Somewhere within the middle regions of the Immortal Realm, over twenty men, wearing long and luxurious white attires, stood in a large and luxurious hall as they faced a throne which was on a high throne stand three times their heights. The men stood in neat rows and respectable manners as they bowed to the high throne stand. The large and luxurious throne hall was so quiet as one could even hear a pin drop. Suddenly, a heavy and oppressive voice sounded from the high throne stand.
"Report!"
A man stepped from among the twenty-plus men as he cupped his hands; he spoke loudly.
"Your Highness, after three weeks of numerous and thorough investigations, we still haven't discovered the mysterious person or thing that caused the obliteration of the Spirit Sword Sect. It was as if a gust of wind came and cleared the entire land where the Spirit Sword Sect used to be situated, as it is now nothing but barren land. But this isn't the only thing-- it was also the same mysterious disappearance of the other sects that used to be allies of the Spirit Sword Sect, Your Highness."
"Hmm-- perhaps think that maybe the Spirit Sword Sect has kicked a stone this time in their arrogance?"
"Most likely, Your Highness. But with the strength and reputation of the Spirt Sword Sect in the outer regions, this unknown enemy or being must be extremely strong or from a powerful background to be capable of completely wiping out the Spirit Sword Sect and its allies."
"Hmm-- anything else?"
"..., Yes, Your Highness. Exactly two weeks after the mysterious disappearance of the Spirit Sword Sect and its allies, an unknown and mysterious organization surfaced. This mysterious organization seemed to be someone of great power and strength."
"Ohh! And why do you say that? Aren't they just like the others? A group of buffoons trying to make a name for themselves by acting mysterious while making some noise?"
"..., I'm afraid, not quite, Your Highness. This morning, we received a floating object that looked like a decree; after opening it, we saw one word, 'Submit,' written in blood, and below the word was a symbol of which I can't make sense of."
"..., Show me!"
The man sitting on the high throne had a change of expression when the elder below spoke the last sentence, mentioning the floating decree; he stretched his arm as the scroll in the elder's hands disappeared and appeared in his hand. Unwrapping the white-paged decree, the man saw the word 'Submit' written in blood, with the blood gradually dripping from the letters, and at the bottom of the scroll was the absolute infinity symbol.
The man assumed a doubtful frown as he sent his Qi into the scroll; but then, the man felt as if he had entered the scroll and was standing in a vast land; the man then spectated the surroundings of the vast land as the next moment, a drop of blood dripped at him, then another, then another. The man noticed the blood dripping on his shoulder as he slowly looked up, but what he saw next made the man instantly lose his kingly arrogant attitude. In the sky above the man were millions of human heads, neatly arranged in order as they formed the word 'Submit,' the millions of heads had opened eyes and despairing expressions.
'This! What is this feeling-- Why am I trembling-- these people-- were these people killed? And were these expressions their last before they died? Just what did they see before they died!?'
The man intensely gazed at the millions of severed heads as he could see the word they formed. The next second, the millions of human heads opened their eyes widely as if they were alive as they began speaking in unison.
"Submit! Submit! Submit! Submit!..."
The man stood as the word 'submit' began reverberating within the entire vast land; then the millions of severed heads began slowly approaching him as they continued uttering the word in unison. The man tried to use his power to get rid of the heads, but then, he realized that he couldn't even sense any Qi let alone exert his power. The heads approached even closer as they began sounding louder; realizing his helplessness, the man trembled in depredation as the next instant. He wasn't in the vast land anymore. The man sat on his throne as he heard the constant calling of the elder; sweat dripped from his side face as he tightly gripped the scroll. The next second, the man unhesitantly cut the tip of his finger as he signed his region's seal under the word submit.
The instant the man signed the decree with his blood, the scroll shone with bright white light as it slowly floated in the air, then, words began appearing in the space inside the hall, the words were, 'Wait for orders.' After completing its specified task of relaying the message, the scroll vanished from the hall, leaving the man and his subordinates in a stupor.
Meanwhile, in another middle region throne hall, a man angrily expressed his dissatisfaction.
"Who dares order this region lord to submit?! How dare they?! Announce the meeting of every region lord in the outer and middle territory. This message scroll is a provocation of war against our alliance."
With the mysterious disappearance of the Spirit Sword Sect, many outer and middle-level sects and regions became alerted. Many had even sent countless spies to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the most powerful sect in the outer region, but their spies never returned. But today, unknown scrolls appeared at the residences and cities of every leading figure, be it a sect leader or a region lord; as long as they were leading an institution or territory, they received a scroll. Like the man earlier, all those who received the scrolls were subjected to experience that sudden terrifying sensation. But while some saw the scroll as a warning and a hidden message, others saw it as a provocation and insult to their rule.
Somewhere within the middle regions of the central mainland, there stood a mountain that had its peak pierced into the clouds. At the very peak of this mountain, two dozen men hovered in the space, wearing different attires with different styles. The men hovered in a circle as they argued.
"I don't think this is a provocation of war, and besides, who are we fighting?"
"Yes, region lord Yu is right, even if it was an instigation of war, who exactly is our enemy?"
"..., Everyone seemed to have forgotten the mysterious disappearance of the Spirt Sword Sect and its allies; although we the middle region lords and sect leaders are far stronger than those from the outer region, we can all at least agree that the Spirit Sword Sect wasn't any less weak, given enough time, they would have promoted to a middle-level powerhouse. And such a sect disappeared without any trace, don't you guys find it suspicious?"
"..."
The men conversed as some held the white message scrolls in their hands. A man among the group spoke as he mentioned the suspicious disappearance of the Spirit Sword Sect, which made the others express thoughtfully, but then, the man that was angrily bellowing earlier spoke.
"Doesn't matter who did it and why, if we tolerate such insults now, it will only display our alliance as weak; our businesses and reputations will dwindle. I suggest we handle this matter like courageous men; let's find whoever these mysterious simpletons are and use them as an example to those who would dare challenge us in the future."
"But what about for us who have already signed the scrolls? After signing the scroll, words will appear in the void telling us to await orders."
"Then it should be easy; we can use this opportunity to reveal their location; once they reveal themselves, that will be our time to strike."
Somewhere within the outer region, a group of escorting parties traveled on a long pathway when they came across a luxurious big mansion situated far in the distance.
"Hey, since when was there a palace here?"
"Huh? Yeah! We have been using this roadway for decades now; how come there is a palace all of a sudden?"
"Hey! You two, what are you doing? Focus! We must deliver these goods by nightfall."
The passing escorting party thought of the mansion as a castle because of its enormousness, but the leading escort shouted as the escorting party continued their traveling, ignoring the large and luxurious mysterious castle situated in the distance.
In the distance, the luxurious mansion stood with a golden fence surrounding it. The mansion wasn't anything of the cultivation world as it resembled a mansion from the 21st century; it was a five-story building. Patrick sat on a comfortable master chair (Office hair) at the balcony of the fifth floor as his system screen displayed the events happening at the mountain peak.
'Grace, how many region lords have submitted?'
"There are 300,000 regions in the outer area of the central realm. Currently, 10,000 submitted, 200,541 have chosen not to submit, and 89,459 are still in holding."
"It seemed your method proved useful, Raleigh."
"Thank you, Master."
Raleigh answered Patrick as he stood beside him. Patrick was wearing a black t-shirt, short black pants, white Nike socks that stopped at his ankle, and an Air Jordan 4 Retro SE black on his foot. Raleigh wore a blue vest, covered by an open-button t-shirt, long black pants, and a blue high airforce 1. Both master and servant had 21st-century clothes and mannerisms.
While Patrick and Raleigh enjoyed the amusing view from the fifth-floor balcony, they suddenly saw the clouds turn dark the next instant; lightning began sparking from the clustered dark clouds as they spread around the surroundings.. Then, a large gigantic arm emerged from within the clouds as it aimed its grappling fingers for the mansion.