Chapter 360: Major Contributions

The Elder gave a brief introduction of what he had heard from Mishnar. Then, he went back a little in time, explaining the general progress of the war.

Everyone listened in silence, but the light in their eyes betrayed a storm of doubts and confusion. After he finished his report, everyone’s gaze turned toward Priam, who remained quiet and composed on the lowest level of the hall.

"Boy, explain yourself," the Sect Leader ordered bluntly. "All of this is extremely suspicious, and you seem to be the epicenter of all this strangeness. If our sect weren’t apparently winning and doing so well on every front... you wouldn’t even have the right to speak, and we’d extract your memories by force. Tell me: how the hell did you know about all that? And how the hell did you manage to purify the corruption?"

Priam calmly nodded.

"Answering the last question: I discovered that I possess the ability to control and absorb corruption on a minimal level, directly converting it into Ether. I can’t explain all the details, but this ability emerged even before I became a Sage, when my Celestial Core seemed to undergo a sudden change."

That answer made everyone present stare at him thoughtfully.

"You’re an Inborn Celestial..." the red-haired woman beside the Sect Leader murmured. She was the Vice Leader, the Grand Elder of the Ironweald Sect.

"Your Celestial Core changed... This is something that happens to Inborn Celestials when they’re about to awaken all of their Supreme potential," she continued, then turned toward one of the Central Elders.

It was the same scholarly Elder Priam had met before.

The man nodded. "A Supreme Celestial always awakens the Sovereign Manifestation and gains all the abilities that Acquired Celestials already possess innately. However, there are always variations. No two Supreme Celestials are 100% identical, even if they share the same Sovereign Manifestation. Simply put: the Celestial’s Bloodline undergoes a mutation—sometimes subtle, other times chaotic—granting them unconventional abilities."

"Hmm..." The Sect Leader placed a hand on his chin.

Upon hearing the explanation, the eyes of all the Central Elders gleamed with restrained interest.

"We have no way to confirm it without seeing it with our own eyes," the scholarly Central Elder concluded.

"Good. Bring the Wind-Splitting Blade immediately," the Leader ordered without hesitation.

At the very next second, the Grand Elder waved her hand and disappeared into the void.

Just five seconds later, she reappeared. In her hands, she carried a simple dagger, but its silver blade was covered in sinister black runes. Around the weapon, a ring of multicolored runes slowly rotated.

The Sect Leader turned toward Priam.

"Boy, this is a sacred legacy of the Sovereign Goddess. She forged it herself and used it in the past, and it’s an Emperor-grade Ancient weapon. Unfortunately, in a battle long ago, the Sorcerers managed to steal it from the sect and completely corrupted it. Even the weapon’s spirit died... In the end, we recovered it, but we can’t use it."

Priam took a deep breath. ’A dagger left behind by the Sovereign Goddess?’

Only at that moment did he realize that Dandara’s preference for using three daggers had much deeper roots than he had imagined.

He immediately nodded. "If it’s only corruption, I can remove it without any problem. It won’t even take five seconds."

His words plunged the hall into absolute silence, filled with anticipation and distrust.

The Grand Elder smiled softly and floated over until she stopped directly in front of Priam. She looked him straight in the eyes.

Extending her hand, she warned, "I’ll remove the seal. Be careful."

Priam simply nodded and brought his hand to within a few centimeters of the dagger. The next second, the multicolored runes froze in midair.

Then...

"!"

Everyone’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when they saw the corruption embedded in the blade for countless eras move violently, flowing like a storm into Priam.

Three seconds.

It was even faster than he had expected.

Suddenly, the dagger erupted with a sacred and pure radiance, resonating in perfect harmony with heaven and earth.

At the same time, everyone present focused their senses on Priam.

They witnessed the internal transformation taking place: the young man’s meridians were suddenly flooded with a much greater quantity of Ether.

There was no way that Ether could have appeared out of nowhere.

Priam turned toward the platform.

"Did you see that clearly?"

Silence.

No one dared utter a single word. Everyone remained frozen and deep in thought for several long seconds.

The one who finally broke the silence was the Sect Leader.

"I can confirm it: you really did absorb the corruption and use it as an energy source..." he said, his voice carrying a mixture of surprise and excitement. "I’ve heard rumors about races that absorb Yin or related energies to accomplish such a feat... corruption is something extremely complex and fierce, but it seems to be exactly as you say."

Priam smiled when he saw the radiant gleam in the Grand Elder’s eyes as she once again examined the newly purified dagger.

"That explains part of it. But not everything," the Sect Leader continued after mentally recovering.

Priam nodded slightly.

"It’s not difficult to explain. I’m from the Vanculari race, and my Ancient Art teaches me to manipulate soul energy in various ways. I simply captured a few Sorcerers during the battles and used a simple memory-reading technique with the power of the soul. I heard that no one can deal with corruption, which is why they can’t get from the Sorcerers what I can. Without that barrier, it was pretty simple."

Priam began recounting the story from the beginning.

He explained that he had captured dozens of Sorcerer Elders during the first battles. From each one, he had managed to extract a few fragmented memories... which wasn’t entirely true, but it was better not to ’exaggerate’ his abilities.

According to Priam, what he extracted was quite random, but he had gotten lucky enough to obtain crucial information from each target and gradually piece the puzzle together. Little by little, he discovered the next attack locations and, later, the Sorcerers’ ultimate objective: those eight planets.

But he had no idea what their central motive was.

With all this data in his possession, and knowing that the Sorcerers acted with absolute certainty that their information would never leak... it had been incredibly easy to corner them.

Finally, Priam claimed that he had been *very lucky* to obtain clues from their memories about their secret realm in the Eastern Region.

He also didn’t forget to mention that they had two bases. The other one was in the Western Region, although he had no idea where it was or which sect was protecting them.

Thus, he had made use of the Paragon Magic Art he had acquired in another world and borrowed the power of the universal laws to attack them.

It had been an extremely dangerous move in which he could have died, but he had taken the risk to accomplish his objective.

After finishing his explanation up to that point, Priam waved his hand, taking another key piece from his spatial ring.

An Immortal corpse gently floated before everyone.

"I found this corpse during that mission in another world. Alongside it, there was a remnant will belonging to its original owner, with one last remnant of strength. I made a deal with that consciousness so that it would help me once. Using its power, I defeated all the enemies in that place. Now... the will has completely faded away, leaving only this shell."

Priam wasn’t crazy enough to reveal the truth about his syntheses. And there was no more plausible explanation to justify it than the presence of a remnant will capable of controlling the shell. Everyone there knew the terrifying power of a will, especially one left behind by an Immortal being.

Thus, everything became perfectly understandable. Priam had accomplished the feat on his own, orchestrating his own abilities and treasures. He had practically won that war for the sect with the fewest casualties possible.

On top of that, he had exposed the betrayal of the Heavenly River Valley Sect.

Even better... Mishnar had informed the Central Elder beforehand that the Sorcerers’ treasure vault remained intact, overflowing with priceless resources—a spoils haul that would certainly belong to the sect.

Priam put the Immortal corpse away after everyone had thoroughly examined it.

Silence.

He sighed softly, waiting for any further questions.

However, he knew his story had been flawless, leaving no openings for suspicion. Besides, his history within the sect worked heavily in his favor.

Ever since joining the organization, he had helped his branch purge traitors, raised terrifying disciples, and completed a mission considered impossible, benefiting everyone on a monumental scale.

As if that weren’t enough, even before formally joining the sect, Priam had brought back one of their 16 lost Supreme Treasures. His contributions were simply unmatched—and all of this after only a few years in the sect.

After several long minutes of deliberation, the Sect Leader let out a heavy sigh.

"Boy, there is no precedent in our sect’s history for anyone who has contributed so much. Your abilities are an invaluable treasure to us. With you by our side, we may finally be able to turn the situation around and truly counterattack the Sorcerers in the future."

Everyone in the hall nodded, clenching their fists in agreement.

Completely unexpectedly, someone capable of subduing corruption had appeared. That trump card, if used strategically, could change the course of the entire war.

"However, at the same time, our hands are tied because of the laws imposed by the Sovereign Goddess. We can’t grant benefits beyond what the regulations allow. And, if I remember correctly..." He turned toward the Grand Elder.

She immediately nodded. "Priam has already accumulated two maximum-grade contributions to the sect. Upon becoming an inner disciple, according to the rules, he would begin reaping all the benefits he has accumulated. However, now... this third contribution goes beyond the limits and can no longer even be classified under the ordinary ’maximum grade’ category."

"Exactly." The Sect Leader nodded.

He took a deep breath and looked Priam directly in the eyes. After thinking for a moment, he spoke solemnly.

"Priam, as soon as you formally join the inner sect, I will appoint you as the Chief Disciple. This is the highest status a disciple can attain. Your authority will be equivalent to that of an inner Elder. You will be able to do whatever you want, as long as it’s within the rules. You will also have the status to give your opinion and vote on decisions concerning matters of extreme importance, alongside the Central Elders."

"This is only temporary. In the future, you will be able to assume, at the very least, the position of Grand Elder. And, if everything goes well, you may even become the next Sect Leader."

He paused briefly and took a deep breath.

"You will have unrestricted access to everything the sect possesses in its entirety. But, of course, even this isn’t enough to repay the magnitude of your contributions. However, as you grow stronger and use your power to assist us, new doors will open. Our sect may have its limitations, but our universe is vast. Everything will depend on your own abilities."

Priam listened to everything and nodded. He didn’t know whether such a position would truly be useful in practice, but if it was the highest level accessible to a disciple, he was already satisfied.

Seeing the contentment on Priam’s face, the Sect Leader nodded in agreement.

"All of this will only take effect after you pass the inner disciple test. However... so that you don’t leave here empty-handed right now..." He turned toward the Grand Elder.

The Grand Elder, in turn, shrugged, not quite knowing what to say. Then, she turned toward the scholarly Central Elder, who had known Priam for a long time.

The scholar noticed the inquisitive looks from both of them and sighed. However, in the next moment, his eyes lit up as he remembered something relevant.

"I know! Why don’t we give him the opportunity to go to Nature Star?"