After two days, Asura arrived at a certain location where he found some people already gathered. Among the crowd were Su Lin and Kallu. Asura stepped forward to greet them.
Upon Asura's arrival, Kallu was the first to greet him, followed by Su Lin. Kallu playfully remarked, "Brother Asura, you're a bit late. If you hadn't come before the headmaster, we might have left without you," he said with a playful tone. Asura replied with a burst of laughter and said hello to Su Lin.
Su Lin gave a slight nod to Asura. She was finally at ease when seeing Asura. She wasn't one to engage in lengthy conversations with unwanted individuals, especially those she didn't consider friends. However, because of Kallu's friendship with Asura, Su Lin felt somewhat at ease and managed to exchange a few words with Kallu. Otherwise, she might have avoided him as she did with other cultivators present.
Asura was well aware of Su Lin's reserved nature. He understood that she opened up more when her friend Rose was around or when interacting with someone she knew well. Recently, Su Lin started conversing more with Asura, a marked improvement from their initial interactions. In the past, some of their conversations had even ended without Su Lin uttering a word, resorting to mere head movements.
One could say that their current progress marked a significant improvement from their initial meeting. This is also why Asura had doubts about whether Su Lin liked him as a friend or something more than a friend, but he didn't have the courage to ask her directly. He didn't want to be labeled as a suitor like other cultivators who pursued Su Lin.
The three of them engaged in discussions about martial arts, battle skills, spiritual attacks, training routines, and much more. This gives them some enlightenment which could help them in their cultivation journey.
Suddenly, a strong wind swept through, revealing a middle-aged man with white hair and sharply arched eyebrows before the young cultivators. This man was the headmaster of the Xiao Sect.
The headmaster observed the assembled group and nodded. He was about to lead them to the royal palace when someone raised a question, "Headmaster, shouldn't we wait for Surya? He hasn't arrived yet." This query echoed the thoughts of other young cultivators, and they looked at the headmaster with anticipation, eager to know the answer.
The headmaster met their gazes and responded, "Perhaps Surya has already met his demise. Our elders went in search of him, but they returned empty-handed."
The top rankers were shocked to learn that Surya might be dead, but they couldn't comprehend how such a fate could befall him. After all, he had been the champion of the tournament of the spiritual realm. Various questions swirled in their minds, but they refrained from asking any further.
Li Xin, who was not far from Asura's group, noticed that everyone in the group, except Kallu, appeared unsurprised. So, out of curiosity, She approached them and inquired, "Why are you two not surprised at all?"
Asura explained that the headmaster had already informed them about Surya's situation when discussing the invitation to the royal palace. Upon hearing Asura's explanation, Li Xin nodded.
The crowd fell silent for a few moments before the headmaster led them to the royal palace. As they arrived, they were taken aback by the breathtaking scenery that surrounded the royal palace. Even Asura's group had to admit that the view was exceptionally stunning.
After a quick look around the royal palace, they entered the royal hall. Inside, they discovered that the royal family members were already present, enjoying the music being played at the center of the hall.
A royal knight welcomed them upon their entry, while another guard went to inform the king about their arrival.
Asura's gaze roamed over the members of the royal family who were present in the Royal Hall, until his eyes became fixated on a particular individual among them.
Su Lin followed Asura's gaze and then asked him, "Do you know her?"