Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

As Alex continued talking about them, he noticed Talia quickly coming out to the back in a hurry, before slowing down as she put on a calm face.

"Are you guys having fun?" she asked.

"Yes, sister Talia," the young kids spoke at the same time.

"Great," Talia said. "But I\'m afraid this is it."

"Huh? But we haven\'t heard anything yet," one of the kids said.

"This brother only just told us about 4 places," another one said.

"I see, but he is busy now, so he\'ll have to go," Talia said before quickly speaking to Alex with her spiritual sense. "I have some urgent business, your majesty. I will have to leave now."

"Oh, I see," Alex said.

"I\'m sorry I have to leave like this," the girl said. "You must have taken out some time for me from your busy schedule. If it wasn\'t so urgent, I wouldn\'t be leaving." 

"I understand," Alex said. "You can leave. I will stay behind with these kids for now. Let me know if I can be of any help."

"Thank you, your majesty," Talia said and quickly left the orphanage. 

Alex went back to talking with the kids for a while, telling them more about the other continents and the various unique things about them.

He talked for another hour and a half when someone walked out into the yard. It was a young girl, barely a few years older than the kids that were around him.

She walked up to him with a frown on her face and stood right next to him, crossing her arm in an act of what looked like anger.

Alex looked at the young girl and stopped talking about the Endless Tunnel in the Northern Continent. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Are you a coward?" the girl asked.

Alex paused for a bit. "What?" he asked.

"Why didn\'t you go with her?" she asked.

"Go with… Talia?" he asked.

"Yes, sister Talia. What sort of friend lets another friend walk to danger on their own?" the girl asked.

"Danger?" Alex straightened up. "What do you mean?"

The girl hesitated a bit hearing his serious tone. "You don\'t know?" she asked.

Alex shook his head. "I just met her today, so we aren\'t as close as you might think we are. So, she didn\'t really tell me anything other than that something urgent had come up," he said. "Can you tell me what it is?" 

The girl nodded and got close to him to whisper. "It\'s about a few of our brothers and sisters that we haven\'t seen in a while now. Most usually return a few months after leaving, but there has been a group that hasn\'t returned."

"We tried contacting the sect but they… they just tell us that they are sick, which is why we haven\'t heard from them," the girl said. "But that should be true since they can\'t be sick for nearly an entire year. 

Alex thought for a bit to try and understand the situation.

"So, you\'re worried that they might be hiding something from you all?" Alex asked. 

The girl nodded. "Also, they will be coming here any time within the month to take more of us away, and we don\'t want to go with them." 

"I see," Alex said. "Then I suppose I must make sure your sister isn\'t hurt in case it gets dangerous then."

He stood up and looked at the rest of them. "I\'ll be back in a day or two to tell you more about what I know," Alex said. "For now, it seems that I will have to leave."

Alex quickly walked away and the little girl followed him.

"Do you want my help? I can follow you," the girl said but Alex shook his head.

"Just tell me what the sect is that Talia might be going towards," Alex asked. 

"Oh it\'s, umm… the Frosted Glacier sect," the girl said.

"Thanks, I will make sure to keep your sister safe," Alex said and walked out. As soon as he was out, he waved his finger, gesturing to someone close by.

The Saint Transformation rank guard that was sent to him by the king arrived next to him. "Your majesty?" he asked.

"You heard it all, didn\'t you?" he asked. "So you must know where I am going to go next."

"The Frosted Glacier sect is about an hour\'s travel away toward the south," the man said. "But I will request your majesty to not go there. Let us handle whatever the problem is."

Alex chuckled. "Are you kidding me? It\'s been over a year since I\'ve been in a situation that might lead to some enjoyment. Let me have some fun," he said. 

"But it might get dangerous, your majesty," the man said. "Please don\'t go."

"Nonsense," Alex said. "I\'ve made up my mind. You said south, right? Let\'s go." 

Alex flew without hesitation, and the guard followed him without any choice. He wondered if he should use some force to keep him back, but he didn\'t dare do something like that to a King.

So, he could only reluctantly follow.

"Frosted Glacier… is there an icy region in the south? I don\'t remember anything like that," Alex said.

"There is none. It is all forests and grassland over here, with a bit of desert toward the bottom. Even the islands in the Emerald Kingdom have no snow on them," the man said.

"Then? Why is it named as such? A technique?" Alex asked.

"No, no," the man said, thinking for a bit. "If I\'m not wrong, it\'s because the person who created the sect, the founder, is actually someone who came here from the Northern Continent some 7 or 8 thousand years ago."

"Oh," Alex said with a curious look on his face. "Is he still alive?" 

"News of his death wasn\'t made public," the man said. "but It has been just too long for someone like that to survive."

"True," Alex said. "So, it is someone else that\'s the sect leader now, huh?" 

"A man named Lan Sikong," the guard said. "He\'s a new leader of the sect, who became one just in the last decade or so," the guard explained.

"I see," Alex said. "And is he a good guy? How\'s his character?" 

"I can\'t really tell you, your majesty. I haven\'t met the man, only heard about him, and from what I hear, he is rather reclusive."

"And the kids from the orphanage? What are the chances that they are being mistreated?" he asked.

"Such cases pop up once in a while, but the empire wipes such sects and organizations from the face of the realm, so most don\'t dare do sort a thing," the guard said.

"But they still happen, don\'t they?" Alex asked.

"Some are a little too ambitious for their own good," the guard said.

"I see," Alex said. "Then, for the sake of these kids, I hope this Sikong fellow is not one of them then."

The guard nodded and continued following Alex as they flew towards the Frosted Glacier sect."