A Name That Shakes a Region – Discussion in the Pavilion

Chapter 633: A Name That Shakes a Region – Discussion in the Pavilion

On the thirteenth day of the Falling Cloud Sect’s internal tournament, the final round of selection was drawing to a close.

At that moment, in a pavilion halfway up the main peak, seven or eight Core Formation cultivators had gathered to discuss something.

Among them were the two Peak Masters of Heavenly Spring Peak: the middle-aged man named Xin and the gray-robed elder whose face carried a somewhat ferocious look. The others who were present also seemed to possess extraordinary auras.

“Is there truly no one among you fellow disciples willing to serve as this year’s delegation leader?” an old man in a blue robe with a flowing white beard and a face full of wrinkles asked, his brow slightly furrowed.

“Hmph! Senior Martial Brother Feng, they call the Sword Trial a tri-sect joint competition, but every time, both of our sects return with a loss while the Ancient Sword Sect takes all the glory. And this time, the leader of the Ancient Sword Sect’s delegation will surely be that sharp-tongued Jiang Yun. I have no desire to swallow their insults for nothing,” a middle-aged man with a languid air and two small mustaches replied with an air of nonchalance.

“Exactly! I’ve also heard that a few years ago, the Ancient Sword Sect took in another disciple with a ‘Nine Spirit Sword Physique.’ There’s no doubt they will send him to the Assembly this time. With that, what is left to compare? On our side, while we do have some disciples with special constitutions, the gap between them and a talent like that is far from narrow. And I’ve also heard that Hundred Art Academy recently enrolled a direct-line disciple from the Shangguan Clan, who was reportedly already using self-refined magic tools to defeat his own family’s elders while still in the Qi Condensation stage. He, too, will likely be very difficult to deal with,” another old man with a sallow complexion chimed in, shaking his head.

Upon hearing this, the white-bearded elder’s face revealed a hint of displeasure.

“Junior Martial Brothers, what you say is true. The Sword Trial Assembly has indeed become the Ancient Sword Sect’s stage to show off their strength against our two sects. But what can be done? Their power is greater and their strength surpasses ours. If our sect sends no disciples to the Assembly, I fear we would be unable to obtain even a quarter share of the spiritual liquid. Furthermore, it would easily stir up hostility from the Ancient Sword Sect toward us, which would be detrimental to the Falling Cloud Sect’s long-term development within Cloud Dream Mountain. After all, it is not just one or two sects that covet our position among the three occupying this mountain range. We cannot allow outsiders to exploit any rift between us,” the white-bearded elder said, his expression turning grave.

“Since Senior Martial Brother Feng has put it that way, I will take on the role of delegation leader. It’s been quite some time since I last met with Elder Chang Zheng of the Hundred Art Academy. Having a chat wouldn’t be a bad thing, either,” the square-faced, red-robed old man who had been sitting across from the white-bearded elder suddenly spoke up, taking the matter upon himself.

“Junior Martial Brother Duan, you are the master of Blazing Cloud Peak and have many disciples under your command. Would it not be improper for you to leave for such a period?” the white-bearded Feng hesitated upon hearing this offer.

“It is of no concern. My Junior Martial Brother Li will remain on Blazing Cloud Peak; nothing will go wrong. Besides, it is not as though I am leaving Cloud Dream Mountain. I am merely going from the Eastern Branch to the Western Branch, a journey of only a single day,” the red-robed elder replied without concern.

Upon hearing this, the white-bearded elder stopped insisting and nodded in agreement. His gaze then swept across the faces of the others before finally settling on the gray-robed elder with the ferocious features.

“Junior Martial Brother Yu, I am aware that you rarely manage affairs on Heavenly Spring Peak. Would you be willing to assist Junior Martial Brother Duan this time? Junior Martial Brother Xin, do you have any objections?” the white-bearded elder asked, turning to the middle-aged Xin for his final question.

“Of course not. So long as Junior Martial Brother Yu is willing,” the middle-aged Xin replied with a faint smile.

The gray-robed elder’s cold face twitched slightly. After a long moment, he gave his answer in the briefest possible words.

“Fine, I will go.”

Hearing this, the white-bearded elder’s face showed a hint of delight. He nodded again before continuing:

“Then, for this delegation, Junior Martial Brother Duan will be the leader, with Junior Martial Brother Yu and Junior Martial Sister Song of White Phoenix Peak serving as his assistants. Once today’s final round of competition is over, you are to gather those thirty selected disciples and give them some guidance. Perhaps our sect still has a chance at this year’s Assembly. Among this batch of disciples, there are several candidates whose strength is not negligible. They should be able to put up a fight against the Ancient Sword Sect and the Hundred Art Academy.”

“Junior Martial Sister Song will also be part of the delegation? I was not aware of this. If that is the case, I would be willing to take Junior Martial Brother Yu’s place and go for this one trip,” a cultivator with a crafty expression, who had been hiding in a corner of the room all along, said in a somewhat stunned loud voice.

Upon hearing this, the other cultivators in the pavilion stirred restlessly, with two or three of them immediately showing expressions of regret on their faces.

“Hmph! Junior Martial Brother Meng, what do you mean by that? I spoke at length just now, yet not a single word did you say about stepping forward. But the moment you hear that Junior Martial Sister Song is going, you jump out. Let me tell you plainly: this time, Junior Martial Sister Song agreed to lead the delegation on the condition that I did not first reveal her involvement to everyone else. Otherwise, given her temperament, why would she willingly leave White Phoenix Peak?” the white-bearded elder said with a dark expression.

This elder’s cultivation had already reached the late Core Formation stage, while the crafty cultivator was only at the early Core Formation stage.

Thus, as soon as the elder’s expression changed, the man immediately lowered his head and dared not argue further.

The few others who had been tempted exchanged glances, looked at each other helplessly, and likewise chose not to speak.

Just then, footsteps were suddenly heard from outside the room, followed by a man’s voice.

“Reporting to Master and the several honored uncles! The final round of competition has concluded. A total of three Foundation Establishment disciples and twenty-one Qi Condensation cultivators have been selected. This disciple has brought the list.”

“Oh! Since the list is ready, send it in. Let the uncles have a look as well,” the white-bearded elder said, his expression softening.

“As you command!” the man outside replied respectfully. He then pushed open the door and entered.

He was a Foundation Establishment late-stage man in his thirties, with a dignified appearance and a tall, sturdy build.

“This is the list and information on the final twenty-four victors,” the man said, taking out a white jade slip from his bosom and holding it out with both hands to the elder.

“Let me take a look first!” The elder gave a slight nod, took the jade slip, and swept his spiritual sense over it briefly.

“Oh?” After only two glances, a trace of surprise appeared on his face.

“What is it? Is there something wrong with the list?” the red-robed cultivator asked, his expression shifting with interest.

The others also turned to look at the elder with surprise.

“It’s nothing. You fellow disciples should take a look for yourselves!” Having said this, the white-bearded elder’s face returned to normal. He then tossed the jade slip to the sallow-faced old man beside him.

After reading it, the sallow-faced man also showed a hint of surprise, but he said nothing and simply passed the slip to the next person.

Before long, everyone had seen the jade slip. The expressions on their faces flickered with uncertainty.

When the middle-aged Xin of Heavenly Spring Peak saw the slip, a look of surprise repeatedly flashed in his eyes.

“I never expected that a single Heavenly Spring Peak would have six members selected. Truly, we on the other peaks are deeply ashamed! It seems Senior Martial Brother Xin truly has a knack for teaching his disciples,” the middle-aged man with the mustache sighed slowly.

“It looks like Senior Martial Brother Xin is determined to achieve something at this year’s Sword Trial Assembly. That’s why he has put so much effort into cultivating these disciples!” the crafty cultivator added with a note of sourness. The Hidden Sword Peak, to which he belonged, had seen only three of its disciples selected this time, a considerable loss of face.

“No, no, that is absolutely not the case. That so many from Heavenly Spring Peak were selected has taken me by surprise as well. But setting the others aside, how did two disciples at the tenth layer of Qi Condensation, named Han Li and Du Dong, get on the list? If I remember correctly, they joined the sect only about a year ago. Their being among the final selections is a bit strange. Nephew Gao, how did those two win?” the middle-aged Xin asked, his expression unchanged after a moment of deliberation.

Upon hearing this question from his uncle, the male cultivator who had just entered the room replied immediately:

“The method of their victory is nothing special. That disciple named Du Dong possesses an extremely powerful top-grade ice-attribute magic tool. According to his performance, this unknown tool is both offensive and defensive, and it appears to complement his cultivation technique seamlessly. Every opponent who faced him was frozen stiff by the tool the moment they clashed. Over the course of several rounds, no one could withstand even a single blow.”

“Oh! What kind of tool? Describe it for us,” the middle-aged man with the mustache interrupted, his interest piqued.

“It is a wheel-shaped tool about a foot in diameter, engraved with crescent moon patterns. When activated, it emits a shining white light. It can instantly generate an ice-attribute protective barrier, or it can unleash a condensed cold-qi attack in the form of a large bird.”

“That sounds like the ‘Cold Moon Wheel,’ the ancestral treasure of the Du Clan, which was completely annihilated two hundred years ago. Could it be that Du Dong is a descendant of that clan?” the mustached middle-aged man said, his eyes moving thoughtfully as he made the unexpected connection.

“Mm, that is highly likely. After all, the Du Clan was once quite a large family. It is not impossible that some of their direct-line disciples managed to escape the calamity and lived incognito all this time. They probably believed that enough years had passed for their old enemies to no longer pay them any heed, and thus decided to re-emerge,” the white-bearded elder said slowly, stroking his beard.