Chapter 1131
Though Anton had appeared from nowhere, Abder almost hadn’t thought he would ever not be around even though he had warned about it. Now the old man was gone, like he said. Abder didn’t have any reason to believe he wouldn’t visit- he’d also said he would come back to visit- but the shock at him suddenly being gone was real. Ever since he’d appeared he’d never been more than a moment away.
Which was probably why he left. Abder understood he didn’t want people to be dependent on him, and he hadn’t really understood that. He’d gone from street kid to someone that mattered, and Anton had been there for what was now a significant majority of his life.
Of course, just because he was gone didn’t mean things would suddenly fall apart. Abder hadn’t needed Anton for anything lately, but just knowing he was there meant something. And not just to him, but to everyone in the system. Though not everyone felt the same way about things.
Unlike Abder, the members of the Twisting Spike Sect who had been in control of everything hadn’t spent a majority of their lives with Anton around. Indeed, most of them had been well over a century old when Anton first arrived, with some being older. The time Anton had to influence people hadn’t changed, but people with a century of habits were more difficult to change than a kid.
The fact that he was obsessing so much about it already was actually a good realization. But it didn’t stop him from hoping that Anton was still somewhere, hiding and watching. That was because there were other people doing the same.
They thought they were pretty good, but they forgot one thing. A complete lack of feedback was more suspicious than anything else. So when all energy disappeared from a spot, Abder got suspicious. When sound was gone and he didn’t see anything in a reflection? Even more so. He wasn’t going to look directly, though. No point in letting anyone know he had caught on.
He hadn’t really known what he was getting into as far as advanced body tempering went. It had been difficult, but it wasn’t a wrong choice exactly. Just different, which was an advantage. If he had been normal, they would have been prepared to counteract him.
It could just be paranoia, but he made sure to be careful with his interactions. It was about time to go see Draza anyway, as the man should be able to help him secure cultivation techniques for some of the new kids. Maybe they would be fine with what they already had access to, but Abder didn’t want to deny anyone the opportunity to try whatever their hearts desired. And since he couldn’t just ask Anton to hand him copies now, there were a few things missing.
Draza ran a large emporium, as his influence and power had grown significantly under the influence of the Lower Realms Alliance. Technically everyone had grown in prosperity, but not everyone understood that if they merely compared themselves to others. Abder knew, though. The bottom rung was not so low that people would just starve or die on the streets.