Once they had dealt with that branch, the Patriarch told his elders: "I believe some of you, maybe all, have taken similar actions in your own territories... You should all go deal with it"

One of the elder asked: "How should we go about it, Patriarch?"

The Patriarch pondered for a moment before he said: "Kill all witnesses. We should abolish this system... If there are talented individuals, from now on, we should nurture them instead. We can always send them as ambassadors in other cities if they develop too much or tie them by marriage"

The elders pondered for a moment. They didn't like that they would have to keep future potential contenders for their resources but they knew they had no choice. If it hadn't been a kid from Yong-Sik's place but their own... They all agreed and left for their own territories.

That very day, many clansmen died.

...

It took an hour or so for everything to stabilize in the mansion. The couple was calm and their daughter had regained her senses. All her injuries were healed though a lot of visible scars remained on her body. But she was back to health. She had a hard time believing her fortune. She had thought she would die as soon as they tied her to the pillar back then... She had been so young... And now, she was an adult. She looked down at her body and it felt unfamiliar. She grew up tied to a pillar.

But after being told everything, she could only silently cry. Tears fell down but silence was all there was. She was hugged by her parents. She had missed them so much back then... Now that she was here, it felt like a dream... Neither her nor her parents knew how to act so they just hugged. They couldn't express their feelings so they showed them physically. This was a warmth she didn't feel since...she couldn't recall.

At that moment, Hye-Ja, bored, took out a pill from her own spatial ring and pushed it towards the young woman. It had been irritating to see a little girl riddled with scars. Then, she said: "Eat it, it should heal your scars"

The woman looked at the pill and pushed it back. Then, she said: "Those scars...I will keep them. It will help me remember..."

However, before she could go on, Hye-Ja had grabbed the pill and went to force her to eat it. After she did, she said: "Stop with the emotional teenager bullshit and don't waste someone else's goodwill"

After being forced to swallow the pill, the young woman remained indignant. But she could see her scars disappear. Her arms were beautiful without her scars...and her dainty hands... In the end, she didn't complain anymore. She had wanted to look strong in front of these people. To be honest, she was glad to have been healed... In the end, she gave an apology and thanks to Hye-Ja.

Hye-Ja patted her head as she complimented her: "Good girl"

Hae-Hyuk coughed once and said: "How about we let them have some space for their reunion?"

Song-Min and Hye-Ja got up with a grin. Sophia and Jin followed with Jin picking up the meditating Min-Su like a sack over his shoulder. They all left the room to the daughter and her parents. They certainly needed time and space.

Hae-Hyuk pushed his disciples to go wait for him in a different room and went on with Song-Min and Hye-Ja in another.

The three of them sat at a table. They had much to discuss. Song-Min was the first one to break the silence: "So, tell us your plan"

Hae-Hyuk nodded and told them: "As soon as they reach the pinnacle of the ninth stage, I will create an arena. Under tenth stage battle"

Song-Min asked: "Rules?"

Hae-Hyuk: "None others. Incapacitate, Forfeit or Outbounds"

Song-Min nodded. Those rules were the same as the ones for that which made sense. Hye-Ja was more interested in something else though: "And the rewards?"

Hae-Hyuk told her: "For every 10 wins of a single individual or 100 wins of a recognized group, I will give out a technique"

Both Song-Min and Hye-Ja perked up at this. This was the kind of benefit that no one would reject indeed. With such a golden egg laying goose, even they wouldn't reject his presence here. Hye-Ja asked: "What kind?"

Hae-Hyuk didn't answer, only smiled. She chuckled before she told him: "Fine. Your image would suffer if you tried to scam us anyways. Anyways, what are the limits on participation?"

Hae-Hyuk surprised them once more: "None"

Song-Min hurried to say: "Woah, woah, are you sure? Are you trying to have your disciples killed before the grand day?"

Hae-Hyuk retorted: "Power will be limited to under tenth stage. Even if Masters decided to join in on the fun, their abilities would be greatly reduced"

Song-Min retorted back: "You know this isn't what I mean. People will try to kill them. Some will come specially for that. What's more, even if the cultivation is reduced, some high-level techniques and attainments will still be usable. Let's not even talk about the elements"

Hae-Hyuk nodded and answered: "I am aware of it"

Hye-Ja added: "You want your disciples to face people using elements with power under the tenth level of spiritual energy... I admit that this is a good way to prepare. But this is not viable. They will be killed"

Hae-Hyuk snorted as he told them: "You underestimate my two disciples"

Hye-Ja and Song-Min looked at each other and shrugged. If he wanted to send them on this suicide training, sure, why not. It didn't matter to them. They only needed to rack in the benefits before it happened. They nodded at each other and got up. Song-Min spoke: "We will allow you to stay here. However, you do understand that we will spread this information, right?"

Hae-Hyuk nodded.

Hye-Ja said: "Well then, we will meet again once you open this arena"

The two left and Hae-Hyuk remained alone. He took a sip of tea as he became lost in his own thoughts. There wasn't much time left, he could only speed things up.