Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Finally, it was time for the Misty South Palace's selection to
begin.
About thirty thousand warriors had signed up for the selection in total, and they had all gathered at an
enormous square that day. These were the most talented and powerful warriors from the central and
outer regions.
However, only ten out of these thirty thousand warriors would be chosen to become the Misty South
Palace's core disciples. It would undoubtedly be an intense competition.
It was noticeable that there were no warriors from the inner region, but the Misty South Palace had
opted not to include them for a reason. In the inner region, most, if not all, talented warriors belonged to
Sage Level forces. Thus, they didn't need the Misty South Palace's protection.
Most of the saints in attendance held the selection with the utmost respect and importance. After all,
the creams of their crops were participating in it, and these warriors would be the future of their forces.
Ricky, of course, immediately made a beeline for Mordechai and Lloyd.
Besides him, the Five-element Sect had two more disciples who would join the selection—Mordechai
and Ella. The pair had managed to get their hands on the tokens, and with them, they gained access to
the Misty South Palace's selection along with Ricky.
It was certainly good news for the Sage Level forces like the Five-element Sect to have three of their
disciples joining the selection.
"Remember this: you three must trust each other and look out for each other!" Lloyd said to Ricky,
Mordechai, and Ella. At this moment, he seemed more like a concerned father than a saint.
Of course, it wasn't surprising to see him act like this. The Five-element Sect might be at the Sage
Level, but they were at the bottom of the barrel. Geniuses like Ricky, Ella, and Mordechai were
essential to their sect; it would be a massive loss if any one of them died in the selection.
The three of them knew that Lloyd was worried for their safety, so they nodded and took his words to
heart.
As Ricky looked around, he caught sight of some talented warriors from the outer region whom he had
already met. He spotted Mike, Enoch, Peter, and Claire. Since there was no animosity between them,
the four greeted Ricky with a friendly wave.
For some reason, he felt like he and Claire had a special connection. Maybe it was because he had
acquired the king's inheritance while she was the queen in her previous life.
Michael and Brandon also caught Ricky's attention, and the two stared back at him with murderous
looks on their faces. They despised Ricky because they, too, had their eyes on Paul's inheritance that
he had acquired. To put it simply, they were envious.
At this point, the participants turned expectant looks toward the First Deputy Chief, waiting for him to
declare the selection's beginning.
But a voice suddenly rang out in the massive square and seized Ricky's attention. "Ricky, will the three
of you team up with me?"
The man in question whirled around at once. He thought that the voice sounded vaguely familiar, but
he couldn't quite recall where he had heard it from.
In the next moment, a young man clad in white clothes approached Ricky with a smile. Based on how
the white-clad man looked, Ricky surmised that he had just arrived at the Third Sheol City.
His white clothes looked clean though slightly worn, and a wide-brimmed bamboo hat covered his
head. The hat obstructed Ricky's view, so he couldn't tell who the young man was, but the feeling of
familiarity grew as the man strutted closer to him.
Seeing this, Ricky activated his zones. He analyzed the young man's aura and identified him at once.
"Jasper, long time no see. How have you been?"
Ricky greeted the man with a sincere smile the next moment.
"Ha-ha! I'm surprised you recognized me. It's been so long after all." The young man took off his hat as
he spoke and met Ricky's gaze with a wicked grin. It was none other than Jasper whom Ricky hadn't
seen for a long time.
Of course, Jasper wouldn't miss the Misty South Palace's selection.
The next instant, their momentums began rising from their bodies. They were like two wild beasts that
sized each other up. The pair were good friends, but they were also fierce rivals.
Before long, they withdrew their momentums back into their bodies. They didn't come there to duel
after all.
Then, as if nothing had happened, the pair dissolved into peals of jovial laughter, exchanging tight hugs
to show how much they had missed each other.
"Guys, this is Jasper Zhang from the Eastern Land. He and I came from the same sect," Ricky
introduced Jasper to Mordechai and the others.
By doing this, it became evident that he had accepted Jasper's offer. Now, his team consisted of four
people.
"Ricky, I've heard so much about your story along the way. But I'm not surprised. No matter where you
go, you are always the center of attention, and you always manage to make a name for yourself,"
Jasper said to Ricky telepathically once the introductions were over.
"Ha-ha! I didn't do that on purpose," answered Ricky shyly, an embarrassed smile gracing his lips. "By
the way, Jasper, what have you been doing in the past two years? Have you obtained any inheritance?"
"I traveled from the Northern Land to the Middle Land, where I acquired an inheritance related to one
part of the Eight Diagrams. Unfortunately, the Eight Diagrams contains eight parts, so I can only master
it when I have collected all eight parts," replied Jasper.
"Well, you still have a long way to go. A lot of people are after the same thing," Ricky remarked.
"Yeah. The other seven parts are probably in the hands of other people, so I definitely have a rough
road ahead of me." Jasper nodded in agreement.
Something seemed to have caught his attention all of a sudden, and his body became tense and alert.
Ricky followed his gaze and realized that he was staring at Mike.
Meanwhile, Mike had also turned to look at Jasper.
The two men exchanged tense looks, and Ricky could only look back and forth at the two of them.
From the look in their eyes, Ricky could tell that an intense atmosphere had enveloped the duo. It
looked like a fight could break out at any moment.
'It looks like these two are rivals, ' Ricky thought to himself.
"Of course they are. Only one person can acquire the complete Eight Diagrams, so those who are after
the Eight Diagrams have to fight each other," the Dragon Intent Grass explained to Ricky.
"That's not good. I don't want to see any of them get hurt. Although I only met Mike once, I can tell that
he is a good person. It's a sad twist of fate that he and Jasper are destined to compete with each other.
Since only one of them can get their hands on the Eight Diagrams, it means one of them will lose for
sure,"
Ricky sighed dejectedly.
"Do you know that guy, Ricky?" Jasper telepathically called Ricky's attention, evidently curious about
Mike.
"That's Mike Mo, one of the top ten geniuses in the outer region. I've fought with him before, and he
cultivates the Law of Fortune-telling, a part of the Eight Diagrams. I was going to tell you about that, but
it looks like you sensed it yourself already," Ricky answered immediately.
"I knew it! The law he cultivates is a part of the Eight Diagrams!" Jasper uttered breathlessly.
"You cultivate the Eight Diagrams too, right? Which law do you cultivate?" asked Ricky out of curiosity.
"I cultivate the Heavenly Law and Divination, or you can also call it the Law of Change," answered
Jasper.
"Oh, I see." Ricky nodded thoughtfully when he heard Jasper's words.
"Ricky, will you introduce your friend?" Mike asked through telepathy at that moment, interrupting
Ricky's train of thought.
"Jasper, Mike is also a friend of mine, and he just asked me about you. Would you mind if I introduce
you to him?" Ricky asked through telepathy. Of course, since he had known Jasper longer, he was
more inclined to side with Jasper.
"It's okay. You can tell him about me. Anyway, he must have sensed our connection already, so you
won't be telling him anything that can compromise me," Jasper replied with a nod.
"Mike, that guy is Jasper. He and I were once the disciples of the same sect. I think he also cultivates
the law of the Eight Diagrams, which is similar to yours—the Law of Change," Ricky explained to Mike
as soon as he received Jasper's permission.
"I sensed that he also has the power of the Eight Diagrams, and it seemed to resemble the heavenly
power. Seems I was right..." Mike looked back at Jasper, looking lost in thought.
Jasper fearlessly met the other man's gaze.
They were both Ricky's friends, but Ricky could tell that the pair would do anything to defeat each other
if they met in the Passage World. After all, they were rivals due to the Eight Diagrams that they
cultivated, and only one of them could get a hold of the complete inheritance. As the saying went, no
two tigers could live in peace in a single forest.
'What should I do? This is going to be a real pain in the neck, ' Ricky sighed to himself, his head aching
in stress.
If the two fought, he would have to side with Jasper, but he didn't want to be on opposite sides with
Mike either.
"Brat, maybe you can intervene and solve this for them. You might even get them to live in peace," the
Dragon Intent Grass suggested.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda