Late at night, the banquet ended.
Under the guidance of a maidservant, the group from Azure Sun Temple walked towards their accommodations and soon arrived at a mountain peak. The mountain peak was filled with abundant Spiritual Qi and the scenery was beautiful. The gentle moonlight poured down on the ground and illuminated the surroundings.
On the top of the mountain, there was a palace that was brightly lit. This was the place where the Azure Sun Temple disciples had settled down and the disciples had all come to rest.
After the maidservant led everyone here, she respectfully retreated while leading someone else to the guest room.
Not long after, everything was arranged, and after tidying up a little, Yang Kai’s heart stirred. Taking out a Communication Compass, he frowned, opened the door, and walked out.
Turning a corner, he came to another room and knocked lightly.
“Come in,” Gao Xueting’s voice came from inside.
Yang Kai pushed open the door and saw Wen Zishan, Luo Chen, Xiao Baiyi, and Murong Xiaoxiao in the room. He couldn’t help asking suspiciously, “What’s wrong?”
Wen Zishan held a jade slip in his hand and shook it, “There is something to do.”
Saying so, he flicked the jade slip over.
Yang Kai caught it and closed the door, sweeping his Divine Sense over it before asking curiously, “What is this?”
There was a list of names in the jade slip, each of which had a number on it, causing Yang Kai to be confused. He saw his own name on it, and it had appeared more than once.
Gao Xueting explained, “We brought our team here not only to supervise the disciples’ competition, but also to act as judges.”
“Referee?” Yang Kai was stunned.
“That’s right,” Gao Xueting explained, “The Martial Meeting is divided into three stages: Principle Source Stage, Void King Realm, and Void Return Realm. Not to mention, Principle Source Stage disciples can not be underestimated, so they need an Emperor Realm to judge them. Firstly, this is to ensure that the competition is fair, and secondly, to ensure that they don’t accidentally kill anyone during the competition.”
As she said this, Yang Kai began to understand. Although the Martial Meeting was a competition, if a fight really broke out, the situation would rapidly change, and it was highly likely that some unnecessary casualties would occur. In order to avoid this, a stronger cultivator would naturally have to stand guard. Only an Emperor Realm master would be able to prevent a Principle Source Stage cultivator from participating in the Martial Meeting. Otherwise, if more than a hundred people died, no one would be able to save their face.
After understanding this, Yang Kai carefully looked at the jade slip and asked, “In other words, I need to be in charge of Arena Eight for a total of five days?”
Gao Xueting nodded and said, “En, the Martial Meeting has a total of one month. In the individual battle, Junior Brother Yang will be in charge of Arena Number Eight. Remember the time, the rest of the time will be taken by others.”
Yang Kai nodded, indicating that he had remembered.
This time, so many Emperor Realm masters had gather in the Southern Domain, so even though the Martial Meeting had lasted for a month, Yang Kai only needed to watch it for five days. The rest would naturally take turns, Yang Kai couldn’t just watch it for thirty days.
Thinking about it for a moment, Yang Kai said, “Isn’t this giving some people a chance to play favoritism? If their own Sect’s disciples were to participate, it would be hard to avoid taking care of them.”
Wen Zishan chuckled, “We’re all people who care about face, so even if there’s an opportunity, no one will make it too obvious and try their best to ensure fairness. In addition, besides you judges who are responsible for each arena, there are also other people who will be paying attention to the various arenas. It won’t be easy to cheat.”
Gao Xueting said, “In any case, you must remember one thing, don’t let anyone die. In other situations, you must act appropriately.”
Yang Kai nodded and said, “I’ll try my best.” He didn’t think much of it. Although this was the first time in his life he had done something like refereeing, with his current strength, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to protect two Principle Source Stage masters while fighting.
In addition to Yang Kai, Xiao Baiyi, Murong Xiaoxiao, and the others also had this mission, so everyone had to serve as judges for almost five days.
Wen Zishan gave a few more instructions before everyone dispersed. Gao Xueting took out her Communication Compass and summoned the disciples who were participating in the competition before giving them some instructions.
At the same time, on top of another Spirit Peak, in a secret room, a burly man sat on the ground, black Qi swirling around his body, filling the entire room, constantly twisting and turning like snakes, looking extremely terrifying.
A knock came from outside the door, and the burly man suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes filled with a dark red color. He didn’t have the slightest trace of white, and anyone who was timid would be scared to death.
At the same time he opened his eyes, the black Qi in the secret room seemed to have been summoned and retreated back into his body. His crimson eyes gradually returned to their original color and the black Qi disappeared, making him look no different from an ordinary person.
“Come in!” A dignified voice rang out as the door opened and a middle-aged man stepped in.
The burly man looked up at him, “Why is that guy here?”
The old man frowned and said, “I’m also very surprised. It’s been more than ten years since I’ve heard any news about him. It’s said that he’s no longer in the Southern Domain and I don’t know why he’s suddenly appeared.”
The burly man said, “What the hell is Wen Zishan doing? Could it be that he was specially called over for the Martial Meeting?”
“Perhaps it was just a coincidence?”
The burly man snorted coldly, “Whether it’s a coincidence or not, we can’t let this person live, it’s a hindrance to our plan.”
The old man raised his brow, “Sir means…”
“It’s better to be safe than sorry. Find a way to get rid of him.”
The old man was silent for a moment before frowning, “This person is not easy to eliminate.”
“If it’s easy to get rid of, why did I call you here? The Martial Meeting will last for a month. Within a month, we need to think of a safe way to leave no traces.”
“Yes!” The old man cupped his fists and seeing that there were no more instructions, he left the room and arrived outside the secret room. He let out a long sigh. If it was just an ordinary Emperor Realm master, he would have been able to find more people to deal with them, but this man was a bit unusual. He was able to control the Space Laws, so if he couldn’t defeat this man, his ability to escape was top-notch. Once he escaped, the news would leak out and he would fail.
This was going to be difficult! After thinking about it for a long time, the old man finally made up his mind. It seemed that he could only find someone from the other side to attack him. Only someone from that side could approach him without anyone noticing and deliver a fatal blow.
After making up his mind, he quickly left.
The sky was clear and blue.
In the huge basin surrounded by mountains, flags were raised and people were gathered.
This was the place where the Martial Meeting of the Southern Domain was held. There were at least tens of thousands of cultivators in the entire Southern Domain who had gathered at the Plain Palace. Besides this basin, there was no other place that could accommodate so many people.
Inside the basin, there were hundreds of arenas scattered about like chess pieces, all of them carefully constructed and protected by an array formation, enough to ensure that hundreds of cultivators would fight together.
Halfway up the mountain to the east, there was a set of stairs lined with newly built huts and tables. Sitting here, one could see everything in the mountain valley. The Emperor Realm masters from the various great Sects of the Southern Domain came in twos and threes and sat down.
The people from the three top Sects naturally sat at the very top.
On the first day of the Martial Meeting, regardless of whether they were willing or not, the leaders of the three great forces all showed up, because there were even more important figures who would appear, so they couldn’t afford to be negligent.
Inside the mountain valley, the tens of thousands of cultivators who were about to participate in the Martial Meeting held their breaths as the tense atmosphere spread. Many of them looked up towards the mountainside, their faces filled with reverence as they secretly imagined when they would be able to sit there.
As for this Martial Meeting, it was definitely the best platform for a carp to leap over the dragon gate. As long as one performed well in the Martial Meeting, those with good backgrounds would receive more resources to cultivate, while those with poor backgrounds might be able to ascend to the heavens in a single bound.
The Emperor Realm masters in the stands, on the other hand, were unable to understand this kind of feeling and continued to chat and laugh.
Suddenly, a streak of light flew over from afar and landed on the grandstand.
“They’re here,” Lei Gu smiled and took the lead to stand up. The others also quickly stood up, some of them secretly wondering who it was that dared to fly so arrogantly in the Plain Palace, but after seeing Lei Gu’s expression, they could guess who it was, so how could they dare be negligent?
The light landed in front of everyone and revealed a few figures. The one in the lead had an imposing appearance and a powerful aura. He was a 3rd order Emperor Realm master, and behind him, no matter how high their cultivation was, they all exuded an extraordinary aura.
The people from Star Soul Palace had arrived, and it was Xiao Yuyang.
“Greetings, Brother Xiao.” Lei Gu and the others cupped their fists.
Xiao Yuyang smiled slightly and returned the courtesy, “Everyone, there is no need to be so polite, this Xiao has come too late.”
Every time there was a Martial Meeting in the Southern Domain, Star Soul Palace people would appear. After all, it was the entire Southern Domain’s saving grace. As the guardian of the Southern Domain, the overlord Sect, Star Soul Palace naturally had to participate, but it wasn’t to send disciples, but rather to monitor the situation.
“It’s not too late, it’s just right,” Lei Gu chuckled. Although their cultivations were about the same, Xiao Yuyang was representing Star Soul Palace, so how could he not give him face?
After inviting Xiao Yuyang to sit down, Xiao Yuyang casually said, “It’s about time, let’s begin.”
Lei Gu nodded and gave Feng Ming a meaningful look. Feng Ming walked out and casually took out a scroll, holding it with both hands as he declared loudly, “Today, tens of thousands of young talents from the Southern Domain have gathered together to attend the Martial Meeting. Plain Palace is honored and has been led by Star Soul Palace to draw up a few rules. I hope the participants can abide by them. If anyone violates these rules, they will be severely punished…”
His voice wasn’t loud, but with the support of his Emperor Qi, it spread throughout the entire mountain valley, causing tens of thousands of people to listen attentively.
There weren’t many rules, if there were too many restrictions, it wouldn’t be interesting, but there were still some restrictions. For example, if the other party had already admitted defeat, they couldn’t kill him, or they couldn’t take any Spirit Pills during the competition, especially those that could stimulate one’s potential and increase one’s cultivation, once they were discovered, not only would they be punished, but the Sect behind them would also suffer.
Every Martial Meeting had its own set of rules, and before coming here, the various Sect Elders had repeatedly warned them, so the tens of thousands of people were naturally familiar with them, but they still had to follow the necessary procedures.
For a time, only Feng Ming’s voice echoed in the valley.
After the rules were read out, the rewards would be announced. This was the main event, and the reason they had come here to fight was for these benefits. Immediately, the tens of thousands of people in the valley all looked forward to it.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Martial Peak