Leyvi returned to the fake cockpit. Originally, he had wanted to show off a little in front of Jojori, but after Mr. Bison's earlier performance, he felt too embarrassed to do it now.
Thankfully, Jojori was still a child and couldn't fully understand the complexities of the battle. All he saw was a powerful clash that shook the earth and sent shockwaves through the air, so his excitement was through the roof.
At the side, Vivian and Bobori remained utterly shocked. What was supposed to be a serious crisis for the sect had been easily resolved by the Leyan Family in a matter of minutes.
They were both in the Core Formation Realm, the same as Valenia and Cempaka, yet the gap in combat ability felt enormous. Bobori, who led the Law and Order Hall and was considered one of the strongest fighters in the sect, was left feeling confused. He wondered if he had been cultivating the wrong way all this time.
Anda, who noticed their reactions, could only offer silent condolences to Bobori inwardly. He was just an average cultivator in a place with limited resources, while Valenia was a Talent Bead recipient with a combat-oriented talent, and Cempaka was a top-tier talent raised from birth to become a Royal Guard. The difference in combat power was only natural.
A while later, the Mountain Dew Sect finally confirmed that the threat had been completely neutralized. They deactivated the Grand Barrier, leaving only the basic sect barrier active.
The Leyan Family was warmly welcomed into the sect by Sect Master Gunung and the other elders. They expressed their deepest gratitude for saving the sect from what could have been a devastating disaster.
The demonic beast siege had begun a day ago. The sect had immediately requested emergency assistance since a Commander Level demonic beast was involved. A Nascent Soul Realm subordinate of the South Region Protector had been dispatched, but the expert was not expected to arrive for another three days.
Although the sect would have likely survived, the massive consumption of the Grand Barrier would have depleted most of their reserve spirit stones, leaving them extremely poor for many years to come.
Sect Master Gunung sighed inwardly as he looked at Leyvi.
The Leyan Family had grown so incredibly powerful in just over a decade. Leyvi had received the Deed of Sovereignty at such a young age and become the lord of an entire region. This unfathomable young man had even married a peak Soul Formation Realm expert. Every time new news about Leyvi arrived, it was always earthshaking.
Anda was also extraordinarily outstanding. She had earned an official title from the Alchemy Association due to her remarkable achievements.
Thankfully, both Leyvi and Anda had once been disciples of the sect and were now Honorary Elders. The sect had benefited greatly from their relationship.
This connection could not be separated from Leyvi's character. Although the sect had never done much for him, he still held it dearly in his heart simply because it had never mistreated him and because he loved the sect's peaceful environment.
The policy of maintaining a peaceful environment without pushing disciples into endless, cutthroat competition was something he had introduced after becoming the sect leader. The fact that it had produced someone like Leyvi was all the proof Sect Master Gunung needed that his approach was correct. He intended to continue maintaining it.
---
Mountain Dew Sect Guest Hall.
"Sect Master, I know you must have spent a considerable amount of spirit stones defending against the demonic beasts," Leyvi said. "Please take all the demonic beast carcasses outside to replenish the sect's resources."
"What?" Sect Master Gunung was absolutely shocked. "Are you serious, Elder Leyvi? Those are hundreds of High Level demonic beasts! A huge fortune! The spirit stones the sect spent couldn't even begin to compare with the value of those carcasses."
Leyvi smiled warmly. "Hahaha. Don't worry about it. Just take them. I know this will help the sect a lot."
"But…" Sect Master Gunung hesitated. He felt like he was taking advantage of Leyvi's generosity. Those were High Level demonic beasts, not the common Low Level ones found around the mountains. The value of each complete carcass was incredibly high.
The Sect Elders sitting in the hall wanted to jump up and cover Sect Master Gunung's mouth. What do you mean "but"? Just take it! Our sect desperately needs those resources!
"Sect Master, since my husband has already offered it, please accept," Anda chimed in with a gentle smile. "We have just returned from the Mystic Realm expedition with incredible wealth. This amount is nothing to us. These resources aren't just to cover the losses from this incident, but also to prepare for the future."
"Preparing for the future?" Sect Master Gunung repeated, clearly caught off guard.
The other elders exchanged puzzled glances with one another.
"There has been a steady rise of crazed demonic beasts all over the continent lately," Anda explained. "They call it the Red Eye Craze phenomenon. These beasts lose their minds the moment they see cultivators. They can be easily identified by their deep red eyes."
"T-The entire continent? It's not just around here?" Sect Master Gunung and the elders were visibly shocked by this revelation.
They were just a small sect located at the very edge of the continent. Most of the time, they only paid attention to news directly related to their own territory. They would not normally be privy to such large-scale information.
They had assumed the crazed demonic beasts were a local problem for some unknown reason. Never had they imagined that the phenomenon was occurring across the entire continent. This made the situation far more serious than they had thought.
"That's right," Anda continued calmly. "If this phenomenon subsides over time, that would be the best outcome. But if it gets worse, there will be unprecedented chaos. The sect should prepare as soon as possible."
She paused for a moment, allowing her words to sink in.
Then her expression turned serious.
"In fact, from what I saw today, our Mountain Dew Sect is likely in the most danger out of anywhere. If the worst comes to pass, the sect could very well cease to exist."
Sect Master Gunung immediately became anxious. He knew Anda would not joke about something this grave, so there had to be a serious reason behind her words.
"E-Elder Anda. Can you elaborate?" he asked, his voice slightly trembling.
"The ones that attacked the sect this time were all marine demonic beasts, controlled by a Commander Level demonic dolphin," Anda said, her eyes narrowing slightly. "What if I told you that this dolphin was also affected by the Red Eye Craze?"
Sect Master Gunung and the elders' eyes widened in shock. They instantly understood the terrifying implication.
When the sect was under siege by the hundreds of demonic beasts, they had naturally noticed the dolphin observing from afar. This was a common occurrence throughout history and one of the reasons such creatures were classified as Commander Level Demonic Beasts. They possessed the intelligence and authority to command armies of demonic beasts during attacks.
But because it had stayed at a distance, they had not noticed its red eyes. Now that they knew, they could not help but shudder at the grim possibility that lay ahead.
The fact that the Red Eye Craze was spreading across the entire continent was already frightening enough. But knowing that it could also affect creatures in the sea was far more alarming. After all, the sect was located right beside the ocean.
The true threat was not the crazed land beasts, but the sea ones. Their numbers vastly outnumbered those on land.
Marine demonic beasts rarely ventured onto land. But what if they became infected by the Red Eye Craze?
It would be exactly as Anda said. The sect would likely be annihilated. In fact, everyone living near the sea would face the greatest risk of total destruction if the phenomenon continued to escalate.
It wasn't just Sect Master Gunung and the elders who became very anxious after hearing this. Even Leyvi had only just realized how grave the situation truly was. It had not fully clicked in his mind before that the sea posed a much greater threat than the land.
There was no way he would allow his beloved peaceful sect to face such danger.
The continent had the Protectors and their organizations to safeguard its inhabitants, but their forces were limited. There was no way they could protect everything if widespread chaos erupted.
Leyvi silently made up his mind. He would definitely support the sect in any way he could to help them face the coming ordeal.
Even if it was inevitable, he hoped it would come much later so they would have more time to prepare proper countermeasures.
---
Three days later, the sect held its small yearly event to test the spirit roots of children who had reached the age of twelve. This was the age when spirit roots usually finished maturing and could begin cultivation.
The event was held specifically for the children of sect members, whether disciples or elders.
Of course, Jojori would also be testing his spirit root.