Liu Wei landed on the clearing in front of his pagoda, while mentally going over everything he’d done today to make sure he wasn’t forgetting anything critically important. Once he was gone, he wasn’t planning on returning to the sect until after the war was done with, so he had to make sure everything would run on its own until then.

  The Training Hall’s affairs were in order, the impromptu Training Program organized. He had recruited Elder Shi to lead the whole exercise and asked Elder Bai to chime in as well, though he wasn’t expecting the man to contribute a whole lot in that regard. The disciples’ training would continue throughout the war, though with reduced oversight, since only some of the instructors were allowed to stay behind.

  Some of the older disciples would help out the few alchemists and healers who would stay at the sect. Since they were needed for both the relief and the attack forces, those skills were in short supply, despite the sect’s unusually strong divisions in both regards.

  Qingge had made her decision and received her armor. With Elder Shi keeping an eye on her and her bodyguard Yang having proven his loyalty back during the confrontation with Elder Bai, this would hopefully be enough to ensure her safety.

  Speaking of Elder Bai, Liu Wei had spoken with multiple other elders about him, ensuring that they would step in should he become too reckless. That possibility aside, this was by far the most secure of the three operations, the sect’s mighty fleet leaving very little room for failure. They’d just have to make sure to secure enough support so that their attack would be enough to crack the Roaring Thunder Sect’s defenses in the end.

  That should be all for the sect. All that was left for Liu Wei to do now was preparing himself for his own mission. That was what he was at his residence for. Wasting no time, he headed into his treasury.

  Nowadays, the large room was a lot emptier than he had grown used to over the centuries, with most of the crates of high-grade spirit stones that had previously occupied the space having been transferred to the Training Hall to allow him more direct access. With the hall’s economy stabilized, he hadn’t needed to use his personal funds to support it in a while now, but it was still better to have them on hand in case anything unexpected happened.

  With the spirit stones gone, ignoring a few paintings on the walls, whose value was purely artistic, only the spatial gems remained, secured on their chest-high pedestals in an octagonal pattern around the room. From artifacts over techniques and pills to millennia old plants, these contained most of the valuables Liu Wei had collected over his long life.

  While still not easy to craft and most certainly not unlimited, stationary spatial artifacts could be built to contain a lot more storage space than moving ones – the drawback being, of course, that they couldn’t be moved more than a couple of feet once they were deployed without their spatial dimension shattering and flinging its entire contents into the surrounding area – so these eight gems were enough to contain Liu Wei’s immense number of possessions with plenty of room to spare. He had mostly chosen the number for aesthetic, but also for organizational purposes.

  The question now was what to bring for this war. The space in his ring was limited and there were lots of things that could potentially be of use, so he needed to be smart about this.

  To start off, Liu Wei emptied the current contents of his ring onto the floor. A pot of ink, a quill, some empty parchment, a couple of lists and documents, his ceremonial robes, a book written by Professor Lei, a teapot and several bundles of leaves… he could do without all of these things.

  What he couldn’t do without, of course, was his sword. Like most cultivators, he always kept his weapon with him, but there were rarely times when he would need it as much as now. He picked up the weapon and examined it, to make sure that it was in perfect condition. The golden flames that were engraved along the blade glistened in the dim light as he turned it around.

  This sword had last belonged to a tenth stage fire cultivator from the mainland before being lost upon his death and making its way through the treasuries of various minor sects who had no idea what they were dealing with. He had spent months tracking it down and a great deal of wealth to acquire it, but it had been very much worth it. It was as good of a weapon as a cultivator of his realm could hope for.

  Liu Wei was rather agnostic when it came to his choice of weapon; when it came down to it, he actually preferred spears and polearms for their extended reach and greater leverage. Sadly, he had never been able to get his hands on one as well-made as his sword.

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  That didn’t mean he’d limit himself to it though. Returning the sword to his spatial ring, he headed over to the gem that contained his various weapons. Laying his hand on its cold, deep blue surface, he mentally searched through it, taking out the weapons he fancied.

  A spear with a long, sharpened tip, fit for both stabbing and slashing, a large round shield, embedded with a fiery ruby in the center, a bundle of nine javelins, their golden tips formed like flickering flames. That had to be enough. There were a lot more weapons here that had accompanied Liu Wei in many a battle and that he would have liked to bring, but he had to limit himself to what he might actually use.

  Next, he picked up two leather pouches off the pile on the floor. One of them contained high-grade spirit stones, the other held silver taels. He refilled both of them to the brim before returning them to his ring. He had nothing in mind for it yet, but time had taught him that it was always best to keep some money on hand, whether in mortal or cultivator currency.

  After putting away the rest of the pile, Liu Wei brought out his armor from another gem. The heavy suit of plates wasn’t quite as state-of-the-art as his sword, but it was still a trustworthy source of protection that hadn’t let him down in the many battles he had fought in it.

  A large traveling coat, some cleaning and maintenance supplies, a detailed map of the peninsula, a long knife and a couple of rations of food all wandered into the ring as well. Cultivators of his level didn’t need to eat, but it did help them regain their strength faster after exhausting battles.

  After changing out of his robes into more practical ones made for traveling, he also stored to more sets of them in his ring. If there were sudden engagements that didn’t allow him time to don his armor, he couldn’t guarantee that his clothes would make it out undamaged and he liked neither the idea of having to run around in rags, nor having to teach himself sewing.

  Finally, he filled all the available space he had left with healing pills, various antidotes and other medical supplies. One could never have enough of these in an active warzone, be it to take care of their own wounds or of those they met along the way.

  With his ring now filled to the brim, Liu Wei rearmed the protective formations around his treasury and spent the rest of the evening in meditation, clearing his thoughts and mentally preparing himself for the days to come.

  Once the moon stood high in the clear night sky and midnight was approaching, he left his residence and made his way to the patriarch’s palace. After a short flight, he arrived on the plaza before it, where many of his fellow elders had already gathered. Contrary to Liu Wei, most of them were wearing their full ceremonial robes. They wouldn’t depart tonight and were only here to see him and his group off.

  Sun Liang, who was among those already present, didn’t show any visual reaction to his arrival. He was wearing his usual flowing, white robes, apparently not too preoccupied with practicality. Liu Wei wondered whether the man even possessed proper traveling clothes. It didn’t really seem like his thing.

  Shortly after Liu Wei, Yue Zhong arrived as well. A visual opposite to Sun Liang, her chosen clothes were tight, practical and entirely black – an assassin’s outfit. In her usual cold fashion, she regarded Liu Wei and the others with a short nod, staying otherwise silent.

  After the last elders had arrived – just this once, even Jiang Peng was here on time – the Patriarch came out of the palace and joined them. Still in his war robes, he had strapped a long broadsword to his back that complimented his gravely serious expression. Once all the elders had shifted their attention on him, he began speaking with a raised voice.

  “Elders of this sect, fellow cultivators. Tonight is the night: Elder Wei, Elder Liang, Elder Zhao and I will be departing the sect to join the war against the Roaring Thunder Sect. All of you have your own duties, as we have agreed upon during yesterday’s council meeting, and I have no doubt in me that you will strive to achieve them to perfection. Depending on the future, some of us might not cross paths quite some time.

  “May the guiding light of the moon brighten your path, and the Dao guide your hand until the day we meet again. And when that day comes, let us share stories of our achievements that rival the glory of our ancestors and are deserving of the pride of all future generations. Farewell.”

  He bowed, the other departing elders repeating the gesture. A moment of silence passed, then Shirong Yuan began to speak.

  “Thank you for these kind words, Patriarch Zhao. We shall keep them in our minds as we fight for the future of our sect and this peninsula. As the oldest of the elders, I believe I speak for everyone here when I say that I wish upon you the strength of the mountains and the speed of the wind as you chase down our foes. Farewell.”

  He too bowed, with all of the other elders following in unison.

  Then, slowly and ceremoniously, Long Zhao began rising into the air. Liu Wei followed him, then Sun Liang and finally Yue Zhong. Once they had gained some height, they stopped one last time. Then, the Patriarch in the front, they began flying south. At first, they were still slow, but they picked up more and more speed as they went.

  Soon, the other elders were nothing but a speck that slowly disappeared in the night. Then, they left behind the few lights of the buildings disappeared. Then the massive, gray silhouettes of the mountains. Soon, they were left alone in the dark with nothing but the full moon above and the canopy of stars around them.