Late that night, the banquet dispersed.
The members of Qingyang Divine Palace were led by a maidservant toward their quarters. Before long they arrived at a mountain peak, rich with spiritual energy and blessed with beautiful scenery. The moonlight cascaded gently over the earth, bathing everything in a soft glow.
Atop the peak stood a brightly lit palace — the very place where the Qingyang Divine Palace group would be staying. Their disciples had already arrived and settled in.
After the maidservant brought everyone to the entrance, she bowed respectfully and withdrew. Another attendant guided them to their guest chambers.
Before long everything was arranged. After freshening up slightly, Yang Kai felt a stir in his mind. He produced a communication compass and checked it, then furrowed his brow, opened the door, and stepped out.
He turned a corner, arrived at another room, and knocked gently.
"Come in." Gao Xueting's voice came from inside.
Yang Kai pushed the door open and entered. Inside the room, Wen Zishan, Luo Chen, Xiao Baiyi, and Murong Xiaoxiao were already present. He couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"
Wen Zishan held up a jade slip and shook it. "Something's come up."
With that, he flicked the jade slip over.
Yang Kai caught it, closed the door, and swept it with his spiritual sense. Immediately, he blurted in surprise, "What is this?"
Inside the jade slip was a list of names, each paired with a number. Yang Kai was thoroughly puzzled. He spotted his own name on it — and not just once.
Gao Xueting explained, "We came along to oversee the disciples' competitions, but we're also serving as judges."
"Judges?" Yang Kai was taken aback.
"That's right," Gao Xueting continued. "The martial meeting is divided into three tiers — Dao Source Realm, Void King Realm, and Return Void Realm. Never mind the latter two for now. The bouts between Dao Source Realm disciples are not to be taken lightly. We need Emperor Realm cultivators presiding as arbiters — partly to ensure fair competition, and partly to prevent anyone from being killed during the matches."
At her explanation, Yang Kai understood. Though the martial meeting was nominally a friendly competition, once a fight began the situation could change in an instant, and unnecessary casualties were entirely possible. To prevent that, naturally a stronger cultivator had to be present to intervene. In bouts between Dao Source Realm cultivators, only an Emperor Realm powerhouse could step in to stop a fight or render aid. Otherwise, if a hundred or so people ended up dead during a single martial meeting, nobody's reputation would survive unscathed.
Having grasped this, Yang Kai examined the jade slip more carefully. "So I'm responsible for Arena Number Eight, for a total of five days?"
Gao Xueting nodded. "Mm. The martial meeting runs for one month in total. During the individual combat rounds, Junior Brother Yang, you'll cover Arena Eight. Remember the schedule — the rest of the time, others will rotate in."
Yang Kai nodded to show he'd noted it.
So many Emperor Realm cultivators had come from the Southern Region this time that even though the martial meeting lasted an entire month, he only needed to watch for five days. The rest would be handled by rotation — they couldn't very well make him stand guard for all thirty days.
After a moment's thought, Yang Kai said, "Doesn't this give certain people the opportunity to play favorites? If a disciple from their own Sect steps into the arena, they'll naturally be inclined to show a bit of extra leniency."
Wen Zishan chuckled. "These are people who care about their reputations. Even given the chance, no one would be so obvious about it — they'll do their best to keep things fair. Besides, in addition to you judges assigned to each arena, there will be others keeping an eye on all the matches. Cheating won't be as simple as it sounds."
Gao Xueting said, "Just remember one thing — under no circumstances must anyone die. Beyond that, use your own judgment."
Yang Kai nodded. "I'll do my best." He didn't take it all that seriously. It was his first time serving as a judge in this life, but with his current strength, protecting two Dao Source Realm cultivators from killing each other in the heat of battle was hardly a challenge.
Apart from Yang Kai, Xiao Baiyi and Murong Xiaoxiao had the same duty — everyone would be judging for roughly five days.
Wen Zishan offered a few more reminders before the group dispersed. Gao Xueting then took out her communication compass and summoned the disciples who would be competing, delivering another round of instructions.
Meanwhile, on another spirit peak, inside a sealed chamber, a burly man sat cross-legged on the floor. Black energy coiled around his body, filling the entire room as it churned and writhed like countless spectral serpents — a truly terrifying sight.
A knock came from beyond the door. The burly man's eyes snapped open, revealing irises that were entirely crimson-black, without a single sliver of white. Anyone of faint heart would have been scared half to death at the sight.
But the moment his eyes opened, the black energy roaming the chamber seemed to answer a silent call and retreated en masse back into his body. The crimson-black eyes gradually returned to their normal color, and with the black energy gone, he looked no different from anyone else.
"Enter!" His commanding voice rang out. The door opened and a half-aged elder stepped inside.
The burly man looked up at him. "How did that guy show up?"
The elder frowned. "I was surprised too. No word of him for over a decade — it was said he'd long since left the Southern Region. I have no idea why he'd appear at a time like this."
The burly man said, "What is Wen Zishan playing at? He wouldn't have called him here specifically for the martial meeting, would he?"
"Perhaps it's merely a coincidence?"