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The elders decided to take a wait-and-see approach on what to do about this matter.
If only the Sect Leader was around he would have been the one to make this decision. But now, no one knows when he will return from his secluded cultivation.
And until he does, the Vice Sect Leader will be the one in control.
Basically, the elders were split into four factions.
Some had boarded the ship of the Vice Sect Leader and his son Crixus, and some were followers of the Sect Leader and supported his disciple-in-name.
Then, some want to follow the old law of the Founder and make Arthur the Prime Disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect as he was the first to clear the tower.
Aside from these three, there remained elders that took a neutral stance on the matter.
While they waited for the news of Crixus' attempt on the Sword Tower, the Ranking Battles of the Inner and Outer Court had begun.
In the Outer Court Battle Arena...
The new top ten disciples sat on a different platform, with one seat empty.
"Where is Invincible, is he not going to participate?" An outer court disciple asked what was in the minds of many.
The beginning of the ranking battles have been announced and the first stage which was a Battle Royal had begun, but Arthur was nowhere to be seen.
"I don't know. But I heard he might be entering the Inner Court instead," a female outer court disciple replied.
"Huh? How come I haven't heard of it?" Someone didn't believe it.
"Hehe, of course, you haven't. I myself was only able to get this information from my beloved who is a member of the Invincible Sword Faction."
"Really? But if that is true, then isn't his speed too fast?" This disciple was astonished.
Soon, word spread amongst the spectating disciples and it became the only thing they talked about, ignoring the battle that was going on in the arena.
But while some believe that Arthur had improved to the next realm and had met the qualifications to enter the Inner Court, many still had doubts due to the short amount of time he took.
Arthur had only been in the sect for six months and now he was already advancing, so many found it hard to believe.
As they discussed and debated the possibility of This being the truth, their words entered the ear of the top ten disciples.
"Hmph! That Invincible is going to bite off more than he can chew!" Quan spoke is a bit of hatred.
He was now the second-ranked disciple in the outer court, but because of the existence of Arthur, he couldn't raise his head high as he always imagined when he achieved the rank of number two.
"Yeah, does he thinks he is ready to face the brutality of the Inner Court? He is just flapping his wings while he can, the Blood Sword Faction will cripple them soon enough," another added.
Most of them didn't like the way Arthur who was a new disciple quickly rose above them.
While the truth is that they were envious of him and would rather see him fail than succeed.
It didn't matter if they were at the top, but they would not want to see someone they disliked getting to the top.
And most importantly of all, they were die-hard followers of the Blood Sword Faction, and therefore full supporters of Crixus.
"If it wasn't for this event I would have loved to go see Young Master Crixus ascend the tower again."
"Yeah, it is said that the greater your cultivation, the harder it is to ascend the tower and the Martial King Realm is the limit."
While the converse tie Battle Royal was almost concluded.
Several persons stood out in the battle and most of them were the members of the Invincible Sword Faction.
Sun Wukong, Balor, and Luke faced no challenge whatsoever when the members of the Blood Sword Faction ganged up against them.
Sun Wukong moved in an unsteady manner as though he is influenced by strong wine, but his fists will always accurately take out his opponents in an unexpected way.
"Drunken Monkey Fists!"
"Argh!"
Another person got knocked off the stage and Sun Wukong was beginning to fall In love with this fighting technique that had appeared in his mind
He had discovered that it isn't just effective in one on one battles but also when he is besieged by multiple enemies, at his footwork had improved greatly.
So this Battle Royal was just child's play to him, and he was having fun.
"Woocha!" Sun Wukong shouted as he gave an uppercut to another one.
*dud!*
Meanwhile, Balor was skillfully taking down his opponents without releasing his Sword Intent.
The same thing was happening with Luke whose movement technique was unmatched in the arena.
At this point, it was no longer a question of taking the first three spots of the top ten rankings, but rather who among them will be ranked first, second, or third.
So there was a silent competition among the three.
As the battle in the Outer Court Battle Arena continued, the first floor of the Sword Tower lighted up.
"He has begun," a Core Disciple spoke looking at the tower with other core disciples with him.
"Do you think he will succeed?" One asked in doubt.
They were all members of the Blood Sword Faction.
"You did not watch the battle did you?"
"No, Vice Leader. I only heard of it like the others. But what really happened?"
The Vice Leader of the Blood Sword Faction grinned, "Well, let's just say, the sect wanted to preserve the pride of the elder. That's all I will tell you."
The others saw the underlying meaning in his words and became shocked.
And while they remained astonished, the fifth floor of the tower lighted up.
As Crixus ascended the Sword Tower, Arthur was attending to another matter.
Within his residence in the Outer Court, two people stood before him with vacant eyes.
Arthur held the bridge of his nose and sighed.
"So that's what happened..."
Cora was also there with him.
"Should I release them?"
"Yes, and take away the memories of what transpired and plant false ones."
"Okay."
After that, Cora extended her finger and her Soul Power was released into the mind of the two brothers.
When she was done, she returned to the Serene Palace Painting, and their eyes became focused again.
"Okay, Leader we will go watch the Outer Court Ranking Battles now."
Arthur merely nodded to them and watched them leave without giving any remark.
Only, the brothers have no idea they were already on his blacklist.
"Evelyn is not to blame. But how do I handle this matter?" Arthur came short of making a decision.
"I will handle it later. For now, I have an audience waiting for me."
Arthur walked out of his residence and made his way into the core part of the sect where the most important disciples and elders dwelled.
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This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦