The Human Seal was not really a weapon. It sealed up a creature into the form of a human. For many creatures, a human body was an upgrade. Like all seals, the extent of the seal was based upon the purity of the crux it was formed with. Using the Timeless Eyes, with enough time, Sage could form a seal with 80% strength. That meant a sealed being would have only 20% left of their original body once they were sealed. That didn’t mean that 20% of their body would still look like it used to, but that they only retained a portion of their unnatural characteristics. Strength, speed, toughness, supernatural powers, all of them would be restricted to only a portion of their own limits if they were greater than a normal human body.

For the Human Seals placed upon his own friends and subordinates, they were given the ability to control the seal. They had permission to reduce its restriction to allow them to still look human while retaining a large portion of their strength. Of course, to look human they still had to bottle up some of their strength, and so they would still be stronger when they returned to their true form, but it wasn’t anywhere near as restrictive as the seal he placed upon his enemies.

Usually, it could be used to defeat a powerful enemy, not just because of the restriction it imposed, but also because something like a giant tiger would be completely off balance in a human body. When it came to Hei Bai, she was only defeated due to her surprise. She’d just lost her physical body and was adapting to a spirit form. Then she was suddenly thrown back into a human body. A human body without any of the training or modifications she had performed upon her previous body. It may have looked similar to her original form, but it was like being put into the body of a stranger.

She had rapidly started to adapt, but Sage immediately suppressed her with the Blacksilver Pawns and Subduing Spores. Without the power of her spirit body or that fingerbone necklace, the difference in rank made it easy for him to finally overpower her. Now that she was inside the Universe Ring, she fell under the same restrictions that were placed upon Guan Zhenyan and she was nowhere near as powerful as that old monster.

Sage had taken the remains of her original body, finding her Storage Ring and looking over how much she had managed to reacquire since he’d robbed her last time. There really wasn’t much there, only a few hundred Spirit Stones and basic supplies. She really had gone all out in her attempt at revenge.

She was probably thinking of recouping all her losses after killing me.

Currently, Hei Bai was kept inside a cage in conditions that were probably a little too good for her, but hadn’t asked them to treat her badly so his subordinates had caged her like anyone else.

“So, what did you do with that treasure map?”

“Ha Ha Haa. You’ll never find it and I’ll die before I say anything about it.”

Among her possessions, he didn’t find that butterfly treasure map he’d tried to hype up before selling at auction. He’d overheard from the Shou Clan long ago that Hei Bai had a relationship with them, but then she’d gone against them and stolen it from them after that auction. It seems that she knew far more about it than he ever had.

“Is that so? I was the one who sold it, so I could care less where it is. I was just curious why you betrayed the Shou over it. You don’t have many allies left, do you?”

His tone was quite condescending, like he was merely here to gloat over her helpless position. She had thought he wanted the map, but now she knew it was just a chance to twist the knife. A fearsome look entered her eyes, “You’re right, and it’s all your fault. Is that what you wanted to hear? It was a nice try, but I’m still not going to tell you anything about it.”

Sage had started laughing, but then he stopped abruptly. He shook his head, dropping the gloating villain act, “It was worth a try. Well, enjoy your time here. Xiezi will be the one deciding your fate.”

Hei Bai looked even more angry, but Sage waved his hand and a barrier appeared around her cell, completely blocking her from communicating with the outside world. He walked away without bothering to waste any more time on her. While it was possible to gain intelligence from her, it was also just as easy to be fed lies or lead into a trap. Those under torture would tell you anything to make the torture stop. It was unreliable and he didn’t want to waste his time or allow her an opportunity to escape if anyone made a mistake.

At that time, far far away.

There was a pair of golden thrones, with 108 steps leading up to them. They were the focal point of a giant room that was filled with many powerful and important people, at least judging from their auras and the clothing they were wearing. At the moment, there was a scholarly fellow on the eighth step from the bottom reciting the details of a trade agreement to the gathered court.

After a few minutes the man finished and then everyone in the hall bowed towards the thrones and started filing out of the room. In just a few moments the whole room was empty save for a few people who occupied the stairs up to the throne. From the looks of them these few people were all the most important in the room. In fact the two on the golden thrones were so powerful that their auras were too bright to even look at. The others in the room could not even place their eyes upon them without being injured.

Everyone on the stairs had previously been facing the rest of the court, but now they all turned towards the two thrones. Each of their heads were bowed and their eyes were averted to the ground.

A woman in extremely decorative armor that had short curved knives on her hips and a flower green cape on her back saluted towards the two thrones. She kept her head down as she spoke, “My lords, our sources in the Imperial Capital tell us that Guan Zhenyan has gone missing.”

An old man with a rough white beard and battered armor stepped out to salute the thrones before he turned to the woman and challenged her, “That just means he hasn’t told anyone where he’s gone to. As soon as we act he might jump out and… The Dou Kingdom should not tangle with someone like that.”

“He isn’t just out on a stroll. He’s missed multiple appointments and there were signs of a battle in his Manor. If he’s not dead, he’s on the run.”

Veins stood out on the old man’s neck, “You’re jumping to conclusions Tieh Tieh! Signs of a battle are also not proof of anything. There’s no telling what an old powerhouse like that might be up to.”

The woman was suddenly enraged and she turned to glare at the old man, “My name is Tiantieh, not Tieh Tieh! Call me that one more time you old bastard!”

A brilliant radiance washed over them and the two of them both fell to their knees. A strangely deep and resonant voice came from the occupant of the larger throne.

“He is right, Xiao Tieh. You mustn’t let your emotions control you. An old thing like that isn’t something we should mess with. Even so, this is an opportunity not to be missed. Don’t act directly, send it through discrete channels. Capture the Seal Master, but make sure we aren’t connected to the ones that do it.”

The armored woman and old man saluted again and kept their heads down as the two presences on the thrones stood up and left the room. Once they were gone the others in the room were finally able to take a breath and relax. A few of them shared glances of relief.

The armored woman glared triumphantly at the old man. Haha, you old coot I win. The King and Queen may be obsessed with seeming impressive, but they still sided with me!