Kyle nodded at Yon and jumped back. The array masters behind him also quickly moved further back. Then, in front of their eyes, Yon grabbed the flickering portal and stretched it wider before a pulsating crystal appeared in his hand. The crystal energy was sucked by the portal, and it finally stabilized again.
"Ah... now it's fine."
He moved back, and another figure appeared from the portal. Yon glanced at Susan, the guardian of the first floor of the tower, and clicked his tongue.
"Old man, hurry up and move. Give way, the others also need to come out."
The white-haired old man straightened his wrinkled robe and glared at Yon before moving away. Kyle watched as many familiar figures appeared from the portal one by one. The cold-faced woman with crimson eyes who put an illusion on him, Jian, and Alec. Jordan, the guardian of the golden stairway.
The man with slit red pupils who made him and Alec, Jian, fight against thousands of fire skeletons. There were a lot of unfamiliar faces as well.
Soon, twenty-two old and middle-aged figures floated in front of the tower, all peering at Kyle and the array masters around him. However, before anyone could speak, the tower trembled, and with a layer of smoke, another portal appeared in the sky. All eyes turned to the portal, and the old guardian, Susan, let out a sigh.
"It seems master decided to come out as well, even though he knows his consciousness would fade after he left the tower."
The guardians moved aside to make room for the illusionary figure that stepped out from the portal. James looked down and his eyes immediately locked onto Kyle.
"So, you managed to get rid of that creepy artifact from your body?"
His deep voice filled the air. Kyle blinked at him and started floating.
"Not exactly, but I somehow survived."
James nodded, but then he looked down at his hands, and they began to turn into particles.
"Young man, it seems I don't have much time."
He looked around, his grey eyes turning solemn.
"It's really heartbreaking to see the place I protected with my life in such a state..."
He let out a sigh as if reminiscing about the past and fixed his eyes on Kyle once again.
"The guardians will be my final aid to this planet."
"They will assist you all and provide the knowledge you lack. But in the end, whether you can win this war or not, it's up to all of you."
Kyle smiled at his words.
"Don't worry, I'm not alone. Many people are standing with me, and we all have the same goal, to save this planet at any cost. And trust me when I say this, when we're united to fight the enemies, I don't think we'll lose, even if they're hundreds of times stronger than us."
The corner of James' emotionless eyes lifted a little, showing that he liked the confidence the young man had.
"If my real body is alive out there, he would be very surprised to know all this when I return to him... And I don't know why, but I have a feeling that we'll see each other again soon."
His flickering body had already started vanishing into particles. He looked at the veiled woman standing with the guardians, the same woman who dragged Casian, the guardian who harmed the tower climbers inside the underground punishment chamber.
"Lie..."
The woman raised her head and stared at James with her strangely glowing eyes.
"You and Susan are the only ones who have reached the divine rank in the past years. So, take Jordan with you and use as many resources as you need to restore the planet's core energy. That way, you'll be able to rebuild the presence concealing shield around the planet."
Lie gave him a quick nod and without a word tossed a white crystal toward Kyle. Then, she grabbed the unsuspecting Jordan, the short man who was still processing James' words, and quickly vanished from everyone's sight.
Kyle stared at the crystal tossed at him. It looked similar to a communication crystal but much smaller in size.
He glanced at James, and the latter gave him a final nod before his illusionary body dispersed into countless particles that drifted away with the wind. After James' consciousness vanished, Yon stretched his body and ruffled his hair.
"Huu, the air is polluted with some strange particles. It seems like I have a lot of work to do."
He looked at the guardians floating beside him and assigned a few of them to gather information about the enemy's numbers and base. The assigned people scattered in different directions to do their work.
Yon and a few more guardians landed in front of the array masters.
"Alright, let's go! We don't have time to waste. After seeing this desolate place, I am sure all the races have gathered together in one spot. I need to check the defense of that place."
George and Han took the lead and quickly guided him and many other guardians to the new Continent. The array masters followed them as well. They were a bit skeptical seeing so many powerful people, but in the end, they had no other choice but to trust the guardians.
But at that moment, Kyle grabbed the old demi-human with cat-like eyes because how could he let the man go before the latter paid him the fifty thousand mana stones?
The demi-human's face turned pale, but he quickly took off the storage ring from his finger and handed it to Kyle without any protest before floating away to avoid any more trouble.
In the end, only Kyle and Susan were left in front of the tower. Susan introduced himself to the young man because, even though he had secretly watched Kyle in the tower, Kyle hadn't seen him.
The old man with white hair looked at Kyle up and down, his eyes glowing a little as he sensed beyond the presence-
concealing artifact the young man had in his ear.
Kyle was startled at first, but he calmed down when Susan reassured him that he was just checking his body condition.
"I'm a divine rank individual, so I can sense that you have divine energy in your body. It's rare, but not impossible, to have it before reaching the pseudo-divine state. That's why I believe you can enter the Ascendant state and break through to the next rank."
Kyle shook his head with a sigh.
"I want to as well, but it feels like I need a bit more time."
