A meeting of friends

Standing at the very corner of the martial gathering, quite a number of Fae Masters noticed Arthur, with his green hair, green eyes and black clothing, but the vast majority of them were here to observe his martial prowess, rather than get to know him better.

At the end of the day, they were all the Fae Masters from the White Dominion Sect or associated Clans. Arthur was someone with talent, but with no background or resources to help push him past the boundary of Rank 5.

If anything, they were the ones who would need to give something up in the short term if they wanted benefits. And if Arthur didn't reach Rank 5, or died before that time, then their investment would be completely wasted.

If he was strong enough to hold his own, then perhaps they could report back to their Elders, and gather the necessary materials in order to rope this young man in.

While the resources they could provide to a Sovereign Boundary Physique paled in comparison to the resources given by the Azure Ocean Sect and the Nightime Demon Sect, it was still more than what they thought Arthur current had in his possession.

And that.... they thought, was more than enough to entice him.

'All of the Fae Masters present are beneath the age of thirty. The youngest is a fifteen year old with a liquid quartz origin essence level cultivation, while the oldest is around twenty eight, and is a liquid topaz origin essence Fae Master....'.

The young man that Arthur had fought several days ago, Purple Fog, was twenty three and at the peak of Rank 2. His brother should be around the same level of cultivation as Arthur, although his Laws and related Fae are completely unknown to him.

His Boundary Physique was extremely formidable. One that made use of the strengths and foundations that the White Dominion Sect prided itself on.

Arthur didn't recognize anyone else at the martial gathering, only remembering faint names and faces which had blurred together over the many years.

The population of Parachenko Village before the beast tide was more than 10,000 people. Of that ten thousand, slightly less than 20% of that total were all Fae Masters. It was an extraordinary ratio, one that allowed the Kovacs Clan to be the strongest power within the Winter Rain Mountains.

However, the population of White Corpse City was several million people. The amount of Fae Masters that existed within White Corpse City alone was a few hundred thousand people. The vast majority of them Rank 1 Fae Masters, but those who were considered talented often joined the White Dominion Sect.

Those who were not, usually either became mercenaries, or farmed Fae materials for a living.

Standing off to the side, Arthur noticed Parvan, Henrik and Dagen try and chat up a few of the younger Fae Masters at the martial gathering. Most of the young males just snorted and walked away, while a few of the younger women often pointed towards him, causing Parvan and Henrik to sigh while shaking their heads.

It seems that they were more interested in Arthur, than they were in them, they thought.

Nyssa and Iryna on the other hand, had more than a few young male Fae Masters go up and try to talk to them. They didn't possess the social etiquette or any methods of deflection that Violet Sunglass excelled in, so they were forced to smile, while holding onto the drinks in their hand.

Milena was talking a lot to a young man from the White Dominion Sect, although from the expression on his face, Arthur could tell that she was talking too much about Fae and Corpses. She seemed quite passionate about learning more, and the intentions of that young man went completely over her head.

Eric was currently drinking, although from his tolerance, the stuff here wasn't enough to get him drunk, thankfully.

Zlatanna and Helga were also being held up by a group of young men, most of whom were staring at the former's legs and thighs.

Arthur just rolled his eyes, not caring about their situations in the slightest.

The moment that Milena got accepted into the White Dominion Sect, he would kill whomever needed to be killed and then would immediately leave for the Viridian Greed Continent. Reaching the Eternal Samsara Tree Fae Ground took precedence over just about everything else.

Arthur let out a sigh, closing his eyes slightly. For a second there, it almost felt as though he was being watched....

His eyebrow twitched slightly and he opened his eyes, turning towards his left, noticing a shadow pass by underneath a nearby pagoda. Arthur narrowed his eyes for a moment, feeling a slight familiarity in that shadow.

'Is there someone here that I once knew? Or is it Generous Soul, or Elder Raincloud or something?'.

Arthur glanced at the party before turning around and heading towards said pagoda. His hand ready to summon his Leafsword Fae at any moment.

This particular pagoda was extremely small, and could probably only fit a dozen people within comfortably. Yet, a small table and chairs had been set up within, and a white robed figure sat down on one side, the black hair and familiar figure caused Arthur's eyes to widen slightly.

'It can't be.... I mean I know he's alive but....'.

Entering the pagoda, Arthur circled the young man, noticing he was playing with a few chess pieces. Sitting down opposite him, a few Candle Fae suddenly activated all around them, causing the surrounding area to light up with a faint yellow-orange glow.

It almost seemed romantic, but the expressions and feelings of both parties were anything but.

The young, black haired, white robed young man just smiled at Arthur, placing the chess piece in his hands down, directly in between the two of them. Noticing the green colour, Arthur immediately knew what this man wanted to talk about.

".... I must say I am surprised. I never thought someone like you would come all this way to meet me. It must be what..... several hundred thousand kilometres away? And yet you left the Nightime Demon Sect in order to come here.....".

The young man opposite Arthur smiled, spinning another chess piece in his hands between his fingers, not at all appearing surprised by Arthur's words.

The colour was black, and its position was King.

A thick accent greeted Arthur, one commonly used by Fae Masters from the Azure Envy Continent. It made their voice seem deeper in comparison to the other Continents, one that matched their cold weather and freezing winters.

"Well, after hearing of another Sovereign Boundary Physique within the Azure Envy Continent, I had to at least see him for myself. And with what you've done with all your limited resources.... I must say it was well worth it".

A younger, much more immature version of Arthur would've beamed if he had heard that. The hot-blooded young man which the current Arthur had killed and whose place he had taken would've worshipped the ground the young man opposite him had walked on.

But now.... things were different. They weren't just subordinate and leader, but fellow Sovereign Boundary Physique wielders.

Despite the fact that their Ranking was completely different, both of them had their own strengths, and both of them had their own weaknesses.

"The Boundless Forest Yearning's power lies within patience and its ability to interfere with the Emotions of others. In terms of its power fighting against spirit beasts, or Ghosts, or Corpses it is relatively low. However, when fighting against other Fae Masters, it perhaps even exceeds the Variable Thought Order....".

Arthur nodded.

"I could say the same things about the Formless Night Shadow. I've heard stories about the Black Copy Fae, and how it is compared to the Tainted Sinless Blight, Tainted Portrait Fae. However, the copies that you can create, are more than just copies aren't they?".

The young, handsome man opposite Arthur grinned, as both of their hair and eyes suddenly changed colour.

Arthur regained his black hair and eyes, while the man in front of him reversed back to his blonde hair and blue coloured eyes.

It was a meeting of Sovereign Boundary Physiques, and to one of them, a meeting of former friends, of one such friendship he had long since thrown away.