**Chapter 739: Welcome**

The light of the spatial teleportation array slowly faded beneath his feet.

As the glow dissipated, Jie Ming found himself standing at the center of a vast teleportation square.

Above was a clear blue sky, and underfoot were polished white stone slabs.

Between the slabs ran faint golden rune seams. The patterns were not overly complex, yet every stroke was carved with extreme precision.

Tall banners stood around the square, fluttering gently in the breeze.

Each flag bore the crest of the Colmar family, gleaming with a soft, non-dazzling luster under the sunlight.

Jie Ming’s perception spread out slowly, taking in the entire atmosphere of the square.

The elemental concentration here was not particularly high, and he sensed no especially powerful non-wizard life signatures.

Because everyone residing in this plane was ordinary mortals!

They were not servant races from other planes, but the most numerous ordinary beings at the base of the wizard civilization’s pyramid. Their auras were steady and peaceful, like a gently flowing warm current in Jie Ming’s perception.

For a family’s core plane to house mortals rather than combat units, this plane was most likely the family’s true foundation. It meant this plane had never been intended as a resource plane for profit, but as an ancestral land to house family dependents, nurture new generations, and continue the family bloodline.

By holding the wedding here, the Colmar family was making a clear statement.

The square was bustling with crowds. Guests arriving for the wedding continued to emerge from various teleportation arrays.

Some wore Star Ring Federation military uniforms, their shoulder insignia reflecting silver light in the sun. Others wore the standard robes of Noren Academy’s various colleges, with sleeve patterns indicating different academic factions. There were also members of other wizard families, their crests meticulously embroidered on cloaks or collars, immediately revealing their distinguished origins.

The Colmar family had stationed dedicated greeters on both sides of the square.

Every guest who stepped out of a teleportation array was swiftly guided into position. The process was smooth and efficient, clearly rehearsed countless times.

Directly opposite the square, the current patriarch of the Colmar family stood at the forefront of the welcoming party.

He appeared to be around forty years old, though outward age held no real reference value for wizards.

He had deliberately kept some fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, giving him an extra touch of steady affability.

Flanking him on both sides stood two sixth-ring wizards.

Including the patriarch himself, there were now three sixth-ring wizards from the Colmar family greeting guests on the square.

According to the information Jie Ming had obtained earlier, the entire Colmar family—including David—only had seven sixth-ring wizards in total.

Displaying nearly half of their top-tier combat strength on the square as greeters—this level of sincerity was already quite substantial.

The Colmar patriarch had just finished smiling and conversing with a sixth-ring wizard in front of him. As the guest and his entourage were led toward the banquet hall by greeters, he prepared to pull out his magic network terminal to check the next batch of guests. However, the terminal on his wrist lit up first.

It was an encrypted message from the Colmar family’s intelligence system. Only information on the highest-level guests would trigger such a priority push.

The patriarch’s gaze swept across the message. The smile on his face did not fade, but the fine lines at the corners of his eyes tightened imperceptibly for an instant.

The sixth-ring wizard standing to his left rear noticed this minute change.

He said nothing, merely brushing the edge of the patriarch’s consciousness lightly with his spiritual power.

The Colmar patriarch did not turn around. He transmitted the message content via spiritual power as well.

After reading it, the sixth-ring wizard’s pupils contracted slightly.

“A fifth-ring wizard actually achieved something like this?” His spiritual power carried unconcealed astonishment.

“To defeat a sixth-ring Title Wizard like ‘Illusory’… doesn’t that mean…” Another sixth-ring wizard joined in. He didn’t finish the latter half, but the meaning was clear.

A sixth-ring Title Wizard was an existence that could earn a personal title even among sixth-ring wizards—not something an ordinary sixth-ring wizard could compare to.

Defeating such an opponent, regardless of the level used to do it, was enough to make any sixth-ring wizard reevaluate their own standing before that person.

“Correct,” the patriarch’s spiritual power also carried a faint, hard-to-detect sigh. “If we’re being honest, we are the weaker ones in front of him.”

A breeze swept across the square, causing the banners to flap loudly.

The two sixth-ring wizards fell silent for a moment. Then, almost simultaneously, they sensed something and looked up together toward the largest teleportation array in the center of the square.

Silver-white teleportation light was shining within it.

The patriarch sensed that aura at the same time.

It was a power fluctuation suppressed to an extremely deep level, like an undercurrent in the deep sea.

The surface was calm and peaceful, appearing harmless.

Yet this very demeanor made perceptive enough wizards feel even greater apprehension, as if staring down into an endless abyss from the sea’s surface.

“He’s here. Fix your expressions,” the patriarch’s spiritual power swept between the three of them.

All three simultaneously adjusted their facial muscles, completely concealing the shock and solemnity from that brief moment.

When the teleportation light faded and Jie Ming raised his head, he saw three Colmar sixth-ring wizards walking toward him with warm smiles and confident strides.

“Hahaha… Wizard Jie Ming has come from afar. We are truly honored and overwhelmed!” The patriarch stepped forward first, his voice loud yet gentle. The two sixth-ring wizards behind him also wore kind smiles. One even proactively extended a hand in a welcoming gesture, his posture natural as if rehearsed many times.

“Not at all,” Jie Ming replied with a proper smile, stepping forward to meet them. He shook the patriarch’s outstretched hand firmly. “I’ve heard much about the patriarch’s wisdom and greatness from David and have long admired you. This time, I took the opportunity of David’s wedding to visit specially and share in the joy.”

“Wizard Jie Ming is too polite!” The patriarch shook their joined hands vigorously, his smile growing even brighter. “That child David often mentions you at home, saying you were already a mainstay of the elite combat units when you were only first-ring. Seeing you today, your reputation is truly well-deserved. Just this bearing alone is enough to win one’s admiration!”

“The patriarch flatters me. It is David’s character and ability that I have always admired the most. To reach sixth-ring at such a young age— the Colmar family has worthy successors. It is truly enviable.”

“Not at all, not at all. His little achievements are still far behind yours. I heard that a few years ago you served under Wizard Broadleaf and directly confronted the Reflection Dimension passage. Even Wizard Broadleaf spoke highly of you. Such a battle record among fifth-ring wizards is truly unheard of in a thousand years!”

“It was all thanks to the high regard of Wizard Broadleaf and Dean Avery. I simply happened to run into the situation and was somewhat lucky…”

The two sides exchanged pleasantries on the teleportation square for quite some time.

The patriarch’s smile remained radiant, and Jie Ming’s smile stayed perfectly appropriate.

Their spiritual powers maintained polite distance throughout the conversation; neither attempted to probe the other.

The two sixth-ring wizards behind the patriarch chimed in occasionally with just the right supplementary remarks or agreements, keeping the entire exchange harmonious.

Finally, the patriarch smiled and made a welcoming gesture.

“The banquet hall has tea and refreshments prepared. Since Wizard Jie Ming has traveled far, please come inside first, sit down, and rest for a while. This way, please!”

Jie Ming nodded to the patriarch and followed the guiding wizard toward the family’s inner grounds.

Only after Jie Ming’s figure disappeared behind the banquet hall’s colonnade did the warm smile on the patriarch’s face slowly fade, though his expression remained mild. The other two sixth-ring wizards also returned to his side after seeing off the last few guests.

The three of them watched Jie Ming’s back as he entered the banquet hall in the distance and remained silent for a moment.

“What do you… think?” the patriarch asked via spiritual power.

Upon hearing this, both wizards fell silent for a brief instant.