"Wait!" An elder of the Golden Crow Sect called out once more. Despite Dyon's intention to leave, neither the Golden Crow Sect, nor the Flame Rebirth or Fiery Lotus Sect elders moved. How could they? Although their upper management had all gone to the Conference, they would still need to answer to their Sect Leaders for this matter eventually.
Dyon's features twitched with impatience. "What do you want?"
Seeing Dyon's blatant disregard for them as elders, how could the five of them not feel uncomfortable? Still, they were forced to swallow their anger.
"I accept that God Goldeen was killed, but what of our Golden Crow Sect's Epistemic Key?" The leading elder of the Golden Crow Sect continued. He wasn't of the Goldeen or Crow families, but he had managed to work his way up the ranks despite this truth.
His name was Elder Aarush. He had brown skin and a slight stature, but it was clear he wasn't very good at controlling his temper. Despite his words sounding calm to a blind man, the twitching vein that looked more like a wiggling python on his forehead told a different story.
"Isn't it obvious? I've gifted it to my wife. You've improperly titled this treasure." Dyon said without care. "It isn't your Sect's key, it's the Golden Flame Quadrant's Key."
Those who heard Dyon's words were stunned into silence, this was especially so for Melisende who suddenly understood the reason for Dyon's serious expression. If this hadn't been exposed here, then maybe thing would have been fine. But, now that it had, how could they allow them to leave so easily?
"You…" Elder Aarush's chest heaved through his robes. For such an action to be so visible despite how skinny he was, it could be imagined just how much anger he was trying to suppress.
For Elder Aarush who didn't have protection of any of the pillar clans of their sect, to have his name tied to such a folly was tantamount to death. It didn't matter that he wasn't within the mystical world to change things, nor did it matter that Christian III's death had nothing to do with him. There would definitely be a scapegoat, and it definitely couldn't be the already dead Scions, nor could it be the inner disciples because they were all children of either the Goldeen or Crow Clans…
"This is intolerable. To take the treasures of the Golden Crow Sect, it doesn't matter how large the Clan backing you is, no one would accept this slight!" Elder Aarush roared.
However, his rage was only met with laughter.
Dyon's hand swept across his forehead, wiping off sweat from the unquenchable heat that pervaded the space around them. It was then that his eyes suddenly sharpened, their golden hue piercing through the veil of space and landing upon Aarush's body.
Elder Aarush suddenly trembled, involuntarily taking a step back. By the time he realized he as a Dao Expert had actually been startled by the gaze of a celestial, his face had already been lost.
It was impossible for Aarush to remember the last time he had felt so humiliated. He had become a Lower Dao Formation Realm warrior several ten thousand years ago. Even when it came to Vice Master Melisende, he had no need to give her any face at all. The only person who gave him the slightest bit of pressure was Dyon because of his background.
The quality of experts in the Golden Crow Sect were on an entirely different level in comparison to the Flaming Lily Sect. This was obvious considering the latter sent their Vice Master while the other sent a normal elder.
Melisende and Aarush actually had practically the same cultivation, but Aarush was a mere eighth ranked elder. If the ancestors were ignored, Melisende was the second strongest in her sect, while Aarush was the tenth (taking into account the Sect Master and Vice Master). If Ancestors were taken into account, the disparity was even larger!
Yet, a man who could so wholly look down on Vice Master Melisende had taken a step back in the face of a celestial!
"I don't have the time to bullshit with you. You have one of two choices. You either fuck off, or you lose your life here. Which one is it?" Dyon asked.
For the Flame Rebirth and Fiery Lotus Sects who could only manage to send Pseudo-Dao experts, Dyon's words felt exceptionally weighty. But for Elder Aarush, they were no less than a slap to the face.
However, he had to remain rational. While it was true that both he and Melisende were both Lower Dao Expert, Melisende was a third stage dao formation expert while he was still in the second stage. In the Dao Realm, even a single meridian made a massive difference, let alone a whole stage.
If Melisende and he fought, he could hold on for a few hundred exchanges due to the superiority of the Golden Crow Sect's Legacy, but he would still undoubtedly lose. How could the Golden Crow Sect teach outsiders their core teachings? Aarush had never been allowed to learn the best they had to offer…
Elder Aarush laughed in anger. "It seems that your Flaming Lily Sect is intent on starting an all-out war with us?"
Knowing he could do nothing to Dyon, Elder Aarush turned his ire toward Melisende. He knew that while Dyon could afford to take the key, the Flaming Lily Sect wouldn't dare to!
So what if Dyon had a massive Clan backing him? Would they cross hundreds of universes to fight a battle for someone else? Impossible!
Melisende suddenly felt a weight on her chest. Aarush was absolute correct. While Dyon could afford to be willful, she couldn't.
The Golden Crow Sect didn't have any obligation to give their sects any face at all. They had been suppressing the three of them, including the Flaming Lily Sect, for so many millennia that it should have already been possible for them to sweep over the quadrant.
In truth, the only reason the Golden Crow Sect was holding back until now was in order to keep a lower profile. While many have forgotten the might of the Golden Crow bloodline, those monsters of the outer quadrants definitely hadn't.
Until now, the Golden Crow Sect had been partially feigning weakness while waiting for the ancestor's plans to be accomplished. If they decided to drop all pretenses, taking command of 60 or 70 Universes just like those largest Clans and Sects did would only be a matter of a few decades.
Others might not know all these hidden truths, but how could Melisende not as the Vice Master of their rival Sect? Although she wasn't aware of the role Orcus played in all of this, she did know that the Golden Crow Sect was more than twice as powerful as their three lower ranked sects put together!
She had to smooth this situation out. Dyon was still young and rash, and while he could speak for himself, Melisende knew that no Clan would take part in a war so far from themselves. And, even if they chose to do so, the payment they would ask for in return wasn't something the Flaming Lily Sect could afford to pay.
However, before she could make her attempt, Dyon had already chosen to speak again. While the Flaming Lily Sect didn't understand the full scope of why the Golden Crow Sect held back, how could Dyon not? He had Orcus' diary, after all. With it, Dyon not only understood the secrets behind the fall of the Golden Crow Sect, he had also learned some truths behind why the Golden Era was the shortest of the four Eras. On top of this, there were secrets about the Ancient Battlefield that opened Dyon's perspective up to an entirely new world…
"Can you, as an elder who carries neither the Goldeen nor Crow Bloodline, take responsibility for declaring war?"
