A dark room was engulfed in silence and the fumes of incense. Finding the sticks had not been easy, but the Dell Devouring Sect was relentless. Form and substance were the same thing for them and they carried equal importance.

Four people stood sitting cross legged of four different pillows. The biggest pillow was clearly taken from a couch, but it had been painted over to be a very deep red.

“Elders,” the voice of the Sect Head boomed in their Sect Hall.

Each Elder shot they eyes open and turned sharply their head toward the most respected person in their Sect.

“Sect Head!” they shouted at the unison.

The Sect Head harrumphed and nodded, barely pleased with the speed of their reaction. The Sect Head closed her eyes briefly, then spoke.

“Calamities are upon us! Will the Hell Devouring Sect be ready for them!”

“We will!” they shouted all at the same time.

Even if they were in a living room sitting on painted pillows with barely an incense stick blazing, their act was surprisingly convincing.

“Elder Thousand Leaves!” the Sect Head shouted.

“Sect Head!”

“How many disciples did we recruit this week?”

Elder Thousand Leaves looked down and the other two elders looked away from him, knowing that the news would not please their Sect Head.

“Only thirteen new people, Sect Head,” Elder Thousand Leaves started cringing in advance, expecting his Sect Head to chew him alive.

Instead, there was a meditative hum spreading through their Sect Hall.

“Are these disciples worthy of our mighty Hell Devouring Sect?” the Sect Head question echoed through the room. Because they had stripped said room of most furniture.

“They passed with flying marks, Sect Head! Only one person every twenty managed to pass the test Sect Head came up with!”

The Sect Head slammed her palm on the ground, making the house tremble.

“Then why are you ashamed?! The Hell Devouring Sect is no place for slackers, Elder Thousand Leaves! We don’t want infesting grass among our great seedlings! If they want to reach for the Heavens, they will need to grow in the best environment! There is no shame in leaving the weak-spined cultivators outside of our Sect! We should be ashamed if had let any in and not for keeping them out!”

Elder Thousand Leaves instantly kowtowed slamming his forehead on the ground.

“This lowly Elder begs for your forgiveness, Sect Head!”

“Keep your head high, Elder Thousand Leaves, we are the Hell Devouring Sect! We bow to no one!”

“We bow to no one!” the other two Elders screamed.

“Now, what’s the first order of business?” the Sect Head asked to her Elders.

“The first order of business,” one fished out a folded paper from his sleeve. Yes, from his sleeve. The man had fashioned himself a robe with some basic sewing skills. “We have to decide whether we want to keep the title Sect Head or if we prefer Matriarch.”

Everyone looked troubled by such profound question.

“Check the scriptures!” the Sect Head/Matriarch commanded.

Everyone, including her, whipped out their e-reader and started ruffling through pages and pages of Eastern stories.

“We might use both!” one of the two other Elders shouted with conviction.

“Speak, Elder Eternal Autumn!”

“Sect Head might be better when speaking to other Sect Heads, but Matriarch might be preferred while we speak inside the Sect. Ancestral Founder might also be an appropriate title, further research on it still pending.”

The Sect Head/Matriarch tipped her chin with a finger, thinking about this great problem.

“Sect Head is more proper. Let’s stick with that. Thoughts, Elders?”

“We agree with Sect Head’s wisdom!” the three Elders shouted.

“All hail the Hell Devouring Ancestor!” one of them shouted.

“All hail the Hell Devouring Ancestor!” the other two echoed the sentiment.

“What’s the second order of business, then?”

“Mighty Sect Head, the second order of business,” Elder Eternal Autumn looked at his folded piece of paper, “we have to find some tapestry for our Halls.”

Everyone in the room looked around at the empty walls and then nodded.

“We are going to find some tailors to hire for our mighty Hell Devouring Sect!” the Sect Head shouted.

“Yes, Sect Head!” the three Elders replied.

While they continued going through the list of the most important items in their agenda, a disciple came running to the room.

“Disciple Blackfire! You are not allowed to intrude when there is a meeting with the Sect Head!” Elder Thousand Leaves shouted.

“Sect Head!” disciple Blackfire was panting hard, “there is another Sect Head outside for you! He says he wants to greet your Sect and exchange pointers!”

Everyone looked at each other, clearly surprised.

But not the Sect Head.

The Sect Head simply nodded solemnly and got up.

“Let’s see if this other Sect Head is worthy of this Head’s time,” every Elder felt her terrifying aura battering them.

…

“Please, Hektor, please, do not feed their delusions. I beg you.”

Jacob was legitimately on the verge of crying.

“I have no intention of disrespecting a fellow Sect Head in the region. You know the protocol. New Sects have to present themselves to the strongest Sect in the region and get their approval before doing anything else. Otherwise, it would disturb the balance.”

Juliet and Helena were following behind. They had tagged along when they had seen Jacob being dragged by Hektor toward the small hotel where the Hell Devouring Sect met. The building was mostly empty in this period of the year and the owner had not been in St. Peter when the apocalypse had come. So, the Hell Devouring Sect had made it their base.

And to be fair, Hektor didn’t drag Jacob. It was Jacob trying to hold off the much stronger person.

“I mean, Jacob. Since I’m not going to be an Emperor or anything like that, I might as well make my own Sect and spread the Vermillion Tyrant’s teachings! And I heard that these are the funniest people in the city!”

“Hektor, you have met proper Sect Heads, for God’s sake. They are playing games!” Jacob wanted to kill the Vermillion Tyrant. He really wanted to strangle him.

This thing was going to cause such a huge headache for Jacob.

What they saw as soon as they approached the Hell Devouring Sect left everyone speechless.

Two rows of at least forty people each were facing each other, perfectly still. At the end, a woman, the Sect Head of the Hell Devouring Sect, stood with three Elders behind her.

“Who disturbs the quiet of the Hell Devouring Sect?!” her voice boomed.

“Oh man, I love your aunt, Jacob,” the Vermillion Tyrant whispered to guy behind him.