The man’s words sent all the disciples into an excited frenzy, but they all kept their calm as best as they could. In the presence of other disciples and powerful Elders, no one wanted to act like a child and be looked down upon.
One by one, the groups closest to the valley entrance began to walk over in an orderly fashion, soon disappearing from sight as they entered the formation barrier. The groups seemed to have been ordered by strength and status, with the strongest being allowed to enter first.
John watched with a calm gaze as the clans and sects such as the Starforge Clan, the direct Honorable Alliance disciples, as well as many other powerful sects entered the barrier.
‘With the number of sects gathered here, my divine sense and direct sight was only able to observe about ten percent of the disciples. I’m sure there are incredibly powerful disciples that I have yet to lay eyes on, and many that disdained from taking the Talent Testing Steps. It will be quite interesting to see just how powerful this alliance of ours truly is,’ John mused, but a frown soon appeared on his face as he realized something.
‘The man who just gave his speech did not mention anything about a ‘no-killing’ policy, which has always been stated before when entering realms. This can’t be an oversight, so the only explanation is that the alliance will not be forbidding such actions. It seems they truly want to raise their tigers by slaughtering the lambs. In order to become strong enough to resist the Forbidden Alliance, they are becoming more like them…how ironic.’
While the no-kill policy was not stated, John was relatively certain that there would not be wanton slaughter once everyone entered the realm. There were a few things to consider before killing another member of the alliance, such as the status of the one being killed, as well as the stigma of doing such a thing..
‘The Honorable Alliance would surely kick sects out if their disciples had acted with no regard for the lives of others, and slaughtered indiscriminately within. However, they are also saying that if deaths inside happen discreetly, they won’t investigate the matter. They want the tigers and dragons of the sect to flourish, but not at the cost of their reputation. Interesting.’
John was stirred out of his thoughts as the Heavenly Lightning Sect began to move forward towards the barrier, as their time to enter had come. The group of three hundred disciples was rife with anxious anticipation, and even the powerful disciples like Rael and Lily who were normally calm and collected couldn’t help but feel excited.
John gazed over to his three friends, and saw similar expressions on their faces. Clearly most of the other disciples had been caught up in the moment, and didn’t realize what John had already realized.
‘I’ll have time to warn them and the rest of the sect once we enter the Jade Dragon Empire lands,’ John mused as he looked ahead and the barrier before them.
Looking at the barrier from miles away was one thing, but standing directly before it was another. The barrier was absolutely massive, and glowed with a profound green light. To the side of the barrier rested the dragon statues, which were even more impressive up close. It was as if they would come alive at any moment and breathe fire over everything in their path.
“Good luck inside, and be sure to fight with all your strength,” Thunderfists voice boomed out. “But above all, make sure to keep yourselves safe.”
The disciples all cried out in unison, causing Thunderfist to nod his head in approval at the heated spirits of his disciples.
“Good, then enter, and make our sect proud,” he said before walking away.
The group nodded once again before turning to enter the barrier. They were led by Rael and Lily, while John decided to hang towards the middle of the group with his friends instead. The barrier suddenly passed overhead as the group entered, and everyone instantly felt a powerful energy wash over them, inspecting them down to their bones.
‘This must be the age-detecting formation, which restricts those above twenty from entering,” John mused as he felt the energy wash over him for a moment before disappearing.
After walking through the barrier, the group found themselves in the valley between the mountains, which stretched forward for several miles. The disciples of the other sects were visible in front and behind the group, as everyone slowly but surely made their way forward.
Suddenly, all the disciples felt something strange on their bodies, and some even cried out in surprise as they inspected the strange feelings. John felt something as well just below his right collarbone, and lifted his robe to inspect what had happened.
To his surprise, a brand had suddenly appeared on his flesh, one that glowed with green light like a formation rune. The brand was three inches wide and long, and although it was branded into his flesh, John did not feel any pain at all.
There were two parts to the brand, a strange symbol on the top, and the number zero below it.
“What’s going on?” a startled cry sounded out as one of the disciples inspected their brand. “I’ve been branded below my collarbone!”
“Me too!” another cried out.
Soon, the entire group confirmed that they had each been marked at the same spot on their body, just below the right collarbone.
“Let me see your marks,” John said to Adam and Chase, who pulled down their robe slightly to reveal their lower collarbone. In the same location as his were the marks, although both Chase and Adam had different markings than John’s.
‘What is going on?’ John mused, as the first mysterious thing in the realm had already occurred.
“What marking do you have?” John turned to Iris and asked.
Iris pulled down the neck of her robe slightly as well, revealing the mark just below her collarbone for a moment.
“It’s the same as mine. I wonder why we’re the same, but Adam’s and Chases are different,” John mused.
“Hmm, maybe it has to do with cultivation level?” Iris replied, voicing an idea.
“Maybe. That would make sense,” John replied, but was quickly cut off by another voice.
“All right, stop panicking,” the warm and gentle voice from Lily sounded out over the group. “I know what these marks mean, and I’ll explain it once we leave this valley.”
The group breathed out a sigh of relief upon hearing Lily’s words, and quickly resumed their forward progress.
After walking for several miles, the valley finally came to an end, and the group found themselves standing before an open expanse of land, the start of the Jade Dragon Realm grounds.
