Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 141 part 1! I hope you'll enjoy it!
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Bright Star City, Bright Star Island, Flowing Stars Archipelago, Earth
Omniscient P.O.V.
'As expected!' was the thought that simultaneously surfaced in Sergei and Ling's minds, while Demian muttered, curiously. "Extinguishing Hall?"
As for the three Mikhailov women, they all sported a bewildered expression, though none of them said anything.
After all, the three of them were aware that if it were not for Demian's extraordinary talent, there was no way someone as powerful as that so-called 'Aunt Eldoria' would be as easy-going with them.
Even if it were Bryn, with her Peak Heaven-Grade talent, it would most likely be the same. After all, it had already been days since she went through her Tribulation, something known to the other powerful man present, Protector General Anrepov, but no one had opted to visit for her sake.
At least, not on the same day. Granted, the following day was the day Demian's eventful three-day breakthrough started, making it impossible for anyone to come afterwards anyway, but it still showed the difference in treatment between the two of them.
And that was just Bryn, let alone Sera or even Liya with their 'mere' Earth-Grade talents.
Thus, none of them spoke, but instead chose to let the young man, their man, speak for the group. Call it 'smart task allocation'.
When she heard the question and noticed the curiosity on the four's faces, Eldoria, a playful smile gracing her lips, replied. "Indeed, the Extinguishing Hall."
While gesturing toward Ling and Sergei, she continued. "Sergei and little Ling here are both members of that Hall, making it convenient for all of you to learn about the details later. But, to summarize briefly, the Federation has multiple Halls, each dedicated to a specific aspect of the entire system. The Extinguishing Hall is the Federation's hidden sword, used to uncover spies, corrupted members of the other Halls, etc."
Hearing her explanation, Demian interjected. "In other words, it's like a secret police?"
Nodding her head, Eldoria responded. "More or less. The power each Enforcer wields is colossal, which is why the requirements to join the Hall are extremely stringent, and having great talent is merely one of those requirements. Unquestionable loyalty to the nation is another, even more important one. After all, although each Enforcer has their actions monitored to make sure they're not abusing the power granted to them, with the policy of 'strike first, find evidence later', it's a fact that the consequences of an Enforcer turning rogue can be extremely heavy."
As those words reached his ears, a wry expression appeared on his face. 'Heavy? More like a recipe for disaster!' However, he kept his opinion to himself.
After all, he was still relatively new to the cultivation world, and it was clear that cultivators could not be treated the same as Mortals. Honestly, it was not hard to understand the logic behind the policy.
Trying to find evidence of corruption from a powerful and influential cultivator before acting to arrest them? Was their cultivation and network there for nothing?
Even if they left loose ends, those people in high positions connected to that cultivator would most likely help them destroy the evidence before it was discovered.
He had already seen that sort of scenario play out so many times in his previous life, when a politician, businessman, or actor was accused of some crimes before the charges were either completely dropped or the resulting punishment was so light that it became nothing more than a joke.
As the saying goes: 'Rules are created by the powerful to control the weak. Not the other way around.' Thus, to give the weak a semblance of fairness, an official organization like the Extinguishing Hall needed to exist, to control the powerful to at least a certain extent, no matter the possible excesses it could create.
Seeing the changing expression on the raven-haired young man's face, Eldoria could tell what he was thinking and reassured him. "Believe me when I say that the Extinguishing Hall is essential and safeguards are put in place to make sure that any problem that could appear would stay in a manageable range. Also, Enforcers are only tasked with dealing with Tier 2 and above cultivators, and all of them are members of the other Halls. Those average citizens are under the Protector Hall's preview and not the Enforcers' own."
Seeing the worry still present on his student's face, Sergei, with an amused smile on his face, explained. "Actually, Demian, Enforcers are more similar to Internal Affairs than the Secret Police. Our role is to make sure that the system works as intended and no one abuses it for their own gains. The reason why Elder Silk said it's similar to the Secret Police is that when we're assigned a task, we need to hide our identity while performing our investigation. Otherwise, if we do it openly, the chance of our target slipping up and leaving evidence of their crimes is very low."
With a nod of her head, Eldoria added. "Exactly. But, Sergei, I already told you to call me Aunt Eldoria, didn't I?"
Hearing the reproachful tone, Mikhail rolled his eyes internally while thinking. 'Wasn't it a suggestion? How is it that it sounds like an order now? And here I was thinking that, after breaking through to the Void Sapling Rank, she'd grow more mature. Seems like she's still the same playful Eldoria I've known for all these years.'
On one hand, it was comforting for him, reducing the distance he felt due to the change in status between the two, but on the other hand, it was also a bit distressing when he thought that even with her new status, she was still acting like a young teenager at times.
'Forget it! If she did become that sort of extremely mature and dependable woman, it'd feel too strange. The current situation is much better.' Mikhail contemplated, not noticing that his expression had become more relaxed.
As his gaze moved from the enchanting woman's face to the six young people seated around the table, the corner of his lips slowly lifted, his expression content.
On Sergei's side, the latter avoided Eldoria's insistent gaze, coughing twice before mumbling. "Aunt Eldoria." His face, normally radiating quiet confidence, was now sporting an embarrassed expression.
No choice, having always kept a respectful distance from every woman in his life, calling another woman 'Aunt', especially someone as beautiful and powerful as Eldoria Silk, simply felt wrong to him.
Even the current relationship with his wife was mostly initiated by the latter, though once his decision was made to marry her, he had immediately turned much more proactive.
To be fair, it was not only women, but even men, with whom he had had some trouble growing closer. Acquaintances were numerous, but true friends? He had none. Ironic how, with his high status and cultivation, there was no one he could truly confide in, uh?
So, asking him to socialize superficially was fine, but calling someone he just met 'Aunt' was... Well, that was much harder. Everyone had their own weakness. For some, it was height, spiders, or even swimming in the sea.
For him, it was too much intimacy, his wife not included. Although if he were entirely truthful, since Demian and the three young women arrived in the Mansion, he had even been able to call Liya 'sister', something he could have never imagined years ago. Baby steps, as they say.
Seeing the embarrassed look on her husband's face, Ling felt a mix of happiness and amusement. 'I'm really glad I suggested that he take Demian as a student back then. I've never seen him wear so many expressions on his face as in the last few months.'
However, Sergei was, after all, her husband, and since there were two strangers present, she would not embarrass him in front of them. Call it a wife's respect. Thus, she instead coughed once to pull everyone's attention toward her before saying with a grin. "Aunt Eldoria. About the Extinguishing Hall... I think it's better to follow the rules and wait until they all break through to the Foundation Building Rank, right? That way, they'd at least be a bit safer in case they meet powerful enemies."
Nodding her head, Eldoria replied, her expression turning serious. "Of course, I wasn't planning on making them join right this instant. The risk to their lives would be too high. Especially for the two young ones here."
Her gaze moved from Adeliya to Seraphine, but unsurprisingly avoided Demian.
After all, saying he could be in danger against Tier 2 cultivators with his current combat power would be a joke, something easily visible to Eldoria's senses because of the massive difference between their cultivation.
And that was without her knowing about his Healing Factor granted by his Perk.
Shaking her head slightly, the Mermaid Empress added. "When it comes to the Extinguishing Hall, our visit is simply to inform all of you, giving you some time to decide if you want to join or not."