While Ruyue remained deep in her meditation state, Damien found time to visit his master for a serious talk.
He had almost forgotten about it with the sudden insights and progression in the recent months, but he finally remembered it today.
Reentering the main room of Tian Yang's residence where he had been staying for the past 3 months, Damien greeted his master.
"Good morning, Master."
"Mm. Come sit." Tian Yang responded while brewing a pot of tea.
Damien took a seat in front of him and watched, unsure of how exactly to start the conversation.
"It seems you didn't come for a lecture today, so feel free to speak your mind."
Tian Yang could very easily sense the tense atmosphere around Damien today, and he wasn't one to waste time on mindless drivel if there was something more important to talk about.
Damien also appreciated this bluntness, going straight into the topic at hand.
"It's about the mission I went on a few months back. I encountered something I wanted to inform you about since something seemed off the entire time."
Damien proceeded to explain everything that happened during the mission. From the moment they entered the canyon and met the blood fog, to the strange physiques of the devil worshippers, the massive battle and the corruption of corpses, and finally, the devastation left in the wake of the battle between the two strongest beings present.
He made sure he didn't leave out any details, allowing Tian Yang to gain a clear picture of the events. It was imperative that his master understood the severity of the situation.
"With your status, I'm sure you are aware of the Nox and the threat they pose not just to this world, but many others as well. My concern is how they were able to easily infiltrate and corrupt people without anyone noticing.
"After all, the devil worshippers were working in broad daylight, not even attempting to hide the obvious connection they had to the Nox. Anyone who has seen one of those things would instantly recognize it.
"And while they are called devil worshippers, they really have nothing to do with devils at all. Another concern is whether they are being written off as just disciples of another wicked sect or not."
Tian Yang listened to everything without much change in expression, only slightly wrinkling his brows at the mention of the Nox.
He stayed silent for a moment, leaving Damien anxiously waiting before he spoke his thoughts.
"Have you told anyone else about this?"
Damien thought it was an odd question, but shook his head in denial either way.
"Good. It would not be good if panic began to spread to the public due to a slip-up. Now, allow me to explain. When it comes to this matter, you are both correct and incorrect at the same time."
Damien raised his brow, not understanding, but Tian Yang didn't force him to remain confused.
"The peak experts of the world are all aware of the current situation with the Nox, and most of the large sects have also made countermeasures against infiltration. However, their presence in this world has been publicized as a sort of new cult that has emerged.
"Make no mistake, the wickedness of said cult has been openly spread, but knowledge of a possible invasion or planetary world isn't something available to the public.
"However, that doesn't mean everything is safe. There are still suspicions that some powers are colluding with the Nox, it's simply not possible to eliminate them without evidence.
"We are righteous sects at the end of the day. If we move in such a domineering manner, the reputation of our powers would decrease by a large margin. Not to mention, the involved powers will most definitely spread false information to alert the public.
"Even if we can prove these claims true, the seed of doubt that will be planted cannot be erased easily. Such a situation is what we have been avoiding.
"Still, there are plans being formulated to counterattack. Perhaps not the Nox themselves, as their homeworld is still undiscovered to this day, but they are not the ones moving against us with fervor at the moment.
"It is their subordinate power that we must be wary of. A world known is Niflheim."
As Tian Yang finished his speech, Damien was left in a slight shock. He never expected there to be so much happening in the shadows.
There was a reason he never prided himself as a schemer.
There was also the matter with Niflheim. He had no idea the world was close enough to the Cloud Plane for there to be talk of planetary warfare.
'Still, planetary warfare, huh.' Just the thought of such a large scale and epic battle made his blood boil, but he suppressed it forcefully. Now wasn't the time to get battle-hungry.
"Is there anything for me to do, then?" He questioned. It seemed that the higher-ups of the world had everything planned out, but he still wanted to be involved in one way or another.
"Hmm," Tian Yang pondered, looking at Damien with a profound smile on his face. "There's really no reason for you to get involved, is there?"
His tone was clearly teasing, causing Damien to frown a little. "Master should know I have plenty of reasons. My homeworld is also being targeted by the Nox."
"Well, if you told me that when we first met I might have believed you, but are you still going to pretend like that's true?"
Tian Yang was well aware of Damien's personality. Especially in these past few months, he'd been able to clearly see what kind of man Damien was. And with that information, Tian Yang was able to form a guess on his intentions that he was sure of.
'The boy simply wants to be part of such a thrilling adventure.'
The thought made Tian Yang smile, being reminded of himself in his younger days. And seeing how Damien was sheepishly smiling back at him, he knew he was right.
"If you already knew then you didn't have to ask me about it right?" Damien complained. Although it might've been wrong to put up a righteous front, he didn't care much.
He knew how selfish his intentions truly were, and he didn't plan to publicize them at all. Others would surely label him as someone wicked if he did so.
Tian Yang wryly shook his head, arriving at the same conclusion. But his expression turned teasing again in an instant.
Flicking his finger, he sent an arrow of spatial mana towards the closed door to the room.
"Ah!" A startled shout followed by a soft thump rang out, attracting Damien's attention to the beautiful silver-haired figure that had just fallen to the floor.
His eyes went wide, staring at Ruyue who had most likely been eavesdropping on the entire conversation before he turned back and glared at Tian Yang.
There was no way he wouldn't notice her presence if he hadn't covered it up. As for shooting the spatial mana, it was just for show.
After smiling back at the annoyed Damien, Tian Yang turned his gaze back towards Ruyue.
"It's good that you're here. Come, I have something for the both of you."
