Shin followed Jingyu Taiyi into the audience hall of Lady Seph’s mansion, where Kanari and her butler, Claudia were waiting. Lady Seph had been immersed with researching documents about the Sovereign Koi and the other Eight Scions of Water, so she decided to skip out on the meeting of the youngsters. Furthermore, she didn’t need to be present to know that her disciple would be secure.

Firstly, Bingbing was now the youth’s talisman. She would follow Shin wherever he went, protecting him from any rowdy visitors that he might have. Secondly, her Golden String of Fate was still tied to the youth’s soul. If Shin was truly in trouble, Lady Seph could send a golden phantom of herself to mend the broken youth or protect him from any enemy that dared to harm him. And finally, there was one true protection that Shin had.

A tall and muscular middle-aged woman, who resembled that of a female barbarian of old, was seated right next to Kanari. Her chiselled muscles were a product of envy for any bodybuilder in the world, and her toned skin tone made her seem much more suited for life in the jungle. Shin shifted his eyes whenever he saw the tall woman who made him doubt his manhood. Why? Because she was the Spirit Venerate protector sent to defend Kanari from any and all harm.

Ever since that first night where Kanari performed a night raid on Shin, the Spirit Venerate had been giving Shin the queer eyes, slightly pissed off that the young mistress that she was sent to protect had been having trysts with this young man. Still, since she was only here to protect Kanari, the Spirit Venerate remained silent on the issue and swallowed down her grievances.

“Senior Thea, is something the matter?” Unable to bear with the stares any longer, Shin politely questioned the Spirit Venerate. However, instead of giving Shin a straight answer, the middle-aged lady scowled and continued to fold her arms.

“...” Shin was rendered utterly speechless. At the side, Kanari stifled a giggle before walking forward and whispering into his ears. “Don’t mind her, she’s a little pissed off at you.” The maiden tried to console, only to raise alarm bells within Shin’s psyche.

“What did I do to piss her off?” Shin whispered back, desperate to make things right.

“Nothing actually?” Kanari chuckled, amused at her boyfriend’s complete fear. “The only crime you’ve committed is claiming my heart. You love thief.” It was no good. Kanari was still in the seventh heaven, drunk over the past few nights she’d spent in Shin’s room.

Nevertheless, even without Kanari’s assistance, Shin could roughly guess what the Spirit Venerate was pissed about. Since he was always with Kanari, by extension, Thea would have to protect the youth as well. Lady Seph’s absence was the prime example of that. The workload of guarding Kanari had doubled, and she was now supposed to protect a youth that she barely knew. Anyone else would have been pissed off, let alone an adulated Spirit Venerate.

Jingyu Taiyi watched the awkward exchange, and his mind started to put two and two together. Eventually, a sinister grin began to creep up his lips. “Ah, this senior must be the mighty Spirit Venerate sent to protect Mistress Kanari. Nice to meet you! You can call me Taiyi!” The jester struck first, extending a handshake to loosen up Thea.

“Thea Freifeld. Rank 82, Battle-Type Spirit Venerate.” The barbarian woman responded succinctly, refusing to accept the man’s handshake

“Haha, so it’s Senior Freifeld!” Jingyu Taiyi smiled, not offended in the slightest that his gesture had been rejected. “I’m sure that you’re a little rattled this far away from home. Please, if you have any issues, you’re free to visit the Jingyu Clan! We’re always pleased to be of assistance.” Taiyi continued to make his case. Shin was absolutely floored at the man’s seamless transitions. Shin felt like he was watching Elrin, the master saleswoman, in action.

‘I’m sure that those two would get along just fine...’ Shin thought.

“I’ll take note...” The Spirit Venerate folded her arms and scoffed. What problem could they possibly have? If Kanari was ever in trouble, all Thea needed to do was grab her and fly all the way back to Highgarden. Who cares about the promise of some youngster who was barely in the Spirit Spectre realm?

Jingyu Taiyi wanted to press on a little more, but a sudden undulation could be felt within the audience halls. It wasn’t limited to the jester. Shin, Kanari, Claudia, Thea and Bingbing all perked their ears up as their expression became solemn. Multiple mana sources were walking in their direction. All of them were dominating presences in their own right. If an average joe were to feel those mana densities, he would have been suffocated to death. And the most prominent one of them all was a mana signature that Shin was quite familiar with.

The doors of the halls arched inwards, allowing the dozen men and women to walk in unhindered. Familiar faces such as Meijing Bingying were part of the congregation, and the other three Luminaries that Shin had to befriend had tagged along as well.

Qilong Hu, Longyu Linji and Xunyu Feifei all walked gracefully into the chambers right behind the Longyu Clan Master and a number of his subordinates. And finally, Longyu Tian, the top Spirit Saint in the Clan, stood at the very tip of the crowd, smiling as she walked in with her back straightened. It really was a dominating sight to behold, in Shin’s opinion. However, among those magisterial figures, a young eight-year-old girl was hiding behind Longyu Dao, watering down the suffocating atmosphere that the assemblage had brought.

“Oh? Taiyi, you’re here already?” Longyu Dao raised his brow and tapped the young man on his shoulder. “We’d thought that you’d be meeting us at Tianxing Island?”

“Haha, I was just a little impatient, Clan Master Longyu.” The Jester bowed. No matter how playful he was, Jingyu Taiyi wasn’t foolish enough to mess around when both the Longyu Clan’s Spirit Saint and Clan Master were present. “I’d thought that it would be nice to reunite with Junior Brother Shin,”

‘Junior Brother Shin?’ Shin cried out internally. ‘Since when were we that close?’

“Haha, looks like we don’t have to worry about the two of you getting along!!!” Longyu Dao bellowed out as the group took their seats opposite to Shin and the rest. Kanari was seated on the right side of Shin, not willing to budge a single muscle. That lack of movement brought out the wrinkles in Longyu Tian’s forehead, but the Spirit Saint quickly got over it. For now, there were much more critical issues to attend to. After a few exchanges of pleasantries, the Saint of Time finally got into the crux of the issue.

“Shin, you must be wondering why I have gathered the Luminaries up for you.” Longyu Tian said in a flat tone.

“Wasn’t it to train me?” Shin returned back with a question of his own. In his mind, the five Luminaries from the Lantis Republic were going to spend the rest of the day exchanging notes about the Celestial Water Mantra or have light sparring sessions.

“That’s for a later time,” the Spirit Saint sighed. “Actually there’s a problem that I’ve yet to tell you. A problem regarding your baptism.”

“Hmmm?” Shin leaned in slightly to get a better distance for him to hear. The primary reason why he had come to the Lantis Republic in the first place was to undergo the Celestial River Baptism to hopefully evolve his Spirit, just like it did to Longyu Tian’s Sovereign Koi.

“You see, the deal that we had with the Himmel Empire promises that you’ll get the Celestial River Baptism. The baptism normally occurs when the cultivator is of age about ten years after they awaken their Spirits during the Day of Spirits. So the stars are actually aligned in your case, Shin.”

‘So what was the problem?’ Shin thought. If everything was aligned, shouldn’t he be blessed with the opportunity to be baptised?

“However, since you have the Mark of the Celestial Dragon, there is actually one more thing that you could do in the Celestial River.” Longyu Tian muttered while her eyes glistened with a tinge of disappointment and frustration. “You can attempt the Trial of the Celestial Dragon, a ritual that could only be performed if you have the mark.”

“Huh?” This was the first time that anyone from the Himmel Empire had heard that there was a trial. Who could blame them? The Lantis Republic loved to keep their national affairs a secret. Even the Celestial River Baptism was unknown to Lady Seph before she did some digging. “What’s the difference between the two?”

“There’s a huge difference!” Jingyu Taiyi interjected, his arms flailing about. “Although the baptism does aide in the Spirits cultivation, those that went for the Trial would reap heavenly rewards, sometimes more than your wildest imagination!” The youth was animated, too animated in fact. However, no one from the Lantis Republic disagreed with his statement.

“Senior Brother Taiyi is right, Shin.” Meijing Bingying used her calm voice to soothe the room, bringing the heat down a little. “Both Senior Brother Taiyi and I were cultivators with the mark and had the opportunity to go for the trial. Using the Celestial River Trial, Senior Brother Taiyi leaped three ranks, and I jumped two. Both our elemental affinities had skyrocketed, and the amount of mana we can create is far more than our peers.”

Although her words could be read as a sny remark towards Qilong Hu, Longyu Linji and Xunyu Feifei, none of them took it to heart and even nodded in agreement. Xunyu Feifei, the fair maiden bearing the crest of the Heavenly Sturgeon elaborated. “Junior Sister Bingying is right. I took the baptism around the same time that she underwent the trial. Even though our cultivation levels were somewhat similar, she began to advance at a much faster pace once she finished the trial. In the end, I was unable to catch up.” There was a hint of annoyance in Xunyu Feifei’s voice, but what could she do? It was Meijing Bingying who got the Mark of the Celestial Dragon, not her.

“They’re right,” Longyu Tian relinquished her silence. “People outside of the Lantis Republic assume that I got a variant element because of the Celestial River’s Baptism, but in truth, it was the Trial of the Celestial Dragon that aided my Spirit’s evolution.” She folded her arms and stared Shin right in the eye. “Now, do you understand the importance of the trial?”

“Yes… Yes, I do.”

“Good.” Longyu Tian nodded. “Now, herein lies the problem. Your deal with the Republic is to get baptised, but nowhere in the agreement does it state that the Lantis Republic must allow you to take the Trial.”

“T-That’s sophistry!” Kanari got agitated in Shin’s stead. Longyu Tian shot daggers at the Himmel Empire maiden that didn’t know her place, and she instantly quietened down.

Sensing friction, Longyu Dao took over the conversation. “We know that, but that’s what the High Council had ordered. ‘We can’t allow Shin Iofiel to take the Trial unless we can confirm his loyalty to the Republic.’ That’s the order that had been laid down. Even if the Longyu Clan is powerful, we can’t move all the other seven Clans to do our bidding.”

“My loyalty?” How could Shin be faithful to a nation he had barely spent a month in? Yes, the Longyu Clan and all the members within it had been quite welcoming towards the young man, but in the end, Shin had just simply spent too little time here.

Longyu Tian nodded and stared at the black-haired maiden who was unconsciously peering closer into Shin’s comfort zone. “In the ideal world, you’ll marry a Longyu Clan girl, and she’ll bear your children. If that happens, the High Council would be happy to let you take as many trials as you want. However, it looks like that’s not going to happen...”

For better or worse, Kanari had thwarted Longyu Tian’s plans. The reason why the Spirit Saint had been pushing as many women onto Shin in hopes of seducing him was because of this reason.

“So… What must I do?” Shin wanted to become stronger. Against the Black Masks, against the Allfather… Against Junius… He needed to have overwhelming power as Longyu Tian did. That way, he wouldn’t have to force anyone to die. He wouldn’t have to see another soul being lost on the battlefield. To do that, Shin had to attempt the trial.

“That’s where we come in.” Qilong Hu, who had been quiet thus far, stood up from his chair with a loud thud. The rest of the Luminaries did the same and lined up right behind him.

“Shin Iofiel… If you want to gain the recognition of the High Council...” Qilong Hu breathed in and expanded his thick, broad chest. “Try and defeat us!!”