The Martial Arts Arena was surrounded by flags of every color. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's dragon-banner, the Clear Sky Sect's Clear Sky Hammer banner, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Seven Treasure Pagoda Flag fluttered in the wind, snapping loudly.
The viewing platform was divided into four VIP sections. The eastern side belonged to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Yu Yuanzhen and several elders were already seated, with Yu Xiaogang at Yu Yuanzhen's side. Dressed in a golden battle robe, he looked down on the crowd, his gaze sweeping across the arena.
The western side belonged to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Sect Master Ning Yuan sat there with Ning Fengzhi and several core elders.
The southern side belonged to the Clear Sky Sect. A group of burly, formidable-looking men sat together, led by the Clear Sky Sect's Sect Master, Tang Aotian, and two young men beside him who looked to be in their early twenties.
One of the young men was tall and powerfully built, with a resolute face and eyes bright as torches. An overwhelmingly domineering aura radiated from him, as if he were a sharp sword drawn from its sheath.
The other was a little more reserved, but his bearing was just as extraordinary. Steadiness and confidence showed between his brows. They were none other than the Clear Sky Twin Stars—Tang Hao and Tang Xiao.
Yu Tianlong stood among the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's group. His gaze passed over the two brothers, and he nodded to himself.
The Clear Sky Twin Stars truly lived up to their reputation.
Both men had top-tier talent. In the future, they would be Super Douluos at the very least. But soon, something in another direction caught his attention.
In the VIP section on the northern side, a flag embroidered with a golden angel slowly rose. The people from Spirit Hall had arrived.
Spirit Hall's Pope, Qian Xunji.
He looked to be in his early forties. He wore a luxurious gold-and-white papal robe and a golden crown. His handsome face was solemn, and every gesture carried the bearing of someone accustomed to command.
His gaze swept calmly across the arena, as if everything lay within his control.
Standing beside Qian Xunji was a young girl.
She looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, dressed in a simple white gown. Her long, waterfall-like black hair fell to her waist, and her features were exquisitely beautiful, yet as cold as frost.
Her eyes were distant and vacant, as if she had no interest in anything around her. She simply stood there quietly, yet naturally became the center of attention.
Spirit Hall's arrival pushed the atmosphere at the venue to another peak.
As the continent's foremost power in plain sight, Spirit Hall's influence was beyond question.
The Pope, Qian Xunji, had come in person, lending this Three Sects Grand Competition extraordinary weight.
Discussion rippled across the viewing platform. Everyone's gaze focused on the imposing Pope and the cold young girl in the white dress beside him.
"Is that Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden? She looks so young..."
"I heard she's only fourteen, but already a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor! And she has Twin Martial Souls!"
"Twin Martial Souls? My heavens... That talent is terrifying!"
"Otherwise, how could she become Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden? I hear His Holiness the Pope thinks very highly of her and teaches her personally. She might even inherit the papal seat one day!"
"A fourteen-year-old Soul Ancestor with Twin Martial Souls... How are us old-timers who've lived for decades supposed to feel about that..."
The surrounding chatter reached his ears, and Yu Tianlong's gaze also fell on the girl in white. Bibi Dong—that name represented far too much in the original story.
She was Spirit Hall's future female pope, one of the continent's most powerful figures, and a woman whose life was steeped in tragedy.
Deceived by her teacher, forced, exploited... She had scarcely ever truly lived for herself.
Everything she did later, whether expanding Spirit Hall's power or suppressing the great sects, was inseparable from what she had suffered in her youth.
I wonder who should be blamed. Yu Tianlong sighed softly to himself and looked away.
Those thoughts flashed through his mind and were gone. He had his own business to attend to now, and no energy to spare worrying over someone else's fate.
The competition began soon after.
An elder of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan stepped onto the stage and announced the rules.
This Three Sects Grand Competition would use a challenge format and consist of two stages. The first stage was the Loose Cultivator Selection Tournament, open to all young Soul Masters outside the three sects, with the top three advancing.
The second stage was the sect finals, where the top three loose cultivators would compete alongside the core disciples of the three sects to determine the champion. Participants had to be under twenty.
Once the rules had been announced, there was no unnecessary talk. The competition officially began.
The Loose Cultivator Selection Tournament went first. Around fifty or sixty loose cultivators had signed up. Their abilities varied widely: most were two- or three-ring Soul Grandmasters and Soul Elders, while Soul Ancestors were few and far between.
The matches followed an elimination format. Two contestants would take the stage to fight; the winner advanced, and the loser was eliminated.
Yu Tianlong didn't hurry to take the stage. He stood below it with his arms folded, quietly observing the matches.
The first two to take the stage were young Soul Masters around twenty years old. One had an Iron-Back Gray Wolf Martial Soul and was a thirty-seven-level Soul Elder.
The other had a Green Wind Eagle Martial Soul and was a thirty-five-level Soul Elder. Their strength was evenly matched, and they traded blows back and forth. In the end, the Iron-Back Gray Wolf Soul Master narrowly won thanks to his greater combat experience and stamina.
The second match, then the third... One contest after another played out. The crowd's cheers rose and fell, but Yu Tianlong's expression remained as calm as still water. These loose cultivators really weren't much.
In his eyes, their fighting techniques and use of Soul Power were far too crude. They weren't just a level below Little Gold and Little Silver; they were more than a level behind the disciples carefully trained by the great sects.
No wonder it's so hard for loose cultivators to make a name for themselves on the continent, Yu Tianlong thought.
Without good cultivation methods, resources, or guidance, it's far too difficult to carve out a place for yourself through your own efforts.
If he hadn't encountered the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, if he hadn't received help from Di Tian and Bi Ji, he probably wouldn't have been much stronger than these loose cultivators.
"Brother Tianlong, aren't you going up?" Ning Fengzhi came over and asked curiously.
As the young master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he naturally didn't need to take part in the Loose Cultivator Selection Tournament. But he was very interested in Yu Tianlong's abilities and wanted to see how his savior performed on the stage.
"No rush. Let's watch for a while." Yu Tianlong smiled. "Let things play out for a bit."
"Bullets?" Ning Fengzhi froze, not understanding the strange word. But he didn't press the matter, only nodding. "Then good luck! I'll cheer you on!"
Yu Tianlong nodded and turned his gaze back to the stage. A Soul Elder who had just won was waving his fists triumphantly, basking in the crowd's cheers.
His abilities were indeed quite good among the loose cultivators: a thirty-eight-level Soul Elder whose Martial Soul was a Flame Lion, with considerable attack power.
"That's the one." Yu Tianlong made up his mind.
He headed for the registration desk and wrote his name on the entry form.
"Yu Tianlong!"