C125-1: Sect Politics

"I'm honoured to be your permanent guide and consultant for the 71st Championship of The Planet, hosted by the Beasthaven Sect, the Abyss Guild, and the Forestheart Foundation this decade," declared Luo Yi as soon as her feet touched the ground. Sect master Xuan Zi nodded in affirmation as he landed beside her, exuding regal elegance and modesty.

"I can sense that many of you may not have appreciated the little welcome mother nature had prepared for you in advance. Forgive my lack of action there, dear children, for it is a tradition to let the competitors handle all surprises themselves."

Han Xuhan had several questions. How did seawater reach that high in the air ? How was their sect itself floating that high in the air ? How-

"Now I shall explain to you the rules and regulations here. Please pay attention !" Cutting his furious mental tirade, Luo Yi swished her sleeves as she spoke once more, her movement summoning a giant.....

"AAAAHHHH !"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING !"

"TAKE COVER! I THINK IT'S ANOTHER OF THOSE SURPRISES!"

"YOU MEAN MURDER ATTEMPTS ?"

Some of the disciples standing close to her scrambled backwards on all fours, shouting in panic as a foreign, unrecognizable creature appeared above Luo Yi from thin air.

The creature was at least fifteen meters in height, and equally girthy. It's barrel like body contained nothing but jet black scales, glinting under sunlight so brightly they almost seemed white on a first glance. Han Xuhan had been standing close to Xiao Wu, and he felt the boy tensing up, his face losing colour.

"Hey, you know what that is ?" He asked Xiao Wu under the hubbub, clear on the fact that it was not one of those unpleasant surprises by taking a look at Xuan Zi's awkward expression and Luo Yi's derisive smirk.

"It's a.....rare spirit beast. She is clearly an influential member of the Beasthaven sect. No regular cultivator can create a spirit manifestation that powerful!"

Xiao Wu's answer flickered a light on some of Xuhan's guesses. Spirit manifestation, was it ? Huh....very interesting.

"I know this because I'm familiar with the cultivation system of spirit manifestation," Xiao Wu added defensively after a look at Xuhan's enlightened expression.

"Oh yeah, makes sense. I almost started getting suspicious of you, hahaha." Han Xuhan nodded lightly and pretended to shift his focus on the beast summoned by Luo Yi.

"This is my pet. I call him Meatball. Say hello to everybody, Meatball !"

Roused by Luo Yi's enthusiastic pats, the beast hummed like a bee, only its voice was much deeper than the high pitched buzz of bees.

"See ? He's very friendly. Feel free to pet him. He loves that !"

At that moment, another figure appeared right behind her, seemingly having fallen from the sky. It was a male this time. Clad in a black and white robe that screamed formality, the man's landing caused Luo Yi's energetic introduction and the chatter of the disciples to come to a stop.

"Abyss below, fellow cultivator Yi, can you skip the introduction of your pet for now ? We've got twenty three more sects waiting for the rest of the sects to catch up!" He shouted immediately upon landing. Then he turned towar Xuan Zi and bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, master Zi."

"Greetings, fellow cultivator from Abyss Guild," Xuan Zi said, his voice unnaturally loud as if he wanted to make sure all the disciples heard him. The cultivator noticed the little detail, his expression hardening in response for a moment before he seemed to give up on a rebuttal.
"I see that master Zi is still feeling aggrieved over the match in the last tournament," he said with a sigh.

Han Xuhan immediately remembered a story he had read in the scroll Xiao Wu had brib-gifted him with the last month. The scroll was basically a tabloid on the last few tournaments, containing a fairly large amount of gossip, conspiracies and some important news of the tournaments.

The Abyss Guild had backstabbed the Crimson Snow sect in the last tournament, in a wide sense. Apparently, the two champions of the two sects had formed a team during the quarter finals. But at a critical moment, the champion of the Abyss Guild had taken the opportunity to sacrifice her teammate and win the round. The Crimson Snow Sect's champion had suffered a serious injury at that time, although the Abyss Guild had taken the initiative to take the responsibility of healing her. She came back stronger than before after a visit to their secret realm which they had opened to her sincerely. But the enmity between the two girls had already been transferred to their respective masters and sect masters. The Crimson Snow sect's journey that year had stopped at the quarter finals.
It has been more than a century since the Crimson Snow Sect reached the semi finals of the tournament. It made sense that an ambitious man like Xuan Zi would not be satisfied with the outcome of that tournament regardless of how the Abyss Guild tried to amend their relationship.