Days passed by.

After the meeting, the air around the sect changed. Hector’s decision to not investigate this matter with the Empire did not satisfy the sect members, especially Narcha. She made her displeasure known at every opportunity, but nothing would make Hector budge this time, by the looks of it.

Others, like Eiwin, were worried about different matters. Red had noticed the woman looked distracted during their lessons, and it was easy for him to figure out why. She was worried about Allen.

The young master barely left the main building these last few days. Whenever Red saw him, the boy looked apathetic and troubled. He didn’t dare violate Hector’s orders and speak with Allen, though. No matter how pitiful the young master looked, Red still had to worry about himself in the end. It was clear the matter this time had crossed Hector’s bottom-line, and the youth knew better than to challenge the elder’s authority at this time.

Left with no other option, Red focused on his training.

He had yet to receive another pill. Still, with many a sleepless night under the lunar gaze and the core’s help, the boy made headway in opening his last Upper Leg acupoint and needed just one final push to succeed. That being said, today the New Moon would arrive. It didn’t matter how small this last obstacle was, if he couldn’t push through it, it would all be for naught.

Such being the case, he didn’t partake of his other practices that day.

“I want to focus on breaking through.”

Red explained to all his teachers. None of them had any reason to question his eagerness, and the boy was left to his own devices for the rest of the day.

He threw caution to the wind and practiced to the point of exhaustion multiple times. Tension built in his spiritual veins. However, Red didn’t have the luxury of taking it slow. Results finally showed, though. After a marathon of practice, he opened the final acupoint.

Red almost collapsed on the spot from exhaustion. He looked outside and confirmed that the sun was still up. He had accomplished his task with many hours to spare, and thankfully wouldn’t need to rely on asking Hector for help as his last resort.

‘That’s three veins down in less than half a year.’

This kind of progress was surprising for someone of his talent. Still, Red was relying on exterior help, and he didn’t know for how long he could keep it up.

‘That is not something I can help right now.’

Indeed, he had already done his best under strenuous circumstances. With his short-term goal accomplished, Red finally felt like he could have a measure of rest.

With such thoughts, the boy fell asleep.

…

A familiar sensation woke Red up.

The boy gazed over at the window. Sure enough, the light of the sun had disappeared and night had arrived. The pressure of the lunar gaze built up over his psyche, testament to the imminent awakening of his greatest enemy. This time, there was something different about it, though.

‘It’s happening again.’

Red could feel it. He didn’t know how, but he could. The boy could somehow feel the emotions behind the gaze, and he sensed agitation. Perhaps it had been the same the first time the New Moon appeared too, but Red had been too distracted back then to notice.

Now, though, it was as clear as day.

The pressure continued to mount on his consciousness, and Red could only wait in anticipation. He was, however, tired of waiting in his bed.

The boy walked outside and into an isolated area of the courtyard. Without hesitation, Red looked up in search of the Moon in the sky. He had been afraid of looking at the astral body before, in fear of stirring the being into action. However, now that it was going to take his energy anyway, what did he have to fear?

Red had no problems in spotting the Moon in the clear night sky. Shadow covered all of its surface, and the colossal lunar being was stirring around the celestial body. It was eager. It was hungry. And all of its attention seemed to be placed on the one individual who could provide it with a meal.

The pressure of the gaze had already risen beyond what Red was used to. The boy had a hard time holding onto his focus under such circumstances, but he noticed the changes in his body that accompanied this phenomenon.

Green mist.

At first, it was just a few strands. However, soon they were exiting his special acupoints with great eagerness - including his two newest ones. Red felt his heart beating faster as the absorption began again. Still, the boy could do nothing but watch and hope.

A few minutes went by, with the agitation in the lunar being reaching a crescendo. The green energy continued to leave his body, too. Red didn’t know how much more he could provide for the being, but eventually, something changed. The being began to calm.

It was slow at first, but Red still felt it. It continued to slow down until, a minute later, its agitation had ceased, and with it, so did the green energy leaving the boy’s body. The youth didn’t dare to relax, though. He was bracing himself for when things would change for the worse, as they usually did.

Nothing happened even five minutes later, though. Red felt something had changed in the gaze. Although the pressure was still there, there was something else the boy could feel.

Satisfaction.

‘I… Did it?'

Red almost couldn’t believe it. He had conquered adversity in the past and had experienced satisfaction and joy from it. This time, though, it felt different. He had been fighting a war against a being beyond the imagination even of great cultivators, and he had limited information and resources to work with. Yet, in the end, he still came out alive.

Even though he doubted the problem was gone for good, it was still the biggest victory Red felt he had ever conquered. It left him with a feeling impossible to describe. It had given hope to what he once thought was a hopeless situation.

‘… I shouldn’t get too arrogant. There is still a lot to do.’

Just as quickly as this feeling came, it was pushed aside by the boy’s rational attitude. He would never let himself be taken over by emotions, after all.

Red gave one last glance to the Moon before turning around and walking back to his room. Before he could reach it, though, he saw a small ball of paper tumbling its way in front of him. Red frowned and looked in the direction the item had come from.

It seemed to have come from the main building. He looked up and noticed that one window on the second floor was open, but he saw no one else in there. With his crimson sense, though, he recognized a familiar fluctuation in that direction, no matter how hard it tried to hide itself.

The boy sighed in resignation before picking up the paper and unwrapping it. There was a message written on it in an ugly and hard-to-read handwriting. The letters were big enough for Red to understand, though.

‘Help me escape.’

Red looked up at the window again. A small figure dove back down the window cover just before they could be completely spotted. The boy just sighed and put the paper into his pocket before walking back to his room.

Red lacked the motive or the means to help Allen go against Hector. He didn’t even consider the suggestion.

...

The next day, he met Domeron on the training field again.

“Did you break through?” the man asked.

“Yes.” Red nodded. “I’ve completed my Upper Leg Vein.”

Domeron grinned in response.

“That’s good progress. And here I thought your talent was supposed to be bad.”

Red changed topics instead of responding. “Do you have any news about those imperial agents?”

“Not yet.” Domeron shook his head. “Or should I say, they are acting like usual. Even the individual you stole from hasn’t been acting abnormally. He has not interacted with the authorities to report anything was stolen, and neither has he asked questions about it around town.”

Red frowned. “That makes no sense.”

“Indeed. It seems they aren’t too afraid of having their plans exposed, which tells me they still have a great deal of confidence in dealing with the situation. As I said before, we still know too little to draw any conclusions.”

“… Has Hector changed his mind?”

“What do you think?”

Red could only imagine. These past few days, he could hear the arguments Hector was having with Narcha in the meeting hall all the way from the courtyard. The woman had agreed not to investigate the imperials in the past when they were yet to do anything suspicious. But now, the situation had changed.

“What do the others think about it?” Red asked.

“No one is too happy about his decision, not even Rog. I’m sure you can tell that yourself, though.”

“What about you? What is your opinion on this?”

Domeron hesitated at Red’s words. “… Do you know how the Empire was allowed to rise in the first place?”

“No.” the sudden change of topics confused the boy, but he played along.

“By the complacency of the sects. They were so used to being unchallenged in their world rule that they ignored the rising threat of the mortals who suffered because of sect decisions. It was through mortals and their hatred against sects and cultivators that the Empire rose…” Domeron trailed off.

Red didn’t know how that concerned their discussion, but he still paid attention. The swordsman continued.

“If the Empire stopped at merely seeking vengeance against those who wronged them, all would have been fine. But instead, they declared war against all cultivators within their territories, even those who had never harmed mortals. What do you think the remaining sects’ response to this was?”

“They ignored it.”

“Indeed.” Domeron nodded. “Maybe back then they thought the Empire wasn’t strong enough to warrant acting against it, or they simply kept to their isolationist roots and refused to get involved in the matter unless they were directly attacked… And yet now the Empire has grown into this behemoth, as strong as any cultivation sect, and they have a vendetta against all cultivators not belonging to their Celestial Order. Yet, how do you think the sects are reacting to this?”

“… They’re ignoring it.”

“Well, ignoring is perhaps not the right word, but they refuse to act directly against the Empire. Some rationalize this by saying the Empire hasn’t declared war against any sect that hadn’t attacked them first anyway, so they have no reason to retaliate. Others justify it by saying the Empire’s interest mostly lies with mortal affairs, and that they have no reason to get involved. Others still are simply afraid of the Empire’s gods and uncommon cultivation methods… Either way, what matters is that they left the entire cultivation community outside their sects to fend for themselves, allowing the Empire to grow even stronger in the meantime.”

“… And this is exactly the same attitude Hector has, right?”

“You said it.” Domeron smiled. “It’s that kind of attitude that allowed the Empire to rise in the first place. Even if we are not part of this kingdom, it doesn’t mean we should just ignore its plight. Not only cultivators, but the common people are also forced to undergo indoctrination under the Empire’s rule. Either for the sake of their sense of justice or self-preservation, a cultivator should always fight against them. Ignoring the Empire’s forays into our land will just increase its strength in the future, and eventually they will grow too strong to contain.”

Red reflected on these words in silence. Domeron, however, continued to stare at the boy.

“So, have you decided?” the man asked.

“Decided what?”

“Are you going to help Allen escape or not?”

The boy’s eyes suddenly widened in surprise.