System vs Rebirth

Old Jade raised his head, looking at the sparkling white town. His gaze soon shifted to a tall tower located in the center of the city.

"It's been a while since I last visited the city. I was so focused on my research in my own basement that I rarely came here. I guess I should visit my disciple first."

Old Jade walked into the tower without raising any attention. He had retired and was under the protection of the Ardagan family, so he personally didn't wish to create more trouble for the Ardagan family.

He sneaked into his former office that the Tower Association had given him, which obviously was succeeded in by his student.

"!!!" As if sensing an incoming presence, his disciple turned around, finding Old Jade come through the window. He hurriedly opened the window while saying, "Teacher."

"It's been a while, Gaston. How is your life here?" Old Jade smiled as he landed inside.

"I apologize for calling you back here, Master. It's just that the situation in the Tower Association is not really good. As much as I want to peacefully research things, the problem has become too big."

"Is that so? Let's listen to your situation first." Old Jade nodded. "You said in the letter that the problem also involved the Ardagan family…"

"Yes. Please take a seat first, Master. I'll prepare tea."

"No. It's fine. I come here secretly, so I don't wish to be seen by anyone else." Old Jade shook his head.

Gaston nodded his head. "I understand. There are three big things currently happening in the association. First of all, they seem to be forming a coalition between elders as if planning to make someone a leader of the association."

"What? The Tower Association is a place for knowledge and research, not a political party like the Demon Banner Army. The reason why we have a lot of elders is for this exact reason. There might be a lot of discussions about the position of a grand elder, but all of them are shot down right away." Old Jade's expression turned grim.

"Yes. If it's dismissed right away, I wouldn't have called for you, Teacher. It's just that five elders are in cahoots, trying to make this grand elder position a reality."

"What?" Old Jade dropped his jaw. "There are a total of twelve main towers, which mean twelve elders… How about the remaining seven? If they get two more, by using the voting right, they will actually create the grand elder position…"

"That's the problem right now, Master. They are sneaking around. From what I've heard, they're currently approaching three elders: the Lightning Lord, the Dark Lord, and the Magic Lord."

"…" Old Jade fell into deep thought. "How about you?"

"They are trying to use their position as well as your retirement to denounce me from my position, saying that I'm not worthy of this position."

"Are they insane? They are not planning to get only 7 votes, but they're planning for complete control." Old Jade clenched his hands into fists. "What are they doing?"

"I'm not sure, but there is one thing related to the second problem. It's only a rumor, but it has been spread around the tower."

"What is the rumor?"

"They said that Noel Ardagan had stolen the secret of the Tower Association and claimed it as his own."

"Huh?" Old Jade tilted his head in confusion. "They believed it? And what kind of thing had he stolen?"

"They're claiming that all the rune technologies were designed by the Tower Association and that he stole them from them several years ago when he visited the academy."Content held by NôvelDrama.Org.

Old Jade's expression darkened. "And people believed it?"

"It was because they only claimed the Spirit Enhancement, not the Runes themselves. Spirit Enhancement had been researched for more than a thousand years, so it was hard to say anything in that regard. The rune knowledge simply perfected the already existing system."

Old Jade never expected that the Tower Association had been so corrupted in just a few months he was gone.

No, it was probably something they had been planning this whole time. Old Jade leaving the association was the trigger for them to make a move.

Old Jade pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now that I think about it, he has once told me that some of the elders in the Tower Association have defected to either the royal family or the Supreme Devil Organization. It seems that they have been biding their time to do all this."

"I'm afraid that's true." Gaston nodded in agreement. "Looking at the situation, they are not claiming everything. They're planning to take a bite from Noel Ardagan. This will diminish a bit of the Ardagan family's strength without giving a reason for the Ardagan family to go into an all-out war.

"In addition, if Noel Ardagan makes his move, others will see him as a bully and gang up on him. I'm not doing this for him. I'm just worried about you since you're now staying in his place."

Old Jade patted Gaston's shoulders after hearing those words. At the same time, he was also contemplating the current situation.

"It seems that the situation has gone from bad to worse. I'm sorry for having you entangled in all of this." Old Jade sighed.

"That is fine. Even if I'm not, they will still try to get rid of me. It's just a matter of time." Gaston sighed. "In the past, there were records about previous civilizations saying that powerful countries usually collapsed from within. I guess that was correct."

"Hush. Don't say anything that would lead to treason." Old Jade waved his hand down. "I'll try contacting him after this. We will wait and see what he is planning to do next. Also, I might visit those three elders and convince them not to be swayed by everything. Besides, even though you are not as strong as me, your achievement both in martial prowess or research is the best among the candidates.

You are definitely qualified to be my successor more than anyone else."

Gaston nodded. "In that case, I'll tell you about the third problem…"