“You may enter.” Liu Wei kept the impression on his face decidedly neutral as one of his attendants entered. He knew the girl, she had been his assistant for quite some time now, but he never bothered to ask her for her name. After all, what meaning had the name of someone so insignificant and replaceable to someone like him?
“This humble servant of yours greets the Honorable Elder!” The girl bowed deeply at that.
“I care little for the greetings of a junior member. What has you disturb me here?” A pointless question. He knew very well that the other elders would arrive here following his breakthrough. He was merely making sure the girl conducted herself with the proper respect, given their disparity in status.
“Honorable Elder, I am here to inform you that multiple elders of the sect have arrived and wish to meet you.”
“Inform them that I will shortly arrive to meet them.” He could have gone to meet them immediately as he didn’t have any preparations to make, but he couldn’t resist making them wait on him a little. He had no true friends amongst the elders and outright disliked most of them. All of them arriving to meet him like this was too good an opportunity to assert some of his newly gained superiority, to pass up on.
“As you command, Honorable Elder!” The girl bowed again at that, before hurriedly leaving the room.
Liu Wei waited for a few minutes before following her. For all that he enjoyed the powerplay, he didn’t want to give them too much time to strategize on how to deal with his breakthrough quite yet.
The hallways he moved through to get from his private quarters to the Enforcement Hall’s main reception room where the elders would be waiting were empty of disciples and members safe for the guards positioned at regular intervals. With the number of protective formations around, ensuring nobody could go where they weren’t supposed to go, their main job was in truth opening doors for those higher in status than them.
When he entered the reception hall, almost all of the sect’s elders were present. The first one to greet him was Elder Meixiu Xia, the matriarch of the Xia family and leader of the Healing Hall. Hidden behind her soft and warm beauty was one of the sects most capable and cunning political minds. She never spoke without hidden intentions, never missed an opportunity to grab benefits for herself and never slipped out of her kind and compassionate facade. This had allowed her to become the second most powerful person in the pillar families’ faction, right behind the sect patriarch, despite several other elders having a higher level of cultivation than her.
“Greetings Elder Wei,” she said, slightly lowering her head in a gesture that could easily be interpreted as either a slight bow or a nod, “Allow me to congratulate you on your success in breaking through. I am delighted to observe your miraculous growth reaching new heights!”
A straight up lie. Seeing him grow was not at all in her interest and he knew full well that she hated when things that weren’t in her interest happened. Starting a fight without a good reason wasn’t her style though and also wouldn’t fit with the mask she liked to put on.
Liu Wei wasn’t very bothered by that. Bowing to the strong, however insincere, was the way of politics and duty of the weaker. He could respect the skill she had at this game just as he could respect one’s strength in cultivation. As such, she was one of the elders he didn’t particularly dislike or despise.
The same could not be said about the next one to come forward. Sun Liang was the one person amongst the elders that he would not only say he disliked but that he would actually describe as a personal enemy of his.
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That grim snake was one of the oldest elders of the sect and had been his primary rival for centuries now. What grievance had started their relationship, Liu Wei could not recall, but they shared a deep seeded hatred for each other, that was only strengthened by the fact that they had been close in cultivation level for quite a long time now.
Liang had been one of only two other elders beside him that had managed to reach the seventh level of Dao Comprehension. He led the Formation Hall and was the long-time patriarch of the Liang family.
“My congratulations, Elder Wei. I had believed your talent to be long dried up, but it seems you have managed to surprise me once again.” Sun Liang said, his mocking smile barely managing contain the veiled rage he was clearly feeling.
“Thank you, Elder Liang. I hope I can soon see you catch up to me.” Liu Wei taunted. His rival had been stuck at the seventh rank for far longer than even he and both of them knew he didn’t stand much of a chance at ever breaking through again. Not that that was any different from the situation he himself had now found himself in. But those thoughts could be thought later.
“I hope so too”, was all Elder Liang managed to say before storming out of the room, Liu Wei quietly patting himself on the shoulder for clearly hitting his mark.
“Congratulations from me as well.” Ma Rong spoke next. These congratulations were much more genuine than the previous ones, which Liu Wei appreciated. Ma Rong and him weren’t by any means allies, mainly because of the alchemist’s strange infatuation for those inferior to him, but he respected the old man. He didn’t bend to others because of their position and he actually possessed the skill to back up his conviction.
As Liu Wei continued to exchange pleasantries with the other elders, the political instinct he had built up over centuries took over his words and he let his mind wander. Those empty words were truly nothing more than formality. The true effects that his breakthrough would have on sect politics would only start showing at the next meeting of the sect council. Until then he would have to decide on the course of action he wanted to pursue now, regarding his position in the sect. The other elders would undoubtedly do much of the same.
A sudden wave of silence brought his attention back to his surroundings. His sight followed the eyes of the other elders, who collectively looked towards the entrance of the hall.
There, clad in blue and white robes adorned with gold, stood Patriarch Long Zhao. The tall and handsome man exuded an unmistakable aura of pride and honor that demanded obedience of all those before him. He was the spitting image of the honorable, benevolent and heroic cultivator that mortals might imagine when thinking of one.
Liu Wei knew, of course, that all of this was show. The patriarch was no less a shrewd political thinker than any of the other elders present. Despite that, it was still impressive how fitting the man’s image was to his position of sect patriarch.
One after the other the elders bowed down to him, as Long Zhao made his way across the room towards Liu Wei. When he stood before him, the latter followed suit. His bow was slighter than any of the other elders’, deliberately so as he had just risen to match the patriarch’s cultivation. He wouldn’t show any more deference than absolutely necessary.
“I see you have successfully broken through to the eighth tier. An impressive feat.” The patriarch spoke, his voice low and slightly contemplative.
“Your kind words honor me, patriarch. You have long since risen to the same challenges.”
“That shouldn’t take away from your achievement. The sect can truly count itself lucky to have you.” In a louder voice, directed at everyone he added: “I’m sure all of you are eager to talk to Elder Wei about his achievements, but we should allow him some time to get used to his new strength. Let us delay our talks to the sunrise of the third day from now at which point we shall hold a formal council meeting.”
At this declaration Long Zhao turned to leave with the elders hesitantly following him.
The intentions behind this were clear. The patriarch didn’t want any of the elders to jump ahead and start their own negotiations with Liu Wei, especially not when he was now for the first time during his reign matched by another sect member in cultivation. He intended to delay all political changes so the pillar families could talk amongst themselves first and he could prevent any instabilities to form that could threaten his power.
Liu Wei didn’t mind it. He’d already anticipated this and he would need some time to figure out his own goals anyway. For now, he decided to leave the Enforcement Hall’s premises and retreat to the comfort of his home, where he would hopefully find the peace of mind he needed right now to process his new situation.