CHAPTER 1716: CHAPTER 1716: AN ACQUAINTANCE

Amidst the cluster of mountains beyond the clouds, at the deepest point, there stood four towering peaks, like four colossal pillars reaching into the heavens.

If one looked carefully above the center of these four mountains, they would notice, once the clouds drifted aside, a massive floating island appeared mid-air before their very eyes.

The island was entwined with clouds, looking very much like a ’Fairy Island’.

The island floated unsupported in the air, offering a strong visual impact at first glance.

"That island... is actually floating in the air? My God! How is this possible?"

Not far from one of the towering peaks, a crowd had gathered, with many eyes falling on the faintly visible island amidst the clouds, faces full of shock.

To them, this floating island seemed to defy the laws of nature.

Of course, there were also those who remained calm, and some even scoffed, "Bunch of bumpkins! Don’t you know a powerful formation can easily keep an island floating in the air for a long time? After all, this is the base of Heavenly Palace, such formations aren’t unusual here."

Formations lifted the island up.

Among the crowd, Wyatt Barnes, under the alias ’Wyatt’, also had his gaze fixed upon the floating island.

The island hovering in the air inadvertently gave him a powerful visual shock, "To hoist such a large island, how powerful must the formation be? Moreover, the Holy Stones needed to support that formation must be an astronomical number."

Wyatt had a certain understanding of formations.

Standing among the crowd, Wyatt disguised himself as a handsome young man, dressed in a green robe, arms wrapped around a seemingly plain and ancient sword.

This sword was none other than the ’Splendid Fairy Sword’!

Because today was the day the quasi-third-rate power Heavenly Palace recruited Saint Realm talents under forty, Wyatt ended his seclusion in time and arrived at the base of Heavenly Palace.

Normally, the Heavenly Palace base wasn’t open to the public, and ordinary people found it hard to enter.

But today, since Heavenly Palace was recruiting Saint Realm talents under forty, the base was open to the public, not only could those talents come in, so could their friends and family.

Of course, even though they could enter, they were limited to the foothills of the Heavenly Palace base.

The Heavenly Palace base was divided into five parts, one of which was the floating island, where some high-level figures of Heavenly Palace resided, boasting better cultivation conditions than the other four parts.

The other four parts were those towering peaks resembling colossal pillars, with a palace on each peak.

Heavenly Palace was further divided into Heavenly Palace, Earth Palace, Mystic Palace, Yellow Palace.

There was a competitive relationship among each of the palaces.

Like in this recruitment by Heavenly Palace, the Saint Realm talents under forty would be divided among the four palaces.

And once divided, these Saint Realm talents would compete within their respective palaces for the qualifications to enter the ’Sacred Martial Realm’, with equal slots for entry among all palaces.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, sensing something, Wyatt abruptly looked up.

With just a glance, he saw a familiar figure approaching through the air from a distance.

Following behind this person were two young men, exuding an aura that suggested they too were above the Saint Realm.

The leader was a middle-aged man, none other than Castiel Mullins, the Second Elder of Surge Hayden House.

On the day Wyatt participated in the Overleaping Rankings contest, Castiel Mullins was one of the hosts and took good care of him.

Back then, both Castiel Mullins and Donovan Tasker, Vice House Master of Teng Yue House, wanted to recruit him into their respective factions... Eventually, upon learning that Heavenly Palace was recruiting Saint Realm talents under forty, Wyatt turned down both Castiel Mullins and Donovan Tasker.

Now seeing one of them, although disguised, Wyatt couldn’t help but feel his cheeks burn.

"It seems the allure of the Sacred Martial Realm is strong, even Elder Mullins has brought people along... Those two behind him should also be above the Little Saint Realm, and judging by their age, they’re not yet forty."

Wyatt’s gaze fell upon the two behind Castiel Mullins, he thought to himself.

"It’s Elder Mullins from Surge Hayden House!"

The appearance of Castiel Mullins soon captured the attention of many.

After all, Surge Hayden House was a fourth-rate power under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Domain, and as the Second Elder of Surge Hayden House, many recognized Castiel Mullins, and several people even greeted him.

"Surge Hayden House is the first fourth-rate power to arrive today... The two youths behind Elder Mullins, if I’m not mistaken, should be the two most outstanding members of Surge Hayden House’s younger generation, named ’Enoch Mullins’ and ’Reed Lee’, respectively."

"I’ve heard of Enoch Mullins, he’s Elder Mullins’ nephew, and not only is he very gifted, but also a leading figure among Surge Hayden House’s young generation due to Elder Mullins’ relentless guidance."

"Reed Lee is also remarkable, although a later rising talent, his gift is no less than Enoch’s. Though his strength isn’t quite at Enoch’s level now, it’s only because he’s younger."

"These two are also Saint Realm talents under forty from Surge Hayden House, and their coming with Elder Mullins this time is surely for Heavenly Palace’s ’Sacred Martial Realm’."

"Indeed! Even a fourth-rate power would be tempted by the Sacred Martial Realm."

...

Amidst the crowd’s discussions, another third-rate power representative appeared.

This third-rate power, other than Tyrant Saber Manor, is another entity within the Mysterious Void Territory, known as ’Tyrant Saber Manor’.

A total of three people came from Tyrant Saber Manor, headed by a burly man with a bristly beard who resembled Castiel Mullins, but his stature was much taller, towering above by a whole head.

What left the deepest impression was the broad saber on his back.

The saber was three meters long, hanging behind him, looking majestic and imposing.

"Elder Mullins, you’re really early."

The burly man with the three-meter-long giant saber first glanced at Castiel Mullins with a hearty laugh, clearly an acquaintance.

"Elder Lynch."

Seeing the burly man, Castiel Mullins didn’t slack and responded with a smile.

"Elder Lynch?"

At this moment, someone whispered, "Could it be the Third Elder of Tyrant Saber Manor, Sky-opening Blade ’Khalil Lynch’?"

"It should be. Even though Elder Mullins is only the Second Elder of Surge Hayden’s Manor, his strength rivals that of Surge Hayden’s Grand Elder... the only likely Tyrant Saber Manor Elder Lynch who could receive such courtesy from Elder Mullins would be Khalil Lynch!"

"Khalil Lynch may only be the Third Elder of Tyrant Saber Manor, but not even the Grand Elder or Second Elder of Tyrant Saber Manor dares to take his Sky-opening Blade head-on!"

"Yes, Khalil Lynch’s strength is rumored to be on par with Castiel Mullins from Surge Hayden’s Manor... looking at Elder Mullins’ attitude towards him, his strength must be as rumored, or else Elder Mullins wouldn’t treat him so courteously."

...

Many people’s discussions began to focus on Khalil Lynch, the burly man.

Khalil Lynch is also the Third Elder of Tyrant Saber Manor.

Behind Khalil Lynch were two young men and a young woman.

The two young men were also well-built like Khalil Lynch, exuding a masculine aura typical of men.

In contrast, the young woman at the back showed no typical female frailty, with a sizzling figure and a masculine aura that marked her as a heroine among women.

Most notably, she possessed a devilish face with lively eyebrows that seemed to speak.

"Tyrant Saber Manor actually has three Saint Realm talents under forty?"

From afar, Wyatt Barnes couldn’t help but be surprised, knowing that Surge Hayden’s Manor only had two Saint Realm talents under forty.

Since it wasn’t his first time visiting the Mysterious Void, Wyatt Barnes knew about ’Tyrant Saber Manor’, aware that both Tyrant Saber Manor and Surge Hayden’s Manor were the only third-rate powers in the Mysterious Void Territory.

"This girl..."

Quickly, Wyatt Barnes noticed among the three young members of Tyrant Saber Manor, there was a female.

The woman’s face was stunning, a ’nation-toppling beauty’, combined with her devilish figure, immediately attracting the gaze of all young men present.

On this day, as the Mysterious Void recruited Saint Realm talents under forty, there were numerous young people, with a majority being young men.

"And indeed... you never know where you’ll meet people in life!"

As Wyatt Barnes’ brow raised while his gaze unintentionally swept across the distance, he noticed another familiar figure leading two people in the air, swiftly arriving near Castiel Mullins and others from Surge Hayden’s Manor.

The leader among the trio was none other than the Vice House Master of Teng Yue Mansion, Donovan Tasker.

Behind Donovan Tasker were two spirited young men standing there, seemingly giving off an aura, like a gentle breeze brushing one’s face.

"They’re from Teng Yue Mansion! The leader is Vice House Master ’Donovan Tasker’ of Teng Yue Mansion."

Soon, someone recognized Donovan Tasker.

As time passed, more representatives from various third-rate powers arrived, each led by a high-ranking leader, bringing either two or three Saint Realm talents under forty.

Of course, some third-rate powers even had four such talents present.

As time flowed by, noon gradually approached.

"Time’s up... people from the Mysterious Void should be appearing soon."

Suddenly, someone spoke.

And just as the words fell, a swift sound of something cutting through the air was heard, followed by several figures appearing before the crowd.