Shin had been in the Alliance Headquarters multiple times now, so it wasn’t strange for him to move unimpeded through the corridors as he reached the familiar heavy oak doors. The two Longyu Clan geniuses, on the other hand, had far more reserved expressions. They didn’t want to embarrass the Longyu Clan or Shin, but they were in a place where the world’s elites gathered. It wasn’t strange to see a Spirit Venerate strolling down the halls while reading the daily paper, or a master craftsman hammering down in an adjacent room.

To make matters worse, after the gathering of Saints, all three of the independent Spirit Saints had moved their forces to the Neutral Lands and frequently visited the Alliance Headquarters for leisure. The Healer Association moved almost all of its resources into the new Land of Dreams. The Blacksmith’s League moved Deus Citadel and the other flying forts that they’ve built with Spirit Immortal Dream’s blueprints. And the Mercenary Guild, being the most versatile organisation of them all, simply moved their main manpower to the Neutral Lands.

In the end, the new Land of Dreams had become a new hotspot for powerful beings to gather, even drawing the likes of rogue Spirit Emperors and nomadic hunters. Against all these bigwigs, even the former Luminary Longyu Linji had to be exceedingly cautious of his words. Fortunately, he didn’t have to worry too much, though. Why? Because he had the most significant backing of them all…

“Shin, you’re here!” Raphael opened up with a brilliant smile.

“Senior Raphael, I’m back again...” Shin smiled bitterly. A few days back, he was right in this building spectating the meeting of Spirit Saints. Yet, a few hours later, he was back here visiting once more. If not for the circumstances, Shin would seem like a young kid who couldn’t bear to leave the crib.

“No worries, no worries!” Raphael laughed. “The Alliance’s doors are always open for you! Come, take a seat!” The red-haired man was all smiles as he guided his guests to the comfy sofas. Raphael clapped twice, and a cupbearer walked in with a silver tea tray. In no time at all, the cupbearer took out the fanciest looking cups and placed them down on the table before the trio. Without even looking, Shin could tell that the tea being served to them were of the highest quality. The rich aroma that could be smelt ten kilometres away was far too enticing for Shin to resist.

Noticing the man’s salivation, Raphael laughed: “Please, have some refreshments first. You must be tired from the journey.”

“Don’t mind if I do...” Shin wasted no time in tasting the best flavours from the Divine Healer’s collection.

The bitter, yet the sweet touch of Oolong filled Shin’s senses as he took small sips with comfort. The warmth was just perfect for a tea of this calibre, and the decadent aroma continued to tickle Shin’s sense of smell. It felt like he was transported back into the woods, surrounded by the warm embrace of nature.

‘Mmmm, delicious. As expected of Master’s junior…’ Shin looked at the beaming Alliance Head, and the image of Lady Seph overlapped with his own figure. They were both from the Healer’s Association, so it was no surprise that Raphael and Lady Seph shared the same interests when it came to tea. Naturally, Shin being Lady Seph’s student had also taken a liking to the Dao of tea.

“Exquisite, Senior Raphael.”

“Hehe, I’m glad you like it.” The Alliance Head chuckled before taking the seat right in front of the Guardian Sword members. Laxing his body, Raphael crossed his thighs over one another before asking the crucial question: “So, what brings you back so soon?”

“The outposts.” Shin succinctly replied.

At those words, Raphael couldn’t remain smiling. Narrowing his eyes, the red-haired man asked: “What did you find out?”

“As you may know, Guardian Sword has an array of informants, within the Alliance and out. Just twenty-four hours ago, we were tipped off by a source that two Black Masks have been seen approaching one secluded region near the fiftieth outpost.”

“I see,” Raphael frowned. “And from the fact that you’re here instead of chasing them...”

“Yes, we’ve managed to track them down and ‘asked’ some simple questions.” Shin took one more sip of his tea. “However, before we could extract even three sentences, the Allfather’s curse took over, and both of them detonated.”

“They detonated from the curse… Damn it, so that bastard is still alive and well!!!” As anticipated, Raphael could guess what Shin and the Lonyu Clan members deduced.

“However, before they exploded, I did manage to gain some vital intel about the true reason why the outposts are disappearing so quickly. They mentioned that Kin and Gin, the Noble Beasts carrying the crown of Gold and Silver respectively, have been mobilised.”

“The enigmatic pair?” Raphael frowned. Among the Nine Coloured Noble Beasts, the Alliance had the most information about Kuro and Ao, the supposed strongest two. Next would be the Spirit Beasts that had openly shown their aggression to the Alliance. Beasts such as Akai, Midori and Murasaki. They even had some intel about Momo and Shiro, the ones that appear less frequently as compared to their companions.

However, the remaining two Spirit Beasts were completely shrouded in mystery. Other than their names, very little was known about the twins. Their abilities, character, even their relation to the Black Masks. Everything was hidden from the Alliance’s intelligence.

“That’s right. Kin and Gin are the ones attacking the outposts and the reason for our sentries disappearing is most likely due to their unique abilities,” Shin theorised. If Shiro had the power to teleport and phase through dimensions, it was highly likely that other Spirit Beasts could do the same.

“Anything else?”

“Hmmm… They did say something about idols though...”

“Idols? You mean like carvings using stone or metal?!”

“I would guess so,” Shin scratched his chin, curious to see what the Alliance Head was stunned about. At the very least, Shin doubted that the Black Masks had celebrities performing down in the abyss when the whole world was out to destroy them.

“No, if you’re talking about idols, we’ve seen a few mysterious objects.” Raphael moved over to the evidence box that was presented to him by the Alliance’s agents. Among them, there were bits of exotic memorabilia, ones that normally served as souvenirs that soldiers would use to remember their families. They weren’t anything overly strange, and Shin could tell that in a glance. However, as he peeked closer down into the box, he’d started to feel something pulsating in his mind.

“That golden one… Where did you find it?” Shin pointed to the statue of a disfigured human that seemed to have been crudely chiselled by a roadside craftsman. It wasn’t anything too flashy, and one could have easily missed it amidst the junk. The gold plating wasn’t even that prominent, with numerous black patches and broken cracks.

“Ah, it was found in the bathroom of one outpost. It was odd for such an object to be in that area, so our boys brought it back for further analysis. Unfortunately, it seems to be a regular gold idol. Nothing more.”

“Is that so...” Shin raised his brows in suspicion before leaning in for a closer look. “Mind if I inspect it?”

“By all means,” Raphael replied unhesitantly.

Shin raised the disfigured statue up into the light and stared right into its core. For the first few seconds, nothing happened. Shin looked like a collector trying to find flaws in the product that he was thinking of buying. However, just after half a minute…

IIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGG!!!

A blistering sharp sound pierced the ears of everyone present, deafening them all. The familiar elongated coil wrapped around Shin’s body, while a kaleidoscopic radiance burst forth like a blooming flower. Shin pores were opening at record rates, allowing his Celestial Aura to take full control over the chambers. Longyu Linji and Longyu Hai were used to Shin’s frequent aura and were mostly unfazed by the sudden action. Raphael, on the other hand, was greatly shaken. The aura and pressure being generated Shin were not at all inferior to his own.

However, it was what happened next that truly shook him to his core…

All of the light that Shin had created had turned into a greyish hue. Without any resistance, Shin’s mana bolted right into the golden idol and forced the unmoving statue to tremble in complete fear. And then, Shin ‘opened’ his eyes...

“Found you...”