Chapter 407: Marina's Daughters
....
"Time to sign up," Azmond began.
"Do any of you girls want to join in as well?" He asked.
"..." "..." "..."
The girls in his party thought the matter over for a second before a number of them raised their voices in response.
After a few moments, around thirty-five of them had volunteered to join the competition, of which Ember, Medusa, Clover, and Calista were the most enthusiastic.
Boundless and Calwdia wanted to join as well; however, one of them was essentially a ghost, and the other one was too overpowered.
The rules of the 'Centennial Clash' stated that one had to be under five thousand years old and below the Mahayana Realm to participate.
That meant that none of the seniors of Asterion could join in on a competition that was meant to be for the younger cultivators to prove themselves.
This rule set Clawdia off a little, but she quickly got over it after a few pets from Azmond.
It was the same way with Boundless
Just give them a few pets, and the girls are as peaceful and tranquil as Buddhists!
Nevertheless, after Azmond and the girls finished up their registrations, they left the venue and went toward the grandiose gold and blue adorned Holy Cathedral that was to the north of the Coliseum of Dacratas.
On a side note, Azmond and the girls had to choose their own names for the competition, and while most simply went with their real names, a few 'unique' cases went with their own nicknames
Azmond, in particular, had gone with his Adventurer pseudonym, which was 'Morningstar'.
While a few women, like Calista, Ember, Medusa, and Clover went by nicknames like 'He's Mine', 'Little Bunny', 'Number One Wifey', 'No, He's Mine'.
Azmond didn't quite understand why the names they chose were so unusual, but he simply thought of it as nothing more than them having a little fun.
-
Meanwhile, as Azmond and his party were headed toward the Holy Cathedral of AquaRing, a few shadowy figures were lurking in a corner of the Arena Venue, watching the large group leave.
"How strong was that one?" One of the shadowy figures asked.
"Unknown, but his aura indicated that he was in the Peak Unity Form Synthesis Realm," replied a different shadowy figure.
"Oh?" The first figure mused. "Someone like him won't even make it to the top 100 in this competition-"
He was going to continue speaking; however, he was interrupted by the second shadowy figure:
"But there was something odd about his group" He began with a bewildered gleam shining through the hood he had on.
"And what was this 'odd thing'?" The first figure asked with a raised brow.
"T-That is that every single woman who followed him was in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm" The second figure responded with a low mutter.
Even he himself couldn't believe what the energy readers were telling him; however, after checking multiple times and getting the same 10 billion+ unit readings, he knew it was the truth.
"YYou said what?" The first shadowy figure questioned with a look of disbelief.
'Is Blazeheart really trying to tell me that over two hundred Tribulation Transcendence Realm women are following behind that Unity Form Synthesis Man!?' Shadowstrike thought to himself with doubt etched across his face.
Blazeheart took a second to calm his nerves before he replied, "This is the truth, Shadowstrike... And it looks like we have quite the competition this time around"
Shadowstrike went silent after hearing the words of Blazeheart.
Following their discussion, a hush fell over that part of the Arena Venue
***
Tens of thousands of miles away from the Coliseum of Dacratas, a voluptuous woman with long blue hair and blue eyes was walking through hallowed blue halls, headed in the direction of a wide turquoise dome.
"Is that you, mother!?
A rich feminine voice echoed out as a woman with curves almost as developed as her mothers sprinted through the halls of the Royal Castle of AquaRing.
"Ho? You're back from your Adventure Quest, Esra?" Marina asked with surprise in her tone.
She had only expected Aqua to be left in the castle for at least the next few years, as her other two daughters, Esra and Nadia, were predicted to be out of the castle for the next twenty years.
For reference, twenty years was considered nothing for cultivators who had lived as long as Marina and her two eldest daughters, both of whom had already surpassed three thousand years in age.
However, unexpectedly, the Queen's second eldest daughter, Esra, had returned from her SS-Rank outing with her guild.
*Pitter Patter*
Esra sprinted through the commodious halls of the outer stretches of the AquaRing Royal Castle, as she was heading in a straight line for her mother!
*Jiggle Jiggle*
And of course, the family 'trait' had also been inherited by Esra as her breasts ricocheted with the abrupt movements she was making!
Marina wore a motherly smile on her face as she outstretched her hands, awaiting the soft body of Esra to make contact with her.
And it didn't take long before
*Thud*
Esra jumped into her mother's arms with a jovial aura leaking out of her expression.
"It's been over ten years, mother! I missed you so much!" She spoke with a slightly saddened look on her face.
Of the three daughters of Marina, Esra was the most sensitive and also the most empathetic of them.
And unlike most middle children, she was always being pampered by her mother!
Marina's smile became a lot warmer as she asked, "Did you have fun hunting those Drakes in the Continent of Gaia's Sanctum?"
"Yep yep! Those Drakes stood no chance against me! And after we defeated them all, the beastkin of Gaia's Sanctum had made a great feast for me and the other girls!" Esra replied with an effervescent grin before she turned her gaze up from her mother's bosom.
And when she looked into her mother's eyes, she noticed something had changed within them
"...Mother?" She questioned with furrowed brows.
Marina didn't like where she thought this conversation was going, but she still responded, "Yes?"
Esra narrowed her eyes further before she asked, "What changed?"
"What do you mean, my dear?" The Queen inquired, sweat dripping down her dress.
She had completely overlooked the fact that her second-oldest daughter was extremely perceptive when it came to emotions
In fact, for most of her life, Marina had assumed that she was some sort of empath.