"N-No way! Someone really solved one of the most complex formations laid down by the Grand Elder himself!"

"What...?"

Gorven and Dresh felt like their heads were hit by a Demonic cultivator mind assault, the words Cassel just spoke...they were outrageous. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"What do you mean!?"

Gorven couldn’t help but ask. Hearing this, Cassel snorted.

"Do you think this kind of thing would bypass his radar? This thing was sealed by the Elder a century and a half ago! From that day on, no one was able to crack the formation! But now...!"

He spoke with a grim look on his face. Gorven and Dresh just stood there silently.

"A fool...we had all been fools!"

Dresh muttered, her hand lowering slightly. But then again, a wave of confusion spread through her mind.

"Who was that boy who cracked the formation so easily?"

Cassel examined the formation closely and repeatedly spread his Verth inside to make sure the thing was breached.

"I’m...dead."

He concluded.

Although he didn’t know what was inside the formation, he was sure that something gatekept by that old coot wouldn’t be ordinary.

His eyes dropped on Gorven, "Who was the man who broke through this array?"

Gorven frowned when he heard that tone, but he held it in for now.

"We don’t know. He had infiltrated our camps, and during the fight...he slipped through."

Just as Cassel was about to reply, he suddenly snapped his head towards a certain direction.

A fourth aura...

And it wasn’t from the VoidClaw Clan or Gorven’s group. A single cultivator walked out of the southern treeline with an unhurried and confident pace.

He had a handsome face with broad shoulders, and his aura was not to be underestimated, even if it was below the peak existences standing on the neutral ground.

The man looked in his early forties with Dragon blood flowing through his veins. His eyes were shining as if he had finally discovered something he had been searching for a long time.

Gorven looked at him, "...Dreyke."

"Long time no see, Gorven." Dreyke smiled and stopped at the clearing’s edge, his eyes sweeping across every cultivator present here, alongside Dresh and Cassel.

"Greenvale Town Lord...I’m sure this area falls outside of your territorial jurisdiction," Cassel said with his eyes narrowed.

Dreyke smiled when he heard that, "That is indeed the truth, but Sir Cassel, I’m here personally not as the Greenvale Town Lord."

"The distinction matters to you."

"It does to everyone here," Dreyke said. "In fact, I have some news which, I’m sure Sir Cassel will love."

He spoke, his eyes swept the array below, and the spot where the formation was opened.

"What is that news, Greenvale Town Lord?"

Seeing him still using that title, Dreyke couldn’t help but be annoyed. But...he was the weaker party here.

"I have been following a trail since three nights ago. There was a man who caused chaos in my town."

Dreyke sighed and waved his hair back. A curious glint shone in Gorven’s eyes when he heard that.

"What sort of chaos, Dreyke?"

"It was the robbery of a bulk storage building, a highgrade treasure, and the...murder of a renowned alchemist."

Dreyke uttered, his voice heavy.

"What? A murder of an Alchemist? That’s...really a high crime."

Gorven muttered when he heard those words, and Cassel nodded.

Killing an Alchemist was one of the crimes that were usually avoided by many because the consequences were simply too much to bear.

In Draventhar, even inside the Dragon’s territory, an alchemist’s value was immense and heavily protected.

"Yes, and he stole something far more valuable than that."

Dreyke spoke, his tone dark and somber.

"Do you know anything about that man?"

Cassel slowly stood up and walked toward Dreyke; he had, of course, connected the dots. There was no way Dreyke would come all the way here just to vent his frustrations.

"Yes...I tracked a Verth shift that reached Greenvale readings a few hours ago. Something intense and...powerful."

As he said that, his eyes swept Gorven and Dresh.

"So I assumed I would check it out, and guess what I found?" Dreyke smirked and pointed towards the ground deeper from the neutral ground.

Cassel narrowed his eyes when he saw scorched marks on the rocks and a large patch of burnt land.

"That is..."

"Yes, it was the same fire used a few days ago in my Storage Building. That man definitely came here and listening to your conversation, I assume he messed things up once again"

Gorven gritted his teeth when he heard those words; even Cassel was a bit annoyed.

"Now, can you hurry up and tell me who that is?" Cassel asked, his voice urging Dreyke to continue.

Dreyke smirked, "You already know who he is."

"Who?"

"It’s...this man."

Saying that, he took out the same poster that contained Emperal’s bounty and his image.

Black hair with silver edges and a pair of obsidian eyes.

The moment he saw this man, Cassel was shocked.

"This...isn’t this Emperal?"

He spoke out loud, enough for Dresh and Gorven to hear.

"Emperal? What a...strange name," Dresh muttered. She was quiet for a few seconds until another wave of confusion hit her mind.

"Why does that name ring some bells?"

Just as they were about to discuss further, the formation suddenly glowed brightly and activated from below them.

"The formation is activating...from the inside!!"

Cassel realized and snapped his head back. The Crystal columns’ light shifted brilliantly, the change in output intensified deeply as the formation’s exit mechanism drew out on the Spring’s new...flow.

From the light, a figure emerged with a quiet confidence. Behind him, another followed.

Emperal stepped out of the formation. His appearance had obviously returned to normal during the fifteen hours below.

Black hair with silver threading, dark eyes, and a lean frame. But this time, something was different. His dark eyes...they were glowing.

Gorven, Dresh, Dreyke, and Cassel...all of them stood frozen in their spot when they saw the man. Especially Cassel.

Emperal’s eyes swept across the clearing and landed on Dreyke and Cassel.

"So many people waiting for me...how touching"