Outside the multiverse in the Haze Gap, a military council was being held, among the top ranks of the Veritas Legion, but now the council included two new beings. Or maybe three, if you considered the White Tiger as a free agent, which he was not.

"The conclusion is simple. The goliths are scattering because their leader is dead. The Mirror Goddess sent word of this too." the General spoke in a relaxed tone, and sipped casually from her wine cup. To her left, a fierce Beast also in Tier 8 Realm stood silent and docile, proof of the General's ability to forcefully convert an enemy to her cause.

The Ant Queen, Shiara only nodded politely. it was already an honor to be allowed to participate in the Legion's council, mostly due to the influx of billions of Ant Soldiers into the Legion. Sadly, the regular Warriors were very costly and difficult to Ascend higher than Tier 2, and only her daughters had a real chance of climbing the cultivation ladder and reach Tier 5 like herself. And her cultivation wasn't that impressive in this council, at all.

Everyone else in the council was at least at Tier 7, and a few even higher.

On the other side of the oval table, the new Tier 8 Goddess, Lady Lara sat calmly and just observed, with the White Tiger Godbeast at her side.

The very shape of the table had been changed since her Ascension, since the Legion had never had two Tier 8s, until now.

And soon enough, more things will have to change, once Pef and perhaps other Tier 8s would come.

"The golith crisis is ending, which is good. In a decade we should be able to clean up every remaining golith inside the Great Realm, then start closing the Breach." Lara said in a gentle voice.

"Not everything is good, little Lara. Old enemies will surface now. The Great Alliance is losing its purpose too. I am right, General?" the White Tiger spoke in a dignified voice, nodding towards the anthropomorphic lotus that lead the Veritas Legion.

The General's eyes flashed with a silver light, and she smiled sadly.

"There are more good news though. Lady Kalima is close to reaching her 9th Star. Lady Yue has Ascended into Tier 8 as well, and stepped directly into the 5th Star. Pef has also obtained his 5th Star recently. And, there are two new Soldiers at the peak of Tier 7 and two more very close to reaching Tier 7 this decade, if the Mausoleum trials conclude as expected. We may even get two extra Tier 8s, if things go as planned." the stern woman added in a calm tone, mostly trying to maintain the morale of her Legion.

The enemies to face next were even stronger than the golith menace, not only in cultivation but also political and legacy background. The Devils and more importantly, the Dragons.

It was also true, once the Grand Alliance fell apart the old grudges and enmities would surface once more, and her Legion may not survive a direct conflict with either of these threats, not to mention both at once.

The Devils had a 9 Star Supreme Devil, while the Dragons had several Tier 8s and even a Tier 9 Emperor, along with giant armies and unknown ancient artifacts and legacies. The Devils might be a solvable problem, especially if Kalima did reach her 9th Star, but the Dragons...

The void shifted slightly, and Lady Yue stepped through, the violet ring on her right hand glowing ominously.

The General sighed inward, and mentally asked Colonel Jin to provide the new Tier 8 with a seat at the council. At least the spirit Taotie wasn't out, yet.

"Welcome the our council, Lady Yue." she declared in a cautious tone towards the indigo-haired Goddess.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The indoctrination method had been subverted by that monster, it was obvious now. Yue was a Legion Soldier only in name, and possibly even worse.

Still, Yue came when the message was sent. Maybe she could help. A 5th Star Tier 8 would be stronger than herself, not to mention the monster in the ring.

Lady Yue sat down elegantly on her seat and slowly measured the participants of the council, nodding gently towards Lara and her tiger.

"You don't need to be warry of me, General. My own legacy bloodline came from the Jade Emperor himself, and is a by-product of the Seven Color Pagoda. In a way, I can be considered a far cousin of the Jade High House of the Higher Heavens. In fact, I can Ascend at anytime after I solve this small problem." the indigo-haired Goddess disclosed with a faint smile as she tapped the ring on her hand.

The General just shook her head. "Your legacy is your own fate, Yue. The thing that concerns me is the subversion of the Legion Method, with the goliths as a perfect example of what unrestrained cultivation leads to. Without the indoctrination's hardwired moral compass...."

"Your method is weak and doesn't even cover Tier 7 Ascensions. The Devils have hundreds of Tier 7 commanders, and the Dragons as well. Did you really expect the Lotus Parasite Stem to work on any Tier 8? It doesn't work on Lara either. We are helping because we want to." Yue replied with a careless shrug.

Lara nodded slowly towards the General. It was true, if she really wanted to, she could ignore the Legion's edicts and act however she wished, she just didn't. She wasn't a genocidal maniac, after all.

The General hesitated for a second, the glanced at the Beast she had converted to her side. But truly, she had erased all the monster's instincts and replaced them with her own commands, much like she programmed the Legion Knives. There wasn't any mind left in this beast, only an organic tool, frozen at the cultivation realm of its mind-death.

"Still, it only takes one Soldier going mad...pillaging or raping..." The General said in a soft but despondent voice, obviously suffering inside from her failure.

"I'm certain Pef will fix this one day soon. He has already created an Eight Element cultivation method, something the Taotie calls a low-immortal method. One can reach Tier 7 with it, even without any bloodline help. Maybe you two can combine your methods?" Yue asked with a mild yet hopeful voice, then glanced towards a distant spot beyond the Haze Gap.

Hearing this, Shiara perked up as her heart started beating really fast. If this worked, her ants could...

The General sensed her distress, and turned towards the Ant Queen sharply. "I will explore this possibility Shiara. With billions of Tier 7 ant soldiers, we can civilize more than a single multiverse. Many more."

Almost forgotten among this, Captain Wixtal Xi sat with his eyes closed, while his Avatar discussed with Reason, the Power Word Gun.

"It seems things will change soon, beautiful songstress."

"Your son has a habit of doing the impossible. Did you notice Lady Lin is missing?" Reason asked without moving her lips.

"You mean Faith, your sister weapon." Wixtal answered coyly.

"They are Forging a sword, using a claw from the Taotie. A claw your son took by force, by chopping off the beast's left arm." Reason continued with a wry voice.

"...That seems, quite something." Wixtal admitted with a frown.

"We will need a dimensional sword like that, to fight a Dragon and attain your Ascension. Go get one." Reason demanded, rather unreasonably.

"I hate that boy..." the man muttered inward, as he turned towards Lady Yue. Asking for help from his daughter-in-law wasn't all that dignified either. Wixtal suffered inside.