The man standing across the sea was a very familiar figure. For the past few days, he was constantly in Harry's thoughts and worst fears. Harry had fervently wished to never see him again, and he cursed his terrible luck that he would appear here.
It was Walden Macnair.
No matter how Harry refused to believe it, it was him. There was no mistaking that ugly scowl, the crooked teeth, but most of all, the huge battle-axe strapped to his back. And of course, the way Macnair glared at him as if he was planning to slice him into a thousand pieces.
And standing right behind him was Theodore Nott, who looked even angrier. His face looked like a tomato about to explode. It was distorted with rage upon seeing Harry and the Swan Sea Sect arrive, and seeing all the muffled laughter and mocking pointing only made it ten times worse. If it weren't for the Swan Sea Sect's Sect Master standing between them, Theodore would definitely rush over and murder him.
'Damn it, why are they here?' Harry cursed. 'Our fight was three days ago, so shouldn't they have returned to the New Port Sect? Why are they still lingering around?'
Not just that, but there were even more disciples behind Macnair now than when he challenged the Swan Sea Sect. There had been 50 Outer Disciples and 100 Inner Disciples, but now there were at least 200 Inner Disciples behind him, all staring at the Swan Sea Sect hatefully.
"Macnair," the Sect Master stated with obvious displeasure. "What do you think you're doing here?"
"Why can't I be here?" he sneered back. "It just happened that the Swan's Seamount was about to erupt, so we decided to participate. What, are you claiming to own the Swan Sea?"
"Of course not. But let me warn you – if you're here to cause more trouble, I don't mind continuing where we left off."
Even though the two of them were standing a mile apart, power hummed between them. The very air was trembling, and the unaffiliated cultivators took nervous strokes backwards, very clear what was going on. Word of the competition between the two sects had spread all across the Swan Sea City. Everyone knew that this time, not only did the Swan Sea Sect win, the legendary James Evans had defeated 40 Outer Disciples of the New Port Sect in a row, and then defeated a man at the Qi Absorption Realm. And not just any man, but a member of the Nott Sacred Clan! And if that wasn't enough, he even kicked Theodore Nott in the balls!
Saying there were tensions between the two sects was like saying the Swan Sea was wet. Fighting could break out at any moment, and when characters on the level of Walden Macnair and Gwenog Jones fought, nowhere nearby was safe. They didn't want to be anywhere near that battle.
"Hmph. You're just a woman who can only flaunt your numerical advantage. If you have guts, challenge me without threatening my disciples."
"If you have guts, don't attack my Outer Disciples. Find someone at your own cultivation level to fight," the Sect Master shot back.
"I don't need a lowly woman like you to comment on my conduct," Macnair spat back.
"If I am lowly, then what are you? At least I'm above attacking a junior at the Body Tempering Realm."
Macnair's scowl grew even deeper. No matter what he said, the Sect Master would just find a way to bring it back to how he lost his temper and attacked James.
"Your Swan Sea Sect is harboring a criminal. I suggest he enjoys his life while he still can," he parted with a final threat and turned around to bark orders at his disciples.
The tension left as Macnair did, but Harry still felt uneasy. How could he not? For the hundredth time, he was filled with regret over impulsively kicking Theodore Nott in the balls.
He almost had half a mind to turn the boat around and row back to the safety of the sect. In the end, his desire for treasures won out, and his friends steered their boat to be as far from the New Port Sect as possible. But even there wasn't safe, and when Harry looked off the side of his raft, he gulped. Barely 10 meters under the surface of the water, a whole herd of grindylows stared back at him, cautiously observing the human arrivals. Further below, large shadows swam in the darkness of the depths, indicating the presence of larger beasts. There was no way of knowing what was prowling down there.
As they all impatiently waited, more clans and cultivators began appearing. Some people came alone or accompanied by small groups, and choose a less populated area in hopes of picking a treasure without much else interference. Thousands of individuals could be seen scattered across the Swan Sea.
There were two figures that caught Harry's attention, and his vision lingered on them. Both wore thick cloaks that covered their whole bodies, and their hoods must have had some special formations because they blocked out their faces. The two of them were squat and lumpy, and one had a hunched back. It was impossible to determine their features or gender, but Harry felt that the one with the hunched back looked a bit more like a woman.
Though their appearances were odd, Harry nonetheless got a dangerous feeling from both. After witnessing the confrontation, most people didn't dare to get too close to the New Port Sect, but these two people stood nearby, seemingly unafraid.
Next, some larger clans and sects arrived. Cultivators began appearing in groups, by the dozens or hundreds, and claiming larger areas for themselves. There were even fights breaking out now, despite all the space available.
Harry just shook his head. Was there really a point in fighting over this? This fissure was five miles long, long enough that everyone could have plenty of space for themselves. Some people just wanted to show off their strength, it seemed, and establish some prestige while everyone else was watching.
One particular group arrived in front of the New Port Sect. Not recognizing them, and coming too late to witness the tension between the two sects, they mistook the New Port Sect for a group of unknown cultivators.
"My clan will be taking this spot. Move – "
"Scram!" Macnair roared, instantly revealing his power at the Core Formation Realm. His arm chopped down through the air, and the man who spoke exploded into a shower of blood.
His companions screamed in fright, paling when they realized this brutal cultivator was a Core Formation Realm expert. They hurriedly turned to flee, and their leader's remains sank into the Swan Sea. Shocked by the gory display of power, the rest of the cultivators on the Swan Sea stilled, and it wasn't long before there was a large gap between the New Port Sect and everyone else – except for the two cloaked figures, who acted like nothing out of the ordinary happened.
'No wonder they call him the Executioner,' Harry thought grimly. 'He doesn't hesitate at all before killing. And I… I actually managed to piss him off! It would take even less effort for him to kill me.'
'But, that's just life in this world. Piss off the wrong person, and you won't even know how you died,' Harry sighed.
A moment later, another group of cultivators arrived, wearing robes with the image of a tusk and fist crossed. Most people arrived by using their Qi to propel their boats, but this group of people were rowing on an enormous white canoe. The figure at the stern was a giant of a man, with a bald rectangular head, and glared at the gathered cultivators indiscriminately. Harry estimated him to be eight feet tall, and he was tightly clutching a spear just as long. The tip of the spear was made from a long and curved tusk. Harry immediately knew he was the Patriarch of the Ivory Fist Clan.
Their gazes met across the sea, the Patriarch's hateful eyes locking in on his face, and the water around him began trembling, frothing and bubbling. Harry could see pure rage reflected in his eyes, and his grip on his weapon noticeably tightened. Even from this far away, Harry could sense this man's killing intent and desire to stab that spear straight through his body.
Once again, the Sect Master's presence was the only thing stopping him from outright attacking.
'I managed to piss him off, too,' Harry wanted to crawl back to the sect and hide. The Ivory Fist Patriarch and Walden Macnair were two of the strongest cultivators around, and he, a minor Body Tempering Realm junior, actually angered both so badly that they wanted to kill him.
"I've heard that tusk came from the corpse of a high-level Heaven Grade beast," Slade muttered besides him. "The story is that the Patriarch from two generations ago, so Maynard's great-grandfather, slew the beast and took the tusk as a trophy. Now it's become the defining weapon of their clan."
'Thanks, that really helped calm my nerves,' Harry sarcastically thought.
"Don't worry so much," Shaun tried to reassure him. "With the Sect Master and all the Elders here, there's no way he'd dare to do anything."
"Right, that's true," Harry supposed and relaxed a bit.
Luckily for him, the Ivory Fist Clan's Patriarch realized the same thing, and didn't seem to want to create a scene here. He nodded at the two Core Disciples from his clan, then led his clan members to a different section of the sea. Harry breathed out a long sigh of relief.
As some of the larger clans and groups started appearing, his friends pointed them out.
"Those people are from the Swan Sea City's Alchemy Guild," Scott pointed at a group standing close to the Swan Sea Sect's Alchemists.
"They're really close with the Alchemists from our sect – actually, our Alchemy Hall is basically a funnel to the Alchemy Guild. After the Alchemists leave the Swan Sea Sect, they usually take up a position in the Alchemy Guild. They're – hey, I think they're talking about you, James!" Sam laughed.
Indeed, Noah from the Alchemy Hall was standing very closely to around a dozen Alchemists, who stood on an ornate boat of their own. Noah could be seen glaring daggers and pointing at him, and the members of the Alchemy Guild were also looking in his direction. There was no doubt as to the subject of their conversation.
'Damn, I pissed them off too,' Harry sighed. How did the situation reach this point? In some ways, offending the Alchemy Guild was even worse than offending the Ivory Fist Clan. The Alchemy Guild of the Swan Sea City was just one of many branches of the overall Alchemy Guild of the whole empire, which was a colossal power. Though these people lived in the Swan Sea City, they were part of an independent entity and didn't fall under the jurisdiction of the Swan Sea Sect. Even the Sect Master wouldn't dare to claim she held any power over them.
"And that's the Hopkins Clan, over there," Sam pointed to another group in the distance. "That man in the center is the Patriarch, the father of Wayne and Wendell Hopkins. They're a very mysterious clan, and people don't know much about them. They're widely regarded as the 3rd strongest group, after our sect and the Ivory Fist Clan, though their true strength is unknown. However, it shouldn't be much lower than the Ivory Fist Clan's strength."
"Are they a clan of sword cultivators?" Harry asked. "I've noticed some of their disciples carry swords."
"No, they're not. They're a clan of formation cultivators actually, which is really rare. You probably haven't seen very many of them, but formation cultivators can also be terrifying. They're not necessarily the strongest opponents in terms of cultivation, but their runes and formations allow them to fight above their level, and even fight against many people at once."
"Exactly. If you fight against a formation cultivator, you have to take them down as quickly as possible. If you give them time to set up their formations, it's over for you. There are countless formations – formations for defense, offense, concealment, teleportation, even slaughter formations that can kill groups of people in seconds. Once their formations are set up, the battle is in their hands," Slade warned.
"Well, unless you're Theodore Nott," he muttered as an afterthought.
"They're also terrifying because of their secrecy," Sam continued. "Formation cultivators never expose how their formations work. If people knew how to counter it, it'd be useless in a battle. That's why all formation experts will guard their secrets. Their knowledge of runes and inscribing techniques are all secrets too. That's why formation experts almost always have the element of surprise. Make no mistake, their clan and Patriarch are a very powerful force."
"And mysteriously, around two years ago, the whole Hopkins Clan went into guarded seclusion, pretty much overnight. Besides for major events like these, they stopped showing their appearances. All of them stay holed up in their territory. If you walk around the city, it's very rare to see anyone from the Hopkins Clan. No one knows what happened to cause that."
'Formation experts,' Harry frowned. He knew nothing about formations, but he understood how powerful they could be. Warren was a great example – his formations made him invincible under the Core Formation Realm. It was only because of Theodore Nott's overpowering battle ability that led to his defeat. But Harry doubted there was any Qi Absorption Realm cultivator native to here that could defeat Warren in a fight.
"Let me warn you," Slade suddenly said, "you better not piss off the Hopkins Clan too –"
"I won't!" Harry exclaimed. "Do you really think I'd do that?"
His friends just looked at each other and burst into laughter. Harry shook his head, knowing there was no way to salvage his reputation. His friends pointed out some other large clans, and seeing all the gathered cultivators, Harry began to appreciate the strength of a Tier 2 city.
He could also understand why the treasure eruptions were such a major event. Under normal circumstances, nobody dared to come here due to the countless Magic Beasts. But now, with so many human cultivators, it was the Magic Beasts that were reluctant to appear. It was the only chance for ordinary cultivators to come out to this area of the Swan Sea.
There was nothing to do until the eruptions started, so they leisurely sat on their raft and waited. Eventually, Harry brought up a question that had been on his mind ever since he arrived at the Swan Sea Sect.
"Hey guys, why do they call this place the Swan Sea? Are there a lot of swans here or something? Because I haven't seen any."
His question was met with silence, and when Harry looked up, he was faced with incredulous stares.
"James, you haven't heard the legend of the ancient swan?" Scott asked in surprise.
"No?"
"Come on, it's one of the most famous tales in the whole empire! Didn't you read The Tales of Beedle the Bard growing up? You know, The Tale of Three Brothers, The Sands That Turned Back Time, The Swan and the Sun, and dozens of others?!"
"Not me," Harry shrugged and looked at his friends blankly. He grew up mining crystals in a dark cave.
"James, you're a very interesting person," Scott laughed. "I've found that when it comes to common knowledge, you don't seem to know any of it! Who wants to tell The Swan and the Sun to James?"
"I'll do it," Shaun offered, and launched into an explanation.
"Many tens of thousands of years ago, in a time long before our empire was founded, and when Magic Beasts were the strongest creatures in the world, this place was home to a swan. This swan was said to be a species of a mythical Magic Beast, and its cultivation level surpassed the limits of cultivators living today. And you know how beasts get larger as they cultivate, right?"
Harry nodded.
"Well, this swan, it was said to be enormous. It was so large that its wings blotted out the sky, and its feathers were larger than clouds. A flap of its wings could send storms across the entire empire. Its metal claws could wrench entire cities out the ground, and its metal beak was capable of swallowing rivers and seas."
"It's just a legend," Scott hurriedly said after seeing the skeptical look on Harry's face.
"Right, the story has been passed down for tens of thousands of years now, so it's inevitable that some details have been lost or modified over time. You can't believe everything about it," Shaun admitted.
"Anyways, there are lots of stories about the swan, and it's impossible to determine what was true or false. But all the versions of the story agree on one thing – in its age, the swan was the strongest being in the world, and felt that our world was too small to contain it. After it defeated all the other Magic Beasts and established itself as the ruler of the world, it used its massive wings to tear through the sky and fly off into the Outer World."
"Outer World?"
"You know, up there," Shaun pointed directly upwards.
Harry looked up, only to see the clouds and the sky.
"Up where?"
"The Outer World! You know, the stars!"
'Are you crazy?' Harry wanted to ask, but he kept his mouth shut and let Shaun continue.
"As it left our world, it was attacked by another Magic Beast. The two beasts fought a world-shaking battle, but in the end, the swan was killed. Its body crashed back onto land; it was so large that the impact formed a massive crater. Blood poured out its body, blue blood, flowing out like lakes and rivers, filling the crater and becoming a sea – which we now call the Swan Sea."
Harry blankly looked at his other friends, who just nodded.
"Don't tell me, all of you believe that?"
"Well, as I said, I think it's been exaggerated over the years. But it's one of the most famous stories in the whole empire. There has to be some truth in it."
"Ok, fine, let's say the swan actually existed. But if the swan was truly that large, how could it have been killed? Does that make any sense to you?"
"According to legend, it fought an even larger and stronger Magic Beast. It was a crow with three legs that lived in the Sun, and devoured its flames to grow. When the swan flew too close to the Sun, the crow flew out to attack it. The two birds had a battle among the stars. The swan was killed, and fell to the ground. The crow was also injured, but it managed to survive and fly back into the Sun," Shaun finished the story and expectantly looked at Harry.
"…I can't believe it," Harry finally stated. How could anyone believe this crazy story?
"That's alright," Shaun shrugged. "I think most people don't. All the stories in The Tales of Beedle the Bard are metaphors, really. Each story has a moral lesson, and parents tell the stories to teach those lessons to their kids. The story about the ancient swan is more about the dangers of being overly ambitious and aiming too high. You know the phrase 'don't fly to close to the sun', right? That came from this tale."
Before Harry could respond to that, excited shouting could be heard across the Swan Sea. The water was starting to tremble.