Liran's world broke down.
His Sect was destroyed, and now his son was dead too?
Why?
Why had all of this happened?
Why was the world against him?
What had he done to deserve this?
"Ahahaha!"
Arthur laughed loudly as he saw Liran's shocked expression.
Pack!
Arthur threw the head over, and Liran caught it out of reflex. In shock, Liran looked down at the head, and the last expression of Surem was still very visible on his face.
Rage, hatred, anger, tragedy, sadness.
There were still wet spots on Surem's face from the tears he had cried. His expression showed pure pain, denial, and anger. It was the expression of someone so angry with the world that they had given up, trying to find solace in death.
Gravis took a deep breath as he saw the head. He wanted to say that this had nothing to do with him, but his emotions disagreed.
Gravis wanted to say that he didn't care, but deep down, he did care. In his mind, Surem's death was a tragedy. Surem was far better than his father, and he had had a great mindset.
However, sometimes, when one lost control over their emotions, all the good things of a person couldn't make up for the emotional mistakes one committed.
Gravis didn't really see Surem as a friend, but he also wasn't a stranger.
Gravis had wanted to stop him, but he also didn't want to force his protection on him.
If they had been closer, Gravis might have forced Surem to stay, but they hadn't been that close.
So, in the end, Gravis had let Surem die since that was his decision, no matter if it was right or wrong. Surem wasn't a little kid. He had been an Immortal that had lived for over a thousand years. If someone like that decided to do these things, then it was their decision.
Liran hugged Surem's head and also started crying.
"Anyway," Arthur said from a distance. "I have already informed the Sect Alliance. They should be here shortly."
"We are already here," came a voice as over a hundred people appeared in the sky.
Liran didn't pay any attention to the other Sect Masters. All his attention was on the head of his son.
Gravis was a bit surprised that every single Sect Master had appeared. Wasn't there supposed to be some council? Why was every Sect Master here?
However, Gravis quickly found an explanation. 'The meeting,' he thought. 'Liran was supposed to be away for several days but came back after only a couple of hours. The meeting probably hasn't ended yet, which meant that every Sect Master was gathered regardless. How very convenient.'
The Sect Masters looked around in shock.
This was the Unrestrained Sect?
They had heard that the Unrestrained Sect had been destroyed, but they hadn't expected that it had been this thoroughly destroyed. They had expected ruins and corpses, but nothing but dust remained. Not even a single sign of a Sect could be seen. There were no ruins, no corpses, no flames, no destroyed weapons.
There was only dust.
"Who would do something this vile?" a woman among the Sect Masters said. "Which monster could have so much hatred for an entire Sect that they would leave absolutely nothing remaining?"
Surprisingly, Gravis thought that her words and feelings were genuine. After all, not every Sect Master had been involved in this plot. Probably not even half have been involved. Gravis guessed that, at most, 20 would have been involved, and even that would be a stretch.
A significant portion of the Sect Alliance was probably made of people who genuinely wanted to create a home for themselves. However, the small portion of filth had tainted the entire pool.
As long as the minority of selfish Cultivators remained unpunished, the entire Sect Alliance would be useless.
This was the same concept as with the beasts. The more good and trusting people one had in the group, the more power the minority of selfish manipulators had.
"Welcome, brothers and sisters of the Sect Alliance," Arthur said. "As you see, the Unrestrained Sect has been utterly annihilated, and only two people remain, the Sect Master and this disciple," Arthur said as he gestured towards Gravis.
"We can mourn for our lost comrades later, but now, we have to make a decision. Is such a Sect worthy of staying in the Sect Alliance?" Arthur said as he paused for dramatic effect.
"Do you have no shame?" one Sect Master shouted in anger. "One of our allies has been killed, and you only think about banishing the survivors!?"
"Brother, calm down," Arthur said, his voice seemingly filled with righteousness. "I grief for our lost comrades as much as you, but we have to look to the future. As the highest power, it is our obligation to be an example for everyone."
"If we let a lone Immortal King without a Sect remain in our ranks, we will have to grant the same status to any other visitor. What of Cultivators in the Core Regions? One Immortal King could come on their own and claim that they are a Sect. Can we let something like this happen?"
No one said a thing.
"No, we can't. As soon as they point out that we allow a lone Immortal King to represent a Sect, we will be in the wrong for refusing them. We would be playing favorites, and as soon as we play favorites, our Sect Alliance will become tainted."
"We can grief for our lost comrades later, but now, we have to protect the Sect Alliance and everyone in it. Therefore, I will initiate a vote now. I hereby call a vote for removing the Unrestrained Sect of the Sect Alliance."
"Are you mad!?" another Sect Master shouted. "Your feud with Liran has been public knowledge for a while now, and now you-"
"Stop!" Another Sect Master shouted, interrupting the earlier one. "As much as it pains me to admit it, Arthur is right. For now, we need to protect the Sect Alliance from this threat! We can talk about everything else later."
"I agree," a third one said. "We can talk about this tragedy later. For now, we need to safeguard our home."
The first one gnashed his teeth in anger. What was up with them!? Did no one see what was happening right now!? This was all too convenient!
He looked around and met the gazes of others.
Some of them looked to the side, not meeting his gaze.
Some looked at him with complex expressions.
Some looked with discomfort and guilt at Liran.
Some looked with compassion and encouragement to him.
The last ones were the sleaziest. They were showing their compassion to show that they understood him to get him to agree to the vote.
The ones with the complex expression were the ones that knew what was going on. However, they were too afraid of standing out. If they went against the hidden manipulators, their Sect might become the next Unrestrained Sect.
The remaining ones knew that something was going on, but they wouldn't involve themselves. They would simply go with the majority.
DING! DING! DING!
A light circle appeared in the air, and colors appeared that represented the votes.
94 to 26.
The majority was for the dismissal of the Unrestrained Sect.
"Then, it has been decided," Arthur said with a smirk.
"Now, if you don't mind, I have some personal business to attend to," Arthur said as he took out his saber and pointed it at Liran.
Nearly all Sect Masters looked at Arthur with disgust. They knew that he had been involved, but they didn't have proof.
Additionally, Arthur was one of the most powerful Sect Masters in the Sect Alliance. Nearly everyone hated and despised him, but they feared Arthur's reprisal if they ever decided to go against him.
However, did Arthur have to do it this directly and publicly? Couldn't he have just waited!?
"Let me join you," another Sect Master said with a severe voice as he appeared beside Arthur.
"Liran, I have condemned the undisciplined and reckless attitude of your Sect for a long time. The Unrestrained Sect has besmirched the entire Sect Alliance for long enough, but you still need to pay for your crimes."
"So, don't blame me, but your own inadequacy," he said as he took out a shield and club.
"Same thing with me," a third one said as he took out two daggers. "For everything you have done to my Sect, you will pay today, Liran!"
Now, three Sect Masters stood opposite Liran.
However, Liran didn't react.
He was only hugging the head of his son in grief.
