Chapter 20: Trouble at Door
Rhain's dark grey eyes stared at the blue lotus in his hand.
Another Epic-Grade reward.
What an incredible luck!
If he swallowed this lotus right now, he would instantly become an Essence Condensation Level 6 cultivator.
Coupled with the overwhelming physical power of his Abyssal Sovereign Physique, the Void Fist, the Shadow Flicker Steps, and the Epic-Grade Abyssal Sovereign Technique he had just acquired...
He could effortlessly slaughter every single elder in the Azure Cloud Sect.
Even Harmon Vael, a Spirit Manifestation Realm expert, might not be able to stop him if Rhain decided to walk out the front gates over their dead bodies.
It was the ultimate trump card. Absolute, unadulterated insurance.
With a smooth, practiced motion, Rhain slipped the Void-Ascension Lotus into the inner pocket of his robes before turning around.
He still needed to maintain the facade. He couldn't just walk out of the garden empty-handed after requesting access.
Rhain crouched near a patch of damp soil.
He casually plucked three stalks of Silverleaf Moss, a single Ironroot Ginger, and two Cloudpetal Orchids.
They were Common-Grade herbs. To the Abyssal Sovereign Physique, they were essentially weeds.
But to an observer, they formed a perfectly logical recipe for stabilizing volatile essence pathways.
He stood up, brushing the dirt from his fingers, and walked back toward the gate.
Maren looked at the meager handful of herbs in his grasp. Her brow furrowed slightly.
"Is that all?" she asked.
Given the Sect Master's absolute permission, she had expected him to strip the garden of its most valuable, decades-old Uncommon-Grade herbs.
"It's enough," Rhain said flatly.
Maren simply nodded.
In her eyes, Rhain's restraint only added to his incomprehensible depth.
A lesser disciple would have been blinded by greed, grabbing everything in sight. Rhain only took exactly what he calculated he needed.
Precision. Discipline.
"The Sect Master has ordered your relocation to the Inner Disciple Quarters," Maren said, gesturing down the stone path. "You will have an independent courtyard. I can have an attendant move your belongings."
"No need for trouble, I don't have too many belongings," Rhain said.
It was the truth. The rotting straw mat and the cracked clay jug in his cell were not worth the breath it would take to mention them.
They had barely stepped away from the herb garden gate when they heard the sound of rapid footsteps coming towards them.
Rhain turned his head.
A sect guard was hurrying in their direction.
"Instructor Maren!" the guard gasped, panic clear into his voice.
Maren's brow furrowed. "What is wrong? Speak clearly."
"It's the front gate," the guard panted, pointing back down the mountain. "The Graves family... Master Roderick is here!"
Maren's expression changed instantly.
The calm, authoritative demeanor she usually carried vanished, replaced by a sudden, deep fear.
Roderick Graves, brother of the Graves family head.
"What does he want?" she asked, though the coldness already creeping into her voice suggested she already had an idea.
The guard's face was ashen. "He's demanding the disciple who harmed Brennan Graves be handed over to him. He refuses to enter the sect. He says he won't leave until the disciple is brought to him."
The color drained from Maren's face.
In Greymist Town, power was divided into four main pillars.
Two sects: the Ironpeak Sect and the Azure Cloud Sect.
And two major clans: the Graves family and the Barlowe family.
All four factions were headed by Spirit Manifestation Realm cultivators.
It was a delicate, fragile balance. The
Barlowe family supported the rapidly expanding Ironpeak Sect.
The Azure Cloud Sect was backed by the Graves family.
Without them, the Azure Cloud Sect would be weaker against Ironpeak Sect.
"Go to the Sect Master's Hall immediately," Maren ordered, her voice laced with urgent essence. "Inform Sect Master Harmon of the situation. Go!"
The guard nodded frantically and sprinted up the terrace.
Maren turned her gaze toward the sect's main entrance. She had to de-escalate this before it spiraled out of control.
She started walking hastily towards the main gate, but then she heard the, steady, unhurried footsteps right behind her.
Rhain was following her.
His expression remained utterly indifferent, as if he were merely going for a walk.
Maren glanced at him. Her eyes narrowed.
"You should stay back," she said. "Your presence will only provoke the situation."
"I'm the one they're looking for," Rhain said indifferently. "It would be more provocative if I wasn't there."
Maren gritted her teeth. There was no time to stand here and argue with him. She turned and hurried down the stone steps.
.......
Within minutes, they reached the front gate of the Azure Cloud Sect.
The scene that greeted them was exactly as the guard had described — and worse.
Standing ten paces outside the open gate was a middle-aged man in dark, richly embroidered robes. He was tall, lean, with a hawkish nose and sharp, and angular features.
Roderick Graves.
Essence Condensation — Level 9.
Flanking him were three middle-aged men, their auras dense and oppressive, all at the third level of the Essence Condensation Realm.
Against the gate's stone pillar, a young sect guard was huddled in the corner, trembling violently under the sheer weight of the Second Elder's unrestrained pressure.
"Master Roderick," Maren said, stopping five paces from the gate's threshold. She clasped her hands and offered a formal bow — not deep, but respectful. "The Azure Cloud Sect welcomes the honored Graves family. Please, come inside. We can discuss whatever concerns you may have over tea in the reception hall—"
"No."
Roderick cut her off directly.
"I have not come for tea, Instructor Maren," he said. His sharp eyes were hard, unyielding. "And I will not be stepping inside your sect today."
He unfolded his arms and took a single step forward, ""I heard a piece of trash from the outer quarters broke my nephew's arm and shattered his ribs."
He paused, his eyes narrowing into venomous slits.
"Hand over the disciple who harmed Brennan. Now."
Maren opened her mouth, desperately trying to formulate a response that would placate the enraged elder without humiliating the sect.
But before a single syllable could leave her lips, a calm, unhurried voice drifted past her shoulder.
"And what," the voice asked, "are you going to do with him once he's handed over?"
Maren froze.
Rhain stepped past her, unbothered by the heavy, oppressive tension hanging over the sect gates.
He stopped right at the threshold, his hands behind his back.
Roderick's hawkish eyes snapped to Rhain.
"I will shatter every bone in his body," Roderick declared chillingly, "I will tear his limbs from their sockets one by one. I will crush his dantian, and I will leave him as a crippled dog begging for death outside your gates. That is the price for touching my blood."
Silence fell over the gate.
The young sect guard huddled against the pillar whimpered.
Maren's face turned ashen.
Rhain didn't blink.
His expression remained a mask of perfect, chilling indifference.
"I see," Rhain said quietly.
The Abyssal Sovereign Physique suddenly awoke.
A terrifying, pitch-black suppression aura erupted from Rhain's body like a wave of dark essence.
"My name is Rhain Voss," he stated.
He looked directly into Roderick's murderous eyes.
"I am the one who shattered your nephew's ribs, I am the one who pulverized his arm."
Rhain tilted his head slightly. His dark grey irises—deep, abyssal, and utterly devoid of mercy—stared down at Roderick.
"I am standing right here."
A pause.
Cold. Absolute.
"If you have the strength, come and cripple me."