It was in the middle of the day, so Elder Andrew had to wait several hours until he attended the nightly meeting with the other elders and the Grand Elder where updates were given to everyone concerning the sect. Since her father was his childhood friend, Elder Andrew did not want to see Laura suffer any injustices, but he knew that if someone found out he had kept a potentially harmful secret to himself, forget about not being an elder, his entire family would be killed in order to keep the rest of the sect functioning.
Given the amount of time he had, once it was time for the meeting between the elders and Grand Elder of the Iron Will Sect, Elder Andrew was ready to report his findings and even came up with several ways that would help both Laura and Leo escape being completely annihilated by the sect as a warning to others. If one's bloodline did not directly show the element they were most in tuned with, it would be different but that was indeed the case in this world so there were very few excuses Elder Andrew could use to try and shield Laura and Leo from immediate danger.
"Reporting to Grand Elder Samuel, training the youths of the sect has continued to go well and some who are under the age of fifteen are already showing signs of achieving Rank 2 as warriors. The other youth you had us pay attention to shows signs to achieve Rank 2 as a mage before the age of eighteen so she may be eligible to be given to you as a personal disciple. I was also told today that a local trader will possibly be stopping by our sect within the week and that the trader has several medical pills which could greatly enhance the next generation of our Iron Will Sect."
"I have personally compiled all of the gold pieces that I have and am willing to use this sum of gold in order to purchase several pills for my grandchildren and hope that Grand Elder Samuel would be willing to allow me to either directly purchase them from the trader or once the trader leaves, to purchase them from the Grand Elder."
All of the elders present showed surprise on their faces since the only traders willing to travel to their village had basic weapons and armor to trade with them and that this would be the first time in a very long time that a trader would put themselves in danger just to sell some basic medical pills that would greatly assist a very weak power such as the Iron Will Sect. Thanks to the local bandit groups and mercenary groups looking to pillage, carrying such pills would mean certain death if discovered since these enemies of the Iron Will Sect were able to appear threatening to the sect which in turn means if the Iron Will Sect would benefit using the pills, their enemies would have the same feelings for themselves.
"That is very good, it seems that for one hundred years now, this region had been forgotten by Mist City due to those ill intentions filling this region making it near impossible for even a sect like ours to have existed and built ourselves up like we have. This change may be the first of many as long as this trader is real and makes it here. As long as they have an inventory full of pills that could help our youths establish a more firm base concerning their strength, it would allow our Iron Will Sect to possibly dominate this forgotten region of ours and see a new golden age!"
Hearing the Grand Elder's words, all of the elders present were very pleased. It was unknown how a trader who would be willing to trade medical pills found out about their sect, but it was very clear that the trader knew what they were doing because if they made contact with the Iron Will Sect and the other surrounding villages in the region that other traders were unwilling to locate and trade with, it would be enough to corner the entire market and would bring endless future benefits once the region was stabilized once again.
Such regions like the one the Iron Will Sect was located in were quite high in number across the empire but some areas were much better than theirs. The reasoning was because the capital of the empire was too far away and because the Imperial Family was not as dominant as in other empires, villains would have an easier time conducting their shady business. Plus, there was never a talent that came from this region to place the eyes of even a second rate organization in the empire to it. Underdeveloped and very weak, unless one had an unimaginable level of wealth, it would be unwise for anyone to want to do anything in the region outside of the nearby city which was still over a week's travel away.
"So Elder Andrew, what news do you have? Your last report was quite good and because of the work you put in, we have four youths who are close to becoming 1 star alchemists. That may not currently help our sect in the short term, but if we could eventually escort them to Mist City, not only could we find them suitable teachers, but it would also slowly build up our influence which would indeed be very good for our future prospects."
The Grand Elder of the Iron Will Sect always treated each elder with respect but Elder Andrew was a bit different due to the fact that he donated a number of scrolls to the sect that would allow those interested in pursuing alchemy as a trade, have a chance. Since this happened roughly eight years ago, the changes that this would bring to the Iron Will Sect were not very noticeable but over time, it could be exactly what they need in order to grow into a 3rd rate power!
"Grand Elder is too kind, but there is something I must report which I found out today. Whether the Grand Elder agrees that this can be a gift from the heavens or some form of an omen given by the heavens is up for you and the others here to decide. I just hope that Grand Elder does not kill the messenger of this report, given the fact that I have always worked diligently for the sect and never once chosen to give favoritism to my loved ones."
Elder Andrew's words caused the other four elders present and the Grand Elder to have confused looks because Elder Andrew always had a positive attitude and would always be truthful while working against anything bad that would impact the sect. Therefore, for him to say such a cryptic thing even caused the Grand Elder's heart to skip a beat before he nodded for Elder Andrew to continue on with his report.
After telling everyone present what had occurred, there was complete silence in the room for several minutes because every elder came to their own conclusions but it was up to the Grand Elder to make the final decision on how to handle Leo and his mother. "It would be best for us to head over and ask Laura about this. Elder Andrew you do not have to worry, but because of your connection with her grandfather, I must ask you to not tag along. Do not worry, nothing bad should occur since it will only be a discussion so we can all figure this out.
