Affinity:Chaos

The atmosphere was tense with both Sage Plane Elementalists staring at each other. 

Blake, Delia, Grey, and his friends had all gone over to the Principal's side, staring at Jason and the Lightning Elementalist. 

"To think that you've broken through to the Sage Plane, Oliver," The Lightning Elementalist remarked gently. 

The relationship between the two wasn't bad, unfortunately, they were against each other. 

"I got lucky, senior," The Principal replied. 

"Hmm, since you're already in the Sage Plane, I won't make things difficult for you. I can assure you that your son will not be killed by the Emperor, but you'll have to fight with us. After all, you were once a member of the empire and still are," The Lightning Elementalist made an offer. 

"I'm sorry, senior. But you and I know you're not the one who can make that decision. The Emperor has already set his sights on my son and his friends, all based on a rumor he doesn't even know if it's true," Oliver said. 

Jason froze for a second when he heard this. They never really thought of it this way. It was never confirmed that Grey and his friends had the item, they only heard from the mouth of someone that they did, and since there was no way to confirm, they just assumed they had it. 

"You have a point there, but until we take them to the Capital to test their elemental grades, we can't be sure if it's a rumor or not," Jason said calmly. 

He thought about the issue for a while before replying. If Grey and his friends truly obtained the Great Earth Essence Liquid, then their elemental grades will naturally increase. The records of their elemental grades were recorded in the Lunar Academy. All they had to do was to test them again, if there was no increase, then they would let them go. 

Grey and his friends exchanged glances. They all knew their elemental grades were not what they used to be. Grey's situation was particularly worse. 

He had seven elements, and of all seven, the lowest grade was purple. He had two that were in the violet grade, and one that was even above that. If people were to find out, they would definitely try to find out how he managed to achieve such a feat. 

Not only that, but he also had to deal with the issue of being able to actually obtain more elements, since when he entered the Lunar Academy he obviously had two. 

"I can not allow that," Oliver stepped in front of the group, blocking them from the Sage Plane Elementalist from the Qilin Empire. 

"You don't have a choice," An irritated snort came from behind them. 

Turning around, they saw the Fire Elementalist who had a gloomy expression. Fighting against his dead Teacher infuriated him to no end, and he was currently looking for an outlet to unleash his rage. 

He prayed Oliver stood with his decision of wanting to fight against them. Then he would kill him without thinking twice. Oliver might be a Sage Plane Elementalist like them, but compared to them, he was still a newbie when it came to unleashing the true potential of a Sage Plane expert. 

The expression of the group turned dark when they saw this. 

'The plan is to be caught in the first place, it's not like we have a choice.' Grey thought while staring at the Principal. 

….

Deep in the woods close to the borders. 

The figures were almost going berserk in anger. 

"Relay the message to Vaughn, tell him they have been captured by the Qilin Empire's Crowned Prince," The cloaked figure regarded as the Supreme One said to the others. 

One of the small figures brought out an orb, closing her eyes, she communicated with the Emperor of the Blue Wind Empire. 

Grey and his friends hadn't even been captured by the Crowned Prince, yet the news had spread in the Blue Wind Empire thanks to the orb owned by the small figures. 

….

Oliver didn't stop them for long. Looking in the eyes of Grey and his friends, he could only shake his head as he allowed them to be brought away by the group from the Qilin Empire. 

Jason thanked him for being so understanding. 

With the capture of Grey and his friends, there was no use in going to the battlefield any longer. Jason headed straight for the Capital, with the two Sage Plane Elementalists in tow. 

Oliver, Blake, and Delia followed as well. They couldn't leave Grey and his friends. Grey told them of his plan to use Void to escape, but they still found it difficult to leave them in the hands of Jason. 

….

  The next day. 

They arrived at the entrance of the Capital. This was the second time Grey was coming here, and on both occasions, he felt different emotions as he stepped past the gate. 

When he came the first time, he was filled with excitement, but now, he only felt a little hint of sadness. Coming from an empire that would want to kill a citizen just because of a fortuitous encounter they encountered was sickening. 

It was like they didn't want them to advance quickly. What sort of empire wouldn't want its citizens to grow stronger? 

This one apparently. 

The crux of the whole matter lay in the Emperor's fear of being overthrown when Grey and his friends grew to the stage where they were unrivaled. 

They didn't have the chance to form a good relationship with them since they were in the Lunar Academy. 

During the time Jason was bringing them here, the news of Grey and friends being captured by him had already spread on the battlefield. Even the other empires had found out and they were already mobilizing their forces, rushing in the direction of the Qilin Empire. 

The Stellar Empire was stuck in a dilemma, unsure if they should assist the Qilin Empire or join the others to pressure them. 

They also knew that the Qilin Empire had plans of wanting to dominate the entire continent, and Jason, the Crowned Prince was even more ambitious than his father.