MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 1222: City

Anthony’s senses snapped back into place, and he found himself floating in the sky above what seemed to be an expansive city.

“You will be meeting a few people, some of my trusted advisors, so be on your best behaviour and maintain your composure,” Nathaniel spoke as they arrived at his sect.

Anthony nodded. It wasn’t like he was going to do anything erratic to begin with.

“Is that the sect?” Anthony asked as he pointed at what seemed to be an extremely secluded area. Although people still moved around there, it wasn’t nearly as crowded as the people moving throughout the outer areas of the city.

“No, the entire city is my sect. What you are pointing at is the area reserved for the Core Elders of the sect,” Nathaniel replied.

Anthony was left stunned. Below him were millions of people, yet the Founder was telling him they were all part of the sect. His All Seeing Eyes zoomed downward, his vision picking up the presence of several normal people.

“There are normal people in your sect?” Anthony asked.

At this moment, Anthony couldn’t fly by himself yet. He had lost his ability to fly the moment he ascended into the Ecliptica Galaxy.

“Obviously. Although they remain in the outer areas. I allowed normal people in a couple of thousand years ago in order to give the sect life. I don’t need a bunch of old people and arrogant cultivators running around all the time,” The Sword Ruler explained. “And before you ask, no, no harm comes to them, as anyone who causes problems for the mortals within my sect is personally killed by me and hung outside for everyone to see. Be they cultivators or mortals, they receive the same punishment,” he continued.

Anthony didn’t say anything. Obviously, in a situation where a chicken and a wolf were kept in the same pen, the wolf would naturally make a move. But with something akin to a lion watching over the wolf, the wolf couldn’t make a move, forcing peace, which over time would simply become the norm.

Obviously, there would still be small skirmishes here and there. After all, not everyone was a saint, and conflicts were bound to arise regardless.

But with sheer, uncompromising brutality, The Sword Ruler had achieved a remarkable semblance of balance.

Anthony could see normal people selling food, clothes, fruits, tools, ornaments, and countless other everyday necessities, living their lives peacefully beneath the protection of the sect.

“We will be flying over them and heading straight to the outer area where the Outer Disciples are,” Nathaniel said. He touched Anthony’s shoulder, and together they vanished from their position once again.

They appeared before a huge gate that seemed to separate the disciples from the mortals. The guards at the gate immediately froze the moment their eyes landed on Nathaniel.

“We greet the Sect Leader!” they all bowed immediately, respect and awe filling their voices as their greetings overlapped into a unified chorus.

Nathaniel didn’t speak. He simply stepped forward, entering through the gate without even glancing in the guards’ direction. Anthony silently followed behind, his Emperor Demeanor activating passively, his entire bearing changing into one befitting a supreme ruler.

But the biggest change was Nathaniel. The man who had spoken so freely and smiled earlier was no longer speaking or laughing. He simply walked with a calm, unreadable expression as everyone they passed instinctively bowed in reverence, scarcely daring to raise their heads.

Anthony wasn’t surprised that they held such emotions toward Nathaniel. After all, from the novels he had read in his past life, he had always known that Sect Leaders were almost always the strongest individuals within their sects. It was also exceedingly rare for anyone who wasn’t an Elder to ever meet the Sect Leader. After one encounter, seeing him again might take a decade or even an entire century, depending on circumstance.

Anthony could feel countless eyes drilling into him, their numbers easily surpassing three million as they were scattered across the enormous expanse. He could clearly sense their curiosity. After all, none of them had ever seen him before, and anyone walking directly behind their Sect Leader could hardly be an ordinary individual.

Anthony understood what Nathaniel was doing. Although the man hadn’t uttered a single word, he was subtly announcing Anthony’s arrival to everyone present. Anthony couldn’t help but feel like a peacock being displayed before the masses, but he merely shook his head inwardly, finding that he had no real issue with it.

After the Outer Disciples’ area, they arrived at the Inner Disciples’ area. The same scene repeated itself, but Anthony could tell that their numbers had reduced greatly. Here, there were fewer than a million disciples, numbering around five hundred thousand. From there, they entered the area of the Core Disciples, which housed just over a hundred people.

The numbers were decreasing at a staggering rate.

Anthony noticed that every sect disciple in each area wore a different colour of robe, yet each individual had designed or styled their robe according to their own preferences, although most simply wore the standard design without making any alterations.

Throughout the entire process of walking from the outermost area to this moment, Nathaniel hadn’t spoken once. But the moment they stepped into a place that seemed even more secluded than anywhere else they had passed through, he finally broke the silence.

“This is the area for the disciples known as the Above,” Nathaniel stated.

“The Above?” Anthony asked rhetorically.

“Yes. They are the disciples who have attained the highest prestige within the sect while also possessing the greatest talent,” Nathaniel explained.

“How many are there?” Anthony asked.

“Ten. Seven men and three women,” Nathaniel replied calmly.

Naturally, rumours had already begun to spread about the extremely handsome unknown young man who had walked across the sect alongside the Sect Leader. Some couldn’t help but speculate that he was a distinguished visitor, while others wondered if he was a genius whose talent surpassed even that of the Above Disciples, enough to warrant the Sect Leader personally escorting him through the sect.

Anthony nodded and said nothing more. Soon, they arrived at the area Anthony had pointed at earlier. He could immediately sense an immense amount of Origin Essence saturating the atmosphere, so dense that even breathing seemed to nourish the body.

They came to a stop before a massive building. Anthony observed it quietly for a brief moment before following behind Nathaniel as the latter walked inside.

‘It seems I’ve ascended to some kind of Murim Realm,’ Anthony mused to himself.

Within a couple of minutes, after turning several corners through long, elegant corridors adorned with intricate carvings and ancient decorations, they arrived before a magnificent golden door with two guards standing vigil on either side. Upon seeing Nathaniel, the guards merely bowed without uttering a single word before respectfully pushing the enormous doors open for him.