Chapter 25: Secret Meeting

Mila and her companions were sent inside a large tent placed over a dueling platform, which was located at the edge of the tournament's area. A blond man in dark gray clothing was waiting for them, the rest of the space was empty.

"You are our first prisoners, so we won't kill you yet." He said without turning around. The captives could only see his back, the man was looking at the plain wall, for some reason.

"We will answer everything you ask. There's no need for any harsh methods."

"Oh? Aren't you loyal to your sect?"

"We are more loyal to ourselves and our survival."

Mila answered unhesitantly. She had big brown eyes, but her common face didn't help her much. Her hair was short and black; she appeared to be an ordinary young woman. She wasn't at the level of Average-guy, but one would easily forget her face.

"I like that, it'll make things easier. However, how do I know whatever you tell me is true?"

"You don't need to worry about the veracity of it. In fact, we willingly came all the way here because we knew this raid would be a failure. The only thing we ask in return is safety."

She was lying, obviously. But she said it all with so much confidence that even her own companions started doubting if this had been planned ahead.

Did she really have important information?

Sort of. Her group had to get the attacking side sect's uniform from somewhere, so they also interrogated the ones they stole the clothes from.

They knew what every disciple of the Flaming Swamp Sect knew, but that was enough. It was more information than whatever Gray Grass Sect's defense line had.

"Alright, if you won't lie, tell me. Why are you so sure we're going to win this battle?"

The blond man finally turned around as he spoke, revealing his face, in which a pair of clouded white eyes rested. He was blind, but had an expression of someone who had seen it all.

"I'll be happy to tell you."

…

"So Flying Leaf Sect is in this too…" Feng Mai muttered after she heard what the blond man had just explained.

Half of the people present turned their gazes towards a certain direction, or rather, at a certain person.

"Ling Zhou, isn't your uncle the Vice Sect-Leader of that place?" Fang Chang spoke in a questioning tone. He was lying on a private bed at the corner of the building with his eyes squinted. Large curtains covered the front and his left; the other directions were covered by walls.

It was a closed and private space, so it was being used to hold important meetings.

Many people were around the bed: Ling Zhou, who was playing with the bottle of pills he had recently recovered, Feng Mai, the blond blind man named Fauss, Stick-boy, who nobody had invited and an unknown girl that seemed to be sleeping as she stood.

Neither Average-guy or Wang Fan, the Pickle Lord, was present. They were still in bed, unconscious.

Those present weren't the leaders of the disciples of the Sect; they had just formed their own administration. The reason why Fauss was the first to interrogate the captives was because he owned the tent. He was resting inside when they brought the prisoners, it was a misunderstanding, but he played along.

Now everybody followed his orders and he didn't know why.

"Uh, y- yes I think he is."

"..."

"..."

"So, you knew about this from the beginning…"

"I-It couldn't be said that I knew everything-"

"Guys, tie him up!"

"No! W-Wait I'm on your side! N-No, don't touch me!"

In a blink of an eye, he had been tied up to the bed; his bottle of pills was also taken away from him.

"My pills! Give me back my pills!"

"The captives also mentioned someone they had orders to obey from the sect. It must be him." Fauss continued.

"Sigh… Junior Brother, you were a spy all along?"

"..."

Ling Zhou only closed his eyes. Now there were two people who seemed to be sleeping.

"Haaa…" Fang Chang let out a breath, leaning his head on the pillow.

"Did they say anything else?"

"Right, they told me half of their forces haven't arrived yet. The people from the Flying Leaf Sect, they're on the way.

"What!?" Fang Chang got up again.

"Are you telling me, the longer the battle drags on, the worse our chances get?" The unknown girl asked.

"Yes, but that also means we still have a chance." Feng Mai retorted, trying to maintain the hopes of victory.

She had been through a lot in the past couple hours, so she had matured quite a bit.

Death almost gets her, then she had to carry Wang Fan all the way here with an injured arm, took care of him, cheered people up as she witnessed death and suffering, treated other's wounds and made this meeting possible.

Word came out that only two people, herself included, had managed to defeat ten at the same time and returned alive, so her reputation improved a lot; people had started to respect her more.

But what was the use of that now? They were all probably going to die soon. She only wanted to rest, but had to keep going just for that tiny chance of victory; for that little drops of hope.

"That's what they told me. We have to defeat-"

"Why don't we just go together and kill them! I'm Stick-boy who can stop me!?"

"Shut up kid. Wait, why are you here?"

"I can be wherever I want! I'm- Ugh, what are you doing!!?"

"Cover his mouth, and put him next to Ling Zhou."

"W-Wait I didn't do anything wrong thou- mmphhh!"

Stick-boy got the same treatment they gave Ling Zhou, and a little more because they put a gag in his mouth. The latter, noticing the fuss, turned to look at Stick-boy, who was right next to him.

They exchanged glances for a second, but didn't do anything else.

"Alright, we will start with the plans. Any ideas?"

"We can use Ling Zhou to make a deal…"

…

Two or three kilometers away from the Medical Grass, Adam had just turned back into his Yi Ren appearance. He had walked quite a lot, so his face had already fully regenerated.

Everyone he had encountered along the way, be them friend or foe, was dead. Fortunately for the Gray Grass Sect, the majority were enemies.

His attire had completely changed; he now wore luxurious black robes that accentuated his slim figure and gave him gentle yet dangerous vibes. His brown hair was clean and neatly cut, making him look much better than when he had a cubical haircut.

Adding to that, a black sword hung from his waist; people had to take him seriously now.

Yi Ren had opted for a costume that triggered caution in his enemies and trust in his allies. It drew much more attention than before, but he didn't mind it anymore, he was leaving.

It is worth noting that everything he was wearing was stolen: the sword, the clothes and even his shoes, it all came from Qeris one way or another. She didn't have any male clothing inside her space ring, she only had women's clothes, but the guard he killed with a sneak attack did.

Not only that, the rings contained food, water, supplies, pills, weapons, money and even camping tools. It could be said Yi Ren was rich now.

'I killed thirty people from the Flaming Swamp Sect and five from this one. There still should be around two hundred and fifty invaders excluding those above Second Realm. The best case scenario is that everyone dies in a heated battle, but that won't happen…'

"Or will it?"

He pondered, walking closer to a very familiar place; one where he had spent many hours showcasing his little inventions along with two other weird guys, but had now been turned into a brown field of debris.

The sun rays didn't reach here anymore, even with the absence of the gray building that protected the passerby with its shade.

"Haa…"

'It's time to leave, once and for all.' He inwardly said after a short sigh.

After scanning the area with his eyes for some time, he finally found the exact location of the object he was looking for.

'It should be ready. I planned for three whole years for this moment. Now, finally…' One of his hands moved a piece of rubble to the side while the other reached the place below it. A peculiar scene unfolded before his eyes: a perfect square of grass that was still intact.

"Found you." He whispered, putting his hand on top of it. When it made contact, he felt a stream of clean energy rushing to inside his body, immediately breaking some sort of transparent barrier.

-First Realm, 8th level!

-First Realm 9th level!

"No, wait, stop!" Yi Ren quickly took his hand away from the green square, looking at it as it was some sort of evil being.

'Do you know how hard it was to hold back!?' He screamed in his mind as if the thing he had buried inside a year and a half ago could hear him.

"How do I do this?"