A person stepped through the new portal shortly after it appeared.
"Seems like the guys from the Grandmountain Kingdom are here," Agon said with a snort.
Shang and Jerald looked over with interest.
They hadn't met the leaders of the Grandmountain Kingdom yet, and they wondered what they would be like.
The first person that stepped through was a thin, brown-haired man that looked to be in his thirties. He was about 165 cm tall, and he had several bags under his eyes.
Shang thought that he looked like a thin programmer from Earth.
Someone that didn't move much while staying up late to play games.
He had a very bored expression, and he looked like coming here was already too stressful for him.
However, the amount of Earth Mana Shang could feel coming off of this guy was insane.
There was no doubt.
This was King Grandmountain.
"You look tired as always, Wilbur," Koran said with a polite chuckle.
King Grandmountain, Wilbur, only moved his bored and annoyed gaze at Koran. "How long until the meeting starts?" he asked in a tired voice.
"It will start in about an hour," Koran answered.
Wilbur only nodded absentmindedly and walked to the side of the plateau.
Obviously, he wasn't very interested in meeting the others.
Jerald only raised an eyebrow and walked over. "Greetings, I'm-"
"It doesn't matter who you are," Wilbur cut off Jerald without turning around.
However, he also didn't sound aggressive. He simply sounded like talking to Jerald was too bothersome.
"I will be gone in a month anyway. Introduce yourself to the others," Wilbur said.
Jerald was a bit taken aback by King Grandmountain's off-putting demeanor, but he still retreated without saying anything further.
A second later, a middle-aged woman with beautiful blue hair stepped through the portal. When she saw Jerald retreating from Wilbur, she immediately knew what had happened.
"I must apologize for Assistant Supervisor Wilbur Grandmountain," she said in a cold but polite tone. "He is very busy. If you need anything from him, please contact me. I'm his assistant. You may call me Mrs. Flowing Blossom, Mr. Whirlwind."
Jerald was a bit surprised by the distant and overly polite form of address. "Thank you, Mrs. Flowing Blossom. I don't mind. I can understand why Mr. Grandmountain is so stressed."
Mrs. Flowing Blossom only nodded politely and walked over to Wilbur.
Funnily enough, they didn't talk, and Mrs. Flowing Blossom only waited obediently behind Wilbur.
'Sure enough, not everyone is as approachable as Koran,' Shang thought.
SHING!
Two other people stepped through the portal.
One was a middle-aged woman with long, brown hair, while the other was another thin man wearing a white coat.
Shang recognized the coat the man was wearing as the coat that all the researchers in the Grandmountain Kingdom wore.
However, Shang was more surprised about the woman.
He recognized her.
The woman also very quickly noticed Shang, and her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
Then, her eyes narrowed, and she snorted. "I knew it."
This was the Governor that had found him after he had arrived in the Grandmountain Kingdom. Back then, Shang had acted like an isolated barbarian. Sadly, she had still sent him to the frontlines.
Shang found it a bit awkward to meet her here.
Jerald noticed the exchange. "You know her?" Jerald asked Shang.
Shang nodded. "She was the Governor that sent me to the frontlines."
"Oh, her," Jerald said with a small chuckle.
Then, Jerald walked up to her and offered his hand. "Hello, I'm Jerald Whirlwind, and I am the new Assistant Supervisor of the southern area."
The woman focused on Shang for one more second before looking at Jerald.
Then, she shook Jerald's hand. "Zara Cliffer, I am the new Assistant Supervisor of the northwestern area."
After that, she gestured to the person beside her. "This is my assistant, Hans. You can contact me for important things directly, but please communicate with Hans for unimportant matters."
Jerald nodded politely and also shook hands with Hans.
"I'm looking forward to working with you," Hans said with a bright and friendly smile.
"The pleasure is mine," Jerald answered.
Hans looked around Jerald at Shang. "Is this your assistant?" he asked.
"He is my plus one, but he isn't my assistant," Jerald said with a laugh. "He's my friend, and he is the reason why I even got this job."
Hans and Zara looked a bit surprised.
How could an Initial True Path Stage warrior have such a big impact on Jerald getting the job? Their powers should be worlds apart.
Hans also introduced himself to Shang, who did the same thing.
Zara wasn't really interested in talking with Shang. Apparently, she was still a bit annoyed that Shang managed to trick her back then.
A couple of minutes later, the next portal opened.
This time, the people of the Blackshadow Kingdom stepped through.
The leader was a tall woman with long, black hair, and her eyes were frosty and prideful.
This was Queen Blackshadow.
Apparently, Queen Blackshadow didn't have a plus one, and the same thing was true for her successor.
Behind her stood a tall and thin man with black hair and black eyes. A cold aura came off him, and most people felt uncomfortable being near him.
'Surprisingly, the people from the Blackshadow Kingdom are exactly as I expected them to be,' Shang thought.
Koran's demeanor was not what Shang had expected at all, and Wilbur was also different. Shang had expected King Grandmountain to be a chiseled and tall man.
But the further Shang thought about it, the more Wilbur's appearance actually made sense.
Barbarians lived in the Grandmountain Kingdom, but the Grandmountain Kingdom wasn't actually led by them.
The researchers and Mages led the Grandmountain Kingdom.
The introductions with the people from the Blackshadow Kingdom were curt but polite. Queen Blackshadow introduced herself in a polite but distant manner.
Her successor was even more extreme. "Yora Darksky, nice to meet you," he said in a flat tone.
Shang could hear that Yora wasn't actually acting like someone superior in front of Jerald.
In fact, Yora reminded Shang of someone.
Himself.
Yora's demeanor was very similar to Shang's own demeanor.
A couple of seconds later, the next portal opened, and the people of the Spirit Spring Kingdom walked through.
The leader was a brightly smiling young woman with white hair, and when she saw the new faces, her smile became even brighter.
She immediately jumped to Zara, the new Assistant Supervisor of the Grandmountain Kingdom, and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Rela Spirit Spring, and can I say that your hair looks fantastic?" she quickly said.
Zara was a bit taken aback. "Thanks," she said awkwardly. Then, she coughed to regain her bearings. "My name is Zara Cliffer, and I'm the new Assistant Supervisor of the northwestern area."
"Happy to meet you, Zara! I can already tell that the Grandmountain Kingdom will make a great resurgence soon!" Rela spoke loudly with a bright voice.
"Thanks," Zara answered again with a bit of surprise.
Then, Rela quickly jumped towards Jerald and introduced herself.
Jerald only chuckled politely. "Nice to meet you, Rela. I think I will be working very closely with your successor soon."
Rela and Jerald talked with each other for a while, just exchanging compliments.
After introducing herself to Jerald, Rela smirked and literally jumped over to Queen Blackshadow.
"Sunny!" she shouted happily as she threw herself at Queen Blackshadow.
Queen Blackshadow's face turned a bit red, and she gently tried to push Rela away. "What's the matter with you, Rela?! This is an official meeting, not a playground!"
"I can't help it! I just missed you so much!" she shouted.
While still hugging Queen Blackshadow, Rela looked over at Yora Darksky behind her. "Yora, I also haven't seen you in a while."
Yora only nodded in greeting while Rela giggled.
'Well, she seems a bit chipper than I expected,' Shang thought. 'Anyway, I should also introduce myself.'
Shang walked to Rela and slowly extended a hand.
"Ew, go away! You're creepy!" Rela shouted as she threw a side-eye at Shang.
Shang's hand froze.
