At the top of Peak Thirteen, Liam saw the beautifulndscape that Amzi had ess to every day.


    He looked at the beautiful fjord from the only angle in City Thirteen with ess to this beautiful view and sighed. Despite the darkness of the souls of many of Demon Gate''s members, this seemed like a perfect paradise to live in.


    But Liam tried not to let himself get carried away by the natural beauty of the area. He had his priorities straight and remained silent, with all his ns still in mind.


    Amzi Watt finally opened his mouth after they arrived at his favorite spot in the area. "Young Liam, we met a few weeks ago, but we didn''t get to know each other better then. Let me introduce myself properly to you.


    I am the Guardian of Peak Thirteen, Amzi Watt, a 6-Star Spirit Sky cultivator, member of Demon Gate for 125 years. As an inner member of the sect, I look after the city below us, but I''m part of City Three as a disciple, a member of the Four Leaves faction."


    Liam listened carefully to the man''s presentation, feeling a little awkward about the respect of a powerful fourth realm cultivator, but trying his best to understand what Amzi was getting at.


    "I know you''re part of the Leopards, but I''m here to make you an offer. It was my intention to let you develop on your own without interference in City Thirteen, which is why I didn''t approach you before. But since your Promotion Exam, I''ve been waiting for the opportunity to propose that you join me in my faction."


    "So that''s what the Guardian wants..." Liam muttered as he scratched his chin, not knowing how to handle this situation.


    "Liam," Amzi said quietly, bing more serious. "Don''t think that Leopards will make trouble for you in the inner sect. They might even agree to subordinate themselves to you once you join my group.


    I''m one of the founding members of Four Leaves, so as long as you ept, you''ll have ample benefits in our group, including my appointment to missions aimed at your profession and reduced obligations.


    Note that if you stay in Leopards or even join another group afterwards, you won''t get some of these advantages.


    But you also don''t have to worry about the things that happened in City Thirteen. I personally wouldn''t be against you. We can just be allies, if you want. But I''d rather have you in my group. It''ll be better for you in the short term, but I''ll get a big return in the future."


    The manughed as he finished speaking, switching from his initial serious tone to a more rxed one.


    Amzi''s manner was not like that of the disciples from City Thirteen. He wasn''t a guy who hid his game, but he didn''t use threats or the like.


    "What exactly would I do for you, Guardian? My work will be rted to my profession, I imagine."


    "Yes, initially you wouldn''t have to do much. The other partners will certainly require you to carry out a few missions for them to assess your potential. But once they understand the same as me, you would certainly have room to grow as a Runemaster. We''d give you materials and books and make it easier for you toplete missions for the sect.


    Your job will basically be to be a great Runemaster who we can rely on to arm us with enchanted items in the future."


    "But I''ll be living in City Two. How am I supposed to be in a City Three faction?" Liam asked.


    Amziughed as he realized his own mistake in not exining how the dynamics of the inner wing of the sect worked. "Hmm, it isn''t strange that you think so. We design the outer wing of the sect for disciples topete and push themselves to go further. Although there is alsopetition in the inner ward, it''s different. The cities themselves are not enemies and a disciple from City Four, for example, can even go to City One."


    "I didn''t know that."


    "Don''t worry, you''ll learn all about it in the next few days. In the meantime, do you have any other questions?"


    "What exactly would my benefits be apart from what you''ve already said?" Liam probed, obviously looking for the best deal.


    He didn''t take the kind words of the fat man in front of him entirely seriously. If he refused this deal, he was almost certain to face pressure from the Four Leaves group.


    ''No other group knows about me, so maybe I should already enter the inner ward with a backing.'' He reasoned to himself, ''And he''s right. I''ll get more out of joining another faction. As for the Leopards, I can contribute to them in other ways.''


    Amzi smiled when she saw Liam''s intention. "I can give you resources, rmendations, in short, I have several possibilities in my hands. Just tell me what you want."


    ''Rmendations, huh?'' Liam thought it over and remembered the three rmendations thatpleting the second phase of the Secret Hunt mission guaranteed him. ''Mary, Electa and someone else, I think Ann, would be the ones I''d take straight away. Grace and Nance will get their promotions on their own and if I have one more slot, I can take Joan.''


    He didn''t think about the women outside his current harem of cultivation partners. But Felicity, his ally, and Jane, his friend and ally, should get their promotions within the next few days, too.


    "I want a rmendation for an outer disciple to be an inner disciple," he asked the man, having no difficulty in getting what he was asking for.


    "Then you''ll have your rmendation. As soon as we have an agreement, give me that person''s name and position and I''ll see to it that everything is done during your promotion to the inner wing."


    Liam agreed, then spoke to Amzi about what would happen next, agreeing on terms and signing amitment to Four Leaves.


    He wouldn''t worry about getting a ce for his women in Amzi''s faction. Getting them to go to Leopards would be a good way to head off any problems with the faction and keep this group under his influence.


    At the end of the 15-minute meeting with Amzi, Liam gave Joan''s name and told him about his ns for the next two days. He set off from the top of Peak Thirteen with an agreement that woulde into effect in two days'' time when he set foot in the inner ward of the sect.


    He made his way alone to the Beasts Hall with many things in mind, altering several things he had previously nned.


    ...


    Faced with all the remaining members of Leopards, Liam couldn''t say that he was leaving this faction in a critical situation.


    Although he had made the group lose a lot of its power and was now about to leave the group and take Electa and Mary with him, the group had grown in numbers over thest few weeks. Not only that, but all the members had strengthened by at least one level in thest month and had resources for the next month.


    With the two alliances he was leaving the group, the faction should regain its status in another three months at most.


    And even being temporarily weakened wouldn''t be a problem. With three major factions having fallen in thest month and William about to fight Liam, there would be a power vacuum in the city that wouldst for some time.


    Aware of all this, Liam was at peace with what he had done to this group that had helped him so much over thest three months and when he had finished talking to them, he announced who would be the new faction leader for the area.


    "Jake, from now on, this group will count on you." He pointed toward a 3-Star Spirit Earth cultivator, with over 50 people in that hall at the top of the coliseum apuding the man afterwards.


    Mary also showed a number two for the faction, having already had the opportunity to hear from Liam about the changes to his ns after the action of the two Commanders earlier.


    Mary and Electa were eager to get into the inner area of the sect, particrly as they would have ess to much more abundant resources than they had so far, as well as better services and information on the other side of the fjord.


    They hadn''t known about the Secret Hunt mission until a few hours ago, so the magnificent rewards of this mission surprised them both.


    As for worries, they weren''t thinking so much about the problems of the future. Their focus was on spending thest few hours with Liam and then cheering him on against William. After that, it would be time for them to take their chances within the inner wing of the sect!


    At the end of this meeting with the current members of Leopards, Liam would leave with them for the Lotus Temple, where he would pay for a room for Electa to cultivate alone while she waited for the two of them to cultivate in a collective room.


    Over the next few hours, Liam intended to cultivate for two hours with each of his six cultivation partners and help them all grow a little stronger before heading to the inner wing of Demon Gate.


    Time would fly for all of them and when they least expected it, theirst day together in City Thirteen would be over and it would be the eve of Liam and William''s fight!


    The next morning, the two strongest men in City Thirteen would face each other on the Arena''sbat tform!