Chapter 955 Scum
Dyon and Wess, his senior brother, soon made their way into Violet's massive courtyard.
'The more time I spend around this Violet girl, the more odd it is. She's ranked 6th, yet Wess follows her despite being ranked 4th, all while she lives in the 1st ranked courtyard? What is going on here?'
The moment Dyon walked in, following behind Wess, tens of pairs of eyes trained on him, causing him to raise an eyebrow. These indivuals were definitely not all core disciples, most were outer, with a large percentage being made up in inner. In total there were only 4 core disciples, 3 of which included Dyon, Wess and Violet. The reason why Dyon was surprised was because although he, as a core disciple, could easily walk between regions, it wasn't allowed for those of lower status to walk into higher ranked regions. The fact so many non-core disciples were here was definitely in opposition to the rules.
"This is our new vice leader?" A voice filled with anger and rage filled the room.
"Vice leader?" For good reason, Dyon was shocked by these words. They were clearly aimed toward him, but he didn't remember ever accepting such a position nor even being offered it.
When Dyon looked over to had been spoken, he realized that it was actually the 4th core disciple of the faction.
"Junior Brother Novrel, behave yourself." Violet spoke in a cold voice.
'Yet another member of the up and coming families?'
"But, Senior Sister! I'm not convinced! How can a disciple who hasn't even passed the trial and become a true core disciple become out vice leader?"
At first, Luka had wanted to mention the fact Dyon was ranked dead last amongst core disciples, but he didn't want to give Violet a reason to be angered. After all, she was ranked below both him and Wess, did that mean she couldn't be leader?
Of course, Dyon was only ranked last because he was the last among core disciples to join and hadn't formally challenged anyone – this was because he wasn't a disciple when he defeated Asyna, so she didn't lose her placement. That said, he couldn't bother to care about such rankings. Maybe if he was feeling petty enough in the future, he'd do something about it.
"Enough." Violet cut Luka off. "If we want to resist against the Caedes family faction, as well as survive the attacks and tribulations of the Valley of Geniuses, we have to stay together. I don't want any of you getting injured. When we come back, if you're still unsatisfied, then you can challenge Junior Brother Jafari as you see fit.
"Let's go. The elders are already waiting for us all at the gates. On the way, I'll explain a few things to you all."
...
Just a few hours later, eager members of Soul Rending Peak had gathered on a large boat. It seemed that just like Earth and the Flaming Lily Sect, the pillars that led to the 98th quadrant's Epistemic Tower were also placed in a large body of water.
Looking out toward the two massive pillars, etched intricately with ancient symbols, Dyon stood silently behind Violet while also listening to the seemingly endless words of the elders. Dyon found these old men and women significantly less interesting that the beauty that was Evangeline, but a Vice Master wouldn't come out for such a small matter. In fact, even the highest ranked elder here was merely an inner sect elder.
Dyon had expected this. After all, the only reason why Evangeline procided over the assessments to begin with wasn't because her status warranted her participation, but rather because she wanted to make sure that Soul Rending Peak wasn't thwarting the chances of the commoners. Since those of them present now were already admitted into the sect, there was no need for her to oversee such a thing.
"… All of you need to remember that this is a great opportunity. The Valley of Geniuses can provide you with opportunities even we cannot, but it is also rife with dangers, not just from the statues themselves, but also the members of the younger generation who will fight with you over these opportunities.
"Every statue represent a great genius of the past, and although there are thousands of them, they can only be activated once per opening of the valley.
"The issues that you'll all face will come clear when you get there, but the challenge is two-fold. The first is to resonate with the statue. While the second is to compete with the others who resonate to claim the ultimate prize. This second step will be the most dangerous, how that does not mean that the first is safe. Those who are capable of noticing competing resonators earlier on might decide to stop their own first step in order to wipe out the competition.
"As much as we'd love to believe that all of you will receive benefits and return safely, this is simply not realistic. You much all understand that this is the world of cultivation. Your lives will be on the line constantly, but should you grasp the rewards your future will be endlessly bright."
The inner sect elder continued to speak, both encouraging and warning those of the sect. But, it wasn't until the end that Dyon understood just why Soul Rending Peak was putting so much effort into this…
"… In the case that any of you are lucky enough to complete your resonation with a statue, do think about the sect and quadrant that raised you all up. Of course, The Cathdral and my Soul Rending Peak will give you proper compensation for your troubles, so there is no reason to worry about that.
"In the case that you fail, do not let it hamper your progression forward. Take this as a learning experience. After all, the younger generation is the pillar of our futures."
It seemed like the elders were intent on boring Dyon out of his mind, either that or they were trying to make up for hundreds of years of guidance in the span of a couple hours. The whole thing made Dyon feel quite disgusted, to be truthful.
First of all, if you resonate with the inheritance of statue, how could you hand it over the sect? How could they simultaneously be the pillar of their future, while also crippling themselves for the sake of a bullshit sect.
Dyon didn't believe for one instant that the elders didn't understand what they were asking.
Think about the word "resonate" for a moment. This wasn't a branding on the skin, this was a branding on the soul! The idea of handing over such a treasure would not only be inconceivably stupid, it would also further cripple a soul that was likely already crippled by this bullshit quadrant.
No matter how much the martial world might look down on soul cultivators, that was only in regard to combat prowess. And even then, the soul was helpful for many things, especially comprehension.
The soul was a lane that connected the body to the heavens. Without a powerful soul, comprehending wills and higher energies would become almost impossible. These fools wondered why they couldn't ascend past the saint levels, when the reality was right in front of their faces. How could you ascend to the celestial realm when your comprehension was crippled? Even the concept of doing so was asinine.
'This must be another ploy by Soul Market… I can use this.'
Other quadrants wouldn't even bother to speak about handing over the inheritance one of their geniuses resonated with. After all, it would require breaking a part a piece of their soul. However, didn't this 98th quadrant have a way to do that already?...
In fact, it would be easy! A strong enough inheritance might even have the ability to heal the crippled souls of those hidden geniuses here. If that happened, The Cathedral would use this as an excuse, labelling them as traitors to the church, all in order to take their souls away to be sold.
A sudden realization hit Dyon. No matter how good the products of the Soul Market were in the past, how could they compare to the inheritances of a genius great enough to enter the Valley of Geniuses? The amount of money they could sell such a soul for… It would be astronomical!
Dyon grit his teeth. 'These absolute scum!'