17: Start drawing lots

"Qingtian Sect?"

Inside the city, in a luxurious palace.

The Sect Masters of the Three Great Sects looked at the information of Night Owl and the other two with expressions of surprise and doubt.

It was their first time seeing a sect from below the Three Great Sects sign up for the Out of Body Realm martial arts competition.

This immediately put them in a difficult position.

The rewards for the Out of Body Realm competition were the most lavish, practically equivalent to a sect's annual material expenses.

These rewards were actually stakes put up by their three sects together; whoever won would claim the items from the other two.

Now, with Qingtian Sect suddenly joining, only taking rewards and contributing nothing, they were getting a headache.

If someone from Qingtian Sect were to win first place, they would lose both their wives and their soldiers, practically losing everything.

"When did this Qingtian Sect rise to prominence? How did it suddenly appear?" the Xuanlei Sect Master murmured in confusion.

He had flipped through the introduction of Qingtian Sect again and again, but found no clues whatsoever.

It was clearly a sect on the verge of disappearing, so its sudden rise was truly bizarre.

"What do you say, both of you, should we let this Qingtian Sect participate or not?" the Sect Master of Huangji Sect asked, looking at the Xuanlei Sect Master and the Sect Master of Ziyan Sect.

"Not allowing Qingtian Sect to participate is definitely not an option. We set the rules, and changing them now would damage our prestige in Yunzhou," the Sect Master of Ziyan Sect analyzed after a moment of silence.

"However, these items were all put up by our three families. If Qingtian Sect wins them, are you two willing to accept that?" the Sect Master of Huangji Sect said in a deep voice.

"The Sect Master of Huangji Sect is overthinking. The Sect Master of Ziyan Sect is right; changing the rules now would certainly damage our prestige in Yunzhou."

"Why not let Qingtian Sect participate first? If they truly win first place, then our three families can just find an excuse to destroy them. We might even gain something else from it."

The Xuanlei Sect Master revealed a sinister smile from the side.

"Haha, Xuanlei Sect Master, you are truly cunning, but this idea is quite good."

"Indeed, it preserves our assets and might even increase our income. It's truly a win-win solution."

The Sect Master of Huangji Sect and the Sect Master of Ziyan Sect burst into hearty laughter upon hearing the Xuanlei Sect Master's idea.

"Oh, by the way, who killed the elders and disciples who died in the Fallen Saint Mountain Range Secret Realm the day before yesterday? Do you have any clues?" the Xuanlei Sect Master suddenly asked.

"Clues? Besides knowing their fate tablets shattered, there were no traces found at the scene," the Sect Master of Huangji Sect replied with a gloomy expression.

"It's the same for me. Since none of them survived, we have no idea which rogue cultivators entered the secret realm. It will probably take some time to investigate the results."

The Sect Master of Ziyan Sect also looked displeased.

Although the deaths of these elders and disciples wouldn't severely cripple their three sects, it did affect their foundations.

It would take at least a few years to recruit so many talented disciples again.

"Alas, it truly is a time of trouble."

The Xuanlei Sect Master sighed, then glanced at the Sect Master of Huangji Sect and the Sect Master of Ziyan Sect. "Since you two have no clues, let's go. The martial arts competition is about to begin."

With that, the Xuanlei Sect Master walked out of the main hall.

In a martial arts arena in the center of Yunzhou City.

It was now filled with the leaders of various large and small sects from Yunzhou, as well as disciples participating in competitions of various realms.

This was a circular martial arts arena, divided into nine stages.

There were three for the Out of Body Realm, three for the Void Breaking Realm, and three for the Core Condensation Realm.

Not far from the Out of Body Realm disciples' stages, three chairs carved from spirit stones were placed.

These were the seats for the leaders of Yunzhou's Three Great Top Sects, allowing them to watch the competition at the closest distance.

However, now, not far from the three chairs, another chair had been added, and a remarkably handsome young man was seated on it.

His throne emitted a captivating glow, clearly crafted from valuable artifact-refining materials.

"Hiss, who is this person? Isn't that a place only the sect masters of the three great top forces can sit?"

"I haven't seen him before. Has Yunzhou gained another overlord force?"

"Hehe, you still don't know, do you? This person is the Qingtian Sect Master. His sect also has disciples participating in the Out of Body Realm competition, so it's reasonable for him to sit there, right?"

"This Qingtian Sect can actually participate in the Out of Body Realm competition? Doesn't that mean their strength is similar to the Three Great Sects?"

"I don't know how much of a difference there is, but I saw one of his sect's elders at the city gate cleave the great elder of the Meteor Star Sect to death with a single strike."

"Hiss, this Qingtian Sect is actually so powerful? Then there's probably a good show to watch this year."

The cultivators from various sects around the martial arts arena were initially puzzled as to why Jiang Chen could sit with the sect masters of the Three Great Sects.

Only after learning of Qingtian Sect's strength and that its disciples were participating in the Out of Body Realm competition did they reveal expressions of anticipation for the show.

"Sect Master, have some tea!"

Liu Shu handed a cup of brewed enlightenment tea to Jiang Chen, then came behind him and began to massage his shoulders.

"Hmm, Liu Shu, you are becoming more and more sensible." Jiang Chen was increasingly satisfied with Liu Shu's service.

"Serving the Sect Master is my duty as a Subordinate," Liu Shu said with a smile while massaging his shoulders.

"Senior Brother Ye, aren't we a bit too conspicuous like this?"

Qin Fei'er scanned the people on the surrounding stands, noticing that all their gazes were focused on them, and her expression became a little unnatural.

"Junior Sister Qin, that's where you're wrong. As a disciple of Qingtian Sect, you should be conspicuous." Night Owl showed no discomfort, instead having a smiling face.

"That's right, Junior Sister Qin, when the fighting starts later, it will be hard for us not to be conspicuous. This is just letting you adapt in advance," Gu Chen also chuckled from the side.

Before long, the Xuanlei Sect Master and the others arrived at their seats and sat down one after another.

They saw Jiang Chen sitting not far away and said nothing.

After all, with the strength Qingtian Sect displayed at the city gate, coupled with having disciples participating in the Out of Body Realm competition, it was normal for him to sit there.

Soon, under the Host of an elder from the three sects.

All participating disciples from all realms became familiar with the competition rules.

That is, one disciple is sent to each stage, and as long as they defend two of them, they can win the rewards for their realm.

The challenging side is not allowed to use relay tactics; only three disciples can be sent to each stage, and only one sect's relay challenge is accepted per day.

"Alright, now that everyone is familiar with the rules, let's start drawing lots. Those who draw 'attack' will remain below the stage, and those who draw 'defend' will ascend the stage to defend."

With the presiding elder's command, the participating sects from each realm went to the drawing box to draw lots.