He picked up the report, folded it once, and walked toward the restricted building across the compound.
On the other side, at the entrance of the Magical City, the northern gate was bustling with cultivators like never before; it was truly impressive to witness such a large crowd.
By the ti the Walker Clan arrived at the far end, the morning was well underway—the sun had risen above the horizon, illuminating a sky that had changed from pale grey to a vibrant blue. The sunlight fell at an angle that made the dust kicked up by the passing carriages and pedestrians visible, creating a thin haze above the well-worn ground. The road was wide enough for two carriages to pass each other without much slowing down, and this morning, both directions were alive with activity.
The Walker Clan moved in perfect harmony, like a single entity. They were not just a loose gathering of individuals heading in the sa direction; they were a well-coordinated group, fully briefed and aware of the significance of their presence.
At the front, two elders stood guard, their dark grey travel robes proudly displaying the Celestial Brook City senior branch emblem at the collar. These experienced n were composed and watchful, their eyes scanning the road ahead with the sharp awareness that cos from years of practice and the instinct of those who have safely guided important matters through uncharted territory.
Harvey Walker made his way toward the centre of the formation. The quality of the training ground still resonated within him—the direct, grounded physicality that a month spent under Zilton Walker's personal guidance had refined, making it more controlled without diminishing its essence.
Aaden took two steps to his left and slightly behind, the influence of his Current Flow Step evident even in his casual walk—a subtle, ongoing adjustnt in his stance that ensured his connection to the surrounding space remained consistently optimal, all while appearing effortlessly natural.
Drake Walker drifted toward the back of the group. At twenty-two, he carried the straight-backed elegance of his mother, Elder Mara, but his build was broader in the chest and shoulders—a clear indication of the Walker family traits. It was a fascinating mix of his mother's grace and the heavy legacy of the clan's fighters, resulting in a unique blend. His expression was calm and observant, with a distinct kind of lateral awareness that contrasted sharply with Harvey's more straightforward focus.
Drake moved through his surroundings, picking up on the nuances and the happenings beyond the obvious centre. Spirit Root Realm Level 4 Low Stage. Behind him, the ten junior mbers of the group buzzed with the contained energy of young cultivators at their first big clan event, focused in a way that showed they were aware of being watched and had chosen to manage that awareness instead of letting it manage them.
As the sun rose higher, the Walker Clan entered through the eastern gate in the second hour of the morning. Loran remained in his observation spot, ticulously counting each mber from the mont they appeared until the last junior mber cleared the entrance. Thanks to the skills Sai had instilled in him over the past six months, he could read their cultivation levels just by their posture and presence.
He could easily identify Harvey and Aaden just by the way they moved, and he quickly figured out their positions within the group of cultivators. He was taken aback by the level of cultivation that Harvey Walker had achieved; it made him think that the competition would be quite tough for the Osborn clan. Drake also caught his attention with his unique way of interacting with the environnt—definitely sothing to rember. Loran began jotting down his observations even before the dust from the Walker Clan had settled.
On that sa morning, the other three clans made their entrance through different gates, but they didn't co to gather in the city. The Brooks Clan approached from the western road, which was a longer journey compared to the Walker Clan's route. You could see the pale stone dust from the drier western terrain clinging to the lower edges of their deep green travel robes, creating a striking contrast with the Walker Clan's immaculate arrival.
Their formation was a bit more spread out than the tightly-knit unit of the Walkers—not chaotic, just less compact; the Brooks Clan's organised presence was evident in their spacing rather than their density. Two elders led the way, their deep green robes making them stand out as they neared the gate. Max Brooks was positioned at the centre of the formation, and without even trying, he beca the most noticeable figure among them.
He was tall and broad-shouldered with a quality of deliberate restraint in every movent—the particular managed quality of soone whose natural tendency was toward more in every direction and who had spent years learning to keep that tendency at a useful level rather than letting it operate freely. Spirit Root Realm Level 6 Low Stage. His face was open in a slightly misleading way — his eyes moved with considerably more care than his expression suggested.
Miller Brooks moved to his left—he was on the shorter side and a bit broader, with a practical grace in his movents that was far from theatrical. Spirit Root Realm Level 5 Low Stage. He was the sort of person who would walk into a place and right away seem to evaluate what was required, then get started on it.
Zara Brooks positioned herself near the right edge of the formation—the youngest of the trio known as Spirit Root Realm Level 4 Low Stage. The first thing you had noticed about her was the keen sharpness in her observations. New environnts sparked her curiosity, pulling her focus in all directions at once. She absorbed everything around her with impressive speed, her eyes scanning the city's eastern district as the group passed through the gate, moving with a precision that hinted at a well-practised habit rather than just a natural ability.
Ten junior mbers, all in Brooks' deep green, followed closely behind. By that sa morning, the other three had made their way there as well.
The Brooks Clan ca from the western gate—a longer journey than the Walker Clan's, the pale stone dust of the western territory's drier terrain visible on the lower edges of their deep green travel robes in a way that the Walker Clan's cleaner arrival had not shown.
Their formation was slightly more spread than the Walker Clan's tight unit—not undisciplined, just less compressed; the Brooks Clan's particular quality of organized presence was expressed through spacing rather than density. Two elders at the front, their deep green marking them clearly from the gate's approach.
The Clark Clan arrived from the southern route, the most straightforward path from their city. They travelled just like they approached everything else—efficiently and without any unnecessary embellishnts. Even though they had the sa number of people as the Brooks and Walker groups, they left a smaller visual footprint. Their formation was tighter, their travel robes dark and practical, and they moved with a collective efficiency that made them easy to underestimate at first glance, but definitely more interesting upon a closer look.
At the front, two elders stood, with Rachel Clark right behind them. She was the main representative of the Clark Clan, and it was clear to everyone even before it was officially acknowledged. She was at the Spirit Root Realm Level 6 Low Stage. Rachel moved with a grace that cos when soone's cultivation has reached a point where their spatial awareness is just a natural part of their existence, rather than sothing they consciously think about. The surrounding space seed to shift subtly, setting her apart from those nearby, and she did not even seem to notice it. This was a clear sign of how long she had been at this level.
Her face had sharp angles and an intense focus, with her dark hair neatly pulled back, reflecting the sa practical precision that characterised everything about the Clark Clan.
Evan Clark slipped in behind her right shoulder—lean and precise, at Spirit Root Realm Level 5 Low Stage. His movents were so efficient that it was evident he had been trained early on to avoid any unnecessary motion. On the other hand, Lewis Clark was stationed near the back of the formation, at Spirit Root Realm Level 4 Low Stage, only twenty years old. He exuded a keen awareness, as if he knew he was being observed throughout this visit, and he had concluded that the best response was to simply be soone worth observing.
A group of ten junior mbers, all clad in dark practical robes, moved through the southern entrance lane of the city. From this distance, they were easily recognisable as a collective, though each individual was less distinct. They glided along with the quiet confidence of a clan that did not need to make noise to make their presence known.
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