Ferrying the injured woman along as he flew over to Sersa, he couldn’t help but hope that a decent amount of disciples turned down his offer. While he was capable of defeating someone as powerful as the seventh great elder of the Bloodhand Sect, he had only barely been able to do so. Yes, he had many powerful arrayments at his disposal, but the scope of their effects was limited by his cultivation level along with the amount and quality of the spiritual energy inside of his spiritual space, not to mention that the ones that would help to cement his victory over opponents that were stronger than him required too much time and focus to make them practical during actual combat. The two arrayments that he’d used to defeat the woman in question, for instance, both effectively raised his cultivation by one level each, but only vaguely. If he were to face a cultivator at the ninth level of Genesis, he would barely be able to escape with his life let alone attempt to put up a fight.

I need to reach Genesis as soon as possible.

‘Any instructions, Master?”

Meeting Havel’s sky-blue eyes, he gave a curt nod. “A lot of them will probably join just to stay alive, so keep an eye out for anyone that looks like they’re on the fence about it. For people like that, make sure each of them refine someone that didn’t want to betray the sect.”

Sersa’s eyes flashed with approval, her hazels dark beneath long lashes of bright, yellowish brown. Looking over at Renay, who was taking stock of their losses down below, the other girl’s focus settled upon the four of them—Jason, Sersa, Havel and the captured elder—and she gave Sersa a subservient nod.

“She’ll be helping Havel,” explained the former deacon in response to his raised eyebrow. “She’s quite good at administration.”

“She is, actually. Yeah, that’s no problem.”

“As for her.” Sersa drifted closer, a light breeze pulling her silver-on-black robes tight around her body. “I’ve got countless questions.”

The red-eyed woman ignored Sersa, instead focusing on the stump of her knee where her severed leg was slowly regenerating beneath the folded fabric of her pant leg, which was covered by the long robe that Jason had given her a short while earlier.

“That’s fine,” she said quietly, leaning in close with a sinister glint in her eyes. “Just know that I’m very much looking forward to catching up with you.”

Jason cast a quick arrayment on the woman, which gave life to a small globe of dark grey energy that swirled around her like a rotating cloud. Like this, she wouldn’t be able to hear anything outside of the sphere, or hear anything for that matter. From her point of view, everything outside was completely black. It was a fairly weak arrayment that didn’t have much use in combat as it could be broken with ease by those of the Integration stage and above, but he knew that the woman wouldn’t dare to break it and so decided to inconvenience her just for the sake of it.

He confirmed the success of the technique when his captive blinked a few times before summoning a bit of light above one of her hands with a simple illumination arrayment, after which she continued to focus on healing her injury.

It’s a nice feeling, he thought with satisfaction, folding his hands behind his lean, muscled back as he watched Havel and Renay organizing the prisoners into two groups down below. Trolling the Adolf’s of this world and they can’t do anything about it. It’s kind of cool to think I can do stuff like that now.

Seeing the woman’s reaction from outside of the globe, Sersa gave a light snicker.

“And you expect me to believe you’re self-taught?”

“Seems like you knew her,” he said, not intent on revisiting the story behind his capabilities. “I take it you didn’t get along?”

She straightened up and withdrew a few paces before turning to face him. “I’ll tell you this now; don’t be deceived by her beauty.” She took on a look of disgust, her thin lips curling and her cheeks rising at angry angles. “My master had one of the largest stockpiles of resources within the sect, and she stopped by quite often to manipulate some gifts from him. There were times when she would make off with a tenth of our stocks, even when all we had to spare were the youngest children that had yet to gain permission to cultivate let alone be considered for admission into the outer court.”

“So she’s killed a bunch of kids, then?” Jason wondered if the seventh seated elder had also been born within the sect. Was redemption even possible for someone at that point?

“More than any other great elder. She also had a habit of leaving the sect without permission to cultivate in the surrounding lands. She emptied many villages and towns in the kingdoms of the Southern Steppes.”

Jason poured a bit of spiritual energy into his arrayment, which caused the light within to dim rapidly before it disappeared altogether.

“I’ll leave her like this for a while.”

Down below, Havel and Renay were finishing up with their task beneath the light of his arrayment. Both had been forced to kill several individuals that had attempted to flee as discreetly as possible, their unflinching ruthlessness causing many others to abandon similar plans and resign themselves to their enslavement.

Sersa looked down at her tattered robes, which had many burns and missing patches. “When are you thinking of creating those reinforced uniforms you were talking about the other day? I’m afraid during one of the coming fights I’ll be exposed in front of our subordinates like you two were during your fight. I don’t want to have to kill them all for such a foolish reason.”

“I’ll do it soon. Maybe tonight once the dust’s settled.”

“Was there anything else you planned on doing today? It’s getting a bit monotonous lately, so I’d rather rest for a day or two before we try anything else.”

“Do what you want.” He turned around, staring off into the distance with eager eyes. “Take the survivors along with you and get them settled.”

“You’re not coming?”

“Me and the elder here need to pay a little visit to Calmer.”

“Alone? What are you scheming?”

Glancing over a shoulder, he feigned offence. “You make it sound like I’m some villain.”

In truth, he was in the mood to wreak a little bit of havoc on the war party that had been serving as a distraction from the seventh-seated elder’s plot to divide their forces. Even as they spoke, the people of Calmer were likely being subjected to the untold horrors that had made the sect so hated throughout the continent. He had no sympathy for people that made a sport of killing and torture, of which he knew he’d find many in Calmer.

“Be sure to bring me back some resources.”

“Just take your pick of someone here that doesn’t choose to join us.”

She crossed her arms, not seeming to like his response as she glanced down at the tiny group of those that had refused to comply with his demands. “I’ll do it myself, then. I’ll see you in Calmer.” She rose higher into the air and abruptly soared outside of the boundary of his illumination arrayment’s influence, disappearing into the darkness of night with a light whoosh of wind.

“Don’t do anything until I get there,” he said, knowing that she would hear him despite having rushed off in the direction of the city in question. “I’ve got a plan, so don’t act recklessly.” Settling his gaze on those below, he focused on the surprisingly small amount of people that preferred death over life as a battle-slave and unceremoniously enveloped them in a heavy mass of spiritual energy. “Change of plans,” he said to Havel, who was in the midst of directing several uncertain disciples to refine the stauncher of their former companions. “I’ll be taking these guys along with me. You take the others back to camp and get them settled.”

Havel bowed his head with a resolute gaze, showing the same professionalism that had originally earned him Jason’s favour. “Yes, Master.”

“Alright, I’ll be back.”

Jason activated the Scarlet Serpent Summoning Technique and touched his feet down upon the centre of its neck. Dismissing the spiritual energy that he’d been relying on to float in place, he anchored his feet onto the lifelike serpent with his internal energies and then willed it to fly off into the darkness while simultaneously ferrying the great elder and the twelve peak-Integration disciples.

Now then, he thought, his gaze settling upon the nearest of his captives.

Eyes widening in horror, the young man began to struggle against the energy that held him paralyzed in place, unable to move a muscle beneath the oppressive aura that Jason was exerting upon him.