But now, that last glimmer of hope had been utterly extinguished.
Besides them, the powerhouses of many great clans and domains wore equally grim expressions. Clearly, they were no different from the Lan Tuo Family and the other factions: precious few heirs to their traditions or descendants of their clans had emerged.
By contrast, for various reasons, no major upheaval had occurred on the outskirts of the Grand Reward Grounds this time.
Rumble... rumble...
Crack... crack...
At last, the gateway closed completely and vanished from the assembled powerhouses' sight.
In the Outer Domain, where the exclusive fleet of the Divine Lineage from Bauhinia Imperial City in the Eternal Star Domain was stationed, the hearts of the attendants, elders, and Qi Xiyuan's aunt Zhou Min gradually sank into the depths.
They had waited expectantly until the very end, yet not even one of the three figures who had disembarked from the warship together earlier had emerged.
Qi Xiyuan had not come out.
Audishiya was nowhere to be seen.
Tan Lin was likewise missing...
"What is going on?"
"Her Highness has the Eternal Mecha. Even if she faced the shock waves of that upheaval head-on, nothing could possibly happen to her..."
"If Her Highness perished inside, wouldn't our lineage's Ancient Emperor Weapon be lost as well?"
"Probably not. The elder who sealed himself before the Ancient Era should possess a secret art to summon it back, though the price would be considerable..."
"..."
"What are we supposed to do...?"
Audishiya's handmaidens were steeped in gloom.
Farther away, others who had also noticed the trio's failure to emerge began gloating:
"The gateway has closed. They can only wait another sixty years. Of course, if a Quasi-Emperor forced their way in with an Emperor Weapon, bringing someone out wouldn't be impossible..."
"You may not