Instead of the well-trained Sovereign Aegis guards and their advisors, Dustin was surrounded by a throng of people of all kinds, panic-stricken and bewildered.

Some were ordinary civilians, shivering in fear. Others were martial artists gripping their weapons and scanning their surroundings with wary eyes.

There were rogue cultivators in mismatched clothing, each with a distinct energy wave. Even personnel from the various factions who had remained at the mountain's base camp were now mixed i