Start of Volume 2, The True Dragon Forces

Ace closed his eyes, allowing the gentle flames to soothe his body. He could feel his internal body heating up, but instead of the pain which the Divine Phoenix had warned him to beware of, all he felt was a refreshing feeling that made him enter a world of flames.

Before his eyes, he could see the fiery particles of red dancing in the air.

Rubbing his eyes, he realised that this phenomenon was real and that he was able to absorb those particles of scorching heat which were cold to the touch when he got into contact with them.

It was a miraculous feeling, they were radiating intense heat when nearing him, but the moment they came into contact with his skin, they would cool down and enter his body.

It was at this time that the system message surprised Ace.

"Congratulations to the host for awakening the Nirvana flames, one of the divine flames in this world that can cause the world to burn up in flames."

With a single thought, Ace managed to manifest a small ball of fire on his palm, a flickering flame. It's not that Ace didn't want to expand the flame, but because he had no way of doing so.

The flickering ball of flame was his limit, for now at least.

As for whether one week would be enough, that would be up to him and his time management in this state of mind in which the flow of time couldn't be sensed.

Each and every second, Ace was just absorbing the fiery particles in the air. He could feel his affinity for the flames increasing even though it was only by a minor bit.

The flames were becoming a part of Ace's body, all he could see around him were blazing walls of flame that pierced through the skies, even the ground he was standing on was for some reason, a cooling scorch which felt natural to him.

His eyes were closed now, allowing his body to fully enter a state of relaxation. Despite so, he was still absorbing the fiery particles as the days to the annual sect competition drew closer.

*Three days before the annual sect competition*

At the foot of the mountain, Alexander who was holding Abby's delicate hand in his hand has gotten rough from countless wars. Standing opposite to him was Garen who was his junior in some sense.

"Senior Alexander, are you here to participate in the annual sect competition as well?" Garen, being the junior was the first one to greet Alexander out of respect as he glanced towards Abby curiously.

Who is this woman? I don't recall seeing her at the battlefield. Garen was curious, but being someone who was respected by the people in his kingdom, he was mature enough to avoid the direct question.

Alexander noticed this, but returned the greeting out of mutual respect, "That's why I'm here. It seems that both of us have the intentions of contributing further to the sect."

"I understand, why don't we speak as we look for elder Cidd, he should be able to provide us with more details of what to expect." Garen suggested as Alexander took on his offer as they made their way to the top of the Nascent Mountain where the sect is built on.

Garen who was somewhat familiar with the terrain of the sect, managed to lead Alexander and Abby through a shortcut as they found Cidd who had just ended another lesson for the disciples without getting seen by anyone else.

Along the way, Garen also learnt about the story between Alexander and Abby. Even as a bystander, he had to agree that it wasn't easy for either of them to have gone against the odds, only to reconcile again years later when it was already an eternal memory.

(The story between Alexander and Abby will be written one day in full detail)

"Elder Cidd, where is the sect master?" Alexander asked with respect, only to realise that Cidd was looking at Abby in curiosity.

"Young girl, what's your name?"

Seeing that Cidd was ignoring him and was instead only questioning his lover, Alexander furrowed his brows in disapproval, but before he could take any action, he realised that Abby was staring at Cidd in shock.

"Aren't you the musician my grandfather has been searching for?" Abby asked in surprise, even though Cidd might not stand out just based on physical appearance alone, Abby had once seen a portrait of him from her grandfather.

The reason was simple, her grandfather was someone who was immersed in music, even though he was a cultivator whose name resounds across the Holy Land, he didn't abuse his authority to invite Cidd to perform for him even once.

There were countless invitations which were rejected by Cidd, but everytime it happened, he would always let the matter slide with a smile because of the same answer Cidd gave every time.

"Senior, please pardon me for being unable to do so. When the time comes, I promise that the wait will be worth your time."

Being someone who has lived for a long time and able to stand at the peak of the fragmented cultivation world, Abby's grandfather was able to discern that Cidd was only speaking the absolute truth.

"It seems like that the little girl that has always been with her grandfather has already grown up over the years. If that's the case, Alexander, your background isn't simple as well, isn't it?" Cidd asked, a sharp glint of light flashing in his eyes, concealed before anyone could notice it.

Alexander attempted to lie, but when he spoke up, the words came out different from expected. "Yes, I'm the youngest prince of the royal Damian Family."

"I understand. But if you guys are searching for the sect master, then I'm afraid that you guys have arrived too late of a timing. He's currently busy right now." Cidd changed the topic which eased the tense atmosphere before it developed.

"All elders and chosen disciples, please gather at the main hall immediately. It's about time we discuss our plans before leaving the sect to participate in the annual sect competition shortly after."

*Unexpected Situation*

Even though the annual sects competition was restricted to only forces that aren't affiliated with any families or the Holy Land, there were a few forces which didn't participate in this event in past years.

Not because they weren't qualified just because they aren't a sect, but because the immense strength of their forces are enough to break the balance in the annual sect competition.

If the dominant sects that have been winning or securing a good placing in the annual sects competition were ferocious wolves, then these forces were the ferocious tigers. But even then, this wasn't the end yet.

There were a few forces which were feared and revered by any other forces. The elemental palace was one of them, a dragon which shouldn't belong to the forest.

The Elemental Palace was going to participate and not only them, but the few other forces that were able to contend against them on equal terms as well.

The Elemental Palace was the force which gathered all geniuses of the five elements. But they had a strict criteria, only disciples that are able to cultivate elemental intents to the law stage were the lowest ranking official disciples.

Not only that, there was one mandatory rule which has never been broken. Those who fail to awaken affinity with at least two different elements of the five, will be demoted to the subsidiary palaces that groomed cultivators that only utilise a single element.

The difference in between treatment and cultivation privileges were distinct enough to close the gap between an elite and genius, but that wasn't a concern the Elemental Palace had.

All they wanted were geniuses of the five elements of those who cultivate advanced laws solely such as the law of light and darkness, or even the astral law itself.

The other force that was able to contend against the Elemental Palace was the Assasination Hall and as the name implies, it's a force with a small number of people. But each person from the assasination hall, even a cleaner would be a first-class assassin in the cultivation world which others fear.

As for the true elites in the Assasination Hall, they had the reputation of being able to go undetected by others of the same cultivation realm as them, not even those who were within three cultivation realms can detect unless it was another genius which was worthy of being their rival.

The next one was the Psychic Organisation which possesses the ability to manipulate the minds of their enemies without them realising it or even make use of illusionary attacks to confuse and misdirect their opponents.

But this wasn't the aspect which made everyone fear them regardless of how strong one may be. Even in the Holy Land, they were an organisation to be reckoned with.

The reason was simple, they were able to kill their opponents with just a single thought without others realising how it actually happened.

Last but not least was the Wilders Hideout which were slightly weaker than the three dragon tier forces above, it was also the only non-dragon tier force which contend against the rest.

The reason was simple, everyone from this force possessed immense physical strength and mental fortitude which while not the strongest aspect to possess as a cultivator, it was still more than enough to deal with any forces below the Dragon tier.

Note: Tiers of sects have been changed in order to match the Annual Sect Competition plot better.

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