Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Once everyone had chosen their respective sides, the Limitless Sword Sect, Witchcraft Sect, and Radiance Temple had the most supporters. The Blue Origin Sect, Typhoon Mountain, and Moonkeep Tower had slightly fewer.

In the region for those that supported the Hidden Fog Sect, there were fewer than 30% of the people anyone else had. Compared to the Limitless Sword Sect that had the most supporters, they probably only had 20% of their numbers.

And as time passed and the divisions started to become clear, the cultivators standing in the Hidden Fog Sect's camp began to reveal anxiousness and hesitation.

Within the crowd, an old man with white hair stamped his feet and said, "Although our family has received the kindness of the Hidden Fog Sect, we cannot risk the futures of our descendants. Follow behind me; we are going to join the Limitless Sword Sect's side!"

Behind him, two young cultivators stood up with pleasant surprise on their faces. They followed the old man as they quickly made their way out.

"Aiya! It's not that I don't want to support them, but stubbornly sticking this out is useless. I'm being moved by the trends here!" A middle-aged cultivator sighed and turned to walk towards the Witchcraft Sect.

The number of cultivators in a camp was an important measure for ranking first in the first clash. And, the true significance of first place was to obtain immunity from the first round of battle.

When the seven great sects fought, there was an uneven number of competitors, so the privilege of immunity was enjoyed by the one who received first place.

And it was because of this that the arena's opening ceremony was so splendid and fantastical. All of the seven great sects wanted to take first prize.

Once they had immunity from the first round, not only would they be able to sit back and relax while preserving their strength, they would also be able to observe the battle between the six spirit beasts and gain actual information on them. These advantages were incredibly significant.

Although taking first place didn't mean they would become the leader, their chances would be much higher. The results from the previous Beast King Wars were the best proof of this!

Today, the Hidden Fog Sect showed signs of decline and it was unlikely they would take the first place prize. Those that wanted to obtain the gift of Dragon City naturally wouldn't be willing to stay here.

More and more people left. In the end, fewer than a hundred people remained in the Hidden Fog Sect's camp.

These people welcomed the playful and pondering eyes of everyone else. Their expressions filled with bitterness as they bowed their heads. They each had their own respective reasons for why they had to show support to the Hidden Fog Sect, otherwise they wouldn't have wanted to stay behind either.

This was Dragon City's present…many people had struggled to come here, even travelling a trillion miles, all to struggle for this lucky chance. But, they were doomed to return empty-handed!

There was the sound of footsteps as the cultivators of the seven great sects arrived at the arena almost simultaneously. At the front, the Hidden Fog Sect Master's complexion changed as he revealed a gloomy look.

Behind him, everyone widened their eyes. After a brief shock there was an awkward embarrassment.

Countless cultivators were gathered here in the massive Dragon City. Yet, fewer than a hundred of them had gathered at the Hidden Fog Sect's camp.

And these people were basically all 'deeply related'. Just thinking about this made one feel shame. As for why there were so few people, everyone had already heard about it during their time in Dragon City these past days.

Some eyes fell onto Qin Yu. After all, when they entered the city it was him who controlled the dark star ice serpent to react. There was inevitably some enmity here.

However, because of Qin Yu's 'Grand Expert' status, these thoughts were only hinted at in their expressions and they didn't dare say anything about it.

Yun Die could sense the changes in the looks of the Hidden Fog Sect people. Her breathing deepened and anger burned in her eyes.

These people had gone too far! They were clearly the ones who had requested teacher to help on that day so they could regain their face.

Now they were complaining!

If this was going to happen, teacher should have just stood back and left them to wallow in their own misery!

Of course, Yun Die selectively chose to forget that on that day, she also approved of teacher giving the Witchcraft Sect a lesson.

The Hidden Fog Sect Master lightly coughed. He turned and said, "Mister Ning Qin, everything is up to you now."

With things having come to this point, blaming others was useless. He could only choose to believe in Qin Yu and hope that he could guide the Hidden Fog Sect to the very end.

After all, he was a true Grand Expert!

After obtaining this reminder from the Sect Master, the Hidden Fog Sect people regained their composure. They restrained their mood and their expressions relaxed a little.

That's right, they had a Grand Expert helping them. Even if the dark star ice serpent's attributes were known ahead of time, that didn't mean it would matter.

Beneath his black robes, Qin Yu had a calm expression. "Sect Master, rest assured that I know what I am doing."

And who could have guessed that outside of Dragon City, he had taken advantage of their brief conflict with the Witchcraft Sect to 'expose' the dark star ice serpent's attribute purposefully?

If it weren't for that, how could he give them a pleasant surprise at the key moment? And 'them' naturally referred to the Dark Parliament. Not to be rude, but he never placed these seven great sects in his eyes to begin with.

If the Hidden Fog Sect wanted to win the Beast King War, Qin Yu had no other choice but to do this. As for the mood of the Hidden Fog Sect's people, he could feel their emotions but he didn't care at all.

In the end, the two sides only had a cooperative relationship. Moreover, he didn't have much of a favorable impression of the Hidden Fog Sect. After this cooperation was finished he wouldn't see them again in the future. At the most, they would only have the relationship of people who once worked with each other. Was there any need to pay attention to them?

"This time's Beast King War is quite interesting. Before it has officially begun, a side has already been rejected." The Witchcraft Sect Master wore rainbow-hued robes. But this wasn't a laughable sight at all. Rather, he gave off a dignified and solemn atmosphere, one that filled the hearts of others with fear and awe.

When he spoke up, although he didn't name anyone or point a finger anywhere, everyone could tell who he was referring to.

The Witchcraft Sect and Hidden Fog Sect had grudges that had stacked up throughout the years. Although things seemed congenial on the surface, they actually constantly clashed in secret. Their hands were soaked in the blood of their opponent.

The Witchcraft Sect Master wouldn't miss out on a chance to kick the Hidden Fog Sect while they were down and diminish their prestige.

Following that was a burst of laughter from the mouths of the Witchcraft Sect cultivators. The sounds filled the air, harsh and grating.

…

Outside of Dragon City, the two sects had already fought once from their flying sh.i.p.s. The Witchcraft Sect had taken the initiative to attack, but the result was that they were suppressed by the Hidden Fog Sect's dark star ice serpent instead. Not only did their opponents not lose face, but they had been slapped back.

Then, during the Shadow Clan's auction, the Witchcraft Sect had been played by that hateful and mysterious cultivator. They had become the laughingstock of everyone there. Due to that, the Witchcraft Sect was overflowing with resentment. Now, they decided to vent it all on the Hidden Fog Sect.

The Witchcraft Sect cultivators all breathed in breaths of fresh and crisp air, looking down at their opponents from a high and imperious position. They thought that the Hidden Fog Sect were truly stupid for revealing their cards in a fit of anger. Their intestines were probably blue with regret by now.

The Limitless Sword Sect, Radiance Temple, Typhoon Mountain, Blue Origin Sect, and Moonkeep Tower all glanced towards them, their expressions faint…no matter what angle they considered this from, it was a good deed to them that the Witchcraft Sect was locked in a bitter feud with the Hidden Fog Sect.

The Limitless Sword Sect Master raised a hand, "Everyone, since the arena has opened, let us not delay anymore. After we enter we shall compete again."

The Limitless Sword Sect had never cared for how sharp one's tongue was. In this world, the only determining factor was one's own strength.

Of course, another reason was that the Limitless Sword Sect had the most supporters right now and they occupied the advantage. They wanted to solidify this advantage as soon as possible - once they stepped into the arena, no one would be able to change which camp they supported.

The Limitless Sword Sect Master's eyes shined with splendor. "Everyone, I thank you all for believing in the Limitless Sword Sect. My sect will not disappoint you! Now, let us all step into the arena together!"

He led the way forward. Invisible stone steps seemed to appear beneath his feet, slowly rising into the air until they fell on the Limitless Sword Sect's platform.

The Limitless Sword Sect Master did his part. He walked to the front stone chair and sat down. His gestures were filled with majesty and grandeur. His actions were sharp and swift, as if the position of leader was already his.

In the rear, the cultivators that supported the Limitless Sword Sect flew down onto the rows of giant stone chairs. Each chair was capable of seating a thousand people; from this one could understand how amazingly large they were.

The Witchcraft Sect Master coldly sneered, a gloomy light flashing in his eyes. He was clearly unhappy with the Limitless Sword sect's actions, but he didn't say anything at all. He waved his hand and his followers entered the arena.

The Limitless Sword Sect had many supporters, but the Witchcraft Sect also had a considerable number. There was a minor discrepancy, however this wasn't something that was impossible to catch up to. It had to be known that to be first place, while the number of supporters was important, it wasn't the key point.

No one knew who the winner would be!

The Hidden Fog Sect Master briefly furrowed his eyebrows. He was quieter than usual today, as if he were disturbed by the atmosphere and his mood wasn't too great.

He let out a light breath, "Let's also enter."

The Hidden Fog Sect people sighed. They knew that asking to place first was an overly extravagant expectation for the first day. They could only hope that the dark star ice serpent gave everyone a pleasant surprise.

But when the other six sects appeared, they had numerous supporters. Their waves of momentum as they cheered and hollered were enormous and heart-stirring. However, when it came to the Hidden Fog Sect, they had fewer than a hundred people.

This was indeed embarrassing!

When the seven sects all entered the stage, this contrast reached the extreme. Fewer than a hundred supporters stood on a single almost-empty chair. It was like every other sect had a delicious meat bun packed with filling, but when it came to the Hidden Fog Sect, their meat bun was lacking any meat.

The other cultivators were amused as they looked over. While they didn't openly ridicule the Hidden Fog Sect like the Witchcraft Sect did, their thoughts were similar.

In today's opening ceremony, the Hidden Fog Sect had no hopes of taking first in the first round!