In the middle of the night, Ace left his room to walk on the streets alone. The chilly night breeze brushed past his face, his lustrous black hair tied in a ponytail that swayed with the wind, his black robe blended in with the background.
The bustling streets were filled with cultivators of a low cultivation realm, ranging from the Martial Apprentice Realm to the Martial Master Realm, with a few Martial Spirits that restrained their own cultivation aura.
None of these cultivators was of any status in the Nebula Kingdom, but Ace could sense the happiness that was blooming from their hearts. Maybe...those who can be satisfied with having their loved ones around can enjoy life to the fullest, even if it means living a simple life.
Ace sighed with a bitter smile, wasn't this the life he wanted? Yet, his life had taken another course from the moment he awakened the Nirvana Sect Master System, his only goal back then was to seek revenge, but now that he had already stepped onto this path, he wasn't going to back out as a coward would.
"Young man, would you like to purchase a bouquet of roses for the woman you love?" An old lady carrying a basket of flowers walked towards Ace and asked politely.
Ace turned towards the old lady and replied, "I don't have anyone I can give the bouquet of roses to right now."
The old lady looked at Ace with a deep gaze and told him, "You're a strong young man, we'll meet again one day."
The old lady then vanished as though she had never appeared, even Ace who was in the Martial Lord First Realm was unable to catch any trace of her.
Ace continued to walk along the streets until it was morning before heading towards the location, where the Annual Cultivation Forces Tournament would be held.
"Lancelot, could you gather everyone at the meeting location?" Ace instructed through the system's communication system that allowed him to communicate with his disciples through telepathy.
"Yes, we're on our way and will be there shortly," Lancelot replied briefly before ending the communication system.
Along the way, everyone was occupied with listening to Garen and the various strategies he had come up with. Grace wanted to have Garen to herself, but she knew that this was what he wanted. Garen took his responsibilities solemnly and would not allow himself to get distracted.
"Garen, are you saying that you control the flow of the battle all by yourself?" Alexander asked even though he had absolute confidence in this junior of his. Making sure things could go as planned was the basic prerequisite to becoming a general, it was in his blood.
"That's right, my Emperor Eyes would be able to catch their movements and even predict their next move. Not only that, I would be able to transmit the information to the person who should take action in time, the rest would be up to you guys." Garen explained the usage of his Emperor Eyes, but there was another factor he didn't explain.
Garen was capable of interrupting his opponent from casting their spells at the last moment, but that was a trump card he wouldn't resort to unless needed. He only had one shot at it with his current capabilities and unless needed, he wouldn't want his teammates to be pinning their hopes on him for that reason.
He was selfishly selfless, but so was everyone else.
"All of you have arrived." When everyone arrived, they saw Ace seated on his throne drinking a bottle of wine.
"Sect Master, we're all prepared for the upcoming Annual Cultivation Forces Tournament," Lancelot reported as they prepared themselves up for their first opponent.
The Afterglow Sect. The disciples of this sect were in the Martial Lord Third Realm on average and in terms of combat strength, all of them were definitely stronger than the Martial Lord Fourth Realm. As for their top disciple, Gleam, he was definitely capable of contending against the Martial Lord Sixth Realm.
"I'll take care of Gleam later, the rest of you should work together to end the battle swiftly," Lancelot said as he stepped onto the platform and pointed the tip of his spear towards Gleam.
"This will be a one against one battle between the two of us. Our juniors can have their own fun."
Gleam smiled when he heard the challenge, but still answered, "Very well, it's been too long since I've been up against a worthy opponent. Make your move."
Gleam's weapon was a Superb grade rod that was definitely comparable to Lancelot's spear, that was obtained when he was venturing alone.
The others have already stepped onto the platform at this time, both sides waiting for the battle to begin.
The Announcer, who was the great general, watched as both sides settled down before commencing the battle, "The battle shall begin."
Ace and the Afterglow Sect Master looked at each other, giving each other the nod of a head in return. The two of them had no bad blood between them and since this was the case, this was purely a battle between the two sects.
"Be careful," Lancelot warned as the energy of lightning gathered around his spear, coiling around it in an instant as he stabbed towards Gleam. This was the improvement he made in these three days. An exponential increase in his speed.
In just a second, he had already arrived in front of Gleam even though they were almost a hundred metres apart.
"Dazzling Shield!"
Gleam smacked his rod towards the ground, creating a rectangular shield that rose from the ground, its brightness blinding everyone, who closed their eyes for a brief moment.
But Garen wasn't affected as he noticed that the Afterglow Sect was actually making use of this window of opportunity. This wasn't the Afterglow Sect being shameless, they were just utilizing the battlefield that they had created for themselves.
"Oh? There's actually a young boy who awakened the Emperor Eye?" The Announcer muttered in surprise as he conveyed this piece of news to the Emperor he served.
"Hail of blades!'
Blades manifested of spirit energy descended from above the platform and even though all the disciples of the Afterglow Sect was able to dodge it easily, enough time was stalled for the rest to retaliate.
Alexander made the move by slamming his heavy sword onto the ground, a fissure splitting the platform apart as the various disciples of the Afterglow Sect evaded the attack easily, but the tundra that formed at the end came into contact with one of the disciples, sending him backwards and almost out of the platform.
The first collision had ended with the Nirvana Sect gaining the upper hand.
The ferocious battle between Lancelot and Gleam was still going on, the two exchanging countless moves in a matter of seconds.
Lancelot's spear was swift and ferocious as though he was one with the spear.
Gleam's rod was barely parrying each attack, but those who saw through the reasoning behind his actions nodded their head in approval. He was making use of his rod to parry each attack all the way back to have enough time to sneak in an attack or two when the chance arises.
Yet Lancelot would always avoid those attacks with his quick reaction speed and elusive movements. It was a heated battle between equals.
"Nirvana Sect Master, you've raised a good disciple." The Afterglow Sect Master laughed in appreciation.
"The same goes for you." Ace returned with a smile.
"Ruby and I will take care of the two oppoents to the right," Max said to everyone else as Ruby and he charged towards the energy formation, forming the phantom image of a white tiger as they collided against two of the disciples that were targeted. The collision didn't injure these two disciples in the slightest, but it was enough to separate them from the rest.
Even if the others were to rush to them to provide their assistance, the battle would already have ended by then. From here on, a one-sided battle took place with the two disciples doing their best to stall time for the rest.
Luke on the other hand was taking on another disciple with combat strength comparable to the Martial Lord Fifth Realm, his sword moves simple but exquisite, nullifying each attack of his opponent with ease.
"Nirvana Sect Master, did this disciple of yours step into the Sword Ancestor Realm?" The Floating Cloud Sect Master asked in surprise.
"He did step into the Sword Ancestor Realm before me." Ace replied, but deep down, he knew that it was only a matter of time before he stepped into the Sword Ancestor Realm.
The Sword Master Realm was about awakening his sword law and he had already fully awakened the slaughter law. All he needed right now was to step onto the hundredth floor of the Slaughter Tower and he'll most probably step into the Sword Ancestor Realm.
As for the Sword Heart, which he has to awaken to progress even further down the Sword Ancestor Realm, he had no clue as to what it would be about yet.
By this time, the battle was already nearing its end. Luke had won the battle by himself. Max and Ruby were able to cooperate with each other flawlessly, leaving their opponents no loopholes to exploit.
Alexander and Ray were able to stall the battle in a two against three combat.Garen was providing precious information to his team while assisting the entire battlefield with his manifested spirit weapons to harass the opponents.
"You won."
In the end, Lancelot won against Gleam in the last collision between them, it was only a difference of move, but it was enough to win the battle for Lancelot.
"Thanks for the battle."
With this, the first battle concludes with the Nirvana Sect winning against the Afterglow Sect without much difficulty as the next two teams stepped onto the stage.
"The Paladin Haven against the Eternal Iniquity Sect."