The Thunder Clan’s roots in this northern territory were shallow, with only two Grade 8 sects established so far. Their most powerful backing was merely a Grade 2 sect.
On this planet, thirteen races resided. Among them, the Sacred Land of Mengtian, and the Grade 1 races of Kuimei, Zhan, and Kuanglang, together dominated the entire world. They also held the power of life and death over the other nine races.
Naturally, the competition amongst themselves was fiercer. Each Grade 1 sect kept a close watch on the other three. It was two hundred years ago that the ancestor of the Mengtian Sect was the first to take a step towards Celestial Venerable, surpassing the status of a Grade 1 sect. From then on, they began to aggressively suppress the other races.
In addition to these four races, there were four Grade 2 sects: the Thunder Clan, the Earth Spirit Clan, the Vajra Clan, and the Fire Mu Clan. All four of these were factions established and supported by the former four great races, with the aim of effectively controlling their respective ethnic groups through these subordinate sects.
The Heavenly Thunder Sect, which supported the Thunder Sword Gate, was a Grade 2 sect established by the Beast Taming Sect. While all were backed by Grade 1 sects, those were direct affiliations. The Thunder Sword Gate, however, was merely a branch of a branch.
Furthermore, the Thunder Sword Gate reported its spiritual mines to the Heavenly Thunder Sect. If the Heavenly Thunder Sect could handle it, all well and good. If not, they would have to report it further up, meaning the spiritual mine would not belong to them either.
These sects harbored similar thoughts; they would avoid reporting if possible, as long as they could secure a piece of the pie.
Lei Jian was the sect master of the Thunder Sword Gate. He was originally a core disciple of the Heavenly Thunder Sect but had left for some reason, venturing to the northern territory to establish the Thunder Sword Gate.
"Su Chenming! You are pushing your luck too far! Your Kui Sword Sect is merely a Grade 9 sect. At worst, I'll drag you down with me!" Lei Jian stood on the sect steps, coldly watching the disciples of other alien races gathered before his sect.
"Lei Jian, you must be dreaming. You want to drag my Kui Sword Sect down with you? You'd better ask if the other sects agree!"
Su Chenming sneered. While he was the only sect master present, many elders from other Kui Sword Sects had also arrived, giving him ample confidence.
"Sect Master Lei, I believe Sect Master Su's words have merit. If you are to make a living in our northern territory, you must abide by its rules," an elder stepped forward and said.
"Precisely, Sect Master Lei. You wouldn't want to cause trouble for everyone over a single spiritual mine, would you? If you were to report it, how much would you truly receive? Therefore, I believe we can discuss matters amicably. Sect Master Lei and Sect Master Su, don't you agree?" Another elder from a Grade 8 sect stepped forward, also affiliated with the Northern Kui Sect.
"A strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake, let alone a mere Grade 8 Thunder Sword Gate. Sect Master Lei, our sect agrees to jointly mine the spiritual mine. The extracted spirit stones will be managed collectively, and your Thunder Sword Gate will receive a tenth of the spirit stones. How about it?"
Su Yan, who had threatened to destroy the Thunder Sword Gate, suddenly spoke.
There were nearly fifty sects of varying grades in the northern territory. Aside from a few lone human cultivators with no backing, most had some degree of affiliation with higher powers and paid tribute in the form of resources annually.
"One-tenth! Su Chenming, don't forget this is the Thunder Sword Gate's territory, and don't forget your Kui Sword Sect is only a Grade 9 sect!" Lei Jian's eyes blazed as he looked at Su Chenming.
He had firsthand experience with the shamelessness of these Kui Mei races. No matter how well things were said, when the benefits were large enough, they would turn their backs. They had truly embodied the phrase 'devour without spitting out the bones'.
"Lei Jian, one-tenth is already quite a lot. Look at how many sects are present here. Do you think you would still get even this tenth if all these sects were to participate?"
"Moreover, there are more than ten Grade 8 and 9 Kui Mei sects here. Even if we were to divide it evenly, we wouldn't get more than one-tenth!"
Su Chenming burst into laughter. He was the nephew of Su Yan, the sect master of the Northern Kui Sect, and thus held considerable influence among the more than ten Kui Mei sects in the northern territory.
Lei Jian's heart eased slightly upon hearing Su Chenming's words. He had to admit that Su Chenming made some sense, but his inner heart was filled with deep resentment.
"Your words sound good, but what if other sects get involved? Also, my Heavenly Thunder Sect's Thunder Dragon Gate must also have a share," Lei Jian replied after a moment of contemplation.
"Lei Jian, don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Giving up one-tenth is our greatest concession! If that's not acceptable, our thirteen Kui Mei sects can unite. Do you think you stand a chance?"
If the spiritual mine were under their control, even if half had to be handed over, they could significantly boost the overall strength of their entire sect. Then, his uncle could receive great rewards from the main sect for this accomplishment.
"How about this, Sect Master Lei, you and the Thunder Dragon Gate will still jointly hold one-tenth. Our Northern Territory Kui Mei Alliance will provide escort. Within this northern territory, if any other sect intervenes, we will handle it. What do you say?" An elder from a Grade 7 sect, who had remained silent, stepped forward.
A Grade 7 sect was already considered a behemoth in the northernmost region of the northern territory. Therefore, his words carried undeniable weight.
Although there were nearly fifty sects in the entire northern territory, the number of Kui Mei race members here far exceeded the combined population of all other races. It would not be an exaggeration to call this the territory of the Kui Mei race. Therefore, ordinary sects dared not easily offend them.
Now, they were promising to quell the greed of other sects. Furthermore, from the long-term development of the Thunder Sword Gate and the Thunder Dragon Gate, fostering a good relationship with them would undoubtedly be beneficial.
"And what about the mining? After all, this is my Thunder Sword Gate!" Lei Jian said, his face dark, neither accepting nor refusing.
"The mining will be handled by your Thunder Sword Gate and the Thunder Dragon Gate. We will only station thirty disciples for guard duty! However, all harvested spirit stones must be stored in the warehouse, under the joint watch of our disciples," the elder responded.
Lei Jian stood there, completely silent.
"I agree to this on behalf of the Thunder Sword Gate. However, let's be clear, if you engage in any other behavior, don't blame us for turning our backs!" Just as Lei Jian was hesitating, a bald, one-eyed man with his upper body bare walked out of the Thunder Sword Sect.
Lei Long! The sect master of the Thunder Dragon Gate! He was Lei Jian's martial brother.
His cultivation had also reached the peak of the Dao Comprehension realm. He had been in seclusion recently, absorbing the spiritual energy of spirit stones, hoping to break through to the True Person realm. Unfortunately, their absorption speed was only about twice that of normal cultivation. Breaking through would not be achieved in just a month or two.
"Good. Sect Master Lei Long is truly a straightforward person. So, it's settled?" Su Chenming was immediately overjoyed. To obtain ninety percent of the spiritual mine's profits without shedding blood, and without even having to mine it themselves – where could such a good deal be found?
"You all might be happy, but I am not!" Just as the dozen Kui Mei sects were rejoicing and the other sects were disheartened, a young figure appeared in the void, looking down coldly at the nearly one hundred thousand cultivators below, a sneer on his lips.