Chapter 253: First day (1/2)
Everyone got ready and went downstairs. Once everyone was gathered, they left. Most of them were returnees, so they knew where the competition took place.
The group walked for about 15 minutes, going through the busy streets of the west side of the capital, all the way to the east, where the competition was being held.
Right inside the wall on the east was a massive coliseum. People stood in front of the coliseum entrance in a line encompassing a large area.
They were all different people of different status, coming to watch the once in a year competition between the various sects from around the empire.
They all wore clothes of different colors and types, according to the current fashion of the city they were from. There were also hundreds of different disciples with robes of myriad colors.
”Will they make it in time?” Alex asked his master.
”Yeah. There is still a small briefing to be done by the Royal Fu Academy to tell us about the different competitions today. These people will make it in time by then,” Ma Rong said.
”Royal Fu Academy?” Alex was a little confused. ”Aren't they the sect run by the royal family? Is the competition set by them too?” Alex asked.
”Yes. They are the competition holders for each year. And are also the winners most of the time,” Ma Rong said.
”Hmm… they must be a 1st-grade sect then. Oh yeah, by the way, master, how many 1st grade sects are there in the competition? Any numbers that have been revealed by now?” he asked.
”There are around 12 by now. Also, there are 36 2nd grade sects and some 80 3rd grade sects that will be taking part,” Ma Rong said.
”Woah, that's a lot. Won't the competitions take too long?” Alex asked.
”Don't worry, it won't. Most of the sects will only take part in some of the competitions, not all. Especially since their limited disciples have a limited number of times they can take part in.”
”I mean, just look at us. Even if we were to put a single disciple in a single competition, we would only take part in 45 of them. However, we don't have that luxury. We will only take part in as much as it is required to get 1st grade,” Ma Rong said.
Alex nodded and walked into the coliseum with the nest of the sect members. They were freely allowed entry once Ma Rong showed a card.
They were soon led to an open area inside the giant coliseum. As Alex and the rest walked out, they finally saw just how massive the coliseum was.
'This is bigger than most sports stadiums back in the real world, isn't it?' Alex thought. He hadn't been to any, but he had seen them on TV, and this looked so much bigger.
'I could probably fit my farm in here,' he thought. 'Although… if they are going to have multiple competitions at once, won't this space actually be really congested?'
A man got onto a temporary stage. He had a head full of white hair, all tied up in a knot, and wore a black robe with white linings. He stood in front of the hundreds of sects and started.
”Good Morning everyone. My name is Fu Zhen. I welcome you all to the Annual Sect Competition. You must be pretty excited about the competition, so I will skip the actual speech for later. ”