In the second box to the right of the first one, which held the various path leaders at each level, was filled with slightly more than two hundred and fifty cultivators in white and gold, also split into tiers. Each tier had the exact sa number of people, and their faces were well known among those of the various levels in the sect because they were the ones they mostly interacted with.
In the first row were those of the lower sect, the Six Paths Halls, who handled the various wings of the halls. First was the Wing Master, then their deputy, with each of the Six Paths Halls having six wings in total. So that was 12 people per hall, for each of the six halls, making a total of 72 cultivators who were either Path Lords or Path Controllers, depending on their realm.
Then there were the two deputies of the Hall Master who were squeezed in here for each of the halls, adding another 12 heads to the 72 for the Six Paths Halls.
This was the standard for each level, containing 84 cultivators for the lower sect, the middle sect, and the upper sect, all holding the sa positions relative to their layer, though their cultivation and ages varied.
The third box was a little more interesting, for it was quite small and held only 18 seats.
These seats were occupied by three people from each of the Six Paths, their cultivation profound and their ages quite young, marking them as the definite True Inheritors of the Upper Sect.
Among them was Zhen Xueren, whose sharp eyes were scanning the lineup of competitors for the one junior she rembered vividly to see if he was here.
The final box was interesting because it held cultivators from outside of the Six Paths Demon Sect, numbering a small 30. Each of them wore different colored garbs unlike the unified white and gold of the Six Paths Demon Sect, but one thing was for sure: their gazes were filled with interest.
Below these four boxes was the area demarcated for mbers of the Upper Sect who didn’t qualify to enter the boxes, like so normal elders at each layer who didn’t hold specific positions, but this was limited to mostly one row, as the number of cultivators in the Upper Sect would not even pass a hundred in total.
Next from this row were those of the Middle Layer, who made quite a number, as Path Elders like Li An, Gu Yin, and others made up this row, along with those at the fifth realm of cultivation and the many core disciples of the sect.
Yet nothing could compare to the sheer space taken by those in the Lower Sect, which took up about 70% of the large stadium, all of them buzzing with interest as they communicated with each other verbally or through voice transmission.
In the center of the field stood nearly ten thousand cultivators, all at the peak of the third realm in their Path-related cultivation thods, their ages varying greatly. There were the young talents with thunder behind them, their gazes filled with arrogance and confidence, while there were the old ones who crawled to their current level, with steadiness and vicissitudes in their eyes.
Yet whether it was the competitors or those in the crowd, everyone’s eyes were scouring the place for one figure, the one whose tales and achievents had been like thunder in the ears of everyone within earshot, so much so that even the Sect Master had been pulled out here.
One should know that for a re tournant held every year, it was similar to the duel between Li Ling and Shen Taixu, with the Lower Sect Hall Masters being the highest authority there, with one person from the Middle Layer present to supervise and oversee to prevent any cheating.
To have such a turnout for a re yearly tournant, even with its drastic changes, there could only be one reason.
They were here to see him, the Asura War Demon!
Li Ling!
But no one could find him, and the tournant was scheduled to begin after a short prelude by the supervisor, who would explain the rules and the details of each stage for the crowd as well as the competitors. Normally, one had to sign up and register to participate in the yearly tournant using their Sect Token, so if they were late, it would ping them.
However, Li Ling was currently under comprehension for the Sleeve Universe, and the token would never interfere when its master was under enlightennt, because whatever the sect needed could be done later, but enlightennt only ca once.
Even a demonic sect understood this and took asures for it, so the Asura Blood Token in his heart remained dormant despite the constant pings from the backend to remind him to head to the tournant grounds.
Bai Ruyi, who was in the crowd with her baby in her embrace, paled slightly when she heard the murmurs of discontent and unhappiness toward Li Ling. She didn’t truly understand the value of Li Ling to the current Six Paths Demon Sect because she didn’t know about the news of the upper sect being under pressure.
She was the Saintess of her sect, but even then, there were countless discordant voices among the sect against her, despite her great talent and feats compared to any other True Inheritor. So Li Ling having great fa was not reassuring to her, but rather ant that there would be many who would want to suppress him in order to secure their own positions.
"Hmph, if the fellow is not here, then let’s start. What’s the big deal? It’s a yearly tournant. If he misses this one, will he die? He could even use this year to temper his character so that he doesn’t miss important events in the future!" a youngster, who realized that an opportunity to eliminate the biggest trouble in this tournant had co, took it and pushed it forward.
Others, hearing this argunt, roused slightly and realized that indeed, if they could push out that troubleso fellow to next year’s competitors, they could enjoy a smooth tournant and even secure first place for themselves.
Imdiately, the voices against Li Ling began to grow, especially from the competitors, who posed as impatient and even claid to be thinking on Li Ling’s behalf, with so arguing that he might be indisposed due to so danger and shouldn’t be troubled for this, as he was a generational talent.
Usually, the supervisor was the final say in these tournants, as he was of the Middle Layer, but this ti the spectatorship contained the sect’s powerhouses, so he turned his back to glance upward to the first box, sweat forming on his brow as he awaited orders.
Those making noise also ceded at this mont, understanding that the decision could only be made by one person, so they turned and glanced upward as well.
All eyes fell on the young and handso Sect Master Ming Yue, and he maintained his playfully amiable smile as he glanced down at all parties, then at the competitors.
"I just checked the sect’s internal system, and the feedback from Disciple Li’s token is that he is in deep enlightennt, comprehending an esoteric art never seen before," Ming Yue said in a soft yet energetic tone that was masculine yet comforting.
Hearing this, many faces changed greatly. This fellow had already been said to have even comprehended rules at the third-realm breakthrough, and now he was in the midst of enlightennt again?
So if he ca out, wouldn’t he use his newly enlightened truth to make waste of all of them?
Thinking this, the eyes of the competitors flashed with unwillingness and desperation, fully intending to push Li Ling out no matter what.
However, Ming Yue was not done, as he flipped a token between his fingers idly and playfully.
"But even if he wasn’t under enlightennt, it wouldn’t change anything."
Hearing this, the competitors who were about to protest froze in place, while the entire stadium arena beca hushed, as if soone had squeezed everyone’s throats.
"Even if Disciple Li was farting about and wasting ti intentionally, we would still wait here until he is ready to co, because I ca here solely to see his performance."
Saying this, Ming Yue made the token he was toying with disappear as his eyes, now full of ridicule, focused on the nearly ten thousand third-realm competitors.
"As for you lot, none save those in the Lower Sect care about your performance. You are just here to fill in the numbers. Every distinguished being you see present here only ca to see one person, and that person is not you!"
WHAM!
The words were like a whip lashing at the faces of those below, as they recoiled heavily with looks of dismay and despair. Indeed, so of them had harbored tiny hopes in their hearts that with the top echelon here, they could dazzle them and even be taken as disciples or subordinates by those higher up, a chance that was difficult to get in this competitive sect.
But now, that idea was snuffed out, because Ming Yue made it clear that even if they did their best, eyes were simply never going to be on them, but always tracking the progress of one figure, the figure they feared the most.
Reviews
All reviews (0)