Celestial Bloodline

After strolling through the lush garden, George, Han, and the students entered a grand corridor adorned with hundreds of exquisite antiques and paintings. Finally, the guards leading them came to a halt in front of a vast open ground, completely devoid of any structures.

It appeared to be a dedicated training area, as an assortment of weapons was neatly stacked in one corner.

Instantly, all the students behind George noticed a group of youngsters inside the training area. They were wearing different academy uniforms and engaged in lively conversations with many old professors.

However, different from the first group, there was another group of youngsters in the back wearing regular clothes, standing properly behind an old man. They were probably the ones who got selected through the public competition.

The moment George stepped into the training area, everyone's attention was immediately focused on him and the students standing behind him. Some of the older individuals even approached George and Han to greet them.

As everyone was busy exchanging greetings, the guards finally announced the arrival of King Cedric. The King, dressed in a magnificent golden attire, accompanied by four guards, emerged from one of the doors at the front of the empty ground.

The old professors quickly gathered the younger ones before respectfully greeting the king. At that moment, Kyle raised his head to stare at the King, but he stopped when he felt the intense pressure coming from the guards standing behind him.

He could somehow predict that the guards' ranks were probably higher than (A)-Rank, but he didn't feel any energy coming from the King's body. That's why, he called the little bird sitting on Mia's shoulder.

'Hey, Bia. What's the King's rank?'

-'I can sense that he recently reached (SS+)-Rank. But there seems to be a barrier around his body, so nobody could sense his rank. It's just a feeling though... I'm not sure.'

Kyle was surprised by Bia's response because, a few days ago, he heard some students talking in the academy that the king of Kingdom Escalante only had (S+)-Rank talent.

'It looks like the rumors were wrong.'

Meanwhile, after nodding at the older individuals, the king gazed at the hundred kids who were about to enter the tower from Kingdom Escalante.

His gaze strangely lingered on Carcel, causing the latter to flinch. But he quickly gave the youngsters some words of encouragement and didn't keep them any longer.

Then, he asked the guards to activate the teleportation arrays drawn on the ground. After all, to keep the location of the 'tower of opportunity' safe from other continents, each Kingdom had only one teleportation array that led straight to the tower. The teleportation array of Kingdom Escalante was drawn inside the royal castle.

Once the King gave a signal, everyone gathered in the middle of the training ground. Soon, a bright light surrounded their bodies, and they all vanished.

.... Content sourced from MV4LEMPYR – My Virtual Library Empire.

Kyle opened his eyes and saw a vast, barren land with no greenery in sight. The land was dry, with only scattered pebbles dotting the ground. But what caught his attention was the massive tower stretching towards the endless blue sky. He stared at the tower in the distance, his expression turning serious.

'I'm here. Now I just need to get inside that tower and find the Elixir.'

George took charge without saying a word. He glanced at everyone and started walking towards the only bridge in the vast land. All the older individuals and young ones from other academies, and those who earned their spots in the public competition quietly followed the vice principal of royal academy.

In the end, they crossed the bridge without any trouble. But as soon as they stepped off the bridge, their surroundings underwent a drastic change. It felt just like using a teleportation array.

Right in front of them were hundreds of small houses, forming a little city around the tower. People of various races could be seen strolling through the streets, bustling with merchants selling all sorts of goods, including weapons. Though there was still no greenery in sight, the atmosphere resembled that of a typical market.

Kyle and Nine both looked around with curiosity. It was their first time seeing people from different races.

On the other hand, George said goodbye to all the other professors and youngsters once they entered the city. He then asked the fourteen students he brought with him to follow him.

After walking in the crowd for about fifteen minutes, they reached an old hotel. The Vice Principal gave everyone a room key and told them to rest for the day before heading out with Elder Han.

He just wanted to go talk with the envoys from other Kingdoms who brought their young ones to enter the tower.

After George left, some of the students decided to explore the market instead of resting. Kyle also wanted to go, but it was getting late and he felt tired. Since there was still another day before the tower opened, he decided to rest for today and explore tomorrow.

....

The next morning, Kyle woke up early when Bia asked for food. After feeding the little bird, he stretched his body and took a refreshing bath. He changed into a comfortable hoodie and well-fitting trousers.

Then, he picked up Bia and headed outside for breakfast. But as he went down the hotel stairs, he saw Nine eating with Alec, Lara, and Carcel. That's why Kyle decided to join them for breakfast.

After they finished their meal, Kyle mentioned that he wanted to check out the market for a bit. However, Nine and Alec's team had already explored the market the day before and were exhausted from returning to the hotel late.

Nine wanted to join Kyle, but his eyes were closing with each passing second. Kyle chuckled and shook his head at him. In the end, he asked Nine to go and rest for a while. Nine grumbled a little but said his goodbyes and headed back to his room.

Alec looked at Kyle with a serious expression. Different from others, the moment he heard Kyle was going outside, he immediately offered to go together.

He didn't even care about the dark circles under his eyes because he only had one thought in mind.

'Every time Kyle goes outside, he always discovers something amazing. This time, I am definitely going to follow him!'

But alas... fate had other plans for Alec because just as he was about to leave with Kyle, Mia showed up and informed him that Vice Principal George was looking for him and Carcel.

Alec looked at Kyle with regretful eyes as the latter left the hotel with Bia. However, Kyle didn't even glance back at Alec, who was being dragged by Mia to meet the Vice Principal.

Once outside the hotel, Kyle started exploring the bustling market, filled with various small stalls.

He saw many interesting things, including someone selling high-ranking storage rings at a low price. Unfortunately, Kyle didn't have any money on him. Well, he did have some mana stones inside the storage ring that George gave him, but he wanted to use them to buy something truly useful.