Chapter 1818 30th
In the end, they let it go. They knew that Dyon's caution was actually a good thing. He wasn't letting his strength get to his head, he respected the possibility that others might be able to gain an advantage on him.
"Husband…" Amphorae said softly. "Stay safe… The Beast Protection Association is likely involved again. This is the only explanation for the Kitsune's sudden rise. Their new leader couldn't possibly change so much in just ten years… In all likelihood, he was a key member of BPA from the very beginning."
Though Dyon grew serious at these words, he still felt warmth. Recently, Amphorae had dropped the Lord prefix from his title, making their relationship closer. Maybe in the past she would have never shared a bed with Ri, Madeleine and Clara like this. He felt good knowing his family was becoming one as it should.
Dyon knew that Amphorae's words were very much correct, no one Clan could break a balance that lasted so many years so easily. They had to have help.
And, considering the Kitsune Clan didn't attend the Federation Parliament, this was even more certain.
If BPA was just a normal organization, maybe Dyon would care. In fact, even if they were one of the top 3 quadrants of the tower, he wouldn't blink an eye. The issue was that they were something far more than that…
After gaining Jade's recollection of the future, he learned many things. Namely… Every one of the outer quadrants had pawns in the tower quadrants, it was just they were restricting one another from acting.
In the previous timeline, many of these pawns were destroyed, unable to be made any use of. But Dyon's actions had changed many things… For example, BPA hadn't lost 6 of the Numbered Elites in the last timeline…
Dyon was almost 100% certain that BPA was a pawn of the Transcendent Beast Alliance.
**
The 30th ranked quadrant, the Kitsune-Shruti lands, was in quite a chaotic state. However, the core territory of the Shruti hadn't changed much. Though a solemn atmosphere hung in the air, making it obvious that the Shruti Empire citizens knew of their poor situation, life still continued.
Dyon casually walked through the cobble road streets, a black mask adorning his face. Luckily, the Lightning Willow Mask could change its appearance. Last time Dyon had used this feature, his cultivation was still sealed. In fact… That was the day he met Mia and Bella.
Thinking back to the memory, Dyon sighed. If things continued like this, his thoughts of Mia and Bella would influence his future cultivation.
He knew well that there was little he could have done to save them. Even if he went all out, how could he stop the Heaven's will to rebirth the Dark Phoenix Clan?
The issue Dyon had with himself wasn't whether or not he could have saved them, the real root of the disgust growing in his heart was that he didn't do everything he could.
If he still failed in the end, so be it. But the fact he didn't even try wasn't something he could forgive.
Dyon refused to make the same mistake again. This was why he'd go all out to help Saru and her Shruti Clan. Wiping out the Kitsune Clan was just a cherry on top.
The capital city of the Shruti Empire was called Indra City. In Dyon's mortal world, Indra was a Hindu protector god, but in Shruti lore, Indra was a five-headed white elephant.
As far as Dyon was aware, Saru was born with Indra's Faith Seed, while the Shruti were humans with this beast bloodline running through their veins. Dyon could still remember when Saru tapped into this bloodline during his fight with her, it was quite a majestic sight.
Usually, white beasts were incredibly rare. Of them, Dyon could only think of an extinct dragon race and the celestial beasts. But, he didn't think Indra was a celestial beast. At the very least, the Indra bloodline within Saru's veins from Dyon's senses didn't come off as celestial.
In all likelihood, Indra was another exception along with that extinct dragon race. Though Dyon didn't understand why the Heavens made white beasts so rare, he knew enough to know that Indra's case was indeed a rarity.
This aside, Indra City didn't impress. It didn't have the cozy, novel feeling Enigmatic Sect territory had, nor the grandeur of Star Clan territory. Like any normal capital city, it was quite large, but though it was neat in some places, there was poverty and decay in others.
Dyon still didn't dare to casually blanket the planet with his divine sense, but he could change the form of his divine sense into feeler lines, making them more difficult to detect while still allowing him to comprehend the goings on of the city. Since he wasn't going all out with this change of form like he had in the Ancient Battlefield, he wasn't worried about others sensing him.
He had no choice but to conclude his Soul Planet was far better.
Still, he didn't quite understand why a 30th ranked quadrant could have a capital city like this. In truth, it wasn't terrible. It was still within the realms of acceptability, but it was just so… disappointing.
Dyon expected this sort of thing from capital city ranked in the 70s or 80s… but the 30s? Just what was Emperor Shruti doing exactly?
In the cultivation world, how could there be poverty on this level. The vast majority who had the right to live in the capital city should be at least Essence Gatherers, while those who weren't should be children still cultivating to reach that point.
Why would an essence gatherer be sitting in a sewage infested wasteland of shacks, barely holding it all together? The simple answer was that they weren't essence gatherers, in most cases, they had no cultivation at all.
'Are they refugees from the Shrutis outer territories, maybe? It's possible...'