Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

Usually, the outskirts of the mountain range of magical beasts were filled with mortal beasts and the odd mortal human who entered for the purposes of training or hunting, but today was different.

Today, there were barely any mortals present, and none of them were magical beasts. Instead, they were humans, and all of them were brought along by a saint.

At that moment, there were over a hundred saint-level experts. Each was a being that would usually be treated as a king or emperor wherever they went, but at that moment, they had been reduced to mere ordinairy spectators as they circled around a large clearing, waiting for today’s festivities to begin.

Still, none was arrogant or foolish enough to demand better treatment, namely because of those few individuals in the centre.

In the centre of the clearing was a group of around 50 people. And despite this group being filled with primarily mortals, it was them who everyone appeared to be focused on.

Still, even with everyone focusing on them, the members of the pavilion seemed to be wholly unphased by their presence. Or at least half of them did.

The other half were the 28 children who had been accepted into the Pavilion two years ago, and as talented as they were, they couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous.

Although they had performed in front of a much bigger audience during the Pavilion’s trials, that was the first and last time any of them had done so, and once definitely wasn’t enough to get used to it, but more importantly, the vast majority of those watching back then had been mortals, whereas this time, almost everyone here to spectate was a saint…

Still, it was made bearable by the calm and protective auras of Julius and the other more senior members of the Pavilion.

“Ahh, Fatty, I’ve really missed your cooking!” Ace uttered in ecstasy; his mouth filled to the brim with various bits of his food as his hands continued reaching for more. “It’s been way too long!”

“Are you saying my cooking’s not good enough?” Milianna asked gently, her voice sounding like a spring breeze.

“Of course not,” Ace hurriedly gulped down his food as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge. “Your food is still the best, mom!”

Ace’s reaction created a wave of laughter among the others as they all continued to eat.

To the audience, this was the last thing they expected to witness, considering one of their own was about to take part in such a monumental battle. Still, Ace and the others didn’t care; they simply continued eating and laughing merrily between themselves as if the rest of the world didn’t exist.

Still, that all changed at the appearance of the next arrival.

Cesar and Aiden were the first to react, both sending a casual glance into the distance before going back to their respective drinks as though they hadn’t sensed anything. But seconds later, one by one, Arianna, followed by her saint-level disciples, and the other saints in the audience turned their heads to the east as an undisguised and gentle yet oddly oppressive aura moved towards them at incredible speeds.

Before the figure even appeared in eyeshot, her soft and almost ethereal voice entered the ears of those present, causing the souls of many to stir uncontrollably. “I hope I’m not late.”

It was then that the enchanting figure of Catherine, the High Priest, appeared before them all.

She didn’t appear to do anything in particular, but the souls of those weaker experts – namely the mortals – weren’t able to withstand her ‘gentle’ presence. Many of whom began collapsing uncontrollably. Even the weaker saints in the audience began to sway, struggling to stay awake.

“Annoying!” Aiden snorted as he calmly continued drinking whilst wrapping his spiritual essence around the young Pavilion disciples, preventing his group from falling prey to the High Priest’s subtle methods.

Catherine’s beautiful jade-green eyes fell on Aiden. Though they appeared tranquil as ever, that was only because she was hiding her shock.

She had already heard the reports of Aiden’s heaven-defying power. Still, there was nothing that could’ve prepared her for the shock of witnessing Aiden’s prowess in person.

Because she hadn’t actually taken action and simply allowed her powerful soul to interact with the world around her, it wasn’t surprising for so many to withstand her presence. Still, there was a difference between protecting your soul and using your soul to protect those of other people.

The moment Aiden allowed his soul to surge forth, Catherine clearly sensed that Aiden’s soul had somehow reached the level of a Demi-God, making it not much weaker than her own.

“Catherine,” Mathias uttered with a calm indifference. “Your actions, should I take them as a provocation against my Yin-Yang Pavilion?”

Although his voice couldn’t be described as cold, there was a certain edge to it that made those onlookers hold their breaths.

The temper of the high priest was much better than her new ally – O’Brien – still, even she had her pride. As a genuine deity, how could she be okay with being spoken down to in such a manner by a saint, no less? His comprehension may have reached the deity level, but until he broke through, in her eyes, he would continue to be nothing but a slightly larger ant.

Still, just before she could respond, she felt the eyes of both Cesar and Arianna fall on her. Cesar was now an expert on her level, and even though she had the confidence to fight and even suppress him – seeing as he had only broken through recently – he still couldn’t be ignored.

As for Arianna, she was a different matter altogether. Catherine was just about to look down on Mathias because he was still only a saint, but Arianna was the exception to that rule. Her power didn’t allow others to look down on her; she was effectively a deity in saint’s skin. And according to O’Brien, Arianna was likely stronger than her.

As such, Catherine could only swallow her resentment and force a smile as she replied. “Of course not. I merely forgot, there were mortals present. Forgive my rudeness.”

As she said that, she completely retracted her presence, making her seem more like a mortal who’d never cultivated a day in her life than a supreme expert who stood atop this continent’s hierarchy.

It was then that she locked eyes with one of the two young men of the hour, causing her to, once again, forcibly hide her disbelief.

It had to be understood that not only was Catherine a deity, but she was focused on the Edict of Life, an Edict that focused heavily on the soul. Even though she had completely retracted her aura, if one were to lock eyes with her, even for the briefest of moments, they’d still suffer from a spiritual shock that would affect most saints. Only those at the peak of the saint realm would be able to ignore such a shock.

With that being said, the fact that Ace, a young man who was merely at the late stages of the sixth rank as both a mage and warrior, was able to calmly meet her gaze without being affected was incredible.

After taking a moment to study the world-renowned High Priest of the Yulan Empire, Ace went back to laughing and joking with his friends and family. It wasn’t just him; even Mathias and the other elders proceeded to ignore her. As long as she wasn’t here to cause trouble, they were too lazy to pay her any attention.

Catherine had never been put in such an awkward situation, at least not since becoming a deity. Still, she couldn’t allow others to see that she was bothered. As such, she proceeded to sit cross-legged mid-air, pretending as though she was above all worldly affairs, whilst in reality, she was doing everything in her power to hide her embarrassment.

The air for all those, minus the members of the pavilion and Gol Clan, became particularly awkward and tense. Luckily, it didn’t last long, as the next expert arrived, and this was someone unignorable even by those of the Pavilion.

“And here I thought that I’d be the last to arrive,” Beirut chuckled as he silently appeared in the sky above Catherine without her or any of the other experts with access to a Divine Sense being any the wiser.

“Lord Beirut,” Catherine hurriedly stood to her feet to pay her respects. “I wasn’t aware you would be attending as well.”

Beirut merely grunted as he sent the High Priest a passing glance before focusing his eyes on the group on the ground below.

Most had never seen the mysterious ruler of the Forest of Darkness before, but they had all heard his name. The moment the High Priest bowed to him, the others all followed suit. That included Ace, Arianna and the other members of the Pavilion.

They may not hold the other experts of their continent in any regard, but Beirut was different. According to Arianna and her family’s records, Beirut has always been one of, if not the most powerful expert to come from their Yulan Plane.

Even her ancestors, some of whom had reached the six and seven-star fiend level of power, said themselves they were wholly inferior to Beirut. Had he wanted to replace them as ruler of their material plane, he could’ve done so with ease. Luckily, he had no interest in vying for power and resources, always choosing to remain in the confines of his own domain.

“Haha, no need for such formalities,” Beirut chortled, flashing a rare look of appreciation as he looked at the group below before focusing on Arianna. “It’s a shame the founder of your Qingya Clan departed for the Divine Wind Plane. Had he still been around, how could your family have fallen on such hard times?”

“Milord?” Arianna asked, faintly surprised. “You knew my Ancestor?”

“Knew him?” Beirut chuckled as he began to reminisce. “He could be considered a rival of mine back then. Still, because of the lack of challenges here, he quickly departed for the Divine Realms seeking new challenges.

When you get the chance in the future, you should think about heading to the Divine Wind Realm – he recreated your Qingya Clan there. Last I heard, they’re quite a big deal there as well.”

Alarm bells rang incessantly in Arianna’s head, hearing that. For the longest time, she genuinely believed that she was the last Qingya descendant left, but now… “I’m not alone?”

“Alone?” Beirut laughed. “Of course not, child. There should be billions of Qingya descendants running around the Divine Wind Plane. Plus, you still have an ancestor here on the Yulan Plane.”

Arianna’s eyes widened in astoundment. Usually, she was the very picture of tranquillity and serenity, but every time Beirut opened his mouth, he seemed insistent on knocking her off her feet.

She didn’t dare to believe it. She didn’t believe that a member of her family could remain on the Yulan Plane for all this time without her knowing. Still, she understood that Beirut would never be so bored as to lie to her just for the sake of getting her hopes up.

“Are you curious as to where she’s been and why she never made an appearance with your clan facing near-total annihilation?” Beirut asked with a knowing and mysterious smile. “It’s because she’s not on this half of the Plane.”

Others may not have understood what Beirut meant, but her family were once the overlords of the entire continent. How could it be possible for her not to understand? Unfortunately, before Arianna could give voice to the myriad of questions plaguing her, Beirut quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, now’s not the time to speak on such matters, especially when you still have guests to greet,” Beirut said, glancing over at a devilishly handsome young man wearing a dim gold robe with a strange slit-like scar on his forehead.