Dark Arts Sect
After hearing of the Divine One's existence, the Sect Master who had been in seclusion secretly left his quarters. He eliminated anyone who had heard rumors, killing the information before getting a chance to leak with select some privy to the information.
'The Divine One's existence must stay a secret until he's powerful enough!' The middle-aged man thought while incinerating a beating heart that he gouged out from the last person with information. 'This leaked too fast; it was a good idea to destroy all the spies before they could report back.'
With an icy expression, he cleaned his bloody hands and left, not forgetting to set the place on fire. Purple flames filled with Qi blazed, destroying the building. As he exited the arson site, his body morphed into a gigantic black dragon and disappeared.
As he made his way back to his courtyard, the invisible black dragon pondered, 'I should make preparations to welcome the Divine One in secret. We can't let his appearance become public knowledge. Although I am strong, the spies infiltrated too deep, other than Freya and Hesroth, there exist only three people I can fully trust.'
He couldn't think much as he already arrived. Entering his room, he sat back in his previous position and meditated. Everyone in the Dark Arts Sect knew that he was in seclusion and because he eradicated all the spies, there isn't anyone who knows about the Divine One's existence other than him, Hesroth, and Freya.
While Cultivating, he wondered, 'what would be those fools' reaction? I am sure they would freak out and get so excited they would want to rush to that low world to bring him back!' Although he mused about such thoughts, he was still worried.
'Eliminating the spies bought us at least four decades of freedom,' with grim thoughts, he opened his eyes, allowing a glint to pass in his reptilian gaze. 'After it, we have two choices. Either escape or die!'
Months passed as he planned, and today, he received a message from Hesroth, 'the Divine One will come in a couple of months…' the thought excited him and made him wonder. He was curious about the Divine One, the last one at that.
He spent months Cultivating and instructing Freya, who kept checking up on him, waiting for the day the Divine One comes to arrive.
'Today is the day!' The Sect Master thought. He had conversed with Hesroth these couple months, and finally, with a set date in mind, he prepared to welcome him and the Divine One. 'He will surely be surprised,' was the last thought he had as a portal materialized in front of him.
A young man and fox exited the portal. The man had purple hair amidst white tips, ebony-colored sclera with golden glowing eyes. He wore black and crimson clothes with a dark hat as an above-average sized fox rested on his shoulder.
***
Entering through the portal, Xue Mo thought he would be at the Sect entrance or a place to open portals, but what he saw was a massive room that stretched for several kilometers wide. It was double the size of the one they stayed at when they first entered the Assassination Academy. A middle-aged man with a raven green robe stood in the room.
When Xue Mo looked at him, he felt the power brimming inside him, 'this man is powerful, extremely!' He transmitted to Lu Yao, who nodded mentally and put her guard up.
While the man and Xue Mo were having a staring contest, others started coming out of the portal. Upfront stood Hesroth, who bowed upon detecting the middle-aged man.
"Greetings, Sect Master!"
The man shifted his reptilian eyes from Xue Mo to Hesroth and nodded, "Hesroth, you have come back."
"Yes, Sect Master," Hesroth looked at Xue Mo and gestured, "Sect Master, he is the one I talked to you about!"
"I know. I could instantly tell," he sternly said. The Sect Master looked at Xue Mo, who was silent and spoke, "I would like to speak to you alone, Mr. Mo."
"Wherever I go, Yao comes!" Xue Mo replied icily. He didn't like how the situation was developing; he even had thoughts of Hesroth betraying him but then remembered the oath and removed the idea.
The middle-aged man's slit eyes concentrated on Lu Yao. He had heard of her while talking to Hesroth; after glancing at her, he returned his gaze to Xue Mo and nodded.
"Hesroth, take your subordinates to the guest room!" After he issued the order, the Sect Master gestured to Xue Mo to follow him and walked in the south direction.
After hearing the command, Hesroth calmed Nathan, who wanted to follow Xue Mo down and walked north, entering a door and disappearing from sight. The troops and the higherups followed him silently, not daring to make a sound.
The Sect Master waited until the last person left through the door before halting his advancement. He took out three chairs and a set of tea from his space ring and invited Xue Mo and Lu Yao to sit.
The two looked at each other before sitting down. They looked at the Sect Master who started brewing the tea; they watched his every move silently, thinking of the worst in mind. The tea quickly boiled, and from it, a pleasant fragrance came with a rich amount of Qi that made vapors of Qi roam the air.
After taking a sip from the tea, he noticed how Xue Mo and Lu Yao acted and laughed aloud. "Hahaha, you two look so on guard. Don't worry, and be comfortable. I only acted like that back there to keep my image as the sect master!"
Hearing what he said and how the Sect Master acted, Xue Mo got a good grasp on his personality and relaxed. He took the teacup and handed it to Lu Yao before pouring some for himself. Xue Mo could tell that this was good tea, and the tea leaves came from an Arch tea, which was very nourishing and helpful for Cultivation.
The Sect Master watched everything with shining eyes, he kept staring at Xue Mo, but the latter didn't appear uncomfortable. "Aren't you going to ask me questions?" He asked Xue Mo, who enjoyed the tea with Lu Yao, completely ignoring his fervent gaze.
"I could already guess everything you wanted me to ask, so no." He answered, giving the Sect Master a side-eyed glance before reverting his attention to the tea.
"Divine One is brilliant. I knew you would say that," The Sect Master spoke as if he knew Xue Mo. "You can call me Purple Ash," the Sect Master introduced his title.
"Xue Mo."
Slurp
"Lu Yao," she said after slurping out loud to remind Purple Ash that she was also here.
Purple Ash finally paid Lu Yao attention, and his eyes suddenly widened for a split second that Xue Mo and her barely perceived. "You... aren't you a fox?"
He stuttered unconsciously. His voice was a little choked up, and he had his eyebrows raised in confusion; he scratched his chin and concentrated his gaze on Lu Yao, who got up from her seat and stared at him with threatening eyes daring him to continue.
"After looking at you, I could feel the strong blood of Dragons in you and not just ordinary ones but Abyssal Demonic Dragons at that!" Purple Ash said with such confidence that left no room for Lu Yao to retort. "If I weren't concentrating on the Divine One so much, I would have noticed this, to have the blood of an extinct race that could rival the Divine Dragons!"
Xue Mo looked at Lu Yao and saw her grimace; it looked like she didn't want that information out. She looked at Purple Ash like she would jump him any second and lop his head off.
Lu Yao stared with angry eyes and with a calm voice accused, "I wanted to tell him myself, you old geezer bastard. Fuck you!"