924 Yang Zonglin (1/2)
The challenge ring was below the Divine Dragon Nest. There were not ten of them this time, but just one as big as ten soccer fields. Its size meant that martial art practitioners of any level could battle at ease.
The competition among sects now was different from the Heaven List Tournament. It was not a battle of individual powers, but instead emphasized the overall power of the sects.
The rules were simple. Every sect would select five representatives, and their combined ability would determine the overall power of the sect. The selection criteria of the five representatives meant they needed to have two age ranges – two representatives had to be under 100 years old, and there was no age limit for the remaining three.
The rationale of the selection criteria took the legacy of the sects into consideration. Some sects had formidable seniors, but the juniors were not up to standard, so there was a lack of talent to inherit the learning and experience of the sect. As a result, this would also affect the combined ability of a sect.
Martial art practitioners under 100 years old were the young blood of a sect and determined if the sect could prosper in the future. Therefore, every sect needed to have two young members taking part in the battle.
The battle among the sects at the challenge ring was intense; however, the rules were simple – the selected five representatives would all go into the ring and fight. If they defeated their opponents, they would win; otherwise, they would lose. A five-on-five battle would naturally be chaotic, and the situation in the ring was always changing. The chances of winning were higher if they could defeat their opponents in one go. If they were to dilly-dally, they would be at a disadvantage.
The top eight sects would emerge this day, and almost all of those remaining came from the Peng Lai Immortal Realm of the Hidden Martial Arts Strain. Mo Wen had encountered a few of the warriors of the remaining sects.
The sects which the Goddess Cult, Water Deity and Lin Qing belonged to were pretty strong. Although the sects were made up entirely of women, no one dared to look down on them.
The sects which Golden Buddha and Wine and Meat Monk belonged to were equally formidable.
What surprised Mo Wen was that Blood Evil Temple was also among the remaining sects, and its overall power was impressive. Although Lord Merciless was only average, the overall ability of the sect should not be underestimated.
The sects from the Hidden Martial arts strainwere indeed not to be belittled. Most of those who went into the ring were at the Infinite Powerhouse level. Even those young practitioners under 100 years old who belonged to the top eight sects mostly had a cultivation belonging to the Infinite Powerhouse level. They were a group of practitioners with the most prospects in a sect and were even more valuable than senior practitioners for the long-term development of a sect.
”Yo, isn't this Mo Wen? After hiding like a tortoise for two weeks, you've finally dared to come out? To think that you're the Sect Leader of Dafang Sect. Tsk tsk. I've seen many incapable Sect Leaders, but I have never seen one that ran away at the last minute. Why? Are you afraid of us, the Blood Evil Temple?”
An effeminate voice could be heard, and a young man walked over. It was none other than Lord Merciless. He had almost recovered from his injuries, but he was looking at Mo Wen with an expression full of hatred.
Mo Wen frowned. He knew that meeting Lord Merciless was definitely not a coincidence. His entrance into the Divine Dragon Nest must have caught Lord Merciless's attention, making him walk over. Although the Divine Dragon Nest was crowded and was a tough place for ordinary people to find anyone, it was an easy task for a martial art practitioner, with their sharp instincts and their high level of cultivation.
”Sect Leader, this person has purposely made things difficult for us. During the battle among sects, the Blood Evil Temple kept obstructing us, so we could not even enter the quarter-finals.”
Wang Yinru glared at Lord Merciless. Many sects had participated in the Martial Arts Circle Convention. Even though the Dafang Sect was not very powerful, it was not any common old sect. After all, the sect included Martial Arts Grandmaster strong practitioners like Ling Feng and Tan Qiyue. Common sects in the main space probably did not even have anyone from the Golden Elixir Realm, not to mention any Martial Arts Grandmasters.
During the preliminaries, if it had not been for the obstruction of the Hidden Martial Arts Sect of the Blood Evil Temple, the Dafang Sect would not have been eliminated.
The martial art practitioners of Dafang Sect who were standing behind Wang Yinru also scowled at Lord Merciless. Obviously, he had been making things difficult for Dafang Sect while Mo Wen was not around.
”Mo Wen, you recognize your own limits. You went into hiding when you realized that you're no match for the Blood Evil Temple.”
Lord Merciless sneered at Mo Wen. He had assumed that Mo Wen had failed to turn up during the sect preliminaries because he was afraid of the Blood Evil Temple. Instead, he had just sent a few insignificant representatives. Regardless of how strong Mo Wen was among the younger generation, to the seniors of Blood Evil Temple who took part in this Martial Arts Circle Convention, he was not even worth mentioning.
For a mediocre sect, looking to achieve something big in the Martial Arts Circle Convention was like fantasizing about the impossible. While the cat's away, the mice will play – usually, martial art practitioners from the Peng Lai martial arts strainwere absent, so the mediocre sects could take advantage of their absence. With the Peng Lai martial arts strainaround, they would have to behave.
”As a Sect Leader, I feel ashamed that you had to go into hiding. A coward like you is not even fit to be a Sect Leader. Oh, I forgot that Dafang Sect is just a trashy sect with no substance. It's no wonder they have a Sect Leader like you...”