Chapter 204: Grand Gathering
Chapter 204: Chapter 204: Grand Gathering
Chapter 204: Grand Gathering
The sun rose high above Stormveil City, spilling brilliant golden light across the magnificently decorated central plaza of the Academy.
By mid-morning, the tiered seating had filled to its full capacity.
Over a hundred thousand guests had now occupied the concentric rings of seating.
Beyond the physical gates, the dozens of massive projection arrays broadcasted the scene to the entirety of Stormveil City, ensuring that millions of eyes were locked onto this single location.
Then, the murmurs abruptly died down.
From the floating islands above, several streaks of light descended onto the grand stage.
High Preceptor Aldren appeared first, followed by High Preceptor Octavius, whose fierce aura commanded immediate respect, and then the remaining three High Preceptors of the Academy, each one a Domain Master Realm powerhouse.
Behind them came the Preceptors — Fabian, Krell, and dozens of others, all half-step Domain Masters.
And then, at the very center, a woman in vivid red robes descended.
Dean Carmilla.
A collective intake of breath swept through the crowd.
Many of the guests had traveled from the farthest corners of the dynasty and had never once laid eyes on the legendary Dean of the Stormveil Academy.
Her youthful, breathtaking face shattered every expectation they had held of a noble, aloof overlord.
Yet, despite her youthful appearance, not a single person in the tens of thousands gathered dared to breathe too loudly.
Everyone knew that beneath that youthful exterior lay a monster whose power could single-handedly suppress the entire Inner Province.
"Welcome," Carmilla’s melodious voice echoed clearly in the ears of every single person present, requiring no essence to amplify it. "To the Stormveil Academy."
The ceremony had officially begun.
However, the crowd quickly realized that two very important figures were missing.
Vice Dean Myrielle, and the much-anticipated True Heavenly Physique prodigy she had taken as her sole disciple had not yet arrived.
The empty seats beside Carmilla only served to build the suspense, driving the gathered masses into a feverish state of expectation.
"Where is she? Where is the Heavenly Physique girl?"
"Patience. She will arrive soon in a while."
"Vice Dean is absent as well. They must be preparing to make their entrance together."
Before the murmurs could swell into open impatience, a herald’s voice boomed across the plaza, amplified by array formations.
"Emberford Noble Family has arrived!"
Every head turned toward the eastern entrance archway.
A procession of crimson-robed figures swept into the plaza, radiating an aura of supreme confidence and elegance.
At their head walked a woman of stunning, mature beauty, with beautiful crimson hair, and eyes sharp and imperious.
But it was the aura contained within her slender frame that commanded the true respect of the gathered powers.
Domain Master Realm.
Among all the Domain Masters present in Stormveil City, Seraphine Emberford was widely acknowledged as the most formidable.
In her youth, she had been hailed as a once-in-a-generation prodigy, a talent so extraordinary that her ascension to the Domain Master Realm before the age of fifty had shaken the foundations of the entire dynasty.
Yet despite her overwhelming personal strength, the whispered conversations surrounding Seraphine always circled back to a different topic entirely.
Lyra’s father.
The man of unknown origin who had appeared in Seraphine’s life, swept the proud prodigy off her feet, and then vanished before their daughter was even born.
No one knew his name, his origin, or the true depth of his cultivation.
Among the Inner Palace disciples, positioned in a designated section near the western edge of the plaza, Rhain stood quietly, his dark grey eyes sweeping across the first delegation of the three noble families.
"That is Matriarch Seraphine," a voice whispered right beside Rhain’s ear.
Neve, wearing her new Master Rank Alchemist badge, had shamelessly wormed her way into the elite Gold Badge section.
Because of her incredibly high status as the youngest Master Alchemist in the city, no guard or gold badge disciple had dared to stop her.
"She is an absolute legend," Neve whispered in an excited tone. "It is said the Emberford Family is the strongest of the three precisely because of her."
Beside the Matriarch walked her daughter, Lyra Emberford, looking as haughty and breathtaking as ever.
Among the crowd, quiet whispers spread.
"Matriarch Seraphine! She actually came in person!"
"Of course she did. A True Heavenly Physique appearing in the same city as her daughter? There’s no way she’d miss this."
"Look at Lyra. That aura is absolutely terrifying for a nineteen-year-old. Is she really only at the Spirit Manifestation Realm? It feels like she’s already a Core Formation Expert!" It’s said she was personally trained by the Matriarch herself."
"No wonder she’s so talented. But I heard her true talent comes from her father’s bloodline..."
"Her father? No one even knows who he is. They say he vanished before Lyra was born, promised the Matriarch he would return one day, and never came back."
"Promised to return and never did? Sounds like every other man in this dynasty."
"Shut your mouth! Whoever that man was, his power was said to be beyond measure, greater than anyone who has ever walked the Solathane Dynasty."
"Silence! Do you want to be die? If the Matriarch hears you gossiping about that man, your entire nine generations will be wiped out!"
Seraphine’s sharp eyes drifted upward toward the platform, and when they landed on Carmilla, the imperious look in them softened into warm smile.
The two women had been close friends of many decades, a bond forged long before either of them had risen to their current heights of power.
Carmilla looked at Seraphine with the same warm smile.
"Sera, you actually came out of your cavern!" Carmilla laughed, her melodious voice carrying across the platform. "I thought you were going to cultivate until you turned to dust."
Seraphine also let out a chuckle. "How could I miss the day my dearest sister presents a True Heavenly Physique to the world? I had to see this miracle for myself."
Lyra followed her mother onto the stage, offering a bow to Carmilla. "Dean Carmilla."
Carmilla looked at Lyra with an appraising gaze that held a trace of fondness. "Little Lyra. It seems you are already close to reach Core Formation Realm at such a young age. Your mother must be proud."
"She has given me no reason to be otherwise," Seraphine replied with a hint of pride.
After her husband left, Lyra was the only reason she was still alive.
"Valemere Noble Family has arrived!"
Before the crowd could fully digest the Emberford entrance, another procession stepped through the grand archway again.
It was larger than the Emberford Noble family, numbering over fifty members.
Valemere Patriarch Caelan led it personally.
Beside him walked his son, a proud young prodigy, and trailing behind them was an intimidating retinue of Domain Master and half-step Domain Master experts.
"Patriarch Caelan certainly does not believe in traveling light," Carmilla observed, her melodious voice carrying a teasing lilt as the massive Valemere delegation approached the elevated stage. "Are we hosting a celebratory ceremony, or are you preparing to lay siege to my Academy?"
A few chuckles rippled through the crowd, but Caelan’s expression remained perfectly polished.
He stepped forward, placing his hand over his heart in a respectful bow.
"Dean Carmilla," Caelan spoke, "The emergence of a True Heavenly Physique is an unprecedented blessing to the entire Stormveil City. We merely wish to demonstrate the utmost respect such a miracle deserves."
Beside him, his son stood tall and proud.
The young man’s chin was tilted slightly upward, and his eyes swept across the gathered Inner Palace disciples with an innate, dismissive superiority.
The aura rolling off his frame was sharp, ninth level of Spirit Manifestation Realm.
Valemere delegation settled into their seats alongside the Emberfords, and then the herald’s voice boomed across the plaza once more.
"Thunderwood Noble Family has arrived!"
The final delegation entered through the grand archway.
At its head strode Patriarch Thorian Thunderwood, his towering, muscular physique radiating a wild, tyrannical strength.
On his right walked Godfrey Thunderwood, peak Spirit Manifestation Realm aura marking him as a true prodigy of the younger generation.
To his left was Elara Thunderwood, her serene blue eyes and Level 1 Spirit Manifestation cultivation contrasting sharply with the giants around her. Yet, many of the business elites in the crowd looked at her with far more fear and respect than they did the warriors.
Down in the Gold Badge section, Neve eagerly nudged Rhain’s arm.
"Look, that’s Elara Thunderwood!" Neve whispered, her eyes shining with admiration. "Her cultivation might be garbage, but her business acumen is frightening! You know about the Celestial Elixir Pavilion, she just cracked a deal with them!"
Rhain’s dark grey eyes landed on Elara, and gave a slight nod, "She certainly knows how to do business."
"Patriarch Thorian," Carmilla greeted with a warm smile. "Your family’s presence honors us."
"Dean Carmilla! Hahaha! Congratulations to the Stormveil Academy!" Thorian let out a rumbling laugh, "To produce a True Heavenly Physique... you’ve truly outdone yourself this time!"
As the patriarchs and matriarchs took their seats on the stage, the atmosphere in the plaza was already reaching a boiling point.
Just then, the herald spoke again.
His voice had been strong and booming all morning could be heard trembling as he made his next announcement.
"H-His Royal Highness... Crown Prince Lucius of the Solathane Dynasty... has arrived!"