After the Grand New Year Ancestor-Worship Ceremony came the clan's Martial Grand Ceremony. This was a unique inherited custom of the Yin Clan. None of the other Blood Demon clans in the Western World held such a ceremony. Yin Tianjue and the others had ultimately come from an Eastern cultivation lineage, and this was a tradition unique to the Eastern Cultivation World.
More than a hundred thousand Yin Clan members surrounded the arena. The entire area was silent as the grave, and not one person dared make the slightest noise.
Over the centuries, the Yin Clan's Martial Arts Grand Tournament had developed its own unique rules and procedures. Yin Tianmie, who was presiding over the ceremony, did not need to say a word. Two Heaven Generation elders in dark golden-red robes, wearing tall crowns and exuding gloomy energy, had already leaped onto the arena.
Three hundred and sixty experts with at least Earl-level strength sat cross-legged beneath the arena. They pressed their hands to the ground, continuously pouring the power of their Blood Demons into the Demon Talisman carved there. Light and shadows flickered across the ground around the arena, and a thin, transparent blood-colored barrier rose into the air from its edge, firmly enclosing the entire arena.
The two Yin Clan elders smiled and exchanged a fist-and-palm salute. Then the garments behind them burst apart, and a pair of enormous bat wings spread open with a loud flap. Gloomy winds immediately swept across the arena. Blood mist and Blood Flame rose into the air, coiling around the two elders like twisted flood dragons and making them look like evil yet majestic demon gods from hell.
"Eighteenth Brother, please give me your guidance!" one elder said, clasping his hands before his chest and nodding with a smile.
"Likewise, likewise!" the other elder replied with a carefree smile, not taking the Martial Arts Grand Tournament seriously at all.
When elders of their status took the stage, their performance was truly "acting." Their strengths were not far apart; even if they fought for half a month, they might not determine a victor. They merely displayed their martial prowess before the juniors, letting the clan's younger generation know what true power was and dispelling the arrogance and conceit in their hearts. That was the purpose of their performance.
The two men stopped wasting words. They chanted spells at the same time and swept their hands forward. Countless blood-colored fireballs the size of water vats appeared from thin air with shrill roars, shooting ahead in streaks of blazing light. In an instant, several thousand fireballs formed and then crashed violently into one another.
The fireballs collided, producing muffled explosions. Although the arena was covered by the barrier and all the explosions' power was sealed inside, the dull thunderclaps still shook the internal organs of the Yin Clan members in the square. The adults were fine, but several thousand juveniles were shaken pale-faced. Many covered their mouths, barely keeping themselves from vomiting.
Yin Xuejiao, Yin Xueao, and the other juveniles who had broken through to the Star Warrior level three months earlier were affected most severely. They had been immensely proud of their achievements and talents, believing themselves extraordinary. But when they suddenly witnessed the terrifying scene of thousands of fireballs appearing, vanishing, and exploding in succession, they finally understood that before true experts, they were nothing more than ants.
In the blink of an eye, the thousands of terrifying fireballs vanished without a trace. The two elders simultaneously flicked their sleeves and laughed.
The next instant, their bodies moved. Their bat wings, each more than ten meters wide, swept lightly and sent their figures surging out in hundreds of afterimages. They drifted back and forth across the arena, chasing one another, and in the shifting of their forms they circled the arena more than a hundred times.
Shrill sounds of air being torn apart rang out. The two elders moved so quickly that even the air was ripped into white sonic shockwaves. Their speed was astonishing. Gradually, hardly anyone could follow their figures; all they could see was a sky full of wildly flashing silhouettes above the arena.
Suddenly, a thunderous boom rang out. Countless afterimages vanished at once, and the two elders hovered in midair. Their four palms slammed together, and wave after wave of dazzling blood light sprayed from their palms.
One elder's palms spewed blood-colored flames more than a meter high, while the other's released blood-colored ice. Blood Flame and blood ice ground and crashed against each other, unleashing thunderous booms. As the energy within the two elders was steadily depleted, blood-colored vapor several dozen meters high gradually spouted from their heads, forming crowns that floated above them.
Yin Tianjue suddenly flashed forward and entered the arena's barrier. From somewhere, he took out a metal sphere a meter in diameter, forged from special alloy, and threw it at the crowns of blood-colored vapor above the two elders' heads.
Amid a series of hissing sounds, the metal sphere was silently corroded, turning into countless flakes of rust that scattered down.
The two elders glanced at each other, then burst into laughter together and withdrew their strength. Breathing slightly heavily, they landed on the ground and saluted Yin Tianjue with clasped fists. Yin Tianjue returned the salute with a smile. "You two have worked hard. Please go down and rest."
Once the two elders flashed off the arena, thunderous applause erupted across the square.
During the Martial Arts Grand Ceremonies of the past twenty-odd years, the Yin Clan elders' performances had been no more than juggling tricks, using dazzling light-and-shadow techniques to fool the juniors. But this time, the two elders had used their true strength. Even the waste qi expelled from their bodies could corrode such an incomparably sturdy metal sphere into scraps. One could imagine how terrifying their power was.
"You have now seen the strength of the clan elders!" Yin Tianjue stood with his hands behind his back, coldly looking at the countless clan members below.
"The power you possess is insignificant! And power determines everything. Power determines the benefits you enjoy and the authority you possess within the clan! Therefore, we hope that every clan member will cultivate with all their strength, gain greater power, and exchange it for more authority and enjoyment!" Yin Tianjue's words were utterly naked, filled with utilitarian temptation. But that was the Blood Demon Clan's way. That was the Blood Demon Clan's nature.
After these two brief sentences, Yin Tianjue flashed away from the arena.
Eight Earth Generation Yin Clan elders took the stage at once. They split into two camps and fought fiercely, unleashing Blood Skills and Blood Arts of every color in endless succession. All eight Earth Generation elders possessed Duke-level strength, and each had mastered at least dozens of powerful Blood Skills and Blood Arts.
The Heaven Generation elders displayed overwhelming power, while these elders demonstrated ever-changing combat tactics and a dazzling variety of skills.
After a quarter-hour of fierce battle, the eight Yin Clan elders likewise ended the fight by colliding their palms head-on. Once they withdrew and walked off the arena, the lingering radiance of the Blood Arts they had released still drifted across it. Applause like thunder erupted from the square, especially from the young Yin Clan members and juveniles, who shouted in excitement.
Yin Xuege watched the performances of the elders and seniors in a daze. The elders' grand and unfathomable strength, the seniors' profound and peerless Blood Skills and Blood Arts—these were all what Yin Xuege pursued!
Clapping and cheering as vigorously as the juveniles, Yin Xuege's heart beat powerfully, driving the viscous blood in his body to flow slowly. Farnburg's repayment of twenty drops of Duke's Essence Blood had been completely absorbed. All the blood in Yin Xuege's body had transformed into a gorgeous dark cyan, but within that dark cyan like the night sky, a dazzling thread of silver radiance seemed poised to erupt.
Among the Blood Demon Clan, only the blood of a senior Viscount would transform into dark cyan while containing that strange silver gleam!
After absorbing twenty drops of Duke's Essence Blood, Yin Xuege's strength had astonishingly reached the level of a true Viscount. His life force was also more than a hundred times greater and more surging than when he had been a juvenile! His physical functions and recovery ability were both far superior to those of an ordinary Viscount.
A dark-cyan, silver-glimmering light flickered in his eyes. Yin Xuege recalled the various Blood Skills and Blood Arts the elders had just used, gradually comparing and verifying them against the techniques he had comprehended over the past month. He silently calculated what skills would be most appropriate in different situations.
Suddenly, a malicious gaze filled with killing intent landed on Yin Xuege. His strength had advanced by leaps and bounds, and his five senses were a hundred times sharper than those of ordinary people. He abruptly raised his head and followed that hostile gaze.
Yin Xuejiao stood beside Yin Jiwu, glaring viciously at Yin Xuege. When he saw Yin Xuege look over, Yin Xuejiao raised his right hand and viciously made a throat-cutting gesture. His eyes had turned completely blood-red, and a faint cyan light flashed within his pupils.
Yin Xuege stared at Yin Xuejiao in astonishment. This fellow had actually—actually broken through to the level of a high-stage Night Warrior? In other words, he had already condensed several thousand drops of Blood Demon Essence Blood, and was not far from changing all the blood throughout his body and stepping into the Baron realm?
How had this fellow done it? Yin Xuege thoughtfully rubbed his chin, then looked toward Yin Jiwu, standing beside Yin Xuejiao with a slightly pale face tinged with an unhealthy blue-gray hue.
If Yin Jiwu sacrificed part of his own vital essence blood, he could indeed raise Yin Xuejiao's strength in a short time! However, every member of the Blood Demon Clan regarded their essence blood as incomparably important. Yin Jiwu's willingness to make such a decision truly exceeded Yin Xuege's expectations.
Next came the performances of the Nameless Generation's clan experts. This round carried a hint of rivalry. The hidden-clan members of the Nameless Generation usually cultivated in seclusion, and the annual clan Martial Arts Grand Ceremony was their best chance to display their strength. Whether their strength had grown over the past year, and by how much, directly affected the various benefits they enjoyed within the clan.
After more than a hundred Nameless Generation experts who had made tremendous progress displayed their achievements from the past year, their rankings within the clan changed considerably. Based on the strength they had shown, the benefits and treatment they received from the clan were all raised significantly.
Several Yin Clan experts whose strength had broken through enormously and who had boldly attained Marquis-level strength received rewards comparable to Yin Xuege's: independent luxury castles, clan stewards dedicated to serving them personally, hundreds of clan warriors as guards, and exclusive Blood Servants numbering anywhere from several dozen to at least two thousand.
As for other cultivation resources and the like, the Yin Clan bestowed them without the slightest stinginess.
After a great deal of activity, night had already fallen outside. The Blood Mist Barrier slowly dispersed. Countless stars filled the night sky overhead, and brilliant starlight illuminated the earth, washing the myriad things of the world clean and crystal-clear.
A long wolf howl came from a distant tower. Yin Xuege turned his head and happened to see Wumu transformed into a silver wolf, standing atop the tower and howling at the sky. "Yin Xuege, you brat, don't lose to those little brats! I'm your follower. If you lose, Lord Wumu will have no face left to show himself!"
Waving both paws forcefully, Wumu howled hysterically, "Crush those little brats' balls! Beat them half to death! Don't worry about giving Lord Wumu face—beat them until they're dead! If you kill one, I'll eat one!"
Dozens of Yin Clan experts spread their bat wings and sent fierce winds surging toward the tower where Wumu stood, violently driving him down from it. The Yin Clan's Martial Arts Grand Ceremony was such a solemn ritual that it could not tolerate a huge wolf howling and shouting nearby—especially one with such a foul mouth. Kill one and eat one? What did he take the Yin Clan's juveniles for, snacks?
Yin Tianmie, who was presiding over the Martial Arts Grand Ceremony, expressionlessly glanced toward Yin Xuege, then lightly clapped his hands. From the distance came Wumu's loud curses, but soon they became muffled. No one knew who had stuffed what into his mouth, preventing him from making the slightest sound.
The corners of Yin Tianmie's mouth twitched, and his voice spread across the entire venue.
"The Extreme Generation members are responsible for the clan's daily affairs. According to custom, they do not need to participate in the Martial Arts Grand Ceremony!"
"Then now, it is time for the juveniles to show themselves!"
With a soft giggle, Yin Tianmie leisurely walked onto the arena and swept his gaze over the surrounding clan members.
"As everyone knows, several little fellows with excellent aptitudes have appeared among our Yin Clan's juveniles this year! They have all broken through successfully and possessed Star Warrior strength before the age of eighteen. Therefore, this year's Martial Arts Grand Ceremony will grant the first-place winner of the juvenile competition a great reward from the clan!"
He lightly tugged at the sleeve of his left hand with his right hand, drawing out a long sword that glowed a gorgeous scarlet red from tip to hilt.
"The other rewards are not worth mentioning. Only this Blood Spirit Sword deserves a proper introduction."
"This sword was not created in the present age. Before the Era of Dharma Decline, Grand Elder Yin Tianjue happened to obtain it as a wondrous treasure. It is no ordinary sharp weapon, but a Magic Artifact with a spirit. This sword accompanied Grand Elder through three hundred years of battle and established the Yin Clan's current foundation. It was later sealed by Grand Elder in the clan's Blood Transformation Pool, where it absorbed countless essences of blood and qi, increasing its power immeasurably."
Holding the scabbard in one hand and the hilt in the other, Yin Tianmie forcefully drew the Blood Spirit Sword.
A streak of blood light burst from the scabbard, and a sword cry rang across the entire venue. The Blood Spirit Sword broke free of Yin Tianmie's grasp like a living creature, transforming into a two-meter-long streak of blood light that circled the arena nine times with a sharp whistling sound before slowly stopping and hovering before Yin Tianmie.
The sword was more than five feet long, slender and delicate. Its blade was translucent scarlet, becoming increasingly transparent toward the tip. The final foot or so was completely invisible without concentrating one's sight.
Just one distant glance at the Blood Spirit Sword caused this thin, light, and incomparably sharp Magic Artifact to cut everyone's vision with an invisible sword intent. Countless people felt a stabbing pain in their eyes, and nearly everyone present instinctively closed their eyes for a moment, unable to open them for a long while.
"An ultimate spirit treasure!"
"How can Grand Elder bring out such a priceless treasure?"
"And give it to a mere juvenile? This is simply—simply absurd!"
"If such a treasure were given to us, it could at least increase our combat strength tenfold! Why give it to those little children?"
The countless Yin Clan experts present erupted in an uproar. One distant glance was enough to show that the Blood Spirit Sword was an extraordinary divine weapon. If such a supreme treasure were held by a Marquis, it might even allow him to kill a Duke across a level!
Such a priceless treasure could establish the foundation of a wealthy and powerful clan. It should be controlled by a true expert—how could it be handed to a juvenile?
"What a fine treasure. It must be mine!" Unlike the Yin Clan experts, the juveniles felt entirely differently. Yin Xueao, who had likewise broken through to the Star Warrior realm and had fought Yin Xuege since childhood, burst into laughter and forcefully rolled up his sleeves.
"That remains to be seen. Divine weapons belong to the virtuous. Little Brother Xueao, your elder brother will not hold back!" Yin Xuekui, several years older than Yin Xueao and only a few months away from turning eighteen and leaving the Children's Hall, also burst into laughter.
"You're all a bunch of trash. This Blood Spirit Sword is definitely mine!" Yin Xuejiao widened his eyes and stared at the Blood Spirit Sword without blinking.
Yin Xuege's blood suddenly began flowing much faster. A vein bulged on his forehead as he too stared at the Blood Spirit Sword with blazing eyes, already considering the divine weapon his own.
A divine weapon that had followed Yin Tianjue for three hundred years and established the Yin Clan's foundation had been brought out as the reward at this year's Martial Arts Grand Ceremony. Yin Xuege instantly understood the intention of Yin Tianjue and the other clan elders: the clan had officially begun supporting and nurturing the Sunwalker. But whether Yin Xuege could truly grow into an unrivaled expert would depend on how hard he worked himself!
If he became the first-place winner of the Children's Hall competition at the clan's Martial Arts Grand Ceremony, the Blood Spirit Sword would be his, and the clan's future support and nurturing would naturally flow without end.
But if this Sunwalker, Yin Xuege, actually lost to the other juveniles, then without a doubt, his standing and importance in Yin Tianjue and the others' hearts would be discounted. Whether he could continue enjoying sufficient privileges in the future would be another matter entirely!
With a soft snort, Yin Xuege suddenly leaped into the air. Blood light enveloped his body, and he dragged more than twenty afterimages behind him, reaching the arena in an instant.
"This Blood Spirit Sword is mine, Yin Xuege's!"
"If anyone refuses to accept it, come up here!"
Yin Xuege crossed his hands, and Blood Flame surged from his palms. Amid roaring winds, nine blood-colored fireballs the size of human heads appeared beside him and began spinning rapidly.
******
Pighead has been running around outside these past few days, so the two chapters released each day have been combined into one update!
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I still don't know whether I'll be able to find time to write over the next couple of days. (To be continued)
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