URBAN VILLAIN SYSTEM-Chapter 44: The Martial Sect

Nine Lotus Academy...

The Gates of the Sect...

The war jet named Sleeping Beauty cut through the mountain air. It had flowery decorations along the outer body and a sleeping beauty emblem etched on its side.

Leo Clark sat at the controls, guiding it down toward the mountain peak below.

Tony, Lily, Julie, and Leo were all on board, along with a handful of young members from the Frost family, all of them heading to the Nine Lotus Academy.

After clearing the last of several security checkpoints, the final barrier lifted, and the jet began its descent.

Below them, the mountain opened up into something between an airport and a fortress — wide roads, advanced infrastructure, dozens of vehicles already parked across the clearing. Nothing about it appeared on any map.

For ordinary people, this place simply did not exist. Only those walking the Marshall path knew of Nine Lotus Academy and what it meant.

Tony stretched his arms lazily and sat up from the leather sofa.

"Finally...! I never expected the journey would be so long," Tony muttered.

Julie turned to him with a slightly disappointed look. "Brother-in-law, it’s not over yet. We still have to walk a long way to reach our place."

"Okay, okay... Where should we go now?" Tony asked, reaching a hand out toward Lily.

Lily ignored it completely. She stood with her phone in hand, eyes fixed on something through the distant window, expression unreadable.

Leo was already moving toward the hatch. "Brother, take the ladies to the administration hall. I need to park the jet somewhere safe first — if I leave it out here, it’ll get mixed in with everything else and nobody will look after it."

He opened the hatch and extended the descending rail. Tony stepped onto it and was carried down to the ground, the others following behind him.

The moment his feet hit the snowy earth, Tony drew in a slow breath. The air was thick with life energy — mountains, old trees, cold from the snow still clinging to the peaks above. It pressed against his senses in a way city air never did.

He looked around... No towers, no glass, no concrete... Just stone houses and heavy log structures, buildings that looked like they belonged to a different era entirely.

"I expected skyscrapers. What is this– a tribe village?!" Tony complained.

"That’s the sacrifice you make for strength," Lily said, walking ahead without slowing. "Don’t worry, all the facilities you need will be there, same as back home."

Julie and Lily led Tony toward the administration hall– a stone temple-like structure set further into the mountain.

On the way, he spotted a large wooden board mounted near the entrance, covered in papers, with several lines of people standing in front of it.

"What is that board?" Tony asked with a curious look.

"The quest board," Lily said, still not looking back. "Every disciple must complete at least one mission for the sect each month. Fail to do so and you spend the next month working as a servant for the sect." She tilted her chin toward a young man standing rigid at a doorway nearby. "Like that disciple over there, standing guard."

"Oh," Tony said, studying the board. "And did you complete your monthly mission?"

Before Lily could answer, Julie jumped in, her voice carrying that particular pride a younger sister reserves for showing off.

"Brother-in-law, you’d better not even ask. My sister takes three or four Platinum Rank missions every time she goes out. She has so many points that the academy wouldn’t punish her even if she skipped missions for the next full year— she’s number one on the rankings."

Tony listened, nodding slowly. A small smile settled on his face.

"Oh, that’s convenient. Then I’ll just borrow some of your sister’s points directly. No need to soil my hands with these missions at all."

"That’s not possible," Julie said immediately. "You have to earn your own academy points."

"In that case, you can complete my missions for me," Tony said casually.

"What? No— you have to complete your own missions," Julie replied, shaking her head.

Tony stopped walking and turned to face her. His expression was calm, composed— the kind someone uses when correcting a child who already knows they’re wrong.

"What’s the rule, exactly? As long as nobody complains, it doesn’t matter. So... you are now my mission lady. Remember that."

"Why would I do that for you?" Julie met his gaze evenly. "I am not your servant."

Tony placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Little sister-in-law, I think you’ve forgotten your crimes. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll simply tell your father what happened in the wild herbal forest of your family estate." He tilted his head slightly. "Now... will you be my mission lady?"

Julie lowered her head. There was nothing she could say as she remembered how she trapped Tony on the first day at her family wild herb garden.

Lily had already stepped inside the administration hall and gestured for them to follow. Tony and Julie walked in behind her.

The elder sitting behind the wide desk was a stout woman with plump cheeks, her body settled comfortably into a large wooden chair. The moment she saw Lily, she moved to stand— then caught herself and offered a respectful nod instead.

"Greetings, Lady Frost. Congratulations— I never expected you would marry so soon."

Her gaze drifted to Tony as he stepped fully into the room, and whatever warmth had been in her expression cooled noticeably.

Lily replied with a modest smile. "Thank you, Elder. It all happened rather suddenly. But I am truly happy with who I found."

Despite the warmth in the words, Elder Jing was clearly unconvinced. Tony could see the pitying look she wore like a second expression underneath the first.

Before she could press further with questions about the marriage, Tony reached into the small storage ring his father had given him, withdrew the formal invitation letter from Nine Lotus Academy, and set it on the desk in front of her. He held her gaze steadily, without a word.

Elder Jing shifted slightly in her chair. She picked up the letter and unfolded it.

"Oh... the Clark family’s young master. The renowned Tony Clark," she murmured, her face settling into a careful neutral as she read.

Lily stepped forward before the silence could stretch too long.

"Elder Jing, I believe my father has already spoken with Master Ronin of Sword Peak regarding the arrangements. I would like to request that my fiance be placed in the same quarters as me— he will not require a separate hut."