"Everyone's present, Master."
In a bright, gigantic hall, four people were respectfully standing in front of a young man with black hair. The young man sat on a gigantic throne, and two guards stood beside him. The two guards didn't move and acted like statues.
The four people were not happy to be here.
They already had an inkling of why their master had called them.
"The Myriad Sect is still alive?" the young man on the throne asked.
One of the four people stepped forward and bowed politely.
"Yes, Master. I apologize for our incompetence," he said deferentially.
The four people were only waiting for words of admonishment. Their Sect had been warring with the Myriad Sect for over 50,000 years by now.
This had been one of the longest wars that their Sect had ever been part of.
The four people felt stifled and frustrated.
They had been so much more powerful than the Myriad Sect, but two of their Commanders had been killed in the struggle, severely weakening their strength.
The Myriad Sect and the Eternal Fire Sect had been fighting in several scuffles, but they hadn't had an all-out war yet. None of the two Sects had attacked the other one's headquarter yet.
Why?
Because the Eternal Fire Sect knew that the Myriad Sect's headquarters had once been owned by an Ancestral God. There was a very high likelihood that the Myriad Sect would have Formation Arrays that severely weakened everything below the Ancestral God Realm.
Going all-out would be too risky.
Why hadn't the Myriad Sect attacked their headquarters yet?
Same reason, except for one difference.
The Eternal Fire Sect had more than a couple Ancestral Gods.
The Eternal Fire Sect was not like the Broad Earth Sect, where there was only one Ancestral God. No, the Eternal Fire Sect had over a hundred Ancestral Gods, and their Sect stretched across a vast distance.
Openly attacking the Eternal Fire Sect would only result in the destruction of the Myriad Sect.
The only reason why the Myriad Sect was even warring with the Eternal Fire Sect was that the Eternal Fire Sect had been the aggressor. The Myriad Sect had made several concessions, but the Eternal Fire Sect just kept attacking.
Was this all under Manuel's control?
No, not this time.
The Eternal Fire Sect was honestly way too powerful for their liking.
The Eternal Fire Sect had hundreds of Ancestral Gods!
This Sect was no joke!
"Have you learned something during the last 50,000 years?" the young man with black hair asked.
"Yes, Master. I have learned a lot about warfare. The loss of my two Commanders has also taught me a valuable lesson. My two Commanders have died because of my incompetence. I walked right into the trap of the enemy's Sect Master. Their blood is on my hands," the person in the front said.
He was a young man with fire-red hair and sharp eyes. His build was slender, and he wore simple, red clothes.
If one saw him, one would think that he was an unaffiliated, talented, young Cultivator.
No one would associate him with the position of Junior Sect Master in the Eternal Fire Sect.
And the person sitting in front of him?
That was the actual Sect Master of the Eternal Fire Sect, a level seven Ancestral God.
As the Junior Sect Master, the red-haired youngster was responsible for leading the Star Gods and Immortal Emperors that directly belonged to the Eternal Fire Sect. However, he had no control over all the subsidiary Sects.
"What mistakes did you make?" the Sect Master asked.
"Several," the red-haired youngster said.
After that, the red-haired youngster told his master about all the mistakes he had made and how he should have acted to avoid them.
After listening to his disciple, the Sect Master nodded solemnly. "Then, the time has not been wasted. You have learned a lot."
"Thank you, Master," the disciple said with a deep bow.
"However, one of the things that you said is incorrect," the Sect Master said.
"Please enlighten me, Master."
Whooom!
The Sect Master lifted his hand, and some fire appeared above it. In just a second, the fire took on the shape of the Myriad Sect's headquarters. There were even many tiny flames moving around the fiery Myriad Sect.
"This time, I inspected the Myriad Sect personally," he said. "I wanted to know what kind of Sect could give you so much trouble."
"What I found surprised even me."
"Tell me, who is the most powerful Cultivator of the Myriad Sect?" the Sect Master asked.
"The Assisting Elder. Her name is Stella," the young man answered.
"How many similarly powerful Cultivators are in the Myriad Sect?" the Sect Master asked.
"None," the Junior Sect Master said.
"If I were to tell you that the Myriad Sect had no outstanding Formation Arrays protecting their Sect, with what kind of force would you attack the Myriad Sect?" the Sect Master asked.
The Junior Sect Master thought for a bit. "The Myriad Sect has four Star Gods in total. The Assisting Elder is powerful enough to fight a level two Star God, but the other three are only average. I would attack the Sect with one level two Star God and three level one Star Gods since our members need tempering. However, I would keep myself and one of my Junior Vice-Sect Masters hidden in case we lose the battle."
The Sect Master nodded. This plan would be just perfect for such a force.
"That would be an appropriate force if the enemy's power were as powerful as you made it out to be," the Sect Master said. "However, your information is inaccurate."
"Inaccurate?" the Junior Sect Master asked with furrowed brows.
The Sect Master nodded. "Correct. There are actually three Star Gods that can fight level two Star Gods. There are also three Star Gods that can fight level one Star Gods. Additionally, their Peak Immortal Emperor army has some very peculiar abilities that allow them to delay two level one Star Gods. They can't kill them, but they can delay them."
"This means that, if you were to attack the Myriad Sect with the forces you mentioned, the control would be in the Myriad Sect's hands. The other two powerful Star Gods would immediately attack you and your Junior Vice-Sect Master, keeping you from interfering. After that, the Myriad Sect would quickly deal with the level one Star Gods. Keep in mind, this is not a group of one-on-one fights, but a war."
"If you were to attack like this, you would die," the Sect Master finished.
The Junior Sect Master's face turned white.
The Myriad Sect was that powerful!?
How had they managed to keep two forces that could fight level two Star Gods hidden!?
The Junior Sect Master bowed even deeper. "I failed! I have almost doomed my disciples," he said with a devastated tone.
"Yes, you have," the Sect Master said. "You have not investigated the Myriad Sect enough. Keep in mind that our Sect isn't the only one that has affiliated powers. One of the two hidden, powerful Star Gods is the leader of an affiliated power of the Myriad Sect. Just like the Assisting Elder, he knows the Major Law of the Dead World."
"The other hidden power is the Sect Master himself," the Sect Master said.
The eyes of the Junior Sect Master widened. "But how? We have several spies in the Myriad Sect, and they have all checked the Sect Master's powers personally. They have also run several checks on the Elders."
"That is because he kept his power hidden, even from the Myriad Sect itself," the Sect Master said. "The Myriad Sect followed him because of his outstanding mindset, bearing, and personality. That is true. However, he is also very powerful. He just doesn't need to reveal his power to stay in control of the Sect, which is why he hadn't."
The Junior Sect Master gritted his teeth violently.
He felt like he had been played!
"Samuel," the Sect Master said, addressing the Junior Sect Master by his name.
"Yes, Master," Samuel said with a weak voice. He knew what would come next.
"You know the punishment for such a failure. If you had continued, your most powerful members would have been turned into corpses. Essentially, you would have led your Sect into ruin," the Sect Master said.
Samuel gritted his teeth, but he still bowed.
He wasn't angry with his master but with himself.
He should have been more careful!
Then, Samuel stood up and took out a red emblem. The emblem had a flame in the middle of it, and it radiated incredible power.
Samuel went to one of his two Vice-Sect Masters behind him.
The Vice-Sect Master stood up and took out his own emblem.
Then, the two of them exchanged their emblems.
After that, Samuel took the place of the Vice-Sect Master and bowed.
The new Junior Sect Master went to the front and bowed to the Sect Master. "Ishtar pays his respect to Master," Ishtar said.
The Sect Master nodded. "Ishtar, this is your opportunity now. If you can remain the Junior Sect Master until you become an Ancestral God, you will join my council."
"Ishtar thanks Master for this opportunity!" Ishtar said.
Wait, Samuel would have doomed his Sect, and he was only demoted to Vice-Sect Master? Wasn't that a bit light as punishment?
No.
Because all of this was only training.
The Eternal Fire Sect didn't care about these weak lands and these few resources. In their eyes, all the Star Gods were only children that were still growing.
The Sect Master had four disciples, and all four of them had already been the Junior Sect Master at some point.
The position would simply continue rotating until one of them managed to become a truly outstanding Junior Sect Master.
The other powerful Elders in the Eternal Fire Sect also had one Sect each for their disciples.
This part of the Eternal Fire Sect was simply one of several training grounds for the future leaders of the Eternal Fire Sect.
'It will still take a long time for one of them to truly shine,' the Sect Master thought as he looked at his four disciples.
'I wouldn't have all this trouble if my actual disciple were still alive.'
'Sadly, he had been born at the wrong time,' the Sect Master thought as he remembered how his disciple had peacefully closed his eyes in front of him just 100,000 years ago.
His disciple had peacefully died right in front of the Sect Master in his own room. The Sect Master had wanted to save him, but he knew that it was futile.
No one could have saved his disciple.
His disciple had been a level nine Star God back then.
Sadly, he had been in the wrong Realm at the wrong time.