Suddenly called to the Veridian Sect's main hall, Alexander hurried with gleeful footsteps. An update on his request finally came.
Opening the tall brown doors of peculiar wood and metal, Alexander was greeted with few people. The main hall was deserving of its title, a grand and warm place. A perfect area to welcome guests.
Seeing a man of long green hair, Alexander associated him with the Veridian Sect, as it contained so much green. Also, it was clear who was who when this man kept groveling on the ground like a bug, fawning over a dark haired youth.
'...' Gauging the young man's strength, he was left with no real answer. This man felt strong but not by much.
'Is he at the Law Immortal Realm? Maybe I sensed wrong.'
Interrupting him, the voice of the youth.
"Welcome! You must be Alexander, correct? I am an inner disciple of the Lured Cloud Sect, as well as envoy of said sect. Today, I have come to grab you and some others to head for my beautiful sect!"
'Inner disciple? So he is around the Empyrean Realm to Law Immortal Realm. It could end up quite difficult to deal with.'
Cupping his fists without the slightest bow, Alexander only received warning gazes.
'You think I'll bow to you? I'm not a pushover! Don't push your luck!'
"Well... if there is nothing else, let us depart!"
His robes floating, the envoy marched ahead, soon followed by a bunch of disciples as well as Alexander.
'Let me see for myself how great your cloud whatever sect is! I only want to enter the sect world, but who knows? Stuff happen, let's just go with the flow as usual.'
'And, once I gather the information I need, would I even stay in their little sect?'
'The hidden place where sages gather... I'll surpass it as well!'
.
.
.
Howling roars of a flying beast. Devastating aura of a certain envoy next to a similar youth.
The sky shivering, the view beneath was rapidly changing. Mountains, forests, snowy fields, deserted islands, large oceans and much more. The sect world was far.
It had already been over twenty years since their journey back began. By this point, the giant floating structures ahead seemed utterly gigantic. It felt like a pebble trying to see a mountain. They eclipsed the light of the sun, covering the surroundings in shadows. The structures pierced the sky high above while no clouds dared to trespass. Only a thick mist strangled their demeanor.
They did not even look like sects, but alien monoliths of runic patterns and rectangular pillars of metal.
'This should be the absolute center point... but, is this a hall?' Since there was the word hall within the Saint Hall, Alexander wondered if this was it.
However, this question was answered shortly after. The tall mountains covering the earth beyond surpassed, a flat surface spanning countless acres came into view.
Hovering above were the floating metallic pillars of mystical mist and legends, while beneath, a perfectly flat field of short grass extended beyond one's notion of distance. And, resting upon it, a marble white structure.
It spread out as if a spider trying to cover the world. Its height was not impressive, but its width was. In comparison, it was similar in size to the pillars but put on their side. If Alexander were to stand next to it, he would appear like an atom next to a stack of paper. The structure's ceiling was vaulted and pillars were erected all around, supporting the hanging ceiling. It looked like a beautiful temple of old mythology. It was quite similar to Alexander's own pyramid's center hall in fact.
'Ah~! So that must be the Saint Hall!' Nodding fervently, his mood soon froze.
'Wait... if I get caught now by that fucker Lu Shu..!' He only now realized to have already entered the demon's den. This place was the Core Territory's own core. A place where only the strongest powers resided.
After sneakily probing the cultivation standards, Alexander was left in worry. He expected to be quite weak in the Core Territory, and this had been confirmed.
Technically, he was not weak, but not strong either. Just around a place where people would still look up to him while he would need to stay in his area.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
It was a place where he could not just cross the line anymore.
'Nobody wanted to tell me, saying I would learn it sooner or later... but above the Law Immortal Realm... it is still not the peak. But apparently, it is still quite close to the sages.'
'And when I asked them about the next realm... why did the envoy look at me with brotherly compassion? He looked like he saw a comrade in me...'
'Whatever I guess...'
The journey soon came to an end. And far from the Saint Hall and metallic pillars, still near their territory, a beautiful crack in the air. It was pink, purple and some other colors, pulsating with raw might of spatial fluctuations. It looked otherworldly.
This crack was the entrance of the sect world, a sealed world of utmost influence and power. There resided the three strongest sects of the Core Territory and everything below. There laid the Lured Cloud Sect, a power almost comparable to the peak of this territory. In here, the Saint Hall was first, the True Martial Legacy second, and obviously the sect world third. But, unfortunately, it was only granted this place because of all three sects. Therefore, even the Lured Cloud Sect dared not fight with the first or even second place.
Alexander learned a few things from the trip, all thanks to this envoy. A man he thought would be a pain in the ass, yet appeared quite polished. Maybe because of his own strength and position, the envoy answered most of his questions.
One of them was the reason for this ranking. Why was the Saint Hall first and not second or third specifically? The reason was simple and completely expected. But the information he was granted did not seem too good for him.
The envoy did not hold back for him and told him the difference in might between all in the top three.
The Saint Hall was constituted of countless experts, but their most fearsome reputation came from their name. The Saint Hall hosted ten saints of incredible strength and achievements. Among the ten, Alexander knew Lu Shu to be one of them. The Saint of the Void was already his enemy, as for the entire Saint Hall... he was not sure yet.
The True Martial Legacy on the other hand was no pushover either. It was comprised of one emperor, one empress as well as two kings and two queens. Each of them almost on par with the saints. And when it came to the sect world, each sect master and grand or head elder were at best on par with the True Martial Legacy's emperor, empress or kings and queens. So, when put side by side, the Saint Hall would crush them all in one fell swoop with ease.
This gave Alexander the appropriate location of his whereabouts. He would now reside within a sealed world where outsiders would most likely leave him alone. The sect world was peaceful, the True Martial Legacy was apparently bothered with challenging the Saint Hall's influence, while said Saint Hall did not give a damn about anyone.
It almost felt like ouroboros. Everything kept looping around, a head baring its fangs, hoping to chomp on its own tail.
"Envoy, will you really not tell me anything about the next realms of cultivation?" Floating alongside the other disciples and the envoy, Alexander was right in front of the suspended portal of colors.
"Disciple Alexander, this envoy cannot reveal too much, or wouldn't the surprise be for naught? Just relax and enjoy the ride!" Laughing aloud, the envoy disappeared into the crack in the air. Following behind, everyone else.
His vision and Divine Sense adjusting, Alexander saw the sect world for himself. The sky was a light teal color, as if a mist took over the Heavens, while the grass was the same. And, facing him, buildings. Structures of all kinds, all sect-like, overcame his field of view.
"Here is the hub. It is the only publicly known spot for exiting and entering the sect world. It is located west of the sect world, the closest to our Lured Cloud Sect. North-east of our sect is the Diamond Sect while south-east is the Chaos Dream Sect."
About to continue his explanation, a bunch of pink robed experts interrupted his speech with fervor. They adorned a pink lotus as if it was made of crystal on their chest.
"Wang Roh! What do you want?" Almost spitting at his face, the envoy looked angered by this man's appearance. The man looked down on him, his thick light brown hair fluttering alongside the small breeze of wild energies.
"Mister envoy was it? You like playing the superior now? You didn't look so confident and domineering when I was pummeling your sorry ass on the ground during the tournament! What happened since then?" Chuckling, the man's group also laughed aloud.
As for who was sighing while seeing all of this, it could only be Alexander.
'It seems that I will need to spill some blood in here...'
"And who's that over there? He looks quite strong! Hey! You fine over there?" Addressing Alexander with a clear lack of respect, Wang Roh walked toward him.
When he stood just before him, he realized the need to look up a bit. But even with this physical loss, it did not matter much since cultivation was everything.
"Hey! I'm talking to you kid. What do you say huh? Are you happy being a new disciple of a shitty Lured Cloud Sect? Look!"
"Do you see these robes? Look at the lotus on my chest! This the proof of my identity as a blossom disciple of the mighty Diamond Sect! What do you say kid? Huh~??"
Trembling a bit, the envoy attempted to grab a hold of the man by reflex. And after being easily dodged, his voice quivered while he saw him grab Alexander's collar.
"Hum... Wang Roh... this guy... is not just a new disciple from outside... he is at least on par with me..."
"Huh?" Blinking a few times, Wang Roh looked to the side, staring at the envoy with confusion.
"What are you-" Without the opportunity to finish his sentence, Wang Roh snapped back to reality, his gaze unfortunate enough to meet with Alexander's.
The coldness of his glare seeped into his very bones, his body freezing on the spot.
"Bitch! What do you think you're doing? You dare grab me by the collar fuckface? Seems like I will need to spill blood sooner than expected. What a great way to worsen my mood!"
His hand clutched by Alexander's own, Wang Roh felt pain overflow from his wrist, his grip loosening on the spot. Sounds of bones breaking, his wrist snapped while his hand lost all of its contained strength.
Furiously tightening his own grip, Alexander caused Wang Roh's wrist to turn into paste, soon torn apart from the sheer pressure.
"Ah!!! My arm!!! My hand! Help!" Panicking, he threw a jab with his other hand, only to have a palm cover his vision.
"Seems like there is some animosity between the two sects... it should be fine to make some examples today. I don't like working for others, but you crossed my bottom line!" Said the man whose bottom line was above everything else. Said the man whose bottom line should instead be called top line.
"But it's fine. Recently, I began to crave for my long forgotten bloodlust!"