Mt. Hua Sect, Sui Province;
It was the evening. The sun is on the west with only a couple of hours to set.
On the peak of Mt. Hua, as the sect members were training, an old man with a long white beard was walking around with one of the four guardians of the sect, Sui Ping.
This person wearing such simple robes was actually the Patriarch/sect leader Dai Long who was staying in the current position for more than a century.
"So, how is it going with the Sui Clan? Is Weisheng ready to take over the position of Patriarch?" He asked.
Sui Ping is the paternal uncle of Sui Rong who is the grand elder of the Sui Clan. Sui Weisheng himself is the youngest disciple of Dai Long. Unlike the sects in other empires, here under the rule of the Shang Dynasty, the members of the sects don't necessarily stay in seclusion, far away from human society. They can still return to their normal lives at any time.
All the land in the Phoenix Empire ultimately belonged to the Emperor whether an individual or an organization owns it or not. So, to operate the sects, they will have to abide by the rules set by the Imperial family.
Once they gain formal recognition, they can claim territory in the wilderness and build whatever they want freely. If they don't, then, the military can take action against these unlawful people.
These unofficial sects are the reason why the second prince and the other generals are always busy with battles.
Dai Long was also very attentive to his disciples and always kept an eye on their activities.
With all his other remaining alive disciples doing great, his focus shifted to his youngest disciple. He heard the Sui Clan's demolition. So, he couldn't help but worry about the mental state of Sui Weisheng.
When asked about Weisheng, Guardian Sui Ping's face stiffed. He answered a bit hesitatingly, "Well, ever since the defeat of Sui Clan, he became a little bit obsessed with raising his strength."
Dai Long nodded as if he expected it, "he is still young. An unparallel genius like him won't take the defeat, easy. Send a message to your clan that I'm summoning him."
Sui Ping slightly bowed, "it'll be done."
"What about that Lu Zhen? Did you find his backer?" Dai Long enquired about Mark.
"So far, nothing," Sui Ping shook his head with a darkened expression, "We don't know where and when he gets his weapons to come from.
According to the report, he left the Imperial City for some business, probably to meet his manufacturer. Since the Emperor gave him the land to build an estate with a smithy, he will be sure to visit the land.
I have sent a couple of spies to Lake Shijing. They will inform when he arrives there."
Dai Long let out a long sigh as he stared at the horizon, "a new form of weapons. A new Spirit Path that doesn't need ether energy. A flying weapon that can defeat a 7-circle realm like Sui Rong. Times are changing, Sui Ping."
"It doesn't have to be, Sect master." Sui Ping voiced his opinion on the matter. When Dai Long glanced at him, the latter further stated, "Changes that come in turbulent times might be good ones but changes that come in a peaceful time will bring nothing but chaos. We shouldn't be indifferent to it and try stopping it."
"Is it really your own opinion or were you just acting emotionally because your clan is involved?" Dai Long questioned him right away.
Sui Ping shook his head and tried to defend himself, "no, I don't specifically aim at Lu Zhen or the mysterious manufacturer of the firearms. I'm only saying that we…"
All of a sudden, two guards rushed towards them while screaming, "Sect master… sect master…"
Dai Long and Sui Ping turned around at the same time.
Stopping before them, they started taking heavy breaths. One of them spoke, "it's an emergency."
"What is it?" Sui Ping asked them while furrowing his brows. "What is the matter that is so important that both of you rushed here all the way from the bottom instead of informing through communication talisman?"
One of them met his eyes with the both of them and informed, "We confirmed that Dungeon of Taslan was cleared."
While Dai Long was calm, Sui Ping let out a snort, "what's so special about it? Elder Pan took 22 elite members with him. It will be a walk in the park for them. Did they find some Earth grade (semi-divine) treasure or something?"
But, the facial expressions of the guards don't look that good. Dai Long captured that and said, "Finish what you want to say."
The Elite guard then continued, "The dungeon wasn't cleared by Elder Pan. It is someone else. We didn't confirm the matter but according to the message we received from the communication hall, Elder Pan ran into the fifth princess and her Imperial guards in the core region."
As soon as the guard spoke of the possible enemy's identity, both of their facial expressions changed.
"Continue." Dai Long spoke with a cold gaze. Based on the guard's expression, anyone could guess what happened next.
The guard then said, "Elder Pan's life crystal was shattered. The fifth princess was the only one that got alive. All the Imperial guards who accompanied the princess and all the elite guards under Elder Pan were found to be dead. An unidentified body and a dead horse were found along with other corpses."
"Shang Jiao, the precious daughter of Emperor Fu." Sui Ping gritted his teeth in anger. He was already angry with the Imperial family for letting Mark away with his crime but now, their elder was killed by the youngest child of the Imperial family? It was one setback after another. He was naturally filled with rage.
He turned towards Dai Long, "Sect Master, the Imperial family went too far, this time."
Dai Long raised his hand with a serious expression. An Elder in the six-circle realm is indispensable to any group or organization. Along with him, about 22 elite members in the 5-circle realm also became casualties. Who knows how many of them have the potential to break through in a few years.
As Sui Ping stopped speaking, Dai Long stared at the guard, "is there anything else you want to report?"
