With the battlefield completely cleared and the Flying Ship clear of debris, Sage flew over to join everyone upon the ship. While he was busy inside the tortoise’s body they cleaned up everything else and boarded before him. When the mountain of a corpse disappeared, Song Lu Tian greeted his approach with a loud laugh.

“Hah, you really know how to turn heads. I had always thought you were just a craftsman with unique methods, especially after I saw that blade you made for Kang Min. I had no idea you were almost as good as me when it comes to gaining enemies. Nicely done!”

Sage blinked. Who wanted more enemies? What sort of person competed to have the most powerful enemies? Song Lu Tian truly lived up to his reputation. Sage bowed and happily accepted the strange praise. Forming a deeper relationship with such a powerful person was never a bad thing.

The Flying Ship slowly lifted into the air after he flew aboard. While the outer hull was heavily damaged, the giant Spirit Crystal core was perfectly intact. Formation Arrays were inscribed over the whole of the ship, but those responsible for making it float and have propulsion were protected in the depths of the ship. The arrays on the outer hull were mainly part of the defensive formations and weight reduction array. The damage weakened the defensive barrier and made it heavier which in turn reduced its speed. Even so, the Flying Ship was still quite capable, especially since it had so few passengers at the moment. Most of the Hoplites and Dragoons had perished in battle, which left only about a hundred people on the ship. Since it was normally capable of ferrying thousands, the small payload helped make up for the increased weight of the ship.

Once they were underway, everyone on board was tense for a while. They all wondered if the enemies they’d left behind had something in store for them. Were their reinforcements just waiting in the distance to pounce upon them when their guard was down? Was the Flying Ship damaged more than they thought? Only after a few hours of peaceful flight did they finally start to relax a little. The Nascent Souls swept their surroundings with their Spiritual Sense to keep watch, but they found only a few birds. The ship had lifted to a high altitude, keeping them away from the sensory range of most normal beasts on the ground.

Sage was quite pleased. Where did they get such a high altitude Flying Ship from?

With everyone having had some time to rest and feeling a little more assured of their successful escape, they held an impromptu banquet. The Flying Ship was massive and had a few large halls, this one had many long tables, more than enough to seat the hundred or so of them. Sage was only a Nascent Soul, so he couldn’t actually consume any physical food or drink, but he still lifted a glass telekinetically to offer a toast to everyone.

“I don’t know how you all came to assist me, but I offer you my deepest thanks. Your timely arrival cancelled my funeral, which I say is worthy of a celebration!”

Everyone had a drink, but only a few of them allowed it to affect their bodies. As high ranking cultivators, a weak drug like alcohol could easily be purged from their systems. Surprisingly, the cultivators from the Song Clan not only allowed the alcohol to affect them, but they even took out more powerful liquors and offered them to the group. Sage had just been pulled back from the brink of death, so he wasn’t going to chide anyone for wanting to unwind. He also didn’t want to put a damper on fun by asking about the details of his rescue. That could wait.

Surprisingly, the petite woman from the battle hungry Kang Clan seemed to have taken a liking to the huge and burly Song Lu Tian. It wasn’t surprising for a powerful young genius to have admirers, but from the few times he’d met her as well as from what he’d heard, Kang Min was not one to care much about men. Sage had even attended an event where she was literally fighting off her suitors, and only someone that could beat her in combat would be allowed to marry her. Now that she’d leaned her giant saber up against a wall, she seemed much less ferocious and more like the petite lady she was.

“Brother Song, you were so ferocious earlier. I wonder if your Heaven Destroying Sword Formation could defeat my Nine Transformations Saber. We should exchange pointers sometime.”

Kang Min spoke softly, her cheeks flushed from the drinking, but when she talked about fighting her eyes lit up. Across from her Song Lu Tian was similarly stirred by the thought of getting to fight, and his gaze strayed to the giant saber leaning against the wall. He nodded his head, offering her another drink as he did, “Sister Kang, your blade is so large even I wouldn’t dare to wield it. It would be my honor to trade notes with you.”

Two fighting maniacs trying to be sociable with each other. Of course Sage found it comical, but he wouldn’t dare to say a thing about it. He also felt a little bewildered by the fact that there were only a few women in the room he didn’t suddenly feel quite awkward to speak with at the moment. For once he was happy to be at a party so he could delay the conversations that he knew were coming.

Hah, over a hundred years old and I’m feeling like a nervous teenager.

He laughed at himself for a while and the party eventually came to an end. People started to excuse themselves and Sage left as well, still afraid of being caught alone at the end. Despite their celebration, many of them were still quite worn out from the battle and they all took a few days to recover their strength and heal their injuries. Sage organized his thoughts and ensured that the Heart of Eruption was properly assimilated. After that, he began a series of meetings, wanting to thank people on a more intimate level. He wasn’t used to calling upon others for help. In the past few years he’d had someone with him, but they always felt like subordinates or juniors, and not his equals.

Deciding to start out somewhat easy, he first met with the Jade Horde. Abbot Kunga, Bi Hongbing, and Liu Ao met him in a stateroom and he served them tea, pouring it himself to show his appreciation.

“Thank you for coming to my rescue. Even if I’m technically the leader of the Jade Horde and you are Seven Stars I command, I know that it would have been quite easy for you to let me fall. It especially means more to me given that I was already betrayed once by those in your positions.”

The older man with a bald head and large beard smiled. He placed his palms together and bowed in return, “Amituofo. I am grateful that I was able to keep my third greatest regret from repeating itself.”

Sage smiled at the old man, Abbot Kunga, surprised at how straightforward and supportive he was. Their relationship was truly not very deep. Sage had merely provided manpower and equipment, and he was still surprised that they had not turned upon him like the others did. They weren’t hungry for power, satisfied to work together to build better lives.

“It seems that the Jade Horde is in need of restructuring. I’m sorry for not meeting with any of you after I returned from exile. I was trying to rebuild and worried that you might also harbor ill intentions, but thankfully I was wrong. It seems that there is no longer a need for a Leader and Seven Stars. I think the Jade Horde should instead have three heads.”

Liu Ao, the head of the former Brass Earth Company and Sect, smiled widely. He laughed and put his arms around Abbot Kunga and Bi Hongbing, “You are right to put your trust in us! Now that we’ve got rid of all those fools, the Jade Horde has been refined and purified. Only the strongest and most loyal remain.”

Bi Hongbing pushed the man’s arm off her and sent him a fierce glare. Then she smiled slightly at Sage, “Before the Jade Horde’s training and resources, I was little more than a rogue cultivator struggling to survive. I am willing to accept whatever conditions you set, Leader.”

The old man looked to the other two and then bowed low, “It seems that change is inevitable. My admiration for you still remains, as does my loyalty.”