"We'll go at noon," Riley announced with calm finality, his voice slicing through the murmur of uncertainty like a blade.
Without another word, he turned and strode away from the gathering, his long golden robes billowing behind him in the wind, leaving the crowd in a stunned silence.
For a moment, no one moved. The elders of the Austere Clan exchanged uneasy glances.
The weight of Riley's declaration pressed heavily on their minds.
Everyone had their own thoughts on the situation.
Going to the Black Gate Sect was no trivial matter—it was a gamble with potentially devastating consequences.
The Black Gate Sect was not simple at all. Their current sect master was long known to be at the peak of the Void Tribulation Realm, a realm few ever reached in their lifetimes.
But what truly inspired dread was the unknown: how many more of such figures lay hidden in their depths?
Five? Ten? Twenty?
