Briefing

Upon reaching the top of the spiral staircase, Hanli stepped into a circular room where countless swords were stabbed into the wooden floor.

Hanli wondered who built the Heavenly Thunder Pavilion to make it so sturdy against this many weapons. 

As he entered the room, Hanli looked at the plaque nailed to the entrance of the room.

"Sword Grave, the Thunderbolt Sword Devil's personal trophy room." Hanli muttered to himself.

His gaze then landed on the swords within the room.

Some swords had dents all over their blades, while other swords were sliced in half by a powerful force. 

Some swords were drowned in holy light while some swords were decorated with yellow cinnabar talismans. 

And some swords…Well, most people wouldn't call them swords.

Having a single-edged blade that was curved and designed for cutting and slashing, most martial warriors would refer to them as sabers.

Hanli didn't understand why the sword maniac called Thunderbolt Sword Devil would collect sabers as well, but who was he to judge?

On the side, several swords hummed harmoniously when Hanli walked by them. 

They were the few swords that had yellow cinnabar talismans stuck on their scabbards.

'So these are the Demonic Swords used by the ancient Demon Lords of a destroyed era.' Hanli scanned the sealed demonic swords laying by the side of the room, before he shook his head and walked away.

And while several other swords did catch his eye, Hanli quickly made his way to the end of the trophy room. 

He didn't want to make the Alliance Leader wait for him.

There, a pair of wooden doors swung open before he could even react.

"If you have spotted a few swords that you like, take them. I know the Heavenly Dragon will put them to good use." 

A thunderous voice resounded through the room as a white bearded old man slowly walked out to greet Hanli.

Seeing the old man, Hanli cupped his fist and bowed towards the old man before he revealed a smile. 

"The Heavenly Dragon greets the Alliance Leader. Thank you for the offer, but I already possess an outstanding sword. I don't cultivate a multiweapon martial art so having more swords would only be a burden to me."

"It's fine. I only made you an offer since I noticed you were checking out some old swords just now. Anyways, I'm sure you know why I've ordered you to come here, right?"

Hanli nodded his head before he replied, "The shadow agent briefed me about it yesterday. I have to attend a banquet in the name of the Heavenly Martial Alliance, is that all?"

"Not quite…But yes, I want you to attend an event." The Alliance Leader paused for a moment before he walked back into his quarters.

Hanli saw this and followed along.

Heavenly Thunder Pavilion, Thunderbolt Sword Devil's Quarters

Once inside, the Alliance Leader sat down at his table before he opened a drawer and took out a letter with a red seal on it.

Hanli immediately recognised the red seal and said, "The banquet is hosted by the Nine Great Mountains & Five Great Clans?"

The Alliance Leader nodded his head. 

He paused for a moment before he continued on. 

"Although the Nine Great Mountains & Five Great Clans have been living in harmony with the Unorthodox Path for over a century now, the Nine Great Mountains in particular, have been openly hostile towards the Unorthodox Path's strongest sect, the Green Forest Stronghold for a while now."

"What does that have to do with us, the Heavenly Martial Alliance? We are a neutral force that oversees all paths with absolute fairness. Unless the Green Forest Stronghold starts to harm the civilians, the alliance has no right to interfere with the affairs of the Orthodox and Unorthodox paths." Hanli said indifferently.

Since the oath made by the 35th leader of the Heavenly Martial Alliance, the alliance has always operated and governed the sects within the continents fairly.

No matter which path they were from, as long as the opposing party had the evidence to back up their claim, then the Heavenly Alliance would meet out punishment according to the party's offense.

This in turn had soured the relationship between the Heavenly Martial Alliance and the orthodox sects, but the alliance continued their operations normally.

Because in reality, most of the sects currently possessed little to no talented disciples.

Most of the talented disciples have already entered the Heavenly Martial Alliance at a young age to be nurtured into outstanding martial warriors.

So if push comes to shove, the orthodox sects wouldn't be able to handle a full blown war against the Heavenly Martial Alliance armies.

Thinking so, Hanli didn't understand why the Nine Great Mountains & Five Great Clans would send an invitation to the Heavenly Martial Alliance.

By logic, the Nine Great Mountains & Five Great Clans hated the Heavenly Martial Alliance more than the Unorthodox Path.

As for the Alliance Leader, he had a rough guess about the invitation this time. 

"Hanli, just know that you won't be going alone. I will send my two grandchildren to accompany you to the banquet."

"Wait, if you're sending me as the alliance's representative, wouldn't bringing more people only burden me while I carry out my mission?"

"Not this time. I did some digging and found out that the theme of this banquet was the Revival of the Dragons and Phoenixes. I speculate that the Nine Great Mountains & Five Great Clans are hoping that the alliance would not give them any face and send them a normal martial expert as their guest."

"Then, under the guise of having no respect towards them, the Nine Great Mountains & Five Great Clans will announce the revival of the Dragon Phoenix Tournament again. But the only way to join the tournament is to be a disciple of the Nine Great Mountains & Five Great Clans. This in turn will make the youths of our alliance boil and will thus, cause the internal collapse of our alliance."

Upon finishing his words, the Alliance Leader picked up the pot of tea next to him before he poured himself a cup to drink.

"If you are going to speculate so much, I might as well not attend the banquet. After all, I hate dealing with the self righteous bastards of the Orthodox Path." Just then, Hanli folded his arms and said coldly. 

Hanli was a man of few emotions. 

But whenever the Orthodox Path was mentioned, the Alliance Leader noticed that Hanli's heart would turn icy cold. 

The old man would then wonder about the relationship between his junior and the Orthodox Path.

"Nonetheless, I still need you to go and verify if my speculation is correct. Remember to bring Heavenly Dragon Fang with you. A fight might occur so it's always best to be prepared."

"Of course. My sword never leaves me whenever I'm with those orthodox bastards." Hanli cupped his fists again before he turned around and left the building.