PtM Book 14 - Chapter 41: The Last Gateway (1)

2/5 this week!

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In all the lands of Mendin, there was not a single person who truly understood the process of ranker advancement. This was not for lack of trying, since many studies had been attempted, but because there were far too many variables to consider. There are too many base classes, too many branches, and too many personalities assigned to them.

This, on its own, was not the biggest hurdle. The biggest hurdle was naturally people. You could have the best testing strategy, the best personal trainers, and unlimited resources, but none of that mattered if you couldn’t keep a reliable test group that stuck to its training regimen.

There were few organizations with the inclination to pursue such research and the motivation to see it through. The first were elite military organizations, and the second were research-oriented factions of the clergy. There was therefore a plethora of information to be found on advancing from the acolyte class to the archbishop class, and from the soldier class to the colonel class.

Petros Sullivan was an inquisitive individual, so he’d naturally read every study he could lay his hands on. He’d also used himself as an experimental subject, and while the evidence was anecdotal at best, it had allowed him to progress quite nicely in his unique class.

He naturally agreed with the commonly accepted hypothesis that pressure was the key to solidifying one’s mana core and progressing to the next stage but disagreed about the nature of the pressure. In his understanding, the pressure had to fit one’s class, and it had to involve training the attributes that the class depended on.

In Petros’s case, sensory attributes were most important. This was why he’d trained his sight, his hearing, and even his sense of smell in extreme situations. His hearing was so good, in fact, that it allowed him to easily bypass the church’s wards and allow him to overhear the dialogue in the room next door.

“Trash! Incompetent trash!” Cardinal Shenedrik screamed. The other priests, bishops, and archbishops in the room made not a sound. Which was probably for the best, because talking back to a cardinal with a temper was a career-limiting move. “Three days! Three days with no results! All we know is that they’re still in the city, but we don’t even know which quadrant. And that’s with how many gold rankers searching? Three hundred? Four hundred?”

“The count has reached five hundred, Cardinal.” It was the cardinal’s assistant, Constance, who spoke. Petros had spoken to her on a few occasions, and he’d found her to be a wonderful but strict lady. Her class was a rare one—she was an empathic master assistant, a rare variation of the personal assistant class that could only be obtained through constant practice of managing emotional outbursts on a single person.

“Five hundred…” Cardinal Shenedrik muttered. He seemed calmer this time, so Petros guessed Constance had used a skill to regulate his emotions.

“With all due respect, sir, we don’t have a lot of good trackers, and this is a city of millions.” Petros recognized the voice as that of an archbishop.

Ten seconds passed before the cardinal replied with measured words. “You are right, Archbishop,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “Your men are poorly equipped for this. It isn’t fair that I lash out at you all, but I can’t help but be upset.”

“We’ll recover the Holy Provenance Plate,” the archbishop assured him. “If I recall correctly, this has happened many times in the past. Immortal artifacts are difficult to carry, and we have the home advantage.”

Petros smirked. That was definitely the wrong thing to say. There was no way the cardinal’s temper would flare to this extent if it was as simple as recovering an artifact.

“Anyone below the rank of archbishop, with the exception of those bearing saint classes, leave the room,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. A group of startled clergymen poured out of the room, and they found Petros sitting in a chair not far away from the wall. They didn’t ask why he was there. His status in the Church was… special.

Petros’s sixth sense tingled as he felt a few more wards activate, but they were targeted against magical eavesdropping and could not affect his superior hearing.

“What I am about to tell you is of utmost importance and cannot be divulged,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “That is why everything in this hall is considered sealed on authority of the Great Goddess Jezeriah.”

Startled gasps ensued as what Petros could only assume were sealing runes descended from the heavens and affixed themselves to the souls of all those present.

“Here is the cold, hard truth, ladies and gentlemen. The undisguised truth and the reason why we must find these people: The Holy Provenance Plate wasn’t stolen. It was destroyed.”

“Impossible!” one of the archbishops said. “How could an immortal artifact be destroyed so easily?”

“That’s right!” another said.“To destroy an artifact is far more difficult than slaying a cultivator of the same rank. It would take someone with immortal-ranked power to do this, and the plane wouldn’t allow them to exercise that power in the first place!”

“I’m not here to argue the facts of the matter,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “The Holy Provenance Plate has existed in this realm for five hundred years, and during this time, the Church of Harid Dej has attempted to steal the plate seventy-six times. They have failed every time, because it is like you said, the plate is easy to recover if appropriate precautions are taken.

“You are all naturally familiar with the reasons for their failure. Firstly, the Holy Provenance Plate is extremely heavy, and even a dozen gold rankers would find it difficult to transport. Flight treasures can’t be utilized to alleviate this because of the rank disparity between artifacts, and teleportation is also impossible. The plate cannot be stored because we do not possess an immortal-ranked storage treasure.

“That is why we are confident that it wasn’t taken on a ship, and it wasn’t transported. In addition, there is another piece of conclusive evidence that supports my statement.”

A long pause followed, but Petros sensed distinct vibrations that indicated something heavy had appeared inside the room.

An elderly man Petros didn’t recognize broke the silence. “I presume the Pool of Heavenly Healing was also destroyed? And that the only reason we didn’t realize this was because there were no remnants or eyewitnesses?”

“We had our suspicions before, but indeed, this case confirms it,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “As you may have all guessed, we set a trap for Locke and Trevonay three days ago. Our guess was that they had in their possession an immortal-grade storage artifact. Since the plate has always been impossible to move mid-ceremony, even by our pope, we left two gold rankers and a room full of silver rankers to guard it while we intercepted the devils. We did not anticipate that someone would infiltrate our ranks, stun all those present with a ridiculously high-tier consumable, then carry out the artifact’s destruction despite the ongoing ceremony.”

“What else do we know?” another voice said.

“We have determined from eyewitnesses that the culprit’s accomplice was skilled in time acceleration, almost to a ridiculous degree,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “It was with their help that they were able to destroy the artifact until it was beyond repair. Eyewitnesses say that the culprit had the gift of siphoning immortal energy out of the artifact and directly converted both the artifact’s immortal energy and physical materials into a strange energy-dense mist.”

“If the artifact is confirmed as lost, why bother?” another person said.

“What a stupid question,” Constance cut in. “Does anyone else feel the same way? No? Excellent. Please carry on, Cardinal.”

“Our goal is not to recover the plate, but to catch and kill the one who destroyed it,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “This skill is beyond rare and cannot be allowed to exist. The culprit has destroyed two of our artifacts, and we cannot allow them to destroy our remaining ten.”

Something that can bridge the barrier between transcendence and immortality? Petros wondered. What a broken ability. He wondered if it was Cha Ming who possessed this talent, or if it was the other two culprits. Likely the other two, since initially, he was chasing them.

“Now that everything has been laid out plainly, I suggest you all do your best to find them,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “This isn’t just a case of destruction of Church property—this is a crusade against an individual who has personally insulted our goddess. Wealth can be replaced, but an affront to our goddess’s dignity cannot remain.”

The remaining clergy filed out of the door shortly after. Many shot Petros strange looks and wondered why he hadn’t been in the meeting just now. As one of Jezeriah’s favored, he should have been invited, but that was politics for you. The older ones knew exactly what was going on.

It should be about time for them to call me in, Petros thought, moments before the stern-faced Constance opened the door. He shot her smile before following her in.

The cardinal was seated at a short coffee table, currently drinking a double espresso in a desperate attempt to stave off the fatigue he’d been accumulating over the past few days.

Petros had never been one for manners with pompous church officials. He took a seat without being asked and even put a leg up on the coffee table. “You asked for me?” he said, shooting the cardinal a cheeky grin.

“Yes, I did,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “You are undoubtedly one of the best trackers in Mendin, since your class was designed to mimic the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis’s abilities.” Artemis was one of the twelve lesser gods in Jezeriah’s pantheon. “You were also one of the first on the scene, and one of the few that interacted in any way with the culprits. I hope you have good news to share with me and the others currently searching.” His expression was cold and inquisitive.

“I have already given an account of what happened,” Petros said. “I’ve also been searching ever since the theft but have yet to locate the culprits.” He was very careful with his words. High-ranking members of the clergy were very gifted at detecting lies.

“Yet I must ask you to do so again,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. They had done this thrice already, but Petros knew that this was a common interrogation tactic. They would use inconsistencies between testimonies to ferret out the truth.

“I’ve already told you thrice, so I don’t see the need to repeat myself again,” Petros said. “Also, I would appreciate it if you watched your tone, Cardinal. I’m not your dog. I’m not Jezeriah’s either. You’re making me sound like a criminal, and that’s not something you should do to people doing you favor, is it?”

Cardinal Shenedrik’s eyes twitched. “Of course, Petros. I realize you’ve been very cooperative and will only ask you this one last time. For formality’s sake.”

“Fine,” Petros said. He uncrossed his arms and grabbed an apple from the table and took a bite, then continued after swallowing. “As you know, I happened to be in the area working on a different case. A robbery that happened in Titanvale. One of my abilities allows me to locate my target through indirect karmic connections. The longer they stay in one location, and the more they engage in criminal activities, the better I can predict their next target.

“I was not sure when and where the thief would strike, so I was relatively idle. Your men noticed my presence in the city and extended your invitation to participate in the Saint Induction Ceremony, and as I am wont to do, I refused.

“As the time of the robbery became increasingly clear, I came to discover that the theft would occur in proximity of the church. I was drinking a delicious cup of locally roasted coffee and enjoying a chocolate muffin when the fighting broke out.

“By the time I arrived, you and the clergy and other associated gold rankers were already fighting above the cathedral. My intuition has always been quite good, which was why I noticed two heavily cloaked individuals fleeing the church with a few peak-silver rankers following them. An unidentified vigilante joined in, and soon, the suspicious pair was surrounded by silver and gold rankers in an intersection. It was then that the two fugitives executed a teleportation maneuver, despite the local spatial instabilities, and the vigilante followed suit.”

“So they’re Daoists,” Constance said.

“At least two of them,” Petros said. “I sensed one of the pair initiated the teleportation, and the other followed. The vigilante was undoubtedly also a Daoist.”

“Are we sure they’re not just high-ranked demigods or rankers with a spatial affinity? Or demons, even?” Cardinal Shenedrik asked.

Petros chuckled. “If they were demons, they’d have already left the city. Space-aligned demons are quite hardy and difficult to pin down in void space, even with their limited cultivation. Moving on with my story, I followed them as quickly as possible and stumbled upon them fighting, but before I could fire off a shot, they teleported once again. By the time I caught up, it seemed the pursuer had a change of heart and had joined the other two in fleeing.

“I pursued, but they spotted my reluctance to fire among civilians, greatly limiting my abilities. Even so, the chase was becoming unfavorable for them due to the sheer number of bronze, silver, and even gold rankers joining in.

“In theory, this should have made it even more difficult to teleport away. But then…” He frowned. “Then I’m not sure what happened.”

“What do you mean you’re not sure?” Constance asked.

“Constance, I’ve already told you thrice, and this will be the last time,” Petros said. “The individual in question summoned a portal and physically stored the other two fugitives in what I can only assume was a realm treasure. The third individual, which I initially assumed was a vigilante, executed an ultra-long-range teleportation that pierced through space, stabilized not only by my presence and a gold ranker’s but also several hundred silver rankers and several thousand bronze rankers. The spatial turbulence generated by over a hundred gold rankers fighting above the city alone should have made it impossible to accomplish. Their teleportation succeeded, and it naturally became impossible to track them due to said spatial turbulence, as you’ve already confirmed from the city’s protective formation. It’s only thanks to my skills that I’m a hundred percent certain they still haven’t left the city.”

“Which is unfortunate, because we’d know the moment they left,” Cardinal Shenedrik muttered. “And you have no idea who they are? Can you describe their appearance?”

“Their appearances and karma have all been masked, so any physical descriptions I give will be inaccurate,” Petros said. “The lead Daoist infiltrator seems to wield the five elements and has a high-grade law-stitching sword artifact I’ve never seen any records of. The accomplice wields the power of time, but it is unclear whether they are a demigod, a demon, or a Daoist. The third party involved wields a staff, only used destruction qi during the altercation, and was able to split off into many incarnations. This individual also wielded great power over space, and his or her physical strength indicated they were a Dao God. As I already mentioned, this individual was in possession of a realm-type treasure.”

“That’s oddly specific,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “Constance, does that match anyone in our information network? You’ve looked, haven’t you?”

“No one matches that description,” Constance confirmed.

“And you’ve never heard of such an individual?” Cardinal Shenedrik asked.

“I’ve never met a pure destruction cultivator with that ability set,” Petros said. “Now, if you’re done with your cross-examination, I’ll be on my way. I’m done here, and I’ll be leaving this city.”

“Absolutely not,” Cardinal Shenedrik said.

“Excuse me?” Petros said. “I wasn’t under the impression that I was a prisoner or a suspect, Cardinal. The city is half sealed, and teleportation has been locked down, but as far as I know, citizens in good standing can still move in or out of the city if they subject themselves to a rigorous inspection.”

“Please don’t misunderstand,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “It’s just that you’re our best tracker, even if you’re only a silver ranker. If you stayed, I would be much assured, and would even petition our goddess to facilitate your ascension to gold rank.”

Which was precisely the wrong thing to say, because Petros loathed blackmail. “I’m not interested in the goddess’s preferential treatment,” Petros said. “I stayed for three days out of courtesy, but I’m not beholden to the Church, despite being a follower of Jezeriah. Advancing to gold rank so early would be detrimental to my future development. I’ll make my own way ahead, thank you very much.”

The cardinal would have none of it. “We can offer you many rewards, Petros. For example, I hear you’re looking for a set of crafting materials. I happen to have the connections to obtain them.”

Petros couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s not about money, Cardinal.”

“Then what is it about?” Cardinal Shenedrik asked.

“Freedom,” Petros said. “I’m no one’s dog, Cardinal. I never have been. I do my own thing. I earn my own resources, and I advance at my own pace. Jezeriah knows this. She and I have an understanding, and to be honest, I’ve probably exchanged more words with her than you have.”

“Jezeriah might not be so understanding given what’s at stake,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “You’re not an idiot. I’m sure you’ve figured out what happened.”

“I know that the Holy Provenance Plate was destroyed, not stolen,” Petros said. “I’m arrogant, not incompetent. Though I can’t help but remember that it was me who said that the Pool of Heavenly Healing had been destroyed as well. What a pity that no one believed me.”

“We were mistaken, and it won’t happen again,” Cardinal Shenedrik said.

“Oh, I honestly don’t care,” Petros said. “I know you’re all scared shitless that they’ll destroy another one of your trinkets. But so what?”

“Jezeriah won’t be pleased at your lack of cooperation,” the cardinal said.

Petros laughed. “And people say I need to work on my people skills. First of all, Cardinal, don’t you dare use Jezeriah’s name to threaten me. Second, even if she is upset at my actions, its nothing that a few high-level offerings can’t fix. I do not appreciate the clergy trying to bully me around, and I never have, which is why I’ve always refused to participate in your stupid ceremony, despite the tangible benefits it would give me.”

Petros was who he was, and this was why Jezeriah had taken a liking to him and granted him a powerful class in the first place. He was the type of person who would hone his abilities beyond the requisites for advancement and make a name for himself regardless of what the establishment thought of him.

He had his principles, and he wasn’t afraid to stick to them, even if it cost him.

“This is an incredibly important undertaking,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “You can’t understand the impact the Holy Provenance Plate had on the alliance.”

“Actually, I know exactly what kind of impact it had,” Petros said.

“What?” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “That’s impossible. The Holy Provenance Plate’s effects are a sealed secret.”

“So if it’s sealed, no one can figure it out? Is that how these things work?” Petros said. “Forget the fact that spies exist in all echelons of society, it really doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. If you siphon the national destiny of every country adjacent to the Holy Governance Alliance for five centuries, it’s bound to get noticed.

“I personally don’t think it’s a bad thing the plate was destroyed. There are consequences to artificially inflating national destiny. A near hundred percent success rate for your Saint Induction Ceremony while crippling Harid Dej’s Slayer Induction Ceremony is nice, and so is gaining territory and wealth with little effort, but have you thought of the cost? The Holy Governance Alliance is rotten to the core, and so is the bulk of Jezeriah’s churches. You’ve noticed it, don’t even pretend you haven’t.”

“Jezeriah herself sent down the Holy Provenance Plate,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “And I would advise you to moderate your tone, lest you commit heresy.”

Petros shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I’m done here, and you can’t keep me here.”

“There will be consequences,” Cardinal Shenedrik reminded him.

Petros sighed. “Have you all never considered that I’m not successful despite my disregard for authority and the consequences, but because of them? Even Jezeriah knows that trials and tribulations are a source of strength. She says so in that wonderful book of hers. Perhaps you should try reading it sometime, Cardinal. You might draw inspiration from it.”

The cardinal’s armrest splintered under the sheer force of his grip, but the man’s smile remained. “If you won’t remain, I can’t keep you forcefully, of course. I thank you for your candid responses and your cooperation with the inquiry.”

“It’s my pleasure to serve,” Petros said. He hopped off his chair, skipped the mandatory bow, and only gave a brief nod to Jezeriah’s statue, which, oddly enough, pulsed in approval. What a slap in the face, he thought.

Petros naturally stopped just outside the door after Constance closed it. It never hurt to have extra information. The priests waiting to be readmitted frowned, but once again they knew better than to interfere with his blatantly inappropriate actions.

“Dammit!” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “Damn that arrogant, hateful brat! Does he think I don’t dare do anything? Does he think Jezeriah’s favor can protect him from everything?”

“Should I have him followed?” Constance asked.

“You think he’s colluding with them?” the cardinal asked.

“Maybe,” Constance said. “The odds are slim, but you can never be too sure.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter, because even if we do send someone, he’ll notice and send them on a wild goose chase,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “Just make sure we have our best team present to inspect him on his way out of the city.”

“The cardinal is wise,” Constance said.

There was a pause before the cardinal continued. “If Petros won’t participate, it will be impossible to find them. We require Artemis’s aspect, and since no one else has inherited her mantle, we can only proceed with the next best option.”

“You mean…”

“Yes. Prepare the offerings,” Cardinal Shenedrik said. “If mortals aren’t up to the task, we’ll get a goddess involved.”

***

Three stressful days came and went.

There were rankers everywhere, searching, probing. Even bronze rankers found themselves subjected to a few dozen silver- or gold-ranked scans a day, making it virtually impossible to evade detection.

Despite the strict search protocols, no one found them. No one even suspected them, in fact. This did not come as a surprise to Cha Ming, because all this time, he’d been wandering around in the guise of a cat.

Again, no one suspected cats.

Cha Ming kept very little of his power in the outside world. Most of him was in the Clear Sky World recuperating. At this moment, Yu Wen was reading, and Xiao Bai was being her usual self, lazing about and eating constantly.

It had taken a long time for Cha Ming to recover from breaking his limit, and the power in Petros’s arrow had been annoyingly persistent. Now, he was perfectly fine, with not a scratch on him. He was currently going over messages received via his connection with Huxian.

“You look awfully happy,” Yu Wen said, noting his pleased expression.

“I’ve just never been prouder of a student,” Cha Ming said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Here, look at this.” He projected a three-dimensional rendition of a human army closing in on Signstone City. The demon city was severely outnumbered and having trouble evacuating.

“Looks bad,” Xiao Bai said.

“Watch,” Cha Ming assured them.

All was chaos, and the army covering their retreat was putting up a bitter struggle. It was clear that they would pay a bloody price to withdraw. The city was lost, and many of the evacuees would either be slaughtered or taken as captives.

This remained the case until a mysterious winged creature flew out from the signstone mines bearing Drezil and Graceful Twilight, who charged into the enemy army alongside two battalions of stone golems.

They were the vanguard. Many other golems appeared behind them. Some were made of mixed wood and stone, and some of cheaper stone supplemented with dust and sand. Each of the golems were covered in glyphs and did not require a controller to operate. This was thanks to the living flame serving as their core.

This tireless and selfless army took the enemy by surprise. Golems weren’t like living beings—they felt no pain and would not break under pressure. The enemy chose to execute a tactical withdrawal, allowing the military to evacuate the remainder of the city’s civilians through the Starry Road.

“Why were Signstone’s forces in such a position to begin with, I wonder?” Yu Wen asked. “I thought the commander was competent. You seemed impressed with him, at least.”

“Several problems occurred,” Cha Ming said. “First, their human allies deserted them. Second, a greedy priestess tried to take control of the Runebound Clan and pull them out. Then there’s the fact that the same human allies that deserted them relocated such that they were a stone’s throw away from Verdant Crossroads, making it difficult for Verdant Crossroads to send reinforcements.”

“Your expression says there’s more to it,” Yu Wen said.

Cha Ming nodded gravely. “The shipment of God-Slaying Arrows from the Titan Clan was delayed at the last second.”

“Oh?” Yu Wen said, finally putting her book down. “Did Fendal buy them out?”

“Given my understanding of the Titan Clan, that’s unlikely,” Cha Ming said. “But it’s clear that spies informed them that a large number of consumables resembling God-Slaying Talismans were heading this way, so they did something to disturb the supply chain.

“The entire situation is a mess. Not only are we stuck in this city, but Oster’s troops are pushing in past Signstone. Then there’s Asherall. The moment Oster was past Signstone, they pulled back the army they were keeping beside the city, taking the city’s clergy and many citizens with them. Clever Dusk says it’s only a matter of time before they announce Verdant Crossroads’s independence.

“And then there’s this.” A small scroll appeared in Cha Ming’s hands. He tossed it over to Yu Wen, who read it before tossing it over to Xiao Bai. The jade rabbit’s pink eyes narrowed. “Can we even trust this guy?”

“I’ve worked with him before, and he seems like a decent person,” Cha Ming answered.

“Then it looks like we’re on a timer,” Yu Wen said. “He’s leaving, but Cardinal Shenedrik is probably going to call in a goddess.” She shuddered.

“We have a week at most,” Cha Ming said. “Perhaps as little as a few days if they start the ceremony quickly enough. According to Petros, it will be Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, that descends. Assuming we’re in the same city, she’ll be able to find us without issue, despite the realm restraining her powers.”

“We obviously need to leave,” Xiao Bai said.

“If only it were so simple,” Yu Wen said. “We’re surrounded, and none of us can bypass their formations.”

“What about the void?” Cha Ming asked. “Huxian seems to think it’s possible.”

Both Yu Wen and Xiao Bai shook their heads this time. “For him, yes. For us, no. You got lucky last time, and even then, you had to sacrifice a law-stitching-grade ship to escape. Now that the spatial turbulence has abated, the city will be able to spot people hopping in and out of the void, and since they’re on semi-lockdown, they’re going to be paying attention to that kind of thing.”

“I could sneak out as a cat?” Cha Ming suggested.

Yu Wen rolled her eyes. “They’re not even allowing flies in and out of this place without a rectal examination, forget something like a cat. Besides, aren’t you here for another reason?”

“I am, but the situation is infinitely more complicated,” Cha Ming said.

“Complicated is good in this sort of situation, in my experience,” Yu Wen said.

“Well, as it stands, it’s not just the city and the Church that we need to worry about, but the thirty gold rankers parked at the Collegium,” Cha Ming said. He summoned a map of the complex which displayed the defenses he’d seen, and added dots approximating the number of gold rankers crawling around the city looking for them. The picture was not encouraging. “So? Any ideas?”

The three of them settled down and studied the map. At its core, the issue was very simple: Both they and Huxian needed to force their way into the Collegium’s territory for a short period of time and complete their objectives before they were overwhelmed.

“Huxian’s side takes the longest, so he should make a move first,” Xiao Bai opined. “I love the guy, but I’m not forcing myself into that mess unless he has half a chance at getting the job done.”

“Agreed,” Yu Wen said. “It’s not that I’m afraid of risking my life, but if push came to shove, and we had to escape, he’s the best suited for it. Half the situations we could find ourselves in, he’d easily be able to survive.”

“I resent that,” Cha Ming said.

“He’s a demon fox, and a Godbeast,” Xiao Bai said. “It’s what he does.”

This, they could all agree on. Cha Ming therefore consulted with Huxian before making annotations on his map. He presented it to the others and gave a verbal explanation.

“Huxian has three spatial nodes that he can make a move on,” Cha Ming said. “Fierra, Sendal, and Kimmel. The void space around these three cities is heavily guarded, as are the teleportation formations in the physical realm. The Collegium has not shuffled around any staff despite the happenings in Fierra, which shows how serious they are about defending these locations. The least-defended location is Kimmel, and the most-defended is Fierra.”

He waved his hand, and the projection zoomed in on three possible paths. A mini-map of Huxian’s entire void network appeared next to it. “Each of these three locations can, in theory, withstand an attack from the void, assuming Huxian has no trump cards.”

“Which he does,” Xiao Bai said.

“Which he does, which they know, which is why they will as well,” Cha Ming said. “They don’t know exactly what he can do, but they know he’s not stupid, and that he’s a tricky fox that has outwitted them several times.

“Fortunately, the Collegium has more than Huxian to worry about, so even though they can stake out these locations, they can’t dedicate their entire company. Otherwise, there’s no way they would have let Huxian’s teleportation network grow to this scale in the first place.

“By keeping forces on standby near key points in Huxian’s network, they are both defending their own network and keeping him in check. To attack any of the three void nodes, Huxian will need to redirect the forces defending his network, thereby opening it to a counterattack.”

“So it all boils down to a simple question,” Yu Wen said. “Can Huxian set up a teleportation formation and connect the node to his network faster than they can invade his territory?”

“That is indeed the key question,” Cha Ming confirmed. “They have seen him set up many such nodes, so they have a time estimate they’re working with, but…”

“They know he’s been trying to put them off,” Xiao Bai finished. “Just not by how much.”

Cha Ming nodded. “In the fastest case, Huxian completed a portal in about an hour after arriving at a location. If they assume he can do it in half the time, they’ll need their counterattacks to yield results within that timeframe. That means we need to complete the operation in less than thirty minutes.”

“Is it possible?” Yu Wen asked.

“With my help, it is,” Cha Ming said. “He only needs ten minutes on his end. As for me, if I can get to the node and cut off its connection to the Collegium’s network, all I need is thirty seconds.”

“That’s much faster that I imagined,” Yu Wen muttered. “Thirty seconds. In theory, it’s doable, but…” She eyed the gold rankers on the map. “You realize what breaking into the Collegium will provoke, don’t you? Also, what’s to stop the Collegium from sounding the alarm from the void?”

“Huxian assures me that he can isolate the void temporarily and restrict communications,” Cha Ming said. “They communicate in fifteen-minute intervals, so he’ll break through their defenses in five, then complete his preparations in ten. The hope is that news will be slow to trickle back to Fierra.”

“Those wizards care a lot about face, so they probably wouldn’t alert the local authorities,” Yu Wen said.

“That is also Huxian’s read on them,” Cha Ming said.

“Good,” Yu Wen said. “Then all we need to deal with is thirty gold rankers pouring into the Collegium from the outside in the first two minutes, then Cardinal Shenedrik and heaven’s fury landing on us shortly after. How much are we at now, five hundred gold rankers?”

“Something like that,” Cha Ming said. “As long as Huxian finishes the first part, we can start our infiltration. We’ll only make a move once he attains initial success. Also, it might not be a bad thing to have all these gold rankers near the Collegium.”

Yu Wen’s expression darkened. “You want to use us as bait, don’t you?”

“It’s a rare opportunity to stir up a huge commotion and draw away a good portion of their forces,” Cha Ming said.

“I don’t like being bait,” Xiao Bai said. “You can be bait.”

“They’re not looking for me, they’re looking for you guys,” Cha Ming said.

Yu Wen, however, was contemplating something. “Perhaps there is a way.”

“Indeed,” Cha Ming said. “And I think that, as your accomplice and getaway driver, I should get a cut of what you took.”

Yu Wen raised an eyebrow. “Those were obtained through theft, Cha Ming. If I gave you those, that would make you a thief as well.”

“They’re going to find out it’s me soon enough, and if I’m going to get blacklisted, I should definitely get a cut,” Cha Ming said.

“Fine,” Yu Wen said. “But I’d like to hear how we’re going to split an immortal artifact.”

“You and I both know you didn’t takean immortal artifact,” Cha Ming said. “You destroyed the Holy Provenance Plate, and don’t try to tell me otherwise.”

Yu Wen glared at him, then placed a piece of immortal jade on the table. “There. Happy?”

Cha Ming who gave her a look. “Really? You’re going to try to cheat me of all people?”

“It’s not that I want to cheat you, but…”

“You took all the risk, so you don’t want to give up more,” Cha Ming said. “I get it. But the situation’s changed. We need to know our assets before continuing, and the risks I’m taking aren’t small either.”

Ultimately, she relented and placed another nine jades on the table. Each of these jades could be split up into ten smaller immortal jades that Cha Ming imagined were the smallest denomination of immortal currency.

Even so, the power they emanated was very real and very frightening.

“That’s all I managed to pillage,” Yu Wen said. “Don’t think of asking for my other assets. They’re mine.” Then she took away one of the jade sticks. “I’m taking this first to make up for what your talisman stole from me.”

“Fine,” Cha Ming said.

She then split the remaining pile three ways. Cha Ming did not complain, because she’d taken ten inkwell jades off the top instead of his portion. This left them thirty immortal jades each. A fortune larger than he’d ever possessed.

“Anyway, I doubt you brought this up because you wanted a cut,” Yu Wen said, putting away her portion. Xiao Bai scowled as she took away her own.

“This is going to be difficult, so we need to draw on any source of power we can find,” Cha Ming said. “I can use eight immortal jades to break through to the middle of the rune-gathering realm, for starters. As for other uses… I imagine you were able to grow all your treasures and improve your cultivation so quickly because you gained other immortal jades from the Pool of Heavenly Healing. You probably have quite a bit stored up.”

Yu Wen’s eye twitched. “Those are mine.”

“Fine, fine,” Cha Ming said. “We probably don’t need them anyway. But first, let’s try something.” He took out a Demonbane’s Mighty Rampart, a middle-rune-gathering-grade talisman. “How much will it cost me to upgrade this talisman into a half-step-immortal treasure?”

Yu Wen and Xiao Bai exchanged a look. This time, it was Xiao Bai who spoke for the two of them. “Well, this doesn’t look like such a lost cause after all.”

Yu Wen nodded slowly. “As long as we’re willing to give up part of our haul, I see no problem with escaping,” Yu Wen said in agreement. “The problem is how much we’ll have to pay. How much more expensive will it be than just sneaking out of the city?”

“That’s easy. We’ll send Huxian the bill.”

“No, we’ll send you the bill,” Yu Wen said. “You share a bond with him. His money is your money.”

Cha Ming sighed. “Just answer the question.”

Yu Wen thought for a moment before answering. “I’ve never tried it, but I imagine that a single immortal jade will do.”

“Consumables like this are extremely hard to come by, so I don’t think we’ll need too many,” Cha Ming said. “I think six should be fine?” This would also leave him enough immortal jades to break into the late-rune-gathering realm.

“One more question,” Yu Wen said. “What stops them from chasing us into the void after we’re done? Will we be safe once Huxian adds the last node, or are we just guessing?”

Cha Ming wasn’t sure, and neither was Huxian, but Xiao Bai seemed very optimistic. “Don’t worry,” Xiao Bai said. “Once the network is finished, they won’t be able to touch us.”

“But how do you know?” Yu Wen asked.

“Call it a demon’s intuition,” Xiao Bai answered.