Change of Heavenly Yuan (3)

Hongnong.

Both banks of the Yuanhuai River flowing down from the mountaintop blazed with lights. During the Tianyuan Grand Competition, the Sword Sect's mountain gate was always exceptionally lively. At this hour of sunset, with the sun slanting westward, the busiest districts were perhaps Minggan Ward and the area around Everbright Street.

The former was mostly where ordinary folk gathered. During the competition, the Sword Sect waived all expenses across several nearby commercial streets, sharing in the festivities with the people.

The latter, meanwhile, was where cultivators congregated. Cultivators clad in the attire of various sects flew and landed throughout the area, while waves of laughter, chatter, and clamor drifted from the clusters of elegant pavilions and taverns below. Reclusive Rogue Cultivators drank alone in silence, while handsome young talents, their eyes flushed with rosy intoxication, traded cups with fairy maidens.

And beyond that, some discordant conflicts were unavoidable as well.

The Tianyuan Grand Competition was a grand gathering for sects across the realm.

Those able to accompany their sect elders here were the strongest geniuses within their own sects. All considered themselves extraordinary, and upon arriving at such a grand event for the first time, it was inevitable that youthful hotheadedness would flare. Moreover, this was the season of the competition itself. So long as no one died, the Sword Sect even encouraged such conflicts.

As the date of the Tianyuan Grand Competition drew near, representatives from every sect arrived at the mountain gate one after another. Some made their names here, their brilliance impossible to conceal; others had their edges ground away and their proud backbones broken.

These geniuses gradually began dividing themselves into ranks through their conflicts. By now, the various circles had mostly taken shape.

At the top, unsurprisingly, were the first disciples and heirs produced