Even Arthur wasn't so arrogant as to think that he could battle, and best a Rank 5 Fae Master. Even most Rank 4 Fae Masters would be out of range of his current combat prowess.
What he wanted to do however, wasn't inflate his own ego.
But to purely annoy the shit out of Purple Mist.
The White Dominion Sect core disciple just smiled, raising his hand to his face, trying to suppress the raising corners of mouth. The sounds of muffled laughter emanated from the top of this Avian monstrosity, before full blown bellows started to be released from Purple Mist's mouth.
His laughter definitely seemed to grate the ears of anyone who heard it, as a prideful tone was laced in between each gasp. Even he didn't think that he was arrogant enough to say he could take on an entire Sect. And until this point, he didn't think anyone was stupid enough to say such a thing.
The twenty three year old clutched his stomach, trying to restrain the laughter than escaped from it.
Shaking his head, Purple Mist, couldn't help but wipe a tear from his eyes as he looked down at Arthur below him.
"Perhaps you should quit being a Fae Master Arthur and become a jester! I do not know whether it is your arrogance, or your stupidity that makes you think you could take on an entire Sect by yourself, but if you think that you can take on a peak Rank 5 Fae Master as a Rank 3 Fae Master then-".
"I never said anything about today. If anything, I'll wait fifty years and then come back to the White Dominion Sect. I doubt that anyone will manage to become a powerhouse on the same level as the current Sect Leader, what did you say again? Your talent is lacking in comparison to my own? Your age is older than mine and even without the Boundless Forest Yearning I'd still become a powerhouse? So why would I do something as stupid as fight a Rank 5 Fae Master right now? Are you an idiot or something?".
Purple Mist scrunched up his face, being interrupted by Arthur.
"You....".
If Arthur really did leave the White Dominion Region and then cultivate, or travel the Azure Envy Continent for a few decades, his strength would inevitably rise, even if he didn't take cultivation as seriously as he had previously.
Even despite the fact that Purple Mist was a first tier talent, he had the confidence to reach the peak of Rank 4. Breaking through to Rank 5 would take the accumulation of numerous years without some sort of fortuitous encounter, and cultivating to the peak of Rank 5 would be even harder than ascending to the heavens.
Purple Mist just sneered at Arthur, not taking his words to heart.
"If you think that the Elders and the Sect Leader won't react to such a blatant threat Arthur, then you have another thing-".
"The Sect Leader won't do anything to me. He won't do anything to me for the same reason why he doesn't break through to Rank 6 and complete his Ascension".
A few of the White Dominion Sect Fae Masters perked up when they heard Arthur's words. They knew that their White Dominion Sect Leader was at the peak of Rank 5, but also knew the difficulties of trying to complete Ascension.
They all thought that Generous Soul was waiting for the right moment and frowned slightly when they heard "won't break through to Rank 6".
If Generous Soul became a Fae Immortal, all of the other nearby Sects and Clans would have to prostrate themselves towards their White Dominion Sect. It would be the greatest event in the history of their Sect, so why wouldn't their Sect Leader do such a thing?
Purple Mist just rolled his eyes.
"I know you met with the Sect Leader Arthur, but do not presume to know the intentions of a powerhouse! The boundary between Rank 5 and Rank 6 is even greater than you can imagine, and the Sect Leader is only waiting for the stars to align and for fate to swing in his favour! Once that happens, and the Sect Leader become a Fae Immortal, it doesn't matter whether you're a Sovereign Boundary Physique wielder or not, you'll still have to prostrate yourself before-".
"He's scared".
A vein on Purple Mist's head bulged, and expression turned ferocious.
"Stop fucking interrupting me you little shit!".
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
'Ah.... that is his reverse scale....'.
Arthur just smiled, shaking his head.
"Generous Soul doesn't break through to Rank 6, due to the fact that after he dies, he doesn't believe that the White Dominion Sect can maintain their status as a Immortal Sect. Once a Sect becomes an Immortal Sect, it is treated as an Immortal existed, regardless of whether they actually have Fae Immortals. If there is no Fae Immortal born after Generous Soul passes, then the White Dominion Sect will be defenceless in the face of such power. Surely you can understand my words?".
"It means he doesn't believe in you. Or any of the current generation of White Dominion Sect disciples, have the potential to become Fae Immortals. He is restraining his own cultivation in order to prevent such a thing from-".
Purple Mist interrupted Arthur, spluttering, his face red hot with rage.
Arthur had finally found what had pissed him off. Even though he wasn't a disciple of Generous Soul, it seems that Purple Mist did admire him quite a bit.
Hearing from someone else that his idol didn't believe in him, Purple Mist naturally responded violently.
Glaring at Arthur from atop his Avian Corpse, Purple Mist spat.
"You think you're so fucking right don't you fucking nobody! You're just some fucking backwater Fae Master who was lucky and awakened a Sovereign Boundary Physique! You don't belong to a Sect, or a Clan, or anything! The entirety of your bloodline is nine fucking people! You can't possibly understand the politics or the justifications or the reasonings of somebody who can touch the boundary between mortals and immortality!".
Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself, smiling gently. He didn't say anything, but just shook his head, causing Purple Mist to take it as an affirmation.
"See! Your fucking Father was only a vapour emerald origin essence Fae Master! Within my White Dominion Sect, we have dozens Elders with a higher cultivation base than your useless Father! If you really think you can understand my White Dominion Sect as somebody from a savage background then go ahead and try Arthur!".
Arthur just kept on smiling, before turning around and glancing at Vladimir.
The similarly aged young man just smiled, his arms crossed with an expression of amusement on his face.
Purple Mist noticed Arthur turn around, and traced his gaze towards Vladimir on the edge of the stage. He had almost completely forgotten about him, being pissed off by Arthur so much.
"Hmm! Do you have something to say, Mr....?".
Purple Mist frowned for a moment, remembering that Vladimir never said his last name. Normally it was the other way around within the White Dominion Sect, but just from his name alone, it was obvious that Vladimir wasn't someone from around here.
He was friends with Arthur, although considering he could control a fully grown Revenant as a Rank 3 Fae Master, his combat power was even higher than his own.
Arthur just ignored Purple Mist completely, speaking to Vladimir is a slightly amused tone.
"Do you think that the Nightime Demon Sect would make a move against the White Dominion Sect? Or at the very least, the surrounding Immortal Sects and Clans in the regions close to this one?".
Purple Mist and Violet Sunglass froze when they heard Arthur's words.
Nightime Demon Sect?
Surrounding Immortal Sects and Clans!?
What the hell was Arthur talking about!?
Violet Sunglass frowned, muttering something underneath her breath.
"Vladimir..... Ghosts.... Nightime Demon Sect.... Arthur's "friend".....", the young girl bit her lip, before an expression of realization washed over her. Her eyes widened, and her breathing quickened as she turned towards Purple Mist, trying to get him to stop.
She opened her mouth to speak, but found that no words left her lips, causing her to glance at Arthur, who just smiled and winked at her. She had been affected by a Silence Fae, although when such a thing had touched her, she didn't know....
Her heart skipped a beat, and she finally realized what it is Arthur was trying to do!
Purple Mist just rolled his eyes.
"The Nightime Demon Sect is a powerful Immortal Sect! But it is hundreds of thousands of kilometres away from our White Dominion Region! How the hell can a single teen, talented as he is, talk for an Immortal existence which has nothing to do with any of this!?".
Vladimir just opened his mouth, glancing at Arthur for a second, before smiling wryly.
'So this is what you were trying to do.... I can practically feel the Emotion Laws rolling off you and affecting Purple Mist's psyche....'.
Vladimir just shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head.
"I just realized that I never introduced myself. How could I forget....".
Turning towards Graceful Rain, Vladimir gave the young woman a gentlemanly bow, smiling as his blonde hair and blue eyes turned a shade of midnight black. Expressions of shock and horror marred the faces of the White Dominion Sect disciples, as they gazed at the formless image of a Black Copy Fae behind him.
"My name is Vladimir Lew. I am nineteen years old and currently a core disciple of the Nightime Demon Sect. I am also this generations Formless Night Shadow".