Chapter 3033: Calm Amidst the Waves

"Tell him, I don’t want him to join a force with you... Whether it’s you or him, you both need individual training."

Sister Laurel said to Wyatt Barnes, "Once you two are together, the effect of individual training is completely lost."

Between Sister Laurel’s words, it was clear she didn’t want Wyatt Barnes and Bruno Fortin to join the same force.

"Actually, even if we join different forces now, later we will still go together to Mystic Abyss Mansion... However, you’re right. At least, before going to Mystic Abyss Mansion, if he and I aren’t together, we must face everything alone."

In the end, Wyatt Barnes respected Sister Laurel’s wishes and conveyed her words to Bruno Fortin.

Currently, Sister Laurel resides in Wyatt Barnes’s sea of consciousness, but has no way to directly communicate with Bruno Fortin, so she can only have Wyatt relay her messages.

"Please tell Sister Laurel... that I understand."

Though Bruno Fortin’s face wasn’t looking good, he nodded nonetheless, evidently not planning to go against Sister Laurel’s words.

"Now, I would like those ranked in the top three on the points board, along with the representatives of the forces recommending them to enter South Heaven’s Ancient Realm’s Lower Boundary, to come before me."

Strength Garcia stepped into the air, arriving at a vacant space in the void, speaking loudly, while his gaze fell upon Wyatt Barnes, Bruno Fortin, and Ashlyn Harrington.

Instantly, the three strode into the air.

Simultaneously, three others followed suit, precisely Cyrus Cruz from Autumn Holding Kingdom, the Emperor of Eastbright Kingdom, and an elder from the Harrington Family.

Strength Garcia had Wyatt Barnes and the others step forward to distribute the rewards.

First distributed were the rewards for Bruno Fortin and Eastbright Kingdom’s Emperor, a Storage Ring, the contents of which only the two knew.

However, judging by the Emperor of Eastbright Kingdom’s ecstatic expression after accepting and establishing ownership over the Storage Ring, it was easy to surmise the rewards it contained were exceptionally rich.

Immediately, numerous jealous glances were cast upon the Emperor of Eastbright Kingdom.

Of course, these glances mainly came from representatives of the eighth and ninth grade forces present, as the representatives of the seventh-grade forces had little regard for it.

Rewards capable of tempting the leaders of eighth-grade forces generally meant little within seventh-grade forces.

"Tsk tsk... This Emperor of Eastbright Kingdom, an eighth-grade Immortal Kingdom’s emperor, seems yet to surpass a youngster under a hundred years old in terms of cultivation!"

Soon, an emperor from an eighth-grade Immortal Kingdom mocked aloud.

He made this remark because, upon Bruno Fortin establishing ownership over the Storage Ring given by Strength Garcia, he remained entirely composed, as if the items inside were of no consequence.

It’s well-known that those who rank high on the points board receive rewards similar in value to that received by their recommending forces.

Hence, there’s talk of Bruno Fortin’s high cultivation.

"Emperor Mullins, you can just be jealous! Haha..."

The Emperor of Eastbright Kingdom wasn’t bothered by the mockery from the emperor of the eighth-grade Immortal Kingdom and instead laughed heartily, as the latter was his arch-enemy, jealous enough to mock him.

Yet, many were still taken aback by Bruno Fortin’s self-control.

"That Bruno Fortin, not mentioning his talent and comprehension, merely observing this unwavering self-control, if he grows, will undoubtedly be a young prodigy of South Heaven’s Borderlands!"

Chantry Constant from Cloud Stage Immortal Sect gazed at Bruno Fortin, filled with admiration.

He introspected, realizing if he were at the peak Upper Immortal level, facing such rewards as Bruno Fortin did, he couldn’t maintain such calm.

"What? Chantry Constant, you’re interested in this kid too?"

Aquamarine Ming Feng glanced at Chantry Constant, asking.

"Certainly."

Chantry Constant didn’t conceal his interest, "If he is willing to join our Cloud Stage Immortal Sect, we are committed to nurturing him... Even if he is destined to leave Cloud Stage Immortal Sect for Mystic Abyss Mansion later."

"Cloud Stage Immortal Sect is willing to establish this favorable bond."

Saying this, Chantry Constant clasped his hands together, retracted his gaze from Bruno Fortin, closed his eyes, and displayed a reverent expression.

"Chantry Constant, you shrewd old monk... This lad will grow to become a formidable force within South Heaven’s Borderlands, and your Cloud Stage Immortal Sect forging ties with him is betting on the benefits he might bring!"

Grant Graham from Embrace Pureness Immortal Sect cast a disdainful glance at Chantry Constant, bluntly exposing Chantry Constant’s little scheme, "So, in front of us, drop the benevolent act... Do you really think we’re unaware of your motives?"

Witnessing Grant Graham’s blunt exposure of Chantry Constant’s motives, Carter Chester found it amusing yet restrained his laughter.

As for Aquamarine Ming Feng, though his expression remained unchanged, he too cast a disdainful glance at Chantry Constant.

Nonetheless, they all admired Bruno Fortin’s steadfastness, whether it was Aquamarine Ming Feng or Grant Graham.

If they were aware Bruno Fortin possessed King Grade Immortal Artifacts and even divine artifacts, their thoughts might differ.

Possessing King Grade Immortal Artifacts or divine artifacts, any offerings from their sects and clans would likely fail to elate someone like him.

On another front.

After Bruno Fortin and the Eastbright Kingdom’s emperor received their rewards, Wyatt Barnes and the Autumn Holding Kingdom’s emperor Cyrus Cruz also each received a Storage Ring.

Cyrus Cruz, after recognizing ownership of the Storage Ring, had his face slightly flush with excitement in his eyes.

At this moment, he seemed to completely put aside the death of his son Cyrus Cruz.

Wyatt Barnes glanced at the Storage Ring but saw that inside there was no King Grade Immortal Artifact. There were only various Immortal Talismans and several Pill Medicine bottles.

Next to these Immortal Talismans, accompanying memory talismans allowed Wyatt’s Divine Sense to probe their uses effortlessly.

"Thunderbolt Talisman, containing two elemental truths of the law of thunder, depicted by an Immortal King. Once crushed unexpectedly, it can kill most Immortal Lords..."

"Spring Rain Talisman, containing two elemental truths of the wood law, depicted by an Immortal King. Once crushed, it can quickly heal injuries..."

"Void Shadow Talisman..."

...

A pile of Immortal Talismans with various functions, among which there was the ’Void Shadow Talisman’ that Wyatt Barnes had long been familiar with.

The Void Shadow Talisman is a relatively common Immortal Talisman, even in borderlands there are many circulating.

Conversely, other Immortal Talismans are rarer in borderland territories.

"The three sects and two clans didn’t give me Immortal Artifacts but these Immortal Talismans, likely believing I don’t lack Immortal Artifacts after emerging from South Heaven’s Ancient Realm..."

Regarding the reward of a pile of Immortal Talismans and some bottles clearly containing Immortal Pill Medicine, Wyatt Barnes was unsurprised, thinking, "Given my leaderboard ranking, they would assume I surely obtained King Grade Immortal Artifacts nurtured by an Immortal Sovereign."

"In such circumstances, even if they gave me Immortal Artifacts, it would merely be icing on the cake... after all, at most they can only provide Immortal Artifacts comparable to those I obtained in the South Heaven’s Ancient Realm."

"However, they probably don’t realize... inside the South Heaven’s Ancient Realm, I received not just many Immortal Artifacts, but many Pill Medicine and Immortal Talismans as well."

Indeed, because of this, Wyatt Barnes viewed the reward from the three sects and two clans with unruffled calm.

Observing Wyatt Barnes’s calm demeanor upon receiving the reward, anyone currently watching him had greater respect:

"This Wyatt Barnes is not simple. For a Loose Cultivator to remain so composed at this time is quite rare."

"This time, upon opening South Heaven’s Ancient Realm, Wyatt Barnes and Bruno Fortin are the undeniable Dark Horses... really curious how these two Loose Cultivators emerged?"

"I have a feeling they are unlikely to be Loose Cultivators."

...

The crowd murmured and, in their conversations, doubted whether Wyatt Barnes and Bruno Fortin were truly Loose Cultivators, owing to the amazing strength they possessed at such a young age, something Loose Cultivators typically wouldn’t have.

"These rewards... shouldn’t they be granted after we choose which force to join?"

When it was Ashlyn Harrington’s turn and the Harrington Family elder beside her to receive their rewards, she raised a question.

"That was in the past."

Strength Garcia stated, "Starting from this opening of South Heaven’s Ancient Realm and in future openings, we three sects and two clans will first distribute rewards, then allow you to choose one among our forces to join."

"This is also an order from Mystic Abyss Mansion."

Towards the end of his statement, Strength Garcia’s tone disclosed several hints of helplessness.

Though this time the rewards were distributed by the three sects and two clans, the contributions from Davidson Clan and Chester Clan were less than half those from the Harmony Immortal Sect, Cloud Terrace Immortal Sect, and Unrestrained Immortal Sect.

Nevertheless, despite this, they still suffered a disadvantage.

Because, historically, after each closure of South Heaven’s Ancient Realm, any Upper Immortal who survived, especially the outstanding ones, would generally not choose Davidson Clan or Chester Clan.

This is the constraint of a ’family’.

A family and a sect differ greatly.

This fact he is aware of, only feeling helpless and never actually feeling resentful.

If he were one of the outstanding Upper Immortals, he would also be unlikely to choose Davidson Clan or Chester Clan.

"I see."

Ashlyn Harrington realized, simultaneously accepting the reward while the Harrington Family elder beside her did as well.

Neither Ashlyn Harrington nor the Harrington Family elder showed surprise upon claiming ownership of their Storage Rings.

However, no one found this surprising.

After all, they belong to the Harrington Family, and the Harrington Family is a seventh-grade family, although it’s not much less than Davidson Clan and Chester Clan.

It’s just that, because Davidson Clan and Chester Clan have close ties with Mystic Abyss Mansion, their presence significantly surpasses the Harrington Family.

In reality, the resources controlled by the Harrington Family do not lag far behind Davidson Clan and Chester Clan.