"I'm honoured to be your permanent guide and consultant for the 71st Championship of The Planet, hosted by the Beasthaven Sect, the Abyss Guild, and the Forestheart Foundation this decade," declared Luo Yi as soon as her feet touched the ground. Sect master Xuan Zi nodded in affirmation as he landed beside her, exuding regal elegance and modesty.
"I can sense that many of you may not have appreciated the little welcome mother nature had prepared for you in advance. Forgive my lack of action there, dear children, for it is a tradition to let the competitors handle all surprises themselves."
Han Xuhan had several questions. How did seawater reach that high in the air? How was their sect itself floating that high in the air? How-
"Now I shall explain to you the rules and regulations here. Please pay attention !" Cutting his furious mental tirade, Luo Yi swished her sleeves as she spoke once more, her movement summoning a giant.....
"AAAAHHHH !"
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING !"
"TAKE COVER! I THINK IT'S ANOTHER OF THOSE SURPRISES!"
"YOU MEAN MURDER ATTEMPTS ?"
Some of the disciples standing close to her scrambled backwards on all fours, shouting in panic as a foreign, unrecognizable creature appeared above Luo Yi from thin air.
The creature was at least fifteen meters in height, and equally girthy. Its barrel-like body contained nothing but jet black scales, glinting under sunlight so brightly they almost seemed white at a first glance. Han Xuhan had been standing close to Xiao Wu, and he felt the boy tensing up, his face losing colour.
"Hey, you know what that is ?" He asked Xiao Wu under the hubbub, clear on the fact that it was not one of those unpleasant surprises by taking a look at Xuan Zi's awkward expression and Luo Yi's derisive smirk.
"It's a.....rare spirit beast. She is clearly an influential member of the Beasthaven sect. No regular cultivator can create a spirit manifestation that powerful!"
Xiao Wu's answer flickered a light on some of Xuhan's guesses. Spirit manifestation, was it? Huh....very interesting.
"I know this because I'm familiar with the cultivation system of spirit manifestation," Xiao Wu added defensively after a look at Xuhan's enlightened expression.
"Oh yeah, makes sense. I almost started getting suspicious of you, hahaha." Han Xuhan nodded lightly and pretended to shift his focus on the beast summoned by Luo Yi.
"This is my pet. I call him Meatball. Say hello to everybody, Meatball !"
Roused by Luo Yi's enthusiastic pats, the beast hummed like a bee, only its voice was much deeper than the high-pitched buzz of bees.
"See? He's very friendly. Feel free to pet him. He loves that !"
At that moment, another figure appeared right behind her, seemingly having fallen from the sky. It was a male this time. Clad in a black and white robe that screamed formality, the man's landing caused Luo Yi's energetic introduction and the chatter of the disciples to come to a stop.
"Abyss below, fellow cultivator Yi, can you skip the introduction of your pet for now? We've got twenty-three more sects waiting for the rest of the sects to catch up!" He shouted immediately upon landing. Then he turned toward Xuan Zi and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, master Zi."
"Greetings, fellow cultivator from Abyss Guild," Xuan Zi said, his voice unnaturally loud as if he wanted to make sure all the disciples heard him. The cultivator noticed the little detail, his expression hardening in response for a moment before he seemed to give up on a rebuttal.
"I see that master Zi is still feeling aggrieved over the match in the last tournament," he said with a sigh.
Han Xuhan immediately remembered a story he had read in the scroll Xiao Wu had bribe-gifted him with the last month. The scroll was basically a tabloid on the last few tournaments, containing a fairly large amount of gossip, conspiracies and some important news about the tournaments.
The Abyss Guild had backstabbed the Crimson Snow sect in the last tournament, in a wide sense. Apparently, the two champions of the two sects had formed a team during the quarter-finals. But at a critical moment, the champion of the Abyss Guild had taken the opportunity to sacrifice her teammate and win the round. The Crimson Snow Sect's champion had suffered a serious injury at that time, although the Abyss Guild had taken the initiative to take the responsibility of healing her. She came back stronger than before after a visit to their secret realm which they had opened to her sincerely. But the enmity between the two girls had already been transferred to their respective masters and sect masters. The Crimson Snow sect's journey that year had stopped at the quarter-finals.
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It has been more than a century since the Crimson Snow Sect reached the semi-finals of the tournament. It made sense that an ambitious man like Xuan Zi would not be satisfied with the outcome of that tournament regardless of how the Abyss Guild tried to amend their relationship.
Xuan Zi's unnaturally loud tone was quite possibly an over-the-top warning toward the new generation of disciples in this tournament, meant to both be a reminder as well as an insult.
"Grief....is too strong a word for my feelings, fellow cultivator Tang. A more accurate description would be 'dissatisfaction'. But let's not make today about me. My disciples are eager to break our record this century. Fellow cultivator Yi, please continue your introduction."
Xuan Zi did not make a scene and waved the elders to a side to watch as Luo Yi did her job. The cultivator from Abyss Guild shook his head and stood behind Luo Yi in a ramrod straight pose.
"Seems like we are in a hurry. So I'll keep things at the minimum. Basically, meatball and I shall be stationed here for your convenience. I'll help you with registrations for various events, explain any rules and changes implemented by the tournament authorities, clear away your confusion regarding the events and help you in any way I can as long as it doesn't involve breaking the rules," Luo Yi explained, not seeming bothered by the drama.
At this point, the disciples were slowly adapting to the new situation, while Han Xuhan was getting even more confused. Registration for events? When did xianxia tournaments get so orderly? And why was there such a strong emphasis on her pet beast? What was its role?
It seemed that he wasn't the only one with those questions, because Mu Ran elbowed him in the back and whispered in his ear,
"Underling, ask her about her pet. Something about it feels very suspicious."
"Boss, I'm sure she would answer very honestly if you were to unleash your infinite charm on her and ask the question yourself!" Han Xuhan replied instantly.
". . . .Well, can't argue with that. But I'm trying not to attract attention for the first few rounds of the tournament and emerge as a dark horse to steal people's hearts in the coolest way, see ?"
"People? Really ?" Xuhan asked in a flat tone.
"Ehehehe."
That was the reply he got to his question.
Han Xuhan cursed the guy internally and chose to make the small sacrifice. He wasn't afraid of exposure anyway. He had no special powers or treasures to be coveted. Why bother hiding from the eyes of the powerful? His backing was quite possibly the strongest in the sect. Mu Ran, Kong Ye, Xuan Zi, Fang Xie, all four of them had made investments of various sorts in him. Any enemy would have to face severe consequences for harming him and spoiling their plans.
"Uh, can we ask questions ?" He said from the middle of the crowd, raising his hand tentatively.
"Of course, yes! Go on!" Luo Yi nodded emphatically and gestured at him to speak up.
"Is meatball a spirit beast ?" Han Xuhan asked, a nervous, yet curious smile on his face that he had perfected just last week.
Since it was a given that he would have to attract the attention of various powerful cultivators in order to do his duty as Mu Ran's lackey, he chose to go all out and make the best of it.
"Oh my, yes! How did you know? I didn't know the Crimson Snow sect taught cultivation techniques related to spirit manifestations!" Luo Yi looked delighted as she nodded appreciatively at him and threw a sideways glance at Xuan Zi, who was watching Xuhan suspiciously.
Han Xuhan breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, her response was positive. The spirit manifestation shouldn't be a top-secret technique, considering it led to creating spirit beasts and the very title of her sect was Beasthaven sect. It was definitely a common or even the most popular technique in the sect. For a second there, he had been afraid that the technique would turn out to be a secret that would lead to a dispute. In retrospect, he had been a bit too rash. Not everybody liked to brag about their cultivation techniques or progress like his peers.
Xuan Zi responded to the inquisitive look from her by saying, "that is disciple Xuhan under the tutelage of our newest elder Kong Ye, fellow cultivator Yi. He might not be the most talented....."
A few snickers rose amidst the crowd as Xuan Zi trailed off for a second. Han Xuhan didn't take it to heart, realizing fully well that at their age, it is common for teenagers to be competitive, even more so in the situation they were now where talent and skills were the most precious characteristics one could have. . . .no, wait a minute. . . .a faint realization dawned on him at that very moment.
He, Han Xuhan, was beginning to harbour a sense of superiority over his peers for the wrong reasons. His short lifetime back on earth could be barely qualified to be called 'experience'. In that life, he was a commoner whose achievements consisted of getting A's regularly in exams, winning debate competitions against other teenagers, getting into decent universities and such. He had died pretty young, without experiencing much of what life meant as a whole, missing valuable aspects of a normal life that should have changed his personality drastically. He was barely an adult trapped in a barely adult body. There was no reason for him to act so understanding and mature about the entire situation of peer pressure, jealousy and the behavioural issues of young cultivators.
So where did this superiority complex come from? It definitely was a superficial layer of maturity he had draped over his heart in order to cope with the lack of his talent and peer pressure in his sect. . . .
". . . .But he definitely is the most resourceful disciple in his generation. Do keep an eye on him, hahah !"
While Xuhan stood there contemplating the sudden realization, Xuan Zi completed his sentence and was about to resume his conversation with an elder beside him, but a phenomenon caught his eye.
Above Han Xuhan's head, the empty space was beginning to twist like a see-through cloth.