Deng Vs Mo

"Deng Xianliang of the Deng Sect sends his regards to the Mo Sect," Xianliang spoke as he approached the small group of six cultivators, slightly bowing as he did so.

Xue Jian followed suit and also likewise stepped forward, bowed slightly, and introduced himself in return.

"I am Xue Jian of the Mo sect. The way in which you have been able to follow us; indeed, the reputation of the successor of the Deng Sect is well deserved. It is my honor to meet you today."

"No," Xianliang interjected. "The honor is mine. Even as prestigious as the Three Pillars of Ming are, before the Mo Sect, we cannot even begin to compare."

Once the two exchanged their pleasantries, Xue Jian decided to cut right to the chase and get right to the root of the matter.

"So would you care to enlighten us as to why the esteemed successor of the Deng Sect felt the need to seek us out?"

"My apologies, If we have caused you undue stress and worry. " Xianliang replied.

"To be honest, the reason that I have sought you out today is not of great importance; rather, it's more of a personal curiosity, so to speak."

"What I'm interested in learning is how the new generation of Deng Sect compares to the new generation of the Mo Sect."

Upon hearing those words, Xue Jian had relaxed ever so slightly, of course, just in case he was still on guard.

Xue Jian had heard of the reputation of Deng Xianliang. As the successor of the Deng Sect, he had often gone to various sects around Ming and had challenged them In various ways.

As one of the Three Pillars of Ming, countless smaller sects were enthused at the opportunity to challenge such a high-profile sect. If they had done even remotely well, the smaller sects could easily boost their reputation tremendously.

And from the rumors, it had seemed that the competitions were quite fair and were not the result of a prominent prestigious sect bullying around smaller sects.

From what Xue Jian had heard, it truly seemed that Xianliang was hosting these competitions to broaden his horizons and learn and incorporate the various advantages that the other sects had.

Perhaps it was this very open-mindedness that had cemented his position as the successor to the Deng Sect.

"Since you have gone out of your way to meet up with us. Surely, you must already have something in mind."

"Naturally," Xianliang replied, "Since I am mostly interested in gauging the potential of the next generation of the Deng sect against the Mo Sect, this competition should be between the youths of each group. And thus, I proposed a team battle a four versus four if you will."

"Wait a moment," Xue Jian interrupted as he looked towards Lihua. "There is someone in our group that is not a member of the Mo Sect. She is just temporarily joining our group solely for this event. Whether or not she would like to participate is wholly up to her."

Li Hua quickly responded to Xue Jian.

"Senior Xue Jian, it would be my honor to fight alongside the Mo Sect."

As those words left her lips, Xue Jian turned towards Xianliang and spoke.

"Since she has agreed, then I also have no opposition to this. We can accept your challenge if the terms are reasonable."

"Excellent!" Xianliang replied as he walked back towards his group of nineteen cultivators. With a snap of his fingers. The four most seasoned Nascent Soul cultivators of the Deng Sect walked forward in an orderly fashion.

Each one of them introduced themselves as they came forward.

The four had introduced themselves as Chen Jing, Xiao Zihao, Xiong Yongnian, and Hao Ruolan, the last one being the sole female of the group.

Once the four Deng Sect cultivators had finished their introductions, Gao Liang stepped forward and introduced himself, followed by Xiuying, then Zhongming, and finally Lihua.

When Zhongming had introduced himself, Xianliang had noticed that he was just a Core Formation cultivator.

After all the introductions were done, Xianliang spoke up.

"Since you have a Core Formation cultivator, won't this four versus four team battle be a bit disadvantageous for you?"

Xue Jian chuckled lightly and replied, "Don't underestimate the disciples of the Mo Sect. The trio of Gao Liang, Xiuying, and Zhongming was able to, however, briefly content with Hualing here, who I consider to be one of the strongest Soul Integration cultivators in Ming."

Xianliang's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. If which Xue Jian had said was true, then that was a very impressive feat. In fact, if they were capable of such a feat, then the four Nascent Soul cultivators of the Deng Sect might not be their match, furthermore now they also had a fourth member, further tipping the balance.

Of course, for Xianliang winning this match wasn't all that important.

What was important was to use every opportunity to develop further the potential of the members of the Deng Sect.

Thus, even if they were to lose, it would still be a great opportunity, especially it would allow these younger cultivators who had been hailed as geniuses to truly learn some humility.

Currently, due to their talent, they had been able to breeze past any obstacles; only when facing cultivators of higher realms or having handicaps imposed, did they struggle. What this resulted in was a superficial type of humility and a sense of complacency.

What they needed most right now was to truly experience the phrase. "There are always bigger fish out there." And what the Mo Sect had provided was precisely that.

"Chen Jing. Xiao Zihao. Xiong Yongnian. Hao Ruolan." Xianliang called out. "Remember, you four are going to be competing against the members of the Mo Sect. So do not underestimate them."

The four merely nodded as they kept their gaze on their opponents.

Their gaze was sharp. Their will was tempered. The reputation of the Mo Sect had proceeded them; even the talented geniuses of the Deng Sect knew that if they had intended to win, they would need to give it their all.