Sect Leader's Rise to the top!

Wu Xianhai opened her eyes in confusion. The last thing she remembered was looking into the mysterious man's eyes.

"Right!, where is he!?", She yelled while checking her surrounding. The area was a damp cave with a strange red moss growing on the walls. She also felt the collar around her neck, which explained why her movements were limited. 

Nearby were the two weaklings she had captured before. They both looked towards her after hearing her earlier shout.

"Seems you are awake. I can't believe I have the honor of meeting the flamed Sword Princess in person", Hou Zhou said with a sense of admiration.

Song Wei looked at their interaction with jealous eyes but remained quiet.

Wu Xianhai ignored them both while she scanned the cave looking for Kai. Only when she was happy that Kai was not around, did she sigh in relief and turn towards the other two.

"You there, seems you have some history with that man. Who is he exactly?...", she asked Hou Zhou while trying to move her arms to no avail.

Hou Zhou smiled wryly but still explained. He thought about it for a second and figured it was best to be in her good graces, in case she had a way to escape this mess.

"..I had the misfortune of having to fight him once before. He is unimaginably powerful, but you have already witnessed this yourself. I suspected that he could have been at the peak of Qi condensation when I first fought him, but today proved it. He was able to crush both my uncle and me. My uncle is a well-known figure in the world of wandering cultivators. I heard he was given the title of 'Frozen Butcher', so he is no weakling. I may have a long way to go, but I am also far from being weak, so the fact that he took us both on...".As he spoke, Hou Zhou's words slowed as if in deep thought.

Wu Xianhai had heard of this 'Frozen Butcher'. Although he was a simple wandering cultivator at the middle stages of Qi-Condensation, he was supposedly quite powerful. His mastery over artifacts combined with powerful ice techniques made him a force in his own right, able to fight well above his level. Wu Xianhai hadn't traveled outside of the sect much, but she had still heard the stories of the more famous cultivators. 

"...I also did some digging into his background...". Hou Zhou said carefully. He noticed Wu Xianhai paying attention, so he chose his words carefully.

"He first appeared in Huang City a few months ago and has quietly been making waves all over the city. The first was his oddly efficient extermination of the [Slime-Vine] and [Fungus-Ape] in the Eastern Swamp where he slaughtered thousands of the beasts. Oddly enough, he did not seem to be doing it for the contribution points or materials. Some reports even claimed that he ripped out the beast hearts and ate them raw!, so I suspect he was killing for fun..."

Wu Xianhai shuddered when she heard this. She had been called cruel by many, but even she had to admit that eating beast hearts raw sounded deranged.

Song Wei also turned to listen in horror as she pictured the image of a scaled Kai eating hearts whole. "Monster...", she whispered in a hushed tone.

"...Next was his encounter with the major families of Huang City. He crushed the Qin family elders and even went as far as to force them to pay reparations!", Hou Zhou continued.

This piece of news did not shock Song Wei since she was from a big family. She was in the know regarding other families in and around the city thanks to her family, so this much she knew. 

Wu Xianhai, on the other hand, seemed quite shocked. She had met members of the Qin family within the Twin-Lions sect. Although nothing compared to herself, they were still a proud and battle-hardened family with sword expertise that even she had to respect. But Kai had been able to make them keel over in submission?.

"Even if they couldn't defeat him, the Qins are not the type to just bend over to a stranger's whim...what else?. What of his background?.". Wu Xianhai asked anxiously. She was quickly building up an image of Kai that was starting to terrify her.

Hou Zhou could only shake his head. "Nothing on his background. All I know is that he seems to have ties to the Lee family, but that isn't saying much..."

"Lee family?, could it be the same person?...", Song Wei spoke suddenly, attracting the attention of the other two.

When she noticed this, she gave an awkward cough before she spoke. "This is a Song family secret!...", Song Wei said but instantly saw the terrifying look in Wu Xianhai's eyes, making her break out in a cold sweat.

"...B...but as they say, secrets are meant to be shared among friends haha... A few days ago, the Lee family's mysterious backer sold my sister an abundance of Superior-Grade [Beginner- Healing Pills]!. So many in fact that she suspected some were fake, but it turns out that each one was genuine and freshly made. This can only mean one thing..."

"Master-Alchemist...", Wu Xianhai said quietly while deep in thought.

Hou Zhou was also shocked by the information and suddenly remembered a rumor from a few days ago.

"Someone in the lower regions of Huang City was selling a bunch of high-grade [Beginner-Healing Pills], could it be the same person?...", He asked while already knowing the answer. Song Wei nodded her head solemnly, proving his assumption correct.

"What are the chances that he is both a gifted fighter and a Master-Alchemist at such a young age?...". Hou Zhou asked while thinking of the terrifying amount of talent that Kai would have.

Wu Xianhai closed her eyes while processing the information. Hundreds of possible scenarios flashed through her mind. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes with a newfound sense of calm. She slowly exhaled then closed her eyes again. 

Silence befell the cave as the hours passed. It was only interrupted when Kai suddenly returned with a bag slung over his shoulder. He dropped the bag onto the ground causing the contents to fall out.

Wu Xianhai was confused when she noticed that it was full of random rocks and twigs. She wondered why he was wasting his time gathering junk but decided not to ask.

"Beauty...", Kai said as he turned towards Wu Xianhai. "Show me how to unlock this spatial ring. It stopped functioning when I put the collar on you, which I suspect is some sort of failsafe...",Kai said. He had already decided to take the ring as compensation for the armor that she broke.

Wu Xianhai didn't know how to react to his insolent attitude but chose to hold herself back. She had long since decided that he would join her Twin-Lions Sect no matter what.

"It functions based on my Qi-fluctuations. With this collar on me, it will not work. Also, don't think that killing me will resolve it. It will just remain locked permanently. The only ways are either to remove the collar or to assign it a new master which is impossible without my approval..."

"Well, do you approve?", Kai asked with a smile while crouching to her eye level.

"..."

"Don't forget the armor you broke...", Kai quickly added.

"You cannot compare such low-tier armor to a spatial ring...I will compensate you tenfold the value of that armor so how about you let it slide?...", She said in an angry but controlled tone.

"That armor had sentimental value. No other piece of armor could replace it. This ring will have to do for now but just barely", Kai waved her off while ignoring her angry stare.

"Anyway, we can talk about this later. For now, I'm pretty sure that I just found an Illusion demon....", Kai said while scratching his head, causing the room to fall into silence.