Chapter 88: The Bell Rings

When one lives in the mountains, they tend to forget the time and date.

The same applied to Chen Jingzhai, too, as he had completely lost track of how much time had passed and even forgot his own birthday.

When he was finally out of his Seclusion Training, he was quick to learn that the battle forum was approaching.

The ringing of a bell echoed throughout the entire Daoxuan Peak.

Lights shone in every corner as people swiftly gathered at the Heaven and Earth Palace.

When Chen Jingzhai finally rushed over, 13 Golden Core Sages had already arrived.

All of them greeted him with bows and smiles.

Chen Jingzhai also returned the greetings and turned to look at the Peak Master.

Peak Master Yang remained silent and signaled for the young man to sit next to him while the Golden Core Sages proceeded to stand behind him.

After a moment of hesitation, Chen Jingzhai decided to sit down.

In just a few minutes, most of the disciples of Daoxuan Peak had arrived.

Even Sun Changrong, who had reached the Complete Foundation Plane, came as well.

“The Sea of Clouds will open, and the battle forum will begin in three days. This is a huge event for our clan, and everyone should give their 110 percent!” said Sage Hao Feng, standing in front of the disciples. “Those who have yet to reach the Complete Foundation Plane will have to participate! Your job is to let the other branches know that formations can also be formidable!”

The reason they rang the bell was to announce the battle forum.

It served as a comparison between the disciples of different visible peaks and a battle of fate between the branches.

That was why the battle forum was important to every branch.

Even the Wine Celestial lineage that never liked competing also encouraged their disciples to participate.

It wasn’t Hao Feng’s first time preparing the disciples for the battle forum, but he was extraordinarily excited and generous this time.

The first thing he did was announce the rewards.

The rewards could be separated into different categories, and only the rewards for the top 100 were worth something.

There were over 3,000 inner disciples in all of the 15 visible peaks combined.

It wasn’t an easy task to get into the top 100.

The prizes for the top 100 to 81, top 80 to 61, top 60 to 31, top 30 to 21, top 20 to 11, and the top 10 ranged from elixirs to spiritual items, formations, Restrictions, spells, and other valuable items.

Chen Jingzhai couldn’t help but frown as, from what he had learned, the rewards for the last battle forum lacked in comparison to the current one.

Li Yifei was placed 18th in the last forum, and his reward was a formation of his choice from the library.

It made sense as to why the disciples were excited after hearing the announcement.

“Remember, the main purpose of the battle forum is to exchange paths with other disciples. The fighting comes next. It will always be a win if you are able to gain something. The true intention of the battle forum is to realize your own flaws through spars!” said Peak Master Yang, who sat in the main seat with a serious expression. “The Deacon Hall has prepared huge rewards to motivate you to do your best out there.”

His words were like a bucket of ice water that took away the excitement immediately. Every disciple now had a mixed expression on their face.

However, the Golden Core Sages remained expressionless, as if they were statues.

“I’m sure that everyone knows what is happening in Pulao Kingdom right now. There are many branches and inner disciples in our clan, but not everyone can head into the mortal world,” said the Peak Master. “That is why, after a long discussion with the elders, we have decided that we’ll decide who will accompany your Master-Uncle to Pulao Kingdom according to the rankings! Other than Wangbei, who has already left for the mortal kingdom, and Changrong, who’s about to depart, only five slots are left! This means that if you want to be a part of what’s happening in Pulao Kingdom, you’ll have to get a high ranking in the battle forum. At the very least, you’ll have to rank in the top five among our fellow Daoxuan Peak disciples! As for your Master-Uncle, he has already gained the right to leave as a reward for his contribution to the expedition into the secret zone!”

All the disciples couldn’t help but shift their attention toward Chen Jingzhai.

They didn’t need more explanation as to what he had done for the peak during the expedition.

Daoxuan Peak had finally ranked first after a long time, and their resources for the future had increased because of that.

That was a huge thing for the peak.

Not only that, but their Master-Uncle had also made a name for himself for his efficiency in producing Foundation Establishment Elixirs.

Chen Jingzhai remained expressionless, but he understood that the Peak Master supported him.

The reason he was separated from the disciples was to avoid any conflicts later on, as it would be awkward for the Master-Uncle to fight his disciple nephews and nieces for the chance to head to Pulao Kingdom.

“The others will go according to the traditions. Remember, even if you run into fellow peers from our peak, you’ll have to fight with everything you have. Remember that you are not only representing your branch but yourself as well!” Peak Master Yang reminded the disciples before leaving.

Sage Hao took over and started to remind everyone of the rules.

The battle forum was an event that had the attention of the entire clan.

Although it was mostly a battle between the disciples of the visible peaks, the disciples of the hidden branches would be observing too.

If one were not to give their 100 percent, they would only be embarrassing themselves.

After that, Hao Feng let the Sages return with their disciples while he remained in the palace with Chen Jingzhai.

“Master-Uncle.” Hao Feng bowed. “I’m not sure how much you know about the disciples who are going to participate. If you want, I can introduce them.”

“Wait, so the Sages are now going to help their disciples dissect their opponents?” Chen Jingzhai was surprised.

“That’s right.” Sage Hao smiled. “Knowing thyself and thy opponent is the path to victory. We have to understand what our opponent is capable of at all times. Another goal of the battle forum is to ensure that our disciples make a habit of doing that.”

“This is surprising.” Chen Jingzhai sighed. “I thought the branches only act as if the battle forum is important. Who knew that the Sages were really going to help the disciples?”

“They are all deacons of our peak. It’s their responsibility to lead the disciples,” the Sage explained. “Plus, the Golden Core Sages have the time to spare since they can live a long life.”

Chen Jingzhai was glad to learn that the Golden Core Sages had such responsibility after taking on the role of a deacon.

It was literally similar to one-on-one coaching.

With a grin, he began to learn about the other participants from Hao Feng.

Other than the disciples who had participated in the expedition, there were other brilliant talents as well.

However, the biggest challenge would be the disciples of the Three Great Sword Branches.

The three branches had always taken the top five ranks in the previous battle forums.

It made Chen Jingzhai curious as to how they were so dominant.

“The disciple of the Spot Star Sword Branch who had participated in the previous forum has already completely established their foundations, so they won’t be participating this time,” Hao Feng said. “This time, all focus is on their new star, Wang Yao. He’s born with a sword bone, and his improvements are shockingly fast. The main method that the Spot Star Sword Branch practices is the Tri Illumination Holy Sword, which refines the sword vapor with star power. Not only is the technique flashy, but it’s agile and heavy at the same time.”

Just the combination of heavy and agile attacks showed how powerful the sword vapor of the Spot Star Sword Branch was.

However, what caught Chen Jingzhai’s attention, even more, was the star power.

Although he had never reached the scriptures of the Three Great Sword Branches, he still knew of the amazing prowess of the star power.

It wasn’t something that all cultivators could master.

Hao Feng studied Chen Jingzhai’s expression for a while before continuing with his introduction.

Other than the Spot Star Sword Branch, the participants from the Golden Jade Sword Branch and the Azure Sparrow Sword Branch remained the same.

The other two sword branches had two participants who were ranked in the top five in the last battle forum.

The rankings proved that the sword branches were born to fight.

The other branches each had their own focus, but it was clear that the path of the sword proved to be stronger in terms of battle.

“You are allowed to use magic treasures in the battle,” Hao Feng finally said. “The stage itself is a magic treasure, and it’ll forcefully remove a participant if it senses that they are in danger.”

There were two ways to lose a fight at the battle forum. One was to admit defeat, and the other was to get forcefully ejected from the stage.