Chapter 54. The Envoys.

For the next couple of hours, the sect master and the magisters discussed various issues that required immediate attention and resolution by the sect's leadership. Most of them were directly or indirectly related to the Minor World. For instance, the higher-ups of the sect discussed different scenarios of what the incoming imperial envoy might say, how best to respond, whether he would come alone or with someone else, and whether to send one group into the Minor World or invest in two groups. They deliberated on who the groups would consist of, who would lead them, what they would need, and what training they would require, among many other topics. Periodically, the sect master or the magistrates asked or clarified something with the elders standing nearby, but for the most part, Core Formations experts remained mere observers, silently listening and noting down instructions on how to behave and what needed to be done in the future.

The seemingly endless discussion was interrupted only when a fast-moving airship heading towards the Fire Mountain appeared at the edge of the map-table. This table was, in fact, a remarkable artifact-treasure which was connected to an expensive observation formation that covered a vast area of the sect's lands with its "sight."

On the large thirty-meter map-table, the flying ship seemed incredibly tiny and almost indistinguishable, so much so that without reaching the later levels of Qi Condensation, it would be nearly impossible to spot. This visibility might give the impression that the ship was indeed small, but in reality, such a first impression was very misleading.

The airship was quite large. And to understand how much, one needed to know that the map's scale, created by the artifact, was no less than one to a million. Considering this, after some simple calculations, it was easy to estimate that the ship's length exceeded five hundred meters.

The sect master sent a mental command to the artifact, causing the image of the approaching ship to be greatly magnified, making the details of this monstrous ship structure clearly visible.

The shape of the flying ship was completely different from those mortal crafts, also called ships by misunderstanding, which can often be found on the river expanses of the empire. The flying vessel had no sails, no masts to carry them, nor even a deck in the usual sense. From afar, it resembled a huge oval ingot of black-and-white metal somehow floating in the sky.

These ships earned their name for the fact that many years ago the very first model of this class, as a demonstration of its combat potential, single-handedly successfully wiped off the face of the earth a great clan and a powerful sect disobedient to the emperor...

One such ship, with a full crew of a hundred practitioners at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage and ten at the Core Formation stage, possessed incredible power and could fight on par with cultivators who had reached the later levels of the Nascent Soul stage, provided they did not possess high-ranking Heavenly Treasures.

Of course, for great sects like the Fire Dragon Sect, even ten of these ships did not pose a truly significant threat, especially on their home ground.

The first thing the sect master and the others noticed was the imperial banner towering on top of the ship. Seeing that it was only a medium-ranking banner, many in the hall breathed a sigh of relief, as the worst-case scenario they had considered did not come to pass. The envoy heading their way was merely a high-ranking imperial official, not someone like the prime minister or the emperor himself.

Imperial banners play a significant role in the empire and serve as the primary indicator of their bearer's rank. Thanks to them, any resident of the empire can, at a glance, get at least an approximate idea of how important the person they see is.

The banner depicts a dark moon against a starry sky, eclipsing the sun. Depending on how important the figure is, the size of the dark moon and how well it covers the sun varies. If the dark moon covers only a third of the sun, the banner is considered "small." Such banners are carried by minor officials: city prefects, heads of small garrisons...

If the dark moon covers two-thirds of the sun, the banner is considered "medium," and can only be used by high-ranking officials: the capital's prefect, ministers, etc. A "high" banner, where the moon almost completely covers the sun, is reserved for the most important "servants of the empire": the prime minister, field marshal, heads of knightly orders, and members of the imperial family.

A separate category is the "supreme" imperial banner, symbolizing the emperor's personal presence. It is unique in that it has no sun depicted at all.

According to the agreement between the empire and the Fire Dragon Sect, the sect master was required to personally meet only high-ranking envoys and the emperor himself. For all other lower-ranking guests, it was enough to send one of the elders or magisters. Of course, the sect master could choose to meet a "low-ranking" envoy at the sect's "doorstep" and even escort them to the negotiation venue, which would be considered a great honor to the envoy's faction. But today, the sect master did not intend to show such respect and instead sent the weakest elders to meet the uninvited guests.

As the ship approached, the sect master momentarily deactivated the three protective formations embedded in the sect's walls, allowing the imperial vessel to enter. The ship docked at one of the two specialized air berths, and a group of twenty people disembarked. They were met by the elders sent by the sect master, who promptly led the guests to the palace.

In just a few minutes, twenty-three people entered the main hall, where the sect's leadership was waiting. The man walking in front of all the guests appeared young, tall, and handsome, dressed in a black robe of an imperial official, with a golden guan adorning his head. Although his aura was slightly unstable, which was a sign of his recent transition to a new stage, but it still clearly indicated that he belonged to one of the highest echelons of cultivation, to practitioners who had reached the stage of Nascent Soul.

Two separate groups followed him at a respectful distance, led by even more impressive cultivators at the mid-level Nascent Soul stage.

The first group consisted of eleven very similar individuals, all in identical white robes, with long black hair tied in the same style, and swords emitting a white-blue light on their backs. Some swords were sheathed, some not. And almost all of them, with the exception of the cultivator who led the group, were extremely young: no more than fourteen or fifteen years old. Among all of them, only one of the youths stood out slightly, whose huge silver eyebrows resembled two tilted swords…

But the first thing that stood out about these practitioners was not their physical resemblance to each other but their uniform, slightly chaotic, and sharp auras. Without using any techniques, their mere presence created an "invisible field" around them, cutting anything that came close. This unusual characteristic immediately made it clear to everyone in the hall that this group of guests consisted of members of the great Heavenly Sword Sect, and they were far from the lowest rank.

The second group, also of eleven people, was somewhat different from the first. Each of them seemed sought to be unique with robes of various colors — green, red, blue — adorned with numerous artifact-jewels: bracelets, rings, earrings, necklaces. A young girl even had a creature resembling a flaming sparrow on her shoulder. Their auras were diverse: some blazing with all-consuming fire, others like an immense ocean, some conveying the sensation of fleeting wind. This indicated they were members of the second great sect, the Five Elements Sect.

Except for the three Nascent Soul stage cultivators, all other guests were at the fourth or fifth level of the Qi Condensation stage. Upon entering the hall, the guests bowed slightly to those seated at the table as a sign of respect. Only then did the sect master pause his conversation with the magisters to address them:

"Minister Chen, it is a pleasure to see you on the lands of my sect. "

"And I am pleased to have the opportunity to visit your beautiful halls again, sect master Elendil, " replied the minister, falling silent to allow the sect master to address the representatives of the sects standing behind him.

"Junior Guo of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Junior Tran of the Five Elements Sect, welcome to the palace of the Fire Dragon Sect. It's a pity, of course, that I didn't invite you and that you didn't inform us of your visit."

Author note:

Short update regarding SubscribeStar: The platform denied my account verification, so there will be no bonus chapter releases there. Does anyone know of an alternative platform that doesn't use PayPal and Stripe for withdrawals?