Prologue 4 - The Inter-sect Competition

With Deng Yufang being derived of his elder position, he no longer had any says in this meeting. Using just words to rid the status of a high ranking elder, the supreme status of a sect master is evident. While the elders were disgusted at the actions of the 9 dead disciples, they also understood their motive.

While Chang Mingyue remain the only candidate, there was still a final trial to undergo. Some elders wanted Chang Mingyue to immediately take on the identity of Master Disciple, but even with the Sovereign's Mark, many elders deemed Chang Mingyue to be unexperienced. In the end, they simply couldn't imagine an 11 year old boy taking on such heavy responsibilities and would rather hone him until he's of a suitable age. If other sects knew their Master Disciple is still such a young child, the Heavenly Cloud Sect would lose its face!

The two sides debated for a while before making a compromise.

In the Inter-sect Competition taking place in a few months, let Chang Mingyue be one of the main contenders.

While the boy might be a one in a century genius, the large upper realm does not lack for geniuses. Their future Master Disciple needs to prove himself to be above these dragons and phoenixes.

If he manages to rank within the top three, the Heavenly Cloud Sect would be able to grandly ascend Chang Mingyue's position without tarnishing its reputation. But if he failed, they would wait for him to mature more to let him take the position.

The case is settled.

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Back in the Golden Tiger Manor in the Lower Realm, Xu Cheng sat at the dining table with his family. As he ate, he recalled.

'Hmm... That dream I had sure was realistic... and random too...'

"Ah-Cheng, Ah-Cheng?"

The voice snapped Xu Cheng back to reality.

"Yes, father?"

The man who spoke, Xu Guwei is a buff middle aged man. He has intimidating features and a large stature, but the atmosphere around him is calm and warm. Being the current master of the Golden Tiger Manor, he's equal in status to the other 9 Manor heads, as well as being one of the 3 guardians of the Lower Realm.

"I'm just reminding you that your siblings and I will be doing some business in the upper realm for a few months. During that time, make sure not to cause any trouble for your mother, got that?"

"You all will be gone for that long?"

"It's for the Inter-sect Competition that takes place once every 4 years. There's much to prepare so of course it will take that long" Said Xu An, the eldest sibling and the sister of her two brothers.

"What's the Inter-sect Competition?"

Xu Jing, who became annoyed at his younger brother's ignorance answered:

"You don't even know about this? Even if you decided to not become a cultivator, the Inter-sect Competition is an event even many in the Lower Realm would dream to witness. You should know that in the Upper Realm, there are a countless number of sects, but all of them are branch sects of the 5 ruling sects which overlooks the entire upper realm. This Competition has many few purposes. One is to show the world their future leaders, and another is to allow cultivators who are talented but not well known to prove themselves, and possibly get the chance to enter one of the 5 major sects. This event is a great chance for youths who failed the arduous sect entrance examinations. What's more, The Inter-sect Competition is the only event that would gather all the influential cultivators including the 5 major sect leaders....This year's event is especially noteworthy as the number of geniuses that appeared over the past years are numerous! Such as the descendant of a branch family of the Fire Phoenix Lineage, Sheng Zhanxing, and the one from the Divine Cr-"

"You're rambling too much, Xu Cheng's never even heard of these people. This will be the last meal in a while for the whole family so let's talk about something else." Said Xu An.

'Divine Crane...that boy in my dream behaved like someone of a Divine Crane lineage....'Thought Xu Cheng. Then he shook his head, wondering why he keeps recalling that dream.

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Sheng Zhanxing of the Fire Phoenix Lineage is only an illegitimate son. Usually, it's only the main family descendants who would have access to abundant resources. Descendants like him who was a product of a one night stand by the fickle Master of the Fire Phoenix Manor have even less support than even branch members.

In fact, if it were not for his talent, The Master of the Fire Phoenix house wouldn't even know of his existence.

Sheng Zhanxing has an unique background...

His mother who had a beautiful appearance used to work in a tavern which The Master of Fire Phoenix Manor had once stayed in. With fervent pursuit, the man who's of a lascivious nature hoodwinked her into bed with empty promises. Then in the morning before he left without a word or note, all that's left beside his mother when she woke was a small bag of gold.

That's when she realized that those beautiful romantic tales she dreamed of was, in the end, really just a pipe dream...

Luckily, the gold left behind by that Manor Master was not a small sum. Even after finding out that she was pregnant and after having the baby, she still had a good amount of gold left over. So while the little Sheng Zhanxing and his mother often talked trash about his father, the two did not hold a grudge and lived a decent life.

That was, until his mother died... ever since giving birth, his mother became frail and sick. She was able to prolong her life because they had resources, but it was not long before several ruffian soldiers laid their eyes on the gold she held and robbed her. During her struggles, she was injured by those men, and later lost her life...

So little Sheng Zhanxing who was only 7 at the time lost the only person he could depend on. The officials in that area were corrupt, refusing to punish those soldiers and instead blamed him and his mother for stealing the gold from them, even trying to silence him. This outrageous action caused Sheng Zhanxing to lose all hope and go mad with anger, losing consciousness.

Once he came to his senses, somehow those officials and soldiers are dead. He stood amongst those corpses and looked down on his hand.

It's bloodied.

His eyes then laid on a broken piece of glass by his feet.

Sheng Zhanxing was startled. His eyes which were usually dark suddenly became blood red with slit pupils like that of a demon. What's more is that on his blood stained face, an ominous red mark appeared on his forehead....

From outside the room, he heard sounds of people preparing to come in. Knowing his fate if he were to be caught, Sheng Zhanxing fled.

He knew very well what that mark was. Symbolizing the greatest evil who had killed countless innocents, the catastrophic devil like being who once descended into this world centuries ago: The Demonic Sovereign. Sheng Zhanxing somehow became the vessel of such an individual....

If people were to know of this, he would be captured, tortured, experimented on to find the secrets of The Demonic Sovereign's soul transfer art. He most likely won't be able to die peacefully with a whole body intact....

So he ran for his life, far, far away from his hometown...

...Later on, after finding that the mark only appears when he's affected severely by his emotions, he became willing to come out under the sun again. To make a living, he made use of his talents to win fights, brawls, battles, until he became a prominent figure in the town he temporarily resides in. Then at the age of 9, he caught the attention of his birth father.

The man didn't show disdain for his poor background. Without knowing that he's his own son he took him in as a disciple. Then he was assigned as a bodyguard for a direct descendant, the youngest lady of the Fire Phoenix House. Later after he was accepted into one of the 5 great sects of the Upper Realm, The Crimson Peak Sect, he got himself a fiancé who's a direct descendant of The Blossom Fox Lineage. For Sheng Zhanxing, his life just keeps getting better. Even the Demonic Mark did not pose any trouble and never showed up since that incident. He believed that life will be smooth sailing, and that the Demonic Sovereign's soul resting within him will remain calm as long as his emotions stay stable.

After reaching Core Shaping stage at the age of 13, he was regarded as a once in a century genius and his name spread far and wide. He even believed that in the renown Inter-sect competition that's coming up soon, he'll become even more famous. He wanted to show the world that even without being born with a gold spoon, he'll become a prominent figure in the Upper Realm.....

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So why was this protagonist like guy introduced at this point?

Because in the large coliseum that's holding the competition, he's currently on the batting stage...

Rather than on, it's more accurate to say that he is lying on it.

Above him, a younger boy dressed in white and gold stood with an authoritative presence. The thin sword he held pointed dangerously close at his throat.

For Sheng Zhanxing whose life had been smooth sailing, making him feel as though he will someday reach the top of this world, this was like a sharp and painful slap waking him up from a blissful dream...

In the very first battle of the Intersect competition, a same stage cultivator who is the youngest in this competition knocked his sword out of his hands with one strike, rendering him helpless. It only took a second for this battle to end.

Glancing towards the top of the coliseum where the most influential figures sat, he saw his father glaring at him with an outraged expression. Sheng Zhanxing's blood suddenly ran cold....

What's worse is that during the rest of that boy's battles, the opponents each made 10 moves before they lost.....

Even when the boy faced a cultivator of the Core Forming stage, the other also made 10 moves!

Because of this sight, members of the audience occasionally glanced at the Master of Fire Phoenix Manor, thinking that this man probably favored Sheng Zhanxing and inflated the other's reputation. Other Manor Heads even questioned on his decision to allow Sheng Zhanxing to participate.

His father's face grew darker and darker...

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After the competition, the group from Heavenly Cloud Sect prepared to take the teleportation formation back to their sect. Before Chang Mingyue left, an elder came up to him.

"Core Disciple Chang-"Then he paused and chuckled. "Wait, it should be Master Disciple now, first, congratulations."

Chang Mingyue clasped his hand in thanks, his expression calm and indifferent as if the title was nothing noteworthy.

"Master Disciple Chang, clearly like the first battle, you could've ended the other battles with a single strike. Why did you allow your other competitors to make a few more moves before landing the finishing blow?"

Chang Mingyue thought a little before answering:

"They were weaker than I expected...so after winning the first battle, I suppressed my cultivation stage for the rest to learn a little about their techniques."

"Ahhhh.....I see."

So for Chang Mingyue, this competition felt dull and unimportant. There were no competitors that allowed him to use all of his strength.

But his action unintentionally threw Sheng Zhanxing's life in disarray, causing the other to later carve this grudge on his bones.

As Sheng Zhanxing returned with skeptical looks and lowered status, Chang Mingyue returned with the admiration of his elders and fellow disciples. with the title of Master Disciple, Reincarnation of the Esteemed Sovereign, and future sect leader of The Heavenly Cloud Sect, his reputation will reach an unprecedented high.....

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And 2 years later, Chang Mingyue travels to the Lower Realm once more...