The expulsion from the Mystic Ice Sect hit Noah like a physical blow. One moment he was envisioning a future where his alchemical prowess subtly controlled an entire sect of icy beauties, Professor Maelis by his side; the next, he was being frogmarched towards the Citadel gates by stern-faced Ice Sect disciples, Professor Maelis offering only a look of resigned pity.
'That bitch Meng Yao!' Noah seethed internally as the massive ice gates slammed shut behind him and his small, terrified group of male alchemists and artificers. The biting northern wind felt like a personal insult.
'And those ungrateful Ice Sect sluts! After all the potions I brewed for them, the elixirs I gifted! This is how they repay me?' His mind conveniently glossed over the fact that his "gifts" were calculated moves in his own game of influence.
