In the distance, a row of huge mountains rose into the air, surrounded by a violet haze. The thick mist rose up into the air until they met with white clouds. It was certainly a strange and picturesque sight to see not a shred of blue in the sky. At this time Sage, or his Soul Clone to be exact, was standing in the center of a large parade ground. Blue stone tiles covered the ground of this large courtyard and Sage was surrounded by thousands of people wearing martial training uniforms. The innermost layers were actually those fellows surrounded by the purple aura. Sage was actually standing in front of the collapsed form of Jinxi Po, using his Spirit Power to strip every last piece of equipment off of him. The man was stripped naked and every inch of his skin prodded with telekinetic force to look for secrets hidden under the skin. Then he was dressed into a plain robe and shackled before being taken away.

Sage turned to address the group around him.

“You have done well! Everyone taking part in the operation will receive ten thousand contribution points. Those who weren’t chosen will just have to work harder so you will get chosen next time! Now, arrange a banquet. Tonight, we celebrate!”

Those figures were all members of the Purple Mist Sect. As rich and powerful as Jinxi Po was, how could he contend with fifty tier 6 Demonic Beasts appearing around him all at once? Not only were they tier 6 Demonic Beasts, but they were also far more. A rank 6 cultivator and a tier 6 Demonic Beast were considered to be at the same level, but the humans usually won out. This is because humans were far more likely to be of higher intelligence and also to work together. Most powerful beasts ruled over a large territory by themselves or with only a mate and young offspring. While a human might be weaker in power than a beast, they would team up, set traps, and had numerous methods to come out on top.

The Purple Mist Sect wasn’t filled with simple beasts. These Seething Purple Cobras had all been sealed into a human form and also trained to use the ‘Golden Poison Body’. It was a modified form of the Golden Mantis Body. It was altered to make use of the Seething Purple Cobras natural ability to emit a poisonous mist from their body. They already had the natural ability to release this poison from their whole body, so with a bit of modification, Sage figured out a way to modify his Clan’s technique for them to use. They also altered it a little further, changing the bladed hands and mantis head of the armor into a trio of cobra heads. The Golden Poison Body took on a purple color when it was created using Poison Qi which is also what they used to take Jinxi Po down. Once he was struck a few times by that potent poison it was only a matter of time until he was defeated.

Along with the Human Seal and Golden Poison Body, each of the disciples of the Purple Mist Sect were also taught the modified version of the Death Sparing Manual that sage used to create a Poison Core. In the wild, their innate poison was that of the poisonous miasma of Icefire Valley which they gained from living in that place for many years. They had their natural talent to emit their venom from their body like a coat of mist and also naturally awakened a venom law as they grew more powerful. So, with the addition of the Death Sparing Manual, they could greatly condense and upgrade their venom into a true Poison Qi. They also could earn access to a library of many other techniques by contributing to the Sect.

In the Icefire Valley, Sage had captured more than a hundred Seething Purple Cobras that were fully mature. They were each nearly the strength of a Nascent Soul. Why would he let such a great power go to waste? About a dozen of them had refused to submit to him and they were skinned and butchered. Their important parts were collected and used to craft equipment while their flesh was used to make his dinner. The rest of the cobras became very obedient quite quickly, especially when they saw how well treated those that submitted were. They were all forced to sign Blood Contracts, the higher level of the Oathstone. Each Blood Contract was an expensive device that had only a single use, but they were the only way to restrict those at the higher levels. If an Oathstone is violated it can cause instant death, but it is a death of the physical body. For Nascent Souls that can survive such a death, the expense of the Blood Contract is very worthwhile.

With the exception of the Blood Contracts that he forced the Purple Mist Sect members to sign, Sage had tried to build the Sect up in his ideal. Rather than encouraging murderous competitions or insidious infighting, he created a very strict code of conduct. The Blood Contract required them all to follow the rules of the Sect, and not his whims. While this reassured them, it was also mostly a pretense. Sage was the head of the sect and so his commands were law. He merely gave them a little leeway by creating a framework of rules for what commands he could give first. Technically, it was a little wasteful on his part to limit his power, but it also meant that on the off chance he got possessed, mind controlled, or otherwise compromised he couldn’t just casually order them to off themselves.

He also made sure to ensure that even if he was no longer the head of the sect he would always retain a Grand Elder capacity until his death. Since his death meant the destruction of their whole world, it meant he’d always stay in power, even if he ever decided to nominate a successor to take over the sect in his stead.

At this point, the majority of the people gathered in this training field had already left. They were already sent off to prepare for the celebratory banquet, leaving only those that had actually participated in the battle this time. After capturing Jinx Po, the whole Sect was gathered to see why some of their number had been summoned and to review the results. Now that the majority had left and the captive was safely locked away, Sage finally took stock of their losses. Thankfully, none of the Purple Mist Sect’s members had died, but they were far from unscathed. No longer needing to show a brave face, three of them fell to the ground. Two of them lost consciousness from the seriousness of their wounds, while the third was just too weak to remain on his feet. In addition to these three, there was another man with a missing leg that was leaning on someone else for support and two others that had lost an arm, one at the shoulder and another at the elbow. These were also only the worst injuries, many others had sustained wounds, but the healing pills that the Sect distributed could handle them.

For those with missing limbs, Sage immediately awarded them enough contribution points to exchange for all the best techniques the Sect had to offer. Those suffering the worst injuries were also rewarded just as highly as those who had the best performance. The Purple Mist Sect rewarded loyalty and sacrifice, not just results. The thing Sage hated most was betrayal, and the system that most Sects and Clans used sickened him. They always encouraged competition so they could pick out the strongest seedlings. Then they’d reward them with the best resources, treatment, and training. Over and over again they’d fight with each other to reach the top. The villainous sects had their disciples hunt the members of other clans and sects, while the truly evil even slaughtered mortals for training.

On the other hand, the ‘righteous’ groups claimed to be better and they forbid senseless slaughter. They used tournaments, sparring, missions, and other sorts of tasks to encourage competition. The only problem was that with so many rules and restrictions, these righteous groups just became bogged down by politics. Those with high positions gave benefits to their descendants or those who bribed them. Nobody was allowed to kill, but ‘accidents’ happened all the time and the ones in charge covered them up. With their advancement at stake, most of them became experts at scheming. Instead of raising righteous heroes, they were excellent at creating two-faced liars.