One Last System

"We have no other choice but to hunt him down!"

Hearing those words, Mia's entire body froze.

She likely wasn't supposed to hear them. The only reason she could eavesdrop on this conversation was that no one gave a damn about her listening.

"Hunt him down?" Ackhart asked, echoing the words of the current highest-ranking elder of the Outerpost. "Why?" he asked, making a puzzled expression. "Didn't he save this entire sect from total devastation?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

'I knew they were out for Arthur's blood... But they can't be damn sure that it's him!' Ackhart thought, trying to figure out what the other party was thinking. 'Or are they worried about a potential opposition appearing?'

"Like I said," the elder raised his eyes at Ackhart. "He is a stray royal, one that achieved breakthrough clearly without an oversight of the sect or the true royals," the man pointed out. Then, the expression on his face darkened. "Or are you claiming that we can let someone so powerful run amok?"

'Fuck,' Ackhart thought before relaxing his face and shaking his head. The years he spent working with both sides of this hidden conflict made it easy for him to keep his face straight. "That's not what I'm worried about," he stated when he finally stopped shaking his head. "What I want to know is how the heck do you think we can hunt him down?"

"Oh?" the leading elder smiled. "Could it be that you are not confident in your own ability?"

Ackhart raised one of his eyebrows.

"Against a royal, even a fresh one?" Ackhart asked, shaking his head again. "You saw what that guy did just a few moments ago. And you also saw what happened to the elders that tried to oppose the monster that guy defeated," he pointed out. "It would be naive to believe any of us is capable of challenging him."

"Not a single one of us could challenge him alone," the leading elder nodded his head, surprisingly accepting what Ackhart just said. "But this isn't a question about a fair duel. If we come at him all at once, then we should have a shot at dealing with that guy."

"So you have already decided to take him down?" Ackhart asked, raising his eyebrow once again. "What if we could cooperate with him? Wouldn't that be a great opportunity for the sect?" he asked.

'I know I shouldn't...' Ackhart thought, not sure how he should proceed.

On one side, there was the importance of keeping his cover. Only by staying true to his role as the double agent could he hope to keep monitoring Sangakart's progress.

But on the other hand, if they were to actually go and hunt Arthur down if that young man were to take it seriously and personally...

"If you want to hunt him down, count me in," Mia suddenly said, openly manifesting her presence.

"Huh?"

It wasn't only Ackhart that shook in surprise. As all the other elders finally became aware of Mia, they were all shocked by her audacity of not only listening in on the conversation but even butting in so rudely.

"I don't think you know your place, disciple," the prime elder commented in a lecturing tone while a spark of annoyance flashed in his eyes.

"No, I don't think you are aware of what you are talking about," Mia didn't bother to listen to the man's words.

'If they want to hunt him down, it means they are going to find him, doesn't it?' she thought, swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

Despite her brave front, facing a group of elders out of which, every last one could kill her with a single move...

If not for how desperate she was to find Arthur, Mia would never take on such a massive risk.

"How dare..." Ackhart attempted to salvage the situation by bashing the girl. 'Why the hell is she putting herself in the spotlight?' he internally questioned the girl's actions.

"I believe you wouldn't act so rude and disrespectful if you didn't have something else to say," the leading elder commented in a low voice. "Speak up; why do you think you would be of any use during the hunt?"

Mia allowed a small smile to creep up on her lips.

"Didn't you see it yourself?" she asked, leaning her head to the side. "When I attempted to approach that guy to ask if I can be of any help, do you recall what he did?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips and looking at the elder as if he was some kind of idiot.

"If you think I had the time to look at what some random disciple was doing when I was busy trying to save my... save the sect from this disaster..." the elder muttered. The annoyance clearly audible in his voice was likely the reason why he fucked up a little, forcing him to change his words mid-sentence.

"Then let me tell you what happened," Mia said, raising her chin up. "When I attempted to approach him, he stopped me," she stated. "Despite being clearly exhausted after the fight, he used some kind of technique I don't know about me to stop me in my tracks!" she announced far and wide.

"And?" the elder rolled his eyes. "Maybe he just wasn't interested in your charms?" he suggested, only to shake his head a second later.

"No, she does speak some sense," Ackhart joined in on the conversation. 'I don't know why are you doing this... but that doesn't mean I can't help you,' he thought, swallowing a mouthful of saliva. "If he just wasn't interested, he would ignore her. But from what I saw... he really did use some kind of powerful technique to stop her in her tracks!"

The look on the leading elder's face changed a little. He pursed his lips and alternated his eyes between Mia and Ackhart, thinking over what they just said.

Then, the man released a deep sigh and took a close look at Mia's face.

"Why do you think he didn't want you to approach him?" he asked.

"How the hell would I know?" Mia replied with a question on her own, making big eyes and looking at the elder as if he wasn't worthy of the position he was holding. "All I know is that he was wary of me. And that's why I believe I will be of some use during the hunt," she explained, shrugging her shoulders.

"You are merely a sixth rank cultivator," the elder countered, clearly not happy with the idea of allowing Mia to join the hunt. "Even if there really is some secret that makes that guy wary of you," he claimed, only for an ugly smile to appear on his lips. "What makes you think you are qualified to join the hunt in the first place?"

Hearing those words, Mia couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.

"A measly sixth rank cultivator, you say?" she asked, shaking her head.

Then, after holding herself back for so long, she finally lifted the restraints she imposed on herself, allowing her energy to course freely through her body.

Released from its former bounds, the energy surged forward.

In but an instant, the barrier that separated Mia from advancing collapsed.

Her body, which was already overflowing with mana, finally reached the stage where it was fully reinforced.

But Mia's energy didn't stop there. Instead, it continued to surge, coiling in her insides and forcing the impurities out with its momentum alone.

Yet, this wasn't the end of it.

Before Mia could even take a breath, her inner energy was fully purified, only to surge all towards her core and forcefully expand its size.

"Aaah..." Mia released a deep breath when the surge of her energy finally calmed down. She then shook her head and looked at the elder again.

"Now that I'm an eight-stage cultivator," she said, leaning her head to the side and gracing the man with a cheerful smile, "there shouldn't be any further problems with me joining the hunt, am I right?"

To say that all the elders were surprised would be a gross underestimation. Yet, the look of dissatisfaction didn't disappear from the leading elder's face.

"There is but one more question that I need an answer for," he claimed, his face turning still. "Why do you even want to join the hunt in the first place?"

Hearing those words, Mia could only smile.

"Isn't this obvious?" she asked, raising her chin even further and closing her arms on her chest. "Now that a huge number of the elders died and with my growth potential, what I need to grow aren't cultivation resources, but contribution and achievements!"

"So you want to become an elder?" Ackhart asked, struggling to keep up with the pace of the girl. Still, whatever she had planned, he was willing to support her.

After all, he saw how Arthur acted whenever the topic of his loved one came up. And by directly supporting this girl, he could indirectly support the only hope that he had for challenging Sangakart's domination!

"That's right," Mia nodded her head, refusing to back down from the story that she had created. "What else could be my reason for risking my skin like that?" she asked, leaning her head to the side while sending Ackhart a look full of irony.

"Fine, then," the leading elder finally conceded. "Since you are so eager to join and you," he turned his eyes to Ackahrt, "are so eager to let her join," he moved his eyes back on the girl, "you will follow Ackhart during the hunt. And with that said..." the man took a short break to breathe in before shaking his head and turning around.

"With that said, get the hell out of my sight before I remember that you are but a lowly disciple!"