Before anyone else could ascend the stairs, an oppressive aura, sharp and unbridled as a blade drawn across steel, spilled into the Hourglass Restaurant’s third floor like a wave crashing upon the shore.
Max, seated calmly beside Gayle and Rose, felt that surge of pressure sweep over him, rattling the tea cups on the table and making the very air seem taut and thin. His eyes narrowed, a flicker of recognition dancing through his mind as he tasted that familiar, icy edge of power.
’Mountain Gods Valley,’ he thought to himself, his senses bristling in silent alert.
Within just a few breaths, the owner of that ferocious presence erged into sight. A figure stepped onto the landing, his stride asured yet brimming with ferocious confidence.
He wore the signature silver robes of Mountain Gods Valley, embroidered with faintly glowing threads that shimred like etched runes under the lantern light. The insignia on his chest bore three jagged mountain peaks—a clear mark of a 3-star genius.
The man was tall, his fra lean and taut with wiry muscle. His face was angular, handso in a cold, severe way, with eyes as piercing as frosted steel. The aura rolling off him was so sharp and oppressive that it seed to slice into the skin, leaving a faint stinging sensation in the flesh and a chill crawling down the spine.
His re presence seed to darken the room, the laughter and quiet murmurs in the restaurant fading to uneasy silence.
Max’s frown deepened as he silently asured the newcor. The force radiating from this man felt even more terrifying than Derek’s, despite both of them being at the 1st level of the Legend Realm.
Where Derek’s power was like a blazing inferno, brash and consuming, this man’s aura was cold, precise, and honed like a sword that had been sharpened a thousand tis.
"Scott Haynes, are you alone?" Derek suddenly called out from his table, his voice echoing across the hush that had fallen over the room.
He lifted his chin slightly, eyes narrowing with both fear and curiosity. He knew the na well. Among the Mountain Gods Valley, Scott Haynes was a na whispered in both admiration and fear—a prodigy whose strength could silence even other known geniuses.
Scott’s lips curled into a thin, contemptuous smile, his eyes sweeping the room as though none of those present were worthy of his notice. "One person is enough," he said flatly, his voice as cold and cutting as the aura surrounding him.
Derek let out a humorless laugh, though his gaze held a flicker of wariness. "I hope you won’t regret it then," he said, a hint of challenge in his tone.
He knew that while individual strength was valuable, sheer numbers often proved decisive when venturing into perilous places like the rumored cetery. If ti hadn’t been pressing, Derek himself would have gathered more allies rather than relying solely on his own companions.
Scott rely smirked, giving a single dismissive flick of his fingers as if swatting away an annoying insect. He said nothing further, his posture radiating supre confidence, as though he alone could conquer any danger the world might throw at him.
Ti seed to stretch thin under the weight of their collective presence. Conversations resud only in hushed murmurs, every warrior on the floor aware that three of the Middle Domain’s top forces were now represented in this single room—and the tension thrumd through the floorboards like an unstruck gong.
More than half an hour ticked by, each minute thick with anticipation, as all eyes occasionally flickered to the stairs, waiting for the last group to appear and complete the deadly puzzle forming in the Hourglass Restaurant.
A simring tension pulsed through the room as Derek, unable to hide the growing impatience in his voice, slamd his teacup back onto the table so hard that liquid sloshed over the rim.
His eyes, narrowed with frustration, flicked toward the staircase as he growled, "The mbers of the Void Soul Tower and Thunder Monarch Hall are too arrogant! We agreed to et in the morning, but it’s almost noon now." His words hung in the air, sharp and brittle, drawing the attention of every person seated on the third floor.
But before the silence could settle, a haughty, drawling voice floated up from the floor below, dripping with disdain. "The mber of the Eternal Sun Guild is restless and irritable. It seems that there is no future for him."
The voice was so casual, so utterly condescending, that even the ambient chatter in the restaurant seed to choke off, replaced by an electric crackle of anticipation.
Derek’s face turned beet red with rage, his fists clenching at his sides until his knuckles went pale. His chest heaved, and his lips parted as though he might unleash a furious retort—but the words died in his throat.
For a long, quivering mont, Derek seed ready to leap up and charge down the stairs, but then, with visible effort, he forced himself back into his chair. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he swallowed his pride, aware that of all the seven overlord forces, the Void Soul Tower was one he could least afford to provoke without careful thought.
Besides, as much as it galled him, he knew he’d been the first to break the decorum by openly complaining. For now, he could only swallow his fury like a mouthful of vinegar.
Then, as though summoned by the re ntion of their na, an unfamiliar aura drifted up the staircase. It was a peculiar presence—light yet dense, cool and refreshing yet carrying a hidden sharpness, reminiscent of deep ancient forests shrouded in eternal twilight.
The scent was faint but carried the crisp note of moss and leaves, as though the man approaching carried a piece of so primordial woodland around him.
A mont later, a young man erged onto the third floor, stepping into view with deliberate grace. He was older than most of those already seated, his features refined and marked with faint lines of age and experience, putting him sowhere in his mid- to late-thirties.
His dark hair fell smoothly around a face carved with elegant symtry, and his eyes glimred like polished onyx, cold and appraising.
User Comments
0 comments from readers