At the entrance to the Misty mountains, a large number of people had gathered. Most of them were disciples of various sects as evident from their robes.
However, among them, a large group could be seen isolated from the rest. Their deep red robes invoked a sense of power, intimidation and chaos that was sent shivers down the spine of the onlookers.
The armor like details woven into the fabric seemed to pass on the message that they were always ready for battle.
These were the War Machines. These disciples from the War Machine sect who were often referred to as the war machines were infamous throughout the Floating Cloud continent.
Known for their brutality and blood thirsty nature, the War Machine sect, even though it was one of the five super sects on the continent generally had a bad reputation among the citizens.
In fact, they would have been collectively hunted down as members of the demonic faction if the Everhart Royal Family hadn't vouched for them in the past.
It seemed that the Royal family found a way to channel their desire for battle towards the demonic faction. This reduced the persecution against them. Of course, all of this happened a long time ago.
However, they still faced the stigma everywhere they went. But the thing is.... the members of the War Machine sect didn't care. Public opinion didn't matter to them as long as they were able to fulfil their desire for battle.
Now, thousands of these disciples stood at the entrance of the Misty mountains, ready to unleash their latent ferocity.
They cast smug glances towards disciples of other sects, not hiding the disdain on their faces. If not for the current situation, they wouldn't have mingled with these lesser folk.
The pride from being from one of the super sects was something that oozed out of their bones and created a firm divide between them.
In their front stood three individuals, their auras the strongest among those present.
On the left was a young woman. Her fierce and untamed beauty mirrorred the chaos of a battlefield.
Her sharp, expressive eyes burned with the intensity of a predator, always scanning for the next challenge, the next fight. Lean muscles rippled subtly beneath her skin, a sharp contrast between her beautiful face and warrior's body.
On the right stood a bald young man. His robes, already bereft of their sleeves seemed to have a hard time holding his bulging muscles back. Coupled with his two meter tall frame, his aura resembled that of a magical beast disguised as a human.
In the center stood a calm faced young man. His wavy hair and sharp eyebrows gave him a certain charm. His tidy robes, handsome face and seemingly calm demeanour could fool any person not familiar with him into thinking he was a charming young man.
However, this couldn't be further from the truth. Anybody unlucky enough to make such a mistake probably wouldn't live to regret it because, they would be facing the strongest outer disciple of the War Machine sect.
Rank 1 disciple, Julian Cross. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he stood amidst the crowd, seemingly ignoring the various chatter going on around him.
However, as soon as the sun was directly above his head signalling mid day, a powerful aura belonging the fifth level of the Golden core formation realm surged out of his body.
Almost at the same time, two additionally powerful auras erupted alongside him quieting down the surroundings.
Immediately, the gazes of the two individuals standing alongside him became filled with fighting intent. All eyes turned towards Julius' direction. However, he remained unfazed as he slowly spoke.
"Alright, let's enter the Misty Mountains."
"Hmph, what makes you think we're going to follow your lead?" An indignant voice sounded next to him. The speaker was naturally the young woman next to him.
She was the Rank 2 outer disciple, Clara Foster. Her aura continued to surge until it reached the fourth level of the Golden core formation realm.
If one sensed it carefully, they would find out that she had already faintly touched upon the peak of the fourth level.
If nothing went wrong on this mission, she should be able to reach the peak of the fourth level or even directly break through to the fifth level.
Of course, this was just her hope. Still, one couldn't disregard her strength. She had challenged Julian on multiple occasions and even though she lost every time, she didn't let it deter her.
This earned her the respect of her fellow disciples. That and the fact that she beat every single person that crossed her into a bloody pulp.
Julian didn't pay attention to her words and simply turned around and faced his fellow disciples. As soon as his gaze landed on them, they all tensed up and tried to avoid his gaze.
"All right, the elders told us to wait until noon for the others to arrive. Now that it's time, you can either form your little groups and choose to enter now or wait outside. I don't care either way. I'm going in."
As soon as he said this, he started making his way towards the entrance of the Misty mountain. A small handful of disciples immediately detached from the rest of the group and quickly followed after him.
It was evident that they were part of his group. As they moved along, the crowd separated and allowed them to pass. No one dared stand in their way until their figures finally disappeared into the fog.
Clara was about to charge in after him when a booming voice responded next to her.
"Clara, for this mission, we were told to work in groups. Don't tell me you want to disobey sect orders."
The tall bald man looked over at Clara, his gaze attempting to bore a hole into her.
" How the hell is that any of your business, Wyatt?"
The boisterous voice naturally belonged to the rank 3 disciple, Wyatt Cole.
Wyatt face suddenly turned into a ferocious smile as his fourth level Golden core formation realm aura burst out from his figure.
Even though, they were both in the same realm, Wyatt's aura was noticeably weaker than that of Clara's. Still, this didn't make it any less impressive.