ninetieth step of the Slaughter Tower even with the assistance of the Stellar Elixir and this was still some distance from the first hurdle, which was the hundredth step.
"Slaughtering isn't just about killing, it's about killing those who deserve death, it's about preventing those people evil by heart to commit any further sins, it's about doing my best to ensure peace in this world with the power from those sins other cultivators have committed…"
Ace opened his eyes and left the room. The Stellar Elixir's effective period was over. The Stellar Elixir was effective and since he had already consumed it once, the effects for the next few times he consumes it will be much weaker.
"Sect Master Ace, how're your preparations going? The next part of the tournament will take place tomorrow." Malene who had just returned to the inn asked with a smile on her face.
It seems that the Paladin Haven won the battles as expected. Ace thought to himself as he replied, "Don't worry about us, all preparations are in place."
"I look forward to it."