Showing His Hand to Attract Talent
The old ghost was surprised by Xian's sudden change in character. "You are not a member of the Superior Crafting Guild?" The ancestor asked. "No, and you aren't an artifact spirit or a ghost. If I'm not mistaken, you are the spirit body of the elder who ran off with all of the secrets of the Superior Crafting Guild a hundred years ago," Xan said.
For the first time, the ancestor was really shocked. "Why do you say that?" He asked. "Please, it's obvious based on the several clues available. First, artifact spirits have very limited intelligence until they reach the Spirit Birth Realm. That's when they truly become spirits and then they will develop real intelligence and not limited artificial intelligence.
You have demonstrated not only knowledge but also wisdom. Additionally, artifact spirits have very rigid lines in which they can operate. If you were an artifact spirit you wouldn't be able to make deals with me and you certainly wouldn't be upset about the death of the guild members and work toward revenge.
I know you aren't a ghost because a ghost needs a spirit metal object to attach their soul to if they want to keep from dissipating or losing their consciousness. All this time I've been looking for spirit metal but I haven't found any. Don't think I don't know the metal must be within twenty meters of the ghost, so it could only be hidden in this room.
Most ghosts carry their spirit metal with them when they move around because otherwise, their mobility is limited. You appear wherever you wish and without spirit metal," Xan said.
"To this point, I would agree with everything you have said, but why do you think I'm that elder from one hundred years ago?" The Ancestor asked.
"As to what you are, it's clear you are the spirit body of a still-living master. The source of your vitality is your real body. It's somewhere in the guild. Your body is probably in a kind of fake death state to prolong your life.
You asked why I thought you were the expert from one hundred years ago, that's the easiest point of all to prove. Not only are you able to manipulate this place like it's part of your body, but you are able to bring out treasures unavailable in these parts since the old master of the guild disappeared. I heard the others making such comments. They said they've never seen such treasures for a hundred years. You reappearing on the day of the destruction of the guild; if I didn't know better I would say "your day has finally come" the destruction of the current guild provides an opportunity to build a better stronger guild.
If my guess is right, you left all those years ago because you did not agree with the direction of the guild. It was already in decline at the time and you pretended to run away with all of the treasures and secret inheritances while in reality you had already set up the underground areas to stay until the inevitable fall of the guild. Once everything finally ended, you would rebuild the guild as you believed it should be. I know you were genuinely upset about the death of the guild members. You are a man who cares deeply for his guild. If you weren't why would you go through all of this effort.
However, you're a man who takes a long view of things. It's not that you wanted the guild to fall or the members to be slaughtered. You knew it was going to happen and prepared for the future. Additional evidence of your far-seeing vision is the strange prize of the new guild coin. This was probably prepared to start your new guild. The new and improved Superior Crafting Guild," Xan laughed.
The old ancestor was completely flummoxed. The young man before him easily penetrated into his greatest secrets. "What do you want?" The ancestor asked.
"It's always a pleasure to speak with smart people," Xan responded with a confident smile. "You want to rebuild your guild and make it a better guild, my plans on the other hand are far more ambitious than yours. I wante to build a Super Guild, not just a crafting guild. To do this I need to gain control of the eleven other guilds and sects in the region," Xan said.
"You'll need control of this guild first won't you? What makes you believe you are safe from me? With a snap of my fingers I can turn this entire guild hall into your tomb. I could plunge you into a labyrinth so complex and endless you would spend the rest of your life suffering in a nightmare," the ancestor said.
"Ha ha, if you're so confident, go ahead and see what will happen when you try to act against me," Xan said. The ancestor paused for a moment but then tried to command his guild hall to attack Xan. Contrary to his expectations, nothing happened in the guild. His commands were being ignored. Xan laughed and held up a smal box looking thing with buttons on it. The ancestor wasn't sure what it was but it was clearly some kind of artifact. However, he didn't sense any spiritual fluctuations coming from it at all.
"Now that you've utilized your power to change the guild I've been able to locate your body. It's located in a secret chamber in the lower levels of the guild. With a push of a button I could use your own guild hall to kill you," Xan said with a smile. "However, perhaps a less brutal demonstration will prove my words. After all, I don't want to force you to serve me, I want you to do it because you believe in my vision," Xan said. His finger moved to a button on the little remote and after he pushed it, the room they were in began to rumble. Everything receded into the walls and after a few moments, a large comfortable looking throne came out of the wall. Xan walked over to it and sat down. "See, I can already do whatever I want to in this guild. Isn't this interesting?" Xan asked with a smile.
The ancestor's eyes didn't leave Xan and his smiling face and pondered these unexpected events "I have a few questions," he said. "Please ask," Xan responded. "How did you fake being a part of my guild?" he asked. "Well, technically, I suppose I am part of your guild. At least, this body is part of the guild. I arrived from another world in the light. I arrived during the battle outside. This body was just killed and it suited my needs so I took it. This is only temporary, eventually, I'll recover my original body. Only, my original body will also possess the benefits of this body," he said with a smile.
"How did you take over control of the guildhall for me. I've never heard of such a thing," he asked his second question. "I won't hide it from you, before leaving my world I was able to attain the knowledge of the twenty-four num galaxies. Taking over your guild with a little gadget I whipped up with some spare bits from the treasures you gave me, that was easy," Xan said.
"Why me, you seem capable why not do it all yourself?" The ancestor asked. "There are several reasons, first, this body is too weak. I know how this world works, you need strength to hold a position of power. Second, I need to travel this world and set up other alliances and branches of my guild to prepare for the day when I'm ready to conquer this world. Once I've taken this world, I'll move on to that little world," he said.
"What little world, what are you talking about?" The ancestor asked out of confusion. "You aren't aware of the little world not far from here filled with warriors so much stronger than you? You've never come across warriors who come here for training and resources? How strange that even someone from an older era with such amazing power is unaware of that little world.
It doesn't matter, it isn't time to talk about things only relevant in the future. For now, I would like for us to come to an arrangement. Just so you know, the other reason I choose you is because you are someone who can see and plan for the big picture. Hiding your body for so long, taking the treasures and legacies of your guild and patiently waiting for a hundred years. Patience, intelligence, and perseverance are exactly what I'm looking for in a right-hand man. Another reason is, I don't want to waste my time doing the little mundane things needed to be done to run a guild," Xan finished.
"Aren't you mad thinking you can take over the world?" The ancestor asked. "No, I'm not mad, well perhaps I am a little mad but it's never stopped me before. My last world, haha I drove them all crazy, how could a weak little mortal fight against gods. That's what they thought. There was only one who was strong enough to fight me. Ah, memories," he said. "This sounds very nice but all I hear is ambition. I've seen you are capable, but I need something more than that. So far there's nothing that makes me think my original plan isn't the best plan. Not only me, how will you convince others to work with you?" The ancestor asked. "You are the only one I care about working with. Those fools from earlier, HA, soon, they'll sell themselves to us and help us count the money.
Do you want to see something to convince you that serving me is in your best interest? I don't have a problem showing you," Xan said. Suddenly, a strange gun made up of parts of treasures he collected earlier appeared in his hand from nowhere. During all of the antics and discussions Xan secretly worked on putting these things together to create a couple of gadgets. No one saw him working on these objects, but this was nothing for the Mad Genius even though his intelligence was so low. A blinding light built up in the barrel. "Hold onto your butt!" he said as he pulled the trigger.