In a secluded cultivation chamber, a young man with fiery red hair slowly opened his eyes. The corners of his lips curled upward.
"Finally."
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"The Sect Head has made his decision..." Within another courtyard, a woman stopped midway through her graceful sword practice. Her ice-like sword slowly lowered.
"Hehe... This will be so much fun!" A woman’s giggle escaped from the side of the courtyard.
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Deeper within the Dragon Meteor Sect, another young man sat quietly with a slithering snake coiled around his neck. The moment the horns sounded, his lips curled into a smile.
"A little earlier than expected." He gently stroked the snake’s head.
"But there’s no need to worry. All the preparations are complete." The snake hissed in response, seemingly sharing its master’s excitement.
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On the outskirts of the city stood a grand building that towered over everything surrounding it.
Inside, a young man with dark hair and deep eyes sat at a desk, earnestly flipping through a stack of documents. The moment the horns of the succession war echoed through the city, Xiao Cheng’s hands stopped.
"So it begins." He slowly raised his head. He glanced toward the documents scattered across the table.
"How unfortunate. I was just about to finish the final preparations, but no matter. The position of Sect Head will still be mine." He stood from his chair as a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Young Master! The horns have sounded! The succession war has officially begun!" The doors suddenly opened as Strategist Li came rushing inside.
"Indeed." Xiao Cheng nodded calmly.
"It seems like the Blue Dragon Lord remains steadfast in his opinion. Alas... bring over the elders we selected." Xiao Cheng added.
"Yes, Young Master!" Li Xiang immediately turned around and hurried away.
Xiao Cheng descended the stairs and stepped outside the building. He raised his head toward the sky and closed his eyes for a moment. The distant horns continued to echo throughout the city.
The peaceful days were over. The succession war had begun.
Ten minutes later, two figures arrived at the building. Both were elders of the Dragon Meteor Sect, their faces concealed beneath dark robes.
"Elder Sun Rong. Elder Fang Hu. Thank you for coming. Please come inside for some tea." Xiao Cheng stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Young Master Xiao Cheng, there is no need to be so courteous. We have already sworn ourselves to your faction. Naturally, we will accompany you into the Golden Dragon Hidden Realm." The two elders returned the gesture.
Xiao Cheng nodded before turning toward Li Xiang. "Were we able to acquire everything we needed?"
Li Xiang smiled. The dark circles beneath his eyes were even more pronounced than the last time Karn had seen him.
"Yes, Young Master. Fortunately, Elder Cho’s monopoly over the market has weakened considerably due to the non-aggression pact. We were able to acquire almost everything we needed." He paused.
"And Elder Karn was instrumental in helping us secure the remaining supplies."
Xiao Cheng nodded. "Speaking of Elder Karn..."
He glanced toward the entrance. "Where is he? I thought I summoned him already."
"Koko..." A familiar voice came from outside.
"Forgive me, Young Master. This old body doesn’t seem to move quite as quickly as it used to."
Tap!
Tap!!
Tap!!!
The sound of a walking cane echoed through the room. An imposing elderly figure slowly entered through the doors, dressed in majestic black-and-gold robes. Behind him walked two figures.
The first was a young woman dressed in a purple-and-white lotus robe. A silver hairband rested against her hair, accentuating her already fairy-like appearance.
Behind her walked a blindfolded young man dressed in the black-and-red dragon robes commonly worn by an elder’s personal disciples. Despite the blindfold covering his eyes, he walked with perfect confidence. His back was straight, and every step carried the calm assurance of someone who could see the world around him.
The aura of two Tier Three cultivators radiated from them without restraint. Xiao Cheng’s eyes brightened upon seeing them.
Rei glanced at Shin’s stature before speaking in an annoyed manner. "How did you get so much taller in a month..?"
"I turned 13 this month... You don’t expect me to stay shorter than you forever, do you?" Shin replied while flashing an impish tongue.
"You little..!!" Rei smacked Shin’s head to release her anger.
"Owch!!" He held the area where his sister smacked him in teary eyes. His sister was truly too strong.
"Elder Karn." A genuine smile appeared on Xiao Cheng’s face.
"Good to see you again, friend." Li Xiang also released a quiet breath of relief.
They had not established a Qi contract with Karn before his cooperation. At the time, they simply hadn’t possessed the strength to force one upon him. And yet, despite having no contract binding him to their faction, Karn had still come. In an era where cultivators trusted contracts more than promises, such trust was exceedingly rare.
"Thank you for coming." Xiao Cheng looked toward the old man.
"Koko... Of course." Karn smiled as he tapped his cane against the floor.
"After all, this old man wouldn’t want to miss something as interesting as a succession war."
"Let me introduce you to the two esteemed elders. They are great heroes of the sect and just as strong as Zhao Long in their own ways. Elder Karn meet Elder Sun and Elder Fang." Xiao Cheng introduced the two elders he was able to recruit in the past month for the succession war.
Xiao Cheng had promised them many rewards and he was able to acquire the help of the two after many negotiations with his strategist Li.
"Nice to meet you Elder Karn. We have heard many stories about you, none of them seem to be exaggerations." The two of them spoke respectfully.
"Koko... Not at all. It is my pleasure indeed to be in the company of such heroes myself." Karn responded by giving the pleasantries back with a smile.
The two elders smiled in response.
"Hmm..! Seems like the Blue Dragon Lord did not agree with this old man’s ideals... Koko." Karn spoke as he glanced at the people present in the room
"Indeed, there is still hope in changing his beliefs before the end of the week." Xiao Cheng nodded with a smile and handed a storage ring to the three of them.
"This storage ring contains all of the rules and known information about the Golden Dragon Hidden Realm. Please review the maps and get familiar with the items inside before the same day next week." Li Xiang explained as he pushed his glasses up closer to his eyes.
"The other young masters have already done this and most of them have had even more time to prepare so please be careful for the next week." Strategist Li reiterated to the elders to be careful.
"Especially you, Elder Karn. The other young masters shouldn’t have much information about Elder Sun and Elder Fang, but you have become somewhat infamous in the sect as of late." Strategist Li pointed towards Karn before he spoke.
"Koko... No need to worry. I have walked the path of landmines many times before." Karn stated as he started leaving the building with the walking staff still resounding in the halls even after it had left.
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