“Allow me to clarify,” The door closed on its own. “Ming has informed me of what happened. Both of you have done well. We had one of your seniors coordinate in the vicinity as well.”

  Elder Kuveiros brought out an azure crystalline jade, forged into a rectangular shape. An Elder’s cloudmulet, specifically designed to network information between the higher ups of the Seven Clouds. Mists of cloud formed from it, creating a vague shape of a map. Shuren and Ming could faintly note out the features of the three continents’ intersection, from the Volkahor Mountains down to the Silverwoods.

  “This is the region where we've encountered remnants of demonic cultivators the most. West of the Unhallowed Monolith, we’ve found hidden underground teleportation arrays. Usually they’re expensive and inefficient to use, almost impossible to form so many in one place. These were formed taking advantage of underground earth meridians. We can rule out the southern region being the base of this faction.” Elder Kuveiros informed them. “I’ve heard from Ming’s side. Shuren, do you have any crucial information?” Gone was the face of a soft middle-aged man, now a general, waiting for his subordinate’s update.

  “I noticed a brand on one of their necks. It looked like Heaven’s Eye being split in two, with blood seeping out,” Shuren thought back to Yijun’s corpse, her final words ringing in his head.

  “That brand again… Blasphemous, to depict the very thing that blesses us with propagation to be torn asunder,” Elder Kuveiros said, looking out the window. “If you see anyone with those brands, kill them with no mercy. Only those at the dregs of their cults receive it. It has only one purpose: to taunt us righteous factions, throwing their trash at us. Even interrogating them serves no use, as usually small groups being sent out undertake Restriction Oaths and are too low in the hierarchy.”

  *A Restriction Oath… Then that woman must’ve…

  “Elder Kuveiros, I received some hints from one of them before dying.” Shuren recounted the tale of the worm that bore out of Yijun’s chest, alongside her dying words. He noticed the elder look down, rubbing his thumb and index finger over each other.

  His eyes lowered as he made his conjectures, but ended up not informing Shuren of them. Usually they use karmic centipedes, but a worm? And Volkahor Mountains. The sect leader and Elder Wanshang recently combed over that area, yet found nothing. In fact, all our leads point to the south…

  “Shuren, ignore the words of that woman. Demonic beings cultivate taboo Paths and sacrifice others, or even parts of themselves. Most likely it’s a diversion,” Elder Kuveiros ordered, while keeping his thoughts to himself. He changed the subject, ending the matter. Once more, the memories of his junior brother resurfaced in his mind. He could only sigh.

  “You two have done well. Visit the Missive Hall later and you’ll receive your rewards. Now…” Elder Kuveiros eased his expression, and the pressure of an expert dulled. “Shuren, you told Alzu the Testament of Life?”

  He nodded before clarifying himself. “Forgive me, elder, if I encroached.”

  “It is fine. We are all humans at the end of the day. We all have our different beliefs and norms, but they derive from the Grand Paths gifted to us from the Architect,” Elder Kuveiros walked near Shuren and patted his shoulder. “Even if her goals are near impossible, thank you for giving her that hope.”

  After all, hope forged the path that formed between the possible and impossible.

  “Do you know about Alzu’s parents?” Shuren finally asked.

  “I’ll tell you. Alzu’s father once loved a woman from the demonic faction. He exiled himself from our sect to chase her, but I gave him a line to keep in touch. I was… indebted to him,” Elder Kuveiros mentioned, but his words held a long story of the past. “When he convinced that woman to leave her sect, we again entered contact. We at the Seven Clouds gave him an opportunity to come back to the sect, and convert that woman into a righteous cultivator in return for acting as a double agent. Even if the procedure of nullifying her Restriction Oaths were costly, I was willing to recoup that on behalf of the sect.”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Ming paid attention, awkwardly listening from his bed. He wanted to get out long ago, but the elder forced him to lay down to recuperate. Ming forced down a yawn.

  “Mortals machinate, but providence prospers. With the evidence from Ming, I concluded they were caught up in an internal conflict.” Elder Kuveiros couldn’t help but sigh.

  “That means the attackers of the caravan knew?”

  “Yes, they killed their own fellows, and since they specifically collected White Eyes’ goods, I can only assume White Eyes’ rival wanted to destroy the caravan. Though they did leave the goods undamaged, so White Eyes sending out his members to investigate is also just as likely. Pathetic demons, incapable of working together,” Elder Kuveiros said with conceit, frowning as his eyes held the shadow of arrogance. “They value not unity and camaraderie.”

  “Shuren, for saving Alzu and giving her soul sustenance, allowing me to honour my junior brother’s child as her godfather, I leave you with an opportunity. Though you aren’t suitable to be my Core Disciple, I will give you a single favour in the future within reason, I swear this on the spirits,” Elder Kuveiros lifted his finger, and Shuren felt a buzz in his cloudmulet. “With this, you can contact me within the sect premises whenever you want your favour. This goes for you too, Ming. I will also recommend both of you to an elder of your choosing.”

  Both Shuren and Ming couldn’t help but widen their eyes, filled with excitement. The favour of an elder was something that couldn’t have a price on it, especially at a rank as low as theirs. This was a favour that lasted an entire lifetime, and could easily be a trump card for them to solve a crisis, or a connection that opens them up to the world of Grand Pathstriders in the future.

  Elder Kuveiros’s robes swelled, swaying in the absence of wind. “Remember this well. Blood may be thicker than water, but the ties of immortal karma are unbreakable. We will be the clouds that shade you from strife, and the wings that lead you high, ascending beyond your mortal life,” and with a breath, Elder Kuveiros was replaced by clouds, his presence entirely gone.

  Shuren held a hand in his left pocket, walking up to Ming with his other palm outstretched. “How long till you're back in battling business?” Shuren said, clapping Ming’s hand.

  “Three days at most, since I need my nerves and torn meridians to heal up. Since things are gonna pick up, let’s rack up more contributions.” Ming let go, stretching his right shoulder. I suppose I don’t need to think hard on it. We’ll just work together.

  Meridians were the pathways for one’s Qi to flow. Naturally, the injuries of your body would also affect some of your meridians as well.

  Wu Ming wasn’t an idiot. He knew the only reason Shuren taught him the Liu Clan’s technique was to cultivate a stronger connection between them, to forge a brotherhood that lasted a lifetime, even if it was a bare-bones basic technique of his clan. Both Ming and Shuren had a blazing desire to break through to Path Foundation, and sharpening one’s life against the whetstone of strife was one of the fastest ways there.

  “I only got a few wounds compared to you, so I’ll be set in three days. Let me know if you find a missive,” Shuren said, taking off his tattered outer robe. When he tried to open a door knob, Shuren thought back to the elder.

  Ming only nodded in return, finally laying down on his bed. The yawns he forced down finally came out, and he closed his eyes to sleep, “Yeah, I’ll… Let you know…”

  It didn’t take long for snores to take over the silence. Shuren extended his Qi to the doorknob, trying to twist it. Gradually, it turned, and with the click of the lock releasing, the door opened wide. “Hm, I can feel close to breaking through to Stage 10. I just need one more push…”

  With Shuren’s exhaustion at the brink, Shuren stumbled out of the room. He didn’t get far when he bumped into a woman around the corner.

  “Forgiveness, my lady. I just-”

  Shuren cut himself off at her sight. A woman with brown hair, the youngest elder of the Seven Clouds, whose every step exuded arrogance. She didn’t hide the glare in her eyes at his sight.

  No, I can’t deal with this. She’s gonna talk my head off. I’ll just…

  Shuren let his injuries and exhaustion take over his mind, collapsing right in front of Elder Harmony. His last words as he dropped to the floor were of hope. Hope that the elder wouldn’t bug him about prior matters. Hope for rest, and hope for…

  Peace. Please, just let me sleep in peace.