The same mountain, same waterfall, same pavilion, and the same people. However, the atmosphere was a bit different.
The left-wing advisor was still trying to cope with the changes, just like the many generals and their lieutenants on his side. As for Roxfield, he sat on his high chair in a new set of regal clothes, his aura restrained so much that even the noise of the crashing waterfall washed over the pavilion.
This was a clear sign of presenting the attitude of joining the discussion, as he hadn't isolated himself from the world or the people below.
"I'm curious," Roxfield turned his gaze toward the left-wing advisor.
The man immediately stood up and bowed at the waist, though his figure and movement didn't betray his anxiousness.
He said, "How can I indulge you, Your Eminence?"
Roxfield tapped his armchair gently and asked, "How many of you are there? Like, the smart guys."
Roxfield had never been one to care about these details as these were matters under the jurisdiction of his subjects. However, he was a little intrigued now after the encounter with Emily and Leonardo.
The left-wing advisor was a bit surprised, but he nonetheless answered, "Her Eminence has three loyal advisors and… One personal attendant…"
The left-wing advisor hesitated a bit before he remembered Leonardo's words during the war conference. Leonardo's instructions were simple, and they were but a few words.
"When the winds change, don't hide anything."
The left-wing advisor immediately understood that whenever the Commanding General of the Renhuang Sector changed his mind, he shouldn't hide anything since the man valued loyalty above all else in an alliance. Thus, after some deliberation, he added Leonardo to his answer even though the latter wasn't particularly an 'Advisor' yet.
Of course, Roxfield noticed the hesitation and was even more intrigued, raising an eyebrow. "Is there anything special about that attendant?"
The left-wing advisor kept silent for a while as he struggled with his ego. Eventually, he gritted his teeth and said, "He's… very smart; I reckon that Her Eminence had personally raised him secretly."
Roxfield's eyes flashed as he said, "Elaborate!"
Anyone could tell that the Commanding General wasn't angry but rather very interested. As for the other generals, they weren't smart people and they were more used to following orders from their Commanding General and acting accordingly with the changes on an open battlefield.
"It all started two weeks ago…" The left-wing advisor felt disgusted inside since he lost the bet. It was a simple bet; if he could convince the Renhuang Sector to follow the alliance terms before the Commanding General left the meeting, he would have won.
He had been going on and on for almost two hours yet the Commanding General barely had a change in expression. Thus, since his methods failed, he will follow the instructions according to the bet and not conceal anything.
Hearing that this so-called Attendant Ye was a Tier 1 cultivator, the generals and lieutenants scoffed scornfully. As for Roxfield, his eyes flashed but he didn't say anything.
He secretly felt proud about his keen vision as he had swept through Leonardo's concealment at a glance, immediately figuring out he was a Tier 5 attempting to hide his cultivation. 'Smarts could only get you so far… hmph!'
Nonetheless, even if he was at the bottom of the pyramid for rebirth realm cultivators, he was still better than the lowly mortals. Then, the left-wing advisor eloquently explained in detail how this Attendant Ye delegated potential allies and enemies of the Qing Sector and how to deal with each of them depending on the Commanding General's temperament.
Then, he explained how this Attendant Ye inferred the temperament of each Commanding General based on how they advanced and retreated in the past one thousand years, shocking everyone speechless.
There was a limit to how much information a human brain could process in two weeks, no?
Everyone assumed that despite joining the ranks of the Qing Sector in the last two weeks, the Commanding General of the aforementioned sector must have been updating this Attendant Ye regularly while nurturing him.
Only Emily herself knew that this was false.
Moreover, only Emily had a clear view of how terrifying the calculative abilities of Leonardo's mind are, especially at this moment as she stood face to face with the man himself on a chilly mountain peak.
Leonardo was giving her his back view while she cleaned up her face and wore the mask once more, she then leaned over to pick up the wooden sword that was riddled with chips and holes.
There were thousands of them. If it weren't for the remnant ether infused into the sword, it would have long crumbled away into dust. Emily gently traced her palm along the flat edges of this sword as she infused even more ether into the wood, solidifying its structure.
"What's the name of that sword technique?" Emily asked in a faint voice. Try as she might to recall the technique, the memories were quickly fading from her mind like a trickling stream from a high cliff.
Touching this sword, her muscle memory felt like it could replicate the technique, but her mind and the specific channeling and distribution of energy were hazy; she figured she could at most bring one-tenth of the technique's power based on muscle memory alone.
"Lotus of Heaven and Earth," Leonardo responded after a moment of silence. Then, he shook his head and added, "You shouldn't worry too much about this technique, not even a Tier 9 cultivator is capable of fully mastering it, let alone a mere Tier 7."
Emily's eyes went sharp. "I accomplished it once, I can do it again!"
Leonardo laughed.
Hearing his laughter, Emily felt indignant and spoke calmly, "Let's discuss our terms again; I want that sword technique… Name your price."
"You really don't get it, do you? Do you honestly think it would have been possible to execute those twelve strikes based on your constitution? The fact you can't remember is an indication that your brain couldn't keep up with the process… You only pulled it off because your martial intent is speed oriented; possibly it's something related to kinetic energy."
Even as he spoke, Leonardo projected a thread of ether from his hand and started drawing a diagram in the air; it was a replica of the miniature lotus of twelve petals executed by Emily.
She was excited to see the image as it stroked at her memory, it was a distinct feeling of having something elusive at the tip of one's fingers.
Leonardo didn't tell her that this was the core technique created by Dizmason Eternus during his second life, or that he had mastered it due to Rosaline's soul transferring everything she learned from the inheritance into his mind.
Thinking that he was supposed to gain not one but seven of these ultimate techniques based on Dizmason Eternus' seven lifetimes of constant slaughter, even Leonardo was tempted. However, he shook his head nonetheless and explained.
"Twelve strikes and your brain was on the verge of collapsing… What if I told you the technique had a total of one hundred and eight strikes? The Lotus of Heaven and Earth has the Heaven Chapter of thirty-six strikes and the Earth Chapter of seventy-two strikes. I only gave you the rudimentary twelve strikes from the Earth Chapter, yet look at your condition…"
Even as Leonardo spoke, dense threads of ether rushed from his finger and began to fuse into the diagram as it expanded in size, and the number of petals mounted.
From twelve open petals to an overall seventy-two.
Then, the petals began to rotate and miraculously draw the ether to the center of the lotus, constructing one closed petal at a time till there were thirty-six in total, huddled up as though protecting a precious stamen within.
Emily was at a loss for words as she watched this whole thing unfold. She knew that this technique wasn't something from the Memento Mori from the moment she first executed it. If it were, the world would have long submitted to the ruling of the brotherhood.
She knew she was too weak to execute the attack once more based on the sensation from earlier, but she hadn't expected the powerful strike to be a rudimentary, introductory technique.
Her face instantly went pale as she gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, I don't care… Teach me the rudimentary strikes— that's all I ask for."
Even observing the diagram formed from simple ether threads gave her a headache, let alone the actual technique. Nonetheless, she also understood that if she can't replicate the technique in the future, she would be at a great disadvantage in many battles.
Leonardo was right; her martial intent was related to potential energy and kinetic energy and her specialty was speed. However, this was an attribute lacking martial intent and thus there weren't many options when it came to combat techniques.
Furthermore, she couldn't possibly rely on her secondary martial intent as it would expose her identity as someone related to the Black Market.
Her family didn't have techniques above the 5th tier that suited her martial intent and she couldn't afford 7th tier techniques from the Black Market.
