Dyon sighed and steeled himself.
Given the current situation, he was in a tight bind for time. Two weeks from now, the sect would open up the Mystical World for the sake of its disciple trials. But, Dyon had a feeling that Soul Market would make its last sales and shut down even before that. Reason being that the Devil Cultivators likely wanted to partake in the treasures of the Mystical World as well.
Simply put, time was running out. If Dyon allowed the Devil Cultivators to enter without him there, the Celestial Beast Clan would be in danger of being discovered. But, if he didn’t deal with Soul Market, millions, potentially billions, of lives would be hung in the balance.
At that moment, Dyon suddenly thought of something else: Arthurian. Instances of names being placed on the Pillar of Shame were massive events that involved the ringing of the sect’s central bell.
For context, said bell was so loud that an entire planet would hear its call and chime. It was more likely than not that it happened while Dyon was asleep. However, the reason the bell reached so far wasn’t because it was physically that loud, but rather, it sent out pulses that reverberated in the soul. For Dyon to sleep through that… Just what happened while he was out of it?
Just as Dyon was about to ask Donari about it, by pure sheer coincidence, a loud chime began to sound in all of their minds.
A deep noise reminiscent of an ancient church bell shook Planet Cathedral, causing its population of billions to look up into the skies involuntarily.
Before Dyon could even properly react, a roar filled with rage shook erupted from the center of Soul Rending Peak.
The skies above blasted apart, concentric circles of sound waves dispersing the clouds themselves and entering the high atmosphere.
‘A celestial?’ Dyon raised an eyebrow, but then he understood. The only celestials of the sect should be their core elders and masters. Core elders were those who had barely broken through and couldn’t be more than 5th grade celestials, while the master was more likely a 5th or 4th grade celestial.
Either way, because they were celestials and not suppressed like Dyon was, he still had to take them seriously.
That aside, a celestial roaring in anger just after the central bell was rung? It didn’t take much brain power for Dyon to understand that it was likely Violet’s father reacting after finding out what happened in the valley. It was just odd that it took two weeks for Violet to tell her father. Maybe she was just working up the courage to tell her story, which was perfectly reasonable.
Donari visibly paled when he heard the roar. After all, the Master’s residence wasn’t very far from Evangeline’s and he was still an essence gatherer.
However, Dyon was impressed that he recollected himself before he could help him.
“Well, I guess we have no choice but to go now.” Dyon shrugged. One of the rules of sect mandated that every member available to show up when the central bell was rung. If not for that rule, Dyon wouldn’t bother. This was also the only time lower ranked disciples were allowed to enter the core sect.
**
It wasn’t long before every disciple that was available had entered the core sect plaza. Just as domineeringly as ever, the ranking pillar and the pillar of shame stood at the very center.
Above them, a group of powerful individuals stood in the air, attracting the awe of all those who saw them.
They were the core elders of the sect. Although there were only five of them, each and every one was admired as a top expert of their 98th quadrant.
Standing in the center of these five wrinkled old men and women was a stoic man, relatively younger than the other elders. It was clear that he was far more talented than them and had stepped into the ranks of celestials at a much earlier age.
Breaking from sainthood to the celestial realm gave an extra 5000 years of life. If you had already aged in the saint realm, reversing it would be as simple as just breaking through. However, it was clear that these elders gave up much of their lifespan for a chance to break through into the celestial realm, making their cultivation quite hollow and meaningless. Simply put, someone like Anak could kill all five of them without blinking an eye, even if he was suppressed.
However, the 98th quadrant was a fishbowl of sorts. All the individuals here knew was that these elders were all powerful celestials, so they revered them.
That said, they respected the Master of Soul Rending Peak far more.
He was a true expert who had even managed to step onto the celestial floors of the tower! If he wasn’t so amazing, how could he have snubbed the Caedes and Jafari families out of the sect master position they had held for so long?
However, this same man they revered was livid today. He exuded an aura that forced every to look away, unable to meet his eyes at all.
Next to him, a beautiful girl clung to his arm, crying her eyes out. Her shoulders trembled, and even her father’s touch couldn’t stop her ceaseless heaving.
It didn’t take long for everyone to recognize that this girl was Violet, the sect Master’s one and only daughter.