Chapter 569: The dark side arrived
The young man in the cream-colored robe paused in his tracks, a chuckle escaping his lips as he glanced back at the elven woman with amber eyes who had just spoken up.
"The youngsters these days are so arrogant. They have no idea how dangerous the universe they are living in truly is. Well, I can't blame them because all their lives, they have been sheltered under the protection of their elders."
He disappeared and reappeared in front of Old Hal, only to find the old man looking at him with a serious expression.
The young man braced himself for a scolding because he knew the old man was powerful enough to be aware of whatever he had just done outside the gate. Old Hal shook his head and let out a sigh.
"Ned, how many times do I have to remind you not to blurt out everything that pops into your head? Who can predict the future and the potential these people hold? We should all unite and not belittle others who are on our side. What if those you have just branded as arrogant actually grow powerful enough to match you? Due to your careless words, they might end up on the wrong side instead of being with us."
Ned's face twisted in displeasure when he heard the old man's words. He quietly nodded and took his seat.
Meanwhile, after resolving the issue, Yue, Jian, and all the people with them lined up in many queues to collect their nameplates. It took a couple of hours before Yue and everyone else with her managed to get their hands on their nameplates.
Wesley and Ronan quickly directed the elves and humans as they entered the massive gate and made their way toward the many chairs within the towering walls. However, due to the large number of elves, they were unable to find enough empty seats all in one area. Therefore, they had to split into two groups eventually.
As usual, Yue followed Wesley, with Jian, Xavier, and the two humans accompanying them. Sebastian hesitated but then quietly trailed behind Wesley and the other elves. It had been three months since Sebastian last saw the silver-haired man, yet he still didn't dare to approach Yue closely. It seemed that in this life, it was safer for him to keep his distance from her if he valued his life.
Jian's eyes were gloomy due to the recent events he had experienced with Yue and Xavier as he sat down beside Xavier. He glanced at the numerous projections illuminating the sky with a sigh but then noticed the peculiar titles shining within the projection. He blinked and read them aloud with a puzzled expression.
"Huh?? The sluggish tortoise? The all-knowing betrayer? The double-faced Empress? What's the deal with the names on the projections? Am I the only one who finds these names kind of strange?"
He turned his head towards Xavier and the elves, only to see that they too had noticed the oddity in the names lighting up in the projections. Jian's eyes sparkled when a sudden realization struck him.
"Hold up, don't tell me we can write any title or name we want on the nameplates we received?? No way!"
"Haha, now we are talking! The person who created these nameplates is a genius. Wow, I can't believe I can finally flaunt my charm just through my name!"
Xavier looked at him with a blank expression when Jian enthusiastically started jotting down a title for himself. But he was relieved that at least it wasn't the sluggish tortoise...
[The majestic Magic Monarch.]
Jian chuckled as he also used the title Bia often used for herself into his designation and then glanced over at Xavier.
"Not bad, huh?"
Xavier smiled and nodded, but his nose wrinkled with distaste. He silently moved away from Jian, but before he could escape, Jian caught his arm and firmly made him sit next to him. The red-haired man gazed at him with a knowing smile, indicating that he wouldn't let him go until he came up with a perfect title for himself. Xavier felt like crying as the others around him quickly fled before Jian could involve them too. With a bitter laugh, Xavier also wrote down a title for himself.
[Tempest Spearmaster.]
Xavier's expression turned deadpan when Jian began laughing at his title. However, he sighed with a smile when he saw the displeasure in Jian's eyes finally dissipate. He watched as Jian made his way towards Yue to see what she was jotting down.
Yue glanced at the red-haired man and shrugged her shoulders.
"Just gonna write down my name."
Jian's eyes widened as he moved the elven woman sitting next to Yue aside and settled down beside Yue with a serious expression.
"Nooo, you can't! Choose a strong title! You know Kyle, he would never just write his name! Let's do what he would do, right?"
Yue smiled.
"Then...?"
She pondered for a few seconds with a thoughtful expression.
"How about 'The Queen of the Forest'? I like greenery and I have held the title of queen previously. So, it wouldn't sound too awkward to me, right?"
Jian's eyes sparkled as he gave her an approving nod. She noted her title, and her nameplate also dispersed. It was a calm moment, not only for Yue and Jian but also for Alec and the others as well. Although they were seated far apart, the tranquility in the noisy atmosphere was disrupted when an ominous crack emerged in the sky above the numerous projections floating in the air.
The crack widened with each passing second, and the crowd erupted with panicked whispers as a tremendous amount of dark energy seeped out from the crack. Countless individuals from the demon race, dark race, and nighkin race emerged from the crack and filled the sky with uncountable black dots. All of them had twisted smiles on their faces. Finally, the people from the dark side, who had previously sent their envoy to inform the overseers of the Gladiator Arena that they would also participate, arrived.