Chapter 168: Ashfallen's rise [Book 2 Epilogue]

Ashlock and the others waited awhile, but Demetrios Skyrend never returned. The violent storm system dominated the distant horizon, and Ashlock suspected that Demetrios was giving a piece of his mind to the Voidmind family.

He would go and look, but his roots didn't extend far enough west to reach Slymere yet, and his {Eye of the Tree God} also didn't reach the city.

The Redclaw Grand Elder, who had his hands behind his back as he looked at the horizon, sighed in relief. His fire Qi then swirled around them to obscure his voice from others, "I must thank House Silverspire for mediating that conversation. Without your presence, I fear Demetrios would have taken Dante's side and wiped us out instead."

Sebastian frowned, "It is indeed troublesome. When I agreed to sponsor the tournament for an extra percentage, I didn't expect to be dragged into a plot that may cause a civil war between the Voidmind and Skyrend families."

"It's okay!" Ryker, who had remained silent for most of the day, grinned, "Big sister promised me lots of money, which means I might beat my brother and sisters for the silver core!"

Ashlock almost felt like chuckling as he was reminded about the inheritance battle between the heirs of the Silverspire family.

"The poor Patriarch. He took his eyes off his Blood Lotus Sect for a few years to cultivate, and when he emerges, he will find all three of the most prominent families at war. Two against one another and the last having an internal fight between the heirs," Ashlock sneered, "That's what he deserves for saving Stella as a pill furnace. In fact, the more the Blood Lotus Sect is in flames, the better. It will help camouflage our activities."

"Rascal," Sebastian ruffled Ryker's hair, "Imagine your mother's face when she finds out."

"Actually, she would be very proud of me!" Ryker smacked Sebastian's hand away, "She always told me that war is good for business. People need weapons and spatial rings, which we sell, and then when they all die, we can move in and buy the land for cheap and start mining for metals."

Sebastian and the Grand Elder exchanged a surprised look.

"Ahem... that is technically true," Sebastian nodded thoughtfully, "The Mistress is wise."

"Of course she is," Ryker nodded seriously, "My mother is the smartest woman I know!"

"And how many women do you know?" The Grand Elder asked in jest.

Ryker replied thoughtfully, "Only my mother and sisters, and my sisters are stupid."

Sebastian snorted in amusement, "Oh? What makes them stupid? They are your sisters, you know."

"You and my sister told me Darklight City was a backwater place with nothing worth mentioning," Ryker said, "But I found beautiful big sisters and lots of cool things here. So, Sebastian, you are also stupid."

Sebastian seemed to stumble back with a painful expression as if an arrow had been shot into his chest, "Ouch, the young master's words hurt my heart."

"Good, let's head back," Ryker demanded, "I want to cultivate after seeing the adults fight. I need to become stronger."

Sebastian ceased his pained act, "Grand Elder, is our presence here no longer necessary?"

The Grand Elder looked at the demonic tree trunk, and when Ashlock wrote nothing, he gave Sebastian a nod, "I believe so. I will send someone to fetch you if something comes up."

Sebastian slightly bowed to the Grand Elder and the demonic tree, "I look forward to our continued business relationship."

Ashlock didn't want them to walk all the way back, so he created a portal for them to the White Stone Palace's courtyard. The two Silverspires departed, and the Grand Elder was also about to leave when someone unexpectedly approached them.

Kane Azurecrest floated through the air with a violent gale surrounding him.

The Grand Elder withdrew his fire Qi and faced the approaching teen.

Ashlock searched the colosseum stands and couldn't see Celeste Starweaver anywhere. Only the Grand Elder and Kane were left in the half-destroyed colosseum covered in shattered glass, ash, and rubble.

Kane touched down a few meters from the Grand Elder and offered a respectful bow, "Greetings, Grand Elder of the honorable Redclaw family."

"To what do I owe the pleasure scion of House Azurecrest?" The Grand Elder replied with a slight smile.

"I know I didn't win your tournament," Kane replied. He sounded exhausted, as if he hadn't slept in days, "But I wondered if there was a way I could still be hired alongside the rogues?"

The Grand Elder raised his brow, "How unexpected. A scion from one of the top families asking for employment alongside rogue cultivators? Dare I ask the reason why?"

Kane raised his head and looked at the Grand Elder through the gaps in his long white and crimson hair, "Could we take this conversation elsewhere? The subject matter is sensitive."

The Grand Elder looked him up and down with scrutiny and nodded, "Come with me."

Kane seemed to jolt in his seat and stare at her, "You know?"

"I have encountered them before," Diana said flatly, "It didn't end well."

"I see," Kane seemed a bit taken aback, "And do you know anything about them, Grand Elder Redclaw?"

"Small details have been made aware to me," The Grand Elder said, "But I will allow you to explain from the start as I am missing a lot of context."

"As you wish," Kane sighed, "An order from the Patriarch had been given to my father before he went into seclusion, which sent the family into turmoil. He demanded that more airship pilots be available before the beast tide. The problem was that every abled person in the family was already working in the airship industry."

"I see, and raising new talent takes a long time," The Grand Elder mused.

"Exactly," Kane nodded, "So my father began to look for shortcuts, and he stumbled upon a demonic technique that allows for a rapid rise in cultivation."

"Nocturnes," The Grand Elder said.

Kane's expression became grim, "I watched as all of my siblings had duels over who would be sacrificed to empower the other. It was a harrowing experience to watch my elder brother Venik slaughter our sister and consume her soul for a surge in cultivation. I hid away in the servant quarters and tried to stay out of my father's sight for the duration of the sacrifices."

"Venik... isn't that the one you killed, Diana?" Ashlock asked through telepathy.

"That's right," Diana replied.

"So, how did you get here?" The Grand Elder asked Kane, "And how did you end up with a Nocturne?"

"Well, you see, there was an odd number of us, so I had hoped all of my siblings would fight it out, and I would be left alone, but the head servant reported me to my father," Kane gulped, "If you don't know my father is a lecherous man which is one of the reasons he is such good friends with the Patriarch."

The Redclaw Grand Elder nodded, "There are some rumors regarding that man..."

"I don't care what they are. They are probably true," Kane shivered, "One of my father's habits is having children with rogue cultivators outside the family line. So when I was brought to my father's study one night, I was made to stand before a cage containing a red-haired kid who I later found out was my half brother from one of those rogues."

Ashlock did not like where this story was going one bit. Why did he have to be constantly reminded that he was surrounded by savages wearing human skin?

"You consumed him, didn't you." The Grand Elder said, and Kane hesitantly nodded.

"It was either him or me. Father justified it by saying the boy had fire affinity and was, therefore, the lesser of us," Kane clutched his head, "The fact that man would use the affinity purity argument while standing beside one of his children in a cage made me seethe with rage."

"Then what happened?" Diana asked.

"I don't know," Kane began to quietly weep, "I have replayed that night so many times in my mind I don't even know what really happened anymore. But all I know is I woke up in bed with a terrible headache, a voice in my head, and the ability to cultivate fire Qi. Father found it fascinating that I had become dual affinity, so he had me try and learn alchemy as the wind element is terrible at it."

Ashlock had never considered that there would be ways to become a dual affinity after birth. "I wonder if there's a way I could use my skills to help my sect members unlock new affinities?"

"So that's how you ended up here." The Grand Elder hummed as he tapped his chin, "And I assume you came to us looking for a way to escape your Father?"

Kane shook his head, "Not initially. I came here to prove to my father that I had some skills in alchemy so he wouldn't send me to work in the airship industry. But then I heard you guys were hiring and saw the Silverspire family was involved. They are one of the only families that could help shield me from my father."

"Diana, I need time to decide if taking him on would be worth the risk." Ashlock told Diana, "Tell him we will consider his request to be hired over the next few days and for him to either wait here in the White Stone Palace or stay in the city."

Diana relayed his message, and Kane gave a grateful nod.

"Thank you, I would appreciate it if I could stay here." Kane requested, and at the command of the Grand Elder, he was led away by a group of maids.

Although many significant threats were on the horizon, this conversation helped Ashlock refocus on things he had been putting off that needed to be resolved now that the Ashfallen sect was more out in the open and time wasn't on their side.

"With the Redclaws more established now, I need them to focus on mass recruitment of cultivators, alchemists, and even mortals," Ashlock explained to Diana, "The White Stone Palace was able to hold two families and their servants in the past. There is plenty of room to be utilized here, and we can always dig down and create more space within the mountain."

Diana relayed the information.

"I see," The Grand Elder said, "Are those rogue alchemists also going to stay here rather than in the cavern under Red Vine Peak?"

"Yes," Ashlock said, and Diana nodded. It was time to start separating the two peaks. One was for his core sect members, while the White Stone Palace would be home for everyone else.

During the next few months, he planned for the Ashfallen sect to rapidly expand in both size and power. His time lurking in the shadows was coming to a close, and the Blood Lotus Sect would soon learn their folly for allowing him to take root on their soil.