In a few months, the competition became more and more fierce among the Snow Sect, it was the
power play between the two major forces-- Zenith and Boris. Neither one nor the other wanted to give
in, and they put everything on the line to get their hands on the glory of victory.
The longer Boris stepped into the realm of middle spiritual king and showed persistence, the more
vicious and aggressive the competition turned into. If two men ride on a horse, one must ride behind.
While the major core disciples and inner disciples got roped by the two camps, unable to do anything
else, the rest of them might as well had been roped, too, since they only stayed still, perfectly rooted to
the spot. They all quietly watched with bated breaths, not wanting to miss even a second of the battle
before them.
However, Zenith had the upper hand. For one thing, he himself was a middle spiritual king long before
Boris even stepped a foot into this realm, and as if that wasn't enough of an advantage, two-thirds of
the elders supported him. He had a solid backing and it wasn't easy to beat him down.
The entire Snow Sect seemed calm, but beneath the cool surface of the water was a violent current,
surging though the whole of the ocean and sweeping everything that dared to come along its path.
......
Meanwhile, Ricky's return certainly gained a lot of attention--both welcome and unwelcome.
It was a good thing that the people had no idea of what happened in the Earth Fire Land, otherwise this
curious attention would have turned into an explosive one. People wouldn't stop talking about it, for
sure, and Ricky wanted to avoid that as much as possible. Gaining attention due to people's curiosity
was okay, but it was a different story for the kind of attention that fueled people's judgment.
'First, I will deal with the matters of the Misty South Faction and leave the Snow Sect. Otherwise, Boris
would take the opportunity to attack me once what I did in the Earth Fire Land spreads here, ' Ricky
thought.
'Besides, knowing that I have come back, those forces in the Earth Fire Land will come and hunt me
down, too.'
Soon, Ricky returned to the small courtyard.
Seeing Grace and Heather brought a soft smile on his lips. He approached them in a steady pace and
was received with warm familiarity. He then engaged in a conversation with them, telling them all about
what happened in the Casting Guild and trying not to leave any detail behind. He felt comfortable with
these two women, and he didn't feel the need to hide anything. He was sure they would never turn on
him. And then, Ricky took out the Beast Fire that he acquired from Heaven Melting Pagoda and
handed it to them. He believed the Beast Fire suited Grace and Heather more than him. The Beast Fire
might be powerful, but it wasn't the only thing that Ricky had up his sleeves. And so, he decided to let it
go.
The two women split the Beast Fires and the fire essence between them and thanked Ricky profusely.
It wasn't everyday that they got their hands on the Beast Fire. Knowing how difficult it was to acquire it,
they appreciated his gesture even more.
As for Grace refining the Beast Fire, Ricky wasn't worried at all. She was skilled and knowledgeable,
and with her help, Heather would have no problems refining her share of the Beast Fire. They were a
team.
Once they were finished talking about the Beast Fire and its refinement, they proceeded to discuss the
Misty South Faction.
Grace told Ricky that the Misty South Faction in the Snow Sect was currently in a difficult situation.
This was mainly reflected by how the recruitment of disciples was going. In the nearly three months
after Ricky left, there was little growth on the disciples of the Misty South Faction. The numbers were
much smaller than they used to be. It was not a secret that the elders were disappointed with this
development--or lack thereof.
Every time they recruited disciples, the Casting Faction and the Refinement Faction would enter the
scene, causing a series of events that would eventually lead to chaos. Apart from showing the disciples
that they had no future in the Misty South Faction, they also threatened the disciples who still wanted to
join.
For the few brave disciples who persisted and joined the Misty South Faction, the Casting Faction and
the Refinement Faction always found opportunities to torture them by sheer numbers. Even after they
got into the Misty South Faction, the disciples were bullied, threatened, and treated like pests. It was
only a matter of time before they gave up, and from what Grace and Heather heard, it usually took no
more than a month to completely break their spirit. After they quit, the signs of distress were still there,
and the former disciples found it hard to join a different faction for fear of getting the same kind of
treatment.
Therefore, those disciples would not even dare to join the Misty South Faction at all, even if they
wanted to.
And, a month ago, the fact that Amelia was out of the Snow Sect and Bertha put all the energy directly
on the casting, which led to the disintegration of the Amber Faction. Thus, the Misty South Faction lost
a powerful partner, and it was even more difficult to thrive under these circumstances.
It was not plausible for Grace, together with these core disciples, and Elder Samuel to stand up for
them and help out. It was not a wise move to involve themselves in the problems of the faction, and
there was little to no benefit in doing so.
Although Autelan had a high reputation, he was always alone. He was not incapable to deal with the
Casting Faction and the Refinement Faction. If he tried to meddle in their business, the situation would
only worsen, and that was not the kind of result they were hoping for.
As for Edgar, his current strength was nowhere near what was needed to overturn these events. He
was still weak. He needed to train more than anything, and he could not afford to be distracted by the
problems inside the faction.
"Well, it seems I think too little of the Sect." "Why did Amelia leave the Snow Sect?" Ricky asked in low
voice, following what Grace had just said.
At this moment, Ricky could only think of the promise he had made to Amelia in the early days.
"I don't know. It is said that there Amelia has something powerful backing her up. Joining the Snow
Sect was only for the sake of her temporary cultivation," Grace answered. "As for the real reason, I
have no idea. And the sect chief does not want to say anything about it. His mouth is sealed."
"I see," Ricky muttered, a bit disappointed at the lack of information.
"So, Master, how many new recruits are there in the Misty South Faction at the moment?" Ricky asked
after a few moments. The more he learned about the current number of the recruits, the more prepared
he'd be in case he decided to make a move.
"No more than ten. It was Bertha and Agnes who brought them in," Grace said. "It occurred to me that
there is a woman who seems to share the same agnate with Agnes. She is called Dora if I remember
correctly. After she joined the Snow Sect, she joined the Misty South Faction."
"What does Dora want?" Ricky asked, confused.
"Oh, well, I guess she fancies you!" Heather answered, jealousy coating her words.
"Wait, no, it's nothing like that. It's a misunderstanding. There is absolutely nothing between me and
Dora. I have only met her twice, that's all!" Ricky explained, a little flustered and embarrassed at the
same time.
"A liar is worse than a thief," Heather muttered under her breath.
Ricky didn't know what to do. Heather didn't buy his story, and he had no idea to make her believe him.
He flinched when Heather shot him a cold glare. She seemed upset.
"Master, how many core disciples are currently there in the Misty South Faction?" Ricky asked, hoping
to redirect the subject.
"There are no other core disciples except Olivia and two friends that I have invited," Grace said rather
stiffly, fully aware of tension between Ricky and Heather.
"That's good, Master. Would you mind bringing these three Beast Fires to them?" Ricky then took out
three Beast Fires from the Heaven Melting Pagoda and handed them carefully to Grace, who accepted
them without complaint.
"It seems that you have harvested quite a lot from your trip to the Casting Guild!" Grace exclaimed with
a smile. She felt proud of Ricky for being strong enough to manage such a feat, and she was grateful
that he was sharing his harvest with them. Ricky was not a greedy person. He may be scary as an
enemy, but as an ally, he was thoughtful and kind.
"Oh, well, I was just lucky," Ricky answered, trying to be modest.
"Well, I don't believe it's just luck or coincidence. You have what it takes, Ricky, and you know it. So
stop trying to be humble. It feels weird," Grace said, laughing. "Anyway, I will go ahead and send the
Beast Fire to the core disciples. I believe that with this Beast Fire, they will be able to contribute much
more to the Misty South Faction, even if they do not intent to stay for long." She stood up and
straightened the creases on her clothes.
"Now that you're back, it's time for you to take charge of the Misty South Faction. I leave it in your
hands."
And with that, she left.
......
"Let me handle this problem," Ricky told Heather after Grace left.
"Sure, but what are you going to do? How will you handle it?" Heather asked, pushing her jealousy
aside to deal with the pressing issue at hand.
"First, summon Autelan and other senior fellow apprentices," Ricky said calmly. "We'll talk about the
rest of the plan once they're here."
"They might be currently in a separate dwelling," Heather reminded him.
"When did our Misty South Faction come to have a separate dwelling?" Ricky asked, surprised. He was
curious when something major had taken place.
"A sect without a separate dwelling cannot be called a sect. So after you left, Grace and I, together with
Autelan and Edgar, built the separate dwelling," Heather replied, sounding a little proud of what they
had accomplished.
"Usually, we find them cultivating in that courtyard."
"Well, let's go and meet them."
It didn't take long for Ricky and Heather to reach the desolate hill through the inner door. Above the hill
was the very humble separate dwelling. It was the type of dwelling that didn't attract attention, and if
Ricky didn't know what he was looking for, he wouldn't have noticed it. It was very discreet--something
he approved of.
The inside was not that big, and there were only several casually decorated rooms. It was obvious it
was designed only for cultivating and not for comfort.
Upon Ricky's arrival, Edgar and Autelan came out.
"It has been three months since you acted like a hands-off boss and left us. Now, you're finally back."
Autelan pointed an accusing finger at Ricky, narrowing his eyes scornfully at him.
"Come on, I knew there'd be no problem even if I left. You're here, so there's nothing to worry about.
Everything always goes smoothly whenever you're around," Ricky said, laughing heartily.
As he laughed, Ricky observed Autelan's current state. He could sense that Autelan was no longer at
the level of Blood Purification, which meant that he must have reached Bone Reinforcement.
"Don't give me any of your shitty compliments. Damn, I really regret joining your Misty South Faction,"
Autelan grunted, his brows furrowed together. He tried to sound tough, but he was more akin to a
whining child.
"Aw, too bad, you can't back out now. You're stuck to me and my faction," Ricky said with a playful
wink.
"I can't believe you just said that," Autelan growled, obviously annoyed at how true Ricky's words were.
He was about to complain some more, however, something bright and red caught his eye. His jaw
dropped when he realized what it was. There, dancing on Ricky's right hand, was the Beast Fire.
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