Their qi declared their presence as soon as they arrived. I guess it was their way of being courteous, but I would have known regardless. Their party was large, larger than I had originally thought. I’d assumed that The Flowering Sword would have sent in their people first, trying to buddy me up before any of the other sects could have learned that I existed.

But no, the party seemed to have a diverse amount of practitioners. I could tell that some were from the Flowering Sword Sect and the Hollow Echo, and the others were pretty easy to place based on their qi and auras. All in all, there were three fifth-ranked cultivators from each of the five sects. But even if I didn’t count fifth ranks, there were still a decent number of weaker individuals in the party.

Most were servants and disciples, extras to be brought out and flaunted. I recognized Cai, walking behind the caravan using a movement technique with a few other young people that surrounded him, walking like his equals. Young masters I assumed. Most of them walked by the boy attempting to have conversations about the trip and prodding him for information, even those from the other sects.

"Alright Gauntlet, showtime!"

Gauntlet gave me a nod and his body started to cave in. His rock form started to collapse and tumble down, reducing him from his inhuman height and rocky build to a much more manageable humanoid creature. Eventually, his rocky skin tumbled and reduced itself until it looked no different from human skin. His shiny marble eyes turned somewhat lumpy to resemble the human ones and stiff rock-like clothing bloomed from his body to cover the human flesh he didn’t have. A few seconds later, where there had once been a golem, was now a person.

One of the more annoying aspects of dealing with all of these sects would be the act of it all. I already prepared a place for them to rest. As much as I’d love to just talk and kick them out fifteen minutes later, this was a delegation of sorts, and if you wanted respect then you needed to give respect. They would want to stay and discuss something, maybe for a day, maybe for a week, and then leave.

The beasts had been warned as well. Most of them had nothing to be worried about. Even the weakest of them could hide well enough from fifth ranks.

Then there was the matter of Gauntlet. I needed a servant of sorts to display my power, so I had Gauntlet disguise himself as a human and limit his cultivation to the fifth rank. He was still a little weird and incapable of emoting, but he could produce the right qi fluctuations and that was all that really mattered. A disciple of the fifth rank and a master of the immortal rank would be enough to sate their curiosity. There would be the annoying matter of them trying to drag me into their politics, but I could always say no.

I kept an eye on the party as they worked their way here. Strangely enough, they weren’t using flying swords, but carriages pulled by spirit beasts. It might have been due to their traveling size or maybe it was some display of respect by not flying over my territory. Either way, they would be here in about half a day and I was ready, more or less.

As annoying as this was, it was somewhat crucial. The goal was to be respected but not feared and I didn’t want them painting me as some powerhouse to the higher sects. I was aiming to walk the thin line that existed between being worthy of respect to the local Sects and not attracting the attention of the higher sects.

There were easier ways to do this whole thing but most of those methods were morally confusing to say the least. I could use mind control or curses, or even take over the whole region and secretly puppeteer the leaders in front of the higher sects were all viable options, but they all felt wrong. I had never liked mind control, and anyone who had been mind controlled would agree with that sentiment.

And besides, this way would be quicker, a-one-and-done type deal.

I lowered my aura and circulated a technique to hide my true rank. It was actually a little tricky to pretend to be weaker than you were. If cultivation was a skill, then the strong had honed that skill to a great degree, and appearing weaker often meant purposely making mistakes that you had learned to instinctively ignore. Too pure of a foundation or too perfect of an aura would make anyone suspicious, so a few flaws and fluctuations were important here.

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The sixth rank, or the Immortal Rank as most called it, was a huge leap in cultivation and changed the very nature of the person using it. These guys who rarely saw Immortals wouldn’t be able to notice anything wrong with me, though I did make sure to play the part perfectly regardless.

I watched as the caravan came to a slower trot as they approached the valley.

"Alright," I sighed. "Let's get this over with."

I pushed down some light intent where they stood, my aura making my presence known. A few seconds later I floated down from the sky with all the elegance and strength of a sixth rank cultivator.

They all stopped in their tracks as soon as they felt it. Some of the hooved spirit beasts let out small droppings of shit and stumbled a little.

They all bowed unanimously as I descended to the sandy floor. They did well to keep their expressions hidden but I could sense fear in everyone of their auras. Their qi seemed to tighten up instinctively, like a stomach preparing for a brace and their bows were a little too deep.

"Arise," I said, pulling in the little show of power I had made.

"You must be the leaders of this region," I commented as I made a false study of each of them.

There was a small moment of silence before a green haired lady stepped forward from the group.

"Yes, honored master. We each represent the collective that governs over this small region, and it is our honor to greet you. This Lai Xin bows before you," she answered.

She was one of the Hidden Viper. I took a quick look at the wisps of qi that wafted off her body. Something from the general Dao of Deception was in there, the Dao of Disguise maybe? Or the Dao of Stealth? I’d wager she practiced techniques pertaining to both, and there was a faint smell of a bloodline technique, something that dabbled in poison, though it felt like she didn’t practice the poison arts herself. Her fellow clan members however, showed that poison was indeed a part of their practice. One of them practically contaminated the very air as he breathed, even without stirring his qi.

"It is our pleasure to greet such an esteemed man, both as the leaders of this region and the leaders of the Raging River Sect. This Mao Lee bows in respect."

I almost snorted at the man’s introduction. What was so esteemed about me? He’d barely met me and yet his face was stained brown from kissing my ass so hard.

This man’s qi was simple, as was the rest of his compatriots. I could sense a bloodline that linked them to Cai somewhere in the group. But the only commonality was that all of them smelled of water and all of them had a lot of qi. I supposed with a name like the Raging River, they mostly prided themselves in might and less in ability. There were hints of techniques here and there and they weren’t lacking in control, but there was no overarching Dao that the group seemed to share. It was merely one water-based bloodline tying the group together, nothing more.

"This Gai Lu of the Bloody Fist Sect greets the honored master," an old man came and bowed.

This man was different from the rest. He was a monk. His qi lacked any definitive law or element but instead had the distinct Dao of Destruction. Both of his fists practically glowed with qi and the old man’s hands were made almost entirely out of scar tissue.

Huh, a sect based entirely on the merit of practice. Those were common enough, but most of their techniques had fallen from one higher realm or another. That or they had been practiced and perfected by some wandering family for tens of thousands of years, before eventually becoming something that can bridge the gap between effort and natural privileges. Either way, the practitioners of such techniques were generally highly respected in their communities due to the sheer discipline it took to follow that path.

"This An Fong bows before your presence honored master," a man whispered.

This one I recognized. It was the Hollow Echo Sect, his qi was similar to the assassin I had met and around where his eyes should have been was a thin bandana that covered the wrinkled skin beneath. I suppose this was the way they presented themselves to the other sects. He had the same sound law flavor to his qi and if you dug just a little deeper you could smell the demonic stench, though I doubted anyone here could do that.

I struggled not to frown at the bastard.

"This Patriarch Fan Li greets honored master Bill," he said with a solemn expression on his face.

His qi was similar to Cai’s, the difference being the lack of the water law. I nodded and acknowledged them, as all the parties involved bowed slightly in a show of respect. I returned the bow.

"Welcome to my abode fellow Daoists. It brings me joy that you all came down here so quickly."

And with that, I started the little charade.