Don't get him wrong, it was not that Hal particularly condemned what she did because he didn't, he was just saying it as it was.

Those that she had refined had done nothing against her but they suffered all the same.

It was the reality of a world where the strong ruled and those that called such practices evil in such a world and then condemned it were usually hypocrites attempting to look flawless for the public.

That said, he did appreciate Arya's tenacity.

Not to mention that she had been doing her ritualistic tour for over Two hundred years and had formed a lot of connections along the way.

After all, being the 'Master' was an alter ego and she was still quite a capable Alchemist who was bound to be respected.

Hal knew she had a lot of acquaintances that could help him along the way and he liked having that in his reach.

Anyway,

On the matter regarding the Pentagram ritual in his inventory, while he did admit it was a result of her hard work, he also believed, quite strongly might I add, that she had stolen it from him.

After all, had she not refined them when she did, his knights would have been sure to make good use of it.

Yes, that's right. His Knights.

If Hal absorbed the essence, it would be for the advancement of his Bloodline and ever since acquiring the Mid-World Devil form, he seemed to have reached his limit for the time being.

As for his cultivation, he much preferred Dual cultivation.

Besides he was quite satisfied with his Early-stage Cosmic Phenomenon Realm cultivation for now.

His Blood Knights, however, who made use of blood essence to advance cultivation and would experience slow growth without it, would benefit better from it.

That said, Arya would receive from it as well.

The truth was that Arya was quite satisfied with the alternative cultivation resource source she now had but would hate to see all her hard work go to waste,

"Nonsense, it won't go to waste.

It will go to my Blood knights" Hal told her with a smile and she sighed before returning to refining the Blood Replenishing pills.

...

Two Days Later...

A carriage of such splendor pulled into the streets of Sapphire City and headed directly to the Mayor's residence; Horst Manor.

The carriage was of such beauty and the likes of it had never been seen in the city prior to that day.

It was obvious to those who saw it that it belonged to someone who was not from the city.

Said individual watched the city from inside the carriage while twirling his long and thin beard between his thin fingers.

The way he scrunched his nose at the city's notable sights and made it clear how much he looked down on them,

"This is where the lady was exiled to? Damn, I won't be surprised if she decided to kill herself." He said in an annoying nasal voice.

"Come on brother, be nice" said the young-looking lady seated opposite of him with a dress that was undeniably slutty.

She was beautiful of course, it just seemed she put a lot of effort into dressing up for the purpose of seduction.

She continued,

"Also, you have to be nice. She's no longer in exile and she has enough status in the family to make our lives hell."

Her brother rolled his eyes,

"Oh please, Evelyn. Just because we don't have the Dane bloodline does not make us less important" he said but it was in a tone that made it clear he did not completely believe what he had just said.

Evelyn chuckled mockingly,

"Idiot. Argo, It does not make us less important but the fact that she is the patriarch's niece makes her more important than we are no matter how important we are.

I don't need to remind you of who her father is and what his feats are do I?"

Argo seemed to be covered in cold sweats immediately.

Clearly, whatever Evelyn was referring to, he remembered and it scared him immensely.

When he spoke again, it was with a little more respect than before, albeit still quite rude,

"So what, We are supposed to grovel before her?" He asked.

Evelyn eyed him and sighed as she tossed loose bangs of her hair behind her shoulder,

"Of course not. By the time we return to the capital with her status returned we would have lost such a prime opportunity to humiliate her so we do it here before giving her the news.

We will have to be subtle and not go overboard so that it's not something so serious, she will report once she has returned."

Argo grinned,

"That's if she does report. After all, it's no secret that she is not on good terms with the patriarch. She neutered his son after all."

Evelyn shrugged,

"Better safe than sorry."

Their journey continued in silence for a while before Argo spoke again,

"I really do hate this city. It's so poor. Not a single teleportation circle. We have to travel so far from the nearest one.

Also, why do we have to visit the Mayor first? Why not go directly to the Lady's Mansion?"

Evelyn shrugged once again,

"First off, we don't really know where the lady lives and would have to ask around anyway so why not ask the Mayor who is almost totally sure to know. Also,

Apparently, there was a war here quite recently and it resulted in a change in leadership. The Duke does not really care what happens to a city such as this but once he heard we would be visiting for the young miss, he decided we might as well find things out.

We are to make sure it is stable and also to infer if there should be intervention for stability."

Argo sighed,

"Damn it. I wish we came in time for that war.

It would have been fun to throw a little weight around. Show these destitute bastards what an expert really looks like.

We could have used a portable circle to call for reinforcements."

He shook his head like it truly was a great tragedy.

At that time they pulled outside of Horst Manor and the guards that followed their carriage were quick to Intimidate the Manor guards who let them inside in a heartbeat.

They had only just pulled in when Ford Horst dashed out of the Manor to greet the visitors in person.

He had received a message beforehand that he should be expecting guests from the capital soon and they were there to confirm the stability of his rule.

Argo watched him and laughed,

"Pathetic" he laughed and it was not about Ford's run but his strength which the new Mayor was letting leak out, seemingly in excitement.

Ford was at the Early stage of the Cosmic phenomenon Realm which to someone who came from the capital was absolutely pathetic.

After all, the older man was already at least three hundred years old.

Such an age should be stronger.

Even he and Evelyn were only about a hundred and fifty and were both at the Mid-stage of the Cosmic phenomenon Realm and were not shy about it at all as they let it show.

They stepped out, with Evelyn been the shorter of the two and dressed in a green tight-fitting gown that shows off her seductive body. The gown had a split on the side to show off her creamy legs.

Argo was still twirling his thin beard and was dressed in a white robe that had a golden lotus in the center.

While the uniform color was different, Ford recognized the lotus, it was the symbol of the Flame Lotus Sect!