-" Isn't it true?" Henry tried his best to keep his cool, but, finally exchanging words with powerful individuals like Hugh and the Chief Physician of the Royal Academy was no easy task. " The admiration and respect of your peers are everlasting."
-" I couldn't say better myself," Hugh nodded as he heard the words, his thought wandering to some old quote he had remembered. " Are you familiar with Tyrnos Zador?"
-" I don't think there is someone in the whole Eastern Continent that wasn't heard his name." Henry was well-versed in the epics of Tyrnos Zador, the founder of the Thule Empire.
-" I think that he is the embodiment of your phrase, after all, how many eons passed since he died and we all still show respect and admiration towards him?" Hugh closed his eyes as he thought back to Tyrnos Zador and all his retainers. " He once said that one can only truly rule by respect and admiration, those who govern with tyranny are just a fleeting page in the pages of history."
-" Quite a noble way to see the world." Henry always admired Tyrnos, especially since he was a citizen of the Thule Empire, the country he founded. " I never heard this quote before, thank you for enlightening me."
-" Oh this is just a small quote from before he even founded the Thule Empire, I'm not sure myself, but, I guess he was still in the Star Gazing Sect at this time"
-" The Star Gazing Sect?" Henry's eyes widened, he never knew that Tyrnos was a member of this sect. " Was Tyrnos a member of the Star Gazing Sect?" Henry was proud of his knowledge of history, but, he never imagined that this sect had such an important figure.
-" Oh yes... This information isn't well known as Tyrnos decided to distance himself from them after founding his kingdom, but, he and his brother were members of the Star Gazing Sect in their earlier days." Hugh had felt a strange fluttering of emotions in Venerable H's voice, but, he attributed it to the discovery of a new piece of information.
Henry thought back to the book he had lost, he always wondered why the Star Gazing Sect had such a big section on a book about Tyrnos, and he now could understand it.
He gazed at his system, wondering about the true origins of such a powerful entity, he always wondered about what caused the downfall of the Star GAzing Sect, especially when they had the system,
-" The Star Gazing Sect downfall, do you know what caused it?" Henry took a deep breath as he calmed his nerves, this was an opportunity for him to discover more information that he needed.
-" The downfall of Star GAzing Sect... I'm sorry, but, this is a mystery for all of us." Hugh sighed as he thought about the question. " Many speculate that they had grown complacent and prideful after Tyrnos had grown his empire, but, I don't believe this hypothesis."
-" Oh? and What is the reason for their collapse in your mind?" Henry was very interested in what Hugh had to say, after all, as the Dean of the Royal Academy he had to have a plethora of hidden and confidential information.
-" Well, most people don't fully grasp the power of the Star GAzing Sect, even when Tyrnos had finished the expansion of the Thule Empire, they were still considered one of the continent strongest sects." Hugh also had a keen interest in history, so he quickly got carried away as he explained his theory. " It wasn't very long after Tyrnos had finished the expansion to the south that he laid eyes on the Thundering Willow Timberland."
-" Thundering Willow Timberlands? Did he want something there?"
-" IT wasn't something he wanted, but, something he needed to do." Hugh took a sip of his tea and sighed. " This is also related to one of the reasons we came to see you."
-" Oh?" Henry didn't like how this sounded, all he wanted was peace, but, it seemed that he was likely to be dragged into another mess. " And what this would be?"
-" Eons ago a powerful mage lived in the Thundering Willow Timberland, this mage was so powerful that even the ancient beast respected his domain and never trespassed it." Hugh pushed his teacup to Thomas, who was eagerly listening to his story. " This powerful mage had complete mastery over the aspects of the soul, well at least the books said so..."
-" A Soul Cultivator?" Henry didn't like where this was going, he almost felt like fate was playing tricks on him. " So are you afraid that this mage returned?" Henry grinned, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
-" Unlikely, way too much time has passed since his age... But someone may have uncovered his legacy." Hugh wasn't completely sure about his suspicions, but, the sudden appearance of the formation made him curious. " There is one more thing that made me arrive at this conclusion."
Henry was tense, he already thought that he had meddled in something that he shouldn't, and Hugh's story only made him even more sure." One more thing?"
-" This isn't information that should go out... A few months ago someone discovered the inheritance of the Star Gazing Sect in a mountain near here." Hugh paid very close attention to Venerable H's emotions, he found it very likely that this mysterious cultivator was the one who snatched the Star Gazing Sect legacy out of Duke Payne's hands.
-" Two legacies reappearing in so little time." Henry held back all his emotions, he was sure that this Star Gazing Legacy that Hugh spoke of was his system or something like the metal door. "But, what I don't understand is what the two of them have in common?"
-" The Star Gazing Sect was the main enemy of this mage, their rivalry ran deep and their conflicts endless." Hugh sighed as he didn't feel any emotional changes in Venerable H. " It was only with Tyrnos and the Thule Empire's help that the Star Gazing Sect finally trumped over the mage and his disciples."
-" It looks like old grudges are bound to return to this generation. " Henry made a mental note to not visit the Thundering Willow Timberland until this matter was been resolved. " How sure you are about the legacy of this mage?"
-" Not much, I don't have any other leads besides the strange mist and your words, and my knowledge about matters of the soul is little to none." Hugh took a deep breath as he looked at Venerable H's mask. " I came here precisely for this, may you help us in understanding this matter?"
Hesitation took over Henry, he knew that accepting his request would surely benefit him, but, it also came with an enormous danger. " I have to think about this carefully... I have some matters that require my full attention at the moment." Hugh's face dropped as he thought that Venerable H would refuse his plea. " But, I can't just sit still while such a dangerous person walks around." Henry took out one of the bodies of the goblins from the system inventory and passed it to Hugh.
-" This is?" Hugh was confused why the man had given him a dead goblin.
-" This is a soul marionette that I found in the cave, I could only retrieve two of them in a good state. It will surely help us in understanding what we are dealing it."
-" Soul marionette ?" Hugh stared at the goblin's body in shock, just by the name he could guess what this was used for. " Thank you for this." Hugh bowed to Venerable H, this soul marionette would surely be useful in their research.
-" Is there anything more that we need to discuss?" Henry was already mentally exhausted, it took quite an effort to act like Venerable H.
-" Excuse me, I first would like to thank you for the tip on using the Calming Herb to deal with the state of the unconscious group." Glen, who stayed completely silent during Hugh's conversation with Venerable H, finally spoke. " Who would think that such a common herb could help in soul injuries!" Glen was ecstatic, he wasn't just a physician, but, an alchemist too.
-" I'm glad that it helped." Henry nodded at the man, never imagining that the system's understanding of the herb was more profound than that of the man.
-" Glad it helped? This is likely to change the whole country!" Glen trembled with emotions. " Soul Injuries are the hardest ones to deal with, many of the herbs that can help a soul injury are too rare to find them reliably, but, your discovery changes everything!" Glen jolted up, the man in front of him had made a discovery that would impact the whole alchemical field, but, he barely showed any emotion.
-" Oh? It wasn't common knowledge that calming herb had soul-healing properties?" Henry didn't show any shock, but, the man's words made him quite happy.
-" C-C-Common knowledge?" Glen froze as he heard the man. " How can this be common knowledge? Even the king himself was impressed by your discovery!"