"What? You want to establish a faction!? Ricky... That's... that's a very dangerous and bold idea!" Edgar
blurted out, his eyes opening wide. He was shocked at Ricky's plan.
Establishing a faction was by no means an easy task. Managing, organizing, and strengthening it was
also extremely vital. The Refinement Faction and the Casting Faction were backed by demi-immortals,
and the Amber Faction also had the support from a mysterious figure. All of them had powerful
backers. That was also why these factions were able to grow so strong and thrive! No one dared bully
their disciples. All Ricky had was Grace's support. But now he was thinking of establishing a faction! He
was really something else!
"Yes, you are right, Edgar... I know I don't have much support from powerful figures. That's why I came
to see Autelan. He is strong. I need him." Ricky nodded and acknowledged with a determined look.
"Hey, buddy! Count me in!" Edgar unexpectedly proposed as a determined light flashed through his
eyes.
"I appreciate your support, Edgar. Really, I do. But I suggest you think this over carefully. Once you are
in, you will become the enemy of the Casting Faction and the Refinement Faction. They will dislike you
just because you joined me and things will get hard." Ricky was surprised when Edgar volunteered to
join him. He was a bit touched by his support, but knew he had to make things clear so Edgar would
know better about the difficulties he might face if he chose to join him.
"I know what you mean, and I appreciate that you are considerate enough to make it clear. But I've
made my decision. I want to help my master, and to become good friends with you," Edgar said
straightforwardly without any hesitation. Of course, he knew the dangers of taking Ricky's side. But he
also truly believed that Ricky would be a true, loyal friend.
"Ha-ha! Okay then, Edgar!! Let's go and find Autelan. Remember, please help me persuade him! That's
our main priority now. Otherwise, we might not be able to establish our faction. And even if we manage
to found one, it would be a weak one without any powerful backup. The other factions would bully us,"
Ricky said, his heart warming at their conversation. Having one more friend would always be
entertaining and inspiring, especially when they were planning to do great things together.
"Yes, I understand. But probably it's going to be a little bit difficult to convince Autelan. He has shown to
be apathetic about fame and glory. I've never seen him compete in any competition," Edgar said in a
worried tone.
"It doesn't matter. We must try first. We'll never know his take on things until we get started!" Ricky
replied with confidence.
"Hmm You have a point. Alright then, let's go and talk to him when he finishes cultivating," agreed
Edgar.
Autelan did not finish his cultivation in seclusion until five whole days later. Ricky and Edgar patiently
waited, eager to talk to the renowned warrior.
When Autelan was told that they would like to come and talk to him, he welcomed them into his room.
Ricky and Edgar were flattered to be invited into his room. As they entered, Ricky greeted Autelan,
asking him whether he had succeeded in the breakthrough. He remembered that Autelan went out for
training last time, in order to find a way to break through to Bone Reinforcement.
Autelan was transparent about his situation. He told them that he had already found the way to do it.
He had returned to the Snow Sect this time in order to concentrate on the breakthrough process. Bone
Reinforcement deserved his most intensive attention, after all. He had to make sure everything around
him was well arranged.
He cultivated in seclusion these days to reinforce the completeness of the phase of Blood Purification,
so as to lay a solid foundation for his upcoming breakthrough.
Autelen then asked him what he had come for. Rick straightforwardly told him of his plans and
expressed his hope that Autelan would join them.
"Ricky, thank you for your invitation. You are a good man, and I like you. But this is different. I have no
interest in this kind of stuff!" Autelan immediately refused. He did not want himself get involved in those
complex affairs. He was more interested in his individual progress and cultivation.
"Hey, Autelan. I am inviting you to join our new faction not because I want you to become completely
involved with us... I'm just asking for you to show up the day when we announce the establishment of
our faction. That's all," Ricky said persuasively, trying to change Autelan's mind.
"I'm afraid it's not as simple as you think. Once I show up on that day, I will be labeled to be a member
of the faction. I will have the responsibility of dealing with things in the faction. But you know me. I am
not the type to like this management stuff. So I think I'd better not join you," Autelan insisted, kindly
rejecting him.
...
For the next few hours, Ricky and Edgar took turns trying to convince Autelan. However, despite their
unreserved efforts, Autelan did not change his mind. Finally, both of them thanked him for his time and
bade him goodbye, dejected and disappointed.
There was nothing else they could do now. They stepped out of his room and looked at each other,
frustrated.
They now began to brainstorm about a plan B.
"Hey, Ricky. Won't you be able to establish the faction if Autelan doesn't join in?" Edgar asked sadly.
"No, that's not that case. I can still establish it. But it's going to be a weak one without Autelan. Like I
said earlier, the Casting Faction and the Refinement Faction would bully our new faction," Ricky replied
as he shook his head, having no idea what he could do next.
"Then, what can we do? You've seen his attitude. It seems that he will never accept our invitation no
matter what we say," Edgar said, shrugging his shoulders.
He understood what Ricky meant. Without a warrior with top internal strength, their new faction would
be a lowly one, vulnerable to intimidation and harassment from other factions.
"Let's work harder and come up with another idea to make him say yes!" Ricky said decisively,
clenching his fists. He was determined to make Autelan a member of his future faction, no matter what
it took.
"Ricky, Edgar. Come to my room!" Zenith suddenly summoned them. They exchanged looks at each
other, curious as to why Chief Zenith wanted to see them.
They immediately proceeded to Zenith's room. Then they nodded to each other as they knocked,
pushed the door open, and went inside.
"Chief Zenith," they greeted Zenith whose eyes were closed as he sat, meditating.
Hearing their voices, Zenith opened his eyes slowly and nodded at them. He then took a glance at the
two young men. "Ricky, you are planning to set up a faction, and want Autelan to join you. Correct?"
asked Zenith, as if he was omniscient.
"Yes, Chief Zenith," Ricky replied honestly.
"From what I'm seeing, he turned you down, didn't he?" Zenith asked further, a smiling forming on his
face.
Ricky and Edgar sighed in frustration and nodded.
"You want to set up a faction, so as to stand against the Casting Faction and the Refinement Faction.
This is a smart idea. I support you in this respect. That's why I summoned you here. I'd like to offer you
a suggestion. If you can handle what I'm going to tell you, your dreams may very well come true. And
maybe, even without your further persuasion, Autelan will take the initiative to volunteer to join your
faction," Zenith said, wearing a mysterious smile.
"Chief Zenith, what do you mean?" they asked immediately as their eyes lit up with excitement.
"There is a core disciple named Olivia Bing. Autelan likes her. As long as you can persuade her to join
your faction, he will definitely follow her and join you!" Zenith suggested.
However, Ricky and Edgar were dejected at hearing this. Their shoulders drooped upon hearing
Zenith's advice.
Olivia Bing? Who was that? They did not know her at all. How could they convince her into their
faction? What was more, she was a core disciple and had every reason to reject them, two unknown
inner disciples.
"Chief Zenith, would you be kind enough to talk to her about this?" Edgar suddenly came up with a
ridiculous idea.
"Or maybe I can just talk to Autelan and order him to join you! Want me to do that too!?" Zenith rolled
his eyes at Edgar's unreasonable request.
"Thank you, Chief Zenith, if that's fine with you!" Ricky nodded and replied, not catching the sarcasm in
the sect chief's voice.
Zenith paused, an awkward silence hovered in the air. Of course, he could not talk to either Olivia or
Autelan.
"All right! Stop talking nonsense. Let's get to the point. Ricky, tell me, the manual you are practicing
now, is it an esoteric one? Are you having any difficulties?" Zenith asked. He decided to leave the
problem of Autelan to themselves. Mentioning Olivia Bing and Autelan's feelings for her was the
furthest help he could give.
"It's indeed a profound one. And I'm still working on it, Chief Zenith," Ricky said compliantly.
"Boy, don't try to play me. I'm not interested in your manual," said Zenith crossly at Ricky's
unwillingness to talk about the manual. He was an elder with rich experience who would never feel
jealous of what his disciples had.
"Olivia Bing is a disciple of Elder Samuel. She is practically obsessed with casting. If you are willing to
share your manual with her, I'm sure everything will go smoothly.
Do you understand?" Zenith said.
"Yes, Chief Zenith," Ricky replied, now understanding why Zenith had asked about his manual.
"I'm not saying that you should give the manual to her. All you need to do is share some of your
experiences or suggestions to her. I think that would be enough. She would gladly talk about it with
you," Zenith said to appease Ricky's hesitation.
"So, where can we find her, Chief?" Edgar asked.
"She is in Elder Samuel's place, of course." That was the last piece of information that Zenith felt like
offering them. He immensely liked these two disciples, but in no way would he spoonfeed them.
"I got it. Thank you, Chief. You've helped us a lot. We're going to find her now," Ricky said, bowing
gratefully. Edgar did the same.
Immediately, the two friends headed for Elder Samuel's courtyard.
Elder Samuel's disciples greeted them enthusiastically the moment they arrived.
Bertha emerged from her room and teased Ricky, "What are you doing here? Trying to see how we
practice casting? You greedy guy."
"It's good to see you too, Bertha. But sadly, I've got some other business today!" Ricky replied with a
smile.
"Oh? What's that? Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked curiously.
"I'm afraid not, unless you quit the Amber Faction."
"What do you mean? Why?" Bertha asked, alarmed.
"Hee-hee. Bertha, is Miss Olivia Bing here? There's something we'd like to discuss with her. You'll find
out why when we meet her," said Ricky, keeping her guessing.
"Ricky, is that you? You came here and you dare not come inside to greet me first!?" a voice boomed
from inside.
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