"... Sooo, Imperial Teacher." Little Ish closed her book as it rested on her lap and looked up. She had just survived an apocalypse threatening to melt her brains for 3 hours straight. And now that she looked at Heian Ciemnosc's face again, it felt like she hadn't seen him in years, and he even appeared strange before her eyes adjusted. Heian Ciemnosc looked down and waited for the little thing to ask whatever she had in that block head of hers. She said, "You have all primary Elements, except Lightning, but you have no affinity. How does it happen?"
"I'll give you a lesson about it when you're looking to break into the Second Step," Heian Ciemnosc patted her forehead and rubbed her head before standing up. Little Ish suddenly felt empty, but as she felt slightly dizzy and tired from all that master class learning, she softly lay on her bed. Seeing her like this, and considering she was his first little apprentice, Heian Ciemnosc tucked her in her bed and grabbed the books as she pouted and closed her eyes.
Rustle~, rustle. Step… step, step, step, step… “...” After looking at the sleeping girly, Heian Ciemnosc left her bedroom and closed the door as he exited her residence. It was about 4 times bigger than his, so it took him a while. In her bedroom, a water screen streamed down from the wall adjacent to Little Ish’s bed, turning into a figure with a voluptuous chest, looking at the little girl in her bed tenderly.
Her left palm was placed against her collarbone as she looked at the proper tucking her daughter was in before her head turned and traced Heian Ciemnosc’s steps from before. She walked to the bed and kissed the back of her daughter’s head before disappearing, like a reverse waterfall, into the walls. Blauw Ishikyy rummaged through her nose in her sleep after feeling a sudden sensation of extra comfort before lying there like a log.
Blauw Ishikyy would have to go with Heian Ciemnosc to the in-land in order to secure as many resources as possible. She would have to study under him anyway, so it couldn’t be helped. Her safety had been guaranteed to her mother by Heian Ciemnosc, which she didn’t know, but she was down to leave the Blauw Empire and see the rest of the Region that is supposedly theirs.
… In the following week, Heian Ciemnosc prepared the logistics to carry out a large quantity of personnel only to gather resources and act as bodyguards. He couldn’t move the Empire’s soldier units, so he had to bring as many volunteers as possible with a guarantee that they would receive the Empire and Feathered Valley Pavilion’s protection. But before the week was over, he had to visit these guys so it could at least happen in the first place.
After meditating a little, Heian Ciemnosc exited his bedroom. It had been several hours since his first lesson with Little Ish ended, and he now directed his path towards the Palace’s hangar. Having already told everything to the Empress, he didn’t need to remind her again. Once there, he saw his Ornament well taken care of by an engineering team. After dispatching them and giving a little tip, Heian Ciemnosc boarded it and left the Blauw Empire’s territory.
The distance between the extremes of the western North and South, inland of the Far East Region, was over a couple hundred thousand kilometers from one point to another. The distance from the Palace island to the center was nearly 80,000 km, while the closest in-land was around 40,000 km away. It didn’t take Heian Ciemnosc long to reach the latter with his Ornament flying at top speed.
Half an hour later, Heian Ciemnosc’s Ornament was sighted near the Feathered Valley Pavilion territory. Without needing to say a word and ignoring the attempts to communicate with him, he directly flew over its large protective array formations before suddenly nose-diving towards its main hangar. When his Ornament was close to crashing against it, it opened and let him in, but Heian Ciemnosc didn’t slow down afterwards.
His Ornament went top speed towards the ground, suddenly stopping a few tens of meters from it and safely landing. Of course, he brought a brief wind outburst that sent many Members flying. They weren’t that injured, just a little head wound and a couple of bloody gashes, nothing else. Heian Ciemnosc’s entrance was nothing but unnoticed. Just as he was getting off his Fighter, several people wearing pale purple robes came to greet him.
Their faces were frowning, and they hid their fury, but not from Heian Ciemnosc. As he cleaned his hands from the dust still settling around, he greeted the other fellows first with a little wave of his right hand and a casual expression as if he were meeting his partner’s family members. “Oh hey! I got ahead of myself and didn’t want to stop. I hope it wasn’t problematic? Anyway, where’s Liao Liao or that oldie Errticol? Let’s go meet them!”
Heian Ciemnosc’s tone wasn’t cheerful. He casually walked to the pale purple robbed figures and started walking past them. The upper echelons had no choice but to bow their heads and follow behind Heian Ciemnosc until they had to open the gates and order a few Members around to pilot a spaceship towards their Central Building, where Heian Ciemnosc already saw the Head and Grand Master rush into while they walked.
Passing by the looking, awed Members, Heian Ciemnosc’s dark coat fluttered as his pale face remained indifferent and… mysterious. Right before he entered their Central Building, he stopped, grabbed the wall on his left with his left hand, backtracked 1 step, and looked up. In his mind, he lightly smiled as he thought, ‘Oh, is it about to start snowing? How melancholic I am getting. Heh…’
Afterwards, Heian Ciemnosc stepped inside, and his figure darkened before disappearing, making those outside to frown in confusion. They didn’t know if it was an optic illusion or the equivalent of Heian Ciemnosc’s aura since he seemed to give off any. While Heian Ciemnosc entered the Central Building, most other Members and even higher-ups were evacuating it from other doors. He could also see that, but it didn’t bother him.
After getting into an elevator with those fellows who guided him here and some others wearing pale purple robes, Heian Ciemnosc stood calmly inside as they were brought to the topmost floor. As he stood in the middle, at the rear, he didn’t give off any dark Neutral Energy, but the others felt pressured by him still. Heian Ciemnosc’s bodily strength made them sense blatant danger from him without even needing to flex his body.
Besides, Heian Ciemnosc’s cultivation base already made him feel bloated towards the 2nd stage, and his All-Devouring Force Chronicles seemed about to evolve. Things were going great still, even after a couple years of direct cultivation. Although he hasn’t been idle, not avoiding fighting and combats, he hasn’t gone through a good battle like in the Change Merit Trials for a while. However, even then, something tells him he would need to wait even longer for anything like that to happen again.
“Oh…” Heian Ciemnosc finally entered the main hall and saw a multitude of chairs behind each table. Only their side, their backs facing the walls, had chairs to sit on. There were more than 17 tables, each one with either dark purple, purple, or pale purple colored attire. Looking at the very front from the entrance, Heian Ciemnosc found the Pavilion Head, Mo Liao, and the Grand Master, Errticol, sitting behind a small table.
“...?” - “?” - “?” - “?...” Heian Ciemnosc’s exclamation earned him some stares, but he didn’t care and casually walked towards the small chair positioned in front of the small table. When he arrived before the small table, he kicked his right leg into the air and planted his sole on the seat. A sudden ‘boom’ sound echoed throughout the main hall, but nothing happened. Then, Heian Ciemnosc remained standing, ignoring everyone else seated.
With his hands behind his back, Heian Ciemnosc looked at the Head and Grand Master, tilting his head slightly to the left before returning it to its natural position repeatedly before someone at the side couldn’t take it anymore and shouted, standing from his chair and raising his right arm up. “Sir! Assigned supervisor! What have you come here for?! Our Pavilion has been doing well under the Academy’s rule. We are even your vassals!”
“With what purpose have you come here?!” Another voice shouted from a nearby table, stating a few others who gnashed their chairs’ feet sliding backwards. Heian Ciemnosc narrowed his darkest eyes slightly and lightly turned his head to the right. He saw everyone from those tables wearing purple garments and let them bathe in his stare. After they finished shouting and looked at him in silence, they felt as if they discovered something that wasn’t there before and slowly became anxious.
“Fret not.” However, before they could grow shaky, Heian Ciemnosc separated his hands behind his back and waved his left one at them. He looked at the first person who shouted and continued, “Inspector Sor, in talks with an assigned supervisor, leave it to your leaders, or you will disrespect the Wrath Nihility Academy. I’m not looking to make trouble here, not at all. The Academy can look the other side if you just behave now.”
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Pshift- Phhshk! “But I do not.” Heian Ciemnosc said without leaving any opportunity for anyone here to respond in time. Although they were 1 of the 2 mightiest inland organizations, they couldn’t even sense when Heian Ciemnosc lifted his left wrist like a cobra, and much less when his pale fingers unleashed dark Neutral Energy. Several little dark lights shot into the air to penetrate the Inspector’s forehead. Immediately, Heian Ciemnosc saw veins protrude on the upper echelons’ foreheads.
“You feel fury… but you are aware of what I can do now.” Heian Ciemnosc looked at them with his hands behind his back again. However, he wasn’t putting on a scary face. In fact, he looked at them casually before gesturing his right hand into a claw in the Inspector’s direction. The Inspector’s Covert Space bag flew from the corpse, and several items came from it as it moved towards Heian Ciemnosc.
“I am mindful it is not my place to punish those with ‘bad’ thoughts in their hearts, even if their brains tell them not to. However,” Heian Ciemnosc grabbed the Covert Space bag and rummaged through its insides, finding a few medallion-like coins. He took them out, 2 in between his fingers and another that floated towards the small table as he lifted his head to look at them, with his darkest eyes, ultimately coldly. “Whoever dares play in front of me will get what they are asking for. It doesn’t matter where you come from or who’s your public daddy. In this Kingdom, the Academy is the rule.”
“...” - “...” - “...” Mo Liao and Errticol looked at the coin that floated towards them, levitating bluntly and showing its design. Their eyebrows frowned as they recognized what was happening and looked at several other tables, from those wearing dark purple to pale purple. They could see some of those people sweating bullets, trying to hide it so futilely right away. Then, they set their eyes on Heian Ciemnosc, whose indifferent, pervertedly handsome face became neutral again. Still, it was so damn devilishly charming.
“Then… we are gra-” Grand Master Errticol spoke. The others seemed unwilling to articulate now, even more so as they had just discovered some of their people colluding with other organizations down south. However, Heian Ciemnosc interrupted the Grand Master, casually saying without any intention to comfort. “I didn’t do this in good faith. To be honest, I only discovered he was one of those after killing him. It was simply a surprise for me, too. I was planning to kill one of your Pavilion Masters after our negotiations ended well as the ‘surprise gift’ before I left… But who would’ve thought…”
“...!” Errticol didn’t need any help understanding what Heian Ciemnosc meant. His left hand turned into a fist and crashed it against the table’s surface. He looked at the 3 pale purple robbed 2 men and 1 woman on his left, and they all showed sweat, widened eyes, and fear. Before the oldie started having back pains from his mental, Heian Ciemnosc interjected and, strangely, cleansed the main hall from the unstoppable increase in tension.
“Pavilion Head, today, I have come here with a proposal.” Heian Ciemnosc’s words were like a warm breeze after being showered in tons of cold water. Head Liao looked at Heian Ciemnosc and nudged at him silently, still mentally burdened by the realization of the ruptures within his organization. Heian Ciemnosc nodded and commenced. His voice was calm. “My Blauw Empire is starting to need large amounts of resources only inland has.”
“Before a Chosen comes and reminds me that we can buy it,” Heian Ciemnosc rapidly continued, not letting some smartasses fully stand up from their seats, feeling more confident to answer and tone Heian Ciemnosc down a notch. His earlier pronounced words were also still ringing inside their heads. It meant a lot when someone of high status called someone or an organization as if they were one with it.
“Everyone here knows what will happen if you want to buy any material or ingredient in thumping quantities. Not only would they be costlier, but you could even get the price suddenly raised before being told the price.” Heian Ciemnosc lifted his palms, showing them to everyone, even those tables behind him that could only use their Spirit Sense to watch him from the front, and they did. Usually, any new cultivator would be weary of this sensation, but Heian Ciemnosc was all casual and unbothered by it despite his age. This made the Pavilion’s hierarchy feel like they were dealing with one of their own.
“So, your point is?” Grand Master Errticol sat down and lowered his head slightly before commenting. Heian Ciemnosc looked at the Grand Master before flashing his pearly white canines. He spoke calmly and smoothly, “I will trade some of my capabilities for passing. The Blauw Empire will gain unlimited access to the northern inland resources. The forest will be only one of them.”
“...” The small table suddenly fell silent. The Grand Master no longer seemed mad about the discovery of Heian Ciemnosc’s words about a Pavilion Master also being in cahoots elsewhere. However, the other tables were, yet again, thinking about all this as the leader second-in-command became absorbed in their mental discussion. One of the tables with purple robbed fellows had another Inspector shout as if outraged at what Heian Ciemnosc proposed.
“How could you ask this from us? From anyone?!!” Everyone except the small table and Heian Ciemnosc looked at that table and the person who shouted. And seeing that Heian Ciemnosc was ignoring him, he continued. “The Blauw Empire is a vermin that has introduced only suffering and trickery to the Far East Region! They should just di-”
“SILENCE!” Just as the Inspector was growing louder and louder in volume, the main hall turned its attention to the Grand Master once again while the Pavilion Head smoothly closed his eyes. The Grand Master’s jaws had opened widely, giving him a furious, stern appearance, with veins bulging around his neck and temples. Heian Ciemnosc crossed his arms as he watched the show before the Grand Master gestured to 2 of the 3 Pavilion Masters sitting at the small table.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoooooosh!
“No, n- NO! Wait, please, waaaait…!” The Pavilion Masters nodded and immediately flew towards the Inspector’s table. It was 1 male and the only female in the small table. They arrived before the Inspector and tackled him into the air. Without any politeness or grace, they brought him outside the main hall. The hall fell silent as this happened, but they could only turn to look at the Grand Master and Head, awaiting.
“... Shall we continue?” Heian Ciemnosc’s cold and fresh words reinvigorated the main hall somehow. This helped everyone in the hall feel a little better, and the Grand Master sighed before lowering his head in contemplation. At last, he nodded, “Mn.”
“I’m planning on proportioning your organization some small tricks you’re not aware of even with hundreds of thousands of years as not only the only but also the best beast taming-focused organization in the Far East Region and its neighboring inland Regions, too.” Heian Ciemnosc’s words attracted the main hall’s attention, good and bad. But the Head, whose eyes were now open and glowing, and Grand Master stayed intrigued in a good way. Meanwhile, the remaining Master sitting at the small table was sweating 24/7, as if he needed to take several shits.
“And what are these capabilities? Are they truthfully so helpful that we’ll disobey an untold rule between the top organizations of the Far East Region against the caged Azure Dragon’s descendants?” Grand Master questioned. Heian Ciemnosc nodded and calmly said, not becoming hurried for a mere instant. “Before we get to those things, hear what my Blauw Empire desires first.”
“Hm,” the Grand Master nodded again and placed his elbows on the table. His chin and part of his lips were covered as Heian Ciemnosc stepped forwards a few extra meters before stopping. He calmly elaborated, “The Blauw Empire won’t bring any army to your territory and the near ownerless territory. Only volunteered people hoping to help their home with some pay and safety. Thus, besides the Empire’s assigned supervisor to guarantee this safety. The Feathered Valley Pavilion will protect these workers.”
“We’ll gain access to the northern forest, the Fauna there, and some specific flora. These won’t be in small numbers or variety.” Heian Ciemnosc briefly explained his desires. The Pavilion Head slowly stood up and questioned, “The northern forest is several tens of times larger than any other forest in the inland territory of the Far East Region. Giving you access to it would already be too much. What makes you think your Empire deserves any of the rest?”
“Because you’ve already undermined the Empire with your words, each of you here, and only now can you start changing that angle.” Heian Ciemnosc softly declared. His words left the Head standing there, thinking about everything Heian Ciemnosc’s words could imply. Suddenly, there was an internal struggle. Not only within the Pavilion Head, the Grand Master and other upper echelons were equally debating alone. The higher-ups had no say in this and could only obey the former, but they were just as anxious and thought intricately.
“My offer can be resumed this way,” Heian Ciemnosc lifted his palms and showed them to the main hall again. He gained all eyes on him, and he spilled his brief explanation, word by word and simply. “Your lack of respect for your tamed Fauna will resolve your problem with their depression, low birth rate, and lifespan. I will teach you the agricultural needs every beast taming organization needs and what yours has been essentially lacking. Do you want to keep trying… or that your organization is no longer bathed in a few hundred thousand years from now, or several millions at best?”
“Lastly… you have nothing that links you with them. You have contacts and pacts. But those are only for amateur caretakers in the First Step… Isn’t the Feathered Valley Pavilion aiming for the Second Step? I'll show you how to gain connection!”
“!!!” The hall suddenly skyrocketed in shock!
…
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This is the beginning of Volume 6 — A Step Into the World.