Immortal Kingdoms



"I have been doing some work," responded Leonardo even as he started glancing around. Finding no chairs or anything of the sort, he walked near a pillar and sat down, back pressed against the structure. 

He said, "You might wanna pass down orders to lock the borders and engage with the disciples of the hidden sects at first sight. Doesn't matter how you keep them behind, overwhelm them with numbers if you have to— just do it. As for the right-wing advisor, he probably won't be able to make it back here anytime soon." 

"What happened??" Emily furrowed her brows, and even so, she mentally used her spiritual sense to send down the orders to act as advised. This surprised Leonardo a little as he hadn't expected she would act first and ask later. 

After the moment of surprise faded, he reclaimed his calm and answered, "I had a little chat with Sierra in the Levi Sector using my real identity, exposed myself to the crowd, and killed a lot of hidden sect disciples and a High Elder in the sector's vicinity. 

"The imperial family's focus will shift from outside to inside, and I have to say the investigation will bring out a lot of dirty laundry and heads are about to roll to the ground in mass." 

Emily was shocked. "Did anyone follow you here?!" 

She can't afford to take that risk! If the outside world learned that she had been keeping Leonardo by her side this whole time, death would be the least of her worries. 

Leonardo gave the woman a weird look, "You worry far too much, only a 9th-tier powerhouse is qualified to follow my tracks and even those wouldn't find it easy. You should be feeling happy right now, this is an opportunity for your people inland to target the three houses." 

"This news is too important," Emily murmured to herself. She said, "I need to make the trip personally and make the adequate arrangements." 

"No, you won't be going anywhere— are you looking to die early?" Leonardo was shocked by how slowly a woman's brain operates when she's too excited. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emily's brows locked behind her mask, starting to calm down gradually as she composed herself. 

"I mean, there's a high chance the other Commanding Generals are doing their best to blockade the information from leaking inland even if delayed by a day. If you go now, expect to be ambushed by three of your peers, possibly detained if not outright killed in action." 

Officials are greedy by nature and over the years, these people took advantage of their distance from the central regions of the dynasty to shuffle their cards around and maximize profits. 

The Seven Stars Province is a fairly isolated region from the political scene due to its close proximity to the uncharted wilderness and a buffer zone between two dynasties. If the people in this region had high official rankings, it would pose a high risk of leaking military and political intelligence across the border. 

Internal factions suppressing one another is fine, but colluding with the forces outside the borders to suppress the forces within? That's plain playing with fire. 

The three sectors would need time to get things in order and the other provincial officials in the cities and towns large and small also need time; a lot of it. 

Emily was stumped, finally realizing the scale of the problem. However, she was too anxious to think of a solution so she simply stared at Leonardo, impatient. 

Leonardo rolled his eyes. "Just take the initiative to disseminate the information— spread it through every soldier, town, and city under your jurisdiction. Don't underestimate these people, or don't underestimate the power of the Royal Court and their information network. Just spread the information among the common people, and their king will know." 

"Are you saying I have spies under me?" Emily's eyes grew sharp, her bloodlust palpitating. No one likes the company of spies, not even those born and raised to be spies for the Black Market. 

Leonardo ignored the obvious question and tugged at the collar of his robes, complaining. "I'm hungry, haven't eaten anything good in days…" 

"I haven't eaten in years; people on our level don't get hungry," Emily rolled her eyes, then sighed. 

Leonardo's cheap tactic of changing the subject worked, somewhat. After thinking for a bit, Emily turned around and approached the staircase while her voice lingered behind, "Come up, I think I have some spirit fruits and other beverages." 

She understood that making a move now to filter out the spies was redundant. No matter how much screening the recruits go through, they are citizens of Jin through and through. If the imperial family wanted to grow seeds of intelligence in her sector, they'd have plenty of chances. 

At the very least, a number of those seeds should have already occupied a sizable portion of the soldiers in the lower bracket. Thinking about it, this was also good. 

Just as Leonardo suggested, she didn't have to go through the dangers of reporting the situation through her personal channels, she simply needed to decimate the information about Leonardo's appearance in the Levi Sector and the massive battle that ensued, and the Interstellar Supreme Court's people would be the first to react. 

As for her Qing Sector and the family inland, she trusted they'd know what to do, especially with the support from the Renhuang family after the alliance. 

The first to fall would definitely be House Freya. 

When the fragile alliance of benefits crumbles, it would be a great opportunity to strike at the Xia Sector as their neighbors, Freya Sector, would be too occupied to send troops and help while the Levi Sector is too far from the battlefield to actually help, not to mention the wanted 'Leonardo' happened to appear in their midst during a negotiation session between House Levi and the hidden sect's representatives. 

Leonardo also knew that the calm before the storm had finally descended, and they should squeeze every moment of leisure at their disposal while they could. 

"Oh my, are you inviting me to the 'sacred' middle floors of the pagoda?" At Emily's invitation, Leonardo stood up and dusted his clothes with a faint smile. The layers of the pagoda from the fourth to the seventh are recognized as Emily's private grounds. 

No one even knows what those floors look like, let alone grasping an opportunity to step into them. 

Emily said, "Don't think too much about it, the fourth floor is merely a spirit garden I've been grooming; I didn't allow anyone's entry to not pollute the environment with their auras. You're different, though. You can perfectly restrain your aura from leaking to the outside world." 

"Makes sense," Leonardo thinned his lips and nodded in with an understanding expression. People who have the qualifications to step into the Commander's Pagoda are people of high status and cultivation levels. Their mere presence passively alters the laws all around them, and spiritual fruits are very sensitive to the changes in the world around them. 

With that in mind, Leonardo restrained his aura to a point where he seemed no different from an ordinary non-cultivator, briskly following in Emily's footsteps to ascend the staircase. 

As the two disappeared into the mystifying halo of the upper floors, the news was already exploding like nuclear bombs in the sector. From the core region all the way to the outer regions, and the news kept spreading to the cities and towns under the jurisdiction of House Qing. 

Very soon, this news will reach the influential figures in the Imperial Capital, and no one can stop it. 

Of course, the timing is a little dubious and some people might think the whole scenario was orchestrated by the Qing Sector, they might even be framed of colluding with Leonardo, but neither the person in question nor Emily cared much about that for now. 

Also, when the war exploded in full swing, Leonardo would have the opportunity to sneak into the uncharted wilderness and bring Nier and Ingrid out from hiding, he might even send them to the Black Market directly as his 'subordinates' since he had already joined their ranks. However, if people from Memento Mori arrived during the chaos, entrusting Nier to them would work better. 

… 

Dense pure ether concentrated in a garden not so vast in the landscape. In fact, even a normal person wouldn't waste too much time and energy exploring the garden from corner to corner, but the abundant pure ether wasn't something a 3rd-tier cultivator could handle, let alone someone who hadn't even started cultivating. 

Looking at Emily, Leonardo noticed how her energy blended perfectly into the environment, courtesy of persistent immersion in the garden on her part. 

The plants, with all their spirituality, have already grown accustomed to Emily's presence and aura over the countless year; she was no separate entity from this environment, just like the lush trees all around. 

"I hadn't expected you'd be in the habit of growing herbs," Leonardo commented lightly as he followed Emily into a small gazebo by a crystal clear pond.