The competition became heated after Lucian and Han Daehyun's one-sided battle. Because of Han Daehyun's provocative taunts earlier, people from the evil faction and demonic cult fought aggressively; some even fought seriously as if their lives depended on it, making the righteous alliance disciples seriously injured and even forcing them to fight in real life-and-death situations after these lunatics were bent on killing them or taking one of their limbs to ease their wounded reputation.
"Did you hear what that Radiant brat said earlier? He provoked them all like a fool!!! I'll slap him if he's my grandson!" someone whispered from the spectator stands.
"He dared to insult the Heavenly Demon Cult in front of their disciples? Is he courting death?" another added, shaking his head.
"He knows this competition is the Righteous alliance leader's idea, yet he dared spoke nonsense?! Is he insulting his own leader too???"
"Tch, that boy's arrogance just cost the Alliance dearly!" muttered an old martial artist from the sidelines.
This was supposed to be a friendly match between three factions, but after this atmosphere… how could it still be friendly?
At first, some members of the evil faction and demonic cult only came here so that they wouldn't shame their faction's reputation by being branded as cowards. But Han Daehyun just had to poke the wasp's nest by spouting provocative taunts earlier without thinking of the consequences they might bring to the Righteous Alliance.
"Idiotic boy! Even a three-year-old knows not to provoke poisonous snakes! Even not in their own den!" someone grumbled, folding his arms.
"Ha! Friendly match? This is Murim; there's no such thing. Blood is the only true language here!" chuckled an evil faction elder, lips curling in mockery.
The most pitiful is the Kunlun Sect's Jeong Harin, also known as the Fairy of the Ninefold Peaks. She is called the Fairy of the Ninefold Peaks because her swordsmanship is as beautiful as she is, always leaving her enemies in awe before dying.
Out of all people, Jeong Harin just happened to be the opponent of Matheus. Although the world is clueless of his identity, he is the only disciple of the current Heavenly Demon Cult leader, Ma'wang Cheonma, the 8th-generation Cheonma, also known as the Heavenly Demon Saint Emperor.
"Is this mean that he's that rumored Heavenly Demon's only disciple?! This is madness! Why did they even send their young leader here!" a righteous sect disciple gasped.
"Look at that movement… that's no ordinary technique... Witness how powerful our cult is!" a demonic cult follower murmured proudly.
"Hmph, fools. Did they think the Heavenly Demon Cult would send anyone weak to this competition?"
He is the current ruler of the Heavenly Demon Cult, and unlike the previous generation, Ma'wang Cheonma is known for his scholarly behavior, embodying both saintly wisdom and demonic dominance.
As his only disciple, Matheus needed to kill one of the Righteous Alliance's disciples; the higher the status, the better—even if he didn't like it. Why? Simple: they are the demonic cult, and insulting the sect means insulting his master, who is like a god to the members of the cult. If he did nothing while the higher-ups were watching, he would become the target of assassination when he returned.
"Don't blame the boy," a demonic cult elder snickered. "If he hadn't killed someone important, he'd be dead the moment he returned home."
Jeong Harin, who was unaware of this, could only become a sacrifice now. Even though she was powerful, Matheus displayed the swordsmanship of the Heavenly Demon Saint Emperor, making people gasp and gossip about it.
"He's already mastered the Heavenly Demon Saint Emperor's Sword at his age?!"
"That means… he's the next Heavenly Demon!" a trembling whisper ran through the righteous side.
"No! Didn't he arrived together with Lucian earlier like he was his subordinate???!"
"What is that Lucian identity to make the successor of the Heavenly Demon Cult followed him so respectfully?!" Some with sharp wits asked.
"Fairy of the Ninefold Peaks? Hah… she was a flower crushed before blooming."
He had just announced to the world that he was from the demonic cult and was the successor of the current Cheonma, making the higher-ups smirk after seeing Jeong Harin die without even a chance to fight back; their pride was being healed. This truly displayed the might of the cult, which only values strength.
After seeing that, how could the evil faction lose face? Seo Hwa-rin, known as the Crimson Flower of Murim and an elder of the evil faction, killed one of the 5 great clans' successors. And that pitiful one was the beloved grandchild of the current patriarch of the Baek Clan, Baek Yuhwan, also known as the Righteous Dragon Swordsman. He was killed by Seo Hwa-rin in the most brutal way possible.
"The Crimson Flower… she's showing her fangs again!!! I tell you, don't be fooled by her looks! She's a demon!" someone whispered, pale.
"To kill the Baek heir so mercilessly… is she not afraid? what kind of storm will this bring?"
"Storm? Ha! It's already here!" an evil sect disciple sneered.
This could no longer be considered a friendly competition; this was now a bloody competition.
After the death of two promising children of very respectable clans and sects, the righteous alliance went into an uproar. How could this be? All this for a mere taunt from Han Daehyun.
"Damn that boy Han Daehyung!!! He should've held his tongue! Does it kill him to shut up for a day?!" a righteous disciple spat angrily.
"Hold your anger; he's already a dead man walking, after all Baek Yuhwan and Jeong Harin are dead now! What will happen to the future of our Righteous Alliance ?!" muttered another.
Han Daehyun, who was still unconscious, had gained the hatred of every member of the righteous alliance. His recklessness led to these results. Righteousness without strength to speak for yourself is indeed hypocrisy.
This bloody competition continued, and because of the deaths of two young geniuses, there could no longer be reconciliation. Instead of a competition, this turned into a bloody battle between factions, and lives were being taken again and again.
Out of 200 participants, only fifteen advanced. Yes! Only fifteen!!! That's how heated this competition became. Some passed but were unable to continue tomorrow after being heavily injured, some lost their limbs, and the rest were dead. Yes, every faction suffered losses, but the most pitiful among them was definitely the Righteous Alliance. Many of their geniuses were either crippled or dead.
"FIFTEEN left?! That's… unheard of!!!!" a merchant whispered to his companion.
"What Dragons and Phoenixes competition? It's a slaughterhouse!"
"This will be remembered in Murim history for generations." muttered an elder, stroking his beard grimly.
Those fifteen are the most formidable characters of this competition. They are geniuses above geniuses, the candidates who will compete tomorrow for the final winner of the Dragons and Phoenixes competition.
They are:
Lucian, who is now given a title by the people present here as the "Peerless Little Demon Lord" because of his dominating presence that screams he's not righteous despite being only seventeen.
"Peerless Little Demon Lord… even the righteous don't dare deny it!" whispered a demonic cult follower with a proud grin.
"He's not righteous, that much is certain… but he's terrifying..... I know that ominous sword on his waist is alive...." muttered a Shaolin monk with furrowed brows.
"Alive?! Hah! Stop your nonsensical opinion! Only the Blood Sovereign Heavenly demon has a sword like that! It just probably looks ominous that made you hallucinate!!" An old man said, without knowing, he actually guessed the truth. That sword is the one Blood Sovereign Heavenly Demon and Lucian is his disciple.
Five are from the demonic cult: Matheus, the only disciple of the current Heavenly Demon, Ma'wang Cheonma, who displayed terrifying battle strength by ending Jeong Harin's life with one move. The others are known as Seo Woon, Jin Saeryeong, Hwang Jichan, and Ma Yunseok. They're unknown masters who haven't made their names yet, aged around 20 to 29. This is not strange, as the Heavenly Demon Cult had not left their territory since Ma'wang Cheonma's reign began, as he doesn't want unnecessary bloodshed among his people. You could say he's the most merciful leader the demonic cult has ever had.
"Merciful? Ha! If this is mercy, I'd hate to see cruelty." whispered a merchant trembling at the sight of their power.
Three of them are from the evil faction. Firstly, Seo Hwa-rin, also known as the Crimson Flower of Murim, an elder of the evil faction who also killed the young and pitiful successor of the Baek Clan, Baek Yuhwan. The second is Yeon Wol, also known as one of the Twin Shadow Serpents and one of the three people, together with Seo Hwa-rin, who visited Lucian when he was still living outside Tiandu. He's from the evil faction and displayed battle strength only slightly lower than Seo Hwa-rin's, alongside his twin brother Yeon Sol. Together, Yeon Wol and Yeon Sol are known as the Twin Shadow Serpents. As their title suggests, they are both assassins.
"The Twin Shadow Serpents… they're here too?! Heaven help us all!" gasped a young disciple since the mask of Yeon Wol and Yeon Sol got destroyed in their previous battle.
Moyong Seojin of the Moyong Clan got lucky not to be matched with any of the three of them. Alongside him are Tang Hwarang from the Tang Clan, Kang Bok of the Beggars' Union, and Jinhye of the Shaolin Temple. Among all the many righteous sects and clans that participated, only these four remained until the end.
There are also unaffiliated ones like Lucian. One of them is Gwan Seojin, known as the Drifting Immortal Blade, a wandering martial master. He enjoys adventure and hates being tied to any faction. He's still young, only 26, but his strength is already unbelievable. The proof is that he's one of the people who managed to advance in this bloody competition. Lastly is Mo Haryun, known as the Laughing Ghost Wanderer. He's a madman that no one wants to take into their faction, not even the evil faction or the demonic cult, as he once slaughtered every sect member in his previous sect that irritated him.
"Laughing Ghost Wanderer… isn't he that lunatic who wiped out his entire sect over an insult his sect brother told him and disappeared like nothing happened?? To think he also come participate here!" After Mo Haryun, purposely throwing his mask on his own occurred. Who knows? Maybe he got irritated again and got rid of it? Who knows what that lunatic thinks.
"Shh! You idiot!! Speak of him, and he'll appear behind you! Don't let him hear you! Who knows what he might do again this time!" a man whispered fearfully.
Tomorrow, only one of them will be victorious.
The crowds started gossiping about the result of this competition, and it spread like wildfire. This competition was beyond everyone's predictions—not even Zheng Tianlong, the alliance leader of the Murim Righteous Alliance.
A meeting was held after this disastrous incident.
Inside the Pavilion of Heavenly Justice, fifteen people gathered. These people are the most important in the Murim Righteous Alliance.
In the most respectable seat is the alliance leader, Zheng Tianlong. The others are seated in their respective seats. They are:
From the five great clans:
Moyong Clan Patriarch, Moyong Jihan, also called the Azure Heaven Sword Saint. He's the father of Moyong Seojin.
Baek Clan Patriarch, Baek Seonwoo, also called the White Lotus Grandmaster and the grandfather of Baek Yuhwan.
Hwangbo Clan Patriarch, Hwangbo Gyeong, also known as the Iron Wall War Saint and the grandfather of Hwangbo Minhu.
Namgung Clan Patriarch, Namgung Jinwoo, titled the Sky-Piercing Sword Sovereign, is the father of Namgung Jisoo.
Lastly, Tang Clan Patriarch, Tang Woonha, the Poison Lord of Ten Thousand Shadows, and the father of Tang Hwarang.
And from the 9 great sects present today:
Sect Leader Jang Ryuseong known as Iron Tyrant of the Fist from the Iron Fist Sect
Sect Leader So Gwanho, the King of a Thousand Beggars of the Beggar's Union
Sect Leader Mei Yueran known as Serene Blade Mistress from the Emei Sect
Liang Shentao and called as the Mystic Sage of Kunlun, Sect leader of Kunlun Sect
Sect Leader Hyeon Daeseong also known as the Sword Dragon of Mount Hua amd from Mount Hua Sect
Sect Leader Zhang Xianwu also known as Daoist Heavenly Immortal of Wudang Sect
Temple head Jueyuan and also known as the Arhat of the Golden Staff and from the Shaolin Temple
Sect Leader Shen Guang known as the Radiant Sun Lord of Radiant Light Sect
Sect leader Yin Lianhua known as the Celestial Song Empress and the leader of the Celestial Sound Pavilion
All fifteen of them were here to discuss important matters. Liang Shentao, also known as the Mystic Sage of Kunlun, and Baek Seonwoo, the White Lotus Grandmaster, had the most grim expressions.
Baek Seonwoo's beloved grandchild, Baek Yuhwan, and Liang Shentao's direct disciple, Jeong Harin, both died in this competition.
Baek Seonwoo looked at Shen Guang with disdain as he spoke, clearly belittling the Radiant Light Sect.
"How brazen of you to appear before me when the reckless tongue of your disciple has cost my bloodline its heir." His voice resounded through the hall as he almost broke the table.
The leaders seated around exchanged glances, whispers passing through voice transmission techniques.
"White Lotus Grandmaster's fury is terrifying…"
"Understandable. Losing the Baek heir will shake Murim's balance."
Shen Guang lowered his head and apologized, also stating that he had lost more than 20 disciples.
At his side was the sect leader of the Kunlun Sect, Liang Shentao, who also voiced his disdain toward the Radiant Light Sect.
"Tsk! Spare me your righteous barking, Shen Guang. Your grief is not heavier than ours. Kunlun has lost its guiding star—our future dimmed by the same chaos one of your disciples ignited!"
"Two great pillars of Murim have been struck in just one day…" someone whispered. "If this escalates, then our righteous faction will lose its future pillars and someday fall."
Others stayed silent, just conversing with each other using whispering techniques. Although they also suffered heavy losses, they weren't as disastrous as the Baek Clan and Kunlun Sect.
Han Daehyun was still unconscious. He didn't even know how much his little taunts had cost the Righteous Alliance. It seemed like his future was truly dim now. Even Elder Xuan Yiming couldn't protect him now.