For obvious reasons, this set off chain reaction of finger pointing. And, unfortunately for those who sided with Soul Market, they were in the inferior position.
Still, this wasn't even the worst part. With the failure of the sub-arrays, they had lost their means of communication with their employers, which was an absolute worst-case scenario.
The last time these employers had come of their own volition was already more than a thousand years ago, who knew when or if they'd ever come again!
While their employers could afford to be negligent, they couldn't. If things went south, all of this would be blamed on them and their years of relaxation and comfort would come to an end. So, no matter how they felt, they all had to come.
As weird as it might sound for them all to refer to this one family as their employer, this was just the truth of the matter. Plus, when the details were laid out, it was just simpler to refer to them as an employer versus anything else…
For one, none of them knew which mysterious family this was outside of their business transaction. Two, none of them understood the motives of this family for crippling the soul path in such a way. And three, their performance was graded and compensated according to this grade. In fact, the strongest families and sects among them were those that had contributed the most during the war.
Before this employer appeared, the energy path of Soul Rend Quadrant was at a fierce disadvantage, and for good reason. It was only because of these subtle strings being pulled in the background that they managed to fight their way back up and eventually overthrow the soul path in a bloody war.
Still, it was a bit odd, was it not? How could they all still be so fearful of this mysterious employer despite not witnessing their deeds firsthand? Well, that was because only those of Soul Rend Quadrant understood just how powerful those of the soul path were… Yet, this employer destroyed them without sending a single warrior…
There's only one family name that needs to be mentioned for anyone and everyone to understand just how fear-inducing such a feat was. Just the fact that this family couldn't survive the machinations of this employer was enough…
It was a family that had existed for trillions of years, a family that stood among the founding fathers of not some random civilization, or city, or universe… They were among the founding fathers of cultivation itself.
This family name was one Dyon had come to learn was rooted with astounding foundation. And yet, they were almost completely wiped out by an invisible hand playing tricks under the cover of night.
This family was none other than the Jafari family.
...
"That's enough."
At that moment, the room fell into a deep silence. Those of both sides heeded the words of this man because he held the highest moral position here.
Not only had he not participated in soul market, it was also his very own younger brother that they had lost communication with.
He was the current head of the Nova family, and elder brother to Elder Nova.
Despite being the elder of the two, he looked like a 25-year-old man while Elder Nova looked closer to about 60. It was clear that his cultivation was far more profound than his younger brother's, but that didn't make him lose any familial love he had for Elder Nova.
Knowing this, did the previous elder have the right to continue complaining about money and resources when a man had potentially lost his brother?
"Forget the past and leave it be. We're here to move forward and find solutions. Those who should be blamed will be handle later.
"For now, we need to go over what we know.
"Firstly, whoever this enemy is has the ability to deal with or potentially kill my brother, or else this plan of theirs would never have succeeded. Although my younger brother is fairly weak in comparison to true dao formation experts, he is still considered as such and shouldn't be looked down upon. Therefore, take this seriously.
"Secondly, the enemy must be aware of who we are. For them to cut off our path to encroaching upon their gained territory can only mean that they were prepared for the trickle-down effects of their actions.
"The third point falls into two potential categories, however both of which are connected to the information we received about the gate's threshold falling to the essence level.
"The first possibility is that the enemy is fairly weak, likely meaning that they only barely managed to defeat my brother and are aware that they cannot face us outright.
"However, the second possibility is the more serious of the two. There is a possibility that this enemy does have the ability to deal with us, but is apprehensive not because of our power, but rather the power of the employer.
"I believe that we should move forward with the second possibility as our first assumption. We cannot afford to make anymore mistakes."
Many of the various elders, masters and family heads agreed. After all of this, what they needed was some very straight forward and barebones analysis.
However, many of the sharper individuals who understood the politics of their 99 universes knew that this wasn't over… And just like clockwork, the burly Master of the Profound Earth Sect chuckled lightly.
"I believe you're forgetting another possibility, don't you think, Head Nova?"
Head Nova's eyes sharpened as the temperature of the room seemed to drop several degrees.
"Forgive him for his crude words, Head Nova. But, you have to admit that he is right."
The tension in the room rose with the additional words of the Head of the Ceres family chimed in. Yet, he continued unperturbed.
"In these sorts of a situations, history matters. You have to remember why a man who comes from such an esteemed family and has such strength was chosen to act as a guard dog."
The more Head Ceres spoke, the more tension rose. It was obvious to everyone what was happening.
The Ceres family and the Profound Earth Sect both took part in the soul market profits while the Nova family did not. Obviously, this was a massive hit to their prestige...
Knowing this, how could they miss a chance to knock the Nova family down a peg?
"The Second Prince of your Nova family was caught attempting to rape the First Princess of the Sona family, resulting in her shame, her suicide attempt, and current coma. It is because of your prestige that he was sent to man a position usually headed by the weaker families and sects, turning a position that was often rotated amongst many individuals, to one manned by a single person."
The Head of the Sona family family clenched his jaw, but said nothing. He hated the second prince to his core, but he also hated Head Ceres for using his granddaughter's tragedy for the sake of his own political gain.
"A rapist, even in failure, is still one in my eyes. That said…" Head Ceres' eyes sharpened. "Just how convenient was it that his banishment perfectly coincided with the construction of the soul market?"
"What are you trying to say?" Head Nova finally spoke, a clear rumbling rage slowly erupting from the depths of his throat.
"You're intelligent." The Master of the Profound Earth Sect sneered. "I'm sure you understand already.
"Your younger brother's character is already clear to everyone here. Yet, he became the lone guard dog of such a weak universe? Was that really a punishment? Or was that just a helpful excuse for your Nova family to net all the profits for yourselves?
"To everyone here, your family is so noble, not even taking part in the oh so immoral soul market. But, what if you were the leaders of it all to begin with."
Those words were like an anvil being dropped in a calm lake. Regardless of their motives… Their words were reasonable.
Head Ceres put his hand out, stopping the Master Ore from continuing.
"There's no need for us to accuse the Nova family of such a thing. I for one believe in their righteousness. However, what I do not believe in is the righteousness of a rapist.
"The possibility that you've left out in protection for your younger brother is the possibility that he is the one behind all of this.
"Who would know who we are? Who would know how to stop the function of our arrays? Who would have reason to run from their post and take all the profits of soul market for himself?
"Wouldn't your brother know who we are? Wouldn't he be powerful enough to look down on that weak quadrant with impunity? Wouldn't he have reason to escape his sentence as guard dog after so many years?
"Tell us, is that not reasonable?"
