Chapter 251 251: Clear Outcome
?The Great Elder assumed that Xu Shan was from a powerful family from a faraway land and had run away from his home. It made perfect sense for him that the young man didn't know what a Dragon Pass was.
"A Dragon Pass is something that allows you to enter the Royal Palace and attend the banquet of young prodigies," he explained to Xu Shan.
Xu Shan looked at the old man weirdly. That was it? That was why everyone was fighting for this pass? All so they could attend a Royal Banquet?
He had thought that the Dragon Pass was some treasure or related to some ancient legacy which was able to prompt a quest for him.
"I'm sure you don't think highly of the Royal Banquet." The Grand Elder smiled, even more certain that Xu Shan was from a powerful family. He was even looking down on a royal banquet of this Kingdom.
"For powerful families, there might not be anything special in this banquet, but for our Sects, this is a great opportunity to get acquainted with the Prince. It's an opportunity that many people would die for."
Xu Shan heard the Grand Elder, simply nodding. He was also a Prince in his world so he understood how ordinary people often tried to get close to the Royal Family.
"That's not all," the young girl behind the Elder chimed in. "It's said the banquet this time is going to be different from every other banquet. The Emperor would personally be attending it! He might even teach a few things to the talented geniuses!"
"The opportunity to directly learn from the Emperor who is the strongest person in the Kingdom... Even our Sect Master would have taken this opportunity if he was allowed to!'
The youngsters looked excited as they talked about the Emperor. Xu Shan could see their fascination with the Ruler of this land. It was as if they were little children who were talking about their idol.
'A meeting with the Emperor, huh.' Xu Shan remained silent as he thought about the new information he had gathered.
If it was just about meeting the Prince, this banquet didn't sound any specific. But when the Emperor got involved, everything became different. He wondered if the quest had anything to do with the Emperor.
While he was lost in thoughts, the Grand Elder approached the Elder on the other side. Both of them greeted each other, but one side was clearly more smug and confident.
"Since the outcome is already clear, let's get it over with." The Elder of the Eleventh Mountain stated.
"You can't be so certain about the outcome. You might be in for a surprise this year," the Elder who came with Xu Shan replied, keeping a mild smile.
"We will see..."
As the two Elders agreed to start, they opened a portal by combining their forces, opening a doorway to another place.
None of the two explained anything to the youngsters who were already aware about what they had to do.
The disciples of both the mountains entered the portal in their groups, burning with motivation.
In the distance, Xu Shan watched everyone enter. Only he was left behind, but there was no way for him to enter. He wasn't part of the sect.
The portal soon closed after the two groups entered.
One of the Elders brought out a small mirror that showed the list of names. The names belonged to everyone who had entered the Spatial Realm. In front of their names, their scores were written.
None could see what was happening on the other side. All they could see was the score that the mirror revealed.
The two elders occasionally glanced at the mirror as they waited for the result. Within ten minutes, the scores started rising, albeit very slowly.
The Elder of the Tenth Mountain let out a laugh, seeing that most of the top ten ranking was dominated by his disciples.
There were only two people from the eleventh mountain in the top ten. And the highest amongst them was Xin Mei, who was at the fifth ranking in the scoreboard.
"So much for the overconfidence," Divine Empress scoffed, looking at the ranking of the girl who kept looking down on Xu Shan throughout the journey.
"It looks like the outcome is clear." Xu Shan also nodded. There was no way for the eleventh mountain to win if they maintained this speed.
In any case, it didn't matter to him. Even if they didn't win, he wasn't harmed in the least. The only problem was the quest which told him to rank first. How could he do that when he wasn't even allowed to take part in it?
In the end, he decided that this quest wasn't serious. There was no way for him to complete it without making this entire sect his enemy.
He decided to let go of the quest, standing in silence.
"I don't recognise seeing that young friend before. Is he a new disciple you took in?" The Elder of the Tenth Mountain was in a great mood as his disciples were performing as he expected.
He didn't even pay much attention to the score, and shifted his attention to the young man standing in the back.
He couldn't see through the young man. At times, the man felt like a Celestial Immortal realm cultivator and at other times, he felt like an ordinary mortal without the least bit of aura.
"I suppose that's not the case," the Tenth Elder answered his own question, without even waiting for the Eleventh Elder.
"If he was your disciple, you would've sent him with the others. He's the strongest out of the entire group after all. In fact, I doubt anyone from my group would be able to defeat him."
The Eleventh Elder nodded. "He's not my Disciple. He's a guest of mine."
"You brought an outsider to this place?" The Tenth Elder frowned. "What were you thinking? Did you forget the rules?"
"It's nothing for you to worry about," the Eleventh Elder responded. "I remember the rules perfectly. I'll personally explain to the Sect Leader later."
"If you say so," the Tenth Elder didn't dwell on the topic, even though he was curious about Xu Shan who was quite young to possess this level of cultivation.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel