The festivities surrounding the Storm Heavens Mystic Realm only became more pronounced as the time for its opening drew closer. All around, uninvolved parties fervently discussed their predictions on how the present geniuses would place after exiting the Mystic Realm.
"Heavenly Jewel Palace's Marcus Scrow is already at the peak of 3rd class. There's no way the other geniuses will be able to match up to him!" A wandering practitioner commented with surety.
"That's true, but have you heard about the Eclipse Sect's princess? I heard that she's a member of a Hidden Clan. Even if her level is weak, her combat power might be astonishing!"
The first practitioner nodded his head in agreement. In terms of raw power, Holy Son Marcus had an undoubtable lead, but it was unsure how many geniuses surpassed his combat power. After all, these geniuses didn't show themselves to the outside world very often. It was difficult for the common eye to estimate their strength.
"Has anyone noticed the Sun and Moon Sect? Their peak genius hasn't shown themselves yet. Only their normal disciples have left the spirit ship." A more observant onlooker said.
Those around him immediately shifted their attention, and slowly, they realized the truth of his words. There were no outstanding youths in the Sun and Moon Sect's camp. While those present were still geniuses, it was to a far lesser extent.
This discovery made the crowd increasingly curious. Was the Sun and Moon Sect unable to produce a genius or were they hiding a true gem?
Only when the Mystic Realm opened would the answer be revealed.
Damien and Zara went unnoticed in the fervor. They were already relatively low profile, and after merging their auras into the world and becoming less noticeable to the untrained eye, this effect became more exaggerated.
This time, Damien truly couldn't be bothered to cause problems or get caught up in them. These surrounding disciples were just kids in his eyes, people who'd never experienced reality outside of their comfort zones.
Mystic Realms always held the threat of death, this much was true. There were even some Mystic Realms that functioned in a battle royale format. However, at the end of the day, Damien didn't put this experience on the same level as his own.
In a Mystic Realm, trials were simulated and rewards were promised with every success. The mentality and will forged by these younger geniuses naturally wouldn't match up to the bloodlust formed through years of slaughter and brutal training.
Still, he had to applaud the Divine Realm for its standards. Even geniuses from a tiny corner of the sector like the Dawn World were able to match up to the Human Domain's younger generation. Only the heaven-defying human geniuses like Long Chen could surpass them.
If that were the case, then those true Holy Land-level influences would surely have immensely capable geniuses. Those were the people Damien actually wanted to meet.
Still, experiencing the novelty of being powerful enough to dominate everything wasn't a bad thing. In recent times, Damien had become too used to the presence of Demigods at every turn.
His figure quietly departed his position and arrived next to the princess. He'd already heard the surrounding conversations, but his opinion differed from theirs.
This princess had some sort of strange physique or bloodline, he could understand that much from a glance, but her current elemental comprehension hadn't progressed enough for her to compete with that Marcus character.
The princess was the main reason Damien could integrate with Divine Realm society as rapidly as he did. Without her aid, even convincing the Eclipse Sect Master to accept his presence would've been far more difficult.
It wouldn't have been strange if he roused the entire sect to stand against Damien. In that situation, even Damien wouldn't come out unscathed. But because of the princess' trust, he was given the benefit of the doubt.
Luckily for Damien, the princess had a lightning affinity. This was an area where he could provide some help. In this way, he could clear the debt between them.
"Princess, close your eyes and spread your awareness." Damien's mental transmission entered her ears.
By this point, the princess already viewed Damien as a spiritual god in her heart. She trusted him without a sliver of doubt, following his instructions.
Damien nodded his head and put his finger up to the princess' forehead. A spark of silver lightning danced around his hand and entered the princess' spiritual world. Afterward, it burst into a domineering aura that clouded her mind!
The princess was afraid at first, but rapidly adapted to this new situation. As she probed the mysterious aura, she found that it contained the purest lightning essence she'd ever felt!
If she could comprehend the secrets of this lightning even a little, her power level would experience a sharp incline!
After all, Damien's lightning was infused with Heavenly Lightning from the universe itself. While it wasn't the highest tier of lightning in existence, it was definitely near the peak! For a practitioner at the princess' level, this was the best gift he could give.
What she did with that gift would depend on her own talent.
This small interaction was likely the most interesting thing that happened for Damien during the wait. In many areas, geniuses had already begun warring words, and many existing blood debts were resurfacing in such an immense gathering. People were even betting on the geniuses' placings when they exited the Mystic Realm.
In this atmosphere of excitement and anticipation, days passed. Finally, on the 9th day of waiting, a change occurred in the Mystic Realm gate.
Thick bolts of lightning danced around the opaque portal. The sound of rumbling thunder emanated from its body. At one point, the portal itself began shaking uncontrollably.
And finally, after so long, the opaque portal became translucent. Through its screen, it was possible to see the foggy outline of a different world.
"Go! Remember, you are the prides of our sect! Show them what it means to eclipse the heavens!" The Eclipse Sect Master shouted. His cries mixed in with the countless others in the vicinity as all the surrounding powers prepared to enter the gate!
Battle intent soared to the sky, excited cheers becoming louder and louder with time. After hearing the words of their Sect Masters, all the present geniuses roused their mana and bolted into the spatial gate!
It was like a tsunami of bodies, the scene was incredibly overwhelming to some of the mortals in the crowd.
Near the middle of the group, Damien and Zara silently flew. In the crowd, only the Eclipse Sect Master noticed their presence.
He felt a foreboding feeling in his heart, as if some major event was about to occur. Thinking about it, only these two could cause such a feeling in him, right?
He suddenly began to worry about his disciples. It wouldn't just be Damien and Zara, but countless other geniuses from other worlds. Mystic Realms were brutal competitions that could crush one's spirit instantly.
It was something Damien didn't realize because he already stood at the peak of talent and potential. When the geniuses of the Divine Realm competed, they did so with every other genius on the Dimensional Leaderboard.
In an instance where a top 1,000 or even top 100,000 genius appeared, how would these lesser geniuses keep their hearts firmed? Half of a genius' pride came from the fact that they didn't know how high the heavens were.
How could a genius keep their pride if they were repeatedly exposed to people who they'd never be able to touch? How could they continue after realizing that they'd never achieve even a fraction of what these true geniuses would in the future?
However, this was the path of a genius. They were like moths edging closer to a flame. No matter how one attempted to convince them otherwise, they'd never let their paths be hindered.
That was the marking of a true genius.
The only thing the Eclipse Sect Master could do was wait patiently and hope for the best.
