Chapter 1477: Provoking the Ninth Sect (2/2)

Because of the challenges from the other Chosen, and the fact that their spots on the Vast Expanse Shrine were continuing to shrink, the Ninth Sect slipped into a state of frenzy.

Virtually all of the Chosen, and even the ordinary disciples, went all-out in their practice of cultivation. They took more outside missions and participated in more trials by fire. Only by increasing the levels of their cultivation base could they earn higher spots. As they grew stronger, it was without hesitation that they went on to re-challenge their own Vast Expanse Shrine.

It was as if all of the Chosen in the entire Vast Expanse School had picked the Vast Expanse Shrine in the Ninth Sect to be their joint trial by fire. Only by having their names on that list could they be truly illustrious.

The trend didn’t stop. A year later, the battleground among Chosen expanded to include the top 2,000 spots.

After another year, it was the top 3,000 spots.

The disciples of the Ninth Sect were fuming, and conflicts broke out constantly. During the three years which had passed, people often came to pay respects to Meng Hao and ask that he do something.

But Meng Hao was in secluded meditation and wouldn’t take visitors. The disciples of the Ninth Sect could understand that, but it didn’t stop the Chosen from the other sects from virtually going crazy. That was especially true of those who held spots in the Ninth Sect’s top 3,000. As for the few hundred from the Ninth Sect who remained in that group, their madness also increased.

Rumors even started to spread that Fang Mu had only been trying to get famous. People claimed that what had happened three years before was a mere fluke, and that now he didn't dare to show his face.

At first, such rumors were only whispered here and there. But after two years passed, and the other sects occupied ninety percent of the top 10,000 spots on the Ninth Sect’s Vast Expanse Shrine, the rumors raged like wildfire.

It got to the point that the entire Vast Expanse School was talking about the matter.

“What happened with Fang Mu that year was a quirk, that’s all. He's been in secluded meditation for five years and has never come out. Obviously, our challenge has him scared and hiding!”

“Even if it wasn't a fluke, I heard that after he summoned the Tenth Heaven, he experienced a Tribulation. He probably got seriously injured....”

“I got my hands on some verified information that Fang Mu was injured so badly his cultivation base won’t make any progress within a hundred years! In fact, it's even regressing!”

More and more rumors spread. The disciples of the Ninth Sect were so protective of Fang Mu’s name that it even led to blows on some occasions. However, the Ninth Sect was only one of nine sects, so no matter what they did, it was impossible to sway the opinions of the Chosen of the entire Vast Expanse School.

Eventually, most people came to believe the rumors. At the same time, it became completely commonplace for the cultivators of the other sects to come to the Vast Expanse Shrine in the Ninth Sect to earn their name.

Another five years passed. Meng Hao had been in secluded meditation for ten years. The conflicts over the Ninth Sect’s Vast Expanse Shrine had reached a boiling point. Of the top 30,000 names, only 4,000 belonged to the Ninth Sect.

Their own Vast Expanse Shrine had been occupied by others, leaving the disciples of the Ninth Sect feeling completely humiliated and in a state of madness. Shockingly, it reached the point where the top 10... contained only two Chosen from the Ninth Sect!

Other than Meng Hao in 1st place and another Chosen in 5th place, the rest of the spots were taken by Chosen from other sects!

The humiliation and the conflicts worsened.

And yet, the Paragons of the Ninth Sect and all the other sects didn’t stop any of it from happening. As long as the conflicts didn't get too out of hand, then it was viewed as a way for the overall power of the Vast Expanse School to increase. That was especially true of the disciples of the Ninth Sect, who had produced far more Chosen in the past ten years because of that pressure.

Increasing numbers of disciples came to Meng Hao’s mountain to try to persuade him to do something. At one point, more than 10,000 disciples all went at the same time.

Yan’er was very annoyed by everything that was happening. Her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds in the past ten years, and although she wasn’t even close to catching up to Meng Hao, she was in the Dao Seeking stage, very close to her Immortal Tribulation.

One day when meditating, she was forced to open her eyes because of the cacophonous clamor outside the mountain.

“Eldest Brother, please come down from your mountain!!”

“Eldest Brother, the Ninth Sect only has a few thousand spots in the Vast Expanse Shrine’s top 30,000. Please come down!!”

“Eldest Brother, rumors are flying everywhere. People are accusing you of things. Eldest Brother.... Come down from the mountain! Our frustration has been building for ten years, and we need your help to vent it!!”

Yan’er frowned. During the past ten years, she had watched in frustration as the other sects continuously challenged and provoked the Ninth Sect. She had asked her Master about the matter, but he didn't seem to care much. Furthermore, in recent years he had come to approach a critical juncture in his cultivation, and told Yan’er not to bother him about the matter any more.

“So annoying!” she thought. “What’s wrong with these people, don't they have their own Vast Expanse Shrine to challenge? What's the point in showing off in the Ninth Sect?” With a cold harrumph, she walked out of her room to go console all of the fellow disciples who had come to pay respects to her Master.

As soon as she walked out, though, she frowned. Among the people who had come to visit, there were many unfamiliar faces. There were even Chosen from other sects, who by this point had begun to treat the Ninth Sect as if it were their own home, and were staring at her with cold smiles.