A lot of things made a lot more sense now. Jin thought back to a few events that happened previously. How Hae-Hyuk was always evasive about the thing he wanted from them, how he could have gifted them many treasures but never did and instead made them get things for themselves... That was the reason why he asked a trade in order to make Jin's spear. It was also the reason why he forced cultivators to pay to fight them on top of the arena. All with the goal to help them accumulate their own wealth and pool of treasure to grow.

Min-Su now realized why Hae-Hyuk didn't give him a weapon but gently asked the elders from his clan to help him... All that he did was to circle around the contract he signed with the heavens. He could only tell them about things once they arrived here because of this contract. Because the item available here was worth being kept a secret.

While the two and many others were having a lot of questions answered, the woman had retreated back and the other woman came forward and spoke: "Now that we're done with that, it is time for me to present you the treasure that successfully evolved trough this century of nurturing. It is a flower of supremacy. It contains the element of Domination and was the treasure submitted by Grandmaster Hae-Hyuk"

There was a long pause once again. Jin and Min-Su, along with everyone else, stared straight at Hae-Hyuk who simply kept on a smile. Jin was unaware of the workings behind the submission and growing of the treasure but he was sure of one thing. This was exactly what Hae-Hyuk needed.

After leaving the audience to think for a moment, the woman spoke once more: "As usual, we will be hosting the ceremony for the next round of nurturing starting tomorrow at 7 a.m sharp. We expect all of you to bring the treasures you wish to be nurtured"

The woman retreated and a man went forward and spoke: "The trial will be the same as always as per traditions and in respect to the Lord Founder Ancestor, Realm Builder, Adonia Shapash. The champions will be sent randomly at the feet of The Peak. The winner will be the one to reach the top"

He retreated and the first man to speak, the one in the center, gave an end to the speech: "Everything has been said. Let us now feast and enjoy each other's company as we haven't gathered for a century. I declare the final banquet open!"

People ate and chatted with each other. Once the feast ended, the waiters and waitressed cleared the dishes and cultivators moved about to mingle with each other. They were the world's strongest and finest cultivators and knew each other since many years ago. Whether enemies or allies, they had a lot they could chat about.

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A lot of cultivators joined Hae-Hyuk's table to discuss with him. He was a well-known figure due to being the expert on techniques in the cultivation world. All the cultivators here were experts but they didn't all dedicate their lives to the study of techniques. Everyone had its own hobby.

At a table not too far from theirs, a young woman of lower cultivation in the twentieth stages sat. She had been brought here by one of her great-great-grandfathers and one of the two stage 69th of their organization. She spotted how her grandfather kept his sight straight without moving and looked in that direction. She noticed that her ancestor was looking at a champion weakling and felt it to be quite weird.

She asked him about it and he told her that he wasn't looking at the champion himself but at one of his rings. She looked again and saw that the guy had many spatial rings. Heck, he was decked in rings. But there was one in particular that got her attention. It was a ring he sported on one of his fingers. A ring she could easily notice for she wore the exact same one.

A ring that proved legitimacy to being a royal of the Empire.

She asked her ancestor about it and he told her: "We've lost many royals throughout the years and every one of them had such a ring forged for them. It isn't impossible for someone aside from us to own one. What is surprising is that it belongs to a champion"

She recalled the contract and how it mentioned how the Masters were forbidden from gifting material things to their champions. This meant that the guy got the ring through his own means... Since cultivators only regained their youth after reaching the 30th stage, this guy was likely only around 20 or 30 years old. It meant he managed to get the ring in that timeframe... Which ring did they lose in that timeline? There was only one.

She incredulously asked her ancestor: "Are you saying this is brother's murderer?"

The old cultivator pondered for a moment before he sighed and got up. He told her to accompany him as he moved toward the kid. Regardless if it was him or not, since he had seen the ring, it was his duty to get it back as it was a symbol of his family.

He was very much aware that it was this descendant of his who had schemed back then and eliminated two of her brothers. This was why he treated her so well and decided to teach her. He brought her here to widen her horizons as well as he had high expectations for her future.

He did not expect that the sole thing she had failed to do would present itself on a plate. Beyond the ring, what he found was probably the only other living being who knew of what happened during that border battle. If it was known that his descendant planned the death of her brothers, the image of the imperial family would take a plunge.

Getting the ring back was only a pretext. He planned to silence the kid if he discovered that he knew anything about the truth behind the incident.