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--- Chapter 79 ---
Endless Mountain, A place where countless disputes ended with blood.
It's located on the west side of the Black-Corner Region, with all kinds of dangerous magical beasts inside it.
Nonetheless, Endless Mountain became famous because so many lives, whether human or not, were shed. Countries waged war for hundreds of years in this place, drenching the once lush land into a dreadful mountain range.
People rumored the dying souls of those lives haunted this place for eternity, frightening everyone who took a step inside endlessly.
It's also a place full of opportunities with several hidden treasures.
The tournament to renew the Black Ranking was "promptly." decided, and all factions agreed to get it held in Endless Mountain. After all, that mountain range is the most suitable place for the bloodbath.
Not to mention all factions could access Endless Mountain without much of a problem, except some small sects on the east. They had a long journey to Endless Mountain, so some went there earlier and set their camp.
The Eight Gates, Black Emperor Sect, and Demon Flame Valley have set their camps too. They waited for everyone to arrive while wondering if the new leader of Beast Taming Gate would attend this tournament.
Bai Ya should be in this tournament, no?
After all, he has to prove himself against the three major factions in the Black Corner Region. They were more surprised Blood Sect didn't join the tournament because the Blood Sect's Leader failed to advance his cultivation realm and died in an accident.
Honestly, it was such a shame and weird.
But they couldn't do anything about it.
Even though some people are happy because the competition is less crowded than before, this causes more trouble as the balance is "actually." broken between the rest of the major factions.
As the situation became more chaotic, they decided to hold a tournament or small competition to renew Black Ranking. It is the real reason behind this event.
...
...
Eight Gates Camp.
A fat-looking man sat on a dragon-shaped wooden chair.
He wore a golden robe with seven kinds of flower embroidery, having this rich and majestic presence around him. Opening his mouth, the man puffed out a white smoke.
"The smoke is nice." He commented casually.
This man is the Eight Gates' Leader, Yuan Yi.
He's also the owner of Black Mark Auction House.
Yuan Yi put the pricey-looking cigar in his mouth and asked, "Supervisor Yu, any news about Bai Ya?"
"He's been quiet for almost two weeks now. At this point, I wonder if he'd attend the competition."
Supervisor Yu bitterly smiled because any information related to Bai Ya was hard to get as if he was a ghost who appeared out of nowhere and created chaos in the Black-Corner Region.
However, if Bai Ya were present, he'd recognize Supervisor Yu immediately. Even Yafei would recognize him.
Supervisor Yu is the manager of Black Mark Auction House. Yes, he's the one who finalized an indirect contact between Beast Taming Gate and Eight Gate, which Bai Ya didn't know.
Given the time and event, he will know about this soon.
Shaking his head, Supervisor Yu answered, "I believe Bai Ya is entering seclusion."
"Oh, that might be true... Beast Taming Gate did purchase a lot of cultivation resources from us." Yuan Yi deducted the answer, nodding calmly.
"At first, I thought he was an alchemist too. But all the pills we received seem to exceed the market's standard."
"A good fighter and alchemist... Bai Ya can't possess such a heaven-defying talent at once without paying the price, right?"
"Indeed, my lord." Supervisor Yu agreed while thinking similarly.
Yuan Yi chuckled, "Haha, I can't wait and see how powerful he is."
At the other camp, the sect master of the Black Emperor Sect sipped his herbal tea. He's a yellow-robed man in his late forties with long black hair and some gray hair.
His name is Mo Tianxing, a very calm person on the outside but cunning and too much hypocrite on the inside.
Someone entered the tent, and it was a man in his early twenties.
This man has a lot of similarities with Mo Tianxing, except his fashion sense is all-white.
"Father." Mo Ya greeted with a smile.
"I have broken through and reached the 5-Star Dou Emperor Realm."
"As you promised, I can participate in this Black Ranking Competition, no?"
Mo Tianxing proudly looked at his son and answered, "Of course."
"Just be careful about picking your enemies. We know very well those despicable pheasants are full of tricks."
"Yes." Mo Ya cupped his hand, showing his humbleness.
They stared at each other, laughing to their heart content.
And finally, Demon Flame Valley.
A blood-haired elderly meditated on the green carpet, inhaling white dust to increase his complexion. He appeared to be in his late eighties but slowly became younger again.
Five minutes passed, and he reached the age where he shouldn't have a problem moving around his limbs, clenching his fist to feel the power.
This elderly is called Old Ground Demon Ghost.
The founder of Demon Flame Valley.
After a long seclusion, Old Ground Demon Ghost finally came out and received the news about the competition. He's from an older generation compared to other factions or sect elders, roughly the same age as Jia Ma Academy's creation.
That says a lot about this person.
Even so, Old Ground Demon Ghost is more like a bitter ex who couldn't move on. He hated every young talented person in this world, wishing them to die early or by his hands.
He heard a lot of nonsense about this kid named Bai Ya and decided to show himself to the world again.
"I will trample this kid and show him the real world..."
"Your life is mine..." His cold laughter echoed in the tent.
Hearing the laughter from inside, the 1st and 4th elder of Demon Flame Valley smiled too.
The first elder, Fang Yan, is a renowned master in the Black Corner Region. When hearing about Bai Ya's appearance, Fang Yan was suspicious, but Demon Flame Valley still has its founder.
He doesn't have to worry.
"Old Zhen, Demon Flame Valley will become the number one in Black-Corner Region again." He joked to his fellow elder.
The fourth elder, Xie Zhen, chuckled and returned, "Keke, Yeah."
...
...
Two days later.
The Endless Mountain is "literally." filled with people and other races.
Well, mainly strong people who wanted to observe the fight between the powerhouses. These observers are starving to see the new Black Rankings.
Weirdly, the main fighters seem to wait for someone.
A random audience was curious and decided to ask, "Why are they waiting?"
"It's about to become noon, you know? The sun is above our heads already."
A veteran from Black Corner Region clicked his tongue and returned, "Are you new?"
"New? Ah yes, I just arrived at the Black Corner Region to gain more experience."
The veteran sighed and mumbled, "That's why..."
"Even though all the experts have gathered here, the last faction's leader hasn't arrived."
"Oh? Who's this leader?"
"Bai Ya, the Beast Taming Gate's new leader. Man, where have you been? Just came out of your rock?"
The random audience shamefully reddened and coughed to hide his embarrassment. "W-Well, something like that."
Someone noticed something in the sky and shouted, "LOOKS, WHAT'S THAT?!"
Everyone looked up and saw a silhouette falling from the cloud, which was a white-haired man with a face mask.
The man dropped quickly like a comet, causing a whistling sound in the Endless Mountain. Yet he casually double-jumped when about to reach the sky, landing in the middle of the arena prepared for this competition.
"Sorry, I'm late." Baek Ain said with a smile under his face mask.
"You wouldn't believe the traffic."
"Haha~!"
'Bullshit! You're coming from the sky!' Everyone thought at the same time.