Chapter 183: Chapter 183: You only have ten minutes
Beneath the Azure Cloud Pavilion, at the foot of the mountain, lay the bustling Azure Cloud Martial Hall. This place, once a slaughterhouse for the young elites of Cloudview County by George, now gathered a new generation of young talents.
Dozens of high platforms, made of some unknown material, floated about 33 feet above the ground, repelling the heavy snowfall with their magical arrays.
Among the clouds, a woman dressed in splendid attire sat in a high seat, her gaze sweeping over the young prodigies below. Next to her, a butler pointed towards the crowd and said, "Miss, take a look. That's a genius from Azure Cloud Pavilion. I heard he's only 44 and has already reached the Transcendent Seed stage."
"And over there, wow, that's a hotshot from Star Dance County. Rumor has it he survived two moves against a D-rank opponent without biting the dust."
"And that guy, from a small family in Sun County, got dumped but climbed his way up to the Transcendent Seed stage. Man, I heard he's got aces up his sleeve and might break through to Developing Skill level soon."
Betty, however, was fed up with the butler's chatter and tuned him out. She continued to scan the crowd below, searching for the one who haunted her dreams.
That day, she had cried as she watched her man leave. Now, she waited, waited for Edward to return and take her home.
Finally, her eyes visibly reddened, and she covered her mouth with a delicate hand as tears streamed down her face.
A deep voice boomed through the sky, "Amitabha."
"All these talents gathered here, such a grand event, this monk wishes to test his mettle. Except for us from Blackwood, who dares claim the title of prodigy?"
From afar, two figures on black and white lotus platforms approached through the clouds. Dressed in black and white monk robes, Charles and Christopher pressed their palms together, their faces showing great compassion but their words dripping with arrogance.
The crowd's expression changed. They could feel the power of these two, or perhaps the mere mention of 'Blackwood' was enough to instill fear!
No one could forget the terror that followed George's massacre of a generation of prodigies.
And now, this generation...
They were still terrified by the mere presence of these two.
From a distance, another voice laughed, "Haha! Charles, Christopher? What brings you guys here?"
A cute-looking girl, sitting on a roaring tiger, her twin ponytails flying, laughed wildly, "Why do you even bother? I, Donna, am here. If Uncle George could wipe out a generation, I want to see what this generation is made of!"
"If you're scared, beat it!"
"This place, only Blackwood folks can stand!"
Donna's wild shouts caused another stir among the prodigies, some of whom quietly slipped away.
"Man, sis! You're too wild. We agreed to keep a low profile, but you guys... well, as long as we win, right? But what if we get surrounded?" Nicholas followed, riding a donkey on the ground, looking up at his siblings in the sky, his face turning dark.
Hearing Nicholas call out 'sis', people hurriedly scattered, and Nicholas struggled to control his unruly donkey, gritting his teeth, "Stupid donkey, why do you have to be such a freak beast?"
What is fear?
As the fifth generation of Blackwood made their grand entrance, the Azure Cloud Martial Hall, usually bustling with thousands, fell silent, filled only with the shouts of Blackwood and the sounds of so-called geniuses making a quiet exit, terrified of being spotted by Blackwood.
And in the sky above, Betty saw him.
There was a familiar figure, riding a majestic eagle, slicing through the clouds — Edward!
Edward, now clean-shaven and dressed in new clothes, looked deeply at Betty sitting in the sky, his smile gentle, his eyes filled with longing.
His gaze was icy as he let the giant eagle circle around the Azure Cloud Martial Hall before landing in the center.
"Thinking you can steal my girl?"
"You only have ten minutes!"
"Otherwise, nobody leaves!"
In that moment, the fifth generation of Blackwood shone brilliantly!
In the skies above the Azure Cloud Martial Hall, descendants of the Blackwood lineage suppressed the talents of the entire Cloudview County with their overwhelming presence.
At the entrance of the Azure Cloud Pavilion, Nathan stood alone with a coffin, just as Olivia had years ago, rendering everyone at the Azure Cloud Pavilion too intimidated to move.
With their arrival, the entire Cloudview County was no longer at peace. It was as if beneath this temporary calm, a boundless threat was lurking!
News spread to every corner of Cloudview County at lightning speed.
Over at the Williams estate, the only other influential family in Cloudview County besides the lofty County Duke's residence, their territory spanned an entire mountain.
The mountain was structured like a spiral pyramid, with countless fields of psychic crops at its base, towns established by the Williams descendants, and a variety of exotic beasts being bred.
Midway up, the Williams' qualified members cultivated psychic powers in various halls dedicated to alchemy, psychic medicine, and crafting psychic equipment. Masters of emerging abilities flew about. At the very top, pavilions and towers were shrouded in psychic mists, with even a golden dragon illusion soaring through the air.
In the deepest part of a golden lake, a dragon lurked. Suddenly, a paper kite fell from the sky. Donald Williams, who had once attacked Ethan outside the Sky Sect, emerged from the lake as the paper kite dissolved into nothingness. His expression gradually darkened.
"Thirty-two years have passed. Does Blackwood really think they can rule over Cloudview County just because they defeated us outside the Sky Sect?" He could not forget that day. A mysterious figure had produced a dark weapon, crafted by an unknown master, which had severely injured him and destroyed his life-bound psychic weapon that had been with him for six hundred years.
It took him thirty-two years to fully recover!
He stepped out of the golden pool. A dragon's roar echoed, and tens of thousands of Williams clansmen looked up.
"The era of great strife has arrived. From today, we, the Williams, will rise like a dragon over Azure Cloud!"
Elsewhere, on the streets of a county town, a nine-foot-tall monk walked barefoot with a staff, his monk's robe tattered and he limped along.
"Kind sir, may I beg for alms?" He had just knocked on a door when a household known for its quarrelsome woman let the poor monk in and offered him a simple meal. After a while, the monk left the house, closing the door behind him, ignoring the blood seeping from under the door.
"Buddha bless, the world is impure, without Buddha's teachings, how can people behave righteously?" Abbot David sighed deeply, "Buddha's compassion is boundless, today I have again sent another soul to the hell of incessant suffering."
As he prepared to beg at another house, a paper kite flew towards him. Abbot David, with utmost devotion, proclaimed, "Where Buddha's light shines, there shall be prosperity. It's time Cloudview County was filled with temples. If Blackwood won't descend into hell, who will?"
Abbot David continued forward, his previously limping right leg now moving smoothly. That day at the entrance of the Sky Sect, even though he had fled in haste, his right leg had been broken. Over thirty years, the merit accumulated from temples across Cloudview County had greatly enhanced his psychic abilities.
At this moment, all the temples in Cloudview County rang their bells 108 times, a sound of auspiciousness and good fortune in Buddhism.
"Amitabha." All the monks emerged, holding vajras, wooden fish, and vajra staffs.