Once he learnt of the mysterious man's identity, the Cyrus founder agreed to become his disciple. The Theos clan progenitor soon found three more disciples. Among the four disciples, the Cyrus founder had the weakest cultivation talent, but he was well-liked by the other disciples and was treated as the leader of the group. Together with the Cyrus founder, the disciples would create the four cities of the Four Paths Region. The four paths in the name of the region referred to the four elements: Cyrus for wind, Pemacreba for fire, Reich for earth and Rinto City for water. Most stories of the four cities ended here, but there was another legend passed down among the top clans of each city.
Shui slightly leaned forward in interest as he awaited Mayor Henry's next words.
After raising each of his four disciples to the Sky Realm, the Theos clan progenitor taught them a sealing method that required all of their elemental powers to close a secret world. The progenitor warned that should the seal ever break, the fate of the entire world would be at risk. The Theos clan progenitor never brought them to see the dangerous secret world, but the four disciples believed in their master and agreed to apply and guard the seal. Once the seal was complete, the progenitor was never seen again, but the disciples stayed to protect the seal. That is the hidden story of the founders of the cities of the Four Paths Region.
Thanks to Mayor Henry, Shui was able to resolve many of the questions he had, but it wasn't the same for Kate.
"Shui, is the Theos clan progenitor—?"
"Yes, it's likely our ancestor, though we didn't inherit his bloodline."
In the world of cultivation, 'progenitor' was used to refer to powerful figures whose bloodline would ensure their descendants' prosperity. Although the Theos clan progenitor was given this title because he was the first person to become a Master in his clan, he had no known children, and so his bloodline likely ended with him.
"Your ancestor? If I remember correctly, aren't you both from the Heaven clan?"
"That's right. However, the Heaven clan is a branch descended from the Theos clan when it split up 800 years ago, around the same time that the Theos clan progenitor passed away."
"What?! Wait, if my memory is correct, there are records that the Theos clan of my ancestor's master had fractured due to internal disputes after the master's disappearance, so the timeline would match. That would mean the master of the founders of the four cities, is actually your ancestor."
Both Kate and Mayor Henry were stunned by this knowledge, but Shui didn't give them much time before moving on to the next key point.
"Yes, maybe fate had something to do with our meeting. Unfortunately, perhaps due to the Theos clan separating, we've lost most of the records related to the progenitor, so I didn't even know about his disciples until I learnt of the history of the original four cities. Could you tell me more about the seal that you mentioned?"
"Ah, I would love to share, but to be honest, I don't know much about it either. I hear the people behind Silver City suspected that the sealed secret world held a great treasure, so they schemed to open the seal, but the only information passed down to those of the mayoral clans is the legend of the seal and that the cities themselves are crucial to maintaining it."
The mayor showed an apologetic expression as he expressed his regret. Given how significant the seal was, he wouldn't blame Shui for suspecting that he was hiding something, but Shui actually believed him. Even the Primordial Library had scant details about the seal, and one would require the spiritual sense of a peak Sky Realm expert and great focus to detect the seal, so it wasn't strange that the mayoral clans knew little about it besides what was passed down among them. With such a secretive and important seal, the less that was known about it, the more secure it would be.
Shui had once mentioned the underground seal to Alia in hopes that it could help seal the fallen, but she said it would be difficult to adjust it without the cooperation of the creator. She boasted that she could take it over with enough time, but it wouldn't be wise to mess with whatever was being sealed by it.
While Shui thought about the seal, Kate asked a different question related to the Theos clan progenitor.
"If the city founders were taught by our ancestor, then did the Cyrus founder learn the Heavenly Wind Spell?"
"Heavenly Wind Spell? According to records, the only technique the progenitor taught his disciples was the method to form the seal. Other than that he guided them through their unique constitutions and encouraged them to create their own abilities. The Cyrus founder and my ancestor passed down the Freedom Wind cultivation method, but unfortunately we descendants have been unable to master it."
Kate and Mayor Henry continued to share their insights into the natural laws of wind, with Shui occasionally adding input. Despite neither Shui nor Kate having formed their wind intents, Mayor Henry was able to learn much from their innovative thoughts. As their discussion inched into the night and Shui mentioned constructing two arrays to help protect the city, Mayor Henry remembered another matter that might be of interest to him.
"Oh, would you happen to be aware of the Cinder clan?"
"Hmm? No, I can't say that it rings a bell."
"That makes sense. According to the records of my predecessors, they diverged from the rest of your clans during the time of the second Mayor of Cyrus. They should be the branch of the Theos clan which focuses on the fire element."
Though they had never heard of the Cinder clan before, a fourth clan made perfect sense to Shui and Kate based on what they knew of the Theos clan and its progenitor.
"Do your records mention where the Cinder clan resettled?"
"I believe they were last found heading to the region now known as the Blackrock territory. However, this was around 500 years ago, so it's hard to say what has happened since."
"I see. What do you think, Kate?"
"I can't say I'm not interested, but I have other plans in mind, so I'll leave visiting our distant relatives to you."
"Okay. I don't know if I'll be able to find them, but I intend to give it a try."
With their discussion settled, Shui and Kate soon left the mayor's tower and headed to Fairies' Wardrobe, where Ryan and the rest of his siblings had joined the others. They gave a brief summary of their conversation, and Kate stated that she would leave the next day. The girls of Fairies' Wardrobe asked her to stay for a few more days, but as Shui and Lilia expected, she was firm in her decision. They knew that Kate wasn't the type to change her mind easily, a trait she shared with her father. Kate didn't clearly state where she was going, but they believed that she would be fine.
Over the next few days, as recovery efforts began and emissaries from other cities arrived, Shui moved around Cyrus while using a special-rank sword artifact to draw a special detection array that could identify strong malicious intent. Most array masters would scoff at him for using such a method to draw a tier 4 city-wide array, but Shui could seep his divine energy into the land and leave a temporary mark that was distinct to his spiritual sense. Once he was finished with the outline of the array, all that was left would be to complete it with special ink using mental control and constructing a core. Few array grandmasters could mimic him, but if not for the risk of worsening his spiritual injuries, Shui could have finished the array in a day while seated.
He had originally planned on adding another array to protect citizens from harm during emergencies, but upon waking from her nap and hearing his plight, Alia had constructed it for him and gone back to sleep. He knew that her skill as an array master was far above his, but he still felt the competitive urge to improve after witnessing her feat.
A week after his arrival, Shui was ready to depart from Cyrus. Once he had completed the special detection array, he gave the controllers to Henry and paid a visit to Jacob of the Wright family to praise his good work. The compulsion that he had sewn into his soul was to protect Shui's loved ones, so even though Anders was now dead, Shui had no reason to remove it, though he allowed Jacob to believe otherwise. He also asked him about any remnants of the Valet family, but the only core member to infiltrate the city was Cruz, and Shui wasn't eager to pursue the rest.
Shui shared what he learnt from the mayor with Lilia and that he would be heading to Blackrock territory to look for the Cinder clan. Lilia was more emotional over his departure than the news of their clan's history, but she knew he would have to leave eventually. With the support of his family and friends behind him, Shui left Cyrus.