The thirty-breath time limit slowly ticked away.
The sound of figures cutting through the air rang out one after another, spiritual lights of every color streaking past the roofs and eaves of the Realm Patrol Bureau.
Cultivators landed on the bluestone-paved drill ground, their movements crisp and steady, not one of them lagging.
Everyone formed orderly ranks of their own accord, robes neat and auras restrained. Across the vast drill ground, not a single person whispered. Only the soft rustle of fabric in the wind remained.
Qin He stood among the crowd, lifting his eyes to survey his surroundings.
This was his first complete glimpse of the Realm Patrol Bureau's hidden strength.
Previously, he had thought it merely an investigative agency under the Divine Court, with scattered personnel and shallow reserves.
But now, more than four hundred people stood in immaculate formation, densely filling the entire drill ground. The sight struck him hard.
Four hundred and thirty-seven people.
Apart from ninety-three cultivators dispatched on missions and still away, everyone else had arrived. Not a single person was absent.
Even more startling were their cultivation levels.
Ninety percent of the cultivators present had reached the Other Shore Realm. Their spiritual energy was solid and contained, with no stray spiritual light leaking from their bodies. Clearly, they were well versed in concealing their auras.
The thirty-odd cultivators scattered throughout the crowd had elusive, unfathomable auras. Occasionally, a faint trace of law patterns skimmed across their skin, only to vanish into their flesh an instant later.
Saint Tier.
More than thirty Saint Tier experts.
They did not deliberately release their pressure, yet they naturally formed a stagnant field that enveloped the entire drill ground.
The air seemed sealed behind invisible barriers, even the wind slowing its passage. This was the instinctive manifestation of