Osko had finally calmed himself when he glanced at Amon again, forcing a smile.
"It’s alright. No need to pay."
He flicked his wrist and created an identity card for Amon, subtly inscribing a tracking symbol within it before handing it over.
"Here, take this."
The people behind Amon, Leon, and Caria were still laughing and shaking their heads as they watched the three youngsters get their identity cards from the elders behind the counters. After the kids left the lines to wait for their parents and the others, Osko and the other two elders hurriedly replaced the fragments of the three broken orbs with new ones, wiping sweat from their brows.
But their expressions stiffened in disbelief once again when the newly replaced orbs shattered into fragments the next second.
The entire Golden Hall of Light was silent.
All eyes fixed on the group of people. Now, those eyes held not only disbelief but also fear and caution. Jian clicked his tongue and knocked on the table before Osko.
"How fragile. Are you sure these aren’t expensive? And we don’t need to pay?"
Sinon followed after him, fiddling with the broken fragments before him with a smirk.
"Yeah, Jian here, he isn’t poor. He can pay for everyone. No need to be overly polite."
Jian bristled immediately, his red eyes narrowing at the winged demi-human.
"Hah, I was wondering just where Leon learned to be so shameless when Alec is his father. It must be your influence!"
Sinon sneered with a smirk.
"Are you itching for a fight that badly?"
As the two bickered, they failed to notice the solemn atmosphere within the Golden Hall of Light. Once again, Osko wiped the sweat pouring from his brow. He so badly wanted to ask these people one question.
Do you know a man named Kyle?
Yet he didn’t dare.
With the countless bad rumors about Kyle that they had spread throughout the realm, he had no idea what would happen if these people were to hear them. In the end, Osko stayed silent. The other elders didn’t dare make a sound either as they watched one orb after another shatter in front of them.
Every time an orb shattered, the elders felt like their hearts were about to stop beating.
The Celestials from various clans watching the group were in no better condition either.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, even the newly arriving Celestials stepping into the hall did not dare make a peep. Only Sinon and Jian’s bickering chatter and the sharp sound of orbs breaking echoed through the air. The orbs finally stopped breaking when the older generation in the group stepped forward to receive their identity cards.
By that time, Osko was already numb. The other elders also wore blank expressions.
The elders quietly counted the number of people in the group: a total of 22 people.
The first were the three kids.
Amon, Leon, and Caria. Amon was at the second stage of the Celestial rank, while the other two kids were at the first stage.
Following directly behind the three was a group of handsome men who appeared to be single: Jian, Sinon, Regius, Asher—the friend Kyle had made in the Lost Treasure Tomb—and lastly, Kelvin, who seemed the weakest among them yet closest to Jian.
If Kyle were here, he would’ve recognized Kelvin easily—Jian’s childhood friend, the prince who was left behind as Jian grew stronger alongside him. It seemed that in the many years since, much had changed.
Jian and Asher were at the middle of the second stage of the Celestial rank, while the other three were at the first stage.
Following the five young men were two powerful beasts with ethereal presences.
A Celestial Phoenix with cold, indifferent eyes, and a Lynx with soft, deep blue eyes.
The Phoenix was at the 2nd stage of the Celestial rank, while the Lynx was at first.
Behind them were three couples, two of whom appeared to be the parents of Caria and Leon: Nine and his wife Elli, Alec and his wife Lara, and Carcel and his wife Mia.
Alec seemed like he had just stepped into the 3rd stage of the Celestial rank. The rest seemed to be at the middle of the second stage of Celestial rank, except the elf Elli.
Following the three couples was an older couple, James and Elizabeth, both at the first stage of the Celestial rank. Alongside them was James’s friend, the dwarf Odiak, the best artifact maker in their universe.
Next to the three were three old men.
Two of them were guardians of the tower James had created on their planet: Susan, the old mage, and Zron, the dwarf who was already scanning the Golden Hall of Light in search of something worth stealing. Lastly, Hubert, the old man from the dragon race, Kyle’s 2nd master from the No Mana Land.
Noting the appearance and names of the 22 people, Osko and the elders made sure tracking symbols were engraved inside all of their identity cards. Then, with a forced smile, Osko called two armored giants to guide the group so they could all leave the Hall of Light and enter the Celestial realm.
Only after the group had disappeared completely from sight did Osko and the elders breathe more easily. The onlookers also relaxed. Osko glanced at the others.
"Did anyone inform Yizhe?"
One of the elders nodded.
"I recorded everything and sent it immediately after the group left."
Another elder commented.
"How very strange... Those people were weak, not even worth our attention... yet I felt tense the entire time, as if they knew everything, they would swallow us whole."
The hall descended into silence.
Deep down, everyone felt the same. That thought alone sent a chill through them.
Seeing all the elders deep in thought, the other newly arriving Celestials joining the lines to receive their identity cards did not dare to show impatience. At that moment, an enchanting voice echoed through the quiet hall—so bewitching that all eyes immediately turned toward its source.
"If they knew what?"
Far away stood a veiled woman who had just stepped into the Golden Hall of Light.
She wore a long, flowing ocean-blue robe with silver patterns along the edges, while long, honey-colored hair rested lazily over her shoulders like strands of molten gold.
Only her serene amber eyes, with a darker ring circling her pupils, and her snow-white forehead were visible through the veil, yet even that was enough to stun all those who glanced at her—so strikingly beautiful that no one present could tear their gaze away.
The Celestial aura around her carried the power of countless illusions, a bewitching presence that quietly ensnared the senses.
Osko was the first to regain his calm. He frowned indifferently and did not bother to respond. Being alone and only at the first stage, she was not worth his attention.
The other elders reacted the same way.
Although the aura surrounding her was strong, it paled in comparison to many others well-versed in the art of illusions.
Yue raised a brow after being ignored.
’Interesting.’
She was the last to step onto the Bridge of Divinity and did not expect to hear what she had heard. She wondered if it was linked to Kyle—that man she had not seen in years.