“It’s been a while, should I wear the golden royal robe or the white ceremonial one… maybe going with the usual will make me seem more relatable, they might get scared otherwise… but the old farts will complain if I don’t look properly again…”

Zhang Dong was looking at the large assortment of robes that his wife forced him to have. Each time he had to go to some kind of meeting and she was around he was forced to wear a new one, the old ones were then disposed of and remade into something else. To this day he didn’t get the fascination with clothing that people had, if it was up to him he would wear the same pair of pants for the rest of his life. In this world where materials could last for millennia, it wasn’t a pipe dream.

The people from the Heavenly Crane Sect were now inside the city. They were being transported by a small flying ship towards the main sect where they would be checked for any serious weaponry. Disarming people from other powers that didn’t make an appointment should be obvious but he could see that late stage nascent soul master kicking up a fuss.

“There are only a few early stage masters in the sect, the only one that could match him is Zhi, Liena or Qiang… I might have to get some elders up to the middle stage at least.”

While he wasn’t planning on making the new nascent soul elders into his prestige units, he could still boost their cultivation with the help of the faction system. It wouldn’t be as efficient and they wouldn’t gain any special skills through it but they would get stronger. With the amount of points he was getting from wiping out the fish people this would actually be one of the next steps.

“However, I should level up those three first and also decide on the two remaining spots, should I give it to gramps? or maybe Qiang’s father but that guy didn’t really earn something like this…”

Qiang’s father had on several occasions tried to go against him. Whenever Zhang Dong was gone and the power shifted to the Huo side of the sect they attempted to force their way. It wouldn’t be strange if he insisted that his wife got married to his son if he never returned. He did trust Qiang but his father was another thing.

When it came to Zhang Jin then his age was slightly a problem. His capabilities as a commanding officer were over his fighting strength. He was already an early stage master and could be further enhanced through normal means. Giving him a special battle skill through the prestige unit system might not have been the greatest idea. Even now he wasn’t really interested in training but having fun at his new position.

He wasn’t as hungry as the younger generation as he had somewhat given up on his progress ever since being stuck at the core formation stage for a hundred years. Only when Zhang Dong appeared did he start progressing further but this required a big investment of spirit points.

“The system isn’t a miracle solution and it's harder to make people with shaky foundations stronger, it would be much better to invest in someone with a better future.”

Zhang Jin’s potential had been spent, the only reason Zhang Dong invested in his grandfather was that he was someone he could trust. But there were two other people that he trusted just as much, his two disciples that in the long run would even require a lesser investment of spirit points. Their foundation was strong and their will to train even stronger, it would be much better to finance the two than tired old elders that had no will to endanger their lives anymore.

“The two aren’t really ready to ascend into the nascent soul stage yet at most I can help them get half a step into that realm…”

Both of his students were following his old Dao of heavenly lightning but they did not fully grasp it yet, forcefully pushing them into the next realm without them understanding it would slow down their growth in the future. They needed to have the knowledge of getting through some bottlenecks because if not, they might falter later in life.

“If I push it too soon, they might remain at the early nascent soul stage for the rest of their lives.”

He was pushing for progress quite fast as the looming threat of the overseer was there. What he wanted was for his loved ones to be able to protect themselves after he was gone. If he ascended to the immortal stage then his presence would be gone. All the records pointed to all immortals being rejected by this world and pushed out.

A thing like a will of the world apparently existed and it forced some laws onto this realm. One of them was that no immortal was to reside in this lower ‘mortal realm’. Anyone that made it past the nascent soul stage would be going against the will of the world and their only hope of survival was to leave it. If they didn’t they would be assaulted by tribulation lightning until they were dead.

Some records say that certain immortals were able to postpone their departure by a slither before either succumbing to the lightning or venturing into the heavens. Perhaps thanks to his Dao of Heavenly lightning he would be able to postpone it longer than others but perhaps not. For this reason, he needed to leave a seed behind, one that would lead his people in his stead.

Zhang Xue and Zhang Liu, both of his disciples whom he treated like younger siblings might have to do this. His children were next in line in terms of succession of power but they needed trusted retainers that would keep them safe. If either of his disciples became the new Patriarch or if it was his children didn’t really matter to him. As long as both of them continued to work with each other when he was gone then it would be fine.

“I don’t think I need to worry about that, Xue treats Xiu and Jun as if they were her own children. Jun is a bit stricter but he just expects my kids to follow in my footsteps.”

Xue acted like a younger mother while Jun was taking on the mantle of a stricker father. Even during the training sessions, he was a bit stricter than his sister. However, whenever the training was over he would give Jun some good pointers. This worked out well as he didn’t need to play the villain to strengthen his own children when their uncle was enough.

“Well then, it's time to listen to what these people have to say.”

Sun Shi was the elder's name and he came together with a small group of core formation experts. One of them looked to be one of his family members and the only person that dared to raise their voice whenever he was speaking.

“Why is it always an old fart and a granddaughter combo…”

It started in the past but for some reason, a powerful elder always had a beautiful granddaughter around them. It was as if those granddaughters were there to diffuse the situation. It slightly made sense as the powerful elders could not really lower their heads and be cordial even if they wanted. They needed to seem strong and ready to eradicate all opposition.

“Those granddaughters are good at diffusing the situation, could it be another setting in this world…”

He shrugged while pointing towards one of the golden robes. In retrospect, it was better to look like a proper godly being surrounded by gold than a bum. The people meeting him will be more likely to tell him everything if they see him as a force to be reckoned with. Thus it was time to present himself as one of the most powerful experts on the face of this cultivation world.

“Though I’ll never understand why they were these rectangular small hats… wouldn’t a proper crown be better? These beads always get in the way if I walk too fast… Oh well…”

Soon he vanished from his private dressing room wearing one of the golden robes. The sleeves were long and flowy and he was sure to radiate his usual golden aura. There would be no malice in it but the man he was going to meet would certainly realize how powerful this Patriarch is.

…

“Grandfather, what do you think of this place… the city was…”

“Yes, it was peculiar… the standard of living of those regular citizens is quite high, I didn’t expect to see something like this in the lower regions. Then there is the Qi quality… they must be hiding a spirit vein. It's not as strong as the central one but also not far behind.”

The people from the Heavenly Crane Sect had been all allowed to enter the main sect grounds and flew all the way up to the palace in the sky. They had heard about a strange gold fortress that this sect was in possession of but this one wasn't. Even then the grandness of the structure wasn’t behind anything that their sect was used to. This Sect was new but it certainly wasn’t behind them and they had to admit that the United Element Sect had the right to be part of the big three.

“..however, while the structures and lands are exquisite I’m not sure I can say the same about their cultivators, they seem to be lacking compared to ours.”

“That is true, perhaps their experts are all out in the north?”

“That might be possible but they should have more to spare…”

While the city was large and prosperous there was a lack of powerful cultivators. The ones that appeared before them were early stage, nascent soul masters. It looked like the weapon level of this sect outpaced the power of their experts. Cultivation realms were still the most prominent measure of power and prestige so it didn’t sit well that they were being kept waiting by people of lower strength.

“Maybe the red faction was right and they aren’t capable of helping us?”

Asked the granddaughter while looking around the lush meeting room. It was a bit different than the ones they were used to as they were all sitting by a table on quite comfy chairs. Before them was a huge door that for now remained closed but would probably be used by this sect’s Patriarch.

“I hope not but if that is true then perhaps I have made the wrong decision…”

Sun Shi frowned, he was hoping to gain some help from this new upstart but if this was the level of their power then the journey had been wasted. However, as he was slowly giving up hope a powerful aura surrounded the entire room. It was as if an ancestor had awakened who could be this powerful, could it really be the United Sect Leader… and could he have heard their conversation and been maddened…