The supreme lord smiled at their reaction. He’d deliberately stoked the crowd’s anger and hostility towards their common enemy.

When he’d first established the sect, he’d been worried Veluriyam would be too intimidating a threat for him to gather enough powerhouses. But things had gone much smoother than he’d anticipated, and he’d successfully roped in a group of experts thanks to underhanded tactics.

Afterwards, the order’s ambitious creed had gradually spread through word of mouth, attracting equally ambitious masters to its doors.

Wandering cultivators, sect figures, remnants of Pillfire and of the Eternal Celestial Capital, or even some old monsters hidden from the world for many years — an assortment of people from all walks of life had joined the rising faction. 

The supreme...