The Message

Edrick opened the folded piece of paper, and the message inside was… Well, it was definitely something Anoteros would qualify as quite uninspired and also rather outdated.

Zixuan Elt, you were disgraced by your clan. Do you desire the power and influence to do anything you desire? As long as you swear allegiance to Journomanp and assist us in taking down the crown of Leynlornd, we can guarantee you all of these things.

It was the basic spiel, but the issue was that it clearly was based on the idea of the former Zixuan Elt. Of the previous owner of this body… If they were actually going off fresher intel, they probably would have called him Edrick Lucien Anoteros. They most definitely wouldn’t have been so vague with what they had to offer, too.

This was the sort of speech given to those down on their luck. However, the scion wasn't down on his luck at all. He was making progress in furthering his influence and strength.

‘Why would they only have such old information about me, despite having such an advanced method of delivering it?’

Journomanp was a neighbouring country situated directly east of Leynlornd. Edrick would say that it was large, but that was only going off a map. In actuality, it was absolutely immense.

It was rather difficult for someone who had come from another world like him to grasp, but although the country of Leynlornd looked small compared to other nations, it was actually a giant. The continent itself was mind-blowingly larger than the entire Earth he had known in his previous life.

In his travels, he hadn’t actually gone that far. Also, Leynlornd was surrounded by immense mountain chains, which quite severely reduced the surface area which was actually inhabited. There were only a few roads that could take one in and out of the country without forcing you to trek through treacherous mountains crawling with beasts and monsters.

In any case, Journomanp was actually larger than Russia–And not by a little.

Not all of it was bustling with inhabitants, but it was nonetheless an enormous land for a single king to govern. The one issue in the way Journomanp functioned was that its economy wasn’t on overdrive like it was in Leynlornd. The rulers of Leynlornd had always treated the country like one big business, and its people as employees.

However, it was only in fairly recent times that all of this work truly paid off. Nowadays, the old, poor areas where people lived in misery were disappearing bit by bit. Of course, throwing money at the problem wasn’t deemed an intelligent way of going about it. Hence, the progress was somewhat slow, but it was effective.

Leynlorndians had the drive to work and make families in their blood, so the moment an opportunity presented itself, few were those who didn’t try to take it. In any case, whilst Leynlornd is a shining example of how an all-powerful ruler can craft something truly great by putting their all-reaching influence to work… Journomanp was the filthy example of how unstable it was for several groups–Either just as, or nearly as powerful as the ruler–To have their own ambitions.

The way Journomanp functioned was very disjointed.

First of all, they were also a country with a focus on cultivation. However, they followed a much different form of this practice than Edrick and his countrymen dipped into.

In Leynlornd, cultivation was based nearly solely on the techniques, and the techniques relied on a broader concept of innate talent. You were either talented or you weren’t. If you weren’t, you practised simpler techniques. There aren’t truly any hard rules governing how the way of power functions.

It was totally the opposite for the cultivators of Journomanp. They followed a much stricter line of progression with specific stages and sub-stages. It was said that at the higher stages, they became very powerful, but progressing with their version of cultivation was far more complicated most of the time, with them relying on the quality of their ‘Spiritual Root’ as their basis for talent.

From what Edrick understood, not only does their idea of immortality not create any immortal being in any capacity, but to make progress, they tend to consume ludicrous amounts of powerful elixirs and the like, poisoning themselves to the point that their lifespans often come to an end not just because of age, but because of poisoning or overdosing.

Nonetheless, as demonstrated by that shadowy figure just now. They have their own powerful individuals. Evading notice inside the Elt clan–Even if only for about a minute–Was worth praise. Though it was clear that the one who had cast this thing had been wary, seeing how swift they had been to dispel it once the job was done.

‘Anything I desire, huh? I think I would prefer getting what I want with my own two hands rather than through a shady deal…’

Though it was true that if the whole of Journomanp were together in waging war, they would indeed have a lot to offer–Especially since although their economy was messy and their territory fragmented into many pieces between their ruler, the sects, the clans, independent cities, and such. They had a whole slew of natural resources to bargain with. Their trade market was about as unregulated as it could get, and things forbidden in Leynlornd were commonplace there…

…Such as carving an array into people to turn them into slaves. It probably depended on where you were inside of Journomanp, but most things were either allowed or ignored. They believed strongly that might made right, after all.

It was true to an extent, but only to an extent. It didn’t really work when you sought to control a plot of land that was bigger than a backyard.

‘Mmh, I would love to meet these fuckers and speak with them, but how am I supposed to agree or deny their offer if all they gave me is a piece of paper… Surely, there is something about this note that is special’

‘Those fools wouldn’t have forgotten that people are only intimately familiar with ki in particular, in their own country, right?’

Upon closer inspection, Anoteros realised that there were indeed traces of ki on the note. It was done in a manner that whatever was placed on it could only be activated if one was knowledgeable of ki to a deep extent, or if they already knew exactly what they were supposed to do with it.

‘Let’s not bother with trial and error… Where is my Luxuli?’

The patriarch stood up. For matters of inspection, his demon wife was the best he knew.