296 Sect Leader Preliminary (1/2)
There were 16 candidates vying for the sect leader's position in the Dafang Sect. Among them, there were five people from the Jiang Clan, the only clan which had filled up the vacancies completely. The rest of them included four from the Zhou Clan, three from the Yuan Clan, three from the Chen Clan, and one from the Wang Clan.
The location for the Sect Leader Preliminary was known as Dafang Grotto. It was a secret cave accidentally discovered by the founders of the Dafang Sect, and it had some fortuitous encounters in it. After that, Dafang Grotto had become the Dafang Sect's forbidden land, and outsiders could not trespass.
Dafang Grotto had five entrances at different locations. Cave number five, where Mo Wen was, was one of them. The rest of the four caves were the preliminary locations of the other four clans. After going through a passage which was not too long or short, one would reach the center region of Dafang Grotto. As long as the candidate reached the center region of Dafang Grotto successfully, he would have completed the first assessment.
According to Wang Yinru, that was the entrance to the secret land which was in the center region of Dafang Grotto. Only when one had reached this place, would he have the chance to enter the secret land.
Mo Wen's figure flashed and leapt into the cave in front of him. The cave was pitch dark, so in the blink of an eye, he had disappeared into it.
”He indeed went in.”
”Go according to plan.”
The two middle-aged men who were guarding the cave looked at each other. A cold radiance flickered in their eyes as each fished out a conch from their chests, put them to their mouths, and blew them.
The conches didn't make any sound but instead emitted a wave of invisible ripples that gradually spread outwards. At this time, a series of loud discussions resounded among the people in the main square.
On the platform in the middle of the main square were five big screens. On each of the screens was a broadcast of a different scene. They happened to be the entrances of the five caves, and the screens were live broadcasting Mo Wen and company's preliminary. The actions of all the preliminary candidates were under the surveillance of the Dafang Sect and were being broadcast to the public.
”What is happening? Why would the Dafang Sect broadcast the entire experience of the candidates? Aren't they afraid that the Dafang Sect's secret will be divulged?”
”That's strange. In the last Dafang Sect's Leader Selection, they didn't broadcast the assessment process, especially when Dafang Grotto was involved. Hasn't the Dafang Sect been concealing that place and forbidding outsiders from entering it?”
”Why do you care so much? Just being an onlooker will do. Being able to see those young strong ones fighting one another is a feast to the eyes.”
”Interesting. It is not so boring to watch the Dafang Sect's Leader selection after all.”
”Look at that cave number five. Why is there only one person? Other caves have at least three people.”
”That person is reckoned to be a member of the Wang Clan. It is already good that the Wang Clan is able to participate in the Sect Leader Selection. What else do you expect? Using only one person's strength, I'm afraid he won't even pass the first assessment. After all, the assessment is directed at four to five ancient martial art practitioners. It won't be easier due to fewer candidates, hence it is almost impossible for him to succeed alone.”
”Only one person is eligible for the Sect Leader's assessment. That Wang Clan seems to be in dire straits. Anyway, why have I never heard that the Dafang Sect had this clan before?”
”I also didn't know. When did this Wang Clan appear? I heard the rumors about the Dafang Sect's five big aristocratic families, but it there have always been only four aristocratic families. Could the Wang Clan be the fifth aristocratic family?”
...…..
Animated discussions went on in the main square. Many people were from the small influences in the ancient martial arts world. Some of the small influences in the three big mountain ranges came into existence after the annihilation of the Wang Clan, so they didn't know about the Wang Clan's incident.
At the scene, there were only a few who knew about the Wang Clan's incident that year. These people had been keeping the Wang Clan's murder a secret, and with the Jiang Clan being present at the scene, they basically wouldn't discuss it.
Because so few people knew about the incident, Mo Wen's appearance had naturally given many people a shock.
”What's the purpose of the Dafang Sect broadcasting the video of the assessment?” Hu Qiongqi furrowed his brows, as he didn't understand the aim of this action. He had never heard of such a thing before.
Could the broadcasting of the assessment process and the secret of Dafang Grotto be merely for the sake of entertaining them? This conclusion obviously was not tenable, as the Dafang Sect wouldn't be doing such an idiotic thing.
”This matter might not be the Dafang Sect's decision but the Jiang Clan's decision. The Jiang Clan is presently monopolizing the sect, and normally what it says goes, while the other three aristocratic families basically don't dare to object. Ever since the Wang Clan's annihilation, the Jiang Clan has violated many rules established by the Dafang Sect's former generations.”
Hu Guiyuan laughed. The present Dafang Sect had not been the Dafang Sect of the past and had become the Jiang Clan's authoritarian sect. Perhaps if the Jiang Clan continued to be in control, the Dafang Sect might not exist and would be taken over to become the Jiang Sect of the ancient martial arts world.