This Conference is as much a showdown of strategy as it is of individual prowess. The decision to challenge should be made with awareness of potential gains and acceptable risks. Winning only one match does only the bare minimum of keeping the entire sect — and one’s points — in the contest.

Therefore, there is an emphasis on finding opportunities to defeat multiple opponents, such as when a high-ranked disciple is left to sweep the lower-ranked ones that remain.

In that regard, taking an easy point from a lower-ranked opponent is not risk-free, because it sets up the opposing sect for a winning streak, which is exactly what happens twice when the seventh-ranked Seven Killing Swords disciple eliminates all the remaining seventh-ranked disciples, setting up the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion’s sixth-ranked disciple for success in three separate matches.

However, this is not without incident, because in the third match, the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion disciple manages to badly injure his opponent from the Frozen Peak Palace, striking her with the butt of his spear when she is defenseless.

“You dare!?” one of the elders from the section with the all-female cultivators erupts, leaping onto the platform, shortly followed by two more elders.

In response, two of the tournament organizers and elders of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion also leap onto the podium to defend their disciple.

“Ah, esteemed elders, can’t you see that this was merely an accident?” one of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion elders says, moving to stand in front of the offending disciple who can barely contain his pleased smirk.

“An accident?” the outraged female elder repeats. “Xiurong was defenseless and had already forfeited! It was clearly intentional! What are you trying to do here, Elder Mo!?”

Elder Mo looks at the disciple with a frown, and then back to the angry elder. “Elder Chen, we have known each other for decades. Can’t you overlook this matter, just this once, because competition between the younger generation always gets… intense?”

Elder Chen frowns, regarding the elders standing across from her, then cuts the disciple with her glare.

Before she can speak further, the offending disciple scowls. “She got what she deserved, acting all high and mighty just because she’s pretty.”

“You…!” the most incensed Frozen Peak Palace elder hisses through her teeth, while the elders from the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion frown.

Xiurong, the injured disciple, manages to climb to her feet, holding her broken arm and ribs with her remaining functional limb. “He said that I’d be… better off giving my chastity to him… than…”

She doesn’t manage to finish her report before she coughs up a mouthful of blood, and the Frozen Peak Palace elders once more spiral into anger and rage.

And this conversation is not private to the parties involved. Before the sound transmitting formations are temporarily cut off, most of the audience can witness it also and according to some of the rumors, something like this happens every time and is a large part of the attraction.

The sect rivalries are, after all, some of the most important debates of this continent that lacks a central force leading the continent.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

However, the disciples present can still clearly hear the conversation.

Tian Li sighs and shakes his head. “They are somewhat used to this,” he says. “The Frozen Peak Palace only takes in girls that have pure ice roots, or that come from difficult lives; beggars, prostitutes, abuse victims, and so on.”

Lan Xiaohui nods in understanding. “I once also dreamed of entering the Frozen Peak Palace, but I neither had the roots nor the talent, and my life was all but difficult.”

Tian Li chuckles at my owner’s words. “I find it difficult to imagine that you did not have talent, Sister Zhu.”

To this, Lan Xiaohui merely smiles mysteriously.

Eventually, the situation was defused enough for the two groups to retreat to their corners, their argument left mostly unresolved.

“This Xin Muchen will set things right,” announces a disciple from the Seven Killing Swords section, and leaps to the podium wielding a large, heavy saber.

The disciple, who now won three consecutive battles, turns to regard the newcomer and smiles derisively. “You will?” he asks, leaning on his spear, indicating the disciple’s large saber with a nod. “From over here, it looks to me like you are just trying to compensate for something.”

Xin Muchen chuckles. “Xu Tian, you speak very loudly for someone who only knows how to beat up girls. If you kowtow to me and call me your grandfather, I will let you walk away.”

Xu Tian’s eyes narrow to the point where his pupils can barely be seen and, uttering a curse under his breath, he launches himself forward, body becoming shrouded in a golden halo of energy.

The spear martial arts of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion are considered one of the best on the continent, but also one of the most difficult ones. [Thunder Dragon Spear Method] is by far the most technical spear method in the common awareness of this continent’s denizens, and likewise the most famous.

It conjures the image of the general taking the field in front of his soldiers, clearing the path for their advance with one sweep of the spear, calling down lightning and thunder with each dance of the tassels.

Xin Muchen smiles darkly, as Xu Tian streaks like a comet toward him, and he raises his saber high over his head, and then chops down in a savage manner, aiming for the gleaming point of the spear.

An explosion of sound and light fills the arena, debris and dust rising off the platform to momentarily conceal the two figures. Moments later, a bent and broken spear flies out of the cloud, and a hoarse, painful cry resounds from the settling dust, as a broken and injured Xu Tian cries out, in a growing pool of his own blood.

“What just happened…?” Tian Li murmurs under his breath, staring wide-eyed at the swift and mysterious conclusion to the clash.

“That was…” Lan Xiaohui narrows her eyes. “That was the Life-Severing Sword…?”

“That bastard…” one of the disciples curses under his breath.

“Xin Muchen used to be in the Galaxy Sword sect,” another disciple explains. “He was expelled after murdering two disciples. In the ranking before this one… he was ranked third!”

“That is… obviously cheating!” Tian Li protests.

“So he adapted Life-Severing Sword to the saber?” Lan Xiaohui asks.

At this point, Elder Qin chimes in. “A senior adapted it, but he stole it. One of the two disciples he killed was this senior,” she says.

Though no one mentioned it yet, I can tell that the same question is on everyone’s minds. Why didn’t they execute Xin Muchen instead of expelling him? From my perspective, the answer is rather obvious. Xin Muchen is an elite of the Seven Killing Swords sect. Similar to Yu Shun, what he can and cannot do is not so simple to decide, and neither are the consequences of such.

At that moment, perhaps sensing that he is the topic of discussion, Xin Muchen turns toward the Galaxy Sword disciples and smiles darkly.

“Ah, I see my former useless brothers and sisters are still here. I am surprised you did not go home yet,” he says, nodding to the board that shows that the Galaxy Sword, at this point, has a total of only seven points, with the other sects well in advance of them. “I don’t blame you for hiding quietly; if you come out, I might accidentally kill another one or two of you.”

“You bastard…!” the fifth-ranked disciple hisses through his teeth. “Brother Zhang, whom you killed, was my friend! Are you not even sorry for what you did!?”

“Sorry? For what?” Xin Muchen asks, tilting his head. “Ants are to be stepped on, and roaches are to be killed!”

“I will kill you!!” the disciple shouts, enraged, and leaps onto the podium to the protests of the other disciples, urging him to not let himself get provoked.