Suddenly, there was confusion in the arena. Jack shot a last, angry glance at the head judge before looking around, finding everyone puzzled. Even the alien rchants on the stands were whispering at each other, wondering what was going on.
His anger gave way to curiosity.
Thats odd.
These rchants knew how things worked. Was sothing different this ti?
Gather on that side, the head judge said, pointing at one side of the arena, the one furthest away from the Overseer Tower. Jack complied. Shard Presht did, too, though keeping his distance from Jack.
Gradually, more finalists jumped down from the stands. Vivi was the first. She landed next to Jack and said, I saw what happened. They suck.
I know, he replied.
Edgar, Dorman Whistles, and even the Sage jumped down from the stands to land on the sand beside Jack. Another mber of Fla River, the man nad Sadaka who had lost on the first day, joined themhe was Level 49 now and had barely clinched his way through.
Up on the stands, another mber of Fla River kept Brock company.
Alexander Petrovicthe leader of Ice Peaklanded close to Shard Presht, followed by a woman of his factionElena Richter.
Vanderdeckenthe tal guylanded between the two groups. Soon after, Li Xiang and Brother Taothe monk that Jack had fought beforelanded beside him.
The crowds confusion was mounting, but so was their excitent. All finalists were coming on stage; whatever happened would be big, and doubly so since it apparently hadnt happened before.
The finalists themselves were confused too, as well as wary. Only Presht seed calr, though still shooting malicious glances at Jack, who only snorted his way once or twice. Both of them were still bleeding, but djinn healers at the peak of the E-Grade quickly arrived and made them good as new, then departed again.
The curtain at the top of the stands parted. Rufus Emberheart walked out, followed by Gan Salin, and regally floated his way down to the sands, taking position in front of Shard Presht. The eagler and elefthe eagle-like man and the elephant-like womanappeared a few seconds later and landed close to the Ice Peak and the other scions, though not too close. Even within the noble families of the Animal Kingdom, there were different groups.
Jack, Edgar, Vivi, Dorman, the Sage, and Sadaka.
Vanderdecken, Li Xiang, and Brother Tao.
The five scions, Alexander Petrovic, and Elena Richter.
Sixteen people. Sixteen finalists. And all were standing on one half of the sandy arena. The crowd could barely contain their excitent. This was the absolute peak of Earth!
A rough breeze descended from the arenas roof. The sand swirled, and the clothes of the finalists fluttered. Jack felt the sand specks land on his bare skin like bitter kisses, while his bare feet could feel the hard, jagged rock under them. Presumably, there was hard tal below thatthe hull of the Integration City starship.
Whats happening? he asked in a whisper.
No idea. Vivi shook her head.
Karvahul didnt know either, Edgar said.
Everyone turned to look at the Sage, who turned his head the other way and observed the swirling sands.
Even the scions seed confused, with only Rufus Emberhearts maned head staring ahead like everything was under control.
This was the first ti Jack got close to him. He could feel the raw power emanating from his body, and the aura of a supre Dao leaking from his skin. His paws were clasped behind his back, and he stood straight like a ramrod, not staring at anyone in particular, but nobody could deny the threat that oozed off him.
Even Jack felt apprehensive, and his Dao Root trembled.
A heavy aura blanketed the arena, and the crowd quietened at once like all sound had been cut with a knife. Suddenly, Galicia Lonihor, the C-Grade Leonine, the Planetary Overseer, was in the air, hovering high above the center of the arena, over the level of the crowd, yet everyone could see her clearly.
Nobody saw her arriving. From one mont to the next, she was simply there.
People of Earth-387 and Integration Tournant finalists, she addressed everyone in a voice loud enough to shake the arena all the way to its foundation. Despite that, she maintained a rushed, bored tone as if simply completing a chore. The twentieth assembly of the Galactic Alliance has introduced a new elent to Integration Tournants to foster even stronger cultivators. You will have the honor of experiencing it first.
Like beta testers, Dorman whispered, eliciting a chuckle from Jack and Edgar. They shut up imdiately afterward as a sense of danger washed over them.
In a mont, the astral projections of sixteen D-Grade immortals from around the constellation will appear before you. They have volunteered to be the ntors for this tournant and sent over a part of their consciousness. Each ntor can select up to one disciple. If you are chosen, it will be a fate-changing point for both you and your planetso act accordingly.
Without waiting for the crowd to digest her words, the lioness pulled out a token and crushed it. Nothing happened for a mont. Then, the space below her began to ripple. One by one, ethereal forms appeared in mid-air, transparent like ghosts but unable to hide the towering aura of their Dao.
The weakest humans present shivered. So had to leave, unable to take the pressure, while a rare few fainted and had to be carried outside by their friends.
The rchants were all reeling, unable to believe their luck. Such a collection of D-Grade beings and the C-Grade lioness was sothing they would never get to experience otherwise! As for the finalists themselves, they could only stare.
Jack heard a voice in his head: Do you see now why the auction will be bountiful? He turned to the side. It was the Sage, who was smiling as if uncaring about the ntors. He had sohow developed telepathy.
Soon, sixteen forms floated under the lioness. A few resembled humans. So were animal-based humanoids, like the scions, while the five noble families had each sent one representative as well. There were also weird creatures that Jack couldnt quite understand, like a long worm and a moving blob ofjelly?
Is that a sli?!
Each and every one of them practically shone with the power of the Dao. Jack felt invisible flas immolating him and the cold of the north seeping into his bones. He thought he saw a heaven-towering warrior and a massive cloud sitting right above the arena.
The experience was very disorienting, and he only got used to it after a few monts.
There was silence. The sixteen forms stood in mid-air, not speaking. Neither did the lioness.
They were inspecting the finalists. Jack felt naked as several all-powerful glances saw through to his very soul, and he held his breath. Suddenly, he realized he was standing bare-chested in front of seventeen gods and the entire population of Earth.
None, a person said, then winked away, disappearing into the air.
None, ca a second voice.
None.
None.
Four people disappeared just like that. Jack frowned slightly. Getting a D-Grade ntor sounded great, and it would likely let him shoot for the stars, but it didnt look easy.
Him. It wasnt a voicemore like a thoughtbut it spread throughout the entire arena. The worm disappeared and reappeared beside Dorman. Its thought-voice sounded oddly feminine.
Dormans face shone like the sun. Thank you! he exclaid. The worm didnt respondor, if it did, it only spoke ntally to Dorman.
Him. Him. Her. Him. Him.
The five representatives of the noble families each raised a finger and pointed at the respective scion. What a coincidence.
The scions nodded with grateful looks on their faces, while everyone else felt slightly awkward. The Animal Kingdom wasnt even pretending anymore.
The blob of jelly disappeared without a word. A bearded old lizardman wearing blue robes pointed at Edgar and smiled. You, he said. Jack could swear he heard Edgar squealing in joy.
A slim, bare-chested person who looked like an ascetic smiled and pointed at the Sage.
I am most honored, the Sage replied, bowing deeply. For once, his voice was deeply serious, and it didnt carry its usual aloof tint.
Only three ntors remained by now: a short, pudgy woman, a bear-man, and a bald, bearded, muscular man in orange monk attire.
On the other hand, there were plenty of ntor-less people: Jack, Vivi, Sadaka, Alexander Petrovic, Elena Richter, Vanderdecken, Li Xiang, and Brother Tao. Brother Tao, especially, looked at the ntor in monk attire with hope.
Him, all ntors said at the sa ti, raising a finger. And they all pointed at Jack.
Everyone fell silent for a mont, then erupted into whispers that werent even hushed. The remaining finalists looked at Jack in disbelief. The lioness raised a brow. The three ntors glanced at each other, while every other ntor that hadnt disappeared looked on with mild amusent.
The Sage, for the first ti ever, looked surprised. His ascetic ntor only nodded with a small smile.
And Jack was just lost.
What? he said. Why would all three of them choose him? Was this even supposed to happen?
He carries a strong soul, the pudgy woman said.
The bear-man snorted. He clearly belongs to my people.
I ask my fellow cultivators to give face, the monk said. Under his beard and hard eyes, his voice was steady. This child has the Dao of my factions ancestor. Honor demands I take him in.
He doesnt even use the fire arts. The bear-man snorted.
My faction focuses on raw power, too.
This is not even your Constellation, the pudgy woman retorted with a frown. You are stealing from anothers plate.
This planet is near the border, and we have received a formal invitation, the monk replied evenly. I want this boy as my disciple.
Both others frowned. They clearly had more things to say, but in the end, publicly arguing over a disciple didnt fit their statures. There were a million other planets to choose from.
Very well. The Ursus Mountain will do you this favor, the bear-man said, disappearing imdiately after.
So will the Belarian Outpost, the pudgy woman said, disappearing too. Even if there were more people below they fancied, they couldnt possibly go to their second choices now.
Of the three, only the monk remained, and he looked at Jack with a deep smile. For the first ti, Jack dared to inspect him.
Human (Earth-44), Level ??? (D-Grade)
Faction: Exploding Sun (B-Grade)
Title: Fifth Ring Conqueror
You are the monk started saying, but this ti, it was the C-Grade lioness that cut him off.
Wait. I was just inford that there was a mistake, she said, looking straight at the monk, then turning her heavy stare at Jack. He almost buckled. This participant received a loss for attempting to harm another participant after they had surrendered. He received another loss for submitting false information to the tournant officials. Therefore, with two losses, he is disqualified. Please depart the arena.
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