As soon as the fog lifted, revealing the gory scene, the countless robed figures all looked at each other and nodded. One person flew upwards, only to be met by Lao Jianghu:

“You scum!”

A golden longsword flashed and the figure was cut in two… however, the only thing that feel on the ground were the robes, the body was nowhere to be found!

Seeing this, Lao Jianghu nodded satisfied and whispered with feeling, his voice compressed into a string, reaching every single robed person:

“Thanks for your hard work everyone… go now. Hurry, do not get caught!”

By the time it took to count to five, the robed figures were nowhere to be found… and the corpses of Fang Lu and Fu Yin were on top of the stage, up for anybody to see. As people looked around, they were startled to notice… that Xiao Wu and Te Rin, the tigresses who had shaken the hearts of the audience with their magnificent display of skills, had also disappeared!

Only a pale Sou Rou still stood, surrounded by a grief-stricken Mu Gu, Fa Guan and a few more of the Sect’s Elders. Her fists were curled up into balls as tears streaked down her cheeks…

…

"One year minus one day from now, us four together with Xiao Wu, Fu Yin, Fang Lu, Lu Fang and Te Rin, will leave this Plane of Existence..." Goldy swallowed as his eyes turned red.

He turned and walked away, his whole body trembling, his expression hidden as he gave his back to the three other people present.

"We will leave!" He yelled "With or without Cheng Hao!"

Having said that, the golden dragon gritted his teeth and flew off. Blacky waved his sleeve and the pressure blocking the way disappeared, allowing Blindlight to leave.

He turned to look at where the other had stopped before flying away and notice circular stains on the ground...

The Hellish Nightmare Dragon sighed and turned to look at Aster and Iris "I am sorry to ask you this... But we have no other choice" He looked at the stains and gritted his teeth as he also felt his heart tugging a bit.

His shoulder jerked and a single tear formed on the corner of his left eye and streaked down his cheek "Blindlight... Understands as well... And will guide us to the best of his abilities..."

After a few moments of silence, Aster lifted his head and asked once again:

“Wait… why didn’t he mention Sou Rou? Isn’t she also coming?”

The beast-turned-man was startled for a second and then sighed:

“No. After all, we cannot leave this Sect without leaving a Successor behind… that would raise too much of an uproar. You know of our plan. It is already quite a mess with many holes everywhere, do you think that so many Protectors would be unable to protect even a single of the Sect’s greatest geniuses.”

“Still…” The Hellish Nightmare Dragon smiled bitterly:

“We will tell her of the plan. She has the right to know exactly what is going on… as well as the reasons for our decision. There is no need to worry about her progress: she has by her side many brilliant people such as Mu Gu and Lao Jianghu.”

He sighed:

“This all… is for their sake. I hate to involve humans into the matter of us Heavenly Beasts, especially children such as them. However, after all, this is a Rebellion!”

“To defeat the Tyrant, we have no other choice: we will have to use each and every card we have at hand! Be it beast or human children!”

…

Sou Rou lifted her gaze:

I will not neglect my training and, when the time comes, I will be sure to be able to help you all! I will train twice, thrice, as many times as hard as I can! Cheng Hao… the technique you left me, I will train in it until I can no longer breathe!

She turned, heading towards Lao Jianghu. The old man’s face was one of extreme anger. As soon as he laid his eyes on the girl he nodded:

“Are you ready? Your training will be harsh. Harsher than anything you have ever faced before. I will guide you in your breakthroughs, but I will not help you any further! And, in our spars, I will be using the full power allowed on your stage from the very start!”

The voice, compressed into a string, reached Sou Rou’s ears. The girl inhaled and then exhaled.

Brothers… sisters… good luck! Thank you for everything! Xiao Wu, Fu Yin, Te Rin, Fang Lu, Cheng Hao… I… will not let you down!

She nodded.

“Yes… master!”

…

The room was extremely spacious and had the shape of a large square. The walls were made out of a strange glossy material, while the ceiling, a dome made out of mysterious, dark bricks, was supported by many crystal columns located in the room’s four sides.

On each column, a torch calmly shone as the green flames burned silently, lighting up the room. Suddenly, the peacefulness of the room was broken!

Whoosh!

A bright, white light flashed in the large hall as the large frames of a white door appeared. As it opened, it revealed the figures of three people: a beautiful girl with ginger hair and crimson eyes shining a bright violet; a white haired, blue eyed youth, his face covered in scars, his lips arranged into a carefree smile; a chubby youth, his brown hair tied into a single ponytail, his eyes narrowed as an annoyed expression was shown on his face.

Fu Yin stepped forward and looked around wide eyed, his mouth completely open as he gaped:

“Instant teleportation? This is actually possible?”

Iris sighed in relief as she looked around: they were in the right place. Then, she turned to look at the white haired boy and nodded:

“I guess you could call it that. Basically, I bent the fabrics of space so that two points at different ends of the Earth actually touched. After that, I tore these fabrics apart. However, instead of creating the usual space rifts, as two ends of space were touching, these two points were connected and thus it allowed me to travel from there to here.”

Iris looked behind her as the door shrunk and disappeared completely. As she thought just how close they had been to death, she felt cold sweat trickling down her back.

“Had I got the coordinates wrong, we would not be here talking. Fortunately, it seems like I calculated them correctly. I guess, after the sixth time doing this, it becomes much easier.”

Fang Lu frowned:

“Sixth time?”

“Yap… and soon, it’s going to be the eighth...” Iris grimaced. She lifted her tired eyes and smiled bitterly:

“One back at the Sect and then from there I have to come here once more. Seriously, why does it have to be me! I already risked my life six times! I’d like to keep it, thank you very much!”

The voice of an old man rang out:

“That’s because you, as an Ancient, what’s more, one whose focus on their path of cultivation is actually the study of spatial fabrics, has a much deeper connection with the world. You are the one with the highest chance of success amongst all of us…”

The two youths and the ginger haired woman all turned. Behind them, a middle-aged man dressed in black robes, a recently trimmed black beard and a goatee of the same color, walked forward, his expression one of helplessness as he stared at the young woman:

“Then, Iris, I will be asking you to do one last… teleportation. Please?”

The woman pouted. Then, her purple lips’ corners rose slightly and arranged into a mischievous smile:

“What if I don’t?”

Step. Step. Step.

The sound of steps reached the ears of the ones on the scene. Before anything happened, the young woman paled and both fear and extreme happiness flashed in her pupils.

“...Iris...”

The single word seemed to cut the air apart. Everyone present felt as if a sharp blade had just been pressed against their jugular. An extremely sharp presence, like that of an unsheathed sword, spread across the room as another man walked in…

The white hair were fluttering despite the lack of wind, his robes looked consumed, yet clean, almost as if they had been exposed to such a powerful pressure for so long that they had actually aged faster.

A pair of the sharpest crimson eyes glowed as the man walked forward, a greatsword strapped to his back. The man apparently had no cultivation, instead the blade behind him exuded such powerful pressure that it made everyone present, save for the middle-aged man, pale with fright.

“H-Hi bro! Of course I am going!” Iris smiled tremblingly before immediately focusing. The purple light appeared once more and, soon afterwards, she stepped into the white door and disappeared.

The hall went silent as the bright light dissipated. The white haired man shook his head:

“Seriously, is she still not past the rebellious phase yet?”

“Ah! Aster, thanks, you really helped me out there…” The black robed man with a goatee smiled.

“Ah, there was nothing to it, don’t worry… now, young men, I think we do not yet know each other. I’m one of Cheng Hao’s… well, servants, I guess?” The man sighed. The man extended his hand.:

“Oh, whatever, that is not important. As you may have guessed, my name is Aster, Nice to meet you! I hope we will get along, otherwise these remaining nine months are going to be hell!”