The border’s unique conditions led to equally unique’s architecture. With a population entirely of cultivators and no real areas of influence, domains were limited, but the buildings themselves could be bigger.

Mairis was one such example. It was small for a so-called city, but it was made entirely of huge structures. It also expanded underground in ways that places hosting mortals wouldn’t.

The eastern Mercenary Guild followed that trend, too. As a righteous force, its branch was on the border’s southern edge, consisting of a massive building that was nothing short of a small wooden castle.

The building had a square base and five-story-tall walls that acted both as a barrier and as various rooms. Some were taverns. Others were dormitories. There were even multiple individual markets split according to the rarity of their goods.

Of course, there were also plenty of mission boards, with some spaces meant specifically for them. A lawless area offered numerous worthwhile tasks issued by individuals, Cults, Guilds, and all the other parties on the border.

Truth be told, as long as lone cultivators were half-decent or could band together, they would have it good despite the Mercenary Guild’s cut. There was too much to do in that unclaimed area, and no individual force had enough manpower to handle it all, making things easy for unaffiliated experts.

Sure, danger was ever-present, and the same went for traps and whatnot. It wasn’t a utopia, but lone cultivators generally lacked opportunities the most, and that was exactly what that branch of the Mercenary Guild provided.

A vast open area stood at the building’s center, like a square serving as a training ground. That was another service the branch provided. As long as cultivators could afford it, they could join the Guild’s members in their daily workouts, benefiting from greater experts’ supervision.

All in all, it was an almost self-sufficient structure that traded in many valuable goods, but such was the Mercenary Guild’s nature. Its occupations were broader, and the border’s unique situation deepened that feature.

However, not all was well in the recent period. Andrew knew as much, despite being a young foundation expert who had joined the Guild just one year ago.

No one dared to speak it out loud, but rumors were stronger than fear, and Andrew had heard many. Even if he hadn’t, he would have seen that something was off from the repercussions that had hit the branch.

A bit over a month ago, the branch’s leader, Lady Jessica, had lost her arm in a mission centered around rank 3 ingredients. She had also come back empty-handed, and that wasn’t even the worst part.

Everyone knew that rumors were often unfounded or greatly exaggerated, but the cultivation journey was a world of superhuman heroes.

Cultivators couldn’t help but drool over legendary feats that embodied innate defiance. Overcoming impossible odds through power was what that journey was all about, at least at its core. In many cases, it was also what most experts sought to do.

Of course, reality was different. An organization would always be stronger than an individual. A superior expert would always suppress weaker ones without repercussions. Such was the cold truth.

However, every once in a while, stories about individuals overcoming those challenges would spread, sending everyone into a frenzy, rekindling hopes of replicating those impossible feats, hopes that reality should have long shattered.

It wasn’t even a year since something of the sort had unfolded. Lancelot of the living flame, eight-root-genius famous throughout the Kingdom, had done what the Church had failed to accomplish for centuries, claiming the inheritance of the legendary Archbishop Ignatius.

On top of that, Lancelot had publicly claimed to have killed an Elder from the Shrouded Desert Sect, despite the latter never officially confirming the news.

There were cooling nuances to the feat. Lancelot was a true genius, while everyone else wasn’t, so no one really believed they could replicate his achievements.

Yet, the feat stirred the cultivation world awake, reminding it that heroes still existed, laying the groundwork for the new, shocking rumor.

After all, stories said that Lady Jessica hadn’t lost her arm against a fellow branching expert. The rumor blamed two troublemakers from the Heavenly Sword Cult and a certain pair of Dao partners who had made themselves known in Mairis.

With reputation playing a big part in the cultivation world, the news of rooting experts defeating Lady Jessica made cultivators lose faith in the Guild’s branch.

To make things worse, Lady Jessica herself had changed.

Andrew obviously hadn’t seen much of her. The difference in their power was too great, but Jessica was famous for commanding authority wherever she went with her firm, cold, and confident behavior.

Instead, rumors of a disheveled Lady Jessica flying from Mairis to the Heavenly Sword Cult like a madman had spread nonstop in the previous month.

That led many to believe the impossible rumor to be true, especially since Lady Jessica’s missing arm gave away most of it. At least, many wanted to believe it. They wanted to live in a world where heroes existed and could defy the insurmountable gap between cultivation stages.

Of course, those problems were far beyond Andrew, and he didn’t really worry, either. He might be young, but he knew rumors would vanish just as quickly as they came, especially in the face of a power at the very core of the Kingdom.

The branch might be in a slump, but it would outlast it. The Guilds couldn’t fail. Andrew was so sure of it that he was baffled that more people didn’t join them.

Still, it was quite boring. As a foundation expert, Andrew’s task involved standing in front of the branch’s gate to welcome clients, but the green plain around it had been empty for a while, and that morning promised to be no different.

So, Andrew almost jumped in happiness when he saw a dark figure in the distance, slowly approaching the building. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and hidden behind a black cloak. An ominous aura also surrounded him, but that only confirmed Andrew’s convictions.

Even someone as scary-looking as that cloaked rooting expert had to rely on the Guilds. They were too crucial to the cultivation world to fail.

"Fellow Daoist, I’m Andrew," Andrew cupped his fist when the cloaked rooting expert reached him. "How may I assist you?"

It was impossible to see it due to the hood, but the rooting expert seemed to pay more attention to the large emblem on the gate instead of Andrew.

"Is this Lady Jessica’s branch?" The rooting expert eventually asked, with a cold streak in his emotionless voice.

Andrew’s smile stiffened. He truly hoped the client wasn’t after rumors, but he might have also come there under recommendation.

"It is," Andrew confirmed, his head still lowered. "However, I’m afraid Lady Jessica is currently elsewhere."

"I know," The rooting expert responded.

The reply confused Andrew, but he couldn’t address it since his world spun. He felt something grabbing his face, his feet leaving the ground, his back hitting a tough surface, an explosion, and sliding over soil.

Andrew’s back hurt, but, strangely enough, not terribly. However, he found himself lying in the branch’s central area, noticing the various cultivators around him looking ahead.

After looking in the same direction, Andrew saw that the tall gate now had a large hole at its center, with the cloaked rooting expert calmly crossing it. His whole demeanor grew heavy once he stepped inside the training ground, and wisps of a black gas even escaped his figure.

"I won’t kill anyone who leaves now," The rooting expert declared from under his hood, his Qi enhancing his voice to make it echo throughout the area. "But I won’t allow this place to exist anymore."