"Oh... Selene, my dear daughter-in-law, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" the Sect Leader asked from his high seat, his eyes sparkling with unmistakable interest the moment he sensed her cultivation aura.
Had she advanced to the Spiritual Transformation Realm? That was simply incredible!
With such an achievement, the Ashen family’s position would become even more solid within a sect they already dominated almost entirely.
Selene didn’t respond right away. She merely nodded toward Kael, who stepped forward with a firm stride, his footsteps echoing across the polished stone floor.
"Grandfather, your grandson, Kael Ashen, stands before you!" Kael declared, allowing his cultivation at the third stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm to flow freely.
Pressure rippled through the hall like an invisible tide, drawing muffled exclamations and shocked stares from everyone present.
Especially from Lucius and the other youths, who had sensed Kael’s cultivation before and were now struggling to process what they were witnessing with their own eyes.
How on earth was he already in the Foundation Establishment Realm?
Whispers broke out among the elders seated along both sides of the hall, several of them leaning forward to get a better look at the boy.
Kael ignored all the stares, his expression as impassive as ice.
"Grandfather, as you must already know, your grandson recently awakened his cultivation, and now that I have gained my enlightenment, I am ready to claim what is rightfully mine.
Grant me my Core Disciple token and order the sect’s treasury to begin organizing the resources that are due to me."
"Hmm..." The old leader of the Fallen Sword Sect didn’t reply immediately. He scratched his chin thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing.
His gaze slowly swept across the hall until it settled on another of his grandsons: Sol Ashen.
Catching his grandfather’s gaze, Sol stepped forward, his lips already curling, poised for attack.
The wounds he had suffered at Kael’s hands had almost completely healed, but the humiliation hadn’t faded one bit, and rage continued to burn in his chest.
"Grandpa, don’t you think Kael owes us an explanation?" Sol asked, taking another step forward, his voice laced with carefully disguised venom.
"He disappears into the forest on his own. Then, after being ’poisoned’ by a scorpion, he wakes up with a strange martial art, a spear that clearly doesn’t belong to our family, and, to top it all off, a spiritual root—previously thought to be crippled—completely restored. Isn’t that a little too suspicious?"
Sol placed heavy emphasis on the word "poisoned"—enough to make Selene’s face harden instantly, fury etched into every one of her features.
"How do we know he was actually poisoned? What if he accepted a demonic art instead and is using the poison merely as an excuse?"
The moment Sol’s words fell in the hall, Selene clenched her teeth and unleashed her murderous intent.
The air turned frigid in an instant. Several of the younger disciples paled and took an involuntary step back, and even a few elders stiffened in their seats.
"You damned brat... how dare you accuse my baby of something like that?!" Selene roared, her voice laden with fury, her full chest heaving beneath her robes with every ragged breath.
But she fell silent the instant the Sect Leader, Dorian Ashen, raised a hand in a serene gesture.
"Calm down, my dear daughter-in-law. Let’s first hear what young Sol has to say... A matter involving your delicate Kael shouldn’t be treated lightly, should it?
Cases of sudden cultivation awakenings are rare, and we can’t afford to take any risks."
Selene’s jaw tightened even further, her brow furrowed as she reluctantly withdrew her aura.
Her beautiful eyes fell on Kael, whose face remained as cold as ever, showing not a shred of concern.
"Grandfather, Kael must hand over his weapon and his technique to the family so that we can investigate whether they are of demonic origin or not!" Sol declared once more, his voice ringing across the hall.
The coldness in Kael’s eyes intensified.
He already knew full well what Sol intended to do.
Basically, if the family took his items, then even if they weren’t of demonic origin, once their quality was verified, there was next to no chance he’d ever see them again.
The sword he’d received as a gift from his stepmother in the past was only Rank D, and even so, it was already highly coveted within the sect—even by the most powerful elders.
When Kael glanced at the sword hanging from his grandfather’s waist and used the System’s item analysis ability, it didn’t take much effort to see that even that blade was only Rank C.
Kael, on the other hand, possessed a cultivation technique, a combat technique, and a spear, all of Rank B.
If he handed all of that over to the sect, the Ancestor himself would likely emerge from his seclusion to claim them, offering Kael nothing more than some pathetic consolation payment.
"Grandfather, I did, in fact, obtain the items and techniques I demonstrated on the day the Diamond-Eyed Scorpion attacked me, but..." Kael took a step forward, extending his hand.
In his grasp, the Golden Spear of the Southern Dragon Emperor materialized in a burst of golden light that washed over every face in the hall. In the next instant, he activated the Burning Sky Body Cultivation Art.
A powerful, flaming aura enveloped his body, his Foundation Establishment cultivation erupting like a flame poised to engulf everything around him.
A wave of heat rolled across the hall. The disciples nearest to him instinctively shielded their faces, while more than a few elders fixed their eyes on the golden spear, a greedy glint flickering within them.
Kael had already mapped out his strategy: a fake master.
This move would perfectly explain the origin of his cultivation and, better yet, ensure that no one there would dare to do anything against him, out of sheer fear of this master.
"My cultivation also came from the encounter I had back then, but this encounter wasn’t with a demonic cultivator—it was with an old master who saw talent in me, awakened that talent, and declared me his disciple!
He was the one who gave me this spear, my cultivation technique, and my martial arts technique as well!
If Grandfather wants to confront him about this, my master said he’ll come for me in a few years and take me to the Land of Divine Light! You’ll be able to confront him then."
Sol’s face stiffened, but Kael gave him no chance to speak.
The instant the last word left his mouth, Kael hurled the spear toward Dorian.
The golden shaft cut through the air with a sharp whistle, leaving a streak of light in its wake as gasps erupted across the hall.