SCC Chapter 11 Party of Plots(1)

FCY 437, 2nd Month, Day 10

Reed looked out from his perch within the craft, the one he personally owned. Lily had stayed behind as the person he was about to meet was one not entirely trustworthy. Everything about her was a scheme, a facade that she put on for everyone around her. Useless chess pieces were ruthlessly discarded by her in favor of the valuable ones.

Personally, he didn't want to meet the woman. But the info in her hands was just that much valuable. The Radiance sect had been maintaining an alliance with Pantheon for as long as he had existed. But with her at the helm, that status quo was probably being challenged. He had already noticed some moves to alienate the other sects. But to what end? He had no idea. But what he could be sure of, was his belief that this was a convoluted plot.

A mountain range appeared within his gaze after a few minutes within the air. The Earth, nourished extensively by spirit energy, was growing, expanding at a rate that baffled many in the scientific community, him included. Any attempts at scanning its core had failed due to the concentration of spiritual energy down below.

This mountain range, now partially exposed by the dissipation of the morning mist, was a marvel to gaze upon. It was covered in green for as far as the eyes could see, interspersed with some streams and lakes with clear waters.

It's previous name had long since been lost in the annals of history, with its current name having been decided upon by the sect that nestled within it. It was thus called, Sacred Radiance mountain range.

There were probably many species of undiscovered flora down below. If it were any other time, he would have dived down to perform an exploration. It couldn't be done now because he wasn't in the mood, not to mention the fact that this was sect territory. He wouldn't be allowed here. There were probably many secrets below, with some even world shaking. Yet, unless the sect was eradicated, they would remain firmly within sect hands.

Reed shook away those thoughts as the ship finally passed through two peaks, exposing the main sect peak to his eyes.

The first thing that attracted his attention was the powerful beam of light that was being projected into the skies. There had been plenty of speculations as to the purpose of this beam of light. Yet no one had managed to pinpoint its purpose. And the Radiance sect was tight lipped about its purpose. Reed's eyes narrowed as his mind conjured up a piece of intelligence he had heard about the light beam years ago.

Apparently, there were rumors that the first generation Zeus had been passively involved in its creation. Or had he been actively involved?

Directly beneath that light beam was a palace, a light construct. Photons, their numbers in the quintillions and beyond had been captured and solidified with an array, creating a fully solid building. It had been dimmed a bit, as the light it would have released would have been too overwhelming even for a Nascent Soul cultivator. Reed even had the hypothesis that should all those photons escape, no one in the current world would be capable of surviving when close. For the palace, everyone was certain that it had been the first generation Zeus who had engineered it.

The craft dipped down, and landed upon a large platform a few kilometers below the light palace. On stepping out, Reed paused for half a second before continuing down the ramp.

Down the ramp, a pasty smile appeared on his face as he beheld the congregation gathered before him. The urge to grind his teeth was stifled before it could take hold. Livia, the woman most definitely knew how he felt about crowds, yet she had just went and done this.

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He moved forward his gaze fixed upon the white haired woman leading the group. Her expression was one of a smile, while deep within her eyes, there was some amusement.

"It's nice to meet you, sect master." he greeted with a shake of hands. How could he not have noticed the reporters at the side? At this very moment, he knew right away that he had been plotted against by this woman. He had thought that it was going to be a private meeting, yet here he was, being welcomed by quite the crowd.

She was dressed in a white robe with golden trimmings, while the elders behind her had silver trimmings. Then those even further behind, he took to be core disciples, had bronze trimmings.

"It is an honor to finally meet you in an official setting, Mr. Mumaso. Our Radiance sect is honored to have a man of your caliber paying us a visit." This time, the urge to narrow the eyes was the one stifled.

"It will be better if we don't dally then, sect master. We have much to discuss." Reed said, while also conveying his intention to get on with it.

The Radiance sect was the oldest sect in the world. Many had risen and fallen in the long river of time, yet ever since its establishment, it had never fallen. The reason for that mostly lay in its policy of seclusion. They essentially barricaded themselves in their mountain range, only making the occasional trip down in search of disciples.

(Livia... What is this?)

The question through divine sense was ignored by the other party, who maintained a smile throughout. A sigh was also stifled by him as they ascended the mountain.

At a certain distance, everyone else dispersed, leaving only the two of them, to make their way to the mountain palace above.

"You have known me for a long time, Reed. You should have anticipated the unanticipated."

"Yes... It was my fault for having let down my guard."

"I noticed that some of the elders weren't in your contingent. What happened to them?"

"Well... They are in seclusion."

"Forced seclusion. Since there was no conflict, then it appears that there is democracy within your sect."

"I wouldn't have become the sect master if it had been otherwise. Those old coots in the late stage of the Nascent Soul wouldn't have let me off."

"Why did you want our relationship to be made public?"

She didn't answer that question, instead opting to swiftly create distance between herself and Reed until they reached the palace.

Even if you took away the fact that it had been constructed from captured photons, it's grandness was enough to awe anyone.

Inside its walls was even more captivating than the outside, and continously dazzled Reed with its interplay of colors. He had never had the privilege of being invited within its walls before. Now, he took up Livia's offer to explore the place. She was far more excited about leading him than any attempt at conversation, making him wonder about what kind of plot she could be concocting.

Finally, the spirit of exploration dispossessed her and she finally invited him to her office, a minimalistic room with white scale patterned walls and silver lines adorning it's walls and floor. The desk, behind of which, her chair was located, had its surface filled with small rectangles of light that no doubt were some sort of port for divine sense connection. Compared to the Federation's primitive interfaces, this was more advanced.

Without any fanfare, the both of them sat down on a different seat, directly facing each other. The seats were right before the desk, but arranged to be opposite to each other.

"I want to know the exact reason I was called here, Livia." started Reed. If he still hadn't discovered the fact that Livia had purposefully manipulated him, then he would be better off dead in some ditch.

"What makes you say that, Reed. I would never."

"Cut it out with your stale sarcasm. Why was I really invited? Was it really only for the information?" Reed asked, his face having a stormy expression. There was something about being used that ate away at his mind, making him feel that maybe, just maybe, he would be justified if he attacked the woman.

"Heavens! These robes are so constricting! Maybe my next revolutionary idea should be to change the sect robes into modern wear. Keeping with tradition is a pain." complained Livia as her robes shifted right before his eyes, becoming a white long fluffy dress that reached her ankles. Then one leg was placed against the other, and her bust was prominently displayed, with the valley deep within the two mountains attracting his gaze enough for him to swallow his saliva.

A knowing smile played upon her lips, with Reed hurriedly looking away, out the window, pretending that the lush greenery below the mountain was far more interesting. Among women, there is the proverbial golden ratio that harmonizes the face, the bust and the hips, thereby making the woman, a goddess in the eyes of many men. And Livia was precisely such a kind of woman. Reed was certain that he would have fallen for her if it wasn't for her nasty schemes.

"Let's talk about Lily..." she leaned forward, with her eyes boring through him. They were brimming with an emotion that bordered on jealousy. But how much of it was a play? That was something he wondered about.

"Why did you choose to save her? She would have worked better as a clueless pawn."

"That there, is the fundamental difference between you and I."

"Did you develop romantic feelings?"

"Why is that important?"

A deep breath was taken by her, after which she leaned back into her seat. That left Reed somewhat puzzled.