Chapter 924: Yang Zonglin
The challenge ring was below the Divine Dragon Nest. There were not ten of them this time, but just one as big as ten soccer fields. Its size meant that martial art practitioners of any level could battle at ease.
The competition among sects now was different from the Heaven List Tournament. It was not a battle of individual powers, but instead emphasized the overall power of the sects.
The rules were simple. Every sect would select five representatives, and their combined ability would determine the overall power of the sect. The selection criteria of the five representatives meant they needed to have two age ranges – two representatives had to be under 100 years old, and there was no age limit for the remaining three.
The rationale of the selection criteria took the legacy of the sects into consideration. Some sects had formidable seniors, but the juniors were not up to standard, so there was a lack of talent to inherit the learning and experience of the sect. As a result, this would also affect the combined ability of a sect.
Martial art practitioners under 100 years old were the young blood of a sect and determined if the sect could prosper in the future. Therefore, every sect needed to have two young members taking part in the battle.
The battle among the sects at the challenge ring was intense; however, the rules were simple – the selected five representatives would all go into the ring and fight. If they defeated their opponents, they would win; otherwise, they would lose. A five-on-five battle would naturally be chaotic, and the situation in the ring was always changing. The chances of winning were higher if they could defeat their opponents in one go. If they were to dilly-dally, they would be at a disadvantage.
The top eight sects would emerge this day, and almost all of those remaining came from the Peng Lai Immortal Realm of the Hidden Martial Arts Strain. Mo Wen had encountered a few of the warriors of the remaining sects.
The sects which the Goddess Cult, Water Deity and Lin Qing belonged to were pretty strong. Although the sects were made up entirely of women, no one dared to look down on them.
The sects which Golden Buddha and Wine and Meat Monk belonged to were equally formidable.
What surprised Mo Wen was that Blood Evil Temple was also among the remaining sects, and its overall power was impressive. Although Lord Merciless was only average, the overall ability of the sect should not be underestimated.
The sects from the Hidden Martial arts strainwere indeed not to be belittled. Most of those who went into the ring were at the Infinite Powerhouse level. Even those young practitioners under 100 years old who belonged to the top eight sects mostly had a cultivation belonging to the Infinite Powerhouse level. They were a group of practitioners with the most prospects in a sect and were even more valuable than senior practitioners for the long-term development of a sect.
“Yo, isn’t this Mo Wen? After hiding like a tortoise for two weeks, you’ve finally dared to come out? To think that you’re the Sect Leader of Dafang Sect. Tsk tsk. I’ve seen many incapable Sect Leaders, but I have never seen one that ran away at the last minute. Why? Are you afraid of us, the Blood Evil Temple?”
An effeminate voice could be heard, and a young man walked over. It was none other than Lord Merciless. He had almost recovered from his injuries, but he was looking at Mo Wen with an expression full of hatred.
Mo Wen frowned. He knew that meeting Lord Merciless was definitely not a coincidence. His entrance into the Divine Dragon Nest must have caught Lord Merciless’s attention, making him walk over. Although the Divine Dragon Nest was crowded and was a tough place for ordinary people to find anyone, it was an easy task for a martial art practitioner, with their sharp instincts and their high level of cultivation.
“Sect Leader, this person has purposely made things difficult for us. During the battle among sects, the Blood Evil Temple kept obstructing us, so we could not even enter the quarter-finals.”
Wang Yinru glared at Lord Merciless. Many sects had participated in the Martial Arts Circle Convention. Even though the Dafang Sect was not very powerful, it was not any common old sect. After all, the sect included Martial Arts Grandmaster strong practitioners like Ling Feng and Tan Qiyue. Common sects in the main space probably did not even have anyone from the Golden Elixir Realm, not to mention any Martial Arts Grandmasters.
During the preliminaries, if it had not been for the obstruction of the Hidden Martial Arts Sect of the Blood Evil Temple, the Dafang Sect would not have been eliminated.
The martial art practitioners of Dafang Sect who were standing behind Wang Yinru also scowled at Lord Merciless. Obviously, he had been making things difficult for Dafang Sect while Mo Wen was not around.
“Mo Wen, you recognize your own limits. You went into hiding when you realized that you’re no match for the Blood Evil Temple.”
Lord Merciless sneered at Mo Wen. He had assumed that Mo Wen had failed to turn up during the sect preliminaries because he was afraid of the Blood Evil Temple. Instead, he had just sent a few insignificant representatives. Regardless of how strong Mo Wen was among the younger generation, to the seniors of Blood Evil Temple who took part in this Martial Arts Circle Convention, he was not even worth mentioning.
For a mediocre sect, looking to achieve something big in the Martial Arts Circle Convention was like fantasizing about the impossible. While the cat’s away, the mice will play – usually, martial art practitioners from the Peng Lai martial arts strainwere absent, so the mediocre sects could take advantage of their absence. With the Peng Lai martial arts strainaround, they would have to behave.
“As a Sect Leader, I feel ashamed that you had to go into hiding. A coward like you is not even fit to be a Sect Leader. Oh, I forgot that Dafang Sect is just a trashy sect with no substance. It’s no wonder they have a Sect Leader like you…”
Lord Merciless laughed contemptuously. He had deliberately walked over to ridicule Mo Wen to vent his anger for the insult he had borne during the Heaven List Tournament. This was just a start, and he would teach Mo Wen a lesson sooner or later.
“Is that so? Then, the Blood Evil Temple should have no problem getting into the top eight,” Mo Wen answered calmly.
“Hmph, that’s a given. Do you think that the Blood Evil Temple is an inferior sect like the Dafang Sect and can’t even pass the preliminaries? Mo Wen, you dared to offend me, and you shall see what happens to you.” Lord Merciless was scornful and gave Mo Wen a threatening look. He would not say it out loud, but he was rather scared of Mo Wen. He felt the need to nip Mo Wen in the bud before he became too powerful for the Blood Evil Temple to deal with.
“Since that’s the case, all’s well. I’ll see you tomorrow, and I’ll give you a big surprise.” Mo Wen gave Lord Merciless a spurious smile and then left the Divine Dragon Nest. He already had some idea which sects would enter the top eight, so he did not need to stay there any longer.
Initially, he had been hesitant about the sect to challenge as it seemed unfair for him to intercept and enter the battle when the sects had passed many rounds to enter the top eight. Clearly, if he were to choose Blood Evil Temple, he would not have to feel guilty…
Gu Jingman gave a mischievous smile and followed silently behind Mo Wen.
“What does that mean?”
Lord Merciless was a bit stunned. A big surprise for him tomorrow? He did not believe that Mo Wen would give him a pleasant surprise. It was more likely that he would play some cunning tricks. He frowned slightly, thinking about what Mo Wen had meant. But in an instant, he was smiling again. No matter what Mo Wen had up his sleeve, he thought, the world only recognized power. He was probably no match for Mo Wen, but there were many more powerful opponents in the Blood Evil Temple. With the protection of the Blood Evil Temple, he believed that there was nothing Mo Wen could do to him.
The martial art practitioners of the Dafang Sect led by Wang Yinru also snorted and stood up to leave the Divine Dragon Nest. Since their Sect Leader had left, they had no reason to stay.
The Dafang Sect had booked the entire first floor of the Qiuhua Restaurant. By then, a large number of martial art practitioners from the Dafang Sect and the Ming Palace had gathered in the conference room of the restaurant.
A Dragon City Talisman was hard to obtain, but it was not too difficult for the influential Ming Palace, to get their hands on one. The members of the two sects added up to over 30 people.
“Sect Leader, have you decided to choose Blood Evil Temple as your opponent tomorrow? The sect is quite powerful. There’s a formidable elder among them, and he has consecutively defeated three Infinite Powerhouses in a sect battle all by himself.”
Wang Yinru expressed her concerns. She knew that the sects which were capable of breaking through to the top eight were not to be trifled with. The Blood Evil Temple was definitely not the weakest among the top eight sects. At least five sects from the Hidden Martial arts strainhad been defeated by Blood Evil Temple, so it might even become one of the top four.
“The head of Blood Evil Temple is called Yang Zonglin. He’s a famous old fellow in the Peng Lai martial arts strainand has lived for close to 300 years, almost reaching the martial arts life span limit. He was already an Infinite Powerhouse 200 years ago and was once known as the martial art practitioner in the Blood Evil Temple who could most probably break through to the Immortal Practice Realm. However, it’s been 200 years, and he has yet to break through to the Immortal Practice Realm. He probably doesn’t have much time left,” Ling Feng said composedly.
“Oh, Custodian Ling seems to know a lot about the Blood Evil Temple.” Mo Wen was surprised. Ling Feng must have some information, he thought. Come to think about it, it was hard to even have a martial art practitioner reaching the Golden Elixir Realm in the main space outside of the Peng Lai Immortal Realm. Yet Ling Feng was able to practice to the Martial Arts Grandmaster Third Realm, so he must be powerful.
“It’s embarrassing. At this stage, I shouldn’t hide anymore. I actually came from the Peng Lai Martial Arts Strain.” Ling Feng let out a sigh, with a complex expression on his face that seemed to show that he had been through a lot.
Wang Yinru and the others looked at Ling Feng in shock. No one had expected Custodian Ling to have such a background. The Peng Lai Martial arts strainwas undoubtedly the star in the martial art circle at the moment.
“So, since you have such a powerful background, Custodian Ling must be very familiar with the sects of the Peng Lai Immortal Realm?” Mo Wen asked indifferently.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m very familiar with them, but I have some knowledge of them. If Sect Leader were to choose Blood Evil Temple as your opponent, you must be careful of Yang Zonglin. Even though he has yet to break through to the Immortal Practice Realm, his cultivation of close to 300 years is still rather impressive. It’s said that he can even make martial art practitioners from the Immortal Practice Realm back off. The Blood Evil Temple probably seems insignificant when compared to the Peng Lai martial arts strain participating in the Martial Arts Circle Convention. Many sects are stronger than them, but Yang Zonglin is a rare, strong practitioner just below those who became immortals. In terms of individual battling abilities, he can be considered one of the top five contestants from the Peng Lai martial arts strain.”
Ling Feng emphasized his point with a solemn look. The Blood Evil Temple was nothing in the Peng Lai Immortal Realm, with its ability far below the Goddess Cult and the Golden Buddha Sect. However, Yang Zonglin was one of the rare strong practitioners who had yet to become immortal. He would probably have been undefeatable if there was no one from the Immortal Practice Realm present.