Outside, in the great hall.
This was a lounge specially built by the Spirit Race's Sacred Casting Institute, prepared for the young elites returning from the Supreme Sacred Tree Secret Realm.
Edith, Qingye, Hui Yao, Liuyun, Valerie, and more than a dozen other elites sat in a circle, while the rest were scattered around the hall in smaller groups.
Although they had been forced out by the secret realm's rules some time before Lin Yi, none of them had been in a hurry to leave.
An opportunity like this was too rare.
They had just emerged from a secret realm of intense competition, their taut nerves had relaxed, and they were all among the Pan-Spirit Alliance's finest of their generation. With their rivalry behind them, this was the perfect time to share insights, compare what they had learned, and build connections.
Low voices filled the hall, and the atmosphere was quite congenial.
But now, everyone's conversation revolved around someone who had yet to emerge: Lin Yi.
The news had spread two days earlier.
Paslan, Xikan, and Ya Xi—three Star Domain Rank elites—had been gravely injured and sent out by their protective talismans almost simultaneously. The commotion at the time had been considerable.
They had been taken away for treatment at once, and everyone in the hall had been alarmed. All sorts of theories had circulated.
It was only today, with their injuries somewhat stabilized, that the people around them had let the true story slip.
In the secret realm's upper levels, they had been attacked by the same Deity Rank Tree Spirit!
The Tree Spirit had immediately unleashed its Divine Kingdom Projection, nearly crushing them outright.
The three had been almost powerless to fight back. One slap apiece had sent them out of the secret realm.
Most crucially, they hadn't