"... And so, as the darkness descends upon us... Master Huang Lingbo, our brother, a soul as luminous as the sun itself, a spirit as resolute as the mountain peak, has been viciously murdered on his way to the capital, on a diplomatic mission!" Fang Zhi furiously announced to the enraged masters and internal disciples, gathered in the sect's Trial hall.
The crowd gasped. People heard the rumours, but most didn't know the exact details.
"His life, a budding flower of potential, has been callously cut down in its prime by the venomous vipers of the Divine Sword sect! This is just one of many slights those vicious scoundrels have inflicted upon our sect! Discrediting us in court, using bribery to block our sect's vital supplies — they've long crossed the line, but in our magnanimity, we did everything in our strength to diffuse the situation, to find common ground — is this how they respond? Fine, hear ye, for our sect is making an announcement, too!"
War. It finally came. Xin even felt a sense of relief.
"Hereby, our sect, in alliance with the glorious Xuanwu clan, is considering ourselves in the state of war with the Divine Sword sect and their subsidiary forces!" - it was a ballsy move. The opponent's faction had a higher reputation, and one would expect the sect to try and diffuse the situation in court, but FETS and Xuanwu clan chose differently. Still, they didn't announce war, but announced being at war. Xin wondered if it made any difference, legally speaking.
"We will not stop until these dogs, with nothing divine about them, are driven out of the region! Their outposts ruined, their coffers empty. For every drop of blood they spilled, their blood shall be spilled tenfold! For every tear we shed, they'll spill hundreds! Let the heavens bear witness to our triumph! Glory to our sect! Glory to our Sect Leader!"
"Glory to our sect! Glory to our Sect Leader!" Everyone cried out. Xin also dissolved into this choir, a pleasant sense of unity overtaking his previously anxious mind.
Fang Zhi bowed respectfully and flew away on his flying sword, leaving the sect alone with their sentiments. The people were mostly agitated and bloodthirsty. A few anxious voices were drowned out aggressively.
***
In a remote corner of the sect's courtyard.
"I can't believe this! War!" Lei said angrily. "Master Lingbo is dead! He was a jerk sometimes, but he was a cool guy!"
"I... knew about it. It was hard to keep it a secret."
"What are you talking about?" Lei looked irritated and was looking to lash out at someone.
"Yesterday, when my breakthrough failed, master Zhi came and checked up on me. That's when the courier came in and told him about master Lingbo. I couldn't tell anyone. Sorry."
"Oh, fuck you... Fuck me! I was about to head to Clay Nest! Will they even let me now?"
"What happened?"
"There's a war in the backstreets. Mercs are flooding the city, there are also several political scandals happening at once. And the trade issues...We know it's Divine Sword sect, but we didn't expect them to have so much influence. They even slandered Clan Patriarch Xuanwu Haoran. Some capital grand priestess is accusing him of rape, can you imagine?"
"What a timing. I guess they've prepared their methods to disrupt everything all at once. But why are you so eager to get to the Clay Nest?"
"The smaller gangs are making their moves. Different noble branches are about to squabble for zones of control while the army is gone. The tributary zones will be reestablished. We were planning for the war to begin around a month from now, I guess our intel's shit."
"Everyone's intel was made shit. That's the purpose of this move. But can you explain the danger in more detail? Maybe I'll help somehow."
"Doubt that. We'll need runners, people to hold the streets, negotiators, mercs, this sort of stuff. The guild asked me to protect some businesses, since I am rank one now. And the safehouse needs to be protected, too."
"Seriously, request to take me off duty and place me in Clay Nest. I'll help."
"Fuck it, you know what — I'll pay some mercs to protect my friends. Hope it will be enough."
"I... you're very generous with your money again."
"I am. So what?"
"Nothing. If you need some money — please tell me."
"Sure. Brother, how could you fuck up your breakthrough, though? What happened?" Lei looked confused. Seeing someone like Xin fail just didn't make sense, it didn't register in his mind. Beating Xin in an open fight — makes sense. Outsmarting Xin at something — rare, but possible. But beating Xin at cultivation or alchemy, that was something that he could hardly comprehend. Lei felt a sense of resentment rising up in his soul. I am your rival, don't you dare be such a loser! He quickly repressed it.
"Human qi." Xin decided to be honest. "A tricky qi to balance, my special method makes it harder." But not too honest.
"I see. Have you tried... Whatever, I don't know what to say." Being unable to help his friend with his spiritual struggles made Lei irritated. It's a problem you can't stab. "Are you investing your money, at least?"
"Yes. I've made my choice. I'm actually going to the Artefact pavilion, before there is a queue. And before the best stuff gets bought out.'
"Just give me the spirit stones. I have a higher grade access. I'll buy you stuff in my name."
"Nice! Let's hurry, then."
***
The friends have retrieved the ledger.
"Are you sure about these?" Lei scratched his temple.
"Yes. These options are the best. Just don't tell anyone about my abilities."
Mercurial stride greaves — 25 spirit stones.
Steel Sting dao shard, rank one — 12 spirit stones.
Reinforcement shell, two elements, custom made, two portions — 8 spirit stones.
Conductor paste, element neutral, six units — 14 spirit stones. Oh, it's a bit cheaper now!
"Oof." He looked at his spirit stone pouch, with one and a half dozen stones left. They quickly went into a secluded corner again.
"What's with suddenly buying these overpriced boots, man?"
"Do you know any other movement method that fits me, is qi effective and doesn't burden my soul too much?"
"I don't. I see. And the conflict removal materials — is it worth it? They will last you four days at most."
"Enough to pay it back tenfold. My new method is capable of killing rank ones, but I need these materials to use it properly. I'll pay anything to survive."
"Shit, you aren't exaggerating?" Lei looked at Xin with his eyes squinted. "You aren't! What's the method, please tell me!"
"It's a crossbow shot. I'm not telling you more."
"A qi infused shot, with a dao shard! This can't be it, huh? Something cooler! Strength alchemy? An enchantment on a crossbow? A formation method?"
"None of these." Xin smirked. He was intending to use all of the things Lei mentioned, but when he progressed further.
"Fine, keep your secrets. Still, you heard what happened?"
"That's a very general question."
"The Sect Leader is fully awake. Visited the council in his female body. Can you imagine?"
"Not even a vulgar comment?"
"Look, if he's hot in this body, it's not a faggy thing to want him, but I don't know if he's hot! And I don't care, frankly! The guy was in closed cultivation for close to a decade, as his sect was bullied from all sides. Now the air feels weird and I feel like something terrible is about to happen."
Was it Lei's intuition or anxiety? Xin tried to analyse.
"Three against two. That's the rank four comparison between our factions. I'm not sure why our sect is so eager to fight in this war..." Xin sighed.
"That Fist sect's Muni guy is also rank four in strength now, at least from what I heard. Physical cultivator and a shendao user at once! So it's like four against two, actually! I hope our Sect leader has a plan…"
"Well, I've asked around a bit. The Divine Sword's leader is a sword path formation master, a terrific opponent. His favourite formation is Hell Sword Descent. And the other two masters are Sword Twins, also fighting in a formation. When fighting together, those three were never beaten."
"Well, we have a Five Elements Transition Formation and a bigger army. Xuanwu clan has their clan spirit, who can briefly match rank fours, and ancestor invocations. We also have more money... Heard Divine Sword Sect is in debt."
"I don't know if it means they need to win fast or not. We don't know enough, frankly. We're just small fry. Talking about these matters is just guesswork. And pointless."
"I agree, but one still wants to stay informed, otherwise the tension is unbearable."
"Let's just focus on what we can do, Lei. Don't you agree?"
"Fine. How about we train? And fence without qi?"
"Deal."