Chapter 239. Sect Traditions

Western Continent.

Somewhere on the borders of the Serma Empire.

Adams Secret Sect.

In a forest.

Nighttime.

The twin moons cast their glows on all beneath them.

Blizzards swept through the mountainous terrains.

The roars of chaotic beasts echoed from time to time.

A figure came out of the forest soon. He was completely covered in blood.

He looked robust and well-built. He had a pair of gauntlets on his hands. His figure gleamed with otherworldly ferocity.

Suddenly, a feminine figure appeared before him.

"Grandfather," the woman bowed.

"Deticia, how is it going? Any news on your brother?"

"My son, Alfonse, bought the lie completely," Deticia said. "When I told him that I wanted him to look for Cosmo and convince him to return because you were willing to take him back and make amends for the past, he bought it. He didn’t suspect that we want to hunt down that traitor and get rid of him. He just sent me news. Cosmo Adams is now a professor at Sauna City University."

"I see. Excellent work, granddaughter. That traitor must die. This has been the tradition of secret sects for generations now. Anyone who betrays us and detaches from us is hunted down and killed to deter others from doing so," Adams Vormor, the patriarch of the Adams Secret Sect, said.

"What is your command, grandfather?" Deticia asked.

"Send assassins after him. He is currently engaged to a Rank 3 warrior, whose father is the disciple of Armstrong Lee. It won’t be wise to openly attack them. Inasmuch as I am a legendary Rank 4 warrior myself, clashing with Armstrong Lee is a bad idea. That man is on another level. We can’t afford to launch an open attack on him. Let them make it quick and quiet," Adams Vormor said.

"Yes, grandfather," Deticia said.

"You know that you are the future of the Adams Secret Sect. You are now a legendary Rank 3 warrior. If you break into beginner Rank 4, I will hand over the sect to you and retire. But that is not all; the second condition on which I will hand over the sect to you is if I know you respect our traditions. And the perfect opportunity to do that is to get rid of your traitorous brother," Adams Vormor said.

A glint of determination flashed through Deticia’s eyes. For years, she had walked in Cosmo’s shadow. The only time she felt recognised was when she had him poisoned and his cultivation slowed down abruptly.

That marked Cosmo’s fall. She wanted to secure an opportunity to assassinate him after that. After all, the poison’s effect could only last for ten years, and then Cosmo’s cultivation would return to normal.

But Cosmo used attending the university and serving in the military as an excuse to leave the sect because he could not tolerate the humiliation he had to endure as a fallen genius.

"He ruined my plans to get rid of him by running away. His cultivation has climbed to normal and he is now a beginner Rank 3 warrior. That fucker, if I don’t get rid of him now, who knows when he will return for revenge on the sect for the humiliation he suffered from the sect after he became a loser and messed up the political merger between our sect and the Nova Secret Sect," Deticia thought.

She stared at the retreating back of her grandfather. Each step the man took caused him to traverse several distances in the blink of an eye.

Very soon, he appeared at the castle walls, leaving Deticia to herself.

"I can’t let grandfather down. I need to act quickly, for my goals, and for fulfilling his second condition. As for breaking into Rank 4, as long as Cosmo is dead, I will have a lot of time to do that. Becoming the sect leader won’t be a problem," Deticia said with calm ruthlessness.

****

Western Continent.

Somewhere on the borders of the Serma Empire.

Nova Secret Sect.

"Our spies have intel on Arica, young mistress." A masculine figure trembled quietly as he made a report to a tall, busty feminine figure clad in a long robe covering her whole body.

Why wouldn’t he tremble?

The young lady was the most talented alchemy genius to have ever appeared in the Nova Secret Sect.

The woman turned. A glint flashed through her eyes.

"You’ve found my aunt?" The young lady said smoothly.

"Yes, young miss," the subordinate said. "There’s also another piece of intel."

A glint of calm curiosity flashed through the young lady’s eyes.

"What is it?"

"She was seen having a conversation with Cosmo Adams in Sauna City University recently. It was during this conversation that we found her," the subordinate said.

"Why couldn’t you find her all these years?" The young lady said.

"She had facial reconstruction surgery, ma’am, and she completely erased her tracks. Also, there are lots of people commonly called Arica and Nova. So, under no circumstance did we think she was the one. But when our spies saw her having a conversation with Cosmo Adams in a restaurant in the university, we naturally connected the dots. The clues were too obvious to think it was a coincidence. She’s called Nova, and Arica, and she was talking to Cosmo Adams. It was obvious that Cosmo Adams figured that she was Arica from the Nova Secret Sect and wanted to catch up with her," the subordinate said.

"That’s true." The young lady folded her arms across her chest. She looked through the glass windows of the villa, her gaze scanning the magnificent expanse of buildings of the sect sprawled across the place.

"Cosmo Adams, huh. The wastrel who thought he could marry me years ago...? Now a professor? It looks like he got up on his feet," she said plainly. "Is he in love with her or something?"

"I’ve received intel already that the Adams Secret Sect wants him dead. Also, no. He’s not in love with her," the subordinate said. "She is currently engaged to Wembley, a disciple of Excellency Armstrong Lee. As for Cosmo, he is engaged to Pamela Ashira, daughter of Ashbourne Cane, a beginner Rank 4 warrior. Another disciple of Armstrong Lee. Also, Cosmo Adams is now a beginner Rank 3 warrior."

A glint of surprise flashed through the young lady’s eyes.

"I see. Who would have thought... Was I wrong about him?" The lady thought.

The fellow she rejected several years ago because of his weakness had a terrifying background now.

She shook her head.

The past was in the past. She had moved on.

"It looks like getting rid of Aunt Arica would be difficult. But it’s necessary. She betrayed the sect by fleeing and she has to die. The Matriarch has tasked me with ensuring her death. She said that as the future leader of the sect, eliminating my aunt is my test of respect for sect traditions."

The young lady said, "Propose an arrangement with the Adams Secret Sect. Tell them we would like to collaborate with their assassins to get rid of Arica and Cosmo Adams together."

"Yes, ma’am," the subordinate said.

"Dismissed," the young lady replied.

The subordinate performed a traditional bow and left the room to execute the order.

At the moment, no one knew the kind of shockwave this act to eliminate Cosmo Adams and Arica Nova would bring to the Western Continent.