When Yu Xian lost count of the years he spent training his mind, the Universe suddenly erupted in a blinding white light.

The light receding, he saw himself be pulled somewhere.

The painting dazzling, Yu Xian's soul was ejected from it and entered his sealed body. Next to him, Alexander suddenly teleported.

"How was it?"

As if deaf to his words, Yu Xian looked dejected. His head lowered, he meekly made out a few words covering his inner turmoil.

"Great... but... brother Maffrec perished..." A glint flashing by in his eyes, Yu Xian hoped to hear specific words.

Don't worry, he's not dead!

Why are you acting like this? Do you think I cannot revive him?!

Stop underestimating me and my treasures!

But alas, those words never came out.

Not even close!

"Oh... A shame... I need to find someone else now, what a pain!" Hearing him curse like this, Yu Xian trembled.

His Sect Master did not even care one bit! To him, they were nothing but...

'Lab rats! How can Alexander think of me as a little rat made for slaughter whenever he sees fit?! I won't forget this... I won't let his death be in vain! Even if I get the whole sect to go for my throat... I will never back down!'

"Well, you can go now, continue to cultivate. I will send you a new friend soon."

Clenching both fists and his white teeth, Yu Xian felt humiliated and angered.

'Am I... No... were we just pets to you?! The senior who gave us such a warm welcome and so many opportunities... were we just nothing but rotten flesh at your doorstep? Just little slaves that you could order around like puppets?!! I won't forgive you for this! Never!!'

After realizing that only a few thousand years had passed, Yu Xian got used to his former routine. But his coldness was apparent, his scholarly attitude now back.

Luckily for him, a new friend was presented to him! It was Livia. Yu Xian could not believe it, Livia, the aloof and flower of the sect, was not a cripple!

"Brother Yu, what happened to brother Maffrec? The Sect Master ignored me when I asked."

His complexion falling, Yu Xian explained what happened back then.

"...He..."

"He's dead and Alexander doesn't care about it!"

"Alexander? Why are you..." Shocked by this sudden change in attitude, Livia understood what was going on.

"You don't mean to..."

"I'll fucking kill him!!" Realizing his mistake, Yu Xian covered his mouth in cold sweats while making sure no one was around.

Looking around as well, Livia hushed him.

"You're really going to get yourself killed!"

"Killed? Hah! So what? Brother Maffrec-"

"Why don't you just think before you speak?! Do you want to end up like him?"

His lips parted, Yu Xian made no sound. He was speechless. In a fit of anger he had mistakenly acted rashly. Such an attitude would not yield him a long life, especially when considering Alexander's true temperament.

Speaking of which, Alexander was currently enjoying some freezing water in his hall. His Divine Sense covering the sect, Yu Xian's little schemes of course never escaped his senses. What could they hide from him? If he wanted to, opening their skull open and prying into their soul was possible. Little rats like them were truly unaware of the world around them.

'Is it time for the classic frogs at the bottom of a well? Actually... not really...' Stroking his chin, now devoid of a beard, Alexander thought this scenario to be somewhat off. But the idiom still applied however.

These two did not know the difference between them and a master like Alexander. They were talentless kids void of opportunities. What potential? What opportunity? What teachings? If they dared to even step into the Greater Existence Realm, he would slaughter them on the spot!

These now crippled slaves had no right to act without permission. Without his will, how could Yu Xian even survive this long? Alexander could already tell his evil plans from just a glance. Not only were his change of attitude and savage aura dead giveaways, his voice was just too loud!

But for someone below him in cultivation, and by so much now, intercepting sound transmissions, Divine Sense messages and the likes were too easy for him.

They could not hide anything!

If he wanted to know the color of their underwear, he would!

'Now that I think about it... people here don't use clothes with arrays. Some clothing I got did... but the rest clearly lacked them.'

Without proper arrays and expensive protections, privacy was rendered null. A Divine Sense, Celestial Sense or anything of the sort could very easily sneak past clothes and admire the view behind. It was useful to find weak spots, external injuries, internal injuries and much more. Obviously it also benefitted sneaky ones who wanted to gaze at naked beauties. This was not often a problem for men, since most did not care much about it, but for women... buying a piece of clothing capable of stopping most Divine Sense probes was a must!

But here, let alone probing Livia's body for example, Alexander could very easily analyze all of her muscles, bones and even cells. They had no protection whatsoever.

'Let's watch for now.' Sipping on his fresh water, Alexander kept his Divine Sense active.

The next day soon arrived.

Sitting cross-legged on the platform, Alexander, Yu Xian as well as Livia.

"Sect Master, here is my report for my experience inside the painting." His expression stern and frigid, Yu Xian handed over his report.

Reading it in a half-assed manner, Alexander was still surprised somewhat.

'The painting depicted my Grand Macrocosm Trial of Ascendency?' Inferring from the report, Alexander naturally made out the actual events taking place. The painting clearly recorded everything he did back in the day.

'Interesting.' Glancing over at Livia next, he saw her do the same, her expression still better than Yu Xian's.

Surprised from Alexander's lack of questioning, the duo exchanged furtive glances.

'Is he not suspicious?'

'Sect Master is acting strange today...'

The days went by, and soon did months.

A few years later.

Searching and exploring a dense jungle, Yu Xian and Livia. With them was Elder Kui, keeping watch over their safety. He was first ordered by Alexander, making him keep a rather despotic stance.

But, knowing of his circumstances, Yu Xian told him about Maffrrec's downfall and Alexander's true colors.

Kui Hulor was not surprised, but sill uncomfortable. Clearly, this young man wanted to recruit him! It was not that he was devoid of grievances with Alexander, but that being ordered around by a cripple was hard to swallow. Would he fall to a new low?

"Senior Kui does not need to act polite, this Yu is not here to cause you trouble, but rather to give you a chance at revenge!"

Feeling the similarities between his speech and Alexander's, Kui Hulor looked to be in a pinch. One was an obviously untrustworthy youth with a clear lack of experience along a short temper, while the other one was a cold and heartless man who made good use of his pawns.

Being honest with himself, he did not see much of a difference. He could choose none, but would still fall in Alexander's hands at some point down the road. However, the young man was simply too rash and cocky. If his fuse ended in a loud and dangerous explosion, Kui Hulor knew that being implicated in its blast would be nothing short of predetermined.

But the question was not only about dangers.

It was also about the heart!

Strictly speaking, choosing Yu Xian was a move befitting of a fool. But his heart ached with madness. His thousand years old sect had been abolished under the rude and ruthless Alexander and his many whims.

In the end, with a burning heart, Kui Hulor made his decision.

"I will help you! Alexander has gone too far, and it is our duty to keep him in check!"

Even if he had to suffer from his oath, Kui Hulor was a man ready for his own future. Taking out a diamond shaped, thunderous pendant, Kui Hulor held it tightly.

'With this Heaven Concealing Artifact, escaping from a little oath tribulation is nothing!'

His pendant was made with sealed fragments of some remnant Heavenly Tribulation, making it ideal for concealment. The Heavens could be harsh on someone in possession of such a Heaven-Defying artifact, but that would need them to know who had it in the first place.

Kui Hulor's artifact was basically hiding as a wolf in pack of wolves or pretending to be a dragon amidst dragons in a dragon nest.

The dangers were there, but the rewards were too.

Either he succeeded and escaped, at least for some time, or he would fail and be struck by the Heaven's wrath!

Casting some curious glances at the artifact, both Livia and Yu Xian kept themselves from asking.

With mouths shut, they signaled to Kui Hulor before threading deeper into the dungeon.

They were not nearly enough to even annoy Alexander, let alone make him suffer a loss.

They needed to become stronger!

And to do so, some steps were needed. Cultivation was the number one priority while finding treasures was equally matched with the first. As for the second, it was about recruiting people Alexander had clashed with in the past.

Unfortunately, finding survivors of his past was proving to be extremely difficult.

Not only so, it was creepy as well. Tales and legends about his arrival and departure in certain places causes them to shiver. This man had slain thousands of experts!

It was not a matter of revenge anymore... it was about the realm's safety!

With enough proof, they might be able to incriminate him and ask help from the powers of this world!

In the meantime, Alexander was not surprised nor intimidated by such methods. For Kui Hulor, destroying his artifact would kill him, as for the two youths, they were never a match for him, even prior to being crippled.

What chance did they have now?

When it came to helpers on the other hand, it was starting to get tricky. With this in mind, Alexander was ready to take action when necessary.

'Oh~ my little lab rats... I am not going to let you run away unscathed. This Alexander will make you thoroughly understand the difference in status and experience! Did losing all of your cultivation numb your senses? You poor little rats, you cannot even remember what cultivation even grants to others... But don't worry, I won't leave your corpses for the dogs to feed on or crows to disfigure... I will let your families eat their own mistakes!'

A new day presented, Alexander served himself a big cup of cold water before heading out to look around the sect.