Social gatherings with their peers were one formality that most descendants of and heirs to all forces at least equal to Named Families could never escape for long. While the existence of some of them was indubitably being hidden, everyone who was known to their circle was practically forced to attend, especially during momentous occasions such as this one.
Many families that were on good or cordial terms with each other had their children meet up, in an attempt to negotiate favourable conditions. Nobody wanted to be surrounded by exclusively enemies. While it might be a free-for-all at the end of the day, there were no restrictions on teaming up, or on avoiding each other. Some of the families that knew that their offspring's chances weren't great even had them approach the more formidable contestants in an attempt to become their Followers or Retainers.
Considering the fame that he had already accumulated, Theodore could not avoid this kind of gathering either. Accompanied by a stern elderly gentlemen clad in an impeccable butler's outfit, he came to an incredibly grand and lavish, yet not excessive, banquet hall amidst a literal sea of stars. As it had been repurposed and shrunk down by a powerful expert, even someone lacking any cultivation realm at all could stroll through this place without any dangers.
Every couple of steps, he was swarmed by dozens of his peers, some of whom he at least recognized, but most of which that he had never met before. Yet, no matter how many of them came, he didn't grow bothered and handled the pleasantries with practised ease. He verbally agreed to accept some of the qualified ones as his Followers, while most of those that sought to tie themselves to his war chariot had their pleas politely declined.
Fortunately, there was a group of 'friends' which he had made over the past few years–and some even earlier, during his pre-illusion days–who quickly caught his eye, allowing him to use them as a valid excuse to escape the latest encirclement early.
"Looks like someone is as popular as ever."
Rolling his dark green eyes and teasing him was a somewhat stout, but muscular young man of about thirty years of age. Just like everyone else, he was clad in fanciful but gorgeous ballroom attire that he would certainly never wear outside of such an occasion. The exact colour of his brown hair was almost unable to be distinguished due to him having a buzz cut. This was one of the like-minded comrades that Theodore had made during the past half a decade: Barrett Leon.
"I wish I wasn't, Barry, I wish I wasn't..."
With a helpless shrug and a sigh, Theodore plopped down on a seat right next to everyone else, which they had so kindly reserved for him in advance.
"Heh. Some of us are actually hoping to be swarmed like this, meanwhile, others cannot appreciate their own good fortune."
Snorting in disapproval, a stunningly charming young lady interjected, clearly with a little bit more displeasure lacing her voice than what would have sufficed for a joke. Her pitch-black, curly hair caused her skin to appear extremely pale and delicate, while her grey, cloudy eyes felt somewhat otherworldly. Out of everyone present, she looked the most uncomfortable in her dress, clearly very unhappy to be here. Amongst this group, she was the one that Theodore had known for the longest time: Evangelina Kismet.
The patriarchs of their respective families were extremely close friends, so relatively often during his early childhood, he had been made to spend time with her. Other than furthering her own studies and training, she cared about nothing else and easily grew irritable whenever she was forced to comply with her family's expectations. Usually, she managed to control herself well enough during these gatherings, but very likely, the meagre turnout when it came to her potential Followers had frustrated her too much.
"But Lina, you were the first of us to arrive, when not too many people were present. Most of those looking for you would not dare to come up and interrupt us, so that is why you're lagging behind a little."
Patting her shoulder gently, with a supportive, affectionate tone in her melodious voice, the dark brown-haired lady next to her began to console her, attempting to make her regain her confidence. Contrary to the other two, she was not a human, but rather a Celestial Fox.
All kinds of beings inhabiting the Heavenly Dao would become almost entirely humanoid in their appearance after they surpassed a certain cultivation realm. The ancestors of the Celestial Fox race were initially just an extremely rare clan of foxes, but after the Heavenly Dao came into being, their strongest members all evolved to adapt a humanoid form. Countless generations later, newborn Celestial Foxes–exactly like innumerable other races throughout the Heavenly Court's worlds–were indistinguishable from humans except for their ears and tails.
Rheya Gold was the heiress to CFC–Celestial Fox Consortium–one of the largest and most influential merchant associations serving the Heavenly Court. Every single one of their members belonged to one of the various fox races, with the Celestial Fox race ruling over them all. Just like most others of her kind, she possessed an inherent gracefulness and seductiveness that she usually suppressed so as to avoid bothering those around her. Still, her honey brown eyes would perpetually bewitch anyone who dared to stare directly at them.
"Before you leave, let's have a toast and agree on a non-aggression pact, alright?"
Noticing that Evangelina was planning to leave to brave the masses, a scholarly young man of only 19 years of age interjected, leaning forward and filling the few dozen glasses on the table. Contrary to the rest of the Heavenly Court's high society, their group of peers who did not yet have the opportunity to cultivate in reality would avoid spiritual beverages that helped increase one's cultivation realm. Instead, they partook in various excessively precious juices with an enlightenment effect. Their minds, after all, could always benefit from further refinement.
Despite his blunt and unabashed nature, Lucas Lerner was actually quite popular. After all, getting straight to the point and being a no nonsense kind of guy could certainly have its charm. Pair this with his extraordinary looks and bearing, and despite being the youngest of the group, he was by far the one who had enchanted the most people. It was a pity for his admirers that he wasn't the least bit interested in pursuing the carnal desires of the flesh.
"Fine, fine! I don't want to clash with anyone here anyway. So, what do you all say?"
Downing her glass in a heartbeat, Evangelina panned her gaze across everyone around her, obviously eager to get this mere formality over and done with immediately.
"Do you even need to ask? Of course I agree to the non-aggression pact. As for supporting each other, that will have to depend on the specific situation under which we meet. But we certainly won't get into each other's way, right everyone?"
Yet another person at their table chimed in, then the rest echoed the same sentiment almost instantly. Theodore and the others were no different. If they could reduce excessive conflicts, then they would do their absolute best to do so.
Of course, they were aware that this was merely a gentlemen's agreement. However, it had also been witnessed by the protectors at their side, which were the reason as to why they could let down their guard. Their families were watching over them and got informed of what was happening here at all times. In this way, if one of them broke this promise, then it would reflect poorly upon their family, which all of them would much rather avoid.
They could have attempted to force a binding oath that would result in significant, direct negative consequences in case it was broken–there were far too many methods to achieve this. However, all of them would like to avoid grasping such a potentially double-edged sword. Its existence would only create a weakness within them that an enemy would be able to exploit. It might even hinder their path of cultivation in the future.
Amidst cordial and genuinely quite pleasant conversations, the banquet eventually ended. When Theodore returned home, he asked his father to examine him carefully, just in case anything at the banquet had been messed with in a way that even his protector couldn't detect. Fortunately, there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary–nobody had dared to play any underhanded tricks.
Relieved at this revelation, Theodore savoured the possibly last peaceful slumber that he would get to enjoy for a considerable while, then he awoke early and confidently bid his family a temporary farewell.
The moment that the competition began, he would be transported to another world, which would itself be a minuscule part of the 'event venue'. It didn't matter where he himself was located–anyone both qualified and willing to participate would be sent to their respective starting points at the same moment in time.
'... not much longer now! Three, two, one...!'
Counting down internally, he soon found himself on a vast plain. An unprecedented weakness overcame him, causing him to stagger unsteadily on his feet. Due to his cultivation realm having been set to zero, his physical body was now countless times weaker than when he had just been born. But as he had already expected this and been prepared for such a scenario, he quickly adapted.
After having observed his surroundings closely for a while, he took note of a small settlement in the distance and chose to approach it carefully to see whether or not the people there would be hostile. Then, he could plan how to proceed from that point onwa–
CRACK!
A painfully loud sound akin to a mirror breaking rang out through the entire world. To the horror of all, the very sky itself seemed to be shattering! Somebody or something was attacking from the 'outside'! Nobody had any time to react properly, and even if some did, there was nothing that the inhabitants of this insignificant Plane-type world could have done.
From the Lesser True Void beyond, an endless swarm of mountain-sized insects of all shapes and kinds invaded this defenceless world, consuming anything in their path, even the very air itself. These swarms were collectively referred to as the Ravagers, and were considered somewhat of a natural catastrophe within the Heavenly Dao, regularly devouring worlds.
Speechless at his horrendously bad luck, Theodore knew that his trump card would now have to be played at the very beginning. Every heir to a Named Family or similarly impressive force had been allowed to bring one single use life-saving item with them into the trial. Was it unfair for them to have a safety net like this? Of course, but everything in life was unfair.
Clutching the inconspicuous, generic-looking amulet that he wore across his neck, he sent a mental command to it. The next moment, he found himself in the Lesser True Void beyond, observing the death throes of this world from within a bubble that kept him completely invincible and imperceivable. Although he had seen many things in the illusions, such natural disasters could be counted on two hands.
He stood there in sombre silence with a frown on his face. Yet it was not the Ravagers that moved him, but the absurdity of this situation. A coincidence like this one occurring was not unbelievable, that was certain. However, he also had to consider the possibility of having been plotted against in some undetectable manner.
Unable to think of any especially suspicious events, items or people, he heaved a helpless sigh and soon commanded his amulet to bring him to a world far away, one that this swarm could never possibly reach during the competition's duration. Using an item like this wasn't without a price, though. It drained his mental energy entirely, leaving him unconscious and vulnerable. If it wasn't for the fact that it would automatically protect him from harm until he awoke once more, then he could have been in danger.
But with all of these precautions in place, nothing lethal should occur.
... right?