WAY OF AN OMEGA

65 - The Banquet

The day came to an end quickly and the night veiled the entire land of Herevias as the moon shone brightly over the bustling city. It was already past 9 pm but the city's inhabitants are all still full of energy and festive sounds of the drums are booming out all over the city streets. There are a lot of cultivators and mortals alike dancing and happily drinking all over the City Plaza as they celebrate the "Day of Young Geniuses". The Serkoff Kingdom's Emperors had long declared this holiday to commemorate every young cultivator in the kingdom who participated the 'Genius Camp' every year. It was long been known that the camp does not ensure the cultivators' lives whenever one is to participate in it. There are a lot of fallen geniuses who had once been known and wasn't able to return after the year's end so the past emperors of the kingdom even up until now, holds this holiday to honor them. 

This is also the day when the last year's batch of geniuses return from the ancient realm. The entrance and the exit gates for the ancient realm are different. Every time the emperor opens the portal for the ancient realm, the ancient 'will' of the realm also teleports those cultivators who had been inside the realm for a year into a special space where they have to pave their own path in order to exit the realm itself. It is said that this special space was the actual 'trial' of the ancient realm itself. To those who passed this special space and return, they tend not to disclose much about it as it was part of the ancient realm's will to keep everything confidential.

The Emperor's Palace is also similarly bustling with different people, from high ranking nobles to the headmasters and elders of the martial institutes all over the kingdom. The emperor makes it to a point to hold special banquets for them as it was a way for him to convey how grateful he is for them. In any kingdom, martial institutes or academies are the best assets; They are considered as the national treasure and the 'secret weapons' of the kingdom. This is why the previous and the current emperors of Serkoff Kingdom held high importance on the geniuses of each of the martial academies and nurture them for the future. Let's say for example for the ongoing war with the Aurum Kingdom now, these martial academies sent their top experts to help at the battlefront. They are considered as the 'special soldiers' and the last stand when a calamity befalls over the kingdom. 

The usually empty Palace's Convention Hall is now full of people and each one of them exudes an aura of an expert. At the middle of the hall, a gate with distinct phoenix symbols similar to the one at the temple is located. Beside the gate is a man wearing a noble red gown and a crown on his head. This man is indeed the Serkoff's Current Emperor. 

The gate started to shine and the phoenix symbols on it lit up. Faint cries of a phoenix can be heard as a spatial distortion started to appear in the middle of the gate. The spatial distortion started growing bigger. The entire hall became silent as all of their eyes were concentrated on the gate. After a few breaths of time, silhouettes of humans started to convene from it. 

Whispers and gawks now can be heard from the previously silent crowd and the emperor's face started to brighten up as well.

"My discipleee!!!" An old man started rushing up to one of the youths that went out from the gate.

"Yun'er I'm glad you're all okay!" Another one came rushing forward and bear-hugged another youth not far from them.

 Not only them but one after the other, many more started rushing up at the gate only to meet their own disciples or students.

These youths were indeed the last year's cultivators who participated in the 'Genius Camp'. Some of the youth that return had their robes tattered or some had noticeable scars on their body. Some even had wounds all over their body but their eyes never showed any discouragement, instead, it is safe to say it was rather the opposite.