John ignored the commotion behind him as he walked deeper into the Bloodfiend Sect. Much like the Heavenly Lightning Sect, grand buildings lined every street, as thousands upon thousands of cultivators streamed in and out of them.
The sect was vibrant with life, but was instilled with a much darker and more sinister atmosphere. Not only was the Sect shrouded in perpetual shadows casted by the high mountains above, but the naturally dark auras of all the cultivators mixed together, bathing the sect in a sinister aura.
Bang!
A sound to John's right caught his attention, and his head swiveled to see what was going on. To his right, a group of youths were surrounding a lone youth, throwing fists and kicks while the youth was on the ground. Taunts, jeers, and insults were being spewed from all of them, as the youth did his best to cover his head.
An Elder happened to walk by the scene, who casually glanced at it before continuing onwards as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. John raised his eyebrows at this sight.
'It seems as if this sect truly is quite a brutal place. The strong thrive while the weak die, and the Elder's want it this way. No wonder their cultivations were stronger in the wastelands and ancient city than anyone else's.'
John had always found this fact quite peculiar. When he was in the ancient city, he had run into several of the strongest members from each of the Four Great Sects. While Miko was the strongest other than himself, the highest cultivations all belonged to the Bloodfiend Sect's Three Emperors.
No other first year disciples had cultivations at the Late Core Formation Realm, which John had always found strange. However, upon seeing the way the Bloodfiend Sect operated, it started to make sense.
'There's a much greater incentive to get strong in this sect compared to my own. Here, strength is the only thing that keeps you safe.'
John continued deeper into the sect, and saw similar scenes play out several times. However, he ignored them all as he strode deeper into the sect, towards the area where his housing should be. John had extracted as much information from his assumed identity as he could, and was using that information to act as normal as possible within the sect.
After walking for nearly an hour, he finally arrived at his housing, which rested at the base of one of the mountains. It was a small house, more comparable to a cottage, and was only ten feet wide by ten feet deep. It was much less luxurious than his accommodations back at the Heavenly Lightning Sect.
There were hundreds of similar houses in the nearby area, which was clearly a spot for housing outer sect disciples.
John pushed open the dilapidated door, revealing the contents within. A simple bed rested in the corner of the room. A small table and chair sat in another corner, with a small bookshelf nearby. Other than that, there was nothing else within the room.
'This is quite depressing.'
John strode into the house, and explored its interior momentarily. The bookshelf held some low level cultivation and battle art scrolls, none of which were of interest to John. After reading the scrolls, he sat down on the simple bed and stayed there.
'I'm sure there will be some people coming for me soon for questioning, now that word should be spreading that I have returned to the Sect. In that case, I'll just rest and cultivate in the meantime.'
For the next several hours, John rested. His trip had been quite an arduous one, filled with combat and excessive travelling. Even for a cultivator, travelling such distances took its toll, and so this moment of respite was more than welcomed.
The daylight faded, as night began to creep in. John opened his eyes, as his door was opened. A lone figure stood there, staring at him from its entrance.
"Come with me, now!" a commanding voice barked out, giving no room for objection. The voice was deep and aged, clearly the voice of an Elder.
Expecting as much, John stood up and walked outside. The Elder stood there with a face of displeasure and disgust, as if he was looking at a worthless thing. Without a word, the Elder turned on his heels and began to walk away from the cottage.
John followed closely behind in silence, as the two of them walked deeper into the sect. Dim lanterns lit the streets of the sect, giving it a dark, ominous vibe. After walking for quite some time, the Elder turned down a street leading away from the main road they were on.
An opened gate framed the entrance of the street, and a signboard hung above it. John paused for a moment to read the sign.
'Punishment Hall'
'Punishment Hall huh? Must be something like the Enforcement Hall back in my sect, only much more to the point with its naming.'
"Keep up!" the Elder barked out, angry that John had paused for a single moment.
John quickly caught back up with the Elder, as they walked down the dark and narrow road. The road was lined by tall, gnarled trees, blocking most of the moonlight that cascaded down on the sect.
At the end of the mile long road, a series of buildings dotted the base of a mountain. The buildings ranged in size, from small houses, to hundreds of yards tall. The Elder strode towards one of the largest buildings. John followed closely behind, and the two quickly entered the building.
The interior was brightly lit, and the main entrance of the building was quite expansive. However, it was mostly empty, making it feel a bit lifeless. The Elder strode to one of the side halls, and stopped at the very first door.
He opened it, and motioned for John to enter.
"Get in, now!" the Elder commanded.
John did as instructed, and quickly entered the room. The door slammed shut behind him, but John's eyes were staring ahead of himself.
In front of him, a group of ten Elders were gathered, each seated on an ornate chair which formed a semi-circle. The Elder's all looked towards John as he arrived.
"Step forward!" one of the Elders commanded.
John followed the instructions once more, his face calm and relaxed. He stood in the middle of the semicircle, as the eyes of all ten Elders stared at him closely.
The Elder who had spoken before spoke out once more.
"The Execution Trial of John Harren will now begin!"