As white light envelops all three of us, I create a barrier of pure mana shielding around the Vice Region's director. If not, the pressure of dense orange divine energy filling the underground bunker in the Crimson City would have shredded him to bits in a matter of milliseconds. An additional upside to this barrier is that with this man's lack of strong mana control, it will be impossible for him to see or sense through it, essentially bringing him into my fortress blind until I decide he should be able to see. When we finally materialize, the sight before me is fascinating. To my right, I instantly sense two fully formed orange cores inside Maria and Abby. On the other side, Lydia and Fisher hold two red cores, almost fully saturated and on the verge of transitioning to orange. The room is densely packed with swirling divine threads. From my experience in the past, when I was trying to compress my own divine energy, once they're ejected from the cultivator's body, the threads usually stay stagnant or dissolve into the air. But something different is happening... As the orange shimmering threads are consumed by my four teammates, small amounts of energy stay contained in their bodies, and a large portion is ejected. However, at the back of the room, the faint consciousness of Ember lingers inside the isolation pod that continues to dilate time inside of it by over ten times the normal speed. As divine energy seeps in at a slow rate, it is expelled at a far faster rate, though in slightly lesser quantity. It's like Ember is subconsciously processing the divine energy and taking a small tax, but in doing so, allowing the momentum to keep pushing it around the room, creating a whirlpool effect rushing through all four of them and adding additional threads to their bodies. I smirk as Abby's eyes open, and she does the same scan of the room before speaking through our link as well. "It's him... What—what are you planning to do now...?" Lydia's eyes open next as she senses a change in the constant flow of divine threads. Her gaze darts around the room to make sense of everything. She doesn't say a word and makes her own assumptions, but Fisher yells out loud, breaking the silence once he realizes who I've brought back. "It's that damn Regional Director that scre—" I send a four-way wave of telepathy to all of them during his outburst, explaining the situation briefly and giving them a reason as to why I didn't kill him the moment I had a chance Even Fisher stops his heated statement and can't hold back a grin, nodding as he agrees with my plan. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "I mean—Mr. Freeman—long time no see. How can we assist you today?" All four of them stand from their seated positions and take a small break from cultivating. Abby and Maria deserve a break from cultivating for almost two days straight, and from the looks of it, Fisher and Lydia could use a moment to rest, as their cores are about two-thirds of the way completed. At this rate, it will still take almost half a day to finish up. It is still incredibly fast, but their natural innate talent is making itself known again, just like how it took a little longer for both of them to awaken their soul energy. A muffled voice from Brutus comes out from beneath the dense mana shielding. "Who—Who's there? Where have you brought me, Director?" My smile grows wider as everyone in the room uses a high-grade concealment artifact to change their appearances. I shift mine slightly too, making myself look like a less animated version of Mr. Freeman without the glowing golden eyes to keep the facade alive for Brutus, and we all walk toward the spiral staircase exit. I don't reply but slowly let his mana barrier dissolve, allowing his feet to touch the ground as we walk out one of the doors of the guildhall onto the main road. Once he can finally see, he doesn't say a word as he takes in the environment of a prospering city, now with over 2,200 citizens and thousands more outside of the crimson dome. People line the streets, buying and selling gear that isn't traded in the guildhall. Restaurants and cafés are finishing up the morning crowd and transitioning to lunch, while residents make their way to and from the canyon of dungeons on the far edge of town. Brutus turns his head all around, trying to figure out what's happening, even looking at the four unknown strangers surrounding him, and his boss. He speaks again. I speak in the same tone as Mr. Freeman. "This is the Crimson City, the home of the Flame Emperor. Since, as you said, you are my most long-lasting, trustworthy business partner over the years, I thought it would only be right to give you the first tour of our new partnered nation." I feel a rush of relief emanate from the old man as he responds, and watch his posture straightening up. "Oh—Yes. Of course, so that's it." A smile resurfaces on the old director's face as we continue through the crowded city streets. Despite the Qi barriers in place around my teammates, and their best attempts at fully concealing their mana control and loose divine threads, some of their immense aura leaks out. I'm able to overlap this aura with my own, absorbing enough of it to prevent it from being fatal to others in the streets. Still, there is a constant aura of intensity and power rippling out from us. Many here in the city know that the Inner Circle and the Flame Emperor never reveal their true identities, so those walking the same street as us make way, separating from the crowd as they correctly assume who is coming through. Brutus notices this reaction as we make our way to an outer edge of the city. "Who are our escorts today? And—if I'm here, does this mean we're going to be meeting with the Flame Emperor?" I nod as we come to the edge of the crimson dome, creating a small opening in the pure soul energy for Brutus to walk through. "Yes, indeed, today you will be meeting the Flame Emperor. Right now, you have the pleasure of meeting the Inner Circle of trusted allies, the four strongest fighters on the dark continent. They are the force that easily defended and mortally injured our A-Class hunters when we wrongfully attacked them after the exams." Brutus' face turns white again as he realizes the strength of the guards around him, but he doesn't show fear in his voice. "So you've come to an agreement after that scuffle. Very good." He nods as we all make it outside the dome, and I close the city's defense. "Yes, and we'll be having another meeting right away. I don't want any prying ears to be listening in, so it's best we make our way to a more private place." I smile as we get further and further from the city, then send a wave of telepathy through all of my teammates in the sky. We all simultaneously deactivate our concealment skills and artifacts as I reply. "Yes, I do know quite a bit about his origins. It's a funny story, actually. I'm sure all of us would be happy to fill you in on what you're missing."