Hundreds of sects, thousands of exceptionally talented youths, tens of thousands of outstanding disciples, as well as the renowned seniors and powerful elders from the major sects.
At this very moment, they were all gathered at the foot of the Celestial Break Mountain Range!
The Sect Assembly was not held at a fixed time. It was generally convened once every decade or so, but sometimes the interval stretched to several decades, or even a century.
But this Sect Assembly was unlike any that had come before!
The most important event of the assembly—the arena tournament meant to test the young disciples of the various sects and allow them to display their strength—had been canceled.
In its place... the mysterious, unknown, and perilous Ancient Ruins would become the new battlefield for the young disciples of the major sects!
There, they would prove their strength!
The faces of all the young disciples attending the Sect Assembly were filled with excitement. Youthful blood ran hot. Even though they all knew that immense danger awaited them within the Ancient Ruins, they felt no fear. Instead, they were filled with anticipation for the moment to come!
Everyone hoped to use this opportunity to embark on their own... path of the strong!
As the host of this Sect Assembly, Xushan finally made an appearance as the event began.
Unlike his usual slovenly self, Xushan's hair was now neatly combed. He wore a purple robe and moved with a powerful, commanding stride, his calm demeanor carrying a compelling, heroic air. He sat in the center of the pre-built high platform, flanked on either side by the Sect Leaders of the other major sects.
As soon as all the sects had arrived, the Sect Assembly would officially begin!
Below the high platform were rows of seats prepared for the upper echelons of the sects. Each was marked with a sect's name, so everyone just had to find their assigned place.
The young disciples, meanwhile, all stood behind their respective sects. The vast majority of them were attending the Sect Assembly for the first time, their youthful faces filled with excitement and curiosity.
Looking down from above, the area at the base of the Celestial Break Mountain Range, by the shore of a lake that resembled a pearl inlaid on the edge of a great plain, was a bustling sea of people.
Whether by someone's deliberate design or not, the Merak and Tianquan Sects were situated right next to each other.
The Tianquan Sect had also brought about a hundred young disciples this time. Compared to the major sects that sent thousands, their numbers seemed rather meager.
What made the Tianquan Disciples even more furious and helpless were the strange looks from the other sects and... the fact that the Merak Sect was positioned right next to them!
With Fang Zhou's death, the enmity between the two sects had become completely irreconcilable. At this point, never mind Elder Xiao of the Jade Balance Sect, Fang Jing wouldn't give up his thoughts of revenge even if the Sect Leader of the Jade Balance Sect himself intervened.
A parent burying their own child. No matter how worthless Fang Zhou was, no matter how much he deserved to die, in Fang Jing's eyes, he was the best son in the world. He should have had a bright future, and he absolutely should not have died here, let alone so miserably!
Therefore, in Fang Jing's mind, Xu Luo had to die!
Not only did Xu Luo have to die, but the entire Merak Sect deserved death! His brother had already promised him that Xu Luo would not make it out of the assembly's trial alive. And after the Sect Assembly ended, the Merak Sect would face a terrifying ambush on their journey home!
By then, begging for mercy would be useless!
In just two short days, much more of Fang Jing's hair had turned white. He looked utterly haggard, his eyes glinting with an intense, unconcealed hatred.
The people from the Merak Sect had not yet arrived.
The members of the surrounding sects were abuzz with discussion.
"Haha, what were the people from Jade Balance Sect thinking, putting two sworn enemies right next to each other? Now we've got a show to watch!"
"The people from the Merak Sect still aren't here. Don't tell me... they're too scared to show up?"
"I'm curious what kind of young man would dare to kill another sect's Young Master right in front of Elder Xiao from the Jade Balance Sect. I really want to see what he looks like..."
"That Tianquan Sect Master is so unlucky. He brings his son to the Sect Assembly only to watch him get killed right before his eyes. Talk about unlucky and pathetic!"
"Speaking of which, wasn't the Young Master Tianquan, Fang Zhou, even unluckier? They say it's a worthy death to die for a beautiful woman, but he died without even getting the girl..."
"I met that Young Master Tianquan once. He didn't seem like much, just an arrogant punk who acted high and mighty because his uncle is in the Jade Balance Sect. He must have taken it too far this time. Otherwise, why would someone kill him right in front of his father and a Jade Balance Sect Elder?"
"But I heard that kid from the Merak Sect isn't without backing. After it happened, two Jade Maidens from the Celestial Cauldron Sect apparently visited him. They talked for a long time before leaving."
"By the way, what's the name of that audacious kid from the Merak Sect? I heard from some Merak disciples that he comes from the secular world and was already extremely powerful before he joined. How does a kid from the secular world even cultivate to that level?"
"I think it's Xu Luo..."
"Xu Luo?" Standing among the disciples of the Kaiyang Sect, Huangfu Shishi, who had shown little interest in the matter, suddenly snapped her eyes open at the mention of the name. A look of shock crossed her incredibly beautiful features.
'Is it just a coincidence... or is it really him?' Huangfu Shishi's heart, once as calm as still water, was suddenly thrown into turmoil.
Although Huangfu Shishi knew that Phoenix and Xu Luo were acquainted, she hadn't made the connection. After all, the gap between the sects and the secular world was immense. Even though the Merak Sect wasn't a major power among the sects, to the secular world, it was still an unattainable behemoth.
So she had never connected this incident to Xu Luo, assuming the audacious young man was simply an outstanding disciple from within the Merak Sect. After all, not all peerless geniuses came from the major sects.
That was why Huangfu Shishi had never paid the matter much mind.
But now, suddenly hearing Xu Luo's name from the mouths of others, she instantly grew worried.
After all, taking on an entire sect by oneself was already a massive strain, let alone also offending an Elder with Real Power from a behemoth like the Jade Balance Sect.
'Could it really be Brother Xu Luo?' Huangfu Shishi's heart filled with anxiety.
Just then, a commotion arose in the distance.
"The Merak Sect is here!"
With that cry of alarm, nearly every eye turned in the same direction. Even the Sect Leaders of the major sects on the high platform couldn't help but look over.
This was what it meant to be the center of attention.
Unfortunately, this was not the kind of attention the Merak Disciples wanted. For instance, Sun Wu and the other disciples from the Grand Elder's faction hated Xu Luo with a passion that rivaled even that of the Tianquan Sect!
They believed Xu Luo had dragged them all down with him!
If it weren't for Xu Luo, then even if Phoenix hadn't married Fang Zhou, Fang Zhou would never have died. And if Fang Zhou hadn't died, then the Tianquan Sect, Elder Xiao of the Jade Balance Sect, and Fang Jing's brother wouldn't be taking their anger out on the entire Merak Sect.
Quite a few Merak Disciples shared this sentiment, including some of the young disciples who were originally aligned with the Sect Leader. They, too, had their own reservations.
As a result, even though their small sect was receiving the attention of the entire Sect Assembly, they were not the least bit happy about it.
Xu Luo, however, walked with a placid expression behind Sect Leader Li Wenxi and a group of Elders. Phoenix accompanied him, and though a flicker of nervousness occasionally crossed her eyes, her gaze remained resolute. She walked by his side, ignoring the stares from all around.
"See him? That handsome young man is Xu Luo!" many people in the crowd exclaimed.
"Wow, he's so handsome! Totally my type!" exclaimed quite a few lovestruck girls upon seeing him.
Because she was too far away and stuck in the crowd, Huangfu Shishi couldn't see what was happening. Feeling extremely anxious, she glanced left and right, and an idea came to her. She suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs, "Xu Luo, you're so handsome!"
After her shout, the surrounding Kaiyang Sect disciples all stared at Huangfu Shishi as if they'd seen a ghost.
In their memory, this beautiful junior sister from the Secular Royal Family had never been so brazen. What had gotten into her today?
"You haven't even seen the guy, so how do you know he's handsome?" Jiang Tianhai chimed in jealously from the side.
"What do you know?" Huangfu Shishi shot Jiang Tianhai a look and muttered under her breath.
Jiang Tianhai's expression stiffened, but he didn't say anything else, since plenty of other girls in the crowd were shouting similar things. He just hadn't expected Huangfu Shishi to have such an infatuated side to her.
Jiang Tianhai sneered maliciously to himself. 'What good is being handsome? Can you eat good looks? It won't be long before he's a dead man! He offended an elder from the Jade Balance Sect and still thinks he has a future? What a joke!'
Over on the other side, Xu Luo's body trembled slightly. A flicker of delighted surprise flashed through his clear eyes.
'Qiqi!'
'That voice... it's definitely Qiqi's!'
'I can't believe Qiqi actually came!'
He glanced around. Under the immense pressure of the situation, no one was paying attention to his reaction. Xu Luo sent a quick mental message to Master Mao, who then slipped silently from Xu Luo's pocket and vanished in a flash.
No one noticed. The corners of Xu Luo's mouth curled up slightly, but his smile held a trace of bitterness. 'Qiqi, we finally meet again. I just never thought it would be like this.'
"Sigh, that damn kid is even better at stirring up trouble than I am," Lin Luoxue pouted, whispering to Nangong Yu Yan beside her in the Dubhe Sect's ranks. "If I'd known, I never would have teased him that day. What do we do now?"
"He should be safe for now, with so many people watching," Nangong Yu Yan said softly. "But once they enter the Ancient Ruins, it's hard to say..."
Neither of the two women noticed that at the very front of their sect's delegation, a seated Elder's eyes flashed with furious rage the instant he saw Xu Luo. He forcibly suppressed the urge to rush forward and slaughter the boy.
This was the Sect Assembly. It would be highly inappropriate for an elder like him to attack rashly in front of so many people, especially without a justifiable reason.
After all, the events that transpired in the Ancient Ruins at the Great Marsh couldn't be made public. He had been the one bullying a junior, and what's more, he had suffered a major loss, with several of his trusted disciples dying there.
So for now, he could only bury this grudge deep in his heart.
'However, that little bastard killed the Tianquan Sect Master's son and offended an elder from the Jade Balance Sect. He's not going to meet a good end. I'll just sit back and watch the show for now,' the old man thought, squinting as he stared coldly at Xu Luo in the distant crowd.