ALL NOVEL 390. Delegate
Pagarti was meditating in his Null Room, a subspace that looked like endless nothingness. The Myriad Worlds were too close to the Void, which messed with feeling the Laws of Reality. Path Outlining Ethereal Harmonization Realm cultivators—or B-ranks, as the Alliance called them—were rare for a reason, even in the Inner Worlds. Null Rooms, however, allowed one to focus entirely within oneself and, through it, one's connection to Reality.
Suddenly, a female voice said behind him, "Greetings, City Lord."
Pagarti reacted instantly, standing up and turning, his qi and Path flaring, his domain expanding. His domain felt the invader...
...and he pulled his domain back, turning his attack into a respectful bow. He cupped his hands before himself and said, "City Lord pays respect to Envoy."
The uninvited guest—the second on the same day, to boot—was a beautiful young holin. Her skin was too pinkish for Pagarti's taste, and her proportions were not as bountiful as he liked, but he couldn't deny her perfect symmetry and that she had enough assets to attract even him. Her face was delicate, her eyes blue, her long silky hair golden, her lips pinkish red.
Six superimposed white half-wings unfolded behind her. With those, even someone incapable of feeling qi would know her to be in the Law Mastering stage of the Ethereal Harmonization realm. Or, as the Alliance called it, C-rank.
As with most holins not clad for war, her garment was a juxtaposing of multiple layers of cloth. Hers were white and red and fit her well. It hid most of her form, including to Law Vision, but the signs of what lay below were there if you knew what to look for. Pagarti had been young and prodigal once.
She wore a simple-looking enamel pin on her chest. It depicted a green and golden tree. That pin was why Pagarti had bowed and received her with respect.
No one attacked a member of the Gardener Sect in the Myriad Worlds and lived to tell the tale.
She waved her delicate hand dismissively. "I'm not Envoy. I'm a VSU Delegate. Report."
Her demeanor was slightly cold and authoritative without crossing any lines. She didn't act friendly or let him think he was on the same level as her, but she also didn't look down at him—unlike the Shen boy.
Her words made him frown, though. Why was the Void Suppression Unit in his land? He bet a report would be waiting for him outside the Null Room, but he wasn't sure if he wanted her to know the contents the same instant he did. It was better to admit to his ignorance for now.
He said, "This is the first time I hear of this, Delegate. I've been in seclusion for almost an hour."
Her blue eyes stared at his as if seeking any falsehoods in his statements. Whatever she saw satisfied her. She nodded slightly. "Very well. I'll find the one who reported it. You're not to leave this subspace until I return."
Now, that was disrespectful. It seemed everyone thought they could boss Pagarti in his own city nowadays. She even left without waiting for an answer, taking his obedience for granted.
It irked him, and he fueled his anger into thinking of ways to utterly crush Shen.
Shen considered Alaans City interesting enough. The roads were wide, the buildings were comfortable, and the parks were pleasant. Everyone was a cultivator, and hundreds of D-ranks flew in the skies. A few C-ranks could be seen here and there.
However, the lack of B-ranks was strange. Univari explained it when Shen asked.
"Teolhora is a C-rank world, Esteemed One. Whoever reaches B-rank must leave for an Inner World within a week. That's how the Myriad World works." He smiled warily. "Every newly ascended B-rank means a week of bloodshed as they deal with old enmities. Sometimes, they go too far, and all of Teolhora band together to resist a B-rank's tyranny. The last time was forty years ago. I fought the war like most families and saw my father sacrifice himself before me to protect me and my sister from the B-rank."
That was interesting. Shen had the impression of having found something like this before, areas where one's strength was limited, but he was confident they hadn't been as fair as the hard limit was. Yes, the word was "fair." As much as a B-rank could be a jackass, they had very little time to do anything. Even if they worked to strengthen their people before leaving, if they were too aggressive, the ones they left behind would pay for it. And that's considering the world didn't unite against them.
More importantly, whenever a B-rank wasn't around, relatively weak people, C-ranks, could rule with little trouble. People could reach the C-rank more easily than the B-rank, so it changed power dynamics and absolute obedience. The weak mattered a little more.
"What happened to the B-rank?" Shen asked.
"He died," Univari answered, but he sounded bittersweet about his father's murderer being executed.
"Good riddance," Shen prodded.
"Not really, Esteemed One. Teolhora is an Outer World, better positioned than a Boundary World, but still far from the World Tree's Trunk. When a B-rank leaves, the world gets a Green Tide. The qi levels rise, and the Axioms of Life become much easier to touch and master. It's a great boon for us all. The more Green Tides a world gets, the more B-ranks it can produce; it's a virtuous cycle. If we produce nine B-ranks in quick succession, with no gaps between their Green Tides, our world also gets elevated. Inner Worlds can house B-ranks and have a lot more qi than what we get even in Green Tides. A newly elevated world is also inaccessible to outsiders for a hundred years. It's a unique opportunity.
"So, we'd rather be bullied to a point for a week than have to kill the B-rank. Sadly, some B-ranks cross the line while trying to get as many benefits as they can for themselves. It's rare, but it happens."
The Green Tide explained why every other cultivator he saw had a Law of Life in their Path. That Law would be easier to cultivate if they got a Green Tide, and everyone would benefit.
Shen found that system intriguing. A common goal shared with the entire world made them less likely to stab each other in the back at the first opportunity.
However, something was still strange. He asked, "Why does no B-rank place their sect or clan above all others? Why not kill every strong C-rank before they can react and establish a dynasty with everyone's treasures? I'm sure that can be arranged."
Heavens, Shen himself could almost do that already. Pagarti didn't look like much. He could kill many Pagartis in Teolhora before everyone else ganged on him.
"Forgive me, Esteemed One; I've never taught an Outsider before and failed to teach what is common knowledge to us. Inter-city politics are forbidden by the Gardener, and the Gardener Sect has a strict view on enforcing it to Ascenders. A new B-rank can kill all C-ranks they want with no official consequence, but any treasure the dead C-rank had must be kept in the cities they died or within one mile if they died outside a city. There are only two exceptions: the Ascender can choose three cities to pillage for his own gain, and of those, only the resources of one city can be given to anyone else."
That made more sense. No world could survive if every new B-rank bankrupted everyone before leaving.
"What is this World Tree you mentioned?" Shen asked." From the context, the Myriad Worlds are its leaves or something?"
It wasn't Univari who answered, but a soft female voice before the two of them. "You're correct, Outsider."
Reality twisted a few hundred meters before them, and a sort of twenty-year-old angel from the myths teleported in. Sending her voice ahead of herself was a feat of skill and use of Space or Time Laws, the two of which were in her Path—together with Life, one of each Axiom.
Shen was stricken by her beauty. Although she was a C-rank, her physical perfection looked almost ethereal. He couldn't recall ever seeing a B-rank, but he was confident her beauty should be on the same level as an A-rank.
She looked like a softer high elf. Not as high and mighty, yet still uniquely beautiful. Shen was sure another race looked like hers, but its name was on the tip of the tongue without ever coming to him.
He was drow and knew his race didn't like high elves, but he found he had nothing against a race that looked like them. At least not biologically. In fact, he very much wanted to get to know this lady better. His Path and hers weren't compatible, but he instinctively knew his True Self made him immune to Path contamination.
Alas, his interested look seemed to upset her. Her expressionless face became cold as she looked down on him. He could almost hear her soul say, "Another one of those."
Well, Shen guessed he had just discovered the first thing about getting close to a female: don't make it obvious you're interested in her.
He didn't dwell on the preemptive failure. He would find other beautiful women in the future. He was young and had ample time to find a wife.
He asked, "Is the World Tree a sort of metaphor? I can't imagine something big enough to hold entire worlds. Or is this not an actual world but an island?"
Univari didn't reply. He was bowing down to the angel-like woman, as did everyone nearby. No one even greeted her, though. It pointed at her status being too high; thus, it would be rude to force her to acknowledge a direct greeting.
Her coldness turned into a frown. "Is that how you greet a member of the Gardener Sect, Outsider?"
Shen raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware there are rules for this."
The female took his ignorance as an offense. "There are none," she admitted unwillingly. "But even a child knows to show respect to their rulers."
Shen was getting upset at her attitude. He was trying to be polite, but she was bullying her. Not unlike what he had done to Pagarti a little ago, he acknowledged.
Maybe he should withstand it a little longer, but he did like fighting, and perhaps this woman would give him a good battle. "Oh," he said mockingly. "You rule over the Myriad Worlds? I thought the Gardener did that. Bold of a C-rank to claim to be on par with an S-rank. Your arrogance is S-rank, at least." He cupped his hands before his body and nodded. "Shen greets Arrogance Incarnate."
She attacked at once, but Shen was prepared.