Arriving at the gathering area for the preliminary rounds, Ace and the members of his sect realised that the sects were divided into different sections depending on the tier of their sect.
After walking around for a few minutes, they found the supposed section for Wolf Tier cultivation forces and made their way there.
The tense atmosphere in the air was suffocating to most who were trying to rise above the water and get recognised, but oblivious to them, there were only a few elites that could contend against the disciples of the Nirvana Sect in the Wolf Tier.
To most of the Wolf Tier forces, the preliminary rounds were the deciding factor of their future, only those who were close to the Tiger Tier cultivation forces were able to face the upcoming preliminary rounds without any pressure.
But to the Nirvana Sect, the preliminary rounds were nothing more than a warm up session before the main event. Excluding their combat strength, just their cultivation base was more than enough considering that most disciples were still in the Martial Master realm except for the minority
"All disciples take note, regardless of the strength of your opponent, don't ever underestimate them, end the battle swiftly before they can even react. Got it?" Ace said towards the disciples standing behind him as they found an empty area to settle down.
"Oh, who else would it except for the sect which received help from the Paladin Haven that time?"
It was the same man that harassed Clarissa a few days back. The pervert from the Blossom Valley walked up to them fearlessly with criticism in his eyes.
Oblivious to him, he was nothing but an ant to the Nirvana Sect, that was probably the only reason why he's still alive.
To the members of the Nirvana Sect, clearing an ant out of the way was more than enough, but since the ant had chosen death, they would satisfy the ant and its wishes.
"Have you ever experienced pain and torture worse than death itself?" Lancelot threatened and even though he didn't even release his law externally or reveal his weapon, the man from the Blossom Valley was already trembling in fear.
"Shen, what happened to you?" The same elder from the Blossom Valley rushed up to his disciple anxiously when he noticed cold sweat forming on Shen's skin.
"Elder, he….he threatened me." Shen swallowed a gulp of saliva, his voice and body still trembling in fear, his eyes bloodshot in disbelief as though he had seen a true ghost.
"What are you even being so paranoid for? It's not like he can do anything against you…"
"You're free to say that again, elder of the notorious Blossom Valley is it? Don't worry, your cultivation force is bound to end your journey in the preliminary rounds." Ace said coldly with a sinister smile before leaving the area with his disciples, the elder left trembling in fear as well, petrified and rooted to the ground.
"Ace, are your disciples ready for the upcoming preliminaries round?" Malene who was strolling around out of boredom with Fawkes accompanying her asked while walking up to Ace who happened to enter her line of sight.
"Of course, what about yours?" Out of formal respect, Ace replied briefly while asking the same question. It was basic courtesy after all and even though it wouldn't bring their cooperation relationship closer to each other, at least there'll be harmony between them.
"They're more than ready, this is my disciple Grace." Malene replied while pointing towards her own disciple, a beautiful woman with blond hair tied in a ponytail swaying behind her head, her body clad in golden armor.
"Sect master Ace, nice to meet you, I'm the disciple of Great Paladin Malene." Grace unlike most cultivators her age who would be arrogant just because they have their seniors to back them up, was polite and refined.
"Not bad, for you to be in the early stage of the Great Martial Master realm while possessing some demeanor must have taken quite some effort." Ace commented on Grace's cultivation base casually, but to Grace, this was pure disrespect.
But considering that this man was currently in an alliance with her master, she had no choice but to turn a blind eye to this, blinking, clarity returned to her eyes without anyone noticing this slight internal dilemma going on within her.
"Thank you for the compliment sect master Ace, it must have been tough for you to gain the loyalty of so many disciples as well, especially when one considers the talent that they're showing right now, none of them are any weaker than me." Grace replied with a smile.
"Things are different in this case, my disciples only gained their strength through their own efforts, as for their loyalty towards me, it's only because I gave them a new lease of life. Grace was it, remember my words, if you desire strength, have a goal."
*Rumble*
While the Wolf Tier cultivation forces were waiting for the preliminary rounds to start, the grounds beneath them suddenly vibrated violently, causing many cultivators to almost lose their balance with bewilderment on their faces.
Looking towards the ground, the fine line on the ground warned them that something was coming, but before everyone could get out of the square that it formed, a platform suddenly shot towards the sky, a impactful shockwave from the epicentre blasting everyone off the platform which was large enough for hundreds of people to stand on it.
"The hell is happening right now!"
"I don't know either!"
"Just get the hell out of here right now!"
"This square you mean!"
"Don't squabble with me on this right now!"
While the disciples were unable to keep their calm, the respective sect masters and cultivation leaders were still able to keep calm.
"Get away from this area!"
"Just back off first, we'll get our answers soon enough!"
After everyone had either backed off or got blown off the stage, the platform rose a few metres above the ground, it was a platform a few metres thick and one look was enough to tell that it was made of material resistant to destruction, sharpness and impact.
Not only that, there were also arrays and enchantment runes carved on it in order to prevent any surface damage on the platform which will hinder the progression of the preliminary round.
In the middle of the platform was a smaller square which rose up slightly after the main platform was in place, standing on the smaller platform was a man wearing a mask which covered his face.
"I see that everyone has arrived, in that case, I shall start by introducing the first segment of the preliminary rounds. There is no limit to the number of disciples that make it through this segment, all will be dependent on the strength of the disciples."
"On the stage right now are ten strength gauging pillars, imbued on them are nine gems which will glow red in colour when the attack power reaches the gauged requirement."
"Only those that manage to at least cause five gems to glow can enter the official round regardless of how others in their sect fared and without further ado, the preliminary round starts now!"
The explanation was long, but brief and detailed after the strength gauging pillars appeared on the stage from below the platform.
"Firstly, we shall have the Boulder Sect to send up the seven representatives from their sect, two elders and their sect master. By the way, due to the different cultivation bases of the disciples, elders and sect master, the difficulty of causing the strength gauging pillar to glow will exponentially increase as well."
"But do take note, if the sect master or the cultivation force leader is eliminated in the preliminary round, then that cultivation force will be eliminated in the preliminary round regardless of how well the disciples have fared."
"Sect master, do we go full out?" Lancelot asked, but his eyes were already demanding a yes from Ace.
Not only him, but everyone from the Nirvana Sect wasn't prepared to hold back, they were going to go all out on their opponents.
"Go ahead. But first, let's see how the Boulder Sect fares as a newly promoted Wolf Tier force based on the databook I collected from the Nebula Kingdom."