By some weird coincidence, Xia Fei’s lie had involved a runaway disciple of the Assassin Sect from many years ago.
After placing down the document, Craneshadow thought for a long time with his eyebrows knitted. There was no other logical reason that could explain the present conundrum outside of Xia Fei being a descendant of Bloodshadow. Phantom, who was the catalyst of all this, did not even enter Craneshadow’s consideration as everybody in the sect knew that Phantom was dead. It was something out of fairy tales for a soul to remain on the realm of the living even after the body died.
After returning the documents to their original spots, Craneshadow left the room and approached Shadowless. Although he was the sect master of the Assassin Sect, his measure of esteem toward his sect brother was immense.
“Sect brother, there’s something I’d like to discuss,” Craneshadow said softly. He would intentionally lower his voice when speaking to Shadowless as if it would be rude to speak loud with him.
Shadowless turned around and bowed. “Since you’re already the sect master, you can drop the ‘sect brother’ honorific.”
Craneshadow smiled. “Sect brother, if you hadn’t made that big mistake years ago, the position of the sect master would’ve surely been yours. It’s been so many years, and the previous sect master had already passed long ago, so why are you still staying in this courtyard, unwilling to leave?
Shadowless had a bitter smile on his face as he shook his head. “A mistake is a mistake, and there’s no explaining that. Since I made a mistake, I must be punished.”
Craneshadow did not continue trying to talk his elder sect brother out of it. He knew how stubborn Shadowless was and how the latter would stand his ground whenever he decided on something.
He briefly went through the matters regarding Xia Fei, as well as his suspicions regarding a connection with Bloodshadow, then asked, “Sect brother, there hasn’t been a precedence for this; I don’t know how I should deal with it.”
After getting an idea of the situation, Shadowless nodded. “Sect master, since you asked, I’ll speak my thoughts. Please don’t take what I say to heart if it may personally offend you.”
“Please go ahead, sect brother.”
“Alright. The strength of our sect has never been the same since the tragedy last time; the harm it did to the sect was not something that could be regained so easily. Currently, outside of sect master, the highest-ranking members are the three of Darkshadow and the others.”
Craneshadow quickly waved his hand and interrupted Shadowless. “Sect brother, you’re still here.”
Shadowless said with a stern face, “I’m being disciplined by the former sect master. Although I’m here in person, I can’t step an inch outside of this courtyard. I may as well be a shadow in the dark; I’m not even a person.”
Craneshadow slightly curled his lips. Indeed, judging by Shadowless’s stubborn nature, unless there was something astronomical happening, he might as well be invisible in the sect, never showing himself.
“Sect master, have you thought about this? While you’re still alive, nobody will dare touch our sect, but since you’re getting old and if something happens to you, can the likes of Darkshadow, Silvershadow, and the others really carry the burden of thousands of people in the sect?
“Setting aside the bad blood between Moonshadow and Silvershadow, the highest-ranking among those three is just at the Intermediate Eternal rank. The others may not know, but it should be clear as day to you; that one battle in the past cost our sect all the highly skilled members just to ensure our sect’s continued survival. From our master’s generation, all the way till Moonshadow’s; that’s five whole generations.”
Craneshadow stayed silent for a bit. Veins on his forehead became visible as thinking back on this broke his heart.
Back then, the sect’s enemies came straight to their door, and Craneshadow and Shadowless’s master was still the sect master. The enemies, who had come prepared, took the sect by surprise; in the end, they managed to barely win against their enemies, incurring heavy casualties—it was a pyrrhic victory.
Craneshadow was on a task in another star region then, so he managed to dodge a bullet.
Five generations of disciples, hundreds of lives were lost in that horrific battle. Shadowless’ left leg had also been crippled at that very battle.
Shadowless had once made a mistake, so his master had ordered him to guard this place and not move an inch from his position, but because of how urgent the situation was, Shadowless chose to act. In truth, if not for Shadowless disobeying his master’s order, the sect might have disappeared then and there; this was one thing that even his master did not think of.
After the battle, Shadowless continued to reside in this courtyard, and it became Craneshadow’s responsibility to be the sect master. Craneshadow knew that the only reason their sect still existed today, was due to his sect brother acting as he did that fateful day; after all, he was the sole survivor out of the hundreds who joined the battle.
No matter in which aspect, Shadowless was much stronger than he was; it was him who their master had taken the most liking to among everyone in his generation, too. Just from that, it was obvious how outstanding his skills were. Therefore Craneshadow was used to discussing everything with his recluse of a sect brother.
Shadowless took a few moments before continuing. “The sect’s wellbeing has been greatly impacted, and we need to regain our strength as soon as we can. I’m afraid it may not do if we simply follow the old ways; we need to recruit more talent.”
Shadowless sighed. Although he had no eyes, he had a better view of many things compared to the majority of them.
Craneshadow asked hesitantly, “Sect brother, are you saying we should recruit Xia Fei?”
Shadowless did not confirm or deny. “Since he’s a descendant of Bloodshadow, he can be considered one of us. Even if he doesn’t join us, it doesn’t hurt if he’s just an envoy.”
Everyone in the sect was a killer and did not care about what was happening outside as they lived a secluded life, but these thousands of disciples needed to put clothes on their backs and food on their tables, so they had to constantly accept commissions from the Alliance; therefore, outside of the disciples there were envoys in their sect.
These envoys were responsible for accepting orders, receiving pay, helping the sect purchase daily necessities, et cetera. They were with the sect in name but actually not associated with it at all.
Being an envoy of the Assassin Sect was by no means an easy task. Thus far, most of the envoys working for the sect had been in the business for several, even for dozens, generations as they passed the task from one generation to another.
Since Xia Fei was a descendant of Bloodshadow, he had an inseparable relationship with the sect. In theory, the descendants of a felon would be felons, too, and had no rights to become an envoy of the sect, but since they have been getting weaker by day, if there was no change, they might slowly fade out of the killing scene and disappear into the annals of history.
“I’m guessing you haven’t seen the documents Darkshadow brought. You’ll understand where I’m coming from once you take a look at it,” said Shadowless plainly before going back to cleaning. Snow was falling down from the sky everywhere, and the ground that was clean a few moments ago was now covered in a thin layer of snow; only constant cleaning could keep this courtyard spotless.
“Although I have no eyes, I can still hear. If this Xia Fei joins the sect, which floor will he be based on his strength?” asked Shadowless.
Craneshadow was slightly shocked. replying in a deep voice, “Sixth, maybe even seventh.”
“Is there anyone around his age that can stand a chance against him?”
“No,” said Craneshadow, shaking his head.
Shadowless let out a long sigh. “Ever since that time where hundreds of our brothers died, I’ve always thought that maybe we have treated the brothers in the sect too shallowly. I finally realized when I saw my masters and brothers die with my eyes that, sometimes, we should treat others better. The opportunity is gone once they die.”
Looking at the old and lonely figure of Shadowless, Craneshadow suddenly realized what his sect brother meant by it. He bade him farewell before leaving the courtyard and headed toward his residence.
The war that had happened years ago made Shadowless quite emotional. The sect had been educating their disciples in an unharmful way. Once they became part of the sect, they could not leave, and anyone who did would be killed indiscriminately.
Although this once allowed the sect to possess an incredible strength, it was also heavily criticized by everyone. These clearly inhumane rules would only make anyone in the sect afraid and would never be able to conquer their hearts truly.
An organization built on threats and terror would never be sustainable in the long run, and this could be seen from the countless extinct empires in the Alliance. Was the Assassin Sect not just like the other empires? Trampling over lives, sustaining itself through brainwashing, and draconian rules.
In order for the Assassin Sect to be truly invincible, there not only needed to be rules but also compassion and empathy, allowing them to overcome even the biggest challenges.
At this point, Craneshadow could not help but pick up his pace with a stern look on his face.
His sect brother, Shadowless, had thought of everything, but the rules of the sect were not made in a day, and it was no easy task changing any of them. He suddenly felt that the burden on his shoulders got even heavier. If he wanted to change the situation, the sect must be reformed inside and out, and the burden of reformation would most certainly rest upon his shoulders.
Back in his residence, Craneshadow quickly turned on his computer and looked through the information Darkshadow had sent.
Everytime anyone in the sect went out for training, the higher-ups within it would send Deathguards to follow the disciples in secret, to check the situation of their training and to see if anyone was being unloyal to the sect.
Not only was this a display of doubt toward the loyalty of anyone in the sect, this was one of the evils of the Assassin Sect. How could the people of the sect trust the sect when the sect did not trust them?
Information was usually sent to a server dedicated for the higher-ups of the sect. Naturally, Shadowless also had his account and password. Although he was hidden away, it did not mean that he did not care about anything that happened in the sect.
It was just that Shadowless had unknowingly described Xia Fei as a genius, for reasons unknown.
Craneshadow looked through all the information provided, from Darkshadow and Xia Fei killing the giant python together and Xia Fei realizing Darkshadow’s plan, to his refusal to head into the trap set by the team of Deathguards. Reading all this gave Craneshadow quite shocked.
The Thunderfury Xia Fei had used to deal the killing blow onto the giant silver snake was incredibly powerful. Craneshadow believed that there were certainly fewer than ten in the sect who could take a hit like that. It was evident that Xia Fei’s strength was not as nondescript as his looks.
What was even more incredible was that, not only did Xia Fei have the speed ability, he even possessed psychokinesis. It was unbelievable to say the least.
“Decent strength, incredible perception and analysis, with the blood of the Assassin Sect. No wonder my sect brother, Shadowless, was persuading me,” muttered Craneshadow as he leaned back on his chair and stared up at the ceiling.
Craneshadow could not help but be embarrassed when the blind Shadowless had a better understanding of this situation than he did, when he was the one who was the sect master of the sect.
He then stood up and paced around the room with his eyes flickering.
Suddenly, Shadowless stopped in his steps and muttered, “Perhaps the reformation of the sect starts with Xia Fei?”
