"Well then, grandpa, we'll see you again, soon, I hope." Ed, Bella, and the others hugged Vortigern as they wished him well. He made a clear statement concerning his involvement in the war with Blood sect, and he wasn't ready to go back to Avalon just yet. Thus, he decided to continue traveling for a bit more. According to his words, it was 'more interesting' that way.
"I'm sure you'll be okay. You're much stronger than I could have ever imagined at such an age. And all of your friends as well…" Vortigern took a look at the close to a dozen, companions of Ed with red bumps on their heads. It was as if 'someone' struck them hard on the hard.
"Anyway, I've told you all I know about the Blood sect master. It's up to you now. Good luck, and say hello to the others for me." Vortigern waved goodbye to the group as Ed started to teleport them away.
"We're in Sword sect city," Ed told the others as they noticed that it wasn't Avalon where they teleported. "I still need to discuss things some things with Asem and the others here."
Ed and the others started to walk inside the city. Immediately, the city's people recognized them.
"It's the sect master!"
"The sect master is back!"
Children and young adults were the happiest to see Ed. Of course, the older people were as well, but what they felt wasn't happiness, but a sense of security instead. Ed, on the other hand, felt neither happiness nor sadness. He felt the weight of responsibility that the word 'Master' carried.
'So this is what my father feels all the time, huh?' Ed thought to himself as he continued to walk and greet the citizens. Then, before long, he reached the sect grounds.
"Is Asem or Barsine around?" Ed asked one of the guards before he went any further. It would be a waste of time if he kept going around the sect looking for people, and they weren't inside.
"Yes, sir! They're in the main hall along with the Elders!" The guard said as he stood straight. He didn't dare to look Ed in the eyes for some reason.
"I see…" Ed was taken aback by the weird reaction of the guard, but he quickly dismissed it and walked ahead.
Due to Ed's stay in the city before, he was already familiar with the sect grounds. It didn't take him a long time to reach the city hall. There, Asem, Barsine, Helena, the seven Elders, and the two twins were sitting and discussing stuff.
*Knock Knock*
Ed knocked on the door in order to attract the attention of the twelve of them. The noise stopped abruptly as everyone turned around to look at the one who dared to interrupt their meeting. Some of them had an angry look on their face, Helena included. But, the faces turned into ones of respect as they realized it was Ed, Helena excluded, as her face remained angry. She was still angry at Ed for not dueling her.
"Sect master, you have returned!" The Elders were quick to bend the knee, while Asem and Barsine, who spent more time around Ed, knew that he didn't enjoy such antics. They simply bowed down a little in order to show their respect. He was the sect master, after all.
"Oh, exalted sect master, for you to grace them with your presence. Such insight! Such joy! Such-"
*BAM*
Goburou, who was running his mouth in order to embarrass Ed, was stopped by a punch to the head. However, this time, he protected himself with his 'Bloody Drive' Hatsu.
"I had enough of your fist of love," He said as he retreated back and stopped talking.
"Please, don't bow to me. I'm a human like you, and I don't really like it. So, PLEASE, just a normal greeting is enough for me." Ed told the group of people in front of him. Of course, his words were ignored by some people, while some others didn't even bother to show him any respect. For example, Helena and the twins.
"For now, I'll get straight to the point. Did the Poison sect make any movements?" Ed's face turned serious as he squinted his eyes and walked over to sit at the long table.
"I'd like to say 'no', but there was," Asem answered Ed with a serious face as well. Everyone joined Ed to sit at the table.
However, other than Sieg, Emilia and Raikou, the others decided to take a stroll around the sect. They knew that their abilities lied somewhere other than smarts, so they removed themselves willingly.
Ed didn't say a word and instead waited for Asem to continue talking.
"They are recruiting people by the thousands. We've also found out that they're buying high-quality weapons and pills. It seems that they are preparing for war…" Asem's voice contained a hint of alertness. And Ed knew exactly why.
"So, Blood sect found out." Ed's mind started to study the current situation and their possibilities. If Blood sect realized that they were going to be attacked in a week's time, they would be prepared. Which meant that Ed and the others lost the element of surprise.
"It's fine…they would have found out once we started to move anyway. This simply means that it'll be harder to fool them, but it doesn't jeopardize our mission. Still, this is a good thing to know!" Ed didn't lose any hope and instead decided to start working on a separate plan. One that would work best with their current situation.
'I'm still worried about how they found out, but I was able to find out about the survival of their master. Us preparing for war isn't that hard to figure out, I guess?' Ed talked to himself at the same time as he discussed stuff with Sword sect.
"By the way, Sir Ed. Why did you return so quickly? I thought that it would be a long time before you could return to us again. Or even if you finished, with your teleportation ability, I was sure that you would return to Avalon first. Is there something that you need to do here first?" One of the Elders, a middle-aged man with a fat belly and a nearly bald head, asked Ed.
"There is something indeed," Ed said as he tapped on the table with his fingers. "I thought about something concerning the sect and this city. People are still afraid of the attacks from Poison sect, and they have some bad memories. Same for you, I believe. So, I wanted to propose something. Our continent is much safer than this one. And, since I need to keep coming over to the sect, it would be inconvenient. Thus, I wanted to ask you." Ed stood up and put both of his hands on the table.
"Would you like to become part of Avalon?"
Enjoy!
"Sir Ed, if you are unable to help us in our war against Poison sect, we understand. However, we ask of you not to try and make us escape from them. Even if we were to die, we would pay them back for the humiliation they caused us!" A hot-headed young Elder banged the table as he answered Ed.
"You don't understand what I'm trying to say. I'm not telling you to run away from them."
"Then what do you mean when you tell us to join Avalon? Aren't you telling us to pack our bags and leave our homes?! If that's not what you mean, then please enlighten me!"
"Mael! You shouldn't talk before you hear everything first!" Asem couldn't hold himself back anymore and answered the young Elder before Ed could.
"Its okay, Asem, I'm here in order to clarify things for you guys anyway. Mael, I never told you that you'll be leaving anything behind, nor will you be packing anything. When I said you'll join Avalon, I didn't mean that you'll become citizens that won't be able to move a finger, no. By joining Avalon, the first thing we'll do is to merge the two sects together. Our sect might be strong, but that's only in name only. Our disciples lack techniques and experience."
"On the other hand, the Sword sect has been around as long as the first swordsman. Due to the harsh conditions of time, and unfortunate disasters that befell you, you're no longer the best sect around. But, we can solve both problems by merging the two sects together. Of course, we won't become one sect. Instead, I'll make it into a coalition of sects. You can think of it like joining a school, and then having to choose who can teach you within that school."
Mael stopped interrupting Ed and listened to him. As much as it frustrated him, he realized how much truth Ed's worried carried with them. Mael knew that if Ed hadn't arrived when he did, they would have two fewer people around the table. Maybe even more.
"There's also another reason. Avalon is looking to expand, and I want our second city to be this one. The people, well, I couldn't find someone better. And since it's a sect city, we won't have any problem regarding the governing." Ed smiled as he sat back down on his chair.
"But, won't it take a long time for you to build a city? You've already mentioned a war that will happen in about a week from now, right?" one of the female Elders said.
"Who said I will be building a city? I did mention that you won't be packing anything, nor will you be leaving anything behind, right?" Ed crossed his arms as he rested on his chair.
"This city might bring some bad memories for the people, but I'm sure it carries more good memories with it. I won't allow it to wither into specs of dust by abandoning it."
"Then, how do you suppose we…!" The woman stopped her sentence short as she remembered something Ed showed them when he cooked for the whole city. "You don't mean that you plan to teleport the whole city!"
As some of the people had already realized what Ed was implying, they didn't react. However, those with a slow working brain got a shiver once they realized Ed's plan.
"That's suicide!" Mael shouted again as he looked at the Elders and then at Ed. "Even if you are well endowed with QI, you won't be able to teleport a whole city!"
"I can!" Ed shouted back as his pride didn't allow him to let Mael's statement go. "If I wasn't capable of doing so, I wouldn't have mentioned it."
"I will take my leave for now, and allow you to discuss things amongst yourselves. I'll be back in an hour." Ed stood up from his seat and started to make his way towards the door.
"There's no need." Ed turned around to look at Barsine, the one who spoke. "You're the sect master, Edward. There's no need for us to discuss anything. If it is something that you see fit, then we will follow it. As long as you promise me that I can visit Alexander's grave regularly, I won't have any issue with the plan." Barsine stood up and walked in front of Ed with a smile on her face. Then, the Elders followed after her.
"We recognized you as the sect master, and if you believe that our sect will go back to being the best around, then we will follow after your visions of the future!" Helena said as she punched Ed in the chest.
"I see. Then I will announce it to the public. We will leave today." Ed smiled as he realized the amount of trust they were putting into him.
"Huh? Don't you need to discuss things with your father?" Asem was surprised by the sudden decision.
"I already did. Before coming here. I thought of all the possible scenarios that could happen once I visited the sect, and discussed all the possible outcomes with my father. He accepted all of them without a second thought."
.
.
.
By sundown, the whole city was in an uproar. They couldn't believe what the sect master had told them. They were going to leave the continent. Such a thing was unthinkable, even in folk tales. Yet, their sect master claimed that it could be done. They believed in him. Yet, they couldn't hide their fear. No one objected to Ed's decisions, but some of them didn't stay around to watch the magic happen. Instead, they went inside of their homes and hid there.
'Is this it?'
[Yes, you're currently in the exact middle of the city. The rest should be simple.] Ed walked into the point where the system indicated and put his palm on it.
Suddenly, his cultivation spiked as he activated his Berserk skill. His KI surged from his palm and formed a circle around it. From the circle, multiple lines emerged and moved into straight trajectories. The lines only stopped once they left the city. Then, the lines released KI into the left and right, and the extra lines connected, forming a giant circle that covered the city. Including, the graveyard where Alexander was buried.
The outside circles turned into a sphere that covered the buildings in the air, and the infrastructure under the ground.
"It's time for us to leave." A blinding white light filled the sphere in an instant after Ed spoke. Right in the next moment, the city was gone. Only a crater was left behind.
Enjoy!
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