Chapter 322 322 – Conclusion of the Martial Arts Summit
"Ah, this was an eventful tournament," Alaric stretched his arms. The group boarded a ship heading back to the sect. They had to stop every few seconds to cup their fists in a traditional greeting toward the other disciples who wanted to make friends with them.
A few weeks passed since the ordeal of the Mysterious Mountain Sect and the Myriad Beasts Sect. After a three-day break to repair the damage from the Supremacy Phase cultivators' battle, the Martial Arts Summit continued.
In the upcoming rounds, the unranked sects' disciples worked alongside the Serene Lotus Sect and fended off the cultivators from the rest of the great sects as agreed by the elders. As for the Myriad Beasts Sect, they pulled out of the competition, and none of their disciples remained in the valley.
"Our fellow brothers and sisters were quite lucky, they didn't have to fight alone against nineteen sects," Alaric kept talking when he saw nobody was planning to answer his previous remark.
"True, they had it much easier. Not only did they have allies to share the burden with them, but they also had fewer enemies," Ken replied, knowing that talking to friends was important to Alaric. Ken saw it as relationship maintenance.
"Amitabha, share peace and make friends." The monk found a cozy corner for himself and delved into meditation as always, although the group knew he was still listening to the conversation.
They had noticed the reduction in cooperation among the great sects after a few rounds in the next rounds. Most sects outside the top ten have kept their heads low ever since the incident with the Myriad Beasts Sect.
It didn't take a genius to deduct they held the Serene Lotus Sect accountable for the massacre and preferred not to pull fire on themselves. Losing 30% of the Supremacy Phase cultivator would be a huge blow to any sect, one that almost ensured losing their title for a couple of hundred years.
Although their legacies were recorded and remained behind, there would be no elder to guide the new generation on how to cultivate them, increasing the difficulty of entering the seventh stage multiple times.
After that fated night in which the Serene Lotus Sect sent a warning to all sects, their disciples only had to face an organized front from nine sects while working together with the five unranked sects to resist them. The new balance achieved allowed to reduce the casualties by more than half and increase them on the other side.
The unranked sects also did not stay idle; they challenged the other ranked sects, and the precedent of the Mysterious Mountain Sect made it much easier to pass any doubts the other great sects had. Now, they were ranked 20th, 18th, 16th, 15th, and 14th, taking into their hands around twelve percent of the continent's lands.
Ken was not privy to the details, but it was general knowledge that the rest of the great twenty sects had agreed to monitor the lands for the time being and make sure the new sects were righteous and took good care of the locals. There were even rumors that any spark in the area could turn into a full-fledged war.
"By the way, do you know what is going to happen to the sects who were stripped of their ranks?" This time it was Ken, he had a few goals to achieve with one of the fallen sects.
There was a slight tension whenever the topic of the new order in the continent came up in a conversation. People couldn't help but feel threatened. The position of a great sect seemed set in stone, yet five sects were overthrown in a single Martial Arts Summit.
Worst yet, the Shadowland Sect still hasn't published the full information on the new five ranked sects, which helped shroud them in uncertainty and mystery.
"I believe their recruitments will drop in the next 50 years, their income will also drop significantly, and they might try again in fifty years if the status quo remains the same without regional wars," Tiara speculated based on her logic.
"One should not be consumed by greed and anger. This monk thinks those sects should introspect themselves," Henry added. His meaning was that rather than focus on their current loss, they should reinforce their current forces.
If they bring out their stash of treasures and resources to boost their disciples in the short term, they have the chance to get their spot back fifty years later in the next Martial Arts Summit. None of the great sects were poor, and all of them had treasuries filled with wealth for such unexpected situations. In a sense, it was not different from war.
"By the way, you guys never told me what you think about my new fighting style. Pretty awesome, isn't it?" Alaric said with a proud smile, his chest puffed like a male peacock. He brough the guqin out of his storage ring for emphasize.
"You are too coarse for it, it's better if you use the spear again," Tiara shrugged. She also thought his symphonies were good, but she did not appreciate the secrecy he enforced until the demonstration.
"I'm sure Tiara liked it. You two can now work together as a entertainers; You can play, and Tiara can dance," Ken smiled and teased them both before they could start another quarrel.
"I'd rather play for a prettier girl," Alaric glared at his teammate, unwilling to take the jab without returning the favor.
"Hmph."
"Anyway, I guess it's time to go home and keep training. We need to hone our intents and techniques. We also need to look into the seventh stage soon. If the chance to take advantage of those sects arises, we will think of a plan to use it."
Ken learned from his great uncle, Fernando, that during the breakthrough to the seventh stage, one would have to pick one or two major Qi types. The creation of a domain seed requires too much Qi, and one can only absorb enough Qi to form a single seed.
Solely with the aid of high-rank formations, one has the chance to achieve two domain seeds. Ken and his group, however, all had more than two attributes. Even if they were given the required resources from the sect, they still would have to give up on one attribute, even two in Ken's case.
"We are not giving up on our strengths. We will continue to be at the top at every given time, and we will not compromise on our cultivation," Ken said decisively, ensuring that none of his teammates had any thoughts of escaping difficulties by conforming to the norm of the cultivation world.
"But how? It's impossible and even the Serene Lotus Sect and the Infinite Wisdom Sect are unable to produce such cultivators. How can we do it?" Alaric voiced his doubts. He saw Ken do the impossible and create new Heaven-rank techniques for the whole group, but it was something entirely different.
"I don't know the righteous way to do it, but I've made some preparations to do it in the unconventional way supposing we fail to do it traditionally," Ken smiled coldly in response.
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Volume 6 - Martial Arts Summit - The End.
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