The Mystical universe

As silence reigned in the plaza, the young girl disclosed her identity, prompting countless whispers and gasps among the crowds.

"Hiss…she's the sect master's daughter!?"

"Poor fools, approaching the sect leader's darling like this in broad daylight. Is he tired of living? Not to mention, although only 14, she attracted the attention of many young masters of the Coiling Dragon empire."

Upon hearing this, someone couldn't help but exclaim, "I didn't know the sect master had a daughter. Is she popular?"

"What do you know, you bumpkin? Have you been living under a rock the last few years?"

"Well, I can't know everything, can't I?"

"You should at least know this. It's no secret that the sect master had a daughter fourteen years ago with a hidden clan princess of the Eastern Emperor continents. Rumors say that this clan princess is the most talented the clan has seen in thousands of years, resulting in her marriage being a big deal. As you know, the southern desolate continent, having the least amount of cultivator per mortals' ratio, is seen as the weaker of the five, with the Central Heaven continent being first, Western Wilderness second, Eastern Emperor third, the Northern Dipper fourth, and us fifth. With the princess's talents, she could have been married to a young sect leader or Saint son of Central Heaven continent, but she chose a backwater southern desolate continent sect leader. You can imagine the reactions of the hidden clan elders. They widely opposed this union. Fifteen years ago, when the hidden clan princess got pregnant, the clan leader and supreme elders were furious, but out of love for the princess, they did not overreact, only saying that she would be sent into seclusion for 16 years for her rash decision after giving birth. The princess agreed, not willing to deteriorate the situation further. She spent the following 12 months with the sect leader, in the purple cloud palace deep inside Free Immortal sects' territory, giving birth on the 12th month…"

Maybe because the person speaking had an innately loud voice, or because the scene was still mostly silent and people wanted to hear more about the background of the young maiden, they kept quiet to listen to the story.

Including Kaeln, who was still having an eye contest with his conquest…

Rai, who had walked up to the two and stood just behind Kaeln, arms crossed, looked at the unfolding situation with pure interest, a slight smirk on his pretty face, attracting occasional glances from young girls around him and jealous looks from the boys.

When the person finished speaking, a clamor was heard in the front of the plaza, followed by a loud noise that broke the silence. A huge gust of wind suddenly came from behind the crowd, as if quickly filling a vacant space, it surged towards the front of the plaza, pushing everyone a bit forward by its sheer strength.

The crowd looked up to see that the huge entrance door of the Free Immortal sect had been opened, exposing the interior scene.

A vast open space lay bare in front of everyone. Beyond this open space, dozens of mountains floated, the vast interlocking network of towering mountains housing grand palaces and dwellings spread across the sky, with the smaller structures appearing increasingly opulent and grandiose as they receded into the distance, mystical birds spreading their large wings as disciples soared through the mountains occasionally.

In the center was a huge purple palace, built atop one of the largest mountains in sight, its many floors pointing to the heavens. Five shadows were seen floating towards the crowd at the entrance.

A few seconds later, they were standing in the wide-open area. One of them took the lead to welcome the new arrivals.

"I see we have quite the number of interesting participants this year. I wonder how many will pass." He was quite tall at 1.95m, jet-black hair stretching to his shoulders, a green, black Daoist robe covering his athletic build. Though not particularly handsome, he had an angular face, his eyebrows shaped like blades, their corners pointing towards the sky, and his dark green eyes reminiscent of the most beautiful aurora borealis. His voice was not loud, but everyone could hear as if he were standing just a foot away from them.

With a turn of his head, he surveyed the crowd. "Indeed, I see a few interesting kids, especially that purple-clad boy. What an outstanding presence, and that red-clad caramel-skinned boy, he has quite the domineering yang aura, eheh… he looks quite suitable for my spear skills, but why is he laying on the floor, and who is that below him?" Bewildered by the scene, the tall man's eyebrows couldn't help but raise.

His obvious pause in a certain direction caught the attention of the people behind him.

"Ohoh… isn't that? Interesting. Fufufufu…" The first one to react was one of the two women of the group; she seemed about 20 years old, drop-dead gorgeous from head to toe, with wavy and long brown hair. A very voluptuous figure, her hips swayed to one side, accentuating her figure covered in a white and yellow ensemble dress, as her crossed arms laid rest below her full chest, seemingly carrying them. Her seductive phoenix eyes shape contrasted with her pure, yellow irises.

"Why is the sect leader's treasured daughter doing at the entrance gate below this random young man?" The next one to react was the other woman, a bit older than the other at around 30. She was also very beautiful, quite tall at 1.73m, with long black hair and gentle, large green eyes. She wore a light green robe, a bit more conservative than her peer, giving a beautiful aunt vibe.

"Oy, you brat, how long are you going to stay on top of the sect's maiden?"

"Sigh…the youth will eventually surpass us. It's good to be young."

The last two were a fiery middle-aged man in his forties, with blazing short hair and flaming red eyes, attired in a red Daoist robe, and the last one, a slightly older man, with dark grey hair and eyes, a large mustache and a monocle on his left eye. He was dressed more like a noble in a court-like ensemble featuring a gray full-sleeved jacket and pants with gold accents at the shoulder areas. He looked at the situation with interest as well, as a mysterious glint flashed through his eyes.

Hearing the commotion, Kaeln, who had been acting dead, probably to enjoy the thrilling situation more, started standing up. He, who was originally already quite close to the girl, was abruptly pushed against her at the opening of the gate. Though he could have easily avoided knocking her down, that thought never crossed his mind.

He 'suddenly' awoke from his stupor. Pressing his hands on the ground before fully standing, he mischievously looks at the absentminded girl below him. He slowly gets closer to the shocked girl and whispers, "Nice to meet you."