The entirety of the martial gathering was completely silent, in awe of that massive mountain-sized skull. The presence of such a ghost exceeded the limits of a Rank 3 Fae Master. Even though the White Dominion Sect didn't specialize in Ghosts, a single word came to mind-.
Revenant.
A fully developed Revenant.
An existence which is on par in terms of strength with a Rank 4 Fae Master.
The eyes of the participants slowly lowered, as they gazed towards the origins of said ghost. The handsome, blonde haired, blue eyed young man just smiled as he matched Arthur's gaze. The cheeky expression on his face seemed much more sinister with the addition of that monstrosity beneath him.
Arthur just raised an eyebrow, glancing at the splattered remains of the Four Winged Pterodactyl.
"I could've done that myself you know".
Vladimir smile just grew, shrugging his shoulders without a care in the world.
"I know. But I felt as though he needed to be put in his place. "Peasants" such as himself need to understand where their place is in society. What is the expression again? A little fish in a big pond? Well little fish, meet the ocean".
Purple Fog just gritted his teeth, coughing up another mouthful of blood. Having the connection between him and his Corpse forcefully destroyed once more, shook his origin essence sea. Tiny fragments of the walls of his origin essence sea fell of, falling towards the very bottom of his origin essence sea.
If he didn't do anything about it, they would cause his origin essence to become impure, and lower his chances even more of reaching Rank 3.
Arthur just sighed, shaking his head.
"I was actually just going to kill him. It's better to cut the tree at the roots, rather that at the base".
Purple Fog coughed out another mouthful of blood, falling unconscious on the martial platform. The vast majority of Fae Masters present felt their eyes widen as they saw Purple Fog be subjected to the torrent of verbal assaults, before vomiting up blood and passing out.
These two on stage.... they were-.
Violet Sunglass just glanced at Purple Fog, before gesturing for someone to come over and take him to the medical tent.
She didn't even give the unconscious man a second glance before turning back towards Arthur and Vladimir.
"I see. Mr Vladimir certainly has the makings of a young powerhouse. Being able to command a revenant at such a young age, it makes even myself feel honoured just watching you".
Vladimir his smiled, nodding his head.
"Thank you for your praise.... Miss Violet", the Formless Night Shadow scratched the back of his head, trying to remember her name.
"I originally came here tonight hearing that the Boundless Forest Yearning would show up. Me and him have quite the relationship you see".
Violet Sunglass seemed slightly intrigued.
Did Arthur have some sort of relationship with this young man? Was this one of the other people from the background behind Arthur? Or was it someone else, someone from his time in Parachenko Village?
None of the others seemed to recognize him, so that possibility was extremely low.
"May I ask where young sir has come-".
"Friend. May I know which Sect or Clan has managed to produce such a genius?".
A warm, genial tone entered the ears of everyone present. The figure of a young man, jumping up gracefully towards the martial platform steps could be seen by everyone, his dark black hair possessed faint purple highlights, a physical reaction due to the presence of his Boundary Physique.
Violet Sunglass narrowed her eyes, being cut off by this young man.
Purple Mist just smiled, approaching Arthur and Vladimir seemingly without any sign of malicious intent.
He wore the garbs of a core White Dominion Sect Disciple, which was black, with white and gold highlights. His cultivation base was fully released, showing off to the entire world that he possessed a vapour topaz origin essence Fae Master cultivation.
Despite being on the same level as Arthur in terms of cultivation, he fully believed that his current self completely surpassed the Boundless Forest Yearning. Perhaps in 10, maybe even 7-8 years that would change and Arthur's cultivation speed would completely overtake his own but for the time being, he didn't think anyone younger than him was worth his time.
But after seeing Vladimir-.
The Formless Night Shadow just raised an eyebrow.
"Did you just get beat up? Do you specialize in Life Laws or something?".
Purple Mist just chuckled, waving Vladimir off.
"That was my younger twin brother. Unfortunately, he didn't inherit any of the talent in the family".
"And you did?".
Vladimir interjected.
Purple Mist just smiled, not taking the little jab seriously.
"We were both born with Boundary Physiques, which isn't anything special in comparison to Mr Kovacs here, does put us at a slight advantage in terms of certain aspects of cultivation. His origin essence sea is not as large as my own, and I have had some fortuitous encounters in my time. Perhaps in a few years Mr Kovacs here would exceed my own strengths".
Arthur just smiled, causing Vladimir to smirk.
"You think that Arthur here is weaker than yourself?".
Purple Mist took a half-step back, shaking his head with a smile.
"Not at all. It is just that due to the age difference, I possess a slight advantage over him. Mr Kovacs here is destined to become a Rank 5 Fae Master in the future, only another Sovereign Boundary Physique could guarantee such results".
"Oh?", Vladimir raised an eyebrow, "And what about me then? Do you think I'll be able to become a Rank 5 Fae Master".
Vladimir's tone shifted, making himself appear slightly younger than what he actually was.
Purple Mist seemed slightly off put by the sudden question and he just nodded. He continued to speak towards Vladimir, as if a senior would their junior.
"It is certainly possible. However, one cannot guarantee their entry into Rank 5 without the necessary talent. You obviously walk the path of Ghosts which might take away time from your cultivation. But if you continue cultivating diligently, I'm sure that you'll be able to reach the peak of Rank 4".
Arthur snorted, failing to suppress his amusement.
The sound of him trying to stifle his laughter immediately attracted the attention of everyone else present.
Most of them frowned at Arthur, not understanding what was so funny, or the origins of his amusement. Considering that it was Purple Mist who was speaking, they all naturally assumed that he was laughing at him.
Purple Mist narrowed his eyes at Arthur, his expression terse.
"Is there something funny about what I have just said, Arthur?".
Purple Mist dropped all forms of geniality, narrowing his eyes at Arthur, anger laced in his tone.
Despite his innate arrogance, he honestly believed everything he had said, and that everything he had said was fair and just. The age difference between him and Arthur was the latter's greatest weakness, but also the former's greatest advantage.
He wasn't just older than the both of them, he was much more experienced as well. And knew much more about cultivation and the world than either of them.
After all, both from them were also Rank 3 Fae Masters, both of which were twenty or younger. How could they have more experience than him, who was almost twenty-three and grew up within White Corpse City?
Most of the other Fae Masters present felt the same way. Although they couldn't help but feel more jealous of Arthur, who was born in a backwards region, yet possessed talents higher than their own.
If they were born with a Sovereign Boundary Physique, their destinies and lives would be so much different than what it was right now.
They just wanted to feel superior to Arthur, at least in one area of their lives.
Arthur just glanced at Vladimir, who was also smiling.
"If you think that age is the only difference between us, then you are sorely mistaken".
Purple Mist just smirked, interpreting Arthur's words differently.
"If you think that the difference in strength between us is also wide enough to mention, then by all means, say to everyone that you think you're weaker than-".
"No. I'm trying to say that just like your brother, you also aren't anything special".
Everyone at the martial gathering suddenly felt an intense pressure bare down on their bodies. The amount, density, concentration and purity of corpse type spiritual essence increased dramatically, and even some of those Rank 1 Fae Masters fell to their knees under the sudden formidable pressure.
Violet Sunglass stood tall, although he shoulders and figure felt heavy just being around Purple Mist.
The full force of his Rank 3 cultivation base, in addition to his Corpse Laws were released, bearing down on everyone else present.
His expression turned angry, and he straightened his back, tilting his head back while looking down at Arthur.
"I was willing to extend an olive branch towards you Arthur, being the next Boundless Forest Yearning you talents are seemingly limitless! But you threw away the toast that I gave you, wasting it, letting your own arrogance and ego fuel your actions!".
"As an elder, I cannot bear to see such a talented junior waste their youth fuelling such arrogance and pride! I will take it upon myself to teach you just how it is a Fae Master should-".
Purple Mist's words came to a sudden halt, being forced to jump back, evading a sudden sword slash. He snarled at the sudden attacker, summoning numerous Corpses to his side, gazing at Arthur's figure opposite him.
The young man just smiled Leafsword Fae in one hand, and Wood Piercing Bident in the other.
"You talk too much".