Julius pressed his lips tightly together. “You knew?” he finally asked.

“I knew from the second I met you. During that time, I examined the rest of your other interesting abilities. But I also realized that Cassandra was aware of this, and so I didn’t think too much of it.”

“An inspection skill of some sort?” Julius guessed.

Grand Elder Koenn’s eyes suddenly sparkled with mana. It was like staring into the night sky and the endless void of space. As if he wanted to demonstrate his skill to Julius personally.

“Indeed.”

He wasn’t the only one surprised by this revelation, though.

“Wait, so this isn’t even what he looks like? How?” Avis asked, standing up and suddenly in Julius’s face, inspecting him. She didn’t seem as hostile as before. But she clearly didn’t know that he was using the necklace to hide his face either. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

“Some kind of soul-bound treasure from what I could tell with my eyes. But that's perfect for us because, despite there being traitors within the sect, they won’t be able to relay what Julius looks like if he changes his appearance again.”

Julius was still reeling from the revelation that his secret appearance wasn’t so secret. Though, in hindsight, he probably should have assumed that someone figured it out.

“I still don’t want to be a spy, though. And no offense, but I have already done more than enough for your sect.”

“I don’t mean a spy in the way you are thinking. I’m simply asking you to occasionally report on what’s going on and to let me know whenever you hear anything about the top three sects. Other than that, you will be free to do what you want.”

“Wait, so where would I go?”

Grand Elder Koenn shrugged. “Wherever you want. I don’t really care, all I ask is for you to report to us whenever you can.”

“That doesn’t seem like much of a plan.”

“Of course, I will give you key pieces of information that might affect your decisions and where you want to go. But fate seems to have a plan in store for you already, and I plan to take advantage of that.”

“That’s brave of you, essentially telling me directly that you want to use me,” he noted with a narrowed gaze.

“I’m just being honest. Trouble seems to find you, and during times like this, it is likely to be related to the upcoming conflict. For example, those corrupted Deepcore Ants might have been an experiment from one of the three sects, and yet you were the one who came across them first.”

Grand Elder Rhynus finally took his legs off the chair and sat up straight. “Wait, what?”

Koenn nodded at his colleague. “I got reports that there have been several corruption-infected rifts all over Corvus, and some of the reports mention artificial or third-party influences. Swarm-type monsters of various kinds that have been corrupted are attacking towns and cities across all regions. I’m not sure what to make of it, but from what Cassandra and Julius found in that gorge, I’m starting to lean toward the idea that the top three sects are somehow involved with these recent corruption incidents.”

“Why would they do that? That’s a stupid thing to do. Corruption is a volatile thing; nobody can control it.”

“Your guess is as good as mine, but considering the Golden Cauldron Sect and the Nine Peaks Sect have both suddenly made moves in these affected regions, it can’t be good. I want to see what is going on before they finish whatever they are hoping to do.”

“They could be hoping to sow enough chaos across Corvus to weaken sects who are, or might become, competition for them,” Grand Elder Avis muttered with a hand on her chin, suddenly deep in thought.

“Perhaps, but there are other ways to do that. I have a feeling they have another goal in mind,” Rhynus added.

“Most definitely, which is why I want Julius to help us.”

“Have you told the sect leader this?” Cassandra asked, clearly disturbed by this as well.

“Yes, he is aware and agrees with me.”

“Agrees that we should use Julius as a spy?”

“Correct.”

Cassandra scoffed. “He hasn’t even met Julius yet. Not to mention, he’s so busy doing his own project that he’s been neglecting the sect.”

“In my defense, I already brought up that latter point to him. He didn’t seem to care all that much, though.”

“I will go and talk to him after this,” Cassandra grumbled.

“Good luck with that,” Avis said with a sigh.

Koenn brushed their concerns away. “Doesn’t matter, I gave him a comprehensive report of what I collected on Julius, and he also believes that Julius is the prime candidate for this, too.”

“So your plan revolves around me being a trouble magnet and then hoping for the best?” Julius, doubt evident in his voice.

“No, of course not. Your talent and personal strength also play a large role in it. The top three sects have many diviners and recruiters in Corvus, all of whom would be elated to have someone of your skill join their sect.”

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

“He’s not joining any of their sects,” Cassandra swiftly stated.

“No, of course not. But their interest and intrigue will be more than enough. Not to mention, I suspect his master would not approve,” Grand Elder Koenn said with a pointed look at him.

Julius snapped his gaze to him. “You know who my master is?”

“I do. As I said before, I did a thorough investigation once I learned some general information about your abilities and skills. It wasn’t hard to find out the truth. I simply had to follow the vice sect leader’s footsteps, and you leaped to the front of the list. You didn’t even change your name.”

“I like my name,” he muttered quietly.

Still, he felt a little troubled. How much did Grand Elder Koenn know, and how long has he known?

“And why are you bringing it up only now?” he asked carefully.

“Because we would greatly appreciate your help in this matter, and there’s no need to keep secrets anymore.”

“Hold on, who’s his master? And why haven’t you told any of us, Koenn?” Avis asked, staring intensely at the older man.

“I didn’t inform you guys because it was obvious he was here seeking anonymity. And since he was already helping out the sect, I didn’t see a reason to stop him.”

“He tortured our disciples.”

“And yet those same disciples continued to attend those lessons without any pressure or instructions from us. Not to mention that many of them improved at such an incredible rate that the sect leader is thinking about rewarding Julius for his contributions. An honorary title was brought up, but I told him that his master would likely not appreciate it.”

“Who is his master? Is it someone we know?” Rhynus asked impatiently.

“It’s none other than the Lord of the Shattered Throne himself,” Koenn said with an amused smirk, which was a little weird to see on the stern man’s face.

Both of the other grand elders sat there stunned, completely shellshocked by this revelation. When they turned to look over at him, they were staring at him completely differently. Their expressions always had hints of arrogance and superiority. Avis more than Rhynus’s, but that was their right since they were Tier 6s.

But he could have sworn he saw slight signs of wariness creep into their eyes.

“His master is Cain Steelborn?” Rhynus finally asked; this time, his question was directed at Cassandra.

Cassandra was looking at Koenn frostily, as if she couldn’t believe that the man had just announced that. Julius was a little upset too, but considering Koenn was a Tier 6, there wasn’t much he could do but sit back and let the man do what he wanted. It sucked, but also not that big of a deal; it might even act as a deterrent from either of the grand elders from making a move against him or pressure him again.

On the other hand, Julius now understood why Koenn had given him that Radiant Flame Berry. It had been both a bribe and an apology gift. He’d already been planning this since Julius got back.

“And the person who he said taught him aura control…” Avis asked, sounding almost excited. Julius didn’t know why that was.

“Most likely the Saint of Winter herself.”

It was like magic; suddenly, the hostile and venomous looks he’d been getting from Grand Elder Avis were now replaced with looks of hope and desire. Weirdly enough, it actually made him feel even more uneasy. He was actually more comfortable when the woman looked like she wanted to kill him.

“So you don’t want me to help you. You want them to help you,” he said with an understanding nod.

“If possible.”

“They won’t.”

“Maybe, but they might change their minds when they hear what else I have to offer you.”

Julius stared flatly at the scheming old man. “And what is that?”

“The Conclave.”

Julius stood there motionlessly for a few moments, simply staring at the man. He didn’t detect any signs of deceit, but at this point, he didn’t think he would have if the old man didn’t want him to.

“What about them?” he finally asked.

“From what I understand, you have problems with them, correct?”

He shrugged. “Sort of,” he answered evasively, but on the inside, he was very fascinated by what he had to say.

“Well, I can give you information that you will find very interesting. I can even help in dealing with them, if you desire it.”

“You would be willing to help me deal with the Conclave?”’

“Of course, that is, if you accept my request. An exchange of sorts.”

“What is the information?”

“That, I will only tell you if you accept.”

“Fine, I accept, now tell me.” Julius really didn’t care. From what it sounded like, he didn’t have to do much. He just needed to go about his usual thing while exploring Corvus, like he’d already wanted to while occasionally sending back reports.

“I’ve recently found out that the Conclave and the top three sects have been working together. In what capacity, I’m not sure, but I know that the Conclave has been funneling resources into the three sects.”

Julius nodded, still expressionless. But there were already a thousand ideas popping into his head. Why was the Conclave working with the top three sects? What were they offering to them, and did they have anything to do with what they did in the capital?

Was something similar going to happen in Corvus, or did they get what they needed and move on to the next stage of their plan?

He had so many questions, and probably just like Koenn planned, he already knew he would be helping out. He didn’t need any other incentive. Anything the Conclave was a part of hadn’t been good. Assassination, theft, terrorism, mass murder, you name it.

Oh yeah, and they essentially killed him. He was still pretty pissed about the latter.

While he was stewing in his own thoughts, the other three had questions of their own, as apparently this was news to them.

“Resources from where?” Cassandra asked.

“Somewhere in the eastern parts of the Empire.”

Julius stilled when he heard that part. The eastern regions? He already had an idea of which exact regions these resources were coming from.

“What kind of resources?” Julius asked calmly, outwardly showing no emotion or the turmoil he was feeling.

“Unknown. All I know is that there are large and frequent shipments arriving from the Empire. My sources haven’t been able to figure out what they are being used for.”

“What kind of stuff comes out of those regions of the Empire?” Grand Elder Avis asked curiously.

“Everything. It’s a very rich land with plenty of unique rifts that could hold an unimaginable amount of valuable materials.”

“How are they transporting all of the materials? That’s very far away, but it can’t be easy to do that. Teleportation wouldn’t even be possible over such large distances, considering the large nature of the shipments. Even if they figured that out, the cost would be obscene.”

“Those are all questions we need to get answered, and that’s why I asked Julius to help us. He’s in a unique position with powerful masters. Not to mention the motivation not to sell us out. We have a common enemy, and I plan to make use of it.”

Julius didn't really think much of the plan to use him as a spy when Koenn first proposed it, but now that he knew the Conclave was involved, he was a lot more interested. He leaned forward, his elbows placed on the table.

“I’m listening.”