Chapter 203: The Day Of Ceremony
Chapter 203: Chapter 203: The Day Of Ceremony
Chapter 203: The Day Of Ceremony
In the Inner Palace of the Stormveil Academy, Rhain was entirely unaware of the storm gathering around him.
He had just returned to his courtyard from Combat Chamber Number 7, where he had spent the evening refining his control over the Phantom Reaver Quintet.
As he pushed open the gates of Residence Number 32 and stepped into the quiet sanctuary of his cultivation chamber, a sharp vibration came from his spatial ring.
Rhain pulled out a glowing transmission talisman.
"Master," Vulcan’s deep voice came, carrying a tone of deep seriousness. "We just received a formal missive at the Pavilion. Crown Prince Lucius has arrived in Stormveil City, and he is officially requesting a private meeting with you."
Rhain’s dark grey eyes flickered with a hint of genuine surprise.
Crown Prince?
He wasn’t expecting Crown Prince to ask for a meeting.
"Did he state a reason?" Rhain asked.
"No, Master. Only that he wishes to establish a fruitful relationship with the Pavilion," Vulcan reported. "How should I respond?"
Rhain’s mind turned rapidly.
He had no intention in jumping into the royal family’s politics, it could bring profound benefits, but it will also invite unnecessary hostility from other princes
Given that tomorrow was already scheduled to be the most chaotic day in the Academy’s recent history, adding a royal variable to the mix was entirely unappealing.
"Do not confirm anything," Rhain instructed, "Tell his messengers that the Grandmaster is currently in a critical phase of seclusion refining a new pill, and is far too busy to meet anyone, regardless of their status. Stall them."
"Understood, Master. I will send them away."
The talisman dimmed.
Rhain’s dark grey eyes narrowed as he fell into a deep thought.
Crown Prince’s sudden arrival, combined with a direct request for a meeting, was not something he could ignore forever.
But rushing into an audience with one of the most politically powerful men in the dynasty without adequate preparation would be reckless.
He needed more information before making any moves.
For now, delay was the safest strategy.
Rhain closed his eyes and settled into his cultivation routine, allowing the vast torrent of essence drawn by the Spirit Gathering Profound Banner to flood his meridians.
The night passed in silence.
The first light of dawn crept through the windows of Residence Number 32.
Rhain slowly opened his dark grey eyes, the familiar mechanical sound ringing in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Daily Sign-In available. Would you like to sign in?]
’Sign in.’
[Sign-In successful!]
[Congratulations! You have received the Epic-Grade Talisman: Spatial Void Shift Talisman.]
[Item automatically sent to System Inventory.]
Rhain’s eyes brightened as he immediately read the description of the item.
[Spatial Void Shift Talisman]: An incredibly rare, one-time-use Epic-Grade artifact. Upon activation, the user can instantly tear through the fabric of space and teleport to any desired location within a 1,000-mile radius. It completely bypasses all known spatial lockdown arrays below the Mystic Grade.
"Instant teleportation within a thousand miles," Rhain murmured, "What a life-saving trump card! If things ever go completely out of control, this ensures I can instantly extract myself."
With a flick of his wrist, he stored the priceless talisman safely into his spatial ring.
He stood up, adjusting his inner palace attire, and stepping out of his cultivation chamber.
He looked up at the sky above Stormveil Academy.
Today was the day.
The Stormveil Academy had been completely transformed.
The central plaza, which was usually reserved for monumental Academy-wide assemblies, had been extravagantly decorated to host the most powerful figures of the Solathane Dynasty.
Hundreds of enormous golden banners bearing the Stormveil Academy’s name hung from towering ivory pillars that lined the perimeter.
Thousands of luxuriously arranged seating areas formed a grand semicircle around the plaza, climbing upward in concentric rings until the highest rows nearly touched the base of the floating Core Palace islands above.
They were designated for the most powerful dignitaries and overlords from across the entire dynasty.
At the northern end of the plaza, a grand elevated stage had been constructed overnight. It rose fifteen feet high above the ground level on the backdrop of a cascading spiritual waterfall.
The seats on this grand platform were reserved exclusively for the most powerful guests — patriarchs, matriarchs, Domain Masters, and royalty.
The arena floor at the central ground had been reinforced with overlapping layers of Mystic-Grade defensive formations, each one personally inscribed by Preceptors and High Preceptors.
These formations could withstand the combined full-power assault of multiple Core Formation Realm experts without so much as a crack, necessary for the violent clashes that the Inner Palace Contest would inevitably produce.
All of this was breathtaking in the most extravagant way.
And for those who didn’t possess the qualifications to step inside?
Beyond the physical plaza, the Academy’s Array Division had erected dozens of colossal projection arrays throughout the city.
Translucent screens of shimmering light materialized above every major intersection, market square, and public gathering area in Stormveil City.
Every single event occurring in the central plaza was being broadcast in real-time to the entire city of Stormveil.
Hundreds of thousands of cultivators and ordinary citizens who could not enter the Academy’s gates crowded around these projections, their necks craned upward, their faces illuminated by the golden glow of the broadcast.
"Can you see anything? Move your fat head!"
"Look at those banners! Each one must be worth more Aetherium Crystals than my entire annual income!"
"Did you hear? Crown Prince himself is attending! When was the last time he visited Stormveil City? Ten years ago?"
"Forget the Crown Prince, I want to see the Heavenly Physique girl! They say she’s the most beautiful woman in the entire dynasty!"
The chatter was deafening.
From the sprawling merchant districts to the cramped residential alleys, the entirety of Stormveil City had ground to a halt.
Shops were shuttered, forges were cold, and even the Celestial Elixir Pavilion had closed its doors for the day, a fact that had nearly caused a riot among its desperate clientele.
Every citizen, from the lowest mortal shopkeeper to the wealthiest Spirit Manifestation merchant, was glued to those luminous projections with rapt, unblinking attention.
Back inside the Academy’s central plaza, the tiered seating surrounding the arena floor was rapidly filling with bodies.
Over fifty thousand invited guests were already present, and more continued to pour through the grand entrance archways.
The sheer concentration of power gathered in a single location was staggering.
Thousands of cultivators at the Spirit Manifestation Realm occupied the outer rings of seating as if they were common spectators at a street performance.
Core Formation experts, beings who could level entire towns with a wave of their hands, filled the middle tiers in disciplined rows.
And in the innermost sections, closest to the elevated platform, sat the true titans, the individuals whose mere presence made the space around them feel heavy.
Domain Masters.
Half-step Domain Masters.
Peak Core Formation patriarchs and matriarchs whose names alone could make entire provinces tremble.
They had traveled from every corner of the Solathane Dynasty.
Sect leaders from the northern mountain ranges.
Guild masters from the eastern coastal cities.
Reclusive elders who hadn’t left their seclusion caves in decades, drawn out by the promise of witnessing something that hadn’t occurred in the last hundred years of dynasty’s recorded history.
A True Heavenly Physique.
The words alone had summoned the whole dynasty.