For a second, the Sect remained in silence as the Sect Master appeared.
Then, everything broke out.
"He killed people!"
"He killed members of our Sect!"
"He killed our members in public!"
"Let me at him, Sect Master! I'm going to take revenge for- "
Bonk!
And the last person was also thrown into the fire.
Of course, it had been Gravis that had done that.
The Sect was thrown into silence again.
Gravis only smirked at the Sect Master while he had done that.
The Sect Master only frowned at Gravis.
The two of them exchanged gazes for a couple of seconds.
As the members of the Sect saw Gravis and the Sect Master exchange glances, they became confused.
Why wasn't their Sect Master killing him?
A level one Ancestral God had just killed over 30 of their own Ancestral Gods!
Why wasn't the Sect Master doing anything!?
Why was she just looking at him!?
After some seconds, the Sect Master turned away from Gravis and looked at her Sect.
"What am I supposed to do?" she asked the Sect with a serious tone.
The members were shocked when they heard that.
What was up with that question?
"Just kill him-"
Bonk!
And that guy was gone too.
Silence again.
The others looked with horror at the place where the previous person had just stood.
"S-Sect Master," a woman with luxurious attire said nervously. "Don't you have the power to… do something against him? You're the strongest member of our Sect! It's your responsibility to protect us!"
Gravis hadn't unleashed his terrifying bonk ability on that person since she hadn't directly threatened him.
The Sect Master looked at the woman who had just spoken.
Bonk!
The woman was thrown into the fire, but this time, it hadn't been Gravis.
It had been the Sect Master.
Everyone looked with shock at the Sect Master.
Had… had their Sect Master just killed someone of her own Sect!?
Just like that!?
Silence.
"This person can jump at least four or five levels," the Sect Master declared. "The reason why you can't feel his Battle-Strength is because your own Battle-Strength isn't high enough to perceive it."
Silence.
"As a level one Ancestral God, he can fight level four, level five, and maybe even level six Ancestral Gods," the Sect Master continued.
Silence.
"Would someone like that throw their life away in such a stupid way?"
Silence.
The members of the Sect had been beyond shocked by the revelation.
Jumping four, five, and maybe even six levels?
Jumping four levels was already something only the absolute geniuses of the Peak Sects could do, and this person was even more powerful?
He must have a very powerful background!
"As far as I am aware, he doesn't have a powerful background," the Sect Master announced as if she had read their thoughts.
This took the members of the Sect even more by surprise.
Then, if he didn't have a powerful background, why wasn't their Sect Master just killing him!? What was wrong with her!?
"He is not stupid," the Sect Master said with severity. "Just based on his Battle-Strength, he can't be stupid. If you are able to think of the possibility that I might attack him, he can too."
"So, why did he do these things?"
"It's because he doesn't fear the Ancestor nor me."
"He might not be able to fight or injure me at this moment, but he is confident enough in escaping."
"Tell me, if I attack him now and I fail, what will happen?"
Silence.
Several thoughts went through everyone's heads.
What if she failed?
They hadn't thought of that at all.
They had believed that Gravis' death would be a certainty. After all, the Sect Master was eight levels above him!
How could one escape from that?
It was impossible!
However, hadn't Gravis already proven that he could do the impossible?
So, what if he succeeded?
The members didn't take long to come to a conclusion.
If Gravis truly had such a powerful Battle-Strength, it probably wasn't very difficult for him to earn enough money to rise a couple of levels. At that point, wouldn't he be powerful enough to directly fight the Sect Master or maybe even the Ancestor?
What then?
"He can fly in a place where not even the Ancestors or I can fly without the permission of the Formation Array," the Sect Master explained. "That should give you enough clues to come to a conclusion about his extraordinary power."
"Some of you were blind and thought that there is safety in numbers. You ganged up on him, thinking that he couldn't possibly kill all of you, right? He wouldn't be that insane, right?"
"However, public perception is only relevant to people that lead factions. People without factions don't need to care about public perception as long as they are powerful enough."
The Sect Master took a deep breath.
"I've committed a mistake," she said.
"I created this Sect to foster as many smart Cultivators as possible, but while doing so, I became lost. I was so focused on schemes and status that I have forgotten the most fundamental truth of the world."
"Power is everything."
"However, power isn't only one's Battle-Strength, but also one's ability to escape and grow. At the moment, this person can't fight me, but if he escapes and rises some levels, I will be the one that has to escape."
"Attacking him now is too risky, and I see that action as throwing my life away. I might be the leader of the Eternal Fire Sect, and you might believe that it's my duty to sacrifice myself for everyone."
"However, I won't," she said with a serious tone. "I won't throw my life away for my Sect. Everyone here knows that a Sect is only a place to further one's own power. None of you actually believe in undying loyalty and dying for a greater cause."
"We all want power. We all want to survive. The only reason why we are in a Sect is to protect ourselves from external threats and to gain resources faster."
"That's it."
The Sect Master took another deep breath again. Obviously, it wasn't easy for her to say these words.
"I have created an army of strategists, but an army has to be filled with soldiers. The strategists are not good soldiers, and good soldiers are not good strategists."
"I have made a mistake. I shouldn't have fostered the mindset of strategists to such a degree."
"I went too far."
"However, that doesn't mean that the Sect can't change for the better."
"From this day forth, we will focus our attention to both soldiers and strategists."
"And today, you receive your first lesson."
The Sect Master gestured to Gravis.
"Power ignores rules. All your scheming is useless if someone directly attacks you with overwhelming force."
"I'm not confident in taking him down."
"The Ancestor isn't confident in taking him down."
"If his potential for growth weren't so great, we could try. However, his potential for growth is too terrifying. Because of that, we can't look at his current strength and assume that this is all the power he will ever have."
"In such a case, you can only accept what comes."
The Sect had fallen into complete silence.
'Huh, so this was her plan,' Gravis thought with a smirk while scratching his chin. 'Who would've thought?'
Some minutes ago, the Sect Master had contacted Gravis.
What had she told him?
She had told him that if he wanted to kill someone, he could.
She wouldn't pursue these deaths.
Gravis hadn't been sure why the Sect Master had said that to him, but he had gone along with it.
She wanted Gravis to kill her Sect Members?
Sure, Gravis wanted to do that regardless.
What had the Sect Master discussed with the Ancestor a couple of minutes ago?
"I've realized that the Sect fosters too many strategists, and I fear that nearly everyone has forgotten what it's like to be on the outside. Everyone has spent their lives in controlled environments, only surrounded by other schemers."
"I fear that the Sect has forgotten what it's like to fight on the frontlines."
"We all want power, and scheming and strategy should only be a means to an end, not the goal. I fear that too many members have made it their goal."
"Because of that, I want to reshuffle the Sect and revolutionize it."
"I hope you agree, Ancestor."
This was what the Sect Master had said to the Ancestor when Gravis had arrived.
This had been her plan.
What had the Ancestor answered?
The Ancestor had only smirked.
"You are the Sect Master. I left the Sect in your hands. If you think that's the right course of action, go through with it."
"I won't interfere."
And thus, the great reshuffle of the Eternal Fire Sect had been decided.