After the number 1024 arrived and the spots closed, everyone was surprised to see that a few top sects were actually absent.
Between them, the Nine Earthly Sword Sect and the Nine Shadow Fang Assassin Sect were the most surprising for most.
One of the nine sects not making it was rare enough, but two of them? It was completely unheard of!
People began discussing with each other in hushed voices. "The nine sects didn't make it? Moreover, the two sects were combat sects?"
Another person answered with a sneer. "They are probably living in the success of their ancestors. I already told my great-nephew that those sects are starting to decline. It is a shame, truly. He could've joined a real one and not those that are beautiful on the outside and in shambles on the inside."
A woman at the side looked over and sneered. "You speak too confidently for someone who is whispering. How about telling that to the nine sects to the face?"
The man reacted angrily. "Are you taking me as a person who has gone through cultivation deviation? Even if they are weaker, that doesn't mean their foundations are gone!" Then, he clicked his tongue. "Tsk, nowadays youngsters don't allow elders to make their comments in peace. Truly shameful."
This time, it was the woman's face who became black.
Meanwhile, in the camps of these two groups, the elders were in the middle of discussions. The headmaster from the Earthly Sword Sect asked, with a deep frown on his face as anger radiated from the usually calm and stoic man. "What happened? Didn't the elders we chose this year qualify as the ones with the best sword technique? All of them had Level 4 Sword Intent. One of them was even on the verge of breaking through the fifth level and reaching my level!"
It was natural for him to be angry; after all, one of the successors he had been planning to give the sect over when retreating didn't manage to return. Moreover, with death and life unknown, this situation was even more stressful.
The rest of the elders present naturally didn't dare speak up. While some felt it was a pity, others felt secretly glad.
Competition in high-ranked sects was brutal, and times when infighting brought the death of high-ranking people were not that rare. Naturally, the top authorities in the sects or powers buried most clues of any similar occurrence.
If all top sects had to air the dirty laundry and show the world how things truly occurred, many would be even scared to enter such an organization.
Regardless, the fact that the five people from the Earthly Sword Sect didn't return didn't change until the event was completely over three weeks later.
Naturally, theirs weren't the only ones who didn't return; the Shadow Fang Assassin sect similarly waited in vain as nobody exited the mountain when the event ended.
To mark this end, the mountain itself would do so with a formation that showed if any people were still in the trial.
During these three weeks, Yasenia and the girls have been polishing their skills and strength. Yasenia even managed to advance her body cultivation for a large chunk, increasing her strength by another notch.
Yasenia walked out of the luxurious tent specially built for her and the girls with a refreshed expression; inside the tent, with more than 20 rooms compressed by using spatial formations, all the girls lay in each of their personal beds, their faces with smiles full of satisfaction.
Meanwhile, outside, Tatyana welcomed her. The dragoness looked down to check her stomach, something she had gained the habit of doing.
Tatyana laughed. "Even if I were having a normal human birth at five weeks, there would've been no bump at sight."
Yasenia scratched her cheek a bit and hugged her. "Sorry, I'm just feeling a bit impatient."
Tatyana leaned on her and chuckled. "Don't apologize. I really like it when you check on me. So, don't back."
Yasenia nodded and tightened her hug, letting Tatyana feel her soft body. While she was highly alluring and had a body that would make people's blood boil, being in her hug could also feel comforting. After all, her soft and malleable body was comfortable to the point of never wanting to leave her arms.
Alaia approached and bowed respectfully once before speaking. "Young Miss, we have news about the Shadow Fang sect."
Yasenia and Tatyana looked over without separating, and Alaia took that as a clue to speak. "The Assassin sect leader has taken all her people away and returned to their sect. The title [Nine] has already been publicly stripped from them, so they'll probably have many things to take care of internally."
Yasenia asked. "Did they discover our participation in their group's demise?"
Alaia nodded. "They did. However, unlike other sects, they seem to have momentarily swallowed the insult."
"What about the Earthly Sword Sect? Did you discover who dealt with their group?"
Alaia nodded again. "Yes. It was the Undead group, Young Miss."
Yasenia's eyebrows bent upward. "Oh… Interesting. They've been quite low-key, haven't they? Are they up to something?"
Alaia pondered. "Hm… I'm honestly not sure. It is true that they've been low-key, so we also haven't paid much attention to them. Do we pay more attention from now on, Young Miss?"
The dragoness looked down at the woman in her arms and asked. "What do you think, Tatyana?"
Tatyana looked up and blinked. "Why are you asking me?"
The dragoness's lips twitched. "If it is about Undead, who other person other than you should I ask?"
Tatyana nodded. "I see. Then, they are probably killing people and gathering corpses for some kind of ritual. After all, Undead have difficulty reproducing naturally, and many use the living population to replenish their ranks."
Yasenia asked. "What happens to a person who gets converted into an Undead by them?"
Tatyana answered with a smile. "Most of them lost themselves. However, there have been cases where people with strong souls still remember a time when they were alive. Those Undead are dangerous because, if they were strong cultivators, they could regain strength and become very powerful undead. Imagine you redoing your cultivation journey. You could probably tweak a few things to come out stronger, right?"
Yasenia didn't deny it.
Tatyana commented. "Therefore, they are either increasing their numbers, as that's where their strength is more prevalent. Or, they are focusing on absorbing energy and becoming stronger themselves?"
"So…" Yasenia dragged her tone, making Tatyana look at her quizzically. "Do we need to worry?"
Tatyana looked at Yasenia strangely. "Why would you worry about them with me here?"
Yasenia nodded and looked at Alaia. "Well, you've heard. Ignore them. What about the rest of the groups?"
Alaia shook her head. "No suspicious behavior."
The dragoness pondered. "Good. How about back at home? Did Ghana send any unusual report?"
Alaia recalled and waved her hand to summon a jade scroll. "This seems like a normal report, but I feel something unusual in it. I couldn't really get what. Do you want to try, Young Miss?"
Yasenia read it slowly and instantly understood what Alaia meant. "Hm. You are right. I can't tell, but something is off."
Yasenia squinted and asked for another confirmed report from Ghana. Alaia did so and presented a different jade scroll. After opening it, she read the standard report and then reread Ghana's latest report. "Hm… I have various ideas. First of all, this report was somehow falsified. While everything sounds normal, a few different verbatim habits are used. Some I've never seen Ghana use before are present like this metaphor over here."
Yasenia pointed at a part of the report in the scroll, and Alaia and Tatyana understood where Yasenia was coming from. "My second thought is that Ghana did not write this scroll, but it is true. For example, Ghana was busy with other things and asked one of her secretaries to write it. It would be rare but possible. Still, in this case, Ghana or the secretary should've informed us."
Finally, she concluded. "In short. I think that sending back a message to Ghana and asking about this is not wrong. However, if by any chance, the place where this message got compromised is part of the rely system, then Ghana will not receive our letter. So… There are a few prisoners in Ascending Ocean City waiting to be carried back, right?" Yasenia saw Alaia nod and ordered. "Ask Leila to escort everyone back. Take this chance to deliver my own report and ask about this letter herself. With my Flying Boat, she will be able to return in less than a day."
Alaia understood and saw Yasenia write a report for the next two minutes. Yasenia reviewed what she wrote and nodded, satisfied. "Here."
Alaia received the shrunk-down Flying ship and report, bowed, and left.
When Yasenia was about to ask Tatyana what she thought about her actions, the energy above the entire place swirled as Lornerat appeared together with other people from his race. "After almost a month of battles, many people were able to return, while others sadly couldn't. The intense competition for the top positions continues now in a tournament format. Let's explain the rules again for those who might've missed it or forgotten."
Lornerat pointed upward toward a massive tournament tree with ten floors. The number 1024 was not random; it was a perfect number for a ten-phase tournament.
Yasenia looked over and saw that no names were still written. Her eyebrow twitched as she thought. 'Is this another lottery?'
Lornerat spoke. "This time, to assign the positions of where each group will be, we'll do it differently. The previous time, we used a completely random order. Now, we'll use the order of arrival."
Yasenia saw the names appearing and saw that she was facing her completely opposite. While Yasenia's group arrived as the 146th, she was facing the 878th group. "[Flame Clawed Dolurs]."
Yasenia searched her memories and tried to recall what kind of beast humans were called Dolurs. Yasenia remembered. 'They were a kind of beat human dolphin-kin, right? They have smooth skin and specialize in speed.'
The names of races were usually more generalized, such as Ocean Swallowing Mermaid or Stromfeather Harpy. Some groups simplified their names, gave themselves nicknames, or completely renamed their races.
'The situation with this group is probably the third.' Yasenia thought.
She was not as knowledgeable of aquatic beings, but it was clear that, to her knowledge, there were no creatures called "Dolurs."
Yasenia then heard Lornerat speaking. "For the first three rounds of the tournament, people will be sent to different arenas via a teleportation formation and fight there while judged watch. Remember that we are monitoring all the battles, and if something happens to the judges, both sides will be disqualified."
Lornerat finished by saying. "As previously explained, there will be three 1v1, two 2v2, and two 5v5 per fight. The first group to score four points wins the round and passes over. Those who don't are naturally eliminated." Then, he added, "The elimination rounds to choose positions, such as 3rd, 4th, etc., will be held later. Good luck, participants!"
Yasenia and the other four jumped into the teleportation circle and appeared in the arena set up for them.
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Author Note: You can go to scribblehub.com, this chapter, to see the poll for your favorite character! If you want to participate, that is. <3