Chapter 2161 Training is Over The elites of Sky Palace, the Dragon, the Destroyed, the Buddha, and the Demon were still waiting outside of Metal World. Two months had elapsed by now, and they had yet to see any of their Marquises return. As each new day passed without any sign of their students, their moods became darker and darker. They were finally beginning to settle on the painful acceptance that their people might never come back. “Some... something is coming out of Metal World...” murmured a Dragon that had been keenly watching Metal World. As he spoke, everyone else began to react, as well. The elites that were waiting outside of the planet inched closer, staring intently at the magnetic storms that shrouded the surface of Metal World. Someone emerged from the clouds. One... two... and then there were more. The dots emerging from the clouds continued to grow until they resolved into familiar faces. “Dragon Eight! It’s Dragon Eight!” a Dragon King screamed. The elites of the other races reacted the same way when their people emerged from the storm. But as the last of them came through the clouds, the Sky Palace elders looked more ecstatic than ever, while a gradual glumness crept into the hearts of the others. This was because there were more Sky Palace students than the students of all the other races combined. The Sky Palace team was entirely intact, but the same couldn’t be said of the others. The other groups were in a sorry state, and even the survivors had sustained grievous injuries. Han Sen took Yuya with him to debrief the Sky Palace elders on what had transpired. The elders were delighted to see one hundred students all accounted for, only a little worse for wear. One elder was so exuberantly happy with the results, he said, “Good! Well done, you guys. There is no need for you to say anything more. You should go home and take a well-earned rest.” Yes.” Han Sen, Yuya, and the others were ready to leave alongside the elders. But suddenly, they found themselves surrounded on all sides by the Dragon, the Destroyed, the Buddha, and the Demon. They positioned themselves threateningly around the Sky Palace group, clearly not intending to let them leave. “What is this?” The leader of the Sky Palace elites, Green Crane Elder, looked at them darkly. The Sky Palace members prepared to fight. A King of the Destroyed looked at Han Sen and all the others and said angrily, “All these races entered Metal World, and they were obliterated. But you haven’t lost a single soul. Have you performed a trick to harm our Marquises?” It was understandable why the Destroyed King was so angry. Every race except the Destroyed had a few Marquises return. They had lost their entire team. They were confused and angry, and they desperately wanted to know more about what had transpired on Metal World. The other races weren’t filled with the same rage as the Destroyed, but they had still lost a great many people. They were still feeling that loss, and they didn’t want Han Sen and the others to leave so casually. With everyone there to stop Sky Palace from leaving, this was the perfect opportunity to find out what had happened. Once the Sky made it back to their home, negotiating with them would become much more difficult. So, right then and there, all the elites were going to demand some answers. If this was going to happen, it had to happen now. Green Crane Elder chuckled after hearing the Destroyed King. “Your people are weak. How is the demise of your people our business?” The Destroyed King laughed grimly and asked, “Are you saying all these races are not as strong as you? Even if that were true, there is no way all our own died of mere circumstance, whereas not a single one of yours was brought grievous harm. If you do not explain the reasons for this, we Destroyed—and the others—will not be allowing you to walk away from here.” They were obviously hoping for the Dragon to support them. The Destroyed couldn’t stop Green Crane Elder on their own. “Explanation? Sky Palace doesn’t owe an explanation to anyone for anything,” Green Crane Elder grunted. He had already instructed Han Sen and the others not to speak because he had suspected something like this might happen. Green Crane Elder actually thought the same thing that the other elites did; the Sky Palace Marquises must have done something to the other teams. Otherwise, how could they have returned without losing a single member, while the other teams were in such disarray? Destroyed King bared his teeth and growled, “Don’t use the influence of Sky Palace to scare us. The Sky are strong, yes, but none of us here are weak. If you do not give me an explanation, none of you will be permitted to leave.” “Mister Green Crane, why do you not clarify this situation before you leave?” one of the Buddha Kings asked tonelessly. The Dragon King spoke as well. “If the Sky Palace students weren’t responsible for any of this, what harm can there be in staying for a little while and providing us with an explanation?” Green Crane Elder frowned, and he started to say something. But before he could speak, Dragon Eight, Kahn, and the others that had still been making their way up from Metal World arrived. They all moved to their respective Kings and spoke quietly with them. Aside from the Destroyed, when the other races heard of what happened, their expressions grew even darker. Moments ago, they all had their weapons raised at Sky Palace, but now, their hostility had turned to the Destroyed. “Destroyed, it looks like you all are the ones who need to explaining yourselves.” A Dragon King looked at the Destroyed with icy eyes. The other races were giving them severely unfriendly looks. The Destroyed were confused, as they suddenly had no idea what was going on. Green Crane Elder asked Han Sen and Yuya to explain what had happened. After he heard it all, he was left in shock. His mouth hung wide. He was not shocked that the Destroyed had betrayed and ambushed the other races, but he was shocked to hear that Han Sen had fought off all those xenogeneics alone and saved everyone in the process. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚 Every Marquise that had gone there was supposed to be an elite, especially the likes of Dragon Eight, Dragon Nine, and Kahn. Despite their impressive powers, they were unable to fend off the xenogeneics. Han Sen, on the other hand, had beaten those same xenogeneics by himself. It was a very scary thing to think about. “Invincible” was the perfect term for someone like Han Sen. Although the Dragon and the others couldn’t believe Han Sen was that strong, there were many Marquises there to verify the story. Their own people had no reason to exaggerate Han Sen’s power in the tale, so they had no choice but to believe the story. After this, Han Sen was being talked about everywhere. Whoever heard the story knew now that Sky Palace was the home of two very prestigious individuals. One was Lone Bamboo, and the other was Han Sen. Because the deified Metal Beast still lived on the planet, everyone gave up on the idea of claiming Metal World for themselves. And as for how they all planned on dealing with the Destroyed, Han Sen did not know. Because Han Sen brought all of the Sky Palace members back alive, he was rewarded by Sky Palace. But none of that actually mattered to Han Sen. The deal between Yisha and Sky Palace was for Han Sen to reach Marquise status. Now that Han Sen was a Marquise, his studies with them were over. He now had to return to Narrow Moon. After all, he was not a true heir of Sky Palace. Sky Palace could not offer the resources he needed to get him up to Duke.