Nephele

Nephele, Ciri, and Eos were only a kilometer away from Grimholde and Eos took and let go of the girls.

"Master, how are we going to get into the city?"

"Everyone is welcome to the festival Ciri. They don't check who goes in or out of the city now that the festival is going."

From the clearing where they stood, they could see the city clearly. The town was much larger than Aremholt. Nephele estimated it to be three or four times as large. The city was surrounded by white high walls that would protect it from attackers. They sparkled in the sunlight and stood in sharp contrast to the massive black towers that stood tall behind the walls.

So this was the power center of the Dragon Sky sect.

"You see that group of people over there? Eos asked. He pointed to a small group of people that couldn't have been more than five or six.

"Yes," Nephele answered slowly. It was hard to make them out but apparently not for Eos.

"It's a group with both outer and inner disciples. The girl with the short red kimono and long airy sleeves is an outer disciple, with the one on the right being an inner disciple."

The girl who was an inner disciple had a completely different look. It had the same color scheme, but it was a long sleeveless tight dress with a deep neckline and high slits on both sides. Unless Nephele was mistaken, it was decorated with gold dragons.

The others were men and were dressed in black trousers and long red coats with the same decorations as the girls.

"The men are inner disciples?" Ciri asked.

"Yes."

The group suddenly began to move and soon disappeared among the others who were heading towards the city. Nephele felt impatient. "Master are we going to stand here all day?"

Keeping a low profile was impossible as they headed toward the city. Ciri, Nephele, and Eos were like stars in the darkness of the night among all the people.

Nephele thought on several occasions that people would stand in their way or give them a hard time, but after people took an extra look at them, they backed down. Whistles and sexual invectives were heeded from time to time but were quickly replaced by bows, dignified remarks, and the fear of having offended cultivators of unknown descent and cultivation. The atmosphere around them was like a boiling cauldron of emotions.

Even though Eos was with the girls, he was no less likely to be in the spotlight. He was, after all, a Supreme and there was no hiding that with his appearance and aura. Just the fact that he was a Qi cultivator and had an aura was incredible. That alone should be impossible.

During the market days, there was a great deal of excitement throughout the city. Market stalls and vendors lined the streets, mixed with jesters and all sorts of performers.

The streets were wide and there was plenty of room for everyone.

They soon arrived at the main square and the great amphitheater. It was built entirely of white marble, fifty meters high and six hundred meters in circumference. The intestine was completely enclosed and the sound of screams of pain and death could be heard from it.

"We have to register over there," Ciri said, pointing.

They entered the amphitheater and were soon directed to a large room. From the room, they had a good view of the arena as the room was several stairs up and lacked a wall facing the arena.

A cold chill ran through Nephele as she saw what was going on down in the arena. A black demonic praying mantis the size of three horses was chewing the head off a woman and a man was impaled on the manta's claws.

"Welcome to the Dragon Sky Sect and the annual festival. This will be the last selection of the day. To be accepted into the inner circle, you will need to kill a black demon praying mantis. If you wish to be admitted by the sect as an outer disciple, you must at least have an excellent spirit root."

The man who spoke had an expressionless monotone voice. But every now and then Nephele thought he was glancing at Eos, Ciri, and herself. He was quite handsome, dressed in a long, heavy, and majestic suit of black and burgundy cloth of the finest quality. His aura was strong, he had black eyes and dark hair that almost had a blue-black tone to it. Nephele guessed that he was one of the Great Elders.

"Those who aspire to become inner disciples, you need at least to be in the Golden-core realm, have an excellent spirit root...and defeat the divine power puppet."

"Stand to the right if you aspire to be external disciples. To the left, if you aspire to be an inner disciple, and stay in the middle if you want to be part of the inner circle."

"The path to immortality is not to fly away. The road is not easy and comfortable. This is the road of no return. It requires a strong will, mind, and cultivation. Stand on your desired spot."

The only ones left in the middle were Eos, Ciri, and Nephele.

"Master, can I kill the mantis now? Please." Ciri's voice was heard clearly in the room, bringing everything to a halt. Eos nodded slightly and Ciri was no longer in the room.

Her hair and long black silk sarong fluttered wildly; as she fell through the air. And her almost naked body glistened as she created spirit leaves that caught her fall.

She landed with a few light steps, a few feet in front of the praying mantis. And in her hands, she held two identical swords with silver blades.

The monster recoiled. Her long hair fell over her shoulders and the sunlight spread through the raven-black hair, radiating a misty beauty. How could there be such an exquisitely beautiful person in this world?

At her feet lay a half-eaten man and a woman. They had been two inner disciples, but they hadn't measured up to belong to the inner circle.

Screams and shouts were heard from the crowd in the stands. Why would She choose to die? A goddess.

But the fear of seeing a goddess become monster food was groundless. Ciri had taken a step forward and swung her swords, parrying the monster's attack with graceful ease and then notching off its head.

It would have been impossible to do without the swords Eos had given her. She had no real experience killing monsters. And if she had tried to use the basic solid Qi sword created by spirit, she would not have been able to kill it.

Monsters were classified similarly to human cultivation levels. But one used numbers. Number one was the weakest. The higher the number the stronger the monster and The black praying mantis was a class 3 monster, as strong as an advanced-Nascent cultivator.