Leaping into the air, Isabella then fired an arrow behind her to propel herself towards Xinyi who quickly casted a spell to form a lotus beneath her feet which helped her to steady herself in the air.
"You shameless bastard! Is this what you know as chivalry? To attack a woman in a fair battle before she even gets ready?" Isabella questioned back as she fired a flurry of arrows towards Nightin, not holding back in the slightest as the arrows pierced through the air.
Knowing that their sect master probably wants to challenge his own limits, Xinyi summoned a lotus before her as it flew forward as a beam while Cloud threw his chakram towards Nightin.
"If this is already the limit of your combined attacks, then I would really have to say that Aiden possesses the ability to kill all three of you instantly with a lower cultivation base." Nightin smirked coldly as arrow feathers surround him to deflect all three attacks easily,
"Quite a disappointment I would have to say. You three aren't even capable of making me use anything related to my sword or the battle would have already been over." Nightin said before recalling his feathers back as wings behind his back.
"I give the three of you one year to improve yourself, let's hope that you guys are at least able to make me use my sword the next time. Or best, force out my sword from the start of the battle." Nightin left behind his final instructions before vanishing from the area, everything was settled for now and he just needs to review all the data.
Returning to his room, he realised that everything was left untouched. The furnitures were clean which implied that those disciples of his must have been taking shifts to clean the room carefully, something which could have been left undone or with the help of some servants.
Walking up to the window, he opened it and looked up to the horizon, reminding himself once again that his current standing was nothing compared to those experts drifting with the clouds on an equal level.
"System, give me the statistics of the sect's current situation."
"Yes host."
From there, a detailed yet compressed information table was shown to Nightin. Every single data was covered and this included every source of income and forces the sect had under it.
[Average cultivation of all disciples: Middle stage Martial King realm]
[Average cultivation of all elders: Fifth gate Martial Emperor realm]
[Annual income of the sect: 700 Origin stones]
Note: One origin stone is equivalent to a hundred peak grade spirit stones, 700 origin stones would be equivalent to 70000 peak grade spirit stones and when converted to the mainstream currency of high grade spirit stones, it would be at a staggering amount of 7000000 high grade spirit stones.
[Noteworthy allies:
Medicinal palace: Provides a huge portion of the herbs and elixirs used by the sect at a reasonable price slightly below the market range (friendly)
Array guild: The place where all array masters reside in and are only close to the Nirvana sect because of Pawn. (Neutral)
Soaring sword sect: The sect left behind by Phoenix which the host has been wanting to find, the sect only has around 7 disciples at this point of time. (unknown)]
"System, why does the status for the soaring sword sect remain unknown and why are there only seven disciples?"
"The soaring sword sect current seven disciples are the ones who have been following Phoenix ever since the creation of the sect and when he was still alive. The only reason your disciples even know about them is because Alexander happened to make friends with one of them during one of his conquests."
The man who he made friends with was someone who has already been living for thousands of years and the cultivation of his is actually in the Overlord realm. It's from there that Alexander learnt about the existence of the soaring sword sect and back then, he had suggested for his friend to merge the soaring sword sect into the Nirvana sect, only to be rejected upfront.
"I'm sorry, but my friends and I will be staying in the sect until the inheritor of our sect master appears, we don't know if that person exists, but we have already decided to leave everything to fate."
From there, Alexander lost contact after that one night where the man suddenly left, only leaving behind a letter saying that the sect needed him back immediately to deal with an emergency.
"New system quest has been activated!"
[Locate the soaring sword sect and bring it under the Nirvana sect, the type of relation may differ according to the situation]
[Reward: 100 ~ 1000 system coins depending on the final stand and attitude of the seven disciples of the soaring sword sect, bonus reward might be given out according to the situation based on how the system views it to ensure fairness]
"System, doesn't Alexander know about the location of the soaring sword sect?"
"Sorry host, but please remember that the system is only an artificial intelligence. Even though I'm able to detect the recent actions of your disciples and issue missions from there, it's up to you to gather more information through your own means and methods."
"Alexander, please report to the main hall now, I have some matters to clarify with you." Hearing Nightin's telepathy message, Alexander settled the matters he had at hand before making his way there quickly.
Upon arriving at the main hall, Alexander stood outside and waited for Nightin to invite him in. But after a few breaths, he realised that Nightin was actually still sitting down in the main hall and walked in of his own accord.
"Stand outside, I'll be out shortly." The moment Alexander took a step however, Nightin got him to halt and wait for him patiently as he stood up and left his seat, pondering about the next course of action he should take.
Leaving the main hall, Nightin asked Alexander with a smile "Did you meet any interesting figures while on your conquests recently?"
Why is the sect master asking me this? Alexander thought to himself but still replied with a yes.
"Did you make friends with any swordmaster recently?" Sensing that Nightin was possibly asking all this to probe into the personal details of that friend of his, Alexander replied unpleasantly "Sect master, I believe that even if I'm willing to let you in on all this information, I'll still have to respect the privacy of the other party."
"I understand your concerns, but I have the need to locate him. I once made a promise with someone to take care of the Soaring sword sect and that was his last wish." Even until now, Nightin could feel his throat burning in pain when he mentions Phoenix, the man who had helped him out with the cultivation technique the sect uses.
"Sect master, can I trust that you mean no harm towards them?" Hearing that his sect master was possibly the chosen one based on his friend, Alexander asked again as he prepared to tell Nightin about the vague description of where the Soaring sword sect is possibly located.
"Don't worry, it's my duty to protect the Soaring sword sect and ensure that it exists for as long as the Nirvana sect, they'll become our strongest allies throughout our history, trust me on that." Nightin assured him as Alexander took out a scroll and passed it over to Nightin.
[Vast seas and magical clouds,
Drifting slowly yet floating stagnantly.
Immense energies and exotic beings,
Petrifying endlessly yet shining eternally]
[Locations exist not in the world,
Only deep down into the heart.
One's mind can influence the old,
But only the chosen is fated]
"Only two stanzas?"
"That's right, I had no way to ask for more clues either since he had already left. Sect master, please allow me to accompany you on your search for the Soaring sword sect, it has already been three months of rest for me and that's more than enough.
"Oh? What about building a rapport with the rest of your juniors in the sect though?" Nightin asked, expecting that one reply.
"I still place that matter as a priority, but I'm someone who's meant to sail the seven seas and explore the unknown, seeking answers through danger is precisely the type of person I am."
"Very well, pack up and meet me at the foot of the mountain, I have an idea of where we should be heading to."
"Yes sect master."
"There should be more." Nightin said out loud after Alexander left, the passage of time belonging to those of an old man who has seen through the foolish sorceries of the world.