Legacy of the Dark Sage

Reporting was always a chore for tribes unaffiliated with any clan or faction. Without a representative, their leaders were personally responsible for delivering their tribe's results. In contrast, those linked to a faction relied on spokespersons to share notable successes from their respective clans and tribes.

To make matters worse, far too many tribes did not join any clan or faction, which resulted in them taking up too much time on the first agenda.

That had been the case with the previous conferences. This time, it was slightly different.

To be honest, The Emperor could have devised a solution to address these tribes. However, he never cared about them before, so he did not bother. There were moments when he skipped their turn in reporting.

Skipping a turn was never good because they could not show off their tribe's achievements to The Emperor. Unfortunately, most of these tribes refused to join any clan because they did not want to be part of a faction. This was because, as a faction member, they were required to adhere to the faction's rules, and often, their tribe's achievements and talents would be stolen by the clan they joined.

Fortunately, the Inter-Clan Conference addressed this problem this time around. Before the conference officially started, unaffiliated tribes were required to submit their tribe's report to the Solis Clan. After the Solis executives filtered through the tribes' reports, they would pick those with praiseworthy achievements and be called upon during the first agenda.

The first agenda of the conference unfolded this way. During the morning session, a Solis executive called upon a tribe to share their tribe's noteworthy achievements. If their achievement was a new invention, they were given enough time to demonstrate it to the congregation.

Most of the leaders and representatives in attendance observed The Emperor's expression throughout the tribes' report. To their dismay, his expression remained unreadable throughout the morning session.

Every time a tribe completed its report, a Solis executive allowed other clans to voice their opinions. Some leaders who showed interest in a tribe's research or invention were then given time for all sides to exchange contacts so they could discuss it further after the conference.

About twenty or so tribes completed their reports, yet The Emperor remained silently seated at the head of the congregation. They would have even mistaken him for a statue if he had not spoken earlier to address them and officially announce the start of the conference.

Finally, when the last tribe that was picked to report their tribe's achievements finished, a one-hour break was announced, and lunch was served.

There was no need for the attendees to leave the auditorium because the food were magically served on their tables.

Frankly, there was no need to serve them food because they could sustain themselves by absorbing magic energies in the surroundings. The meal served only served as a formality and to allow the attendees to rest while talking among each others.

While the auditorium was filled with muffled discussions, there some notable clan leaders and representatives that remained unmoved.

One clan easily noticeable for not mingling with others were the Dragon Clan.

Ames, Attor, and Eissen already exuded a regal air because of their dragon identity, and it becamse even more pronounced by their aloof countenance.

Another clan that did not mingle with the others was the Ogen Clan. However, unlike the Dragon Clan, it was not that noticeable. Besides, there were times when Overlord Oceanus would respond to something that a clan leader or representative sitting nearby would say. It was just that, Oceanus never initiated a discussion.

Amidst all this, Lucian observed everyone. Thus far, he had not sense anything strange from how everyone interacted with each other. He could not say the same with those who was not even interacting like the Dragon Clan, but they did not emit any negative energies so there was no reason to cause unnecessary worry.

Nevertheless, Lucian kept his guard up. One reason he remained silent was because 70% of his focus was concentrated on observing the leaders and representatives' behavior and only 30% were listening to the reports. Stay connected with empire

Then again, even if he did not listen, it was not like he was missing anything. Since his executives already filtered the reports and he finished reading through them, he already knew everything. He could not say the same with the reports that would be presented by each factions, but at the very least, he had the leisure to observe everyone during the morning session.

After an hour, the afternoon session commenced with the spokesperson of the independent faction reporting first.

There were two independen factions in the Higher Realm. The first one was focused on small-sized clans and some tribes, while the second consisted of medium to small-size clans.

The first to give their report was the first one. Since there were only a few clans and tribes under this faction, the report ended pretty quickly. Their faction's achievements were also mostly the discovery of new planes with good resources.

The merchant clans were mostly interested in their achievement, offering to provide manpower and logistics in return for receiving a certain % in profit.

With the Solis executive's guidance, the first independent faction shared contacts with all merchant clan that showed interest, and the reporting continued.

The second independent faction's report followed and their achievement garnered much attention. Though similar with the first independent faction's achievement of discovering new planes, their spokespersone declared that among these newly discovered planes, there was one that had an underground labyrinth. The array formation on the entrance was too complex and their mages with Array Knowledge had barely scratched the surface of it. Thus, the spokesperson confirmed that their faction was willing to form a partnership with a clan or faction with competent Array Saints.

Immediately, the congregation erupted in unconcealed excitement.

Every attendees knew the importance of discovering a labyrinth after the tragedy of the Tower of the Ancients. In any case, if the second independent faction only required competent Array Saints, there were plenty.

In fact, 99% of the Higher Realm's mages were knowledgeable in Array. It was only a matter of which clan had better proficiency.

Speaking of Array proficiency, the congregation's interest immediately shifted toward the Dragon Clan and some started to look in their direction.

Their interest was reasonable, especially since it was a known fact that in the Higher Realm, the Dragon Clan's Array Formations were good, if not the best. Aide Ducal was also known to be a fanatic when it came to scrutinizing the Arrays created by the Ancients.

Contrary to their expectations that the Dragon Clan would show interest in the labyrinth, Ames, Attor, and Eissen remained unmoved.

The second independent faction's spokesperson felt somewhat helpless seeing their expression as well because, frankly, they wanted to seek the Dragon Clan's assistance more than the other clans. Part of the reason they wanted to partner with the Dragon Clan was because Aide Ducal's Array Knowledge had already been proven. But more critical than Aide Ducal's knowledge was the Dragon Clan's sincerity.

The second independent faction believed that the Dragon Clan would not be tempted by treasures found in the labyrinth and would agree to a fair distribution once the expedition to explore it began.

Since almost every leader of large and medium-sized clans showed interest in the labyrinth, the Solis executive decided to allot a separate discussion. Of course, this separate discussion had been approved by The Emperor, who barely showed any change in his expression.

Following the second independent faction's report were the neutral factions' reports. Like the independent factions, they were divided into small groups, with three neutral factions.

The first neutral faction that gave their report consisted of small clans and tribes. As for their achievements, they presented new concoction methods to increase the efficacy of potions and pills, as well as a new recipe for a high-grade meditation pill.

Meditation pills could assist mages who were planning to break through. Thus, the merchant clans were very interested in this. As for the concoction methods, large clans and some medium-sized ones showed interest. These clans were those with Alchemists of their own that Estrid was unable to recruit.

After the two sides exchanged contact, the second neutral faction started their report.

The second neutral faction's achievements could be said to be groundbreaking. This was because they announced that they had found a book that they believed to be a grimoire of the Four Great Minds of the Ancients.

Following the second neutral faction's announcement, the spokesperson showed a projection of the book, and the whole congregation instantly erupted in discussion.

For the first time since the start of the meeting, Lucian's eyes flickered in interest.

Rumors about grimoires written by the Four Great Minds of the Ancients had long been circulating the Higher Realm. However, none were able to find it. When the Tower of the Ancients appeared, some believed these grimoires might be somewhere. Unfortunately, none of the rewards provided to the participants resembled a grimoire.

The projected grimoire on the spokesperson's tablet did look ancient. Though confirming it as a grimoire of the Four Great Minds was still debatable, Lucian was very interested in it.

On the other hand, there was another one whose eyes glinted after seeing the grimoire.

However, unlike the covetous look in Lucian's eyes, this one's eyes glowed in shock.

Ames had mixed emotions while looking at the grimoire. She hid her expressions well, but her heart raced in inexplicable... fear.

'That... looks like the Ancient Magic book...'

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