The three guards stepped toward the center of the hall, forming a triangle around Ethan. Each exuded a dense, murderous aura characteristic of veteran cultivators who had forged their power on battlefields.
The guard from the Radiant Sun Empire drew a greatsword enveloped in golden flames; the envoy from the Eternal Night manifested a pair of twin daggers coated in poisonous shadows; and the soldier from the Divine Wind wielded a long spear that hissed with sharp gusts of wind.
Despite the emissaries presenting them as "simple escorts," their cultivation hovered near the peak of the Spiritual Transcendence realm. It was a trap designed to cripple or kill the Golden Dragon Empire's new genius under the guise of a diplomatic test.
Ethan didn't draw the Black Chaos Sword. He kept his arms relaxed at his sides, observing their footwork with disinterested eyes.
