Awakening the Divine Spark

"Now then. Let’s talk!" After Victoria sat down, Mo Qingsha said, and filled his and another glass, "What happened?"

"You see ..." Elder Wang began, but his voice not loud enough or Elder Su never intended to let him speak.

She said, "I’m Sect Affairs Hall’s Elder Su Zixuan. Last year our sect master was poisoned twice and afterwards lie in coma until he was killed several days ago during an all-out open attack that our sect suffered."

She stated her status, presenting herself as the representative of the sect which actually aligned with her duties. The problem was how she voiced the report, indicating that everything that happened was kind of the Nethermoon sect’s fault.

Mo Qingshan might be under a slight buzz from all the drinking, but he wasn’t an idiot. He picked up on the nuance and asked, "Twice? And an all-out attack on the sect? How could that happen?"

"I’m ashamed to report, that it was a joint operation of three sects – Blackwater, Shattered Sigil and Iron Maw, who, with the help of two of our elders and a couple of thousands of hired mercenaries, poisoned our sect master first and then attacked." Elder Su said.

"So your elders worked together with the enemy ... where are they now? Did you attack the sect that they are hiding in?" Mo Qingsha asked.

It was baffling how the earlier embarrassment of the disciples turned into a sarcastic humiliation of the whole sect. No one was prepared for such turn of events, except for Elder Su, who continued to pile on.

"Reporting to Junior Sect Master Mo!" She said, "One of the elders was killed during the attack, but the other captured. Unfortunately she committed a suicide right after thus we couldn’t get any information from her. The captured mercenaries also weren’t helpful – from what we gathered, the attack was prepared in a rush."

"Did you punish the sects who invaded you?" Mo Qingsha asked.

"Not yet, Junior Sect Master Mo. Left without a leader the Nethermoon sect is experiencing chaotic times. Different elders give different orders, and we’re basically stuck because of inability of our law enforcers to maintain order." Most of the people around the table looked at Elder Su’s faked anxiousness with disgust, but no one said anything. There was no reason to start an argument now.

"Let me summarize then ... no leadership, enemies come and go as they wish, your own protectors are doing their own thing ... and you didn’t even retaliate." Mo Qingsha’s expression was full of ridicule. Then he turned to Victoria, and asked, "What do you think about it?"

Obviously she had no clue about the local politics, but she had taken part in countless Royal, and later Imperial, Councils from the early childhood. For her the shortcomings were too obvious from the exaggerated report. She had seen many officials like Elder Su and didn’t fall for the play.

"The problem is the lack of a strong leader." Victoria honestly said, "The elders are clearly competing for the sect master’s position, but no one is strong enough to take the lead. Probably the fact that two halls are without elders create even larger infighting. Everyone is trying to establish their advantage by increasing the amount of support within the sect and using outside forces."

The summary was spot on, but what left the crowd speechless was her voice. Although she spoke dry facts, the sound of her speaking more resembled a gentle music or even a morning bird’s song. Most of the people even held their breaths after the first words, enjoying the tone more than the content.

Mo Qingsha was stunned even more than the rest, but recovered first.

While pouring another glass, he said, "Perfect! I couldn’t have said it better myself! But you see, dear, the Nethermoon sect is the subsidiary of my Celestial Abyss. It’s kind of my job to take care of it. What should I do now?"

Victoria slightly flinched at the dear part, but recovered, and said, "Nothing!"

Besides Mo Qingsha there wasn’t a person at the table who enjoyed their conversation. Even Elder Su regretted staging the disciples performance earlier, because the sudden variable could easily destroy all her carefully tailored plans. A drunk and horny guy like him was unpredictable.

"Care to explain?" The more he talked to Victoria, the more he grew to like her attitude, "If I do nothing, the sect might fall apart. Celestial Abyss can’t allow for such disgrace to happen."

"There’s nothing complicated about this." Victoria said, "The strongest person should become the sect master, kill all the enemies that were captured to set an example. Afterwards destroy the three sects behind the attack. The land has to be ruled by an iron fist!"

To her these were the basics and this was how she actually felt. She didn’t even notice how she slammed her fist on the table with the last sentence.

But while everyone was left speechless by the audacity, Mo Qingsha patted her on the leg, and said, "Calm down, it’s fine. I agree with you!"

People around the table didn’t notice, but after the friendly pat, his hand remained on Victoria’s thigh. She was paralyzed from shock and anger, but at the same time – fear. The look that the man gave her made shivers run down her spine. For some reason she found it impossible to move a muscle.

"Khem ... disciple Victoria!" Elder Wang was the only one who dared to break the awkward moment of silence.

He had hard time figuring out how to address her now, given the fact that Mo Qingsha had basically made her his own plaything, but in the end tried to offer her a path of return. Junior sect master was a pervert and a bully, but he wouldn’t blatantly force her right there on the table.

"It’s not that simple." Elder Wang continued, using the opportunity to strike back at Elder Su and Mo Qingsha at the same time, "There are rules which, in fact, are issued by the Celestial Abyss sect. We can’t murder anyone without a proper trial, we’re not common bandits. And the retaliation will be accordingly organized, but we have to allow our disciples to mourn their friends first."

If Victoria could, she would loudly snort at the elder’s words. Unfortunately, all she managed was to give a stare full of hate toward the man who still dared to hold his hand on her thigh. In all of her life this was the first person who allowed himself to touch her this way, and on any other occasion he would’ve lost his hand first and head right after.

Mo Qingsha was amused to no end. He couldn’t care less about a medium sized sect like Nethermoon. But the jewel he had found was priceless.

Victoria was slightly old-ish, but untamed and wild. He loved how she trembled under his touch, and the feeling of suppressing her was even more exhilarating. What made it all even more satisfying was that even an elemental lord like him struggled to mentally overpower a puny elemental master.

"Alright! I see you have plans how to deal with the situation." Mo Qingsha said, not taking his eyes off Victoria, "Elder Wang, I’ll trouble you to open a rift to the Celestial Abyss. I have some urgent matters to attend to."

Everyone present knew what the urgent matters were, but still blanked out in shock at the unexpected turn of events. Basically, apart from emptying the sect master’s stash of alcohol and humiliating hundreds of disciples, the junior sect master hadn’t done anything.

The most disappointed was Elder Su, but she saw the light at the end of the tunnel, when Mo Qingsha, before stepping through the rift, with Victoria by his side, said, "I’ll return in two or three months. Meanwhile, please clean up the mess."

The implications were clear. Before his return, the sect had to pay back the attackers, elect missing elders, and, preferably, select candidates for the sect master’s position.

For the past tens of millennia the last word at electing the sect master had always been reserved for the representative of the Celestial Abyss Sect. They had always went with the majority, but now there was an element of unpredictability.

If the junior sect master hasn’t lost his interest in Victoria yet, or exactly the opposite – for some reason was dissatisfied with her, the results of the next meeting would be hard to foresee. Neither Elder Wang nor Elder Su wanted that, just like their supporters.

The coming months promised to be filled with diplomatic battles. Elder Wang hated it, especially since it was Elder Su’s field of expertise.