How could he not know Xiao Ruoching's feelings for him?
Many a coincidence was nothing more than the deliberate action of those involved. Perhaps he was running away. Under the conventions of this mundane world, she could disregard the public's scrutiny, but he could not.
This place was not *Huā Qiān Gǔ*.
That forbidden layer ultimately made him stop in his tracks.
After calming the restlessness in his heart, Su Bei looked towards Xi Qingyi with a smile and said,
"Congratulations, Senior Brother, on your victorious return!"
Xi Qingyi was also in a good mood and, for once, he smiled back at Su Bei, his expression quite smug.
The sounds of various discussions, cheers, shouts, and curses were still faintly audible.
Finally, the noise gradually subsided. Key Smoke, seeing that the battles in the ten competition zones were nearing their end, stepped onto the Ascension Platform. She looked around before speaking loudly,
"The bouts in all the competition zones are drawing to a close."
"Let's first congratulate the Ten Great Sects that have qualified for the Ascension Platform!"
"Circle Sect!"
BOOM—
Cheers erupted from above the first competition zone.
"Dao Sect!"
"Star Moon Sect!"
"Wuhua Palace!"
"Buddha Gate!"
"..."
"Sword Sect!"
After the last sect was announced, Key Smoke placed a box on the Ascension Platform, then returned to her seat.
Yang Tianqing, the Grand Elder of the Sacred Land, stood up. With a benevolent smile, he scanned the competition zones and said,
"It seems the entrants for the sect finals are as expected, with no surprises. The Ten Great Sects are still the Ten Great Sects!"
He paused, then looked meaningfully at each sect and continued softly,
"Now, let me announce the mechanics of the finals."
"The final battle will follow an elimination format, aiming to determine the foremost sect in the world. The first round will eliminate five sects. Then, among the remaining five, one will have a bye."
"In the final round, when the two victorious sects face the sect with a bye, a rule ensures fairness: a cultivator eliminated in the previous round will be allowed to revive once, but only for that specific arena battle."
"Thus, there will be a total of four rounds in the finals!"
"..."
All the sects looked solemnly toward the Grand Elder of the Sacred Land atop the Ascension Platform.
"Tonight marks the final phase of the battle for the Ascension Platform."
"Draw lots!"
As his words fell, everyone's gaze turned to the box placed at the center of the Ascension Platform, their expressions growing tense.
The air was silent; everyone looked excitedly at the box.
The most thrilling part of the Ascension Platform was upon them!
Nobody knew which sects would end up facing each other yet!
Su Bei also stared at the box. If the Sword Sect were to face formidable sects like Dao Sect, Circle Sect, and Buddha Gate in the first round, it would be difficult to advance even past that...
People all over the Twenty-One Provinces were watching the heavens unblinkingly, eager for the clash of the Ten Great Sects!
Yang Tianqing smiled as he watched the cultivators below, then reached into the box.
In the next instant, two huge names appeared in the Sky Mirror!
"Star Moon Sect vs. Cang Sect!"
As soon as the names flashed, the entire Azure Cloud Mountain erupted. Countless faces flushed red, and some eyes even showed a hint of fervor!
On the Elder's Platform of the Sacred Land, a group of elders looked at the two sect names in the sky with odd expressions.
Yumen Du chuckled softly and said mysteriously,
"This is quite interesting. The two sects universally recognized as Demon Sects have run into each other in the first round."
"Cang Sect and Star Moon Sect also have a deep-seated resentment toward each other."
"On the surface, their strengths do not differ much, so perhaps this is indeed an arena battle worth looking forward to!"
"..."
A torrent of discussion erupted from the crowd:
"I love watching women fight!"
"Get vicious! Slap each other's faces..."
"Hahaha! I wonder who will fight whom next?"
"..."
Yang Tianqing reached for the box once more, and then two more sect names appeared in the sky:
"Circle Sect vs. Dao Sect!"
BOOM—
Instantly, the crowd erupted again, uncontrollably.
Most people in the world might not know all the major sects, but they would definitely know two of them: Circle Sect and Dao Sect!
Even the gates of these two sects were separated by only a single mountain range, and they had been trading barbs for quite some time.
Circle Sect had long resented Dao Sect's secure position as the world's number one sect. They never imagined they would face off in the first round.
Both sects possessed the strength to firmly hold positions among the top three in the world!
When two tigers fight, one is bound to be injured!
Below, at the Daoist Sect Residence, Tong Xiu's eyes snapped open. He exchanged glances with several Circle Sect elders before settling back into a poised, meditative state.
To him, it didn't matter whom he fought; this Ascension Platform event was almost tailor-made for him!
Aside from securing the title of the world's number one sect for Dao Sect, he had another objective.
And that was to firmly establish himself as the number one person under Dao Integration!
"Wuhua Palace vs. Multi-Bao Pavilion!"
As Yang Tianqing's voice fell, a collective sigh of disappointment arose from the crowd:
"Ah! It's not Wuhua Palace vs. Sword Sect!"
"I wanted to see Wuhua Palace fight Sword Sect!"
"I don't know if there'll be a chance this time... It's probably hopeless. The Sword Sect's strength is essentially the Mo Liu of the Ten Great Sects; I'm afraid they don't have a chance to advance."