The twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month.
The front hall of Thousand Wood Temple was packed with people, several times livelier than usual. First, disciples from various sects had arrived; second, the Outer Sect had been permitted to enter the Inner Sect during this period, so Outer Disciples were practically stationed around the front hall plaza all day.
A high platform for martial contests had been erected in the front hall plaza. Powerful barrier arrays had been laid around and beneath it, ensuring that even Immortal Realm cultivators fighting at full strength could not damage the platform in the slightest.
Twenty thousand spectator seats had also been built around the high platform, with broad standing areas behind them. At this moment, both the seats and the standing areas behind them were packed to the brim.
In the seats with the best view on the eastern side, Liu Shuang wore a magnificent blue Daoist Robe and sat upright in a chair distinct from all the others. The black spirit hound lying at her feet kept looking around.
To Liu Shuang's left and right sat Burning Fire, representative of the True Sun Sect, and Liu Shuibin, representative of the Earth Cave Sect. The three of them essentially represented most of Central Province's cultivation world.
"Thousand Wood Temple has five Immortal Realm disciples who made it into the final rounds this time. It looks like they have a strong chance of taking first place!" Daoist Burning Fire said with a trace of envy as he stared at the sixteen people on the high platform. The True Sun Sect's elite disciples had important duties to attend to, so the disciples sent to participate in the grand competition were all quite young. Only two had reached the final rounds.
Furthermore, after the True Sun