Emperor's Reckoning

Lyon opened the door and had a furious look on his face. He wore any basic cultivation robe could find at his reach before standing with arms tightly across his chest. He was towering over them with his presence.

"What?" he asked robustly.

Lenu gulped as he was under Lyon's presence. He was palpitating with cold sweat on his forehead. He gulped to pacify his nervousness before saying with a bit of stutter, "R-Refl... he's gone."

"Who?" Lyon furrowed his brows.

"Refl, teacher, the one that sent us here in the first place?" added Noah.

"Oh... right, that one," said Lyon. "What makes you think that I know where he went? The guy is an adult."

"We think that you are the one kicking him out," said Reinhard.

"That's bullshit," said Lyon as he turned and returned to the deluxe room.

The three students looked at each other with worries inside their eyes before they stepped in as well. The madam that they both feared and respected was there sitting by the bed. Her beauty was mesmerizing but the matter at hand was too dire.

Lenu was the last one to enter the deluxe room and the one closing the door. He obviously noticed the beauty's presence but he knew to keep his mouth shut. The woman may be a beautiful flower but the thorns she had could shred an entire kingdom.

"What makes you have that idea?" asked Lyon before he leaned on a wall with his arms crossed.

"Do you have the Returning Jade Stone that you retrieve from Gamael?" asked Rayus.

"Of course," Lyon answered whilst tapping his outfits, checking the items inside his spatial ring. Then he turned to his wife with a smile and asked, "Darling, did you see the Returning Jade Stone?"

"Sorry, I haven't seen it," said Selena as she shook her head.

"Well, I lost it," said Lyon as he looked at the four of them.

"Exactly! That's the problem!" said Reinhard.

"We think that you somehow made Sir Refl break the Returning Jade Stone when you were drunk," said Rayus.

"Drunk? We're drunk?" asked Lyon.

"No, you were," said Noah. "Which is odd."

Lyon muttered, "I guess that explains why I can't remember anything from yesterday night."

Lyon looked up and no longer leaning on the wall. He walked a few steps toward the window before turning at them. He brooded, "Maybe that happened."

"I mean, the fact that you can't find the Returning Jade Stone supported the idea," said Rayus, "This is bad, teacher, Sir Refl might be in danger."

"Goddamnit," said Lyon.

"Darling, are you going to save him?" asked Selena.

Lyon sighed, "Yes, I have to save him, don't want a ghost to be cursing at me for a stupid reason."

The students and Lenu's eyes lit up. The latter knew that saving Refl would mean assaulting the Burgeon Swan which was another step in flipping the mountain.

"How big is your group?" asked Lyon.

"Huh? Oh, we are pretty big," said Lenu. "Though that was at first, now, most of them either quit or joined the Burgeon Swan instead."

"Wha... What? Why?!" asked Reinhard.

Lenu sighed, "There are various reasons, but most resources and safety."

Reinhard fell into silence after hearing his answer. His face seemed to have a drought. He never thought that the situation was that bleak. With cultivators starting to jump to the other side and their numbers diminishing, the hope of flipping the mountain also decreased.

"That's depressing," uttered Lyon, "Does anyone else know if he is missing?"

"So far, none, only us," said Lenu. "However, it would prove to be difficult to hide the fact since he is a prominent figure in the group."

"Is that so," Lyon crossed his arms. "What would happen when they know?"

Lenu sighed. His eyes didn't deny the severity of the situation if the group knew that Refl was missing, especially if they knew where. Fear was etched deep into the lines of his weathered face as his words were weighed down by the gravity of the circumstances. "This group is our last hope in dealing against the Burgeon Swan, if they knew that Refl was captured, or even worse, killed, it would be the ultimate victory of the Burgeon Swan. Not a single entity would risk it to fight them in our stead once that happened. After that, Second Heaven might as well be their playground."

Lenu looked at Lyon with eyes begging for a miracle, "Please, Teacher Lyon, we have to get him back."

Lyon noticed Lenu's hands were shaking, a testament to the gravity of the situation. The Second Heaven was on the verge of change and Refl was one of the definite actors. His loss would be a predicament that out-scoped the rest of Lenu's group, thus plunging the trajectory of the Second Heaven into an unknown, uncertain, future.

Reinhard knuckled his hands before facing Lyon, "Teacher, we need to save him."

Noah sighed, "I'm afraid, I have to agree with Reinhard."

"Teacher, only you can do this," said Rayus nodding.

Lyon smirked hearing the encouragement from his own students whom he hardly knew a month. However, the joyous seeped inside his pupils was unrestrained. For other people to put their trust in him, the feeling was unblemishedly rushing. "There is no need to rush, I doubt that Refl would die that easily, he is a top dog in your group, right?"

"That's true," Lenu answered with his head down. "However, how long can he hold on."

"We don't even know where to look," said Lyon.

"Tch! Damn it!" Reinhard gritted his teeth, "If we stay here any longer then the chances of him surviving are decreasing."

"That chance always decreases no matter what we do, Reinhard," said Lyon as he approached him before slapping the back of his head, "Calm down, we are still blind as to where to go."

"We have to meet with the others," said Lenu. "They ought to have more information about the other camp."

"Ah, that can do," said Noah as he nodded, "We can rob the entire camp and do the exact same thing to Gamael, killing two birds with one stone!"

"What makes you think that it would be that easy?" Lyon raised his brows. "They should have known that Gamael is dead by now, or at least they speculated him to be."

"What? How that fast?" Reinhard asked.

Rayus raised his brows before he exclaimed, "Ah! The Summoning Ruby Stone!"

Lyon nodded, "En, that stone would have dimmed by now, and the big boss must have known what was going on."

"That's..." Lenu realized that the circumstances were even direr than before. "Damn it, how can I not think of that!"

"So they are going to inspect what's going on in the camp!" said Rayus. "We have to move there quickly!"

"Oh shit! That means this city is in danger if we don't stop them!" said Noah with eyes darting toward the others.

"Tch!" Reinhard suddenly rushed out with hurried steps.

"Reinhard!" Rayus shouted, "Where are you going!?"

"I can't stand idly by when I know that this city is in danger!" shouted Reinhard from downstairs.

"Tch! That stupid bastard!" Rayus gritted his teeth and followed after Reinhard with a rush.

"Oh, c'mon!" Noah rolled his eyes before following both of them.

Lyon looked at the situation with blinking eyes. The situation suddenly developed haphazardly and out of his prediction. He never thought that Reinhard would run, where would he even run to? "Well, you don't see that every day, hahaha!"

"T-Teacher Lyon, how can you be so calm in this situation? Your student might get killed if they found them."

"There is no better teacher than the swing of death," said Lyon. "They will learn to survive as their health is most likely threatened, after all, that's the meaning of being a cultivator right? To live long."

Selena furrowed her brows before looking at the window, "Darling, I think the inspectors have come to the city instead."

"Really?!" Lenu raised his brows to the ceiling.

"Hmmm, then those kids are really in danger now," said Lyon. He leisurely yawned as he walked down the stairs, "Let's go, darling."

"En!" Selena skipped before following right beside him.

"Ah, wait for me!" Lenu quickly followed suit.

...

Reinhard was running toward the north gate even though he heard his fellows calling his name from behind. His eyes were sharp with teeth greeted. He needed to stop them from getting into the city. Otherwise, horror would befall the people living there.

Just as he was about to reach the gate, a hand shot out from nowhere and grabbed his neck, pulling him back with surprising strength.

Reinhard gasped for air, his eyes wide with shock and fear. He turned to face his attacker before his pupils trembled. It was a man he had never seen before.

"Where do you think you're going, boy?" the figure growled, his teeth grinning.

Noah and Rayus both halted altogether as they saw their friend being held up with one hand.

"Reinhard!"