"But your disciples ignored our central region, didn't they?" A distant voice came from the people from the central region.
Huai looked into the distance to see it was an elder from the central star sanctuary; he was at the peak of the Fusion Realm in Cultivation.
Huai smiled at them and said, "Heh! I just said my sect disciples wouldn't ignore humans. Do you consider yourself still human after what your disciples did in the secret realm?"
The elder's face turned red in shame. He gritted his teeth and immediately attacked Huai with his full force.
He believed that with his Fusion Realm peak cultivation, he would easily be able to kill this sect master of the Eternal Sect.
But to his horror, a blade appeared in front of him with lightning speed, and he saw his own body cut in half by a normal attack from that blade.
It was Yan Wuhe who did this. The moment this person disrespected Huai, he had already unsheathed his blade,
and the moment he attacked, he swung his blade towards him and killed him.
Wuhe magnified his voice and said, "Anyone who dares to attack my sect master will die by my hand."
A chill ran through the crowd; they never imagined that this person would kill someone at the peak of the Fusion Realm this easily.
They all looked towards Goddess Nexus to see what she thought about it.
But they saw Nexus didn't even budge by the death of that Star Sanctuary elder.
The elder attacked first; the Eternal Sect just responded in self-defense.
The whole area became silent again.
The people from the central region swallowed their anger.
They knew they couldn't fight these individuals now, so they decided to return to their sects and prepare to attack the Eternal Sect later.
At this moment, Nexus looked at the central region's people before approaching the Eternal Sect disciples. Commander Vulcan followed close behind her.
Nexus looked at the Eternal Sect disciples. Bai Wei and the others still felt a bit anxious under her gaze.
Although they had faced 16 sovereigns earlier, Nexus was someone they had known about since birth; she was the ultimate goal for everyone.
Nexus looked at them with a genuine smile, then bowed towards them.
"Thank you, Eternal Sect, for saving many future cultivators from the human federation and eliminating the threat."
Bai Wei and the others were dumbfounded watching Nexus bow to them. Even Commander Vulcan found it unbelievable. He had never seen Goddess Nexus show such gratitude to anyone.
Even the onlookers watched the Eternal Sect disciples in horror, unable to imagine a powerhouse like Nexus bowing to them.
After genuinely bowing, Nexus declared with a hint of authority,
(Dear Eternal Sect disciples,
Bai Wei, Zhao Tie, Xiao Yun, Mu Chen, Lan Ruo, Da Zhuang, Zhao Yue, and Lan Suyin...
I, Goddess Nexus, hereby declare that,
By the power bestowed upon me by the human federation, I am giving you all 7th-tier citizenship of the human federation for your contribution,
Eliminating traitors of humanity alongside extraterrestrial beast hordes.
And saving your fellow comrades from the clutches of the enemy.)
She waved her hand, and 8 Human Federation 7th-tier tokens appeared in front of everyone present. The words "Human Federation" and "7th Tier Citizen" were written on them.
While Nexus bestowed these tokens upon the disciples,
Huai gritted his teeth in anger, "See! See! This is what I'm worried about, you damn Nexus, you always bestow these tokens whenever my children leave the sect!"
He pointed his finger towards Nexus and shouted.
Nexus just chuckled and said nonchalantly, "What could I do? Whenever your sect members leave the sect, they contribute to humanity. Of course, that's why I bestowed upon them their rewards."
Huai pointed his finger towards her again and said,
"Stop! Stop! Don't lie. Why do you always watch over my sect's disciples in the first place? Don't you have enough work inside the federation?"
"Just tell me if you don't have any; my sect needs a house helper. You can join my sect as one."
Nexus's lips twitched. Even Commander Vulcan found it incredible at this moment.
What he had just witnessed was a mere Body Integration peak-level cultivator cursing one of the 14 sovereigns of humanity.
Even the onlookers looked at Huai in horror. But the one in question didn't even budge in his actions and continuously cursed Nexus.
Nexus also replied sarcastically to his questions, creating a surprisingly humorous scene amidst the tension.
This time, Nexus looked at the people from the central region before approaching the Eternal Sect disciples. Commander Vulcan followed close behind her.
While Nexus and Huai were locked in their hilarious squabble, Commander Vulcan saw his chance to make a good impression on the Eternal Sect disciples.
"My name is Vulcan," he announced, a slight tremor of excitement in his voice.
"I'm the commander of the Vulcan fleet of the human federation. We're usually stationed far beyond the Blue Star planet."
He continued, "When those extraterrestrial races invaded the secret realm, Goddess Nexus summoned us to lend a hand. "
"We couldn't actually enter the secret realm, mind you, but thanks to your incredible bravery inside, these cultivators were able to make it out alive!"
Then, getting straight to his point, he added,
"Now, I'd like to extend an invitation to all of you to join our fleet as normal soldiers. We'll train you with all the resources provided by the military forces of the human federation!"
He puffed out his chest a little, clearly expecting an enthusiastic response.
Bai Wei and the others exchanged glances. It was a tempting offer, definitely a fast track to power, but none of them wanted to disrespect Huai's wishes.
Huai, noticing their hesitation, chimed in, "I won't interfere in your affairs. I just have personal grudges against this 'tin foil' here, that's why I'm bothering her."
He pointed a dramatic finger at Nexus, who merely rolled her eyes.
Commander Vulcan's jaw dropped slightly. He couldn't believe Huai just called a Sovereign of Humanity "tin foil."
What kind of bizarre feud do these two have? he wondered internally, while Nexus continued her sharp-witted verbal jabs back at Huai.
The eight disciples scratched their heads. They were just kids, really, how were they supposed to make such a monumental decision on the spot?
They instinctively turned to the second most powerful member of their sect, Yan Wuhe, for guidance.
Wuhe, seeing their silent plea, offered his straightforward advice,
"If you want to join the military, you can always do it later. Huai won't mind at all. And as for me, I support your decisions, but for now... you're simply too weak."
This resonated deeply with Bai Wei and the others. They knew Wuhe was right.
Their cultivation levels were planetary, and the battlefield demanded those at Star Realm levels at the very least.
"Commander Vulcan," Bai Wei began, "we are truly grateful for your generous offer! But right now, we are just mere planetary cultivators. We can't join military forces just yet."
Commander Vulcan, not one to give up easily, quickly argued,
"So what if you're still at the planetary level? We can take you to military headquarters where you'll be able to reach Star Level cultivation in at least a hundred years!"
Zhao Tie shook his head, a firm refusal. "No, Commander! The Eternal Sect is our home; we can't leave it for that many years right now."
The others quickly echoed his sentiment.
Commander Vulcan pressed on, "Please think it over, little guys..."
But this time, before he could finish his desperate plea, Huai interrupted,
"Stop! Stop right there! I'm already dealing with one kidnapper; now another one is barking in front of my disciples!"
Vulcan felt his cheeks burn a furious red. Just seconds ago, Huai was verbally sparring with Nexus, and now he had become the target of his sharp tongue!
He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, demanding, "Who are you indicating as a kidnapper?"
Huai smirked, "The one who was trying to kidnap my children!" He then turned to his eight disciples, a dramatically pitiful look on his face, and said,
"Children, always remember: don't talk to strangers when you go outside. There are kidnappers lurking in the city nowadays!" He even patted Bai Wei on the head for extra effect.
Nexus coughed a few times, trying to stifle a laugh. "Citizen Huai!" she interjected, "Don't you think you're just spouting nonsense now?"
Huai tilted his head, feigning innocence. "Did I? I don't think so. See, in that secret realm, they wanted to take my children for themselves too, didn't they?"
He gestured vaguely towards the area where the central region disciples had retreated.
It was true that Young Master Venus had tried to claim them as subordinates in the secret realm, though he had been killed a hundred times over for his trouble.
Vulcan was about to unleash a bizarre, outraged retort, but Nexus shot him a warning glance and sent a chilling telepathic message:
'If you want the whole human federation to hunt you down, then just go on and do what you were planning to do just now.'
Vulcan froze, looking at Nexus in utter horror. Just what is the true identity of this Eternal Sect Master?
he wondered, that if he takes action against him, the entire human federation would turn on him?
He gulped, a huge amount of saliva suddenly feeling very dry in his throat.
Huai said to Commander Vulcan, "You don't need to worry about them, Commander! If they want to join the military in the future, I'll definitely send them to the military myself."
But Commander Vulcan still wanted to recruit them right now. He said, "But, Sect Master Huai! We can provide them with unlimited resources and cultivation techniques, and all!"
He gritted his teeth, then said, "We can also provide them with higher-grade pills and all."
Shen Huai was hearing everything nonchalantly until Vulcan uttered those last words; he then burst out laughing,
"Hahahaha... Commander, don't say those words to me again in the future. You're just insulting yourself by saying those words to me."
He looked at Nexus and said, "Hehe, Nexus, at least tell him not to mention it again."
Nexus also felt shame in front of Huai. Huai was known as the 'Divine Physician'. He was a great pill master himself,
who could make ancient holy pills; why would he need those bad-quality pills for his sect members?
Nexus looked at Commander Vulcan and said, "Commander, just stop there. You can't tempt him with cultivation resources or pills. He won't 'sell' his disciples like that."
Nexus thought to herself, 'Huai is from that ancient sect; maybe they have cultivation techniques that are already lost in the human federation. And you want to tempt him with that trash? Just dream on.'
Commander Vulcan felt a bit sad for a moment, then became normal again.
This time, Nexus said to Huai seriously,
"But Citizen Huai! I need to reconsider your sect's rank. You should know the level of cultivation Citizen Wuhe has; you accepted him into your sect. So your sect doesn't belong to the 8th tier anymore. It should be in the 7th-tier section."
Huai considered this, then nodded his head towards Nexus and said, "As if I told you not to evaluate my sect as a 7th-tier one, you'd listen to my words."
Nexus looked at him, then waved her hand, and a 7th-tier sect token appeared in her hand. She gave that token to Huai and said,
"From now on, the Eternal Sect is a 7th-tier lower-level sect on Blue Star. Please continue to do good works for humanity, Citizen Huai."
Huai accepted the token from Nexus, then said,
"Now go back to your place; don't disturb me or my disciples or elders. I'll go back to my sect soon."
After saying that to Nexus, Huai again continued his conversation with other 8th-tier sects.
Now that the Eternal Sect had received a 7th-tier token, it was considered a powerful sect on Blue Star, and other 8th-tier forces revered him and the Eternal Sect even more.
Commander Vulcan left Blue Star with his fleet, and Nexus also left Blue Star with her projection.