The days passed by quickly and Sheng Tian was able to stabilize his cultivation base without a problem. The Primordial Chaos Tyrant Lightning had evolved greatly after absorbing most of the tribulation lightning and would soon surpass the Primordial Chaos Dragon Flame once it finished.
He exhaled a breath of foul air and stood up. With his powerful soul, he knew that several of his sect peers had tried to talk to him, most likely trying to form connections, though seeing that Sheng Tian had sealed his room, all left without a word.
He lifted the restrictions and exited his room. A few young men who just so happened to be passing by hurriedly came over with friendly smiles.
"Senior brother Tian! You're finally out of seclusion!"
Sheng Tian greeted them with a slight smile. He had little recognition of the young men and took another look at them.
They were a group of four who seemed to be good friends. One had seventh level Foundation cultivation base and a dabbler in body and soul while another had fourth level Foundation cultivation base but had higher bases for body and soul. The other two seem to be supporting cultivators, a formation expert and an array expert.
He asked them what they wanted and one hurriedly handed over two jade slips.
"While you were in seclusion, some people gathered information on all the geniuses and ranked them" he gestured to the jade slip in his right hand "This is what the old generation came up with"
Sheng Tian looked inside and saw a detailed list of names and abilities. To his surprise, he found his name at the bottom of the list, meaning he was held in low regard by the older generation. He read a short description about himself.
Arrogant and overbearing, shameless and shrewd. Too impulsive and knows a few Spirit ranked techniques.
Snap!
Sheng Tian closed his fist and the jade slip was immediately destroyed. His face was devoid of emotion but the youths can tell that he was pissed.
"Who made this...?"
His voice was cold and unlike his friendly attitude earlier. The youth felt a chill and hurriedly handed over another jade slip.
"T-that was made by the combined efforts of the Sacred Blood Sect, the Everlasting Temple, and the Myriad Tower. This on the other hand was made and distributed by a few youths that went into the secret realm"
Sheng Tian stiffened for a moment before reaching out for the jade slip. He immersed his mind into the slip and immediately found a hologram of himself on top of the list. Because he is not well known, there was little information besides the fact that he is quite strong. He then found the names of the Sacred Sons and Daughters of the Sacred Blood Sect and the High Pillars of the Everlasting Temple just under his name.
"Come to think of it, I didn't see any of their disciples in the secret realm until it was time to leave the realm"
"Sorry?"
"It's nothing"
He walked away and thought back to the time in the secret realm. He recalled seeing a few shady characters but didn't call them out due to the situation he was in.
"At least ten people who can cause a bit of trouble, they must've used a disguising technique to hide their appearance"
He arrived at the flying boat and entered a room to find Long Chen sitting with a cup of tea in his hands.
"So, would you mind explaining the scratches on the boat- Pff!"
He spat out his tea when he sensed Sheng Tian's cultivation base.
"Cough! Cough! Y-you... How?"
Sheng Tian didn't bother hiding the undulations of an eighth level Foundation cultivation base when Long Chen remembered clearly that he was still at the first level just a week ago.
"What pills did you take to progress so fast! I reckon even Immortals would envy your cultivation speed!"
"I was cultivating like a normal person"
"If everyone cultivated like you then immortality won't be that far out of reach!"
Sheng Tian dismissed his words and poured himself a cup of tea "So, are we going or not?"
Long Chen sighed again and muttered about how he had grown old and steered the flying boat. Shortly after, they arrived at a huge colosseum with huge crowds of hundreds of people, all eagerly shouting in the stands.
The youths of the Sky Sword Sect looked on with awe at the sea of people and even Long Chen was slightly shaken. Sheng Tian on the other hand stared at the mess below with a hint of disgust, though was mostly indifferent.
"I didn't think that the competition would be so... public"
"Naturally, this is one of the most important events to the Myriad of races as it affects the allocation of seats to the Myriad Ascension Secret Realm!"
"Myriad Ascension Secret Realm?"
"A secret realm that is said to contain lost secret techniques that can help one have a greater chance at immortality"
He shot Long Chen a look of disbelief "Has anyone gotten one?"
Long Chen thought for a moment "Yes... about three thousand years ago"
Sheng Tian instantly raged "Then what's the point!? What benefits are even in the secret realm!?"
"Well..."
He put on an embarrassed expression "I-"
"You don't know"
"Ahem! The secret realm would magically erase all your memories of everything except for a few things such as your gains in the secret realm. No one knows what remains in the secret realm and if there are still any secret techniques left"
Sheng Tian frowned at the prospect of having his memories erased and turned to Wu Di.
"We'll see once we get there," he replied.
Long Chen made the flying boat descend with a few hand seals and landed it outside the colosseum where all the participants along with their respective guardians are gathered. When Sheng Tian got off, many of the old generation shot him a disapproving look while a select few were indifferent. Only the Lotus Fairy Master, Tang Fei Yun, and Shang Shi Huo seemed to look at him favorably.
Sheng Tian smiled wryly and Long Chen let out a boisterous laugh. He smacked Sheng Tian's shoulder.
"It seems you're not welcomed here!"
Sheng Tian simply nodded his head. He didn't pay attention to Long Chen's teasing and was mainly focused on a group of individuals who gave off a baleful and sinister aura.
A middle aged man stood wearing dark crimson robes with a crown of bones resting on his head. Next to him was another middle aged man wearing simple gray robes. He had a bald head and held prayer beads in his right hand. They were the sect masters of the Sacred Blood Sect and the Everlasting Temple, Palace Master Mo Ling Gu and High Priest Guang Fu Mu.
The next moment, they both looked over and stared right into Sheng Tian's eyes. Time seemed to freeze as they held their own silent staring contest.