Osric stood by the window wall of the chamber, his gaze beholding the scene below. Normally, as a Mortal, with the distance between his position and the platform below, it should have been impossible for him to see a thing clearly without straining his eyes. However, with the help of the Formations in the air, it appeared as though it was happening right before him.
Down below, seven youngsters his age stood. They all shared the trademark black hair of the Fahren Clan. Seina aside, there was only one other person Osric recognized intimately among them.
And that was Conrad. He was someone Osric had little like for. He was so pompous it almost felt intolerable.
Even now, in the face of hundreds of Divines, in the face of thousands of Immortals, each of which could wipe him off existence with a sneeze, Osric could see clearly the haughtiness that framed his expression.
Perhaps, the most annoying part of it all was that, Osric couldn't deny the credibility of this arrogance. His parents were respected Elders of the Clan, his paternal grandfather was a Grand Elder, and it was rumored that his paternal great-grandfather was one of the Ancestors.
With such a formation environing him, each with status and power terrifying than the last, it came as little surprise why he wouldn't even put Divines in his eyes.
However, haughty as Conrad is, there was one person he wouldn't dare to act oh so arrogant in the presence of. Osric's gaze shifted to Seina.
He had lost count of the times Conrad was bedded, after being ragdolled by her. She tolerated not a smidgen of the silliness that came with his arrogance, and tended to smoothen him out with her fist.
She was unlike him, who always remain passive in the presence of Conrad. However, this wasn't because he was subservient, no, if anything, his dislike for him was not discreet.
Yet, he didn't dare act on his frustrations, lest the Fahren Clan make his life a living hell. After all, would they justify an outsider who is unrelated to them, to someone who is the direct line of one of their Ancestors? Osric didn't believe they would.
That aside…
"Today marks the start of a never before seen time in my Fahren Clan. With the awakening of these youngsters, we can kickstart a motion we've been forced to abandon… for ages."
Elder Ren's voice was soft and steady, yet it stretched across the whole Coliseum with ease.
Osric expression didn't change, but his mind inwardly fixated on the words uttered by the Elder. Elder Ren's statements might be simple and harmless, but anyone with a brain could discern several underlying meanings, and it was… quite implicative, to say the least.
As expected, the expression of several leaders twisted slightly, but Elder Ren carried on as though he hadn't noticed a thing, or perhaps, he couldn't be bothered to care.
Osric exhaled lightly, his eyes narrowing as well.
A never before seen time in the Fahren Clan meant that, past today, the Clan would be undergoing tumultuous changes. Changes that, although might necessarily not be harmful, would sweep through the Dark Edge Realm with unmatched fierceness.
And taking into consideration the past exploits of the Fahren Clan, this further reinforced the notion that, whatever change the Clan would be undergoing, it was going throw the whole Realm into frenzy.
Osric's brows squinted.
'And there's the fact that the change will be triggered after this Awakening Ceremony, which meant…'
Osric had barely finished his thought when his eyes flung wide. A deluge of Blade Qi suddenly manifested above Seina and the remaining six, their might radiating the aura of a Divine.
Color instantly drained from the face of Osric.
A casual attack from a Divine wasn't something one could take lightly, let alone a serious attack like the one he was witnessing.
It mattered little if Elder Ren was way powerful than even the combined might of the Demon King and Sprite King, with an attack less than a nanosecond away from the youngsters, rescuing them was but a forgone conclusion.
"Go!"
Osric had no idea why he said that. This was meant to be a secret. However, he couldn't just watch them die, most especially, Seina. Although he disliked Conrad, he hadn't done anything to him that deserved death.
Osric, though, in his agitation, had forgotten that his location was far more distanced compared to Elder Ren's. If even Elder Ren, with the advantage in distance couldn't rescue them, then what could he possibly do?
It was then it happened. Before his order could yeild any reaction, a mass of darkness bursted out from within the youngsters, the pressure it emitted palpable.
It surrounded them, sealing them in a cocoon of pure darkness. The Blade Qi stood no chance. The moment it hit this cocoon, it vanished as though it never existed.
Elder Ren floated gently, his calm gaze watching the scene below. However, the fury that burned behind this calm gaze was akin to a raging inferno, ready to engulf everything in its' maws.
"Sundering Blade Sect, huh? How bold of you."
Elder Ren immediately reached his right hand out, colossal waves of Blood Qi permeating it as he clawed out.
The attack was swift and fast. One moment he was reaching his hand out, the second moment, a scream rang out, alarming all within the Coliseum.
Just as quickly, a forceful wave of Qi radiated throughout the Coliseum, and it didn't take a genius to recognize it as Spatial Qi. There was no doubt about it, the assailant had activated a Teleportation Treasure.
"Escaping? My Fahren Clan must be so cheap to think you can escape successfully after the attempted murder of our young geniuses."
With practiced ease, Elder Ren reached out again. This time, his hand plunged through space, disappearing into it, before appearing again.
However, this time around, a body accompanied his hand out. The moment the figure's appearance was lay bare to all that was present, a collective gasp echoed throughout the Coliseum.
The state of the figure was… fatal, to say the least. Five deep gashes adorned his torso. And were it not for the terrifying vitality a Divine possessed, by the blood pooling out of those gashes, he should be dead.
Even then, it was evident by his rapidly dwindling aura that, should he fail to heal himself in another hour, the end result would be his death.
However, it was unknown if that was possible, since he was within the death grip of Elder Ren.
"Wait, isn't…isn't that the Shadow Blade Ancestor of the Sundering Blade Sect?"
It was unknown who said that, but another collective gasp echoed out.
The assailant wasn't just anybody, but an Ancestor. An existence believed to be unmatched, yet was dealt with casually by an Elder?
When their thoughts reached this point, they couldn't help but shudder. An Elder had dealt casually with an Ancestor? It was unheard of.
Unbeknownst to them, an imperceptible fear took root in their hearts. The shift was unnoticed, but it was still there. This one scene had doused the sinister hearts of several Patriarchs and Ancestors present in the Coliseum.
'The Fahren Clan is dangerous…immensely so…'
A similar discovery rang out in their minds.
Elder Ren, though, felt this shift, but couldn't be bothered to care. His eyes, pervaded by a dense killing intent, surged, overwhelming the Shadow Blade Ancestor's shattered mind with ease.
"You are bold. Too bold, infact. Nevertheless, you will serve as a great example,"