Chapter 294 294 – Let the Battle Royale Begin!
"Let's go," Ken said and looked at his teammates behind him. Three of them were in perfect condition, while the fourth seemed somewhat haggard.
"Team Leader," George started using the same way to refer to Ken as Alaric, "I help you guys out by being your fifth, right? Can you please reward me with some Qi Stones for this favor?" He asked nervously.
"Did you get scammed by that woman?" Ken asked with a smile.
"I wouldn't say "scammed", I'm sure she was caught up in something and couldn't make it. Please, Team Leader, my father will kill me if he finds out I wasted my accumulations of four years for a girl!"
"This monk had warned you," Henry sighed.
"No, you just said something weird and left!" George's face turned somewhat red in his embarrassment. He was a proud disciple of the strongest sect yet got scammed by a girl who took advantage of his lust, "I always succeed with the girls when I reveal my status, I don't know what happened this time," he mumbled.
"Stop embarrassing yourself, she was from a rival sect. Here, take 10,000. As for the rest, take it as a lesson for the next time you start thinking from places that aren't your brain," Ken tossed the man some Qi Stones and walked away, his group behind him. That amount did not make a difference for Ken with his income, so he didn't mind paying George that much for his help.
"Thank you, Team Leader!"
With a sigh of relief, George followed the group from behind to the Martial Arts Summit. The journey to the base of the small mountain was brief, filled with quiet anticipation that seemed to grow with each step they took toward the platform.
The five soon reached the base of the small mountain, seeing many people assembling all around the platform. Just when the group was wondering who was going to run the show, a loud voice came from the middle of the platform.
"Welcome to the Martial Arts Summit, I'm your man, Steve Howard!" A man's voice reverberated throughout the whole avenue, reaching even the furthest peak in the area.
"As par with our tradition, we will commence with the youngest bracket, meant for people between the ages of 20 to 29! Would you like to hear something exciting? I was just told the competition's rules for the first round! If you want to know them too, let me hear your applause!"
To the group's surprise, around half of the mountains burst into applause and cheers, making Ken and the others try to understand which sects occupied those places. Ken knew that every top disciple did their best to act aloof in public, it was unlike them to applaud.
"Hmph, the commentator is lucky to have the guest spectators every tournament, or he'd be met with silence," Ken heard someone's sneer nearby. From the conversations around him, he learned that the cheering crowd was not part of the delegation of any sect, but independent cultivators or unranked sect members who arrived by themselves.
"What a great crowd we have this time around! For those who are new, let me explain. Every sect in the top twenty is allowed to send up to five hundred disciples for every bracket, making it up to ten thousand contenders only from the top sects! Additionally, every other sect on the continent can send up to a hundred disciples, and this year, we have fifteen of them, making it fifteen hundred additional fighters. How do we cull the numbers down quickly, you ask? BATTLE ROYALE!"
With the last two words dragons made of water soared to the sky and started coiling around themselves, forming the words "BATTLE ROYALE" in large letters above the center of the platform. Many had already taken out their goggles and binoculars, unwilling to miss any of the special effects the Infinite Wisdom Sect had arranged.
"Let us welcome the fighters into the ring, everybody! First, the fifteen unranked sects may climb onto the platform and enter the nearest area!"
The crowd clapped their hands again, and about 1,500 disciples jumped from various mountains onto the platform, some trying to impress the spectators with displays of different elements and weapons, while others chose to simply slide their way as gracefully as they could without any other techniques.
"First among the sects, we have the twentieth-ranked sect, the mighty Jade Sky Sect!"
Sculptures made of jade floated in the air, surrounded by fire, water, and light. The suspense among the crowd soared with the beating of drums, loud enough to shake the ground, as a few hundred disciples from the twentieth-highest mountain rushed down towards the valley.
"Now, let's welcome the nineteenth-ranked sect, also known as the great Twilight Veil Sect!"
Perhaps it was a disadvantage now, but cultivators had a lot of time given their long lives. Every sect took its time to make an entrance, prolonging the entrance ceremony for more than two hours. While it was interesting to watch at first, Ken found himself wishing for it to end.
"And now, finally, we reached the top five sects, the most powerful forces in our realm, starting with my own sect! Known for the genius scholars it nurtures, known for the innovative ideas, and for being the richest in the world, greet the Infinite Wisdom Sect!"
When he finally reached the top five sects, Steve took more time to present the incoming sects, giving them the respect they deserved.
"Finally, the only interesting sects," Alaric said with a hint of disdain toward the other sects. They watched in silence as the red-wearing cultivators activated all kinds of gadgets and scrolls, practically burning money for pretty lights and tricks.
"Next, famous for being masters of weapons, namely the sword and the saber, The Divine Sword Sect! Who would dare challenge them in a display of swordsmanship?!"
His scream echoed through, nearly inciting a riot amongst the crowd. Disciples adorned in yellow and white leaped from the fourth-highest mountain, their weapons dancing in their hands as they showcased their beautiful martial arts.
"Here, wear this for the next fight," Ken handed Alaric one of his masks, a golden one shaped like the head of a wolf, "With your new style, they won't recognize it's you."
"Thank you," Alaric said, accepting the mask with a nod. He had no desire to be identified by members of his former sect, especially now. The revelation that a core disciple from one of the top five sects had gone rogue, taking a treasured inheritance with him, could stir unnecessary complications.
"Do you want one as well?" Ken turned to Tiara.
"No thanks, hiding my face completely would affect my charm. I might use a veil, but the Phoenix Feather Sect is our enemy anyway, so it probably doesn't matter much," she explained and refused.
"Now, we have the flashiest sect in our realm, the controllers of elements, The Four Seasons Sect!" Steve's voice pulled Ken's attention back to the valley.
His words were proven by the dragons, phoenixes, tigers, and other beasts formed of every possible element that took shape and made a spectacular performance. On the ground, many disciples wearing black and white robes descended to the valley.
"Are you excited, people?! It's one of the most enigmatic sects, a place filled with monks and demons, cultivators whose arms and legs are weapons, and their bodies themselves are tougher than a shield, it's the Peaceful Demon Sect!"
A stream of orange mixed with white entered the platform with a loud humming sound that seemed to have a calming effect on the listeners, turning the agitated crowd silent.
"Ah, I already feel like all the stress had left my body and dissipated into thin air! But I must not rest, as it's my duty to finally introduce one of the most interesting sects, their cultivators are unrestrained and unpredictable, their powers are as diverse as humanity itself! The strongest sect of our continent, The Serene Lotus Sect!"
He shouted loudly, hyping the crowd into screaming their cheers and boos. The calming effect of the monks seemed to disappear as if it never happened. Ken and Tiara entered the flat area with the ground made of stone. They did not try to use any techniques, instead letting the other disciples perform their tricks. As for Henry, Alaric, and George, they had to remain behind until the next age group's turn.
Lotuses appeared in the sky, and supersonic booms accompanied the creation of each lotus. The petals then separated into a storm of white-pink leaves that were scattered all over the platform in a beautiful scene.
"Fighters, you are going to get a participant token. Once this token is destroyed, you will be teleported outside the formation and the battlefield. Once there are 1024 pairs remaining, the 2v2 bracket will begin!" Steve gave them the basic information they needed.
Thousands of tokens the size of a palm descended from the sky, each assigned to one participant. Knowing what to do, they all smeared a drop of blood on the tokens and channeled their Qi to bind them.
"Huh, it had been long since I wore one," Ken's face distorted in an evil smile as he brought his white mask out of his ring, instantly feeling the urge to kill someone. He had not killed anyone in a long time, and the pressure from his Bloodlust cultivation was pent-up inside him. In fact, he felt like the urge only turned stronger ever since he broke through, perhaps because of the golden energy that filled his nascent soul.
He had one more reason to smile - he saw that many of his fellow male disciples wore masks as well, a gesture of the Serene Lotus Sect to the enemy sects who placed a target on the back of the masked Devil's Heir, serving two purposes - provoking their enemies and making identifying Ken a harder task.
"LET THE BATTLE ROYALE BEGIN, MAY THE BEST CULTIVATORS SHINE!" Steve shouted and the water dragons that hovered in the sky all this time exploded, making droplets fly in all directions.
R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at freew𝒆(b)novel.c(o)m Only