Replaying second statement:

"There's no chance of that. The moment I appear in front of Council, the restriction he placed will trigger and I will die. You know there is no way to stop that. Just kill me. All my life, all I wanted was power. For power, I was ready to do anything and everything. Curse my luck for being born in the same time as that man, who is a thousand times more ruthless than me but still adored by millions. He will betray the continent. If you fools continue to trust him, you will only be led to ruin. End it."]

Daneel remembered that the first statement had been said in response to the Matron asking how the man had dared to use demonic plants which would ruin the land forever.

The second, was his response to the Matron's request to testify in front of the High Council.

Going through his words, Daneel felt that same panic from before when he had heard that the Church might attack in just a year.

He knew that he couldn't trust the words of that black-robed man either, but something told him that someone like that wouldn't lie, especially when they were going to die.

After all, it fit. Someone who wouldn't hesitate to kill 10,000 people to break through was definitely capable of siding with the church and helping them for his own hidden motives. Also, the man had stated that Ashah.e.l.l would betray the continent, just like the Watcher claimed.

Right now, Daneel was inclined to believe them both, as he just couldn't risk ignoring this threat.

The best case would be if he could somehow verify everything with his own eyes, and for this to happen, what he needed to do was clear:

He needed to accept the Watcher's request, and infiltrate the Big Four.

Actually, he also had another motive in wis.h.i.+ng for this – data.

The Big Four would definitely be the place with the most comprehensive collection of information in the entire continent, so if he managed to infiltrate one of them, it was possible that he might be able to empower the system with the data it needed.

The way he saw it, the best decision was to trust the Watcher for now and at least go and find out for himself just what kind of man this Ashah.e.l.l was and what he had in place.

However, he needed to be stronger.

Hence, he had made his decision.

He had told the Watcher that he would infiltrate the Big Four, but he needed some time before he could embark on that mission.

Time to break through to become a Warrior.

Of course, the Watcher had been more than happy to hear this, and had told him to just go and come back when he was ready. Apparently, he had been planning something like this for a long time, and had a foolproof way of sneaking him inside and giving him the opportunity to achieve what he wanted.

All in all, Daneel's excursion to the Hidden Kill Sect had been very fruitful.

Not only had he taken control of it, obtained an inheritance and upgraded the system, he had also figured out a way to possibly get the all-important data were also obtaining the opportunity to foil the Church's early attack on Angaria, if that was true. Of course, before leaving, he had also earned a fortune which would go a long way in furthering the plans he had put in motion in Lanthanor.

Now, he had just one goal: uncover all the secrets he could using the upgraded system, and rush through to the Warrior realm.

Too long had he been stuck as an Exalted Human, unable to devote too much time to training while taking care of so many vital things.

Thankfully, it was now time to change that.

Hearing the sound of something shattering, Daneel looked up to see that his way was un.o.bstructed.

This was the highest tower of the beautiful Withering Leaf Sect, and as he entered the sect leader's room and viewed the breathtaking scenery, he smiled to himself.

The stone room had many bookcases and paintings, but using the system's instructions, Daneel walked to a specific painting of a very exquisite leaf.

Lifting it up, he punched.

The formation had already been deactivated, so all that remained was a wall stopping him from his goal.

As expected, the stones parted to reveal a hidden s.p.a.ce, in which there was a small velvet pouch.

Picking it up, Daneel quickly opened it and saw that it contained numerous cubes, which looked like data trinkets.

Going through each one, he smiled with satisfaction due to the fact that he had found what he wanted.

[Partial Inheritance/Spell Technique: Art of the Withering Leaf found. Using the concept of a leaf's ability to sustain itself and survive despite the harsh conditions it is subjected to, the spell technique allows its user to absorb magic attacks up to a certain threshold before shooting them back with multiplied power. Because the inheritance is partial, only 2 attacks up to the level of an Exalted Warrior can be absorbed and returned. Factor of Power Multiplication: 1.5x. It is expected that the full inheritance has the capability of absorbing more than two attacks up to Exalted Champion level before returning them with a power multiplication of at least 2.0x.]

Yes!

Another inheritance, and a very practical one at that.

In fact, Daneel had seen this one at work when the vice sect leader had used it against the ex-King of Lanthanor and the Grand Court Mage. They had only been able to watch in horror as their attacks had been returned towards them, shooting past them to kill the members of the Royal Family.

Now, he was capable of such an incredible feat too.

Humming to himself merrily again, Daneel teleported away to his next stop.

Only, he couldn't have suspected that his act of breaking through that formation had alerted an enemy whom he had forgotten about.