Way of the Knights

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"Good Morning Everyone." 

"Good Morning, Young Lord Raven." 

"Please be seated." Raven nodded and said to the people in front of him. 

The crowd sat down to their seats, all of them are looking at Raven with anticipation. Some of them were feeling nervous, some were calm, while some are excited. Nevertheless, all of them cherished this chance to be able to meet Raven in person and hear whatever he has to say. 

Currently, Raven was attending a session to meet the outstanding talents of the sect. This sort of event happens from time to time and since Raven was so busy during the past, he never really paid much attention to it. Now however, since the sect had some recent changes and everyone was adjusting rather well, Raven's busy schedule had eased-up greatly, which is why he was able to host this event. 

The session is held at the Storm Dweller's Peak. The Sect Master and the Grand Elder who used to reside in this place is currently nowhere to be seen. They were out handling some important matters therefore Raven was allowed to use this place. 

"Although I'm rather sure that everybody here knows what they're here for, just in case somebody isn't aware, let me say this again..."

"All of you are gathered here thanks to your recent efforts in your cultivation. All of you are included in the Top 50 in the Honor Roll, meaning that you guys could be considered as the cream of the crop amongst other Inner Disciples. Give yourselves a round of applause." 

Everybody applauded themselves along with Raven's signal. Once the applause were over, Raven continued speaking...

"Now, I'm sure that all of you are aware of the recent events in the sect. We closed-off our doors and we entered an indefinite period of seclusion. You should also be aware right now that our sect aren't only going to face devils but also the heretics that escaped a few eras ago...that's right, we're facing against the threat of the Exiles."

"We are currently stuck between a rock and hard place, nevertheless we still have sometime, and in the upcoming confrontation, the sect will be relying on you to protect our history and to contribute to our cause, therefore I don't want to see any of you slacking in your efforts. The sect will not hesitate to nurture you and it also won't hold back on admonishing you for not doing your best. You will be under a lot of pressure but if you can persist, I can guarantee that you will become much stronger than you are right now. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Young Lord." Everyone answered with fiery determination present on their voice. Raven smiled to that and continued:

"Very good." Raven then took out several things out of his Spatial Ring. He had several scrolls, tablets and vials. "Now then, let's begin the Law Discussion Session..."

The Brush of Wisdom appeared from Raven's hand and he waved it a couple of times. Lights converged and formed shapes visible to everybody present. The moment the specks of light emerged, everybody's attention was focused on it. 

Raven then regulated his tone, it became softer but still audible. Yet it also contained a special charm that bewitched everybody who listened to it. 

"Laws are the fundamental properties that governs the balances of the Divine Realm. It is omnipresent and in some ways...omnipotent as well. As Humans grows up and walks the path of cultivation, they will have to encounter Laws at some point..."

---

Raven's law discussion session continued and as time went on, the disciples who were listening to him gradually fall under a state of enlightenment. 

The intensity of the enlightenment each disciples received varied. Some unconsciously activated their domains, some had more subtle effects, nevertheless all of them had empty expressions and dull eyes. It was as if they were bewitched and had fallen under deep spell that they can't extricate themselves out of. 

Raven who's watching all of this happen on his stand, nodded in satisfaction. At a simple glance, he could see that everyone foundations are exceptionally solid. If they continued perceiving laws with this kind of mentality, he could guarantee that every single one of these people would make a name for themselves once the war is over. 

Raven silently erased his presence and left the disciples to their own. He didn't know how long they're going to be under that state but he might as well make sure that they won't be disturbed. He erected a barrier to cover them and would isolate them from all commotions outside. He had also given them their rewards for their hard work so he had no further business to remain here. 

Once he was done, he turned around only to see the Sect Master and the Grand Elder behind him, smiling at him. Raven smiled back at them and greeted them. 

"How's your trip?" Raven asked.

"It went well." The Sect Master said, "We managed to secure more resources for the sect. The Exiles didn't suspect anything."

"I see. That's great, thanks for your hard work." 

"Psh. Compared to you, we're merely doing the barest minimum." The Grand Elder chuckled as he patted Raven's shoulders. His gaze then went towards the disciples who were experiencing enlightenment within Raven's barrier. "As expected, they also those brats here huh?"

Raven smiled wryly and replied: "Haha, yes. I can't refuse them after all so I thought, might as well. At least this will only serve to make them stronger." 

"Although I've expected Elias to be here, seeing Dior and Salom here as well is truly unexpected." The Sect Master said. 

The Law Discussion Session held by Raven this year was supposed to only be experienced by the Top 50 performers on the Honor Roll of the sect, which are mostly reserved for Inner Disciples...

The Honor Roll is something that was established to glorify the achievements of the Inner Disciples in order to ignite friendly competition amongst them. In order to be included in there, one has to fulfil certain criteria; Cultivation, Merits, and Progress. 

Cultivation and Merits are straight forward. Progress is a unique standard based on the tenure of the disciples. In short, Progress is measured by tallying the bi-annual results of an Inner Disciples' Cultivation Rank and the amount of Merit Points they earned. The higher this goes, the higher their overall rank would be. 

It's obvious that the Progress standard is added in order to prevent the Inner Disciples from slacking off.

Towards these hard working disciples, the sect wouldn't hold back on nurturing them of course. But what made this particular session somewhat weird is the fact that it includes three Heirs. 

The first one is Elias - Heir to the Poseidon's Title and little brother of the current Poseidon himself, Lorenzo Blueheart. 

Somehow, Lorenzo managed to catch wind that Raven would be hosting this event and Elias also learned of it so he specifically asked if he could attend as well. And of course, Lorenzo being a doting Big Brother, requested audience and pleaded Raven to include Elias in it. Raven couldn't refuse so he relented. 

The next two were the surprising ones...

Salom Ir'Thun - the Heir to Hades' Title and Dior Goldsky - the recently inaugurated Heir to Zeus' title. 

The Heir of Hades who was inaugurated at the same time as Elias - Salom, was a rather surprising visit. He asked for audience and got acquainted with Raven, expressing his deep admiration to the Young Lord and Heir to Chronos. Salom is a well-mannered and soft-spoken guy who practiced the rare Death Laws and Holy Necromancy. He is rather inauspicious guy at a glance which is a perfect cover for him. That being said, Raven could tell that this guy held absolute loyalty to the sect, so when he asked if he could join the event, Raven accepted him. 

Dior Goldsky was someone who had just been inaugurated as the Heir to Zeus, in fact this happened three weeks ago. This confused Raven at first since if he remembered that the selection for the heir was supposed to go on longer but it seems that there were recent changes thanks to the Grand Elder's interference. 

What surprised Raven the most was that, Dior was actually accepted by the Sword of Olympus - a treasure created by Zeus himself and the sword he used to cleave through the Devil Emperor and its subordinates. 

Dior was a carefree guy, he didn't give a crap about etiquette and is rather loud and brash but that's what makes him really likeable, which reminds Raven of his sworn brother Paul. Just like Salom, Dior greatly admired Raven and expressed his desire to follow his lead. He's loyalty to their cause was also confirmed by Raven so he didn't hesitate to accept him as well in this session. 

The Inner Disciples were surprised at first but none of them really made a fuss out of it. They just thought it was natural and the three were approachable anyway. 

"Alright, let's leave them be. They'll wake up on their own and make great strides on their progress. Let's go inside and enjoy a warm cup of tea.." The Grand Elder said as the three of them went inside the abode.