"I'm not sure if the fellow cultivators present have also heard rumours about the current emperor's intention to designate an heir," Elder He Luoxuan said.
"I've heard similar rumours," First Elder Que Yuyan was the first to respond. "While there hasn't been an official announcement, the recent changes to the Duyuan Empire's upper echelons are probably the best proof of the emperor's intentions."
"It is a natural thing for the emperor to designate an heir. But considering the stakes involved, the competition would surely be earthshattering, to say the least," an elder from a subordinate sect mentioned.
"The Duyuan Empire would likely be thrown into a state of chaos during this period," Elder He Luoxuan agreed. "In such chaotic times, we have to stand together and remain neutral, just in case we end up standing on the wrong side."
"Either that, or we can quickly identify the strongest party and stand behind them so that we can reap the greatest benefit at the end of the competition," Sect Leader Ling Guang said. "Of course, that would have to be discussed at length. Nobody should make such an important decision on their own."
"Agreed," Sect Leader Zhi Ming nodded. "Let's all keep this in mind and discuss further when more details have been released. Move on."
"Understood," Elder He Luoxuan said. "Now then, it's time for us to welcome a few representatives from the new generation of our Four Great Symbol Sects."
As he said that, a talisman flew out from within Lu Zhiying's robes, shining with a dim light as it hovered in front of her. Zhao Yunxiao understood what it meant immediately – Lu Zhiying had already been told beforehand that she would have to go up on stage, and this talisman was serving as a form of reminder.
That said, he did not find it one bit surprising.
Every year during the Meeting of the Great Symbols, each of the four sects would introduce a few outstanding new disciples, taking this opportunity to expand these talents' horizons and expose them to the rest of the alliance.
Considering Lu Zhiying's aptitude, it would probably be more unexpected for her to not have been selected for this.
"Time for me to go up!" Lu Zhiying grabbed the shining talisman and got to her feet.
"Just one reminder before you do," Zhao Yunxiao whispered. "Traditionally, one of the new disciples from the Azure Dragon Sect would always take this stage to challenge the other disciples to a duel. They would do so by suggesting a friendly spar, putting a set of their sect robes on the line."
"Oh? They do?" Lu Zhiying blinked in confusion. "But why?"
"Who knows? Perhaps it's just a strange tradition passed down from the past. I guess every sect has its own superstitions," Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. "Anyway, the reason doesn't matter. You probably already know this, but we still have a long day ahead of us. Unless you want to be too tired to enjoy the rest of the event, remember not to take them up on the challenge."
"Hmm, that makes sense," Lu Zhiying nodded in understanding.
"Yeah, make sure not to accept the challenge, Junior Martial Sister Lu!" Huang An chimed in. "The Azure Dragon Sect has always been the unspoken leader of the Four Great Symbol Sects. For them to specifically train a new disciple just for this event, it's impossible to win!"
"Eh? Really?" Lu Zhiying's eyes lit up.
"Hahaha, that's not exactly accurate, Junior Martial Sister Huang," Zhao Yunxiao nervously added. "That is only because nobody else really takes these duels seriously. It's nothing but a friendly spar, so everyone prefers to conserve their energy to enjoy the rest of the meet."
"That's not true, Senior Martial Brother Zhao. As far as I know, plenty hav-"
"Let's not dwell too much on the past, Junior Martial Sister Huang," Zhao Yunxiao swiftly covered her mouth. "Why don't you get going already, Junior Martial Sister Lu? And remember not to waste your energy by accepting a meaningless duel like this."
"Okay! Thank you for the information, Senior Martial Brother Zhao and Senior Martial Sister Huang. I know what to do now!" Lu Zhiying gave them a thumbs up before heading down to the centre of the Black Guardian Square.
Seeing this, Zhao Yunxiao could not help but let out a sigh as he released the hand covering Huang An's mouth.
Despite his attempt at playing down the importance of the duel, he understood that Huang An's words had already lit a fire within Lu Zhiying's heart. For someone like Lu Zhiying, challenging the impossible was almost like a way of life. It would be difficult for her to resist the temptation of trying to achieve what few people could.
Wait, something was not right.
Lu Zhiying was still wearing the bamboo backpack that he had given her!
Upon seeing this, Zhao Yunxiao was suddenly filled with hope once again. Perhaps Lu Zhiying had truly taken his words to heart. After all, there was no reason to wear the bamboo backpack if she truly intended to fight!
In the end, his words as a senior martial brother still carried some weight!
Soon, twelve different disciples took the stage – three from each of the Four Great Symbol Sects. Following which, an elder from each sect briefly introduced the representatives from their respective sects. Though it might be nothing more than announcing their names, it still meant a lot for their names to be announced to the world by an esteemed elder.
After today, not only would their names be imprinted in the minds of the elders, but all key members of the alliance would also be aware of their existence!
From the Black Tortoise Sect, the selected disciples were none other than the three who had managed to form a true spiritual meridian root – Bei Pinzi, Lu Zhiying, and Ou Fengtian.
"As talented new seedlings of the Four Great Symbol Sects, we have high hopes for you. You are our future, and we look forward to witnessing your journeys in becoming reliable pillars of the alliance," Elder He Luoxuan concluded as the introductions ended. "I suggest taking today's opportunity to get to know each other better. After all, it is always good to have friends outside of your sect."
"Thank you for the kind words and advice, Elder He!" all twelve of them bowed in unison.
"If there's nothing else, you may take your seats," Elder He Luoxuan replied.
"Before that, may I take this opportunity to suggest something?" one of the new disciples for the Azure Dragon Sect asked respectfully.
Qi Wenti – he was a young man who looked around the age of fifteen. However, his tall height, tanned skin, and a claw-shaped tattoo on his forehead made him look unnaturally intimidating. His hair was also trimmed extremely short, clearly showing the round shape of his head.
"Feel free to speak," Elder He Luoxuan replied calmly, already expecting as much.
"This is truly a rare occasion for us new disciples to be gathered today, so we disciples of the Azure Dragon Sect would like to propose a friendly duel to make it a little more memorable," Qi Wenti said. "May I seek Elder He's permission to proceed?"
"There's no harm. You have my permission," Elder He Luoxuan nodded.
"Thank you, Elder He," Qi Wenti clasped his fists towards Elder He Luoxuan in gratitude.
That said, he already knew for certain that his request would be approved. This had been the case every single year, so there was no reason for there to be an exception this time.
"Fellow cultivators, may I ask who among the three sects is confident in accepting a simple duel?" Qi Wenti turned his attention towards the others sharing the stage with him. "Of course, something would need to be on the line to make things more exciting. But at the same time, we don't want to make it too serious either. Therefore, the stakes would just be a set of our sect robes. Would anyone be willing to take on this challenge?"
The moment his words sounded out, mixed feelings arose among the spectating members of the other sects. Some of them let out helpless sighs, while others simply laughed it off as the antics of the young. This was not the first time that many of them had witnessed this scene, but most still could not fully get used to it.
In fact, the other three sects had actually tried doing the exact same thing in the past – specifically training a new disciple in preparation for taking on the Azure Dragon Sect's representative. Unfortunately for them, such attempts ended up failing more often than not, and the Azure Dragon Sect's representative still emerged victorious most of the time.
They did not know what methods the Azure Dragon Sect used to prepare their representatives, but they had no choice but to acknowledge its effectiveness.
Since that was the case, the other three sects eventually came to the conclusion that they might as well let the Azure Dragon Sect claim this glory. In the end, they were all part of the Four Great Symbol Sects. There was no need to go out of their way, expending unnecessary time and resources, just for a slight chance of stopping them.
It would be great in the rare event that one of their representatives could defeat the Azure Dragon Sect representative. But even if that were not the case, there was no real harm done either.
That said, while the seniors might have already accepted this, the new disciples hardly shared the same sentiments.
Before coming up on stage, all of them had already been briefed by their seniors on the situation. It would be difficult to win even if they accepted the challenge, but it would also reflect badly on them if nobody accepted the challenge.
Considering that they were all peers, nobody wanted to look worse than the others, especially not at such a big event.
Some of them had already made up their minds to accept the duel and give it a shot, yet they still could not help but feel a sense of apprehension when truly presented with the challenge itself.
What if they lost too badly after confidently accepting the duel?
That would definitely look worse than not accepting the duel in the first place!
In the end, there was only one person among the other three sects who did not show even the slightest bit of hesitation.
"Lu Zhiying of the Black Tortoise Sect, seeking pointers from Fellow Cultivator Qi Wenti of the Azure Dragon Sect!"
Lu Zhiying's cheerful voice instantly drove away the conflict in the minds of the other new disciples, as well as drew the attention of the entire Black Guardian Square.
Zhao Yunxiao rubbed his temples in disbelief. In the end, she still accepted the duel...
Gu Qiansi sat at the edge of her seat, a worried expression showing on her face.
Chen Pingxi narrowed her eyes, the corner of her lips curling up in anticipation.
What Zhao Yunxiao had not expected, however, was that an uproar would immediately ensue among the male disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect.
"Did Junior Martial Sister Lu just accept the duel? What? Why?"
"No way! Was that workaholic Zhao Yunxiao too busy with his usual nonsense to warn her about this?"
"Who cares about all that? The important thing is that that brat Qi Wenti is about to walk away with a set of Junior Martial Sister Lu's sect robes!"
"Shit! How can he be that lucky? That's unacceptable!"
"Damn it, what are the other disciples doing? How could they just stand by and watch, forcing Junior Martial Sister Lu to accept the challenge? Are they all deaf or mute?"
"That is just a new disciple. I'm sure he needs resources. Perhaps it's possible to buy the sect robes from him later..."
"Damn it, don't say that out loud! Otherwise, we might end up having to compete with many others for it!"
Zhao Yunxiao: "..."
Gu Qiansi: "..."
Huang An: "..."
Was that really the concern here?
"You do? Ahem!" Qi Wenti seemed to have been surprised by Lu Zhiying's beautiful gaze as well, but quickly regained his composure. "Well, you are mistaken. It won't be me that you will be fighting, but my twin sister, Qi Yuanyuan!"
Behind him, a shy-looking young lady nervously stepped out while holding the hems of her sleeves.
Qi Yuanyuan was a young lady who bore a close resemblance to Qi Wenti. Not only did she possess similar facial features, but she also had tanned skin, a tall height, and even the same claw-shaped tattoo on her forehead. But unlike Qi Wenti, Qi Yuanyuan had soft, flowy, long hair that was adorned with a beautiful hairpin and reached down to her waist.
"P-Pleased to make your acquaintance..." Qi Yuanyuan muttered under her breath.
Upon seeing this, the male disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect calmed down almost immediately. Clearly, in their eyes, it was a huge issue for Lu Zhiying's sect robes to fall into the hands of a male disciple, but it was not too big of a deal for them to fall into the hands of a female disciple.
In fact, Qi Yuanyuan did not look too bad herself. Disregarding anomalies like Lu Zhiying, she would definitely be considered a striking beauty no matter where she went. Some even started to feel bad for her upon seeing how clearly uncomfortable she was at the moment, believing that she had been forced into doing this.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance too, Fellow Cultivator Qi Yuanyuan! Let's begin when you are ready!"
"Y-Yes..."
Lu Zhiying spoke with a bright and clear tone, a sharp contrast to the soft and hesitant reply by Qi Yuanyuan.
Simply by looking at the way they carried themselves, it would not be surprising for one to think that Lu Zhiying had been the one to challenge the Azure Dragon Sect instead!