The Messenger of Death

Claus clan territory.

Just hours after the bounty on Alexander had been published. With the information written on the bounty, the Claus clan people couldn't help but talk about it.

In a pavilion covered in dense snow, the higher-ups of the Claus clan were all gathered in a meeting room, including Nana's father.

Each chair here looked as of they were sculptured from ice and had a table with similar aesthetics in front of it. And on top of these tables were refreshments. And every chair had a number on it. Everyone here

This time, where Darrel was seated wasn't in a place that attracted much attention despite him being the current Patriarch of the Claus clan.

The reason is, that the placement of seats this time depends on the individual's battle and cultivation strengths. Even if he is the current patriarch of the Claus clan, he wasn't the strongest member in his clan.

Darrel could be ranked in the top 50 strongest in the Claus clan.

"Darrel, you need to reign in that rebellious daughter of yours!! Look what she has done!" An all too familiar voice brought Darrel out of his reverie.

He turned his gaze to the figure of a man that almost looked like him. The only difference was that he had black hair and was a tad bit shorter than Darrel. And of course, was weaker than Darrel.

Darrel's gaze landed on his cousin, Cole. "And what exactly has my daughter done this time, Cole?" Darrel intoned with a light smile on his face.

'I was expecting Cole to try and blow this out of proportion. He must have been the one to instigate this meeting. No wonder those monsters from father's generation and above didn't attend the meeting.' Darrel's eyes casually glanced at the empty seats ahead.

"Are you telling me that you are not aware of what she has done this time!? Why wouldn't she be so daring! When her father doesn't even monitor her!" Cole exaggerated.

The elders in the room glanced at themselves. This was a usual sight for them. Cole always looked for something to use to reprimand Darrel with. The two of them were once in the same position, competing for the position of the Claus clan patriarch.

But in the end, Cole lost the competition, and the main reason for his loss was Nana. When she was just at the age of 5, she already possessed a cultivation that surpassed her age and peers.

This boosted her father's image and increased the support that he had.

Although Cole wouldn't go through despicable means to remove his cousin from the seat of the Patriarch, he use whatever excuse to take out his anger on Darrel.

"Don't tell me that you are referring to the disciple that she tool in? The child in that bounty that was published?" Darrel asked, not raising his voice at Cole.

This attitude of Darrel is still one of the reasons why many of the elders in their favored him. Not only is he strong, he rarely ever raised his voice, always appearing calm in difficult situations.

Only when battling does his deposition change much. As if he let out his repressed emotions in that situation.

"This is about the image and reputation of our glorious clan. How dare someone places a bounty on a person affiliated with the Claus clan? Do they think that we are pushovers?" Cole muttered.

This is the main reason why these people chose to attend this meeting.. they wanted to discuss how they will handle the disrespect shown to their clan.

"Your troublesome daughter just had to go and get a disciple as troublesome as her," Cole added.

"Now that we are on this topic, why don't we use this to our advantage?" Darrel said.

"What are talking about?" Cole with a confused expression asked.

Even the other elders in the room were confused.

"If you received the news about Natalia's disciple, you will also find out that he has been acknowledged by the Guardian of the Midas petal despite him not being a Midas seed carrier. He was even the person to obtain the first 3 petals that has appeared. And because of her disciple, an opportunity never seen before is being presented to all that qualifies." Darrel began.

Everyone was aware of that information. Not only them, almost everyone in the Celestial plain realm was aware of this news.

Those that were able to gain one or two during the competition spread the news. While they would have loved to keep this advantage and information to themselves, they had to let other people know.

While many of them saw Alex as the holy grail, the Midas seed carriers saw him as a parasite. They will love to kill him.

Now that many people know about the exception that will commence with Alex's presence, they even made it their job to inform Alex of the next location of the Midas petal.

"Many prominent tribes and clans are trying harder to suck up to us because of Natalia's disciple. Apart from that, Don't you see this as an opportunity for the younger generation of our clan too. Everyone under the age of 120 will be able to participate. I heard that there are tokens that can give instant enlightenment. Some that can permanently increase an individual's cultivation." Darrel finished.

This indeed is an opportunity that they had never come across since the Midas petals came into existence.

Cole calmed down and stopped thinking about the image of their clan. "I did hear about that, but I also heard that only those with good Karma were fortunate enough to get tokens like that," Cole mentioned.

"Then we just pick those that have good Karma and send them to the next location of the Midas petal. While it is going to be crowded with other people of the younger generation, we cannot just pick anyone. It has to be people that are strong enough to protect themselves, if not we'll just be sending our clan's people to their deaths." Darrel folded his hand in front of his chest as he finished.

The elders present nodded their heads in agreement with what Darrel suggested.

"Fine," Cole couldn't support the decision too. "What are we going to do about the bounty that was placed on your daughter's disciple?" He asked.

"We put the word out there that anyone that is found attempting to kill Natalia's disciple will face the wrath of the Claus clan. We can't let an asset like that die in the hands of greedy people." Darrel answered.

"Don't forget to investigate his origins… he possesses a supreme primordial bloodline, and it neither from the Golden Crow nor the Phoenix." A voice was transmitted to the minds of everyone in the meeting room.

Everyone present got up from their chairs and respectfully bowed. Although they all stood up to show their respects, there was no one in front of them.

They all knew that the voice belong to the Current Great Guardian of the North.

"Even you can't probe the boy's origin, great grandfather?" Darrel asked.

"I couldn't, something was preventing me from probing. I don't know what it is, but that boy is mysterious. However… I speculate that his bloodline belongs to a primordial beast that is not of the 3 plain realms. He might have descended from the outer world." The Great Guardian of the North stated, shocking everyone with his speculation.

"That might be why he was acknowledged by the Guardian of the petal." Cole wondered out loud.

"Darrel, what has your daughter told you about her disciple?" Cole questioned.

"Nothing much. She only asked us not to interfere or approach until he has made it to the Celestial plain realm." Darrel replied.

"At this junction, we can't listen to such a demand. We have to know where the boy came from. If he is from the outer world, then he might have an idea of how to safely get there." Cole thought with excitement.

Who amongst the cultivators of the Celestial plain realm didn't want to go to the outer world? It is a world for the strong and talented. With so many opportunities and knowledge of how to get stronger. To them, the Celestial Plain realm is only a starting point, the outer world is where the real stage is.

"Then, do as you please. I have already given her my word that I won't approach her disciple until he has made it to the Celestial plain realm." Darrel mentioned as he backed out of the plan Cole was likely to bring up.

"Then I will do as I see fit," Cole said.

…

Meanwhile, in the Lower plain realm.

In the Guest inn of the Severance academy, Alex woke up in a familiar room. It was his room in his suite.

"Ah, I must have passed out," Alex placed a hand on his head as he pushed himself to a sitting position. He then tried to recall what happened before he passed out.

Slowly, the memory of what happened returned to him.

"What an eventful time for me," Alex uttered with a light smile on his dried-up lips.

Feeling the crack on his lips, he said; "I need to drink water." He then got up and proceeded to get himself some water.

Stepping out of his room, Alex could hear the voices of his teammates coming from the living room.

A wider smile crept upon his lips when he heard their voices. A strong feeling of warmth filled his chest.

"I did miss them… ah, what's happening to me?" Alex whispered in a conflicted state. He was happy and yet confused too.

['Madness… that's what I diagnosed,'] Al replied.

['A state of realization.'] Xander said.

['This a sign that you care about the people you call your friends'] Lex chipped in.

"Is that wrong of me?" Alex asked, Not sure of this development.

['Definitely,'] Al said quickly.

['it is only a realization,'] Xander said after Al. He was emphasizing the fact that it is only a realization for Alex and nothing more. Therefore, he wasn't right, nor was he wrong.

['I don't know… but if it makes you feel happy, then there's nothing wrong about it.'] Lex replied.

"Then there's nothing wrong with it." Alex listened to Lex and then made his way to the living room with a smile on his face…