Once Yasenia returned to her sect, she was welcomed by the top figures, which consisted of the Sky and Astral elders. While there were supreme elders, all of them were from the maid groups.
Naturally, the news of what she did at the exit of the secret realm had already spread and reached the ears of these people, which explained their anxious expressions as they looked at her.
Other than them, Tengliu, Coraline, Wuria, and Gireila were also with them, accompanied by their respective entourages of top-level powerhouses.
Yasenia knew what they were worrying about but acted calm and ignorant of the situation. The maids and the rest of the people flew out of the warship, and Yasenia stored it back in her spatial ring.
"It is a pleasure to be welcomed by the elders and the Matriarchs."
During the last five and a half years, the number of experts entering her sect had been significant, so many top-rank experts were not related to any of the four primary races supporting her, meaning Lamia, Ember Phoenix, Harpy, and Lobster.
One Astral Elder, a dragon-kin that Yasenia's charisma had attracted into the sect, asked with a stern tone. "Sect Master, I understand that we need to appear strong. However, isn't it too much to go against the top powers of the Continent? What will you do if they band together and siege the sect?"
Yasenia was about to rush to meet Kaleina, but his words stopped her, annoying her. She took a deep breath and relaxed her expression, looking at him. "Are you saying that I should give up our treasures?"
The man nodded without a shred of doubt. "Different situations call for different solutions. Why would you prioritize treasures over the security of the entire sect? Even if you have the treasures, without a sect, they are meaningless."
Yasenia landed at the sect's entrance, her beautiful dress flowing behind her like clouds.
Looking around the nearly 190 Epoch Core people, she asked. "Who else thinks similarly to this elder?"
About eighteen people took a step forward and began speaking.
A middle-aged woman with wings spoke softly. "Sect Master, you are young, so you might not know. However, the number of powerhouses you saw today in the Secret Realm's entrance is just a small part of what each of those powers has."
Yasenia's age has already spread around, and people knew that she was younger than a century. The reason this information was known was to attract people with her potential and also not to be mistaken by a talentless cultivator.
After all, in their eyes, a cultivator with less than a century reaching the initial realms of the Epoch Core realm was nothing but a genius that appeared only once every millennium. However, if she were old and only at the initial levels of the Epoch Core realm, it would affect her reputation. Remember that this information would've been uncovered just by being able to enter the Secret Realm.
However, while there were many benefits, the backlash of revealing this information is that many of the previously respectful elders looked at her as a more immature and rasher person, even when her decision-making had not only been maintained but also improved as her understanding of the Distancia Continent increased.
Yasenia looked at the eighteen people who stepped forward, speaking like seniors toward a junior while listing who knows how many reasons to tell her that her actions were "rash" and "thoughtless" and sneered inwardly.
"I understand your fears, but the Wolf Patriarch was already targeting us. I wanted to provoke him to action so that he could be killed during the conflict, leaving other powers with no reason to refute or criticize my actions. However, his patience was commendable, and he managed to swallow the insults. This doesn't mean anything, though, as we will eventually start a War with them."
One of the older beast humans who stepped forward sighed. "Aish, this is why youngsters are not prepared to lead strong powers."
Yasenia looked at them for a few seconds and smiled. "I see. I was too lenient during these last years, and now I'm seen as a soft and easy-to-bully person. While I'm glad that you are not fearful of putting your suggestions forward, you are dismissing all my actions based on my age."
Her words sounded soft, but the power behind them made a few people flinch.
With a laugh, she continued. "Since when was age important in the cultivation world? Age is but a number to measure a cultivator's talent. A 1,000-year-old in the Spiritual King realm will always lose to a 100-year-old in the Epoch Core realm. Likewise, an expert alchemist that can create Heaven-ranked pills will always be more valuable than an old cultivator that can only create Earth-ranked treasures."
After seeing their expressions stiffen, the dragoness looked at those eighteen people and ordered. "From now on, you will be demoted to inner-sect elders for ten years. If notice of you using your power to bully others because of your status reaches my ears, you will be directly expelled in the best-case scenario. I don't mind having discussions; however, be respectful toward the Sect Master who has created and set up every resource you currently use."
Then, she turned toward the rest of the people gathered and spoke. "From now on, limit Astral Sky Sect's activity to 4,000 kilometers around us. We are going to be targeted by the Continental Shadow, and if any person goes further than that, they might disappear without any notice. Also, there will be rules and items provided by the sect to allow people to see if assassins are lurking nearby and to block charm-related skills. Nine Silent Fang and Nine Peach Blossom sects are dangerous for normal people."
The dragoness commented. "For every one person from our sect they bother, we'll return it hundredfold. If they are shameless enough to send seniors to attack juniors, destroy a few of their secondary branches as a warning, leaving no one alive. We'll be reactive, but the reaction must be explosive and ruthless."
The dragoness turned toward Doriel and commanded. "Set up an information network and quick response team to provide safety to our disciples. Also, use strength to measure how far a person can go from the sect. They will have to create a formal petition for exploration beyond the ranks, and anybody violating any of the rules set up will be expelled from the sect."
Then, she turned toward Alaia and commented. "Strengthen the defensive formation in Astral Sky City; if they want to deal with us, they will have to cut off our human and item resources from the root. Astral Sky City is where 40% of our sect members come from, so targeting it is more than normal. Finally, create more strict requirements toward people that gain certain authority in the sect and increase punishment for disrupting peace and affecting the sect's morale or safety."
"Yes, Young miss!"
All the maids disappeared and began doing preparations. She turned toward the stunned elders and ordered. "From now on, the fifty people that have been a mystery for you will be your direct superiors. They are called [Astral Sky Fairies], and they are our strongest trump card. They are also directly under my command and don't take orders from anybody else. Joining them is not impossible, but you have to be female, and you have to pass a test that might kill you."
While she had no intention of increasing the maid squad, if a person could pass the tests and become one, it meant that they were qualified. After all, there was a requirement in the tests that tested loyalty toward herself.
If they could become a personal maid, they would be loyal; that was Yasenia's confidence in the testing created meticulously by Tatyana herself.
One male elder frowned and asked, confused. "Why don't you accept males?"
Yasenia looked at him and pondered how to answer. "Hm… Because they would be upset."
The men between her elders couldn't help but have their lips twitch.
Tengliu, who had been listening from the side, asked. "Hey, can I take that test?"
Yasenia was surprised by her request, and even Tatyana looked at Tengliu with wonder. This was something even the Death Empress didn't expect in the slightest.
The dragoness frowned for a second and spoke. "Aunty Tengliu, I'm not trying to belittle you. However, the success rate of becoming a maid barely reaches 0.001% on people with similar talent to yours."
Tengliu, Coraline, and the others had their eyes widen. Tengliu could easily rank in the top 10 talent-wise in the entire Distancia Continent. However, now Yasenia was telling them that the fifty people by her side had similar or superior talent to her.
Naturally, it wasn't easy to believe. If they didn't know Yasenia's personality, they would've thought that she was joking with them.
Yasenia didn't explain and spoke. "Later, spar with one of the Supreme Elders. They are all part of the [Astral Sky Fairies] group, so you'll be able to understand what I'm talking about."
Yasenia was about to leave after having set up everything when she remembered something. "Right, Aunty Tengliu, they hate you a bit, so be careful. They might use the spar as an excuse to beat you up harshly. Aunties, I'll be doing my things for a few days; we can discuss our next actions later; you are welcome to stay in my sect until then and explore freely…" The dragoness looked at the people behind Coraline and the others and warned. "Try not to do anything silly, or you might pay a hefty price. Ask for the rules before you do anything, or I won't be responsible for any damage."
Her words made the four Queens' lips twitch. The four of them thought similarly. 'Speaking with this little girl is truly an experience. I don't understand how her elders can treat her as a junior when the superficial plans she had laid out are already so comprehensive. It feels like talking with an old monster with thousands of years of experience instead of a young 50-year-old.'
With everything set up, Yasenia used her skills and streaked through the sect toward her private residence.
When she left, people finally looked at the others and saw a naked Garuda man beaten black and blue, held from the scurf of his neck by one of the maids.
A few men cringed when they saw that place, looking as if someone had ground meat and thrown it there. One elder couldn't help and asked. "W-Who is he, Lady Fairy?"
The maid holding him answered flatly. "Huang Tao. He dared to have some designs toward Young Miss, so we've given him a superficial beating. He will go to the torture rooms later to suffer and be punished for his asinine actions."
'A superficial beating!? He is half dead!'
The male elder gulped and smiled. "Right. G- Good luck, I guess."
'Offending the Sect Master is nothing but stupidity. I guess those eighteen people had been lightly punished because they had good intentions…'
The woman nodded at him and looked at Kali. "Young Miss has told me that you can do experiments with him to research an anti-charm pill. After all, he is one of the core elders from the Dual Cultivation sect, so he must have quite a few secrets on his body. We'll capture more test subjects once the Nine Peach Blossom Sect starts targeting our members. At that time, we'll have a reason to do so, after all."
Kali nodded and looked at the man as if he were nothing but an experimental resource. Her empathy toward people who targeted Yasenia was null. "I'll try to create something soon. However, I might need Flora's help; please tell her later."
The maid answered respectfully, completely different in how she treated the other man. "I'll certainly do so, Lady Kali. Oh, I almost forgot, Lady Kali, Young Miss has asked me to ask you to research a parasite that's easy to kill and defend against with the right tools but has strong spreading powers."
Kali nodded again, thoughtful. "Breeding one will take a while, but I'll try my best." Then, she smiled chillingly. "If she has asked for something like that, it seems that they have angered her quite a lot. I should do my best."
Tengliu and Coraline were more in touch with our girls' secrets, so when they heard the word "parasite," they felt disturbing crawling on their skin, making them shudder.
Now that they knew what Kali's parasite expertise entailed, they would take the entire continent as enemies rather than anger Kali. The concept of parasites, to what extent they could affect a person, and how they affected cultivators were something straight out of a nightmare.
Even these women who would instill fear and respect in millions by mentioning their names were careful around the three-tailed fox girl.
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Angel: Why are people so afraid of parasites? Whenever I go to Kali's room, they are pretty cute, squirming around like silly things, and very colorful! Even when I poke them, they only make silly high-pitched sounds. They are very amusing.
The girls: …
Yasenia: Cough, honey, is there no danger?
Kali: Don't worry, love. How could I allow little Angel to play with the dangerous ones? The ones I show Angel are the prettiest and least harmful ones.
Yasenia: Oh, I see. Then, there is no problem.
Evelyn: There are quite a lot of them!
Yasenia: Why? I trust Kali.
Evelyn: I- You- But… Sigh, you are right. Sorry, Kali, those things are just too dangerous, and I can't help but fear them.
Kali: Hahaha, don't worry, Evelyn. I'm aware that Angel's and Yasenia's reactions are unusual. Moreover, you are never afraid of nestling between my tails, and that's more than enough to show that you also trust me. After all, if you were afraid of parasites I control, you would never relax enough to fall asleep between my tails.
Evelyn: *Blushes* Cough. They are just so fluffy and comfortable that I forget about everything.
Cecile: Agreed.
Evelyn: Oh? Even you rest on them?
Cecile: After sparring with Kali.
Evelyn: … I see. You two are pretty good friends.
Kali: We knew each other before knowing Yasenia, so yes. Thanks to her usual indifference, Cecile was one of the few people I could speak with back then.
Cecile: Hm. Your pills were affordable and very effective. A good deal.
Kali: Hahaha.
Author: Well, let's move on. I summon you!
Volfkami: Hello!
Andrea: Welcome.
Volfkami: Yasenia, when you get strong and skilled enough, do you plan on making trial spaces for the powers, sects, and clans that follow you to train them? Like "secret realms" made by you within your territory and for your people in order to keep a certain standard.
Yasenia: Yes. It's a standard thing to create in a clan or sect. However, an entry test and the systems in place are enough for now. For example, if you remember, we went on an excursion back in the Rita Academy toward the Cloud Layers. That's one sort of test that large powers usually have to filter people.
Volfkami: Right! Thanks for answering; I'll eagerly await what you come up with.
Yasenia: I'm still thinking about it, so I'm similarly looking forward to that day.
Author: And that's all for today. Bye-bye, dears.