NOVGO.NET Chapter 310: Grandmaster Returns
Chapter 310: Chapter 310: Grandmaster Returns
Chapter 310: Grandmaster Returns
The space behind the streaming waterfall rippled.
Swoosh—!
Rhain, and others stepped out through the blood-red portal.
Behind him, the spatial vortex swirled one final time before the massive curtain of thundering water crashed back into place, completely sealing the entrance to the Crucible Arena.
He was back in the outside world.
Rhain took a deep breath of the cool fresh air, shaking off the oppressive, blood-soaked atmosphere of the Crucible Arena.
"I’ve been in that hell for half a month," Rhain murmured, "I wonder if everything remained quiet, or if the Royal Family has already made their move."
Just as the thought crossed his mind—
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
His spatial ring suddenly began to vibrate so frantically that it felt as if it might explode.
Rhain frowned, flipping his palm.
A handful of glowing transmission talismans materialized, each one flashing incessantly with backlogged messages that had been unable to reach him while he was isolated in the alternate dimension of the Crucible Arena.
He channeled a thread of essence into them, and instantly, a chaotic overlap of panicked, urgent voices flooded his mind.
"Master!" Vulcan’s voice came first, "Royal Court has issued an Imperial Decree! They are claiming our pills are forged from demonic arts! They gave us exactly one month to present ourselves to the capital, or they will destroy our Pavilion!"
Luka’s voice followed immediately. "Master, because of the royal decree, the Stormveil branch is completely deserted! Everyone is terrified of being associated with us!"
"Rhain, where are you?" Dean Qaylus’s voice came. "Do you know what’s happening in the Celestial Elixir Pavilion right now?"
"Husband..." Seris’s sweet voice came next, filled with profound anxiety. "Are you safe? Please come back soon."
"Rhain, please answer us!" Liana’s voice pleaded.
"Young master Rhain, the commercial district is in an uproar," Elara reported rapidly.
Rhain’s expression turned incredibly solemn.
He had anticipated that the Royal Court would eventually target the Pavilion, but he had never expected the Emperor to move so ruthlessly and swiftly in the mere fifteen days he had been gone.
Besides, what was the point of targetting the Celestial Elixir Pavilion? Did they find about his dual identities?
’They truly leave no room to breathe,’ Rhain muttered inwardly.
He couldn’t waste another second.
With a flick of his wrist, he retrieved the unassuming jade slip he had purchased for a staggering eighty-five thousand Blood-Iron Tokens at the secret auction.
Rhain closed his eyes and crushed the jade slip in his palm.
BOOM!
A flood of mysterious knowledge poured directly into his consciousness.
The rank of the technique was entirely unknown, yet its foundational truths were overwhelmingly deep.
It didn’t just alter one’s physical appearance; it completely overwrote the user’s karmic signature, their aura, and the very laws governing their existence.
This kind of technique was clearly not ordinary.
He cannot even fathom at his current level that what kind of cultivation did it require to create such technique.
It took him several minutes of intense concentration to fully comprehend the intricate flow of the technique.
Standing a few paces behind him, all of the seven subdued Domain Masters exchanged confused glances.
They had no idea what their Master was doing, standing in the middle of a valley.
Slowly, Rhain opened his eyes.
He raised his hand and unlatched the pitch-black, demonic Asura mask that had struck terror into the hearts of the entire Crucible Arena.
The seven slaves reflexively looked up, their eyes locking onto the face of the man who had mercilessly beaten them to the brink of death and forced them into submission.
The moment they saw his face, all seven of them were stunned.
"H-He... he is just a boy???" Skullcrusher stammered in disbelief.
"A teenager..." Deathblade gasped, feeling his worldview shatter into a million pieces. "We were subjugated by a teenager?"
Before their minds could even fully process the sheer absurdity of serving a nineteen-year-old youth, Rhain immediately circulated the newly acquired disguise technique.
Buzz—!
The space around him rippled strangely.
Right before the dumbfounded eyes of his seven slaves, Rhain’s facial structure shifted.
His jawline broadened, his untamed dark hair settled, and the fiercely aggressive aura of a teenage martial prodigy completely vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he was replaced by a dignified, middle-aged man radiating an aura of unfathomable, scholarly authority.
It was a disguise so utterly flawless that even if the Emperor himself scrutinized him, he would find no trace of "Rhain Voss."
He was now Grandmaster Korryn.
The seven slaves stared at the transformation, feeling a chill run down their spines.
Which is the true face of their master?
Rhain turned his deep, calm gaze toward his petrified subordinates.
"Remove your masks," Rhain commanded "We are leaving."
The seven hardened killers didn’t dare to hesitate.
They hastily tore off their iron helms and bone masks, revealing their scarred, weathered faces.
Swoosh—!
Rhain propelled himself into the sky, streaking toward Valdris City.
The seven Domain Masters could only helplessly push their essence and fly closely behind him, forming an imposing eight-man formation in the clouds.
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A short while later, they approached the towering boundary arrays of the Valdris Royal Academy.
However, Rhain did not slow down to enter the Academy grounds.
He flew straight past it, heading directly for the central commercial district of the city.
Unbeknownst to them, hidden deep within the shadows of a dense forest just miles away from the Academy’s borders, a group of unadorned grey-robed figures was lurking.
It was the Royal Court’s execution squad, led by the 7th-level Domain Master, Veydris.
Veydris’s cold eyes snapped upward as he sensed the massive fluctuations in the sky.
"Eight Domain Masters," one of the assassins whispered, peering through the forest. "Who are they? Should we intercept?"
Veydris gritted his teeth, his expression twisting with deep frustration.
He looked at the eight streaks of light rushing through the air and let out an angry snort.
"Forget them!" Veydris hissed venomously. "We have been staking out this damnable Academy for the last fifteen days! Where the hell did that bastard Rhain go, and when is he coming back?"
They could not even imagine that the very target they were desperately waiting for day and night, had just flown directly over their heads.
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In the heart of Valdris City.
Rhain and his entourage descended toward the colossal, opulent building of the Celestial Elixir Pavilion.
As Rhain looked down from the sky, a slight frown creased his forehead.
The massive stone avenue, which had once been packed shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of frenzied elites and nobles desperate for flawless pills, was now practically deserted.
Only a sparse few people hurried in and out of the grand doors, keeping their heads down and treating the Pavilion like a normal and mundane shop.
The terror of the Imperial Decree had clearly done its job.
No one wanted to be publicly associated with an establishment marked for death by the Emperor.
Rhain and the seven slaves landed gracefully on the stone street just outside the pavilion’s main entrance.
The moment their boots touched the ground, the two early-stage Domain Master guards stationed at the doors instantly crossed their weapons.
Sensing the overwhelmingly dense, bloodthirsty auras of the seven scarred men standing behind Rhain, the guards felt a massive wave of hostility.
"Halt!" one of the guards shouted, his aura erupting defensively. "State your business! The Celestial Elixir Pavilion is not currently receiving unknown factions!"
Rhain looked at the nervous guards and spoke calmly.
"Call Vulcan."
The guards hesitated, but the unfathomable pressure radiating from the middle-aged man before them made them uneasy.
But before they could even send any message inside, hurried, heavy footsteps echoed from within the grand hall.
"Stand down!"
Vulcan burst through the doors, his massive frame almost crashing onto the street.
He looked incredibly haggard; his usual imposing vitality was clouded with exhaustion.
But the moment Vulcan’s eyes locked onto the dignified, middle-aged figure standing on the avenue, the exhaustion vanished, replaced by a surge of immense relief.
"Stand down!" Vulcan roared at the guards again. "This is Grandmaster Korryn!"
The two guards sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, hastily retracting their weapons and bowing at perfect ninety-degree angles.
Vulcan rushed forward, dropping to one knee right in the middle of the street.
"Master!" Vulcan said, his rough voice shaking with emotion. "You have finally come back!"
But Vulcan was not alone.
Trailing hastily behind him, stepping out of the pavilion, were seven more figures.
Three middle-stage Domain Masters, and four early-stage Domain Masters.
These were the rogue experts Vulcan had recruited with the promise of flawless Mystic-Grade pills.
The seven newly recruited guest elders stared at the middle-aged man with eyes full of awe and curiosity.
They were finally meeting the legendary Grandmaster Korryn!
However, the atmosphere instantly grew incredibly bizarre.
Rhain’s seven slaves—Skullcrusher, Deathblade, Peregrine, and the others—were staring intensely at Vulcan’s group of seven Domain Masters.
Vulcan’s group of seven Domain Masters was staring right back at Rhain’s slaves.
Fourteen Domain Masters sized each other up with unspoken tension.
Skullcrusher and others were trying to hard to understand the true identity of their master.
Rhain ignored the silent staring contest between his two groups of subordinates.
His dark grey eyes swept past Vulcan, and he was genuinely surprised to see another large group hastily pouring out of the pavilion’s grand hall.
It was the thirty-something elderly Grandmaster Alchemists from the Valdris Royal Academy!
And standing right amidst the crowd of elderly alchemists, her arms crossed firmly beneath her chest, was a beautiful girl with cascading crimson hair.
Lyra.
She looked very frustrated, but the moment she saw Rhain, her crimson eyes widened furiously.
"You!" Lyra marched forward, completely ignoring the fourteen intimidating Domain Masters surrounding him. She glared at him annoyingly, her voice dripping with haughty indignation. "Where have you been all this while after handling me the job to deliver those pills? Do you have any idea the mess you left behind?"
The moment Lyra spoke so aggressively, Rhain’s seven slaves flinched.
They turned their heads, looking at Lyra, and then looking back at Rhain, their minds spinning with utter confusion.
Who is this girl? They all thought, sweating slightly. She dares to scream at our Master like that? Does she have a death wish, or... what exactly is her relationship with him?
Rhain looked at the exhausted Vulcan, the bewildered slaves, the reverent alchemists, and the furious Lyra.
He felt a headache, but could only try hard to maintain the tranquil composure of Grandmaster Korryn.
"It’s a long story," Rhain said, his voice carrying the calm authority of Grandmaster Korryn.
He waved his hand toward the grand doors in front of him.
"Everyone, let’s go inside. We have a lot of things to discuss."