Riverveil Family Territory. White Jade Capital City.

Seated at the Riverveil Family's grand meeting table were only four figures. At the main seat was Juras Riverveil, and across from him were the leaders of two branch families. The seats to his left were vacant, while on the right sat a cloaked figure who exuded the quiet menace of a seasoned assassin.

Aside from the map depicting all the key features of the Slightveil Plane were several dozen plates of exquisite Spirit Food, sitting on parts of the map that were considered obsolete to the Riverveil Family's future plans.

In another area was a disorganized stack of empty plates, dirty and unwashed with traces of leftover food.

These four had clearly been in this meeting room for several hours, perhaps days—locked in deliberation.

"Su Ming. The matters we discussed earlier, are there any updates?" the Family Head asked the assassin.

"Yes, most of the elites sent with Su Mian have failed to respond to routine communications. Their emergency communicators have activated several times, and their Space Rings have consolidated into one area." the cloaked figure responded.

The Family Head channeled a strand of pure Mana to wrap around some pieces on the board, crushing them into Mana Particles. "We can only assume they've failed their mission. Alert me if any survivors return."

He continued with a question, "What of your nephew?"

"Still alive, it seems. His trump cards have been used, but I can't determine whether he's still in combat. The opponent is at least comparable to the Solar Deity Realm."

Juras was surprised, "That schoolboy? William?"

"Probably not. His progression is too rapid and his foundation would be extremely unstable."

"Then he has more support than we expected. Is the Master of Souls involved?"

"We don't know."

"What about the Filem Academy?"

"We don't know that either. The boy's contact with Filem was extremely brief and he's been spending a lot of time at the Quake Dungeon. Our spy network can't enter the Dungeon undetected."

Juras was bothered by the lack of information, but he couldn't blame Su Ming for their inadequacies. The Slightwing Family possesses equal strength to Riverveil, which makes gathering information a tug of war for both.

As Family Head, it was up to Juras to decide which information was most and least important. He also must make decisions on where to organize the Family's efforts.

Spread too thin and Slightwing will jump at the first opportunity to damage his Family. Group too much and Slightwing will create that opportunity themselves. He thought for a full twenty minutes before speaking again.

"That boy will show up again, but we can't send more to their deaths. If Su Mian can resolve his situation, have him regroup with his army and enter the Realm of Ice. If there's nothing in a day, assign a new leader.

Su Ming... don't go after your nephew. Cultivation is a long road filled with trouble; don't fall into any traps set by the Slightwing Family."

"Yes, Family Head." all three spoke in unison.

"Questions?"

"Just one, Family Head." one of the two branch leaders spoke.

"Ask." Juras waved his hand and drew a goblet of light Spirit Wine to his lips.

"What if that William is the Slightwing Family's trump card for the Competition? Is it possible that he's stronger than we expect?"

Juras narrowed his eyes, "Are you suggesting a Mortal who was last perceived in the Ascension Realm was able to annihilate a group of forty assassins in the Deity Realm, not even allowing them a chance to contact us?"

A diamond box appeared in midair instantly, created using Juras Riverveil's Earth Element. It flew across the table and landed in front of the leader who asked the question.

"Try and take it." Juras said.

"I don't dare."

"Just do it." he ordered.

The leader reached out, but the diamond box narrowly escaped his grasp by a centimeter. The leader used greater speed to reach forward, but the box was always one centimeter away no matter how hard he tried.

"This is the gap between an Ascension Realm and a Deity Realm Cultivator. You should know this, as you were once such a Cultivator yourself." Juras explained.

"That was thirty thousand years ago, Family Head."

Juras nodded, "Regardless. You should understand what I mean by this, but I'll entertain you somewhat. He's important to the Heavens, so we will focus a third of our intelligence network on the boy. If a month passes and your concerns are true, we will make additional preparations."

A third?!? they weren't expecting the Family Head to value a single person so highly!

Su Ming responded from the side while moving several pieces on the board, "It will be done, Family Head. Reallocating a third of our network will take away from our intelligence in these areas."

Juras Riverveil looked at the orange zone on his map, which had been adjusted from four figures to one. "The Realm of Fire?"

"Yes, Family Head." Su Ming started to explain, "We expect Slightwing to make moves in the Realm of Fire soon, but it's out of our control if we want to secure the Realm of Ice. The Realm of Fire is open year-round, but only one percent has been explored thus far.

Even given a hundred years of unrestricted access, the Slightwing Family won't make much progress." he concluded.

Juras nodded, "Triple the pay of the intelligence officers in the Realm of Fire, and request they do what they can to make up for the lost support."

This was directed to the other branch leader, whose branch managed most of the Riverveil Family's spending alongside his usual responsibilities.

"Yes Family Head, it will be done." he responded.

Juras Riverveil remained in place while the branch family leaders and Su Ming left the room, replaced by other officials and local leaders related to his Family.

Handling matters of governance and other menial topics were Juras Riverveil's main priority, otherwise it'd be impossible to manage such a large family. While he idly answered questions and made decisions on the future development of the Riverveil Family, Juras thought about that young Cultivator whose strength far exceeded most geniuses of the past.

The emphasis was on most, but Juras had lived a long, long life. His memory wasn't always reliable when thinking back to events from a hundreds of thousands of years ago.

When was the last time I saw someone like that?

He seemed to remember a frosty aura and an alluring figure, but that was all. Was it a past lover? A friend? An enemy? Juras Riverveil couldn't recall, but even thinking about her aura made icicles form on the room's ceiling.

He listened intently to the whispers of the Earth Element, but it spoke so slowly that Juras was forced to grasp onto individual letters and piece them together. Not only this, but the Language of the Elements is extremely unique compared to the human language that he could only piece together a single word from the scattered letters.

"Tundra..."

Damn it! Why did I have to comprehend the most mute Element of them all! Tell me something useful!