Neither the acting Patriarch nor the grand elders of the Kunlun sect had expected to hear such an absurd proposal when they decided to host Mark for his help in Dragon Warrior Tournament.
Forget about conditions for a second. What kind of force is the Wuji sect? It is one of the top sects on the continent and had great influence in the Imperial court of the Leon Empire.
Assuming that Mark will probably back down from his foolish idea, the acting Patriarch explained, "Before you hear about the Wuji sect, you must know the history of the Kunlun sect.
Our sect was founded by a demigod named Xiao Shu, roughly about 1500 years ago.
No one knows where he came from. There were only speculations that he was from a higher plane of existence.
He was quite powerful. Back then, the world was still in the stage of infancy when talking about the Spirit Warriors.
Because a man cannot see or even get the blessings of gods in direct form, people used to revere him as a god. And our Kunlun sect is considered the heavenly domain.
For the next three hundred years, we were considered the most powerful sect in the entire continent. The Emperors used to pay homage to our founder.
Whenever they needed any help in taking the decision or resolving matters with fellow emperors, they used to make personal visits to this place.
But then, one day, our founder passed away due to an incurable illness caused by a mysterious curse. Before he died, he left his four divine weapons to his four disciples who were also the Grand Elders of this sect.
Now, two of his disciples didn't have ambitions. But, the other two fought with each other for the highest seat on this continent.
In the end, our late Patriarch had attained the victory and it wasn't digested by the other candidate. The latter left the place to find the Wuji sect on Mt. Wu.
After some time passed away, the other two grand elders also decided to leave this mountain because of the clash of their ideologies. One formed a sect for the followers of Buddha and the other one formed the Iron Palm sect.
Because of this, there was a constant rivalry between us and Wuji sect while the Shaolin sect and Iron Palm remain neutral.
And over time, our rivalry has slowly turned to enmity.
Now, all of us are thirsting for each other's blood but according to the agreement made by our predecessors, the four sects cannot go to all-out war against one another. If one breaks the agreement, then the other three will join forces to eliminate the remaining.
Conjuring a large-scale barrier is not a problem for us but if you fail, then, this will lead to a huge mess.
And defeating them on their own turf is impossible even if you know their treasures and techniques. Mt. Wu had a formidable defense formation, which the founder of the Wuji sect received knowledge from the demigod.
Upon activation, the ancient formation will lock down the intruders and their ether energy. Even the disciples living in the sect will not escape. The only one that will not be influenced is the caster himself, i.e. Wuji sect's Patriarch. Other than that, only demigods will be able to bypass the restriction.
Of course, this formation also has a small obvious weakness too. Since the pressure will be on one's ether energy, one with an extraordinary physique like a Supreme realm of Fighter path will still be able to escape with his life while taking a lot of lives (disciples) with him along the way."
Mark didn't interrupt him and neither did he attempt to remove Ding Tai's worries by speaking about Lan Ju's real strength. He calmly listened to his explanation and asked, "Anything else?"
Ding Tai felt like Mark hasn't been convinced yet. He continued by telling the guest what he knows about the sect.
Apart from the formation, the Wuji sect appears to have various artifacts in their possession. The most famous of those artifacts and the one that really matters is actually a divine-grade artifact named Yu pipa.
Originally belonging to the Kunlun sect's founder, it is a jade pipa that is capable of controlling the weather and elements. The music can also effectively paralyze and induce the drowsiness of an enemy. According to the records, not even a normal demigod can escape this effect.
Ding Tai didn't know that Lan Ju isn't a simple Supreme being either (peak-9-circle). He wasn't even a normal demigod.
Hence, Mark was confident that Lan Ju will be safe. And he was even a little bit excited to snatch the weapon from the Wuji sect.
"Okay, I understand. What about the skills?" Mark then asked him about the most famous techniques of the Wuji sect to understand whether it is safe for him to send the manticore into battle too.
Ding Tai and the other grand elders described to him the effects of the skills they have in common with the other three sects and the ones they know about the Wuji sect's unique ones.
After confirming the number of legendary and supreme realm experts within the enemy zone, Mark thanked them for the information and further said that he will begin his preparations for the upcoming war.
As for whether the Kunlun sect wanted to participate in this war or not, it was left to their decision.
While the outcome of the battle won't change regardless of their actions, he still hoped for them to go along with him.
If they back out, he would have to drop them out of his plans for world domination, show a bit of mercy on the Wuji sect instead of total wipeout, and then shift his carrot-and-stick plan to some other time. It will be a bit of a headache but not so much that it would block his path or anything.
Hence, he gave them a day to think about it and left for his room.
And then, about a couple of hours later, the acting patriarch met Mark once again, this time for tea, and spoke of his decision.
Mark raised the cup with a smile, "Happy Cooperation."
Ding Tai didn't know what the gesture is but he followed the suit and did the same as Mark and smiled as he raised the teacup, "Happy Cooperation."