"Damn you, stop! Don't you dare enter the clan without my permission!" Fonter got up with a start and shouted upon seeing the trio walk past him.
"Is your house far away?" Compass Carburettor ignored the shouts of a certain someone and continued to talk with Ranze.
"Bastard, don't you dare ignore me." Fonter was offended as the air around him trembled before he unsheathed a sword and leapt towards Ranze, displaying surprising agility.
It was apparent that he had a Human Martial Spirit, one whose attribute raised his agility, allowing him to rush at Ranze.
But, he had only taken a few steps when Compass Carburettor and Grisha turned around, shooting a glare at him.
Thump!
His heart thumped in response as Fonter felt the world around him turning hazy in response as the figures of the two glaring individuals seemed to be growing in size, causing him to hallucinate as if a mountain was pressing down on him, making him slump on the ground, gasping for air as he was drenched in sweat.
It was a simple suppression of Martial Spirits.
Fonter had a Human Martial Spirit while Compass Carburettor and Grisha had Heaven Martial Spirits, two Tiers above him. Due to that, he was naturally suppressed, unable to gather any strength against them.
This wouldn't have happened if he had a strong enough cultivation to overcome the suppression. But, he too had only begun cultivating recently, only at the First Layer of the Origin Refinement Stage.
So, he wasn't even able to lift his head against them.
"M-Martial Spirit Suppression!" The guards were alarmed as one of them muttered, "They must possess Earth Martial Spirits. That's how they were able to suppress Young Master Fonter."
Ignoring their gasps, the trio continued to walk further away, completely ignoring Fonter that was on the ground.
"He'll definitely bear a grudge for this." Compass Carburettor smiled, "Let's see what methods he comes up with. Hopefully, he can become a good whetstone for my training."
'This guy…is terrifying.' Ranze shuddered, noticing how Compass Carburettor had seen through Fonter with a mere glance.
And from the looks of it, he was actually looking forward to Fonter's retaliation.
"Didn't you say that it'll be annoying if they disturb your cultivation?" Ranze asked in confusion.
"If the race is just based on who attains the highest cultivation stage fastest, then you're right. It'll be a waste of time to deal with such annoyances." Compass Carburettor smiled, "But, that's not how it'll be. System Hosts wouldn't directly face us, at least, not the bunch that's after us this time. They'll plan carefully to first whittle down our allies."
"Only after we're stranded, alone, would they appear before us. You can expect at least ten poisons in our body and a loss of few limbs before they make their appearance." Compass Carburettor smirked, "And, how do you think I'll be able to handle that?"
Compass Carburettor pointed to his back as Ranze noticed Fonter's face full of indignation, "He'll obviously try to poison me at least a few times as revenge. If I don't fight or encounter various situations, I won't get experience in using my abilities."
"So…yeah, engaging in pointless banter of calling one another trash is what I consider a waste of time." Compass Carburettor smirked, "As for schemes, I'll be glad to face them. After all, what I'll face in the future would be many times worse than what these people can make me experience."
"There are a few more from where they come from," Ranze spoke once he digested Compass Carburettor's words.
"That's the spirit." Compass Carburettor smiled as he patted Ranze's shoulder, "We'll slowly offend these young masters one after another."
"You're returned, Ranze." A mellow voice resounded, breaking their chatter as Ranze gazed at the source of the voice, smiling in response.
"Sorry that I returned so soon, mother." Ranze smiled wryly.
"It's fine." His mother brushed his hair, "It doesn't matter if you didn't get a strong Martial Spirit. You'll still be safe in our Clan."
"But still, to think Xuer, that gullible child awakened a Heaven Martial Spirit." His mother sighed in worry, "I hope she's able to handle the pressure accompanying her increase in status."
"I'm sure she'll be fine." Ranze smiled before pointing at the two behind him, "I forgot to introduce my friends to you. Hazen and Lanela, I met them while performing a mission for Elder Galda. They hope to stay here for a couple of months."
"Welcome!" She cupped her fists, smiling at Compass Carburettor and Grisha, "I'll make arrangements for your stay. Ranze hasn't had any luck with friends lately. So I'm glad that he met the both of you."
"The pleasure's ours." Compass Carburettor cupped his fists in response, "We'll be imposing on you, aunty."
Her name was Mella, and even though she was middle-aged, she appeared a lot younger, enough to seem like Ranze's older sister.
Though, as Compass Carburettor look around the Clan, he noticed the trend among everyone at the place, inquiring Ranze about that.
"Oh, that's because of the Martial Spirit that most of our Clan members awaken." Ranze replied, "It's the Human Martial Spirit, Kirin. The attribute it generates allows us to explode with strength, speed, and defence for short durations. It also slows down our aging process, causing our Clan members to remain in our prime longer than every other cultivator."
"Ah, the name of Opposition Clan makes sense now," Grisha said.
"Yeah, it's due to the Kirin that we were able to charge forth as the vanguard in the rebellion of the past." Ranze nodded, "Though, that's a thing of the past. We've grown a lot weaker in recent times, with only our previous Clan Head being in the Martial Providence Stage."
'A declining Clan with a glorious past, a genius that awakens a trash power that is secretly the strongest, a marriage bond with a stronger Clan's future leader…yep, all conditions have been met.' Compass Carburettor smiled, watching Grisha enter the house, following Ranze and his mother.
At the entrance, he paused, turning around to gaze at the Clan entrance far away, focusing as he was able to spot a luxurious carriage approaching. It was barely bigger than a dot in his vision.
And upon seeing the carriage, he smiled, shaking his head as he entered the house.
