"Wait!"
Just before the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace elder announced the start of the tournament, he suddenly called for a halt.
All the martial artists present stared at Murong Qi in confusion.
"Elder Murong, is there something else?" the Spirit Rhino City Lord asked curiously.
Murong Qi rose lazily from his chair and said with a chuckle, "I have no questions. The tournament is the same every year."
"It's just that this year is different. I accepted someone's request to designate a disciple of the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace before the tournament begins."
"Oh? I wonder which martial artist is so fortunate as to be designated in advance by the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace?" the Spirit Rhino City Lord asked with great interest.
Every time the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace came to Spirit Rhino City to recruit disciples, it never selected more than two people.
Moreover, they would only make their choices after selecting carefully from the top three participants in the tournament.
Thus, the sect was exceedingly strict in recruiting disciples. Anyone they designated in advance had to be an extraordinary dragon among men.
"The Azure Cloud Terrace Palace is designating a disciple in advance? That has never happened during Spirit Rhino City's disciple-recruitment tournaments before."
"I wonder who has such good fortune. They can enter the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace without even competing."
"Exactly. Who is it?"
The martial artists erupted the moment they heard about the designated spot.
Murong Qi stepped forward twice and swept his gaze across the arena. "Where is Lin Zier?"
"Lin Zier! It's actually Lin Zier!"
"That monster from the Lin family, with a fifth-grade Heavenly martial soul!"
"So it's her. No wonder the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace designated her in advance. A fifth-grade Heavenly martial soul—she truly is exceptional."
The martial artists had initially been somewhat indignant, believing that designating someone in advance amounted to under-the-table manipulation.
But once they learned it was Lin Zier, they were all convinced.
After all, her fifth-grade Heavenly martial soul was right there. Who would dare challenge it?
"This disciple is here." Lin Zier walked happily from the square up onto the raised platform.
Several days earlier, Lin Zier had purchased the contact information of a highly respected elder within the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace through the Treasure Pavilion.
After contacting him for several days, the elder had expressed his desire to take Lin Zier as his disciple.
He had also told Lin Zier that once the disciple-recruitment tournament ended, she would follow Murong Qi to the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace.
The elder Lin Zier had contacted held a high position within the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace, and his martial cultivation ranked among the top ten in the Divine Martial Nation.
Murong Qi looked at Lin Zier and smiled in satisfaction. "A fifth-grade Heavenly martial soul. No wonder Senior Brother Zhao personally ordered me to ensure your safety and see you safely to the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace."
"You're quite impressive." Murong Qi praised her.
"Thank you for your praise, Elder. I still have much to learn." Lin Zier replied with a graceful smile.
"The Azure Cloud Terrace Palace is the most powerful sect in the Divine Martial Nation. Naturally, you won't learn anything inferior after joining it."
"You needn't call me Elder anymore. Since Senior Brother Zhao personally named you as the disciple he wishes to accept, you can call me Martial Uncle. I can still bear that title!"
Murong Qi spoke with a laugh.
"Yes, Martial Uncle." Lin Zier cried out in delight.
Once she had changed how she addressed him and called him Martial Uncle, it was equivalent to having already joined the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace!
"Good. Since you've called me Martial Uncle, I can't let you say it for nothing. I have a second-grade spirit weapon here that I haven't used in many years. It was a weapon I used back when I was in the True Martial Realm."
"I'll give it to you as a gift."
As he spoke, Murong Qi took a silver-white sword from his Storage Bag and handed it to Lin Zier.
"Thank you, Martial Uncle." Lin Zier thanked him excitedly.
A second-grade spirit weapon could only be used by martial artists of the True Martial Realm. It was extraordinarily precious.
Even in the Treasure Pavilion, a second-grade spirit weapon was worth more than a hundred thousand spirit stones.
"Wow! A second-grade spirit weapon!"
"A second-grade spirit weapon as a meeting gift? The Azure Cloud Terrace Palace is truly loaded!"
"Exactly. Great sects really are different."
A second-grade spirit weapon might not be anything special in the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace.
But in Spirit Rhino City, it was an exceedingly rare treasure.
The Spirit Rhino City Lord then asked with a smile, "Elder Murong, the Senior Brother Zhao you mentioned—is he one of the Ten Kings of the Divine Martial Nation, Zhao..."
"Heh heh, that's right. It's Zhao Xiansheng, ranked third among the Ten Kings of the Divine Martial Nation—Senior Brother Zhao."
The Ten Kings of the Divine Martial Nation were the supreme existences at the pinnacle of martial cultivation throughout the nation.
Each one possessed power capable of reaching the heavens and shaking the earth.
The first among the Ten Kings of the Divine Martial Nation was the current Old Ruler of the Divine Martial Nation.
The second was the Sect Master of the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace.
The third was Lin Zier's master, Zhao Xiansheng!
"Hahaha, then I truly must congratulate Miss Lin Zier. From now on, you're a disciple of King Zhao!" When the Spirit Rhino City Lord heard this, a trace of respect surfaced on his face as he looked at Lin Zier.
After all, with Zhao Xiansheng as her master, Lin Zier's future could be said to be boundless!
Zhao Xiansheng was one of the Ten Kings of the Divine Martial Nation and was known as King Zhao!
All of Zhao Xiansheng's disciples were known as King Zhao's Disciples.
When they heard that Zhao Xiansheng had accepted Lin Zier as his disciple, the elders of the other three great sects all turned to look at her.
Xiao Tianchu of the Blazing Fire Nation was the first to rise and offer his congratulations. "So you're a disciple of King Zhao. No wonder I felt the winds and clouds of heaven and earth shift the moment you stepped onto the platform. Truly extraordinary."
"Congratulations to the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace on accepting another capable disciple. In less than ten years, Lin Zier will surely become a core high-ranking member of the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace, won't she?"
Xiao Tianchu spoke with a chuckle.
Anyone listening could tell that Xiao Tianchu was flattering them.
"Congratulations." Ling Han, the elder of the Edgeless Sect, opened his eyes and glanced at Lin Zier before offering a single word of congratulations and closing his eyes again to rest.
Only Ji Bei, the elder of the Spirit Sword Sect, looked at Lin Zier with regret. He lamented inwardly, Alas, a disciple with a fifth-grade Heavenly martial soul—the Spirit Sword Sect hasn't seen one in many years.
Over the years, every slightly talented disciple from all across the Divine Martial Nation had been taken by the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace. Any genius willing to join the Spirit Sword Sect had been secretly killed by them.
The gap between the Spirit Sword Sect and the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace was growing wider and wider.
Ji Bei felt terrible.
Ever since the battle a hundred years ago, the Spirit Sword Sect had been trampled beneath the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace's feet.
Whenever the Spirit Sword Sect managed to nurture a promising genius, the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace immediately sent people to assassinate them.
Thus, over the past century, the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace had grown stronger and stronger. Five of the Ten Kings of the Divine Martial Nation were disciples of the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace, while the Spirit Sword Sect had grown weaker and weaker, nearly joining the ranks of third-rate sects.
Seeing the grief on Ji Bei's face, Murong Qi smiled and provoked him. "What's wrong? The Spirit Sword Sect's elder looks a little unhappy."
Ji Bei forced a smile and said, "Congratulations. Congratulations to the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace."
"Hahaha, congratulations to us both. I hope the Spirit Sword Sect can nurture a disciple worth showing off before the Four-Sect Tournament."
"Don't be like last year, when not a single one of your Spirit Sword Sect's disciples made it into the top hundred. What a disgrace."
Murong Qi spoke with utter disdain.
Ji Bei's face flushed with anger, but he could only seethe in silence!
The Spirit Rhino City Lord naturally knew that the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace and the Spirit Sword Sect were mortal enemies, so he hurriedly changed the subject. "Ahem, all right, all right. Elders and Lin Zier, take your seats. The disciple-recruitment tournament begins now."
"Spirit Rhino City doesn't have only Lin Zier, a disciple of King Zhao. The other martial artists are quite impressive as well."
"Take your time and observe them carefully."
Murong Qi said to Lin Zier, "Martial Niece, although you've become Senior Brother Zhao Xiansheng's disciple, Senior Brother Zhao asked me to tell you that everything in the martial path must be fought for by yourself."
"That's why he specifically instructed me to have you enter the Azure Cloud Terrace Palace openly and honorably by passing the disciple-recruitment tournament!"
"He also ordered you to take first place in this tournament!"
Lin Zier nodded lightly. "Martial Uncle, even if you hadn't said that, I would still have continued participating in the tournament, because I still have an enemy I haven't defeated!"
As Lin Zier spoke, her gaze turned toward Lin Bai, who stood among the crowd.
"Good. Then go." Murong Qi nodded.
The Spirit Rhino City Lord made several arrangements before saying:
"All disciples participating in the tournament, gather here!"
"There are two hundred tokens placed in Sky Ghost Valley in total."
"I need to remind all participating disciples that I placed one hundred tournament tokens on the northwestern peak within Sky Ghost Valley, but I also placed one hundred demonic beasts there at the Martial Dao Ninth Level."
"If you aren't afraid of death, go and take them."
The Spirit Rhino City Lord gave a faint smile.
Before you continue