"Brother Black Tortoise, a thousand years ago..."
"Brother Black Tortoise, a hundred thousand years ago..."
"Brother Black Tortoise..."
The mighty figures of the Immortal Orders spoke one after another. Some made humble requests, some spoke with righteous conviction, and some simply demanded their share in icy tones without even bothering with an excuse.
Yet every demand was the same: three lesser worlds for each Immortal Order.
Not one more, not one less.
The implications were too chilling to examine closely.
"You..."
"You're a fine lot!"
The mighty figure of the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace was so furious he spat out a great mouthful of blood. Pointing a trembling finger at the seven of them, he roared, "Heavenly Secret!"
"You sanctimonious old bastard!"
"Who was just saying the Immortal Orders weren't united enough? Who said we were unwilling to fight to the death? And who sighed over us like iron that wouldn't become steel?"
"Hah!"
"And now you turn around and do this to me?"
"Are you going to start a civil war right now?"
"Shameless!"
"Utterly shameless!"
"Brother Black Tortoise, that's not quite right."
Daoist Heavenly Secret remained unruffled. "Did the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace take those three worlds from me twenty-two hundred years ago? At the time, I lacked the strength to resist and had no reinforcements, so there was nothing I could do."
"Now they're merely being returned to their rightful owner."
"There's no trickery or strong-arm robbery here."
The mighty figure of the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace fell silent.
It was true.
At its peak, the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace had dominated forty-one lesser worlds, far more than any other Immortal Order.
Where had they come from?
It had seized them from the other Seven Great Immortal Sects, from the Eastern Extreme Demon Sect, and from the