After Cultivator Blood Leaf disappeared, I stared at the spot where he used to be.

  “Where did he go?” I demanded.

  If we wanted to end this matter today, we couldn’t let Cultivator Blood Leaf escape. Otherwise, he would recover and attack us again at a later date.

  “That was a teleportation talisman, Brother Flamewind.” Brother Ross explained. “Think of it as a smaller and weaker, but portable, teleportation array.” He shook his head. “That man is long gone. Even the weakest teleportation talisman has a range in the hundreds of miles. We have no hope of catching him now.”

  I gritted my teeth and clenched my fist so hard that my claws drew blood. Anger raged inside me and I condemned myself for being so weak. If I had just been strong enough, I could have killed Cultivator Blood Leaf instead of standing by and watching him escape. In fact, we might not have been attacked in the first place. Now, with someone like him on the loose, my loved ones were in danger. My sisters would be fine, since they were stronger than Cultivator Blood Leaf. However, everyone else was at risk.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to rage against the fact that Cultivator Blood Leaf escaped. While most of the disciples from the Ancient Blood Sect had died, a few remained alive. This included Branch Head Kasandra, who continued to fight against Cultivator Black Sand. She looked around. When she saw the tide turning against her, fear filled her eyes. After a moment, she clenched her jaw.

  “Go!” Branch Head Kasandra said.

  Her winged serpent charged towards Cultivator Black Sand and collided with him while she flew off in the opposite direction. She had sacrificed her spirit beast in order to save her own life. Branch Head Xavier attacked her with a barrage from his flying barge, but missed. Cultivator Black Sand, distracted by the winged serpent, couldn’t chase after her.

  Within seconds, Branch Head Kasandra was a mere dot on the horizon. Soon, she disappeared from sight altogether. The last of the disciples from the Ancient Blood Sect died soon after Branch Head Kasandra fled. Her winged serpent followed soon after, unable to withstand the might of both Branch Head Xavier and Cultivator Black Sand.

  We had done it. We had survived. We won.

  However, I felt no joy at this. Both Cultivator Blood Leaf and Branch Head Kasandra managed to escape with their lives. The former already held a grudge against me and my companions because we killed his sister. As for the latter, I doubted she would forgive us either. The two of them were powerful enemies, ones I couldn’t face with my current level of power. Their survival boded ill for the future.

  After the battle ended, Branch Head Xavier rallied the disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect. He had to clean up the area and erase all traces of the Ancient Blood Sect, which included looting their bodies, while he had others tend to the wounded. While the flying barge’s magic barrier protected us from most attacks, a few managed to break through. Thankfully, while several disciples suffered severe injuries, there were no deaths.

  My companions joined in on the cleaning effort. Ellen wanted to stay by my side. However, both Willow and I convinced her to go. With Willow by my side, I would be fine. With great reluctance, Ellen accepted our words and helped the others clean up the area.

  As one of the wounded, I was exempt from doing anything. I laid down on the deck of the flying barge while Willow tended to me. The other disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect gave us a wide berth. They eyed me with a mixture of reverence and awe in their eyes. I found it a little funny. I wondered how they would react if they found out that Willow was also a divine demon.

  “You idiot.” Willow said as she worked to staunch the flow of my vitality. She glared. “Why would you do something so stupid while suffering from an internal injury like this? Why not give the treasure talisman to someone else in the first place?”

  I gave her a weak smile.

  “Our enemies were demonic cultivators,” I said, “And I knew my divine qi would be the most effective at dealing with them. Also, I hadn’t known that using the treasure talisman would affect my internal injury like this.”

  “You still should have been careful!” Willow snapped. “What if…” She sucked in a breath. “What if you pushed yourself too hard and died?”

  Tears filled Willow’s eyes as she glared at me. I found the sight rather cute, though I kept that thought to myself. Otherwise, Willow would give me a beating. Instead, I reached over to caress her cheek. Willow turned away from me and clenched her jaw. My heart ached.

  “If I had to face the same choice all over again,” I said, “Even knowing what I know now, I would have done the same thing.”

  Willow’s head snapped towards me, a thunderous expression on her face.

  “Why?” she demanded. “If you’re so keen to throw your life away, I should just kill you now and be done with it.”

  Despite her harsh words, I heard the worry and concern in her voice. I smiled at her.

  “In order to save two of the people I care about most in this world.” I said.

  Willow’s eyes widened at my words.

  “I love you.” I said. “And I love Ellen. I would do almost anything to ensure your survival.”

  Willow’s expression trembled.

  “That’s not fair.” She said, her voice shaky. “Why do you have to go and say something like that when I’m trying to scold you?” She wiped the tears from her eyes. “Idiot.”

  I grinned at her, before I fell silent and let Willow work in peace. Thanks to her aid, I avoided the worst outcome. I wouldn’t die right away. However, my condition was still critical. If my internal injury wasn’t healed, I would still die in the end. Not only that, but if it wasn’t healed in time, I would suffer permanent damage. The sooner I reached a skilled healer, the better.

  Less than an hour after we defeated the Ancient Blood Sect, the disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect finished cleaning up the area and we resumed our journey towards East Mesa City. My companions gathered around me, though they left enough space to avoid crowding me. Ellen knelt by my side and held my hand.

  “I’m going to kill them.” She declared, her voice shaking with rage. “I don’t care if it takes me a thousand years, I will see Cultivator Blood Leaf and Branch Head Kasandra pay for this.”

  I squeezed her hand.

  “We’ll kill them.” I said. “Remember, we’re family now. You don’t have to do this alone.”

  Willow nodded.

  “We’ll make them pay for daring to attack our family.” She said, a cold expression on her face.

  “As your personal servant, I am obligated to aid you in this endeavor.” Elliot said. He sneered. “Even if I wasn’t, I would still help you. That woman needs to die for her sins.”

  I assumed he referred to Branch Head Kasandra when he said “that woman.”

  “Ugh.” Cultivator Isabel said with a disgruntled expression on her face. “If I had known that I would be dragged into something troublesome like this, I would have rejected Elder Riordan when he ordered me to protect Junior Sister Willow.”

  Willow smirked at her.

  “Does this mean you won’t help us?” She asked.

  Cultivator Isabel snorted.

  “Of course I’ll help you.” She said. “After all, my life is on the line. I’m one of the people involved in Cultivator Blood Petal’ death. Sooner or later, Cultivator Blood Leaf will come after me as well.”

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  The rest of our journey back to East Mesa City went by without issue. When we arrived at the Dawn and Dusk Sect’s branch office, all of the injured disciples headed to the healing hall, including me. While the disciples here focused mostly on refining magic treasures and creating puppets, a few were skilled in medicine and healing. Accidents happened all the time and injuries were common, so the branch office built a healing hall to deal with them.

  Unfortunately, none of the disciples in the branch office were skilled enough to heal my internal injury. I would either have to seek help from an outsider, which I didn’t want to do, or I would have to return to the Dawn and Dusk Sect. That worked out for the best, since we planned on returning after venturing into the Violet Desert hidden realm anyway. Even so, my companions and I decided that it was safer if we stayed within the branch office until it was time to leave.

  I spent the next few days resting and relaxing, to avoid agitating my internal injury and minimize the drain on my vitality. Not that I had much choice in the matter. Ellen and Willow took turns watching over me. In their words, they wanted to make sure I didn’t do anything stupid. They kept me from doing anything even remotely strenuous. I had no problem with this arrangement, since it meant that I got to spend more time with my wives. However, sometimes they went a little too far. I wasn’t an invalid, after all.

  The most frustrating part was that Ellen and Willow refused to sleep with me. They feared that any strenuous activity would worsen my internal injury. No matter how much I tried to convince them otherwise, they refused to budge. While I enjoyed relaxing like a layabout, I hated not spending the nights with my wives.

  Outside of the healing hall, the rest of the branch office was a flurry of activity. Branch Head Xavier, in particular, was a busy man. Not only did he have to deal with the aftermath of the attack by the Ancient Blood Sect, but he also had to distribute rewards for the excursion into the Violet Desert hidden realm. I felt bad for the man, though not enough to offer aid. Instead, I chose to be a layabout.

  The battle between us and Cultivator Blood Leaf’s group drew the attention of the elders of the Dawn and Dusk Sect and the Ancient Blood Sect. Unsurprising, since it involved core disciples from both. Branch Head Xavier and Branch Head Kasandra, who made it back to East Mesa City, acted as proxies and representatives. To my surprise, no one bothered me about any of this, which I found strange. I had been one of the key people involved, after all. Instead, I had to hear about it secondhand from others.

  From what I heard, the elders of the Dawn and Dusk Sect and the Ancient Blood Sect came to some kind of agreement. I didn’t know the specifics of this agreement, but they decided not to escalate this into a full-blown conflict between the two sects. Instead, they treated this as a feud between a few select individuals, nothing more. However, since their disciples escalated matters to this degree, the Ancient Blood Sect ended up paying the Dawn and Dusk Sect compensation, though I didn’t know what kind.

  As for Branch Head Kasandra, she received no punishment for her actions, which infuriated me. She claimed that she hadn’t attacked the Dawn and Dusk Sect, which was true, but only because Cultivator Black Sand intervened before she could. Even so, this was enough for her to avoid repercussions for this whole incident.

  This angered me, but I let it go instead of making a fuss. Instead, I decided to bide my time and wait for the right opportunity to strike. At the moment, I didn’t have a lot of clout within the Dawn and Dusk Sect. My sect valued me because of my future potential as a divine demon. However, at the moment I was still a mere early Foundation Establishment cultivator. That would change in the future, as I grew more powerful and increased my influence. I would go after Branch Head Kasandra after I reached a certain level. This was something that I discussed with Ellen and Elliot.

  As for Cultivator Blood Leaf, we would have to be careful about him. I doubted that he would give up his grudge against me and my companions any time soon. Even if the Ancient Blood Sect forbade him from acting against us, which I doubted, he would find some way to avenge his sister. I remembered the hatred in his eyes. He would not let this matter rest until either we were dead, or he was.

  However, he wasn’t the only one we needed to consider. Cultivator Blood Leaf and his deceased sister, Cultivator Blood Petal, were the children of an elder within the Ancient Blood Sect: Elder Blood Root. I didn’t know anything about him, but I doubted he would remain silent on the matter either. Sooner or later, he would come after us for the death of his daughter. Killing Cultivator Blood Leaf would just deepen his grudge against us. When we returned to the Dawn and Dusk Sect, I planned on asking Big Sis Sidra for advice.

  When I left the Dawn and Dusk Sect, I hadn’t realized that my actions would result in a feud like this. Still, I didn’t regret killing Cultivator Blood Petal. She deserved to die for her actions. However, I didn’t want others to pay for my actions. After all, I was the one who chose to kill Cultivator Blood Petal. Her blood was on my hands, no one else’s. If I somehow got that knowledge to Cultivator Blood Leaf and his father, maybe that would lessen the danger to my companions. Hmm, it was something to consider.

  A week after we returned from the Violet Desert hidden realm, Branch Head Xavier visited me. The healing hall was a single story building made from the same pale red stone as the rest of East Mesa City. The central ward took up most of the space within the healing hall. It was a large, open room filled with beds. Most of the injured disciples ended up here. I, on the other hand, had my own private room.

  At first I didn’t want special treatment and wanted to go to the central ward, like the other disciples. However, my companions convinced me otherwise. Divine demons held a special status within the Dawn and Dusk Sect, and I needed to act the part. Otherwise, people would look down on me. If I didn’t treat my status with the respect it deserved, neither would anyone else.

  While I could be open-minded and carefree to a certain degree, there were certain proprieties I needed to keep in mind. Also, the other disciples would feel uncomfortable if I stayed in the central ward, which would hinder their treatment. That convinced me to take the private room in the end.

  Like the private rooms in Martial Idiot Clinic back in the Dawn and Dusk Sect, the private room here wasn’t anything special. It was a small and simple space with a bed, a nightstand, and a chest. Sunlight streamed in from a large window. It was morning, a little after breakfast. A bronze censer sat atop the nightstand, letting out wisps of white smoke that filled the room with a medicinal smell. This smoke came from an herbal mixture that enhanced the body’s natural healing when burned.

  Ellen sat next to me, studying the waterfall painting I bought for her in Evenfall City. It contained insights into Water, which was why I bought it for her in the first place. Meanwhile, I laid on the bed, studying the jade slip that my mother gave me, the one imbued with knowledge of fist intent. While in the Violet Desert hidden realm, I gained a lot of insights into One With The Fist and fist intent. Since I couldn’t do much else, I decided to meditate on these insights and deepen my understanding. Studying the jade slip helped me in this endeavor.

  At first, Ellen and Willow protested against this. They didn’t want me to strain myself until my internal injury healed. However, I told them that they worried too much. As long as I didn’t study the parts I wasn’t supposed to study, I would be fine. Besides, I needed to do something besides laze around all day. Otherwise I would go crazy from boredom. After some back and forth, they relented.

  Branch Head Xavier entered my private room while Ellen and I studied. Ellen and I went to greet him, but he waved us off.

  “Remain as you are.” He said, sounding exhausted. “There’s no need for formalities.”

  I studied Branch Head Xavier as he stood at the foot of my bed. He looked thin and haggard. There were dark circles underneath his eyes, as if he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a while. I found this impressive in a way, since Golden Core cultivators didn’t need to sleep. That just went to show just how busy he had been over the past few days.

  “What may we do for you, Branch Head Xavier?” I asked.

  “Please make it quick.” Ellen said, her brow furrowed. “My husband needs his rest.”

  Thankfully, Branch Head Xavier looked amused by her attitude rather than offended by it.

  “I see that the rumors are true.” He said in a jovial tone. “Junior Sister Water Fang and Junior Sister Willow are watching over you like a pair of brooding hens.”

  I gave Ellen a sideways glance.

  “Yes,” I said, “They seem to think I’m an invalid. Still, I won’t complain too much. What man doesn’t enjoy being pampered by a pair of beautiful women?”

  Ellen snorted, before she flicked my ear.

  “Brat.” She said in a tone that was equal parts scolding and fondness.

  Branch Head Xavier looked between the two of us and let out a sigh.

  “After seeing the two of you together,” he said, “I almost regret choosing celibacy.”

  “It’s not too late to find a partner for yourself, Branch Head Xavier.” I said.

  He shook his head.

  “No.” He said. “Each cultivator walks their own path towards immortality. Marriage would only distract me from mine.” His expression grew serious. “Have you heard about what’s going on between us and the Ancient Blood Sect?”

  I nodded, my expression mirroring his.

  “Enough to know that our sect and the Ancient Blood Sect have decided to bury this matter.” I said. “And that Branch Head Kasandra will not receive punishment for her actions.”

  Ellen hissed in anger.

  “Yes.” Branch Head Xavier said, looking grim. “Neither sect wants to escalate this matter into a conflict or a full-blown war. We attacked them, they attacked us. As far as the elders are concerned, this matter is over and done with. Whatever happens from here on out is between the individuals involved, not the sects.”

  “Meaning that the Ancient Blood Sect won’t stop Cultivator Blood Leaf and his family from attacking my companions and I.” I asked.

  Branch Head Xavier nodded.

  “Yes,” he said, “And vice versa.”

  I sighed. Well, I expected as much from what I already knew. Still, this could be a blessing in disguise. After all, this feud could be an opportunity for me to grow my strength and hone my battle prowess. However, I hated that my companions were also targets. I would feel more at ease if Cultivator Blood Leaf and his family only targeted me.

  After pulling myself out of my thoughts and back to the present, I noticed that Branch Head Xavier’s expression remained grim. That puzzled me for a moment, before I realized that he still had bad news to deliver. I had a foreboding premonition. When he opened his mouth to speak, I tensed and waited for what he had to say.

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  This chapter was edited by Radriel7