37TH

Leonel tightly wrapped the last band across his forearm and made sure that his turban was in place. He looked like quite the Arabian prince right now if he did say so himself.

According to the system of the Dream Pavilion, the different colors of turbans represented different things, but truthfully he couldn't be bothered to give a damn. He had suddenly become the Pavilion Head and none of that other stuff mattered, so he just took a black turban for himself.

His wrists and ankles were tied by matching black fabric, and there was also another matching piece of fabric in the form of a cloth belt around his waist.

Other than that, his clothing was quite loose. A set of white linen that felt so light that it truly might have been made out of clouds. There were some faded images of clouds floating across it, but Leonel had chosen a far more subtle option.

With that done, Leonel stepped out from the temple. However, down below, there was only Clarence and no one else, causing Leonel to sneer.

"The Challenge was something that Leonel didn't really have a choice but to participate in as the Pavilion Head. This was the case even though the decision had been made without his consent.

However, to everyone else, there was technically nothing forcing them to go. Although Leonel could make them with his powers, they probably thought he didn't dare to.

Truthfully, Leonel just didn't care to. What good were these burdens to him? He had stronger Dream Force than everyone but Clarence, and even then his Dream Force was stronger than Clarence's in this case because of his Dream Sovereignty and the Life Tablet.

Clarence sighed helplessly. 'I tried, but...'

'We don't need useless members,' Leonel said with a wave of his hand.

What he didn't say was that if not for a certain rule, he would have kicked them all out directly. Unfortunately, the Dream Pavilion not only needed a Pavilion Head, but they also needed a certain number of members to continue being a Pavilion.

However, Leonel would have a method of dealing with Gemmes and the others very soon.

'Let's go,' Leonel said.

With a step, he vanished and appeared on the highest clouds of the Dream Pavilion. Almost the moment he did, a swirling portal appeared. Within it, he could see the shadows of several groups. Three, to be specific.

Two of them had numbers of two or three dozen. One, however, looked much more similar to Leonel's own group. Even so, they had more people than Leonel did as there were three of them, each one with a pair of wings on their back.

Leonel couldn't see anything more concrete than this, but it hardly mattered. There was no changing things now.

'It's time.'

Leonel took a step forward and Clarence followed him.

The world swirled around him and soon the figures that had been blurry before solidified.

The location could only be described as a trial court, except this time, instead of just two defendants, there were four, and instead of them facing a judge, they faced each other, each one taking up one of the cardinal directions.

This time, Leonel got a good look at them all.

Nomads, Spirituals and Owlans. The highest ranked were the Spirituals, and yet Leonel was fairly certain that they weren't even half as dangerous as the Owlans.

After he swept his gaze through them, he no longer looked toward them at all. His expression was calm and unhurried, his state of absolute focus reaching an incredibly deep realm. The air around him felt solid and even those that tried to probe him couldn't make any progress at all.

Before, they were certain that he was in the Fifth Dimension, but now they weren't so sure. In the end, they could only chalk it up to the Life Tablet.

They knew that thing was a ticking time bomb. If not for the fact Leonel had claimed it at the last minute, it wouldn't have been their turn to claim it. The best they could hope for was to claim it, and then pawn it off to a higher ranked Pavilion in exchange for some rewards. They knew better than to wish for something that was beyond them.

At that moment, in the center of the "courtroom", a shadowy figure appeared.

Its form was large and imposing, just its presence alone, even partially formed, made those present want to bow their heads.

And then it looked at Leonel.

Leonel had his eyes closed. Even when the figure appeared, and he clearly sensed it, he didn't open his eyes.

'The Void Dream Pavilion is willing to take up this Challenge on behalf of the Vast Dream Pavilion in exchange for the Life Tablet.'

Leonel's eyes slowly opened.

'Do you know Shan'Rae?'

The sudden question took everyone off guard, even the shadowy figure itself.

'Shan'Rae. 37th in line for the Void Throne. Unmatured.'

'Mm,' Leonel nodded. 'When you go back, be sure to tell her that I remember her quite clearly. In the future, she won't be so arrogant.'

Silence fell. Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

The fact that the figure knew Shan'Rae at all was a truly shocking matter. This meant that this junior had an exceptionally high status. Although there were very few God children to begin with, why would someone of high status bother to remember them all unless they were important?

37th in line for the Void Throne was even more shocking. This meant that this junior was the 37th most talented of the Void Race, regardless of generation. So long as you weren't of the eldest Generation, you were qualified to be on this list... even if you had just been born.

This held even more weight than just remembering her name.

But then how could Leonel possibly know her?

'You can go now,' Leonel said calmly. Then, without waiting for any other interruptions, Leonel pressed a foot down and Dream Force erupted.

The Challenge had begun.