Ryu's forehead wrinkled as he allowed his First Sister's words to sink in. But, even after a few moments, even the premise was difficult to accept.
In the martial world, there were six Planes – three mortal and three immortal. The Plane the Tor Kingdom resided on might be mortal, but it was the highest of the three Mortal Planes. This meant that among mortal cultivators, the experts of the Natural Order Sect were the very best. Simply put, no one on this Plane had the power to destroy them, especially not so quickly that information of an attack wouldn't be disseminated before information of its destruction was.
This meant one thing and one thing only: Whoever destroyed this sect did it so swiftly that not even a call for help could be levied.
The Second Princess showed a rare serious expression while Imperial Doula Miriam's frail, old hands trembled. Ryu's little niece didn't seem to understand the gravity of the information, so she only continued to play. But, it was clear that her demeanor didn't speak for everyone.
The First Princess released her son, allowing the two little cousins to play with one another as a tight frown took over her beautiful features.
"Who could have done this?" Isla finally asked.
How could Dahlia have an answer? The only reason she knew this information was because their husbands had sent a messenger beast. In the letter, they all but commanded their two wives to not travel back to the Sect at this time in case whoever was responsible was still at large. The truth was that if the Natural Order Sect couldn't survive, Tor Kingdom had no chance. But, it was at least safer than being alone on the road.
"It was likely an Immortal Plane expert."
The casual, nonchalant voice shattered the tense atmosphere. After he finished speaking, Ryu had already gone back to meditating as though his words needed no more explanation.
Suddenly, a twist at his ear snapped him out of focus. "Don't leave your big sisters hanging. Do you want me to teach you a lesson, little brat?"
"Ah, ah, okay." Ryu rubbed his ear, full of grievances. One of his sisters was a toddler in a woman's body while the other was still a school bully. When would they ever grow up?
"There's not much explanation needed. The Mortal Plane doesn't have experts capable of taking out a Sect. Even if the three remaining Sects joined forces against one, although the one would surely be defeated, it wouldn't end so quickly that news of an attack wouldn't reach us."
"What about a beast hoard?" The Second Princess asked.
Ryu shook his head again. "That's even more unlikely. Even the so-called "King" beasts of this Plane are only of the Fourth or Fifth Order at most while not even a Sixth Order beast could fulfill the task so cleanly and quietly."
"How can you be so sure?" First Princess Dahlia couldn't help but asking. Although she loved this little brother of hers, he was a blind cripple who hadn't cultivated a day in his life. To top it off, the strength of individual sects was a closely guarded secret – no one but they knew their limits.
"Their secrets aren't so hard to see through." Ryu calmly explained. "The three sects, or now, I guess, two, were both wary of your Heavenly Body Sect because our Tor Clan birthed three Earth Skeletal Grade experts. This is public knowledge. Everyone knows it.
"Father is turning sixty-three soon yet hasn't been taken away by the sect, which means he hasn't entered the Spiritual Severing Realm. This is also public knowledge. Everyone knows it.
"Judging by that, we can say that Earth Grade talents are rare. We can also judge their cultivation speed by using third brother, father, and grandfather as measures. If we factor in their lifespans, a good estimate isn't impossible. Even if I overestimate, I'd still be correct."
The two Princesses and Imperial Doula Miriam sighed. Why was it impossible for them to have one conversation with this little boy without being awed? Was he really trying to convince them that such closely guarded secrets were easily revealed simply by using public knowledge everyone should be aware of? Wouldn't those old ancestors of the sect commit suicide if they understood this?
"Doesn't this mean that we're all doomed?" The Second Princess said worriedly. "If this matter was caused by the Immortal Plane, what chance do the rest of us have?"
Ryu remained silent for a moment. The truth was that the Immortal Plane would never get involved in conflicts of the Mortal Plane as long as a certain balance was maintained. In fact, the current system of the Mortal Plane was put in place by Immortal Sects and Clans in order to facilitate a greater flow of talents to their pool of experts.
Many epochs ago, the Mortal Planes were awashed with war and blood. In the beginning, the Immortal Plane ignored these matters as it had nothing to do with them, but soon even the Immortal Plane became embroiled in their own struggles. As a result, various Immortal Clans and Sects began to seek out talent from lower Planes. However, with them all dying so frequently, it was impossible to do so with any sort of efficiency.
It was in response to this need that the Immortal Planes set out to reform the Mortal Plane. In the end, the Four Kingdom and Four Sect system was put in place. Each Kingdom would be backed by a single Sect, thus separating the matters of cultivators and mortals. Kingdoms would funnel resources to the Sects by various means while the Sects would provide a baseline of protection.
This system set a delicate balance, allowing Sects and Kingdoms to compete within their own lanes, but also controlling the level of bloodshed to acceptable levels. So, it was obvious why while his elder sisters worried over the potential attacks of this mysterious Sect destroyer, Ryu was more worried about the impact the unbalancing of this system would cause. With its backer gone, what would happen to the Opes Kingdom? How would the other Kingdoms react? Would the now ancient laws still be followed?
Eventually, Ryu shook his head, suddenly laughing.
"Why are you laughing?" The First Princess frowned, pulling on her little brother's already reddened ears.
Ryu coughed lightly, pulling himself away.. "I just had a funny thought. Wouldn't it be amusing if the only reason the Natural Order Sect was destroyed was because their name was too arrogant?"