"Life and death battles? They allow such things?" One of the nearby first years asked in surprise. This was their first time hearing about such a thing. In fact, none of the first years had heard about this arena yet, or the life and death battles.
"Yep, when two sect members are at odds to the point that only life and death can solve the issue, they are allowed to request a life and death battle. If it's approved by the Elders, the fight takes place within that large arena, and it only ends when one side is dead. But such battles are quite rare, so the arena is usually empty" the older disciple replied. He was an older boy who appeared to be around seventeen years old, and his cultivation revealed he was in the Core Formation Realm.
John's gaze lingered on the large arena in the distance. Its dark grey and black walls gave the arena an ominous feeling. After a few seconds of looking at the arena, John turned to the older disciple once more.
"Are the martial arena's normally this busy? Part of growing as a cultivator is to fight. Isn't having a two week waiting period to fight quite excessive?" John asked curiously. It currently made no sense to him that there would be such a delay.
"Ah, that's a good question, and it has a simple answer" the older disciple replied. "The martial arenas are normally not this busy, but as I'm sure you know, disciples are allowed to challenge others for higher spots every six months. Well, that six month period aligns with the start of the new disciples inauguration, which started today.
For the next few weeks, every disciple from all the different years who wants to rank up within the sect is challenging those ranked above them, resulting in the arenas being completely booked up for weeks. After this period is over, the arenas become much more empty and the waiting period is usually no more than a few hours," the disciple explained, causing all the first years nearby to come to an understanding.
As first years, they were only allowed to challenge others in six months time, but those within the sect already were free to do so, as the challenging period had just begun.
There were disciples ranging from first years all the way up to the Meridian Forging realm, each with their own goals and desires, and each would reach as high as possible. Such a large number of disciples would clearly lead to many fights for advancement.
After reaching Meridian Forging, the disicples would become Elders, or were allowed to roam the world as they pleased under the banner of the Heavenly Lightning Sect, spreading its fame far and wide.
John wanted to fight Russell as well, but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.
"I guess we fight in two weeks, I'm going to head off for now," John said to the nearby Russell before leaving the martial grounds.
Although he was interested in the fights taking place within, he figured he would have plenty of time to watch them in the future. For now, his biggest concern was with raising his strength and cultivation, and he would take every opportunity available to do so.
The nearby first years all had looks of disappointment on their faces, but they soon dispersed as well. News soon broke out among the first years about the fight between two of the top disciples, and a frenzy was stirred up by those anticipating the fight.
All were curious about both John's and Russell's true strength, and bets were starting to appear in great numbers on who they thought would win. The overwhelming majority favored Russell over John, mostly due to his higher cultivation.
While John did come first overall and kill the Late Qi Condensation Lion, Russell was at the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm, and no one had ever seen someone fight and win against a cultivator with a higher cultivation.
However, there was a small group of followers that bet on John to win. Unbeknownst to him, he had become an incredibly popular subject of discussion amongst the first years. Some of the first years were awed by his displays within the entrance exams, and believed that he was the strongest amongst the first years, despite his cultivation level.
John had no idea about these discussions, and soon returned to his mansion at the top of the mountain. A familiar figure stood outside the front door, causing John to be slightly surprised.
"Elder Ragur!" John called out as he saw the Elder standing there.
He had not seen the Elder since the start of the entrance exams.
"John, you did not disappoint me. How does it feel to be the number one disciple amongst the first years?" Elder Ragur asked with a slight smile on his face.
"I don't really care about that stuff, but the rewards were quite nice though. Oh yeah, thanks for the scythe" John replied. He had just remembered the scythe gifted by the Elder himself.
"How is it? I had it specially made for you, and it cost me quite a bit to have it made" Elder Ragur asked.
"I haven't used it yet, but I can tell it's a great weapon. It's definitely a big upgrade over my previous weapon" John replied with a smile on his face.
He was quite pleased about the scythe, and was eager to use it as soon as he could.
John was about to ask Elder Ragur about the scythe, when he suddenly thought of his clan, and his entire reason for joining the Heavenly Lightning Sect. However, he had never been important enough to request help from them before. He was just about to speak up to the Elder, when Elder Ragur spoke up first.
"I came here because I could tell something has been on your mind since I first met you. I'm guessing it's regarding your clan, given your anxiousness whenever you bring them up. Tell me, what is going on?"
John was slightly surprised to hear the Elder ask him about this first. After a moment of silence, John spoke up and told the Elder about the Crimson Valley Sect, the pocket realm, and the Bloodfiend Sect.
Although his clan rules forbid him from talking about the pocket realm, John decided to break those rules. If his clan was destroyed, those rules were useless anyways. It was better to have the Heavenly Lightning Sect learn of the pocket realm, than have his clan annihilated.
After learning that the Bloodfiend Sect was involved, John knew that getting the full help of the Heavenly Lightning Sect was the only way forward.
Besides, he was fairly sure that based on what Celestial Soulrend said, the pocket realm was no more. Celestial Soulrend said that he was the core of the world, and it was to collapse upon his leaving.
As such, John decided to describe everything that was happening, while being sure to leave out the parts regarding Celestial Soulrend and other secretive subjects.
Elder Ragur listened in silence, but his slight facial expressions betrayed his otherwise calm demeanor. Clearly, such a story was far beyond his expectations.
After explaining the whole situation to the Elder, Elder Ragur stood there in silence for some time before speaking out.
"The nature of this situation is far beyond me. I will relay this information to the Sect Leader, and let you know of his decision."