After escaping through the forest and returning safely to Golden River City, our group quickly made its way back to the sect.


    As we had killed our ambushers, we wouldn’t be getting any contribution points for the mission, but I still needed to report the details of what happened to the Hall. We could have tried to hide the deaths and just reported a clean completion of the mission, but we would have been punished if we got caught doing so. In any event, there was very little reason not to report the details of the encounter.


    We were doing the mission for experience. We didn’t need the contribution points, and Lord Hao would find out about his subordinates'' deaths even if we didn’t say anything. It was best to just come clean.


    However, visiting the Mission Hall could wait until later. Before that, we needed to figure out how we were going to deal with the mess we found ourselves in. Once we were safely secluded away in our apartment suite, I explained everything I knew about what led up to us being attacked.


    Yan looked down at his hands as he rubbed his palms together. “This ‘Lord Hao’ is going to come for us. From what you said, I would guess that he didn’t even know about that attack. His flunkies probably set everything up behind the scenes to get some kind of reward for kidnapping a notable formation specialist. Now, we’ve killed his men. If he lets that stand without challenging us, he’ll lose the support of many of his subordinates.”


    Everyone sat quietly as we digested those words. How were we going to handle this?


    In one respect, a Lord wasn’t that impressive to me. I had been a Lord enough times now that I didn’t exactly see it as an accomplishment. However, that was not the current me. Right now, I was just a simple Grandmaster, and it seemed like this ‘Lord Hao’ might have a large faction behind him. He might have access to dozens more Lords that he could throw at us.


    More worrying was his position as a core disciple. What additional privileges and benefits would that provide someone? When compared to an outer sect disciple, being in the inner sect gave me access to a few more items in the sect stores, opened up some new missions, and let me attempt the Trial twice a year instead of only once. If core just upped those existing benefits slightly, I wouldn’t be too worried, but I didn’t know if that was the extent of it.


    I looked at everyone and carefully considered our options.


    “No matter what anyone says, if this Lord Hao is throwing his weight around with new recruits, he can’t be overly impressive. We need to get to Profound City as quickly as possible. That will let us ascend to King, and we won’t have to worry about any small Lords. We also need to look into linking up with Ning ChenKun’s faction. They might be able to shield us from this storm.”


    This idea seemed to bother Yan.


    “Rushing to King isn’t good. There must be a reason why so many Grandmasters and Lords focus on building up factions before advancing. ChenKun spent more than a decade as a Grandmaster in the Academy while trying to build connections with future powerhouses. I don’t know enough about the sect to know why that was important, but having these factions and connections has to be more valuable than we know, and rushing to advance will deprive us of a chance to form them for ourselves.”


    He was right. There had to be a deeper reason behind building factions, and I felt it had to be connected to one’s advancement within the sect. With that thought, it didn’t take me long to have a solid idea for why factions might be considered so important.


    I grabbed the classmates’ attention.


    “Don’t spread this around. The sect stops this information from being shared too openly, but I’ve found that it doesn’t ban talking about it completely.”


    I proceeded to tell them about the details of the Paths of Body, Mind, and Soul.


    “To reach Earth City, that’s all you need to be able to do. Factions and connections don’t play any role at all in the process, and anyone can become an Emperor by relying on only their own power.”


    They all nodded in understanding, so I continued.


    “Remember what Instructor Yuan said? ‘Only Sovereigns need to learn to teach. There is a path to even Peak Emperor without such abilities.’ I would guess that the paths from Earth City to Heaven City and from Heaven City to the Summit have something to do with forming factions and training subordinates. That’s why everyone is so focused on it. You don’t need a faction to become a Peak Emperor, but you do need one to become a Sovereign.”


    LiTing was the first to respond. “So… where does that leave us? Aren’t we all here to become Sovereigns?”


    I looked at her briefly and then turned meaningfully to Yan.


    “No. I won’t become a Sovereign. I’ll walk the path to Peak Emperor. At that point, I can function as your support. I already have most of the skills I need to reach Earth City, so I won’t have to rush my way there too much, but I also won’t have to delay more than necessary. The four of you should work on your basic skills. I would suggest joining Ning ChenKun’s faction to learn more about how it functions, but you should also consider starting your own. I’ll provide you with as much support as I can from higher up the mountain. We can set up regular meetings outside the sect to trade items and information.”


    Everyone but Yan was surprised by my decision, but JiaQi was the first to voice it.


    “Fang, you shouldn’t do that. You probably have a better shot at Sovereign than any of us.”


    YuLong just looked confused. “Yeah, man. What are you doing? If anyone should rush up the Ranks, it should be me. I have the least chance of making it to the end, ya know?”


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    LiTing didn’t speak, she only stared blankly ahead with a pensive expression.


    “Thank you, but this is the right call. It’s what I need to do.”


    When I learned I was no longer able to make secondary reset points to maintain this timeline, I had thought I might stay with this group until the end, but the situation was too fluid. I was the one who started this mess. Lord Hao would want to come after me. By staying with the group, I would only put everyone in more danger.


    I would be heading down a road alone again, and without a secondary reset point to rejoin the group in the future, I didn’t know where that path would take me.


    However, before I could begin to feel too lonely, LiTing surprised me.


    “I’m going with you. I have no interest in learning how to run a faction, and I won’t be able to help anyone if I have to keep my refining ability hidden. If I’m a Peak Emperor, I can hand out whatever I want to whomever I want, and no Lord will be able to stop me.”


    Instinctively, I wanted to reject her. I would be faster on my own. But in the past… she had always died shortly after I left in every timeline. Maybe this would be for the best.


    I nodded at her. “Alright, but we’re going to be rushing pretty hard. To avoid Lord Hao as much as possible, after we leave Mortal City, I plan to only make a short stop in Yellow City before heading directly to Profound City, so we will have to do all our preparation before heading out. I have an idea that should work, but there will be risks. Are you sure you want to do this?”


    Determination welled up within her. “Yes.”


    I smiled. “Alright.”


    We talked a bit more about ideas for what the others would do, and Yan decided he would return to the Academy as a Grandmaster teacher since this might give him more insights on what was expected from sect disciples. JiaQi and YuLong would do their best to support Yan from within the sect. After an hour or so, the group broke apart, and we each left to begin working toward our different goals. As we did, I pulled Yan to the side for a brief private chat.


    Since it was possible someone might be listening in, I would have to talk around what I wanted to say, but I gave him a look to try and convey the deep importance of my words.


    “I need you to help me find something. I need something that can store a person’s memories. Something that will let me copy a person’s memories out and then give them to… someone else.”


    Yan snorted in disdain. “I’ve been working on that for years already. Are you just realizing that this is important now?”


    “I…”


    “Look. I know. You want to keep your secret. It’ll be your choice to give the memories back to us, but there is no way I’m letting them simply disappear. I’ve made sure that everyone is keeping a detailed journal, but I’m still looking for something better.”


    “Thanks…”


    Because of the events in West Brook City, I was having to abandon my friends. I had wanted to spend a full lifetime with them, but if there was even the possibility of saving their memories, their survival was far more important than fleeting happiness. As long as everyone could live long enough for one of us to find a way to save a person’s memories, while I might have to leave them in this life, I would be able to rejoin them in the next.


    This reminded me of my 100-year plan. I only had about 35 years left. After that, I would need to return to the Wastes. I had told myself that I would be allowed to finish out my final life without regrets even after I passed that 100-year mark, but starting a brand-new life too close to the deadline would feel like cheating. If I wanted to spend a full life with my friends before returning to the Wastes, I should try to start a final life in at most 25 years, preferably sooner.


    The moment we found a solution to the memory issue, we could start over, and we wouldn’t have to worry about threats from petty tyrants. If everyone’s memories were safe, we could freely fight back against people like Lord Hao without worrying about the consequences. I just had to find a way to save everyone’s memories first.


    I broke myself out of this reverie and looked at Yan.


    I hadn’t told him about my storage space, but he wasn’t a fool. After all, I had brought his journal and the letters back somehow, so he had to know I could take things back with me during a reset. He just wouldn’t know how much. Giving him any extra information was always a risk, but it was one I was willing to take.


    “Also… Can you look for a few things for me? Technique manuals of any kind, seeds for rare or powerful herbs, and most importantly spirit fire seeds. If we can get access to Profound-Rank or better fire seeds, it could be a huge advantage in the future.”


    He rubbed his forehead at this request.


    “Profound-Rank fire seeds won’t be too difficult to manage. We should have some amount of access to them after advancing further in the sect. Earth-Rank is a different story. A Sovereign might have one, but it’s not something an Emperor can possess. As for Heaven-Rank, I don’t know for certain that such a thing even exists. If it does, it’s on the Central Continent and likely in the hands of a Saint.”


    “I understand. These are just items I consider important. If you think of anything else, add it to the list. I should have more than enough room.”


    He narrowed his eyes at that. “What about room for something living? What about for people?”


    “I… don’t know. I haven’t tested it yet.”


    “Alright. Let me work on that. The details of how that works is something you need to know sooner rather than later.”


    I nodded. “For now, we need to focus on the climb up the mountain. We don’t need a solution until it’s over.”


    I patted him on the back as we departed on our separate journeys through the sect.


    <hr>


    The next day, LiTing and I met for a private discussion about how we would move forward from here. I watched her carefully as I began outlining what I planned to do.


    “We need to take the Path of Body from Mortal to Yellow City. From there, we’ll take the Path of Soul. I want to leave as soon as we can, so we both need to push hard to reach Peak Grandmaster. Don’t do anything that will hurt your foundation, but don’t worry about taking breaks to adjust to each separate step. As soon as your meridians have adapted to a new stage, start pushing to the next.”


    I took out several pill bottles and gave them to her.


    “These are the best pills I have for helping with advancing your cultivation. As soon as you are Peak Grandmaster, we can head out.”


    “What about my refining skills? If we do this, I won’t have any time to improve them.”


    I sighed. “It’s not ideal, but it should be okay. We’ll reach Profound City at Martial Lord 1. We can hole up there as you work to perfect Rank 3 and advance your skills well into Rank 5. That’s what you’ll need to make it to Earth City.”


    “What about you? Will you need to work on your formations, or will I just be slowing you down?”


    I smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll need to work on my skills a bit, but I plan to spend most of that time working on my affinities. Profound City will allow me to advance to King, and entering the Trial at that level should allow me to upgrade my earth affinity to peak 4-star. That’s my goal, but you’ll probably be ready before I reach it.”


    This seemed to comfort her.


    “I know we need to hurry, but before I start cultivating, I’m going to spend a little time replacing everyone''s weapons to help them stay safe. Do you need me to make you another crescent moon spade?”


    I considered the offer. I had fanciful notions about how I could use that weapon to take down rock golems, but the weapon’s fragility and my lack of skill with it made fighting those monsters problematic. My last weapon had been great for a surprise attack, but it wouldn’t work in the Trial.


    “Sure, but this time, don’t worry about enhancing its sharpness. You don’t even need to sharpen it. Leave it blunt. Instead, focus everything into durability. I need a weapon that I can slam into rocks countless times without it breaking.”