Arthur nodded in understanding after hearing what Roar said. He had a lot to say, but he didn't rush to say anything. Instead, he paused for a while to think about what to say.
After gathering his thoughts, he said, "I guess this is goodbye."
Roar nodded in agreement and said, "I want to thank you for everything you've done for me. You've been a great master."
Arthur didn't say anything anymore. He just soared into the sky and became a streak of violet lightning dashing across the sky. Very soon, he had disappeared over the horizon.
On his way home, he said to himself, "This wouldn't be the first time I would be losing a dog. So I'm very experienced with it."
He would miss Roar. But this loss is better than his first one because he was already preparing himself to separate from Roar someday after he realized that Roar had given up on cultivation.
There was also the fact that Roar didn't die. So he could more than accept this loss. He was fine with it.
Arthur returned to the sect that day. His return trip was shorter without Roar. He took note of this, but didn't think further on it.
What he did was to lock himself up for cultivation. There was no end to cultivation for him. So he couldn't waste any time that he had to cultivate. Especially since there was a war coming up.
He stayed locked up cultivating for 16 years. By then, it had been 22 years since he advanced to the fourth mortal coil. It was also the year that the Red and Blue Fire sect invaded the Five Veins Region.
The people of the Red and Blue Fire sect didn't come all at once. They came in batches, carrying all their belongings in space rings.
To those who were unaware, they looked like tourists. The attitude they had as they looked at everything also encouraged this misunderstanding.
They looked down at everything. They were also easily impressed by everything around them. But their awe was of how backward the Five Veins Region was.
They marveled at how poor environmental mana was. The fact that environmental mana outside sects wasn't enough for those at the third mortal coil to cultivate with was a stark difference from what they were used.
From where they came, the mana outside of sects was good enough for cultivators at the fourth mortal coil to live on. So it truly looked as if they came here to broaden their horizons and witness new things.
But they weren't tourists. They were invaders, and their presence in the Five Veins Region meant war.
The atmosphere of the Five Veins region became tense once the Red and Blue Fire sect arrived. Sects closed up their borders and stopped allowing people to enter or leave.
Even the outer sect was closed off. Every sect stopped considering the consumption of energy and money and decided to fully activate all of their protective formations.
The regional sect examination was also canceled indefinitely. This was the confirmation that everyone in the region needed to know that a war was coming.
Once the announcement of the indefinite cancellation of the regional sect examination was made, the tense situation in the Five Veins region was nearly upgraded into a panicking situation.
Many people became afraid and wanted to run away from the Five Veins region. The situation would have escalated, and everyone would be panicking if not for the Red and Blue Fire sect announcing that they didn't intend to attack mortals.
The fact that the Red and Blue Fire sect didn't appear to have the intention to genocide the people of the Five Veins region helped to alleviate the fears of the common people.
Every cultivator of the Red and Blue Fire sect looked like a noble scholar. They had a refined appearance and carried themselves with elegance and pride. This made many people believe that they weren't evil.
The people who believed that the disciples of the Red and Blue Fire sect weren't evil were right to believe so. The people of the Red and Blue Fire sect are just unfortunate people who have lost their homes and are looking for a new one.
But the people who believed that they weren't evil had the wrong reasons to come to that conclusion. After all, cultivators don't much care about morality when they have something to accomplish, and evilness is not discernible in appearance.
The truth is that there will be a war and many people will die. Good or evil doesn't have anything to do with it. The only reason the Red and Blue Fire sect won't attack people indiscriminately is that it would be of no use to their cause.
The Red and Blue Fire sect is truly focused on its goal. They didn't wander the Five Veins region when they arrived. They went straight for the Purple Flower sect and set up a camp some distance from them.
Their actions caused the other five sects to respond. They did this by sending people to help the Purple Flower sect defend their territory. Arthur was among the people who were sent to help with the defenses.
He had received the notification for the preparation of war from his sect ID card. He was in his cultivation room when he received the message.
The message said, "The Red and Blue Fire sect is here. If you want to participate in resisting their invasion, assemble outside the teleportation hall one week from now by 7 am."
"Take note that you are free not to participate. No one is forcing you to. Participate only if you want. But if you want to participate, reply to this message saying so and stating your preferred position and duty, so that preparations can be made for you."
This message was sent to only the people in the inner sect. This was because only those at the third mortal coil were qualified to participate in the war.