"She may have omitted some details, but that's how is it." Bai Qi concluded the retelling of what he learned from Bai Rui via the connection they shared.

Bai Qi, He Delan, Bai Rui, Chun Hua, and Fan Jia had rented a private room in a restaurant called [Road of the Sea], on the coast facing [Zihoadao]. Initially, Bai Qi had thought that his two companions, Bai Rui and Ma Su, were restrained in the town's manor, but following the link, he found that it wasn't so.

Actually, they were in the basement of a courtyard in the beach zone, one reserved for nobles and powers. Thus, the choice of location for their meeting.

The courtyard in question was a medium-sized complex of three mansions, surrounded by gardens and their respective walls, right across from the [Road of the Sea] restaurant. From the board above the main gate, it seemingly was the property of the [Shimmering Earth] Sect.

"Hmm, by all takes, Ma Su was right to defend herself. She's not a criminal, so why would they restrain her and Bai Rui just for a few minor wounds in response to pestering and an attack? If they had broken the laws, they should be restrained in the town lord's manor, not to a power's one." Fan Jia noted as she pondered what she heard.

"Mmm, thoughts aren't so easy to understand, but I saw the images from Bai Rui's memory, and the actions taken should be considered proper. So, why did the [Shimmering Earth] intervene? The moron that decided to hit on Ma Su did not carry any badges, probably the reason why Ma Su decided to react more heavily than the usual." Bai Qi agreed before turning towards He Delan and asking, "Senior He, do you know anything about the [Shimmering Earth] Sect?"

"Drop the senior, and yes, I have. Not much, though, and I can not be certain about the veracity." He Delan spoke up and half-closed her eyes, recollecting what she had heard, before continuing, "A third-tier power, but hardly strong enough for the status. Their sectmaster is merely a peak Warrior King, but he had provided some services to the local 2nd tier power, the [Sea Forest Palace], and got the help and endorsement in turn."

In the [Great Forest] region, a power could only expect to become a 3rd-tier one if they counted with a Warrior Emperor in their ranks, so the [Shimmering Earth] had to provide a lot of services to become one without that main requisite. 2nd-tier powers had even higher requirements, including endorsement by a 1st-tier one and counting with at least three Warrior Emperors, of which one had to be above the 7th level.

He Delan took a pause before adding, "As for what I am not certain about, are the rumors that circulated during the last power meeting. Not only did some 4th-tier powers mention that the [Shimmering Earth] was acting overbearingly on their territories, but a few rogue cultivators shared stories of rapes, kidnappings, and even stealing. Luckily or regretfully, depending on the take, nothing was confirmed. At least not enough for the 1st-tier powers to take action or the overlord to judge something, but Head Kongbai told us to steer clear of them. Still, that was until we obtained the 2-nd tier rank, so now, I can probably pressure them with no issue."

"Mmm, understood. Thank you. Still, before taking any actions, I would like to confirm everything." Bai Qi decided after a brief consideration. But, noting and sensing Bai Ze's displeasure, he added, "I trust Bai Rui as myself, and Ma Su didn't do anything wrong either. But before taking any action, especially hostile ones, we should investigate everything in full. After all, isn't it strange that the local lord or at the least some of the city guards did not interfere? It smells too fishy, so I would like to find out why the [Shimmering Earth] can act here with impunity and against the laws we all are supposed to accept."

"Grr... I understand." Bai Ze wasn't happy about waiting for longer, now that they were aware of her sister's situation, but she agreed with Bai Qi. After all, as [Steel Fang] Beastmen, they did not fear anything or anyone from this region, but Bai Qi's plans could be affected. Thus, even if she did not want to, it would be better to let him choose the way to free both her sister and Ma Su, who continued to be neither servant nor companion.

***

A couple of hours later, the group met again in the same private room. Except for Bai Ze, who would attract unwanted attention, the rest had spent this time trying to find anything useful, and indeed, Bai Qi had been right about there being what to find.

He Delan visited the town's manor in an attempt to meet with the City's Lord. Her status and strength considered it would be rare to be refused even by a leader of 3rd-tier power. Less by the lord of a city not even considered a power. But, she did not meet Lord Xu Wen.

"Still, they could not send me away without providing any explanations, especially with the [Void Palace] being a 2nd-tier power as the [Sea Forest Palace] that runs the region. And well, with some convincing, the head of the local guards explained even more than he was supposed to. And you know, Bai Qi, you were right to suspect something being fishy." He Delan lightly chuckled before revealing what she had learned.

As it turned out, the [Shimmering Earth] was by far not a righteous and wholesome sect, at least in the opinion of the city's manor of [Heibei]. Some incidents, ignoring the rules of conduct or dueling outside the gates, had been swept under the rug, but lately, they went even farther. To a point where Lord Xu, last week, had to stop the sect's troublemakers himself.

Several disciples were restrained, and Lord Xu contacted both the [Shimmering Earth] sectmaster and the [Sea Forest Palace] elders. All in an attempt to resolve it without further incidents.

But, it all went wrong, with the [Sea Forest Palace] ignoring Lord Xu's words and commanding him to release everyone involved. Still, the situation wasn't of the liking of the palace anyway, so they asked the sect to solve it on their side. And for that, the sect's vice-master, an 8th-level Warrior King called Lai Luoyang, arrived at [Heibei].

Regretfully, it turned out that the way to solve it decided upon in the sect was nothing else than browbeating anyone who dared to speak against them. And from that point, the [Shimmering Earth] disciples began ignoring the laws of [Heibei] entirely, provoking several fights and going so low as to rob unaffiliated cultivators that happened to stay in the town.

"And while I am unsure if it was Ma Su's and Bai Rui's incident or something else, yesterday Lai Luoyang and Xu Wen clashed. I did not learn about what happened next, but the point is that both of them left the town, and there are rumors about an actual duel between them." He Delan grinned before concluding, "So, luckily for us, the strongest cultivators in the town are not around. The rest is weaker than us, and the town own will not interfere if something happens to the [Shimmering Earth] property or people."

Fan Jia was a rogue cultivator with no status, so her choice of locations to search for information had been different. She had visited two of the taverns frequented by the passing cultivators and one of the smaller and cheaper clinics, where unaffiliated combatants from [Zihoadao] arenas recuperated.

Still, what she found wasn't so different. In fact, it was nearly the same, except for the clash and probable duel, two things that likely were concealed from everyone but the involved ones.

"A few of the people I spoke with were involved in the incidents which senior He mentioned. So now I am sure they weren't lying about the [Shimmering Earth] deliberately creating trouble, forcing fights, and then under the premise of battle loot taking all they could." Fan Jia reported next, verifying what He Delan had found out.

Hearing both of them, Bai Qi shook his head, "I did catch on some unease in the shops, and one of the owners even recommended me to not flash anything valuable for now, so it seems the situation is pretty bad. Still, I wonder why the other 3rd-tier powers that have manors or are based nearby ignore all of this. Could it be that the [Sea Forest Palace] ordered the situation to be left like it is?"

"Could be. Neither interfering on anyone's side nor allowing anyone to do so either. Maybe the palace wants Lord Xu to deal with it himself. After all, from what I understood, he's not only a peak Warrior King but also a very experienced combatant." He Delan shared her own view of the situation, and Bai Qi agreed, finding it to be the most likely one.

"So, what do we do now that you know?" Bai Ze had been fidgeting during the discussion and, as it halted, asked impatiently.

"How did it go?" Bai Qi did not answer Bai Ze but signaled Chun Hua.

"They have several formations preventing using the void to access the courtyard, but with Master's help, we should be able to bypass them. It will take time, though." Chun Hua had neither the charisma nor the desire to speak with people and find information, so she had chosen to investigate the courtyard's defenses from the void. She did not care about the captured companions of Bai Qi's, but the latter did, so she did everything possible to find a route inside, to rescue them without risk.

"And the time we do not have..." Bai Qi shook his head, taking a deep breath and calculating all the possibilities. Not later than an incense stick of time later, he spoke up, "It is better to act quickly before either of the local powerhouses arrives. Thus, we will go via the front door and try to coerce them into releasing them peacefully in the name of the [Steel Fang]. Well, you will do so."

"And if they refuse?" Bai Ze half-growled, annoyed by even the thought of talking with someone who dared to touch her sister.

"Then we will do what you thought about first." Bai Qi perfectly knew what the [White Tiger] beast girl thought, but while he would antagonize anyone if needed, trying to avoid it at first was reasonable as well.

"I agree. It seems the best way of action. But, we should prepare for a possible fight, and to do that, we need to be sure we aren't traced to it later." He Delan pointed out, and Bai Qi nodded in agreement.

Indeed, Bai Rui and Bai Ze were one thing, but neither He Delan nor Chun Hua could risk being named as culprits, less they involved the [Void Palace]. As for Bai Qi and Fan Jia, while the former was ready to risk and the latter showed that she did not care, avoiding notice would be for the best as well.

After all, who knew just how much did the [Sea Forest Palace] owe the [Shimmering Earth] sect?

An hour later, four cloaked figures knocked on the closed gates of the [Shimmering Earth] Sect manor...