Chapter 160: Book 5: Chapter 33 – Ace Arrives
It had been 48 hours since Ace's last appearance at the War God's Academy, and right now, the War God Mountain may well be the busiest area in the whole of the O'Brien Empire.
What seemed like tens of thousands of people were gathered at the base of the mountain. They knew they weren't able to get seats to watch such an event. Still, they hoped that they might be able to see some of the excitement from down there.
That was just the ordinairy civilians of the Empire; all the VIPs had long since taken their seats surrounding the ring.
Calling them VIPs didn't do it justice. The audience was filled with many of the continent's true movers and shakers.
Whether it was representatives of the Dawson Conglomerate, the delegates of the Radiant Church and the Cult of Darkness, or even the Imperial family of the O'Brien Empire, their seats were extraordinarily ordinary.
All the best seats were taken by the various saints who resided in the Empire, including all 20-plus saint-level disciples of the War God himself.
It was quite the show of force O'Brien had laid out for Ace today. For many, it would seem a little extreme, but when remembering Ace's fame, heaven-defying talent, and the momentum he had gained over his feats thus far, them going so far seemed only right. After all, they couldn't afford to show any weakness at this point.
"It's been a while, Fain," an elegant middle-aged man with long black hair wearing a moon-white long robe said amiably as he led a beautiful woman with long jade hair to a pair of seats beside the War God's disciples.
"Desri," Fain exclaimed warmly. "I didn't expect to see you here today!"
"My wife and I were merely passing by when we heard of the challenge of this Ace boy," Desri explained casually. "Are the rumours of his strength true? Has he really comprehended a portion of the profound laws at such a young age?"
"Apparently so," Fain sighed. "Master asked me to see for myself to decide if he's worthy of becoming the newest addition of us direct disciples."
"I see," Desri calmly nodded. "Well, allow me to congratulate you in advance. It appears that very soon, your Empire will give birth to another expert on our level or maybe even superior."
When he said that, all the other saints sat near enough to overhear their conversation couldn't help but look over in shock.
It had to be understood that, like Cesar, Desri and Fain were both prime saints, merely one step away from becoming deities on the level of O'Brien himself. Unfortunately, that final step was one that stopped even the most peerless of geniuses from ascending.
Still, when they remembered the rumours of Ace's age and current level of comprehension and strength, they had to admit that Desri's words were more than reasonable.
"That may not be the case," a crimson-haired middle-aged man with pale skin sat directly beside Fain snorted dismissively. "Forget becoming a deity; just going from a peak to a prime saint is a watershed that halts the steps of some of the most talented experts.
This child may be the most talented person our Yulan Continent has ever produced, but on the path to the peak, sometimes talent alone isn't enough."
"You're not wrong," Desri nodded, not seeming to mind the interjection. "Still, the talent required for the comprehension of a youth so young to reach such a level isn't something the likes you or even I is truly qualified to speculate on."
The man who disagreed with Desri's words was Aiden's long-time rival and direct descendant of the War God – Byrius O'Brien.
Even though a conversation between prime saints wasn't one that most saints would dare get involved in, Byrius wasn't 'most saints'. Not only was he a valued direct descendent of O'Brien, but he was also the most talented of the War God's disciples, even more so than Fain.
Despite being a fraction of their age, he was only one step away from reaching the level of Fain and Desri.
Still, although talent was important, it paled in comparison to your strength, and the difference between a peak and prime saint wasn't small.
Despite his standing among the War God's disciples, Desri felt no way about putting the obviously petty and jealous peak saint back in his place.
Byrius wanted to respond, but there was nothing he could say – he knew Desri was right! The talent Ace had displayed thus far went beyond the realms of logic. It was at a level he didn't believe was even possible.
Even though the rumours had been confirmed by multiple reliable people – one of whom was a junior brother of his – he still refused to believe them until he saw it for himself.
He didn't show it, but Fain couldn't help but be inwardly disappointed by Byrius' blatant and public display of envy. It wasn't just him; it painted each of their fellow martial brothers, and even their master, in a bad light.
Still, knowing he couldn't admonish his seventh brother in a public setting, he opened his mouth to try and get rid of the growing tension, but before he could get a word out, both his and Desri's head snapped over their shoulders as they seemed to sense something that caught them both off guard.
Although the two prime saints were the first to sense something off, the other saints began to sense the same thing within a few seconds.
"It seems recruiting the child may prove more difficult than you had originally believed," Desri voiced with an amused smile when he sensed the group flying towards them.
Coming from the distance, Ace, Leonel, Milianna, Lance, Arianna, and Cirulus were all sitting on the back of Leo's father, Carter, the Bloody Eyed Mane Lion, who, with the help of the resources of the Pavilion, had recently broken through to the peak of the saint rank.
Ace, who had been sat with his legs crossed whilst travelling towards them, peacefully meditating beside his mother, slowly opened his eyes to calmly scan the group of experts that were awaiting his arrival on top of the War God's Mountain before turning to Milianna who was sat wearing the shadow robes he had gotten as a gift during his time at the Rohault Empire.
With the shadow robe covering her body, it prevented the perception of all those beneath the deity realm from scanning her with their spiritual essence. Still, Ace could feel her body tense beside him the closer they got.
Ace didn't say a word; he simply grabbed her hand and flashed her a calm and confident smile as Carter came to a stop just above the mountain peak.
With so many saint-level experts present, hardly any mortals were present at the mountain's peak. Aside from the young experts of the War-God's College, the members of the royal family, and the officials of the continent's other major forces, the only mortals allowed at the peak of the mountain peak were Olivier, Blumer, and Talore.
The moment Blumer's eyes landed on Ace, a myriad of emotions flashed across his eyes. Although he couldn't tell exactly how strong they were, he could sense that Ace had at least two saint-level experts standing behind him.
Right then, the last trace of hope he had for himself and his brother to catch up to him was snuffed out.
For his mysterious faction to be able to send out two saints as his backing meant that whomever this Yin-Yang Pavilion was, they were willing to spare no expense in training him.
Now, he could only hope that Ace would die here today instead of being allowed to mature.
On the other hand, Olivier's battle intent began to rise. He was far more interested in seeing exactly how strong Ace had become since he last saw him.
It wasn't just them. Both Wharton, who had been retreating under his master's guidance at the time of Ace's last challenge, as well as his master, Haydson, were both in attendance.
For many reasons, both Haydson and Wharton felt like they couldn't afford to miss today's festivities. Still, the moment they saw Ace and his group, Haydson couldn't help but shudder.
Out of everyone present, he was the one who best understood the true strength of the Yin-Yang Pavilion, having clashed against them the last time he saw them, and still, not even he recognised either of the two saints that had come with this time.
He couldn't help but wonder exactly how strong the Pavilion really was.
Wharton though, could only look up in dejection when he felt Ace's presence. As Ace hadn't bothered to hide it, everyone could clearly sense that Ace was at the peak of the fifth rank as both a warrior and mage.
Although he hadn't been able to completely get over his loss to Killian, with his master's help, he had been able to turn that humiliation into motivation. Still, as much as he knew his master was right, that comparing himself to someone like Ace was a recipe for disaster, a small part of him still aimed to surpass him one day.
Because of that, he had become even more diligent in his training. He was only 13 now, but he had already comprehended both states of wielding and broken through to the late stages of the fifth rank.
If it weren't for the fact that Blumer's comprehension had eclipsed his, having comprehended impose, he would've been the top-ranking student of the academy. Still, with the age difference between the two, it was clear to everyone that it was only a matter of time before the young Dragonblood warrior surpassed Blumer.
Unfortunately, despite all of his hard work, the gap between him and Ace only seemed to be widening.
He didn't know how much Ace's comprehension had improved since he last saw them, but the simple fact that Ace had already reached the fifth rank as both a mage and a warrior told him all he needed to know about the difference between them in strength.
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Book 9: Part 6 – Ace & Amira Vs. Lord Violet-Cloud
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