Immortal Kingdoms

Only three days later when the commotion calmed down and the twelve sects dispatched enough disciples to maintain order in the city, as though it was their city already, did Rosaline lead the representatives toward the mountain range and into the fourth grand hall.

Leonardo was already waiting on the high seat decorated in gold and obsidian, leaving thirteen seats extending to his left and right in a semi-circle. Silently, Rosaline went over and stood behind Leonardo to his right side while the elders paused at the arrangements of the seats.

The seat to Leonardo's left was already occupied by a man wrapped in black clothes from head to toe. He sat there, silent as a winter night in the desolate wilderness.

While he waited, a pale yet slender finger tapped the dark red armrest.

The elders paused, not knowing how to handle this matter. Rosaline stifled a laugh, her stiff expression almost crumbling. There was one seat per representative, but except for the Wind Fall Pavilion, every other sect brought either their young sect lord or young pavilion lord on this outing. Hence, with only one seat per sect, they had to choose between the young lord or the rebirth realm elders.

If the elders sat down, they would place their young lords on the level of a servant or an attendant. They could remain standing while their young lords sat down, but they were the ones handling the negotiations which means they would have to discuss with a seated Leonardo, a fresh rebirth realm cultivator while standing.

They also wanted to scramble for benefits from Leonardo and hence they can't break cordiality by demanding more seats from the host, as he was clearly leaving his subordinate, a rebirth realm cultivator in the singularity realm, to stand behind him.

Aurora felt a chill down her spine as she felt great about the young pavilion lady being who she was; an introverted cultivation freak. The discussion about to commence would surely be a lengthy one, no rebirth realm cultivator would endure standing humbly to one side for many hours. While the elders were stumped for what to do, their juniors swaggered into the hall like they owned the place, and their eyes lit up upon seeing the dazzlingly luxurious seats, so much that they rushed for the best spot without sparing their elders a glance.

"Maids, bring in more seats!" Leonardo smiled faintly at the display and waved his hand. "Please, elders..."

Leonardo's voice barely faded when eleven young girls in maid outfits, displaying the auras of divinities, rushed into the hall and placed one extra seat next to the seated young cultivators, lining them up in pairs.

"Haha, Young Master Leonardo is most considerate." The old man from Violet Mountain laughed dryly before he sat next to his young lord. However, his heart dropped at the display of the juniors. He silently cursed inside, planning to report in detail to the sect master later.

He then lifted his head to inspect this 'Leonardo' while the other elders echoed his sentiment. The man looked very young and not a trace of energy could be felt from his person. It wasn't a case of a cultivation realm being too high, there was a mysterious energy at play that devoured the old man's spiritual sense despite his attempts at probing.

Long silver hair and a pair of pitch-black eyes, save for the slowly spinning white triangles within. This was a never-before-scene pair of eyes, leaving the old man pondering about the source or perhaps the cultivation technique.

Casual white daoist robes embroidered with black and crimson patterns, silk cloths for footwear, wide sleeves, and long straps of white bandages coiled around his fists from forearms to the wrists. All of these thoughts and observations shuttled through the old man's head in the frame of a split second, his hollow laughter slowly fading in the backdrop to ease the tension in the wake of the junior sect leaders.

"First, allow this old man to congratulate the young master for passing his tribulation." After a pause, the old man clasped his fists and said, "This old man won't beat around the bush; our sects want to establish a relationship with your territory-- have you heard about the Martial Script Pavilion?"

"I have," Leonardo muttered a response.

"Great!" sighed the old man, "this is very simple then; name a price for a plot of land and our sects will try our best to satisfy the requirements. This will benefit both parties in the long run--..."

The old man was talking when Leonardo suddenly raised his hand to speak. A bit dissatisfied, the old man nonetheless allowed Leonardo the chance to speak

"This is actually the reason I gathered everyone here today," Leonardo paused for a moment, his eyes scanning the elders. "I appreciate the care provided to my territory by the Wind Fall Pavilion and the Constellation Terrace Pavilion, I decided to award both sects with an exclusive business estate in each of the four cities bordering my mountain range in the future.

"I have also given my word to the black market organization that I won't discriminate against them and thanks to their wide network of advertising and promising potential to aid me in the future, the City Lord Manor of the Blackrain City will be relegated to the black market with a fixed annual tribute to be discussed later..."

"You mean..." the old man mumbled in disbelief as thoughts raced about in his mind. The young lords didn't think much though, one of them was quick to jump the gun and exclaim, "Nonsense! Our sects helped as well; where do you think the swarms of the population came from?! What would a group of peddlers know about managing a city?"

Whoosh!

Eerie wind with a hint of cold killing intent swept the hall, causing everyone's expression to change as one of the elders waved a hand.

Bang!

The air buzzed with explosions as the forces dwindled down, and the young lords covered up their faces involuntarily. Next to Leonardo, a pair of incredulous eyes watched as the chaotic forces that drew close to Leonardo were obliterated into oblivion silently and without a trace.

This pair of eyes shuddered when Leonardo's calm yet smiling gaze wandered over. It was as though an adult had seen through the little tricks of a naughty child but wasn't angry about it.