Ch184 Combat Peak Elders

Ye Hongwu is a 219 year old 7th-level Foundation Establishment cultivator, holding a Late-Stage mastery of the Spirit-Grade Black Iron Battle Physique.

He is the master of the Outer Sect’s Combat Peak, holding the position strong for many decades.

His son, Ye Zhong, is a 3rd-level Foundation Establishment cultivator with an initial-stage mastery of the Spirit-grade Black Iron Battle physique.

He is only 130 years old, but with 6th grade roots, and no innate physique, he has stepped back from the Inner Sect early to help his father hold more control over this portion of the Outer Sect.

They are strong and respected elder members of the Ye Clan’s public-facing Copper City branch.

Both of them stand together in the uppermost booth of the fighting tournament stadium, in a room isolated with mid-grade Tier 2 arrays.

It is a large structure, used every year for this tournament.

They have a perfect view into the arena, where a large open pit a few hundred meters across rests empty. There are multiple stacked low- and mid-grade Tier 2 arrays in the floor, walls, and covering the air above the large pit.

It keeps the audience safe from debris, and can also act as a safety mechanism to stop fighters inside from taking matches too far.

Almost every seat in the arena is made of high-grade Tier 1 materials, and there are plenty of private booths surrounding the top ring to accommodate special guests.

Right now, other than last-minute maintenance workers, the entire arena is still empty.

It is set to open up at around noon, but now, Ye Zhong slowly paces back and forth in front of a large open one-way mirror window looking down on the arena.

His father listens to the report with his arms crossed.

“Yes, all of the talismans from the branch patriarch have been given out. I tested each one of them personally. Even with full physical contact, they cannot be sensed. The only way anyone would manage to find out is if all three uses are triggered at once, and the talisman falls out in the open…”

Ye Hongwu chuckles. “Very good, very good… That won’t happen in the combat tournament. I’ve arranged the matches to create some very good fights, but none that will push our Ye Clan disciples too far. I believe the Sun Clan twins and that Han Clan brute will be good matches, but they do not have the soul strength to keep fighting against soul-stabilizing talismans.”

Ye Zhong nods. “Yes, that will allow for over half of the final 8 to be Ye Clan disciples, and the top 2 in the final match a guaranteed battle of the two strongest in our Tie generation. We’ve managed to acquire an enchanted low-grade Tier 2 flying sword from the Inner Sect to be offered as the main prize. It took many favors, but it will certainly fall into our hands and pay off in the end!”

The older peak master smiles, showing slight wrinkles on his face that appears to be that of a middle-aged man with strong black hair and a trimmed beard.

At 219 years old, this 7th-level Foundation Establishment cultivator is slowly leaving his prime, but the Ye Clan’s Copper City resources are keeping him a very strong pillar within the sect, with many decades of ruling this peak ahead of him still.

He wears a dark black robe with green Azure Cloud Sect Combat Peak master insignias.

His sharp eyes look off past the arena, toward the rest of the peak.

“Very good. How about the less combat-focused members of the Tie Generation? Have you followed through and made sure we dominate the other Sun Clan peaks’ events?”

Ye Zhong smiles with pride. “Of course. The brothers in the alchemy tournament have soul-stabilizing talismans strong enough to create Barrier Breaking Pills. No one will beat them. At the Forging Peak, Ye Tiegang has forcefully failed his Foundation Establishment breakthrough to have the advantage of higher qi density at the 10th level. Paired with his own soul-stabilizing talisman, and innate heavy bone physique, he’ll be able to make a Perfect-Grade weapon. As for the minor side events on the Combat Peak, we’ve sent out weaker members of the Tie generation to secure wins, but there is far less attention on those competitions.”

Ye Hongwu’s low laugh echoes through the private room again.

“Excellent. This will cement our prestige above the rest another year in a row. We’ll have a much stronger argument to move our elders into these peaks. Those two old Sun Clan elders are both pushing 250 years. They’re on their way out…”

He pauses. “As for the Beast Mastery Peak… That Old Kang often stays out of our way. He has no clan presence outside the sect either, so it's not like he is limiting our resources at all. There is no need to stand out and challenge him this year, it won’t do us any good. That named disciple with the rock bees will probably win again this year anyway.”

Ye Zhong looks to his father again.

“What about visitors from the Inner Sect? Do we have any confirmed big shots that need extra accommodations?”

“It will be the usual crowd. Some of our Ye Clan disciples will be granted leave to watch, as well as the Sun Clan’s few interested forces. I doubt the Han Clan will send anyone. Most of their stronger cultivators are further north. Though, there will be a few young scions from the Lin and Wei Clans’ main bloodlines, looking to recruit to their Inner peaks. We’ll reserve the premium booths for them. They don’t let their young compete in Outer Sect tournaments like this, to maintain their mystique, but they will certainly pick out talents to strengthen their foundation.”

“Our Tie Generation will make quite the first impression then. If we can get a few direct offers to join their Inner peaks, that would be ideal.”

Ye Hongwu smiles, a dark black iron wave of vibrations radiating through him.

“Indeed. Lan Xin has decided not to compete in the main event this year, and there will be no other Sun or Han Clan wildcards that take the focus off our fighters. We’ll be able to grow in favor with the Lin and Wei Clans far more. Even the branch patriarch Ye Wuhun’s worries about that 7th level qi refiner with a spirit grade physique are baseless. We’ve tightened security and registered names and strength levels of every visitor, no one with these specifications has shown up. Today will be a perfect day.”