Horo arrived at the venue where he was supposed to meet the royal envoy. Just like every other building in this royal capital, it was breathtakingly beautiful, shimmering in the azure moonlight.
Arriving slightly late, Horo noticed a peculiar phenomenon. The remnants of the sun intersected with the moonlight, creating a strange illusion of dancing lights.
He entered the venue and then the main hall, hoping the royal envoy wouldn't perceive his lateness as disrespect. Despite his knowledge, Horo felt like a novice in the moonlit city. He had to ask several citizens for directions to find the meeting building.
As he entered the hall, Horo was surprised, but not as much as the others present.
What caught his attention was the unexpected number of faces. He had anticipated meeting the royal envoy alone. However, the first thing he noticed was the distinctive attire and auras of the other individuals.
When the others sensed Horo's presence, their auras instinctively surged. This was because none of them had noticed him before he entered. They had only heard the door open.
Horo always had [Silence activated], a habit from his previous life. Yet, something from this life made his mere appearance appear as if many skills were active. In fact, his body exuded majesty, life, spirit, and numerous other qualities.
While he could meticulously control and suppress the passive effects of skills, he simply couldn't suppress his physical attributes, race, and innate characteristics. Consequently, the moment anyone laid eyes on him, it evoked a range of emotions that varied from person to person.
Alma immediately deduced what powers these individuals were from just based on everything witnessed through Horo's eyes and senses. She put the tags over their head that only Horo could see. She figured that in order to help him in this unexpected situation, she would passively provide him with crucial information.
As Horo examined the tags, they could fully agree with her analysis. Most of their auras had given up, except for a few.
The first person to speak was a woman dressed in clothes that matched the city's colors. She had beautiful azure blue hair and a face that matched. On her forehead, she had a three-dimensional-looking moon that was also azure.
"You're quite late, but fortunately, we've made the list drop off more casual than formal over the years. We've disregarded the penalties. My name is Erza, and I'm this generation's envoy." As she introduced herself, she reached her hand towards Horo, expecting an introduction in return.
This person was the second princess of the Azure Moon Kingdom, Erza Azure.
Horo let out a soft smile and replied while returning the handshake, "It's a pleasure to meet the second princess. I'm Horo, a personal disciple of High Elder May. I'll be one of the representatives of the Pure Cloud this generation."
This was the reason everyone was more surprised than he was. The Pure Cloud had a male disciple for the first time in their history, and he was also a representative to one of the most important events in the world.
A sudden laugh echoed through the hall.
"Hahahahahahahaha, I see the Palace thinks a man will change their luck in the tournament. A palace member hasn't entered the top three since your master's generation."
The voice made Horo freeze in the middle of their handshake. They let go of the princess's hand and turned to the owner of the voice.
It was a man with the tag of the Empyrean Sun Sect over his head. He was obviously part of their main lineage because he had signature hair that resembled flames.
He wore crimson robes with a large, realistic-looking sun embroidered on the back.
Horo discovered that there had been enmity between the Empyrean Sun Sect and the Pure Cloud Palace ever since May refused to be courted by the Sect Master back in the day. The Sect Master held a grudge so deep that it extended to the entire palace and his sect.
Horo could sense almost every negative emotion on the spectrum emanating from the man approaching him.
Horo, Elder May's personal disciple, didn't make matters any better. This was the primary reason the enigmatic sect member harbored such negative feelings towards him.
Horo, a crazed maniac, smiled as he folded his arms and replied, "Could you repeat that a bit louder? It's difficult to hear a tiny insect talking."
The entire hall froze, as if time itself had paused.
After only three seconds, everyone in the hall burst into laughter.
This infuriated the sect member so much that he unleashed his aura, and a miniature sun emerged from nowhere, half a meter above him behind his left shoulder.
This crimson sun, adorned with purple hues and intertwined with flames, emanated a nauseating smell. However, these prodigies, powerhouses in their own right, hardly found it bothersome.
Horo released a portion of his spirit aura as his true cloud began to emerge from his shadow.
The pressure from his spirit aura chilled everyone, but it was primarily the dreadful presence of his true cloud that unsettled them.
With the growth of his negative energy, his dark stars paths of power continued to expand unabated over the past twenty-one months.
In fact, every aspect of him had grown, and he was even one step away from the lord stage.
Horo's plan was to ascend to the lord stage to integrate the final fragment of his soul and whatever it might entail.
He was certain of one thing: the power surge he would receive from completing his soul, origin, and tragic lives spell would be immense, even without additional benefits from his life.
Horo didn't want to reveal too much of his strength in this pseudo-face-off since he had already discovered that he was stronger than everyone here except the royal envoy.
He reasoned that they must all be ranked weaker than the fifth rank of their power. Of course, the standard for royal descendants must be higher than that of disciples from other powers.
The Empyrean Sun sect member's sun intensified, prompting the others to mobilize their energies for protection.
Before things could escalate, someone spoke up, "Oh Hendrix, don't throw a tantrum like a child when you're the one who poked the hornets' nest first."
The person who spoke was someone wearing a national guard uniform.