"You have already awakened your soul spirit to the red tier?"
Jay was surprised as his eyes remained fixated on Ace's soul spirit.
The sword was emitting a faint aura of heat which caught his attention, the flames appeared gentle on the surface, but there was a mysterious scorch to it which even Jay had to be wary of.
The heat might seem harmless on the surface, but this only reminded Jay of Ace's trump card. If Ace were to go all out without holding back in a battle, even a Martial Lord might not be his match.
Even still, Ace was only in the first ladder in the Divine realm in terms of talent compared to those that have been nurtured since young. If Ace truly was the chosen one, then he would have to step above those in the first ladder and contend against those demons, or at least the four generals.
That was the nickname given to the current four geniuses of the Divine realm who were so strong that even those from the first ladder were unable to receive a single move from them.
"Yes. Still, I feel that I'm a long way from awakening the black tier soul spirit and without months or even longer, there would be no way for me to awaken the black tier soul spirit. Even still, I believe that the black soul spirit isn't the limit."
"At least you were able to sense that the black soul spirit is only the false limit. In actual fact, a true soul spirit would be able to exceed the limits of what we know, a true soul spirit should awaken a colour that matches its respective element or trait."
"Senior Jay, are you implying that most cultivators have already taken the wrong path which has been proven true by our ancestors?"
"No, they aren't wrong, but times have changed and even though improvements have been discovered, the true experts who know about this refrained from sharing this information until their own young generation have developed."
Ace nodded his head before saying, "I understand, don't worry, I have already made up my mind to build up a strong foundation, until I feel that I'm ready to step into the Four Domians realm, I'll continue to strengthen my foundation."
"Sect master, Elder Jay, Great Paladin Fawkes from the Paladin Haven has requested an audience with the sect master." Garen informed both Ace and Jay before taking his leave, not forgetting to remind them about the meeting location.
"Wait a moment, do you have any idea what the Paladin Haven wants to achieve?" Ace asked Garen who had just turned around the corner as he turned back awkwardly and explained the reason for their arrival.
"I see, arrange for them to settle down in the main hall first, I'll be there shortly to meet them. In the meantime, help me inform Lancelot and the others that they can take a break from cultivating these few days, get them to leave their rooms and head outside to relax their minds."
"Yes, sect master. I'll make sure to convey your message, please take good care of your own health as well." Garen said before taking his leave without hesitating this time as he turned around the corner swiftly.
After making sure that Garen had left, Ace then took out his sword and started to execute the basic movements one after another. His sword ripping the air apart, his stance stable with his grip on the sword firm.
The movements were simple, but if any other sword master were to be here, they would realise that Ace was making full use of his Slaughter law in each attack, leaving behind a faint sword mark which could explode any moment.
Just like this, fifteen minutes past with Jay seated on the bench, leaning back with his arms wide open and rested against it.
Beads of sweat gathered Ace's forehead, but he paid no heed to them, his sweat dripping freely with each action and movement he took. Precise and sharp without any hesitation as though he had already forgotten about the guests from the Paladin Haven.
Soon, the sombre evening arrived and right when the guests were getting impatient and about to leave as they stepped out of the courtyard, they were surprised by Ace who was wielding his scarlet sword.
"Malene, isn't that the slaughter law which the young boy is executing?" Fawkes asked with surprise and excitement flashing in his eyes as Malene pulled his collar from behind.
"It is, but don't go around and stir up trouble for the disciple now just because the sect master isn't present."
"I have been waiting for the two of you, please take a seat." Ace stopped his training and walked up to Malene and Fawkes silently without being noticed as he sat down on the same bench as Jay, his arm gesturing for them to sit on the bench opposite to his.
"To think that such a young boy like you would be the sect master of those first class disciples whose talent would be at the top even in Dragon-Tier sects." Malene replied calmly, her true intentions hidden beneath her words.
"I heard that the Paladin Haven has an alliance to suggest, but before that, I would like to ask, on what premise should the Nirvana Sect form an alliance with the Paladin Haven?"
This boy isn't simple...that was the first impression Ace had left behind on Malene since the beginning with his slaughter law and with the way he was handling the conversation right now, he had already gained the upper hand.
"The purpose of the Paladin Haven is to form alliances with cultivation forces that possess both the strength and trait of loyalty to form a temporary alliance with us until we pass through the preliminary rounds."
Ace nodded his head in response as he glanced towards the name tag on Malene's chest briefly before averting his gaze to avoid any misunderstandings.
"If this is the case, Great Paladin Malene, please give me the reason for an alliance. I'm sure you can tell by now, regardless of how harsh the rules of the preliminary rounds might be, there would be no way my Nirvana Sect fails to secure a placing."
How does he know my name? Malene was surprised, but when Fawkes tapped her on the shoulder and eyeballed towards her name tag, she understood the situation and cursed under her breath, "Fawkes, cherish your eyes before you lose them."
Fawkes wanted to rebut, but after understanding the crux of the situation of the current conversation right now, he remained silent and started to observe Jay who had been sitting there without making a move the entire time.
Light energy gathered in his palm as he formed an arrow of light, a circular ring extending from its nock which was grasped by his palm after going one round around his palm.
Jay sat there amused though he turned an blind eye to this as he easily neutralised Fawkes's light energy without anyone noticing besides Fawkes himself who sat there petrified.
When Fawkes looked up and met Jay's gaze, all he could do was smile awkwardly and apologise through the air with his palm raised and his head lowered slightly.
In the meantime, Ace had already understood how the preliminary rounds of the Cultivation Forces Competition would be held and why it was renamed.
Since other cultivation forces besides the cultivation sects were involved this time, the rename was a must and since the event is occurring for the first time, the sudden increase in participating cultivation forces called for a change of rules in order to accommodate the increased number of cultivation forces.
To eliminate most cultivation forces that were too weak, the plan was for all Sheep Tier forces to be eliminated from the start and a few Wolf Tier forces to make it to the official competition.
As for how it would be held, it would be through having disciples ranging from the Sheep Tier cultivation forces to the Tiger Tier cultivation forces to be in a random bracket matchup.
Only disciples and elders who win at least three battles consecutively will be able to enter the official competition, thus eliminating the number of participants greatly.
As for how the alchemy and blacksmithing preliminary rounds would be held, it would have to wait until more information is shared by the official authorities of the Nebula Kingdom who were still planning it out based on them.
"But what if our disciples were to face off against each other as opponents?"
"The stronger one would be the victor, after all, considering the strength of our disciples, it wouldn't be difficult for them to enter the official competition through winning two more rounds after that defeat in order to prove themselves worthy. It's a hassle, but at least it wouldn't harm our cooperation relationship."
"Very well, Great Paladin Malene. Great Paladin Fawkes. The two of you may take your leave, I hope that the Paladin Haven proves themselves worthy as a righteous force."
"Hahaha! Of course, young fella, let's have a battle one day."
"Senior Fawkes, let's hope you'll be my match if we have a battle in the future.�� Ace said confidently with a smile before sending them off with a brittle smile on his face.
"Jay, in these two days, please help me to ensure that the disciples spend no time cultivating or worrying at all. Get them to explore around and relax their minds."
"Didn't you already get Garen to convey the message?"
"Do you think the others will listen to him?" Ace replied in laughter as the two of them started to laugh as memories of how painful cultivation surfaced into their mind.
Jay was one who had lost hope in life while Ace was one being forced to swim against the relentless torrent of fate.
"Sect master, there's a demon beast invasion right now and all sect masters are called for while disciples are told to remain in the kingdom!"
"The test has started." Jay said calmly while Ace sat up from the bench and looked towards Garen who was here to report the sudden piece of news.
"I got it, where's the meeting location?"
"The eastern walls of the Nebula Kingdom."