First, take down the Sword Demon, then save Runeterra.

The Temple of Equilibrium is located in the mountains of northern Navoli province.

The fact that it is called "Balance" speaks volumes about the status of the Temple of Balance in Ionia.

On the tenth day after the start of the war, a quarrel broke the usual peace.

"Master, why won't you let me use the power of the Shadow Tears to fight the invaders?"

A young man with short white hair was questioning an elderly man with a sage-like appearance.

"I've said it many times already, the Precepts represent misfortune, they are forbidden arts! Moreover, the Balance Cult cannot participate in wars, we must maintain the balance between the spirit world and the human world!"

The old man patiently and earnestly offered his advice.

"Abstinence, safeguarding balance is our mission. We have no right to judge or decide the life or death of others in matters beyond this. Our mission is pure and must never be defiled!"

The brown-haired youth next to him offered some words of advice.

“Shen, how could you do this too?” Jie was incredulous; his best friend had made a different decision from him.

The old man sighed and said, "No need to say more, Jie. I had intended to designate you as the next Twilight Eye of the Order of the Balance, but I was wrong."

“Sectarian sect, sectarian sect, why don’t you say that to those invaders!” Jie retorted loudly.

"Fine, fine, Ku Shuo, since the sect refuses to help, then from this day forward I will leave the Balance Sect! I will no longer call myself Jie! And you, Ku Shuo, will no longer be my master!"

"Those who are willing to follow me in fighting the invaders, come with me!"

After saying that, he resolutely turned around and walked towards the temple gate.

"Wait, Jie!" Shen wanted to say something more, but Ku Shuo stopped him.

"Let him go. Also, any of you who want to go with him can go too."

Upon hearing this, more than a dozen of the disciples who were watching stopped hesitating and followed Jie's steps.

"There are so many like Jie..." Shen stared blankly at the scene.

"It's good that they left. They were all no longer suitable to be disciples of the Order of Balance. With their departure, the order will be more pure."

"What a pity, he was a genius."

A low, hoarse voice caught Ku Shuo's attention. He looked down and found a small creature that had appeared at his feet.

“Master Kennan, you still walk so silently.” Ku said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

Kennen was completely wrapped in a purple ninja outfit and had his face covered by a mask.

His height only reached Ku Shuo's knees, but no one in the entire Balance Order underestimated this Yordle.

As the "Heart of the Rage" of the Order, Kennen, along with "Eye of Twilight" and "Fist of Shadows," forms the three leaders of the Order of the Balance.

He also possesses formidable strength, a rarity even among the unique Yordle race.

"Hmph, what genius? He's just a few years older than me. When I reach his age, I'll show you what a true genius is!"

The speaker was a girl of about twelve or thirteen years old. She was dressed similarly to Kennen, wearing a green ninja outfit, with shurikens and kunai hanging at her waist, and her black hair tied up high.

"Akali, stop talking nonsense!" A mature woman who looked about seven or eight parts similar to the girl stopped her rude behavior.

"Hahahaha..." Ku Shuo chuckled and stroked his beard. "It's alright, Master Meimu. The future 'Shadow Fist' must have this kind of personality!"

"Alas, Master Kushuo, Jie was indeed a promising talent, but he's gone just like that. What if something happens to him on the battlefield..."

“I’m also very worried about him. He’s been with the sect for almost ten years, and I’ve long regarded him as my second son… But what can I do?” Ku said painfully, closing his eyes.

Outside the gates of the Balance Temple, Ato, hidden in a tree and concealing all his presence, witnessed this scene.

"You're really good at pretending..."

“Little thing, I sense a shadowy presence hidden deep within the cult,” Aatrox warned.

"That should be the Shadow Tear. Let's go in and see what it is later."

The Balance Temple was very large, built around a series of rolling mountains. At this time, most people were gathered in the courtyard on the front mountain, and Ato took the opportunity to run to the back of the temple.

Aatrox evaded several sect disciples scattered in other areas and, following Aatrox's guidance, arrived at the foot of a high mountain shrouded in mist.

The mountain is very steep on all sides, and there are no ladders or ropes or anything else that can help people get up there.

"The Shadow Tear is right here?"

"That's right, are you going to steal that thing?"

"I don't really need it; the enemy will come back for it anyway. But if I take some, no one should notice, right?"

The near-vertical mountain walls posed no challenge to Atto, just as Anaka could quickly return from the abyss along the ice walls, Atto himself was confident he could do the same.

There are far more places to take hold on this mountain than on the smooth ice walls of the abyss.

"It's a pity that if it weren't for the fact that forming wings requires a lot of blood energy, I would have flown up directly."

“Little thing, how long has it been since you killed anyone? We’re still using flesh and blood from Planck’s ship, and we’ve already used half of it to create a body for Anaka.”

"Haven't we been waiting for an opportunity?" Ato grabbed a rock, pushed off with his feet, and his body rose about ten meters.

"Last time you stepped on me to cross the strait, and there's this kind of mountain climbing. Do you think an ordinary person could do that?"

"This is also a form of depletion! We now have less than a third of our vital energy left!"

Actually, Ato had previously killed a mage named Rodrigo in Juewo Fortress. When his men saw their leader die, they scattered in all directions.

Atto ignored them; all he cared about at that time was the bounty.

"That is indeed a problem..."

Planck gave him so much wool at the beginning that he hadn't thought about it for almost half a year since he transmigrated.

The Darkin Blade did indeed grant him immense power, but this power came at a price.

Aatrox has lost too much, and can only obtain the energy to exert his past strength by absorbing human flesh and blood. Otherwise, he cannot even form a body and can only stay in the sword.

"The Temple of Balance is relatively remote, so the battle between the two armies won't take place here, but the scope of the war will soon expand."

"If I encounter anyone who won't listen to anything I say and blocks my way, I'll just use them as a supplement..."

While the two were discussing the issue of replenishing blood and qi, Ato did not stop moving. The mountain was not too high, and he climbed to the top of the mountain a few minutes later.

The mountaintop was flatter than he had imagined. In front of him was a stone building with a door that was more than ten meters high. The inside was pitch black, and no one could see what was going on inside from the outside.

He looked around and found that there were no sect disciples guarding the place.

There are only a handful of people in the entire sect who can climb this mountain, which is why Ku Shuo felt safe enough not to take any precautions.

"This is it, the hidden location of Shadow Tears."

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Thank you all for your support! This book has been published for almost a month now. My abilities are limited, and it takes me a long time to write just two chapters a day, so I'd like to ask for two days off! There will be only one update today and tomorrow, and normal updates will resume the day after tomorrow! Thank you!