The vetting process was exceedingly strict. Any faction that failed to meet the qualifications was eliminated without exception and absolutely barred from the competition.
It was clear that the Divine King's Manor conducted its affairs with a fair degree of integrity. Even those factions that were weeded out simply slunk away in silence, with few voicing complaints or dissatisfaction.
There was no doubt about it — the Manor was adhering rigidly to its rules and regulations. There was no backdoor dealing, no pulling strings through personal connections.
Just before it was the Evil Star Sect's turn, a bald man from a neighboring faction whistled at Han Shuang: "Young Mistress Han, why is your Evil Star Sect joining the fun? Do you even meet the minimum threshold for registration? Got enough high-stage Divine Dao cultivators? If you're short on manpower, count me in! Of course, that's on the condition that we first become one family, you know?"
The bald man's voice was sleazy, and his grin even more so — clearly, he was flirting with Han Shuang.
Han Shuang's willow-leaf eyebrows shot upward: "Old Man Zhao, with your kind of bearing, you think you can hit on me? Didn't I hear that back in the day you got caught harassing women and someone already had you castrated? What, lost the tool but still want to get your mouth's worth?"
The bald man flushed red with embarrassment and cursed: "Damn it, that's just a rumor! My equipment is perfectly fine! Want to find a place to compare notes?"
"Comparing notes — forget it. That thing of yours is going to get sliced off by someone sooner or later."
"Heh heh, if Young Mistress Han wants to do the slicing, I'll let you. But I'm afraid you might not be strong enough to cut through it." The bald man continued his sleazy banter.
At that moment, a stern-looking elder from the Divine King's Manor barked: "Zhao Laoqi, if you keep making a racket, believe it or not we'll have you thrown out on your backside!"
Despite looking all smug while harassing Han Shuang, the bald man didn't dare let out a single peep when the Manor's people reprimanded him. He meekly shuffled back into his own faction's line, tucked his head down, and didn't let out half a sound.
"Cheap wretch," was Jiang Chen's two-word assessment of the man.
"The Evil Star Sect — proceed for vetting."
Han Shuang's eyes lit up, and her voice rang out clear: "The Evil Star Sect is here to undergo the Divine King's Manor's vetting. We humbly request the honorable lords' review."
The words were concise, yet perfectly proper.
Han Shuang led her four grand elders into the vetting area.
The vetting area was staffed by several core elders of the Divine King's Manor, who sized up Han Shuang's party with appraising eyes.
One of them smiled: "Sect Master Han, these two are rather unfamiliar faces. Are they up-and-comers from your Evil Star Sect?"
"Heh, I wouldn't exactly call them up-and-comers. They've simply always kept a low profile and rarely show their faces in public. This is Elder Zhen Huan, and this is Elder Zhen Shi. They are uncle and nephew."
Han Shuang then turned to Jiang Chen and the others: "Elders, these are distinguished experts from the Divine King's Manor. It's not every day one gets to meet them in person. You should pay your respects properly."
Jiang Chen offered a faint smile: "Greetings to the honored lords of the Divine King's Manor."
Jiang Huan was actually quite reluctant. These people were far beneath the level where he should be paying respects to them. But in the current circumstances, he could only put on a show of going through the motions.
The Divine King's Manor experts, for their part, paid them no particular attention — clearly, they weren't especially interested in scrutinizing them.
One of them smiled: "Sect Master Han, we conduct business by the book, so don't take offense at any offenses. For this competition, Lord Divine King places the utmost importance on fairness."
Han Shuang laughed heartily: "Rest assured, I fully support fairness and impartiality. Giving everyone an equal shot at advancement — that's a wonderful thing. I give it two thumbs up."
The Divine King's Manor elders were somewhat taken aback. They had assumed that Han Shuang's enthusiastic demeanor was an attempt to get them to go easy and relax the standards.
They hadn't expected her to say something like this. Could it be that these two unfamiliar elders actually met the vetting requirements? If so, the elders would have been happy to let them pass. Upholding the law impartially — that was something Lord Divine King had emphasized time and again.