Now one of her closest aides disappeared and dozens of powerful disciples of the Sect were murdered while she suddenly leapt up seven realms of cultivation in a single bound. Curious, don’t you think?”
Dean Thistle’s eyes narrowed.
“And what would we gain from that?”
“Simple, really. Build her up to be a villain. Use it to reflect on the cruelty of the Imperial Clan. You can even use my backstory at some point if you want. She’ll eventually be far too restrained to even stay in the Sect.”
“This still doesn’t help us.”
“Doesn’t it? The camaraderie of the disciples of the Luminescent Moon Sect is especially strong. Their loyalty is extreme. If you want to control the Sect, you need to control them. At that point, even the Patriarch won’t be able to do much.
“Build her up as a villain, then take her down. If you can’t find someone as strong as her, then just use the Sect’s rules to do so. If you really want to be smart, build up the Obsidian Eclipse Sect as an outside enemy at the same time. If you do both at the same time, force them to face off against a common enemy, and even force the hand of the Nightingales to move her there, you’d grasp the very heart of the Sect.
“If you’re willing to take the risk, using Sigil would guarantee the Sect fall into your palms.”
Both father and son looked toward Theron with a slight heat in their eyes. Theron spoke of these things so easily, but this wasn’t the sort of mind a 14-year-old should have.
As for Theron himself, he only looked at them calmly.
“Isn’t it the obvious path to take? Since they’ve already stepped onto the field of psychological warfare, we can just hit them back in the same place.”
Theron found their reactions odd, honestly. It was the obvious answer.
What he hadn’t considered was that a plan like this would only work if one knew about the state of the Luminescent Moon Sect in the first place.
The camaraderie of the Sect couldn’t be understated, but it was only obvious to Theron because he had experienced it personally. But in his defense… he had noticed it within days.
To him, the real sticking point here was how the Thistles hadn’t understood this point and taken advantage of it yet. But… not everyone was as fond of paying attention to details like he was. It was even more difficult since this wasn’t technically a detail at all.
Sometimes the most difficult things to pick up on were the things hidden in plain sight.
It made Theron wonder… was he truly just that sharp? Or were the Thistles just so incompetent?
But if the Thistles were so incompetent, what gave them the confidence to try and overthrow an Imperial Clan?
…
Sigil and the Dean accepted Theron’s words quite swiftly. What the latter had put so simply was something they were able to retroactively grasp with ease.
For a Sect, the Luminescent Moon Sect was oddly… familial. Even Thessa, Teagan, and Soren had all been as close as family before the incident. Aside from oddities like Yonowai, who were quite literally outsiders, the disciples were very close-knit.
By comparison, the Obsidian Eclipse Sect was too obsessed with power and matched the cruelty of the martial world with much more accuracy.
Under normal circumstances, this would make the Luminescent Moon Sect an impenetrable shield… but not if they suddenly lost their pillar and now their sudden strongest disciple was actually an outsider.
Theron had suddenly given the Thistles an opportunity on a silver platter. The end result, though, was Theron receiving his first mission as Rain before he could leave.
River was the persona he had built up in Daggers of the Night. He had only struck once, but to take out a genius of an Earl Clan in the face of a Gold Mancer’s protection… it could be said that this legend had already spread in the most important circles even if he wasn’t known to the general public yet.
Rain, however… that was the persona he planned to use as a vassal of the Thistles. But he had yet to have a great opportunity just yet, if he didn’t count his wedding procession.
Now he would have that opportunity.
**
Theron sat by Malaya’s side as they traveled in a boat down a stream. A curtain separated them and the rower, the sheer silkiness rippling in the wind.
After a long day together, the mood had turned into a comfortable silence. Normally, Malaya might be flustered, but she was finding that it was easier to be alone with Theron although this technically didn’t count as that.
“I will have to go away soon again,” Theron suddenly said.
“You’ve received another mission?”
“I have. This time I must go to do something related to another Sect?”
Malaya’s brows trembled. There were only so many Sects in the Province. The number didn’t exceed five, and there was only really one of real note—that being the Obsidian Eclipse Sect.
“Is it dangerous?”
Theron looked over and smiled. “No.”
Malaya blinked, seemingly not understanding. But Theron only chuckled, not explaining further. With a third party here, he couldn’t get into the details anyway. But he thought he should tell her nonetheless.
Well, was it dangerous? Technically yes. In reality? Not even remotely.
It was his idea, after all, to build up the Obsidian Eclipse Sect as an enemy to the Luminescent Moon Sect. So it wasn’t a surprise to him at all that now it would suddenly be up to him to light that spark.
The Thistles weren’t targeting the Obsidian Eclipse Sect with nearly as much fervor. The obvious reason for this seemed to be that the Sect was far more under the Nightingale Clan’s clutches than the Luminescent Moon Sect had been.
This was yet another head-scratcher to Theron. If the strongest Sect and strongest assassin guild were all under the control of the Imperial Clan, why were the Thistles so confident?
Right now, though… that answer mattered less.
Now, he had to put on his villain cap again and become the spark that lit a fiery clash between the disciples of two Sects.