Soul Emperor Martial God

Flame Martial Fortress had just descended with a few others, including the King and members from the Snow Winged Eagle Clan.

As soon as they landed, Martial Artists from within the fortress came forward to greet them.

"Senior Swordswoman," said an elderly man, bowing respectfully.

"Mm," the woman nodded.

The elder then turned to the Great Elder, saying, "Great Elder, it's been a long time."

Great Elder replied with a laugh, "Shuofeng, Senior, just call me by my name. I cannot truly assume the title of Great Elder."

Shuofeng, Senior?

The younger members of the Sword Sect exchanged puzzled looks.

After the elder had arranged accommodations for everyone, he left.

Inside the accommodations, the woman briefly explained to them.

Senior Shuofeng was an elder of the Sky-splitting Sword Sect.

Of course, he was an expert of a higher generation than Elder Duan Yun.

About a hundred years ago, he had already been stationed at the East Sea Coast, as a Sword Dao Practitioner of the Extreme Realm Third Layer.

Within the Flame Martial Fortress, there were many elder Martial Artists like him, all from the Extreme Realm.

Some were from the Flame Martial Royal Family, some from the Sky-splitting Sword Sect, some from the Demon Hunting Hall, and there were also independent Martial Artists.

In fact, Xiao Yi had once pondered this matter.

Extreme Realm Martial Artists, with their prolonged lifespans,

often lived for hundreds of years, five to six hundred years, or even longer.

Even though reaching the Extreme Realm was difficult, requiring at least a hundred years of arduous Cultivation,

over so many years, a considerable number of Extreme Realm Martial Artists should have been accumulated.

However, in the Flame Martial Kingdom, there were only a few Extreme Realm Martial Artists.

Now, Xiao Yi suddenly realized that most of the elder experts were stationed here.

It seemed that the elder experts from the other 15 kingdoms and the Martial Arts Holy Land were in a similar situation.

The top Martial Artists of the entire continent, most of them, had gathered at the fortress on the East Sea Coast.

Incidentally,

the accommodations Senior Shuofeng arranged for everyone were different.

The King and his party had already left.

Inside the accommodations for the Sky-splitting Sword Sect group, in addition to their disciples, there were also disciples from the Snow Winged Eagle Clan.

The Senior Swordswoman sipped her tea and said, "Now that all the major powers have arrived."

"The East Sea Festival will officially start tomorrow."

"Before that, let me explain a bit about the festival."

Everyone listened quietly, without interrupting.

"Firstly, the East Sea Festival will have three rounds of competition, the first round is tomorrow," the woman said.

"In the first round, each team will need to slay demon beasts above the Black Sea tomorrow."

As she spoke, the woman glanced at the audience, saying, "I suppose you already understand why the East Sea Festival is being held."

"Abyss Demon Beasts attack in full force every hundred years."

"So, by having the younger generation of Martial Artists come here, it's partly to help share the burden, and of course, it's also a form of training."

"It's been nearly a hundred years since the last great battle."

"In these hundred years, the Abyss Demon Beasts have had plenty of time to recuperate and increase in number."

"Near the sea surface, near the coast, a large number of Abyss Demon Beasts are gathering and becoming restless."

"So, your first round is to kill these demon beasts, to quell their aggression."

"For every demon beast you kill, you will earn merit."

"These merits will be your score."

"Eventually, your rankings will be determined based on these scores."

After explaining, the woman asked, "Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads.

At this moment, only Xiao Yi spoke up, "I do."

"What is your question?" asked the woman.

Frowning, Xiao Yi said, "I always feel that the purpose of holding the East Sea Festival isn't so simple."

"After all, we youngsters have limited strength."

"And among the 16 fortresses, there are countless experts."

"The pressure that we can help these elders share is actually very little, isn't it?"

The woman nodded, admitting, "Indeed, there is another purpose."

Xiao Yi thought to himself, as expected, the Senior Swordswoman, this lazy person, seemed too lazy to explain the other purposes.

She only planned to go over the rules of the East Sea Festival once and be done with it.

The woman took another sip of her clear tea, saying, "This other purpose, actually, it doesn't matter whether I say it or not."

"As everyone knows, the lifespan of demon beasts is much longer than that of humans."

"Even for those Mystic Breakthrough and Earth Element demonic beasts, their lifespan exceeds several hundred years."

"Not to mention the demon beasts with Extreme Realm strength."

"Of course, the aptitude of demonic beasts is far inferior to humans, therefore their Cultivation growth rate is much slower than that of humans."

"Even so, just the fact that they have a long lifespan means that there will inevitably be far more demon beasts than humans."

"It's also because of this, that the battles at the East Sea Coast have been unable to truly end for many years."

The woman paused before continuing.

"At the 16 fortresses here, although there are many human experts."

"Yet, the real Extreme Realm experts are limited."

"Many Martial Artists from the Heavenly Origin Realm and Earth Origin Realm will die in battle or age."

"Therefore, the 16 fortresses need fresh blood, new Guardians."

"That's where you younger generation come in."

"The East Sea Festival is also held once every century."

"The competition at the festival generally involves killing demon beasts."

"It's about getting you used to everything here, familiarizing yourselves with dealing with the Abyss Demon Beasts."

Xiao Yi's expression changed, and he frowned, "Attending the East Sea Festival, do we have to stay here afterward?"

"Not necessarily," the woman shook her head.

"After the festival, whether you stay or go will depend on your own choice."

"But most people will choose to stay."

"After all, there are numerous treasures left by Ancient Martial Artists here."

"As well as some Ancient Spirit Gathering Arrays and so on."

"This place is a great location for gaining experience and an excellent spot for Cultivation."

"I see." Xiao Yi nodded and sighed in relief.

"Alright, any other questions?" the woman asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Oh, one more thing," the woman suddenly said.

"Tomorrow's battle will be split into teams."

"The 16 Kingdoms, 31 Martial Arts Holy Lands, each forming their own teams, making a total of 47 teams."

Saying this, the woman turned to look at Lin Jin, Liu Yanran, Xuz Xing, and Meng Luo.

"You four don't belong to the ranks of the Sky-splitting Sword Sect, nor to the Snow Winged Eagle Clan."

"Ordinarily, you should belong to the Heavenly Talents of the Flame Martial Kingdom, joining the side of the King."

"Ah?" The four were stunned.

The woman smiled and said, "Of course, the East Sea Festival, to put it grandly, is a major event for the entire continent."

"Which team you follow is entirely up to you."

"Phew." The four sighed in relief.

"Of course, we'll follow Brother Xiao Yi," Xuz Xing said. "The reviews on Bai Mohan's side aren't very good."

"Um," Meng Luo timidly looked at Xiao Yi.

"We feel the same," Lin Jin was about to say something.

Xiao Yi interrupted, "No, Lin Jin, Yanran, you and Qin Feiyang will be a team."

"Only five disciples arrived from the Snow Winged Eagle Clan this time."

"If the number is too small, the efficiency in killing demon beasts will be too slow, and scoring points will also be slower."

Indeed, only five disciples from the Snow Winged Eagle Clan had come this time.

Qin Feiyang, Ye Hong, and three others.

"That'll work," Lin Jin nodded without hesitation.

"Ah... Yanran, why are you pinching me..." Lin Jin suddenly cried out in pain.

Liu Yanran, with a brooding face, glanced at Xiao Yi, then looked towards Meng Luo.

"The team from the Sky-splitting Sword Sect already has more than a dozen people, which is enough."

"Miss Meng Luo, why don't you two join our team?"

With a smile brimming on her face, Liu Yanran looked at Xuz Xing and the other, spoke.

...

Second update.