Chương 51: Beast Tides

Ren arrived at the library, the smell of old parchments immediately filling his lungs. He took a deep breath, then he headed toward the back. Unfortunately, Master Gao was absent from his post. Thinking that he might be busy with something, Ren went up to Section Eight. He decided to take all three techniques since he wasn't sure which one he would like. A decision at this point was something only kids would do, not a grown man. He was new to all these spear thingies, after all, so he wanted to dive deeper first.

New hobbies come with new problems. But the fun part lies exactly when you just picked something up. Ren quite liked new things, even though he mostly resisted change too. Was this a contrast? Yeah. But it was simply him, too. After the library, he dropped by the Alchemy Peak, too. But in a twisted coincidence, Master Shu had just left for somewhere. Fortunately, the resources he had asked for had arrived, so this visit turned out not to be a waste.

From there, Ren acted on instinct, and as expected, he noticed the same was true for Lady Dimitra, Yan Yuze, and even for his Master. It seemed as if every Master-level figure in the sect had to respond to an invisible emergency. Struggling to contain his frown, Ren made his way to the Judgment Hall. Compared to its grand name, it was actually a double-floored, modest building in the style of an ancient temple. Its tiles were blood-red, while its walls were nothing but black stones lined in perfect symmetry.

There, at its wooden door, Demoness greeted him with her usual wailing mask.

"Aww, you finally remembered us, huh? And here I thought you were avoiding us just to dump all the work."

"When will you stop acting like a little mistress?" Ren asked as he passed her, stepping inside.

"Heh." Demoness followed his steps, her chuckle echoing in the empty corridor.

"I don't know, maybe when my dear hubby realizes he is better off with me and ends his fake marriage to show me some love. Then we can run off to another part of the world, have a small farm to ourselves. You know, the things mortals find fulfilling. And we can make ten chubby babies. They can take from your eyes, and my beauty. Wouldn't it be amazing? Ahh, even the thought of it feels so exciting and forbidden."

"Why my eyes instead of my beauty?"

"So you want to have ten crimson-eyed, nefarious brats waking you up in the middle of the night, asking to help them pee?"

"Yeah, when pigs—" Ren suddenly stopped halfway, causing Demoness to almost crash into him.

"What happened?" she asked, and lifted one brow. There are flying pigs in this world… I almost throw myself into the abyss. Ren sighed first, then shrugged and continued walking.

"Hey, hey! Answer me."

"You can dream, alright," Ren smirked when her steps quickened to get ahead of him, her cheeks puffed behind the mask.

"Just don't wish so atrocious things the next time, you old hag."

"Me? Old hag?" Demoness let out an exasperated laugh.

"You rude thing. Don't you know women age like fine wine?"

"Rotten grapes can't make fine wine, no matter how many years pass." Ren rolled his eyes and pushed open his office door. Its design was the same as his study, except for a side-desk covered in runes, and it was in the same pristine state. It seemed like no one had believed he wouldn't return. A white parchment sitting at the desk drew his gaze, his seal on it gleaming in bright purple. Plopping down, he saw the thing he first wrote in this world: his resignation.

"What is this doing in here?" Ren raised one brow sharply. It should've already been in the council's hands.

"I remember I had ordered you to deliver it."

"Ah, that?" Demoness threw herself directly to the chair, settling both legs on its armrest. She also took off her mask since they were alone.

"I thought it would be a waste. Seems like my foresight was true." She flicked a finger before Ren could answer, and the parchment instantly combusted into a fireball. She even made a grabbing motion, trapping all the smoke and ashes into her palm to send them out of the window, which opened on its own. Then she gave him a proud smile.

"Look, it's all done." Ren stared at her, speechless. Thousands of thoughts flooded into his mind, his mouth opening and closing, only to nod and lean back. She had already taken care of it; what more could words do?

"How much work had piled up?" he asked, getting back to one of the reasons he was actually here. Demoness gave him an amused look, put her finger on her lip, and bit on it gently. Her eyes wandered around the room, her every move feeding his dread until she felt satisfied. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"None," she said, laughing as soon as Ren's shoulder dropped in relaxation.

"I took care of it, except for the Miracle Sect matter. That needs your attention since the convict came from you, not from the Hall." Being cared for… wasn't so bad, huh? Ren couldn't help but chuckle. He selectively ignored her lie. It seemed he had to give some rewards to Frostbite.

"It's not something to worry about," he muttered, and opened one of the drawers to take his seal. Quickly scribbling something on an empty parchment, he slammed his seal and let it dry.

"Finished. After all, I'm… the Hall. End of the matter."

"Wow, someone got back his confidence." Ren grinned.

"Punching a literal storm helped a lot, I can't lie."

"Must be so," Demoness said, playing with the tip of her hair.

"Anyways, you didn't drop by just for the work, right?" Clasping his hands together, Ren leaned forward. He had tried to hold his curiosity, yet it seemed he wasn't that successful.

"Where are all the Masters?"

"Oh, you noticed?"

"Demoness..."

"Fine, fine. No need to throw 'I'm dead serious, be serious' glare." She rolled her eyes dramatically and lowered her feet.

"Some went to clean your ass. I guess attacking another Eldest wasn't the wise choice. Azure Sky is complaining and even threatened to bring your case to the Celestial Court. Master Shu and Sect Master left to appease them." His face tightened immediately. But Demoness wasn't finished.

"Xue Tian left for somewhere too, but you know the man. Nobody knows what he is doing or what he is planning. And great timing by the way, as countless beast tides erupted just this night. The exact details aren't clear, though. Perhaps it's related to the blessings that damn court sent."

"They sent the Masters as the first response?"

"Not only Masters. Most elders, even the likes of Second Elder, mobilized immediately. You can guess how big a problem this is just by looking." Ren frowned, searching his memories. The Supreme Judgment Sect wasn't like the other sects in this world, nor the ones he knew from the webnovels. It was actively involved with the mortal world and managed territories more like a kingdom from the monarchical years. Outer disciples served as enforcers of the sect's authority, handling minor disputes and local troubles.

For controlling and governing, every inner disciple who reached Foundation Establishment would undergo a trial and be assigned to a territory according to their skills in Minor Domains. They needed to be stationed there for a set period and rewarded if they showed good results. Above them stood Prefectures for Core Formation disciples, and then Grand Prefectures under the authority of strong core disciples and Nascent Soul elders.

At the top were the Sovereign Provinces, each ruled by one of the Grand Peaks: Flying Sword Peak of the Grand Elder, Heavenly Master Peak of the First Elder, Hidden Secrets Peak of the Second Elder, and Fiery Domination Peak of the Seventh Elder. The sect's ground functioned as both headquarters and academy under the Sect Master's Divine Might Peak. And last of all, there were outposts that lay beyond the sect grounds and actually fell into other races' territories.

That's why most of them needed Masters to hold the line. As the strongest among their ranks— those at peak Soul Formation or in the Soul Transformation realm— half of the Masters were stationed at outposts or on the Calamity Zone frontlines. And the other half remained in the sect's ground and acted as emergency units, for they were mobile and great at teaching. But mobilizing almost all the masters? That's rare.

"What about the Hall? Any orders?" Ren asked, his gaze unwittingly pulled toward the window. He could see his Master's peak rising like a sharp sword piercing through the heavens.

"A few corrupted scum, some shady dealings, and suspicious deaths. The usual stuff. You should be more worried about yourself as the Eldest. Another emergency can erupt anytime," Demoness said, rising from her seat. Opening a drawer beneath the side-desk, she took out a teapot and some leaves.

"You want some?" Ren just nodded, playing with his quill absentmindedly. Beast tides weren't abnormal. Quite the contrary, they were the biggest problem besides the fiend invasion, as the beast clan was actually a civilization on the same level as humanity. But that's the problem, isn't it? They aren't some mindless animals. So they wouldn't throw so many lives away without a strong reason. His soul brother had spent years quelling beast tides.

They weren't considered war because it was actually a silent agreement between the two sides. Beasts faced huge population problems and needed some form of control mechanism, while humans desired their meat and treasures in the form of their corpses. Furthermore, it gave both sides a chance to temper without too much risk. It's cruel, but the benefits are too tempting to refuse. Ren exhaled deeply and rubbed his temples, already feeling the incoming headache.

Sometimes he wished to be just a clueless, minor cultivator. That way, he wouldn't need to waste his brain cells on matters he couldn't even comprehend, let alone change and fix. No divine gift would be delivered to his steps, no worries for a possible civilization war, no—"Any news from the Fiend side?" he asked all of a sudden, raising his head sharply. The last time the Celestial Court sent blessings, the first Fiend invasion erupted. What if this was just a prelude to that?

"Fiend side?" she muttered, putting a finger on her chin. She hadn't frowned. That was a good sign.

"I need to ask to be sure, but there was no change in the last few months. Surely the beast clan would've definitely asked for more reinforcements if it were. What, you think this fucked-up blessing matter is connected to Fiends once again?"

"It's just… I don't know. There's something wrong, I feel it, but what is it? No idea," Ren shook his head.

"Such events can't be a coincidence, after all. History stands as a testament to that fact."

"What of it?" she said, leaning her back to the desk as the teapot began to gurgle. Her wide shoulders, muscular yet slender arms, and her thin waist created an alluring sight, but the one to witness this was, unfortunately, Ren. Instead of a woman, he saw a warrior ready to fight.

"If they come, they come. What's there to fear? We sent them back once; we can do it again." Ren sighed. This was the difference between him and the natives of this world. The concept of war seemed too far, even though the modern age was no less chaotic. He had seen war, on the web, of course. And other traumatic 'footage' too. However, they had never become part of his daily life, nor were they related to him. That's why he didn't know what to feel. Yet when Demoness glanced at him, he gave a small nod. A war.

Should be a simple thing. Either you die, or I die. It's that simple, he thought, hearing his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. He lowered his left hand underneath the desk, clenching it tight. It couldn't be worse than fighting against the very heavens… right? A hush covered the room like a blanket, and only the soft hiss coming off the water was heard. Demoness gave him time, as if she already knew his worries. Soon enough, Ren managed to gather his thoughts and set them back on track.

He knew that even if the sky fell, there were giants ready to hold it up. For a puny Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was acting too paranoid. So he drew a breath, opened his mouth when— The teapot's lid fell as the water boiled for too long. At the same time, someone knocked heavily, the door shaking. Both Ren and Demoness stiffened, their gazes meeting in the air. Ah, here it comes… Seemed like he needed to move ahead of schedule.