‘Perhaps a Neophyte’s soul was not the best battlefield for a battle such as this.’

It was a fleeting thought, a brief observation made by a small portion of his mind. One that was also easily dismissed. He did not know what gave the Fifth enough courage to contest his authority. In his homeland, no less.

Still, it was no matter, simply something to be corrected later. He felt his conduit wince as a particularly vicious clash formed thin cracks in the poor child’s core. The boy would be broken even more by the clash, but it was nothing that could not be fixed. Such restoration was outside his purview, but it would be a small thing to simply channel the World Tree’s will.

The true challenge, in fact, would be making his case to the High Senate and the Lone Powers. His position as a longtime supporter of the Saurabhs’ cause was well known. To turn his back on them felt distasteful and would earn him some ire.

But there was no other option. For too long, they had ignored the calls of Joha and the Madam. For too long they had played at diplomacy, influenced as they were by Love’s ideology and eager to bring false notions of equality to fruition.

As he brought his will to bear in a Neophyte’s core, his claims over the most talented Ascendant in history were being contested by a self-appointed goddess; it was painfully clear that something drastic needed to be done.

So, he pushed more of his presence in and reminded the upstart of the reason his name was feared even in the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

High Executor Walkins, tenth disciple of the Great Mother and Blade of Lasvania, cast out yet another foe of the Republic.

But his job was far from finished. He was just getting started, in fact. After all, the Executors were not known for leaving their targets alive and free. Today, a small victory, tomorrow, a gathering of arms.

A Superpower was going to war.

* * *

Xiao Lee floated in the darkness. He had no body, not one he could feel anyway. He shook his non-existent head in disappointment at his state. Truly, his recurring bouts of unconsciousness were unbecoming.

It was not something he could control, he knew, particularly when dealing with people so far above him. But that only made it worse.

Just as he was about to start spreading out his senses and exploring the blackness, he was yanked back to reality by an unstoppable force. He could not even control his awakening.

His eyes opened immediately he was back in control of his body, revealing the room that was just as he left it. A multitude of sensations assaulted him, a stark contrast to the absolute darkness he experienced a few seconds prior. Still, it was nothing he could not process easily.

He was still lying on his back and suspended midair, and both Lisa and the Intelligence officers were just as he had left them. The only visible change was with the executor.

The woman he saw was a shadow of her previously confident self. Her face was visibly pale, something that was nearly impossible for a cultivator on her level. He could not be fully sure, but it seemed likely that being a conduit for the High Executor’s power had taken a heavy toll. Though, given the vastness of the presence he felt, it was no surprise.

In fact, it was a miracle he had survived intact, since two very powerful cultivators used his core as a battle ground. He suspected the Executor had fixed all the damage, something he was certainly not going to complain about.

“Xiao Lee,” the woman called out. She was already visibly recovering, he noticed. Her back was set straighter. “How do you feel?”

He did a quick scan of his entire being, confirming that nothing was broken. A cursory glance at his core revealed no mark. Though that meant nothing, given he had not been able to sense it in the first place.

“I feel fine. My core is completely unharmed,” he made sure his surprise was evident in his tone.

The way she visibly relaxed at that confirmed his suspicions of a damaged core. T

“Was the mark removed successfully? I felt the presence of the Fifth.”

“Yes, the High Executor was successful. Not that it was ever in doubt,” there was a hint of pride in her voice. All visible signs of stress had vanished, and she stood as confident as before. “The Fifth did not stand a chance, regardless of how hard she fought. You were never truly in any danger.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

He chose not to doubt her words. There was nothing he could do regardless, a trend he was already coming to despise.

“So, how did he get marked?” Lisa directed the question to the other occupants of the room. “Your organization is supposed to give us a report.”

“Of course,” the tall man that welcomed them first answered. “The reports will be sent to you in a few minutes.”

“Could you just tell us when it happened?” Lee cut in.

“Alright. There was a woman who was with the Director of Extra-planar Relations when you arrived in Lasvania. Her name is Everyl.”

He immediately knew who the man was talking about, of course. Though their encounter was short, her eerie silence and complete lack of qi left enough of an impression on him.

“She is a devout worshipper of the Fifth,” he continued. “The day you arrived was supposed to be the day the Director was dismissed. Everyl started praying to the Fifth about it at least a month ago. We are not sure exactly when it happened, but at some point, the Fifth heard her prayers. She started manipulating the fate of the lower realms. We have long stopped constantly monitoring the fate of the lower realms, and so she was able to continue undetected throughout. Her meddling was likely a part of the reason you could ascend at the time you did. Naturally, this tied you to her and gave her a valid claim over you. Which is why she could mark you and stay undetected for so long.”

Lee took a moment to process all that he had just heard. Suddenly, events that had seemed like merely simple coincidences were looked at from a different perspective. Perhaps the awakening of the cultivation pod a year before its expected date was a result of such meddling. It was easy to see why no one had paid it any mind, after all, such predictions often had a generous margin for error.

Even more telling was how quickly the entire arrangements to proceed were concluded. The High Council was far from a body that was in agreement. It only existed to prevent Great Lords from going to war again after the last Sect War. That didn’t stop them from hating each other, unfortunately, so most meetings usually just devolved into petty bickering and pointless disagreements.

Though the pod belonged to the Lightning Peak sect, there was an agreement to give the power of the use of certain artefacts to the Council. None of the owners liked it, but it was better than dying in a war and having your killers use it for their own empowerment.

Still, though it had been unusual, he had simply attributed it to the Council’s desire to reduce the power imbalance between Lightning Peak and the other sects. Suddenly having three new Great Lords had caught them unprepared and caused the Dragon Lord’s enemies to become nervous. He had believed his ascension was a compromise made to reduce the risk of conflict there. Yet now that the Fifth’s intervention was known...

A dozen other situations came to mind. Each inconsequential and easily dismissed as coincidence. Viewed together with the knowledge of the Fifth’s meddling, the pieces finally started falling into place. He had wondered why his ascension had been so easy.

Did the Fifth’s aid also extend there? It was almost a given, when he thought about it. The thought that their entire lives could have been simply bowing to the whims of some powerful cultivator from a higher realm was worrying. Ultimately, there was nothing he could do about it yet, given his position at the bottom. He could ponder the existential implications of fate manipulation later.

“Does the Fifth had valid claims on me then? I do not think I would be here without her interference.” he asked the man, curious.

“Whether they’re valid or not doesn’t matter,” it was Lisa that answered him. “What is important is that the Lasvanian government has laid claim to you. Attempting to claim what belongs to Lasvania is considered an act of aggression. The Fifth was stupid to even consider it as an option.”

“She is right. The validity of those claims ceased to matter the moment the government claimed you publicly,’ the man took over, then turned to Lisa. “The leading theory is that she is betting on mutual destruction to guarantee her safety while she openly challenges us.”

“Mutual destruction? Does she not know that will not work.”

“Not individually. But the combined deterrence of the Union is a powerful force. Plus, we’ve been preaching peace and pacifism for the past century and half. The consensus is that our unwillingness to fight is a weakness that can be exploited.”

“That is not surprising,” she sounded disappointed. “Any ideas on what the policy direction might be?”

“You would probably know better than me. I’m just a mid-level grunt. There are rumours that the hawks are gaining more support, but that’s nothing more than speculation. But I imagine it’ll be hard to just let this slide.”

“It will be. Thank you for your help. Do you know when any of this information will be made public?”

“It should be within the week. The High Congress will need to deliberate on it publicly, so the information will have to be released.”

From the small frown on her face, he thought Lisa was not a big fan of that. Neither was he, honestly. He would much rather do without all the attention the publicity would inevitably bring.

“I think I am done here,” the Executor spoke up. She had been mostly silent since. “I will take my leave now. Do take care, Xiao Lee.”

She vanished from the room after that leaving the rest of them standing in silence.

“Please keep me updated on any important information,” Lisa said to the man. “I’d rather not be caught blindsided by anything.”

“No problem. Though I doubt you would need me to, Cliver will be hot for a while. The tremann issue was just a precursor. This will break the dam and cause a lot of outrage. Lee, you might be asked for a report of your interaction with Everyl in her upcoming trial. It shouldn’t be an issue though.”

“What do you think will come out of the trial?” Lisa asked.

“i doubt it will be anything substantial. There’s going to be a lot of hate and outrage against the Fifth and her people soon and some politicians will probably want to win points with her arrest, but there’s ultimately been little proof of anything malicious. She’ll get a small fine that Director Elise will help her pay, at most.”

“Alright. We will be going now, if that is all.”

A portal bloomed in front of them, and they stepped through it, thankful that the ordeal was finally over.

Lee barely heard the man telling him to take care, lost in thought as he was.