“Zoemi, did you really plan on killing Aaron even though you didn’t know that he was a powerful martial artist?”

Alan asked, sitting by the bed while the black-haired man was brushing his hair and stylizing it carefully, trying to figure out what looks the best.

“I was attacked right after getting out of a literal cell and then got threatened with death by a star power user. If you woke up and there was a salivating monster about to bite into your neck, would you just chase it away and went about your day?”

Zoemi asked took a deep breath and let out a long sigh while scraping the last hairstyle and starting on making dozens of small braids that would be put into a large ponytail and then curled to resemble the wool of a sheep even just a little bit.

“You consider star power users as monsters…?”

“Everything in this land is a general threat to the people of my homeland. So, yes. I guess you could say that I do.”

Alan asked, thinking that there will be a gasp of realization or a proper clearance that it was just a matter of speech, but instead, the black-haired man nodded his head and admitted without ever stopping moving his hands, even for a moment.

“If that makes you feel better, then let me tell you that I know for sure the people of my homeland, and even my homeland itself is in general more dangerous for you than all of you are for them.”

|Mana is poison, after all.|

Zoemi explained with a little smirk, quite happy with how the hairstyle was working on the young man sitting in front of him, although he still finished the sentence only in his mind as he didn’t feel like revealing exactly where he came from.

“If that is the case, there’s no wonder that you became so strong… Is everyone in your homeland like you then? Strong, I mean.”

Alan raised his brows, intrigued.

“Planning a little conquest on your own, young one? Don’t bother yourself with me and my homeland for now. Alright, hairstyle ready – now for the less pleasant part… We should go back there and have a talk with the pervert.”

𝒐𝑣𝗅xt.𝗇𝓔t

Zoemi’s smirk grew into a grin and he patted Alan’s shoulder, already moving towards the door and opening it for the young man to walk through.

“I see… and you know? You should really not call someone so important a pervert in their face. The Great Ram sect without my grandfather is in no position to bicker with the head of the justice magistrate.”

,m Alan rolled his eyes over the dismissive answer, before furrowing his brows and saying in a worried voice as he stood up and got up to the black-haired man.

“If he wants respect then he should act respectable, no? What, is he inclined to be treated like an authority just by existing? If not for my clothes getting ruffled, I would not realize that I was hit, so not only he is weak, but considering that he is using children to fight his battles, I doubt he is of any reasonably good moral standing either. Let me guess, he was born into the position and did not achieve it with his own merits?”

As the young man passed him, Zoemi closed the door ad followed after him at a close distance that would allow him to jump if his employer needed protection.

“He is the leader of the prominent Heavenly Archer sect, and he reached the seventeenth star of the law of Sagittarius.”

Alan leaned back and pointed out as if that was clearing some things out, but the black-haired man chose to be stubbornly uncooperative in that single instance…

“Then I am just that strong, this isn’t about me. Maybe he should have worked harder on his first impression-making skill instead?”

Zoemi scoffed and threw his hands up in a theatrical hissy-fit.

“To his defense, he arrived here believing that he will be subjugating a dark sect member.”

Even in the potentially dangerous situation, they were in, Alan could not help but snicker at Zoemi’s reaction before hurriedly making sure that the black-haired man isn’t actually angry for real.

“And is that supposed to be my fault? I didn’t call him up on myself and was quite transparent about having no connection with any dark sect, to begin with.”

Zoemi raised his brow and asked in a slightly irked voice, barely stopping himself from saying more than just one or two bad words addressed to Alan’s parents.

“I know, I know. Was your first encounter with anyone from the dark sect back in that small village in the sea of trees?”

“Obviously, do you think that such a small settlement could have a… Oh, you clever boy…”

Alan asked lightheartedly, without even looking at the black-haired man following, making him slip up and spew the truth that he was hiding – Zoemi realized his mistake but by that point, he could only smirk and shake his head,

“Where did you realize that Zoey was a dark sect member?”

The black-haired ma asked carefully observing the surroundings as they were passing to make sure that they are not being eavesdropped on. Luckily, the building seemed empty whether it was because of the inhabitants being busy with duties and training or for some other reason.

“Right from the start. The backlash on the law of Scorpius that he suffered was waaaaay too much for the supposed second star level that he should have been on.”

Alan shrugged his shoulders and stretched having one of his words extend together with his joints.

“There is no normal way to go beyond the talent that you are bestowed at birth – that’s why not everyone chooses the path of martial arts. If your path ends at the second star, it stays there. That’s it. Honestly, Zoey was either overconfident or stupid in picking the law of Scorpius to cultivate. If it was a law of Capricorn or Taurus, it would take years for anyone to notice a thing.”

The young man explained while in an excellent mood over the remark he read as a compliment.

“But he probably believed that the danger of both the law of Scorpius and the danger connected with cultivating using the spiritual energy of other human beings would be offset by his star level of the law of Aries. Once again – either overconfident or a foolish assumpti…”

Alan hummed stepping lightly through the hallway leading to the courtyard of the Great Ram sect, when suddenly he felt Zoemi’s hand on his shoulder and turned around wide-eyed.”

“…on…? Is… is there something wrong?”

The young martial artist asked in hesitation, worried by the look on the black-haired man’s face.

“It is. Stay behind my back and do not move an inch. Activate the same laws you did when hunting the Bull-ape.”

Zoemi nodded, stepping in front of the young man, straightening his back and glaring in pure anger at the door out, even though they weren’t open…

…the door that was getting closed only at nighttime was shut even though it was still a lot of time until dusk…

…not to mention that the entire building was conveniently empty allowing both him and Zoemi to have a comfortable talk…

“Law of Aries. Law of Virgo. Law of Taurus… Zoemi, there’s no way that…?”

Alan first followed Zoemi’s instruction completely and only then questioned it afterward when…

*BOOOOM* x99999

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

The concentrated volley of star power ERASED the building they were about to exit from existence, and kept going until the accumulated power caused a spectacular explosion that shook many other structures – not even just within the Great Ram sect but the city surrounding it too.

———-

The head of the justice magistrate, Daniel, lowered his hand and tall the forty-eight martial artist he came with followed suit as the dustcloud their synchronized attack caused.

“…”

The beloved child of Sagittarius, Aaron, the only one from the group who did not partake in the attack, was standing on the side looking rather upset.

“It is hard when a family member turns away from justice and steps onto a path of the dark sect, but you have made the right choice.”

“It’s what should have been done”

“We believed that something can be done, but as you could see, the dark sect sent one of their most powerful members…

Daniel said to Viola and Steven, Alan’s parents, who came up with some rather outlandish responses.

“Who knows, that black-haired man could even be a vice leader or even a leader of one of the dark sects…? You might have withheld some information but considering it involved your only daughter and that you ended up revealing the truth when you realized how strong the man manipulating her was, it’s all pardoned.”

The steel-gray-haired man spoke with a profound expression, speaking loud enough for the shocked members of the Great Ram’s sect who were ordered to evacuate the building shortly before it was wiped out from existence.

The thing was, their shock actually had little to do with the destruction and more with the exchange between the vice-leader of the Great Ram sect and the leader of the Heavenly Archer sect instead.

Because only a few minutes earlier, right after Zoemi and Alan left the young man’s room, Daniel was shouting at Viola and Steven.

Many threats about the consequences of tricking the justice magistrate, putting a false dark sect member warning, and then humiliating him, the leader of the Heavenly Archer sect were brought up…

…until Viola came up with an excuse…