"Byron Cutmore, Exalted Sovereign of Cloudpeak Sanctuary, has lost all cultivation!" "After deliberation among the Sanctuary's elders, we hereby remove Byron Cutmore from the position of Sovereign Lord. Effective immediately, he is expelled from the Sanctuary!" "For all eternity, he is forbidden to set foot in the Sanctuary again!" "The position of Sovereign Lord will be assumed by the Grand Elder, Thiago Quinny!" In the center of the grand hall, a young man in brocade and fine robes swept his gaze across the crowd with a mocking curl to his lips. Not a single person stepped forward to speak for him. Their expressions were eerily uniform: disgust, contempt, outright rejection. "Sovereign Lord, what are you waiting for?" an elder drawled. "Do you want this old man to escort you out personally?" "The sect fed you for three years," another said, voice cold and righteous. "Be satisfied. For the sect's future, you should leave." "Hmph!" someone snorted. "Cloudpeak Sect is a dignified Sanctuary. How could our Sovereign Lord be a piece of rubbish? Get out, and don't force our hand!" "…." Byron Cutmore looked around one last time. Then he smiled, easy and unrestrained, and nodded. "Three years ago, I never wanted to inherit my father's position as Sovereign Lord." "It was you. All of you. You shoved me onto that throne." "And once my 'use' ran out, you decided to throw me out of the sect." "What you don't understand is this: the title of Exalted Sovereign you treasure so dearly means less than filth to me." "Hahahaha! Good!" "From this day forward, I, Byron Cutmore, have nothing to do with Cloudpeak Sect ever again!" With that, he turned and strode out of the grand hall without looking back. Outside, every disciple of Cloudpeak Sect watched him go, their eyes carrying a trace of reluctance. During Byron's time as Sovereign Lord, the cultivation resources he provided had been lavish beyond belief. The disciples had admired him from the bottom of their hearts. But disciples were only disciples. Not one of them dared to step forward and say a single word. Half a quarter-hour later, Byron walked out of the sect he had lived in since childhood. A boy and a yellow dog left with him. Standing beyond the mountain gate, Byron turned back and stared at the plaque above the archway. A storm of memories rose in his chest. Byron had been a transmigrator, born into Cloudpeak Sanctuary, the number one sect in the Eastern Wilderness. His father had been the Sovereign Lord of Cloudpeak Sect, and Byron, like the protagonist of every transmigration tale, had possessed talent that could only be called heaven-defying. With Cloudpeak Sanctuary's full backing, he had carved through opponents like slicing melons, crushing geniuses from every faction and making the title of "Eastern Wilderness's number one sect" unshakably real. Back then, everyone had offered him flattery, reverence, submission. Then, three years ago, the Spirit Beast Clan had erupted in a riot. Byron had been swallowed by a beast tide. His parents had paid with their lives to drive the tide back and save him. Byron's cultivation had been crippled in that battle. He had tried countless methods, but none of them restored what he had lost. Because Byron had once taken a master in the Central Region of Mystpeak Continent, the elders had still allowed him to remain the Exalted Sovereign of Cloudpeak Sanctuary. But a few days earlier, someone from the Central Region had arrived with news: that mighty expert had struck Byron's name from the list of disciples. Overnight, Byron's position as Exalted Sovereign became a joke. "Heh." Byron's laugh came out thin. "Back then, you insisted I inherit the Exalted Sovereign's seat because you wanted to borrow my so-called master's reputation." "Then the moment I stopped being useful, you tossed me aside like trash." "That's what 'cold-blooded' looks like." "But my father's Cloudpeak Sect… you really thought I'd hand it over that easily?" "Cloudpeak Sect…" "We'll meet again." His words fell, and Byron turned away with a carefree stride, not sparing Cloudpeak Sect a shred of nostalgia. The boy and the dog followed in silence. [Detected: host has severed all attachment to Cloudpeak Sect. Initiating Eternal Strongest Sect System.] [Please proceed to the designated coordinates to establish a sect and achieve the title of strongest sect.] [Beginner gift pack has been issued. Open it?] Byron lifted an eyebrow at the glowing panel that appeared before him. A system. The Eternal Strongest Sect System. Perfect timing. You kicked me out of the sect? Fine. I'd found my own. What I lost today, I'd take back a hundredfold in the future. "Open the beginner gift pack." [Beginner gift pack opened. Congratulations to host for obtaining: Supreme Celestial Body Activation Card x1 (usable only on host's personal disciple), Supreme Celestial Art x1, Sect Construction Card x1, Sect NPC Grand Elder (Great Emperor Realm; cannot leave sect territory).] [Note: All items can only be used within the sect.] [Sect coordinates: Mystpeak Continent, Eastern Wilderness, Vastyr Empire, East Sea Coast region.] Byron stared at the items in the system inventory and fell into silence. Good lord. This system really knew how to show its 'support.' It gave the host not a single benefit. Not even a scrap. The rewards were all for disciples instead. At the mention of a personal disciple, Byron glanced at the boy beside him and spoke softly, "Nathaniel, you could've stayed in the Sanctuary." The boy clenched his fists, his voice low and steady. "My life was given to me by master. For as long as I live, I'll stay by master's side." "Don't worry, master. I'll provide for you from here on out." "My talent isn't great, but feeding the two of us and Goldie won't be a problem!" "Woof!" Goldie barked excitedly. Byron reached out and ruffled the boy's hair. "Nathaniel, we're going to Vastyr." "Alright! I'll do whatever master says!" The boy's name was Nathaniel Urwin. Three years ago, Byron had plunged into the beast tide because he had gone back to save him. After the tide receded, Nathaniel had taken the cultivation-crippled Byron as his master, and he had followed him out of Cloudpeak Sect without hesitation. As for the yellow dog at their side, it was a mutt Nathaniel had raised. … Inside Cloudpeak Sect's grand hall, the elders were in the middle of congratulating the former Grand Elder, Thiago Quinny, on his ascension to Sovereign Lord when an old man suddenly appeared at the entrance. "Thiago Quinny! You forced the Sovereign Lord out. Aren't you afraid of karma coming for you?" Seated high above them, Thiago let out a light chuckle. "Tch. This Exalted Sovereign didn't kill him outright only because I respected his father. You still wanted that rubbish to stay and waste the sect's resources?" "I think you've gone senile." "You!" The old man took a step forward, still trying to argue, when the Cloudpeak Sect's upper ranks in the hall struck at once. Thiago snorted. "Throw this old thing into the Cloud Prison and wait for sentencing." "Pah! Barrett Quinny, you'll die a miserable death!" "You forgot how the old Sovereign Lord granted you the path of cultivation?" "One day, the Sovereign Lord will come back and take your dog life…" After the old man was dragged away, Thiago felt as if something had lodged in his chest. He ordered, "Bring the Ten Thousand Mile Viewing Mirror." Before long, an ancient bronze mirror was carried forward. Thiago poured Spiritual Power into it. Instantly, the mirror revealed the figures of Byron and his master-disciple pair, along with a yellow dog. In the mirror, Byron seemed to sense something. He snapped his head around. For a heartbeat, it was as if Byron had returned to three years ago, to the era when he had swept through every genius in the Eastern Wilderness. That razor-sharp gaze made Thiago's heart jolt. Crack, crack, crack! Several fissures burst across the bronze mirror. "Not good!" Thiago hurriedly cut off the flow of Spiritual Power, his heart climbing into his throat. That rubbish only looked once. Why would the Ten Thousand Mile Viewing Mirror shatter? Could it be… fate still favored Byron? But he was crippled. Did that mean everything I've done was for nothing? After a long silence, Thiago spoke through clenched teeth. "Third. Kill him in secret." "Yes, Father." … "Master? What is it?" Nathaniel Urwin noticed Byron's expression shift and asked with concern. "It's nothing," Byron said. "We move faster. We'll reach Cloudpeak City and take the Path Boat to Vastyr." That sensation of being watched made Byron's skin crawl. He sprang up onto the dog's back and rode Goldie straight toward the massive city in the distance. "Woof?" "Huh? Master!" Nathaniel blurted. "Goldie's still young. You can't ride him!" "Woof, woof, woof!" "Both of you, stop whining," Byron snapped. "This master doesn't have cultivation anymore. You think I want to ride a dog?"