Chapter 633: Limitation.

‎Ogun was in his office, writing letters with his favorite jade brush when he heard someone knock on the door. He glanced at the candle on his desk, noticing it had been at least six hours since the sun was setting. It was in the middle of the night, and he wasn’t expecting anyone to visit him at this hour.

‎"Come in," Ogun said as he put his brush down and grabbed his black peacock hand fan.

‎It was Yuna, her white hanfu dress with a gradient of light blue color on the hemline and the long straight black hair that reached her ankle. She wasn’t young, she was in her mid sixty, and yet she looked half her age.

‎"Master Yuna, has something bothered your thoughts?" Ogun asked as he walked around his desk and pointed his hand at the small round table near the door.

‎"I apologize for bothering you at this hour, Master Strategist. I was wandering around the mountain, thinking about the meeting. When I stopped, I noticed I ended up near your annex, and when I saw the light from your office, I decided to pay you a visit," Yuna answered as she walked toward the round table and took a seat.

‎"It would be even concerning if nobody found these issues troublesome," Ogun smiled softly as he prepared the tea. "Which issue that has occupied your thoughts the most, Master Yuna?" His voice was gentle and quiet as his hands carefully measured the tea leaves before he put them into the teapot.

‎"Demonic Cult, among all the issues that we have discussed. The war won’t affect us that much, Anastasha Asghar and those who are with her, they’re a threat, but they’re not an immediate danger because their intentions are unknown. The Demonic Cult on the other hand, they’re both a threat and a danger knowing they’re preparing for war," Yuna answered, her hands placed on her lap and watched Ogun’s mastery in brewing the tea.

‎"A Grandmaster that suddenly showed herself and defeated experts by removing their Mana so easily by a flick of a hand. That’s not something you hear every day..." Ogun nodded with understanding, acknowledging Yuna’s concern. "How many Grandmasters that we currently have, Master Yuna?" He asked as he poured the tea into Yuna’s cup and his cup before he sat down beside her with the small table that separated them.

‎"Nine of us here. Alliance Leader Ma, the Seven Zenith, and you, Master Strategist Ogun. You might not be a skilled martial artist like us, but your skill in Array formation is on par with His Majesty the emperor strategist," Yuna answered and took a sip of the tea while staring at Ogun. "But outside the imperial forces and us the Heavenly Alliance, the Fist Emperor, the Sword King, and the Spear God from the great clans. If we also count the unrighteous clans, there are Mountain King, Ice Empress, and Thunder God," she revealed.

‎Ogun tapped his forefinger on the armrest as he nodded in agreement because he also thought there were only that many Grandmasters outside the Heavenly Alliance.

‎"Do you think that would be enough to fight the Demonic Cult, Master Yuna? We know there are at least five Grandmasters from the Demonic Cult who served the Demon God himself called the Five Penances, and we haven’t counted the elders of the Demonic Cult and the elders of the five families that belonged to the Five Penances," Ogun looked at Yuna with his brows raised.

‎"Assuming we are working together, we have no synergies due to our differential of our roots that will put us in a difficult situation. Even if we have more power, the Demonic Cult is moving and acting as one, like the limbs of a single entity," Yuna revealed as she shook her head.

‎Ogun’s expression hardened, his brows began to furrow, and his gaze was fixated on the spot on the wooden floor. Yuna looked at him and it made her smile because she had seen him like that all the time, a mind of a genius who could see possible outcomes like branches on a board he could take a peek at and play around with them.

‎"Have we grown too soft by the peace, Master Strategist?" Yuna asked. Knowing that she had just given him another load of problems to think about, she wanted to change the subject to ease his mind.

‎The question snapped Ogun back to reality, and his expression softened before he reached for his cup and took a sip of his tea. He gave it a thought at the question for a moment before he shook his head.

‎"No, Master Yuna. At least not for you, the Alliance Leader Ma, or the rest of the Zenith. Peace is temporary and so is chaos. We treat peace as a time to prepare, and I believe most of the clans think the same way," Ogun answered after he took another sip of his tea. "It’s not the weakness that concerns you, Master Yuna, it’s the limitation of each individual. It’s not that they appear weak, it’s that they’re unable to grow anymore," he pointed out.

‎"Limitation..." A bitter smile appeared on Yuna’s face. "If the enemies haven’t reached their limits, then sooner or later we are going to be replaced..." She muttered as she closed her eyes.

‎"Some trees grow larger than the rest even if we took care of them with the same care. Instead of waiting for those smaller trees to keep up with the rest, we just need to put more seed and grow more trees because many of them will outgrow the previous ones. That’s why we have the annual martial art tournament, Master Yuna. We look for potentials that can outgrow us, not just simply finding someone like us," Ogun responded with a gentle smile on his face.

‎Yuna’s eyes fluttered open and she realized that Ogun was right. She chuckled softly as she nodded in agreement, realizing that she also had to focus on her disciples.

‎"Speaking of the tournament, isn’t it about time we announce this year’s tournament, Master Strategist? I heard we have a lot of younglings that are said to be as rare as the rarest aligning stars of the century," Yuna asked, her shoulders loosened up the tension that had been building up since the morning.

‎"Yes, I already have people putting the notice across the cities and villages. By tomorrow, I believe everyone will see it and prepare for the tournament," Ogun answered as he nodded. "And yes, I have been keeping my eyes on some individuals that are extraordinary that never appeared in the past decades," he added.

‎"I suppose we will have a great tournament this year based on your judgment, Master Strategist," Yuna said as she took a sip of her tea before she slowly stood up. "Thank you for your time, and I believe I have taken your time quite a lot, Master Strategist. I’ll excuse myself," she did the hands gesture before she left the annex.

‎Ogun watched Yuna leave before he continued to write the letters that would take his resting time.

The morning came, Rasmus and the others rested in an inn when they noticed a crowd surrounding the notice board. Rasmus was curious because the people that surrounded the board weren’t just normal people, but martial arts with decent Mana around them. He decided to check what made them interested, and when he saw the notice made by Heavenly Alliance Leader Ma.

"Annual Heavenly Alliance tournament," Rasmus muttered as he narrowed his eyes.

"Are you interested in that? It said to be the most prestigious event in Khan Empire," Anastasha said as she walked toward Rasmus. "All the powerful martial arts would be attending that event, either to watch or to participate," she pointed out.

"Is that so? I guess it’s a good way to see what people of Khan Empire is capable of," Rasmus nodded in agreement. "Looks like we know where to visit next," he looked at Aris and the others. "You guys don’t mind it?" He asked.

"Looks fun to me," Rullein grinned.

Aris and Serena nodded in agreement because they also wanted to see the strongest people in the Khan Empire.