Present time. Unknown plane, unknown place.

In the same palace room as before, a faint silhouette appeared and sat down on the simple-looking throne. There was no sign of the Vampire Empress Noa, but the words pronounced by the figure were enough to guess that she was indeed present.

"Let's continue... As Wu Guang left the Sect on the first real mission concerning the incidents he was embroiled in, a meeting took place somewhere far from there. Although at that moment he had no way to know about it, this meeting indeed changed everything for his stay at Half-Island"

________________________________________________________________________

The day of Wu Guang's departure from the sect. Seven Islands, Eagle King Palace.

On a mountain located right in the center of the Eagle Capital, stood a castle. Not only it was visible from all the city, but the sheer majesty of the castle indicated it as the seat of power for the entire Kindom. After all, the White Castle was indeed the place where King Ying Aoxian resided.

Inside this castle, there was an enormous strategy room, which if observed was shaped after the image of an eagle wing. As the entire castle was shaped after an eagle, so it was not surprising that the room that occupied the 2nd floor of the left wing had such shape.

At the center of this room, stood a table covered with a very detailed map of the plane. Looking at it, a careful observer could determine that all the plane was centered around Eagle Island.

Present in the room, there were several people, from which the one noticed first would be the King himself. A man in his early forties, and with the build of a warrior, even the simple cotton clothes he had on did not undermine his bearing and power.

Accompanying him, to his right were four generals dressed in full golden armor, the official color of the kingdom. While on his left, stood three advisors in simple robes alike the ones the monarch himself was wearing.

"There is no doubt about it your majesty. Our plane is on the verge of expansion" The one to break the silence was one of the advisors that stood on the left side of the King

"We know that already, but will be my kingdom affected without error?"

"Venerated All-Seeing has already done so several times. And all of them confirmed the fact. Not wishing to displease your majesty with unconfirmed news, he already used the forbidden sacrifice..."

"Don't mince your words!" The one to interrupt was one of the generals, the one who occupied the farthest spot from the king.

The advisor ignored the interruption and while a displeased expression crossed his face, continued with the same tone

"Like I was saying... He used the forbidden method and confirmed that the break-line will occur along the Eagle Island"

Hearing that everyone present, even though they awaited such news, showed a different amount of emotion on their faces.

"So there's no other way then..." The King was the first one to speak after the pause that followed the previous news

"Indeed. Thankfully your majesty prepared for such a case, and the Black Eagles are already preparing everything" Quickly flattered the same advisor that spoke before, while the other two nodded in confirmation.

"We have started preparations, still, I did not want for this to happen. After all, starting a war and full relocation? This is simply disgracing our ancestors"

"Worry do not your majesty. After all, when the expansion finishes... The Eagle Kingdom will face an age of unprecedented flourish, after all, we will be the only ones ready"

"We know... But will the Black Claw Empire give us enough time for such? They are not an opponent we could tackle during the war 87 years ago... Not to say after a full relocation"

"Our spies report that the strength of the Empire has been decreasing lately. So even after the expansion, we should be able to deal with them. And if we have the resources of several islands behind us, who would be able to stop us?

"Are we sure of that?" Another of the generals questioned

"We are sure of it, General Ou. From the reports, the current fleet of the Empire is comprised of only a hundred operable warships"

"Only a hundred? But during their retreat after the war, they had about five times that amount!" Exclaimed the general surnamed Ou.

"Indeed, but most of them were initially formation-based ships... Plus the reparations heavily impacted their economy, so only a hundred or so remain operable and ready to act. Indeed such a number is enough to defend their island, but as to attack someone? It's far from enough"

"I see. If that's the case, Your Majesty, I can assure you of our success. Taking any of the weak islands will require less than a tenth of our current force. After all, we have an entire two hundred ships with Sage-realm captains. And another four hundred Soul-realm captained ones. So when needed, even if the Black Empire intervenes, we can easily send enough ships to beat them back.

"Hmm. With such numbers, We agree that we shall have no issues. Then, General Luan, how much time do we need to start the invasion? And how much time will it require?"

"We need 4 months to finish preparing and a month for traveling. Considering the operations and information of the Black Eagle corps, I calculate three months maximum to occupy our first target. It could be reduced to less if we simply take over, but..."

"No buts general! It's already agreed that all the populace shall be exterminated... If not, where will our glorious people settle?!" Angrily rebuked one of the two until now silent advisors.

"I advise you to be silent when I am speaking to his majesty, Advisor Kiang!" Angered by the sudden rebuke, General Luan erupted with an explosive aura. An aura of a beginner Warrior-realm cultivator.

"Do not disgrace yourselves" Seemingly not wanting for his aides to fight, King Ying Aoxian spoke.

"Excuse me for my behavior, your majesty"

"No need. So as we understand so far, you will need eight months to take and secure Half-Island?

"Yes"

"Then everyone, start the preparations right away"

"Understood"

"You all are dismissed. General Luan, stay behind"

Hearing this, three of the generals and the three advisors bowed and left the room.

When the King and General Luan were alone, the former stopped emitting his regal aura and even changed his tone

"Brother... I know that you are against wanton killing, but you know the reasons"

"I do know, but still... Killing millions of mortals? I acknowledge the fact that we need to relocate our people, but at what cost?"

"We can't do anything, or would you prefer to sacrifice the citizens you swore to protect?"

"I..."

"Indeed, we can only accept this as a needed sacrifice for the sake of them"

"I understand. Still, Brother, I again implore you to try and distance more from Advisor Kiang. I do believe the prophecies of his backer, the venerated All-Seeing, after all, he has already confirmed his might... But such methods..."

"If the future prosperity of our kingdom comes at a cost of a few hundred lives, I will accept the crime of being the one who sent them to die"

"But..."

"No buts! I know what you want to say. The venerated prophesies are already confirmed, and when the plane expands in three years... our island will be no more. So go and prepare the operation. We are not allowed to fail!"

"I... Understood, your majesty" Seemingly accepting the role he would play, General Luan bowed and walked out of the room.

King Ying did not stop him, but when he was alone a wicked smile crossed his face as he muttered

"So what... If killing a few millions will allow me to ascend, mortals or cultivators, what do I care? I would even add you, my own brother, to the sacrifice list if needed"

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A half-hour after the previous meeting. Seven Islands, 'Three Hills Sect' Head Enforcer Office.

A golden glyph entered the small and tidy room that served as Zhen Mang's office. After catching the glyph and acknowledging the contents, his expression changed and he rushed out of the room.

He quickly arrived at a small, hidden passageway that led him to the building that Elder Mo occupied, the Arts Hall.

There, he passed on the contents of the glyph he just received. Which surprisingly were a full recounting of the meeting between King Ying and his 7 trusted aides.

"So that's their reason to start a war? But who is this Venerated All-Seeing?" Elder Mo questioned

"Nobody knows... The only information we have about him is that he appeared in the Kingdom a year ago, and all his prophesies turned out to be true. Even the one about the 2nd Crown prince becoming a Warrior realm cultivator and overtaking his older brother in succession"

"I see... So we only have five, or to make sure four months are left. How goes the key?"

"Wisdom Master Chen confirmed the gathering of all the ingredients except a thousand year's old spirit plant"

"Hmm... I will tell everyone to search for one, but if we don't find it before the boy reaches the Soul realm, then we will have to resort to that"

"Master, you mean..." (Here he addresses Elder Mo as master/teacher... confirming that they have a master-disciple relationship).

"Yes. I know that the 'Divine Earth Finger' is a unique treasure and none of its kind has been found. But think about it, what is a treasure when compared to the Sect's existence?"

"Understood. But Master, if I may ask... What is the expansion they spoke about? Is it an evolution of the plane?"

"Yes. At least from what the records of the founder said. This plane has never expanded even once and so we can not confirm, but from the information he left, the current situation does seem to be so. Every thousand years of connection to the Astral Road will allow the plane to expand, and as it expands not only the size will change. Qi concentration will improve, new land appear and it may even lead to an evolution of the plane itself. The latter if not grand enough as to ascend our plane, will still allow local cultivators to reach higher realms..."

"No wonder then. But if this is indeed the truth, how come that they fear their island to disappear?"

"The records were not clear enough, but from what I can guess, the expansion has to start somewhere. So most probably this Venerated All-Seeing pointed the Eagle Island as such location. If it's true, then it's no wonder that the island may disappear. After all, any expansion will forcefully break the original boundaries"

"..."

"In any case Zhen Mang, we can only prepare to do our best for the Sect and both our islands"

"Understood"

"Speaking of doing the best, has the boy departed?"

"Yes"

"Did you send people to monitor the situation?"

"I did"

"Perfect. Oh, and advise them to not pay attention to the incident with bandits tomorrow"

"Bandits?"

"A small play between our Sikou Dai and your brother"

"I see, I will do so right away"

"Wait, we now know about the reasons behind the actions of the Eagle Kingdom... Prepare a golden glyph for me, I think it's time to notify our homeland as well"