The Throughpath was the only path that led to the huge compound of Heaven's Elysium. At the end of the path was a grand stone door, the Throughgate, that had been forged from spirit ore and wasn’t too different from a beastial weapon. And the Throughgate was the only entrance into the compound that everyone from the sect had to use to enter or leave.
The path stretched from the door, with many twists and turns. It was able to prevent a large influx of people from making it to Heaven's Elysium through the path alone, let alone mentioning the wildbeasts, barriers, and other obstacles there.
Usually, the path was used as a testing ground for prospective disciples of the sect. But today, it was used to test the top disciples of the four great sects, so the difficulty of traversing it was ten times higher than usual. Most of the wildbeasts were just recently caught in the Abyssal Battlefield, so they were still mostly undomesticated.
"The battle of the Throughpath is definitely going to attract quite a lot of viewers."
There were many new seats constructed next to the Throughgate, where Heaven's Elysium's guests would be hosted by the East Cardinal King, Jun Dongyao. The members of the Onyx Sect and Cloudmist Sword School were assigned seats to the left and right side of the Heaven's Elysium members. Even people on the level of sect masters, like the Onyx Emperor and Empress, and the Cloudmist Sword School's Sect master Sikong Jiansheng, were subordinate to the Elysian King. Even higher than the Elysian King, however, was the Elysian Emperor, his father.
"This battle will be entertaining for sure. Forget the Grand-Orient Sect, since they always lose horribly anyway. We originally gave the Southsky Sect a chance, but that fool Weisheng Tianlan didn't appreciate it. Let's make sure the southsky disciples taste such a crushing defeat that they'll never be able to stand tall again," Sikong Jiansheng said.
"The young ones should be allowed to play. After all, their seniors from the Southsky Sect and Grand-Orient Sect won't be there to see it," said a girl in a black veil. She had an incredibly shapely body that one wouldn't forget after only a single glance. The charming gaze she had under the veil shone through strongly. Nobody would expect someone like her to be so old that she could be the grandmother of the current generation of the Onyx disciples. She was the wife of the Onyx Emperor, the Onyx Empress. The Onyx Sect has always been ruled by a husband-wife couple. It was the sect that treated both genders the most fairly across the whole realm.
"How do you intend to let them play, Sect Master Sikong?" said a white-clad man seated behind the Onyx Empress. He looked like an impeccably just person with a pair of sharp eyes. He seemed no older than thirty, but he had actually been cultivating for more than eighty years. He was none other than the previous Onyx Emperor.
"I feel like we have to give the Southsky Sect a strong impression right at the start. Forget the Grand-Orient Sect, they're already on their last breath. The Southsky Sect actually dared defy the formation of our grand alliance all because of that puny Weisheng Tianlan. Let's see if he'll piss himself if we give him a scare," Sikong Jiansheng said.
"Sounds impressive, Sect Master," the Onyx Empress said seductively. Nobody would dare admit to themselves that she was a granny in her eighties already.
"Haha, you truly flatter me."
The white-clad Onyx Emperor added, "I heard that among the Cloudmist Disciples is Sect Master Sikong's Heavenly Will grandson. He has amazing mastery of the sword, right? It's said that he managed to kill three first-level Heavenly Will cultivators at the same time. Looks like we're in for a great show."
"Tianchen is still immature. Though, I hear that the Onyx Emperor's two grandsons are at Heavenly Will. They are the truly terrifying ones. The two of them are great at coordinating their battle arts and tacitly know how the other fights. If they work together, it's as if their lifebound beasts can also telepathically communicate with one another. It wouldn't be hard for them to take on four or five people at once," Sikong Jiansheng humbly praised.
"That's enough flattery from you. How could our youths possibly compete with the Elysian Children? Those seven are the true pride of our realm. Their future is limitless," the Onyx Empress said.
"That's true."
"The empress speaks sense."
Hearing them say that, the Elysian children standing behind the Elysian King seemed much more comfortable. Before that, their expressions were a little tense from hearing the three sect masters praising each other's disciples.
"You don't have to put them on a pedestal. Only Long'er and Tianyi can be considered capable among those seven," the East Cardinal King said as he glanced at the six youths behind him, only one of whom had his head still raised while the others looked down.
He was dressed in a golden robe, and even his hair had a golden sheen. His eyes were sharp and spirited, making him look really handsome. Despite his youth, he had the countenance of an emperor and the authority that accompanied it. In fact, he almost looked like the East Cardinal King's brother.
"Elysian Yi has truly inherited the natural talent of the Elysian King. He's doubtless the top genius of the entire Grand-Orient Realm, given that he was able to reach the second level of Heavenly Will at the age of sixteen!" Sikong Jiansheng praised. People could even tell that he wasn't spouting flattery, but rather his true feelings. Elysian Yi, or Jun Tianyi, was the eldest grandson of the Elysian Emperor and the first son of the East Cardinal King, Jun Dongyao.
"Sect Master Sikong, your praise for me is unwarranted. I don't deserve the title of top genius," Jun Tianyi hurriedly said.
"How humble," the Onyx Empress said with a chuckle.
"It's not humility. It’s just a fact that Tianyi has been surpassed," Jun Dongyao plainly said.
"So that was true after all?" mused the Onyx Emperor.
"That's right. Yueling Long is indeed superior to him."
Yueling Long was also a genius of their sect, and she had surpassed Jun Dongyao's son. As such, Sikong Jiansheng and the rest quickly moved on to another subject.
"Look at the time. The fifteen disciples are about to step on the Throughpath. Where's Long'er?" Jun Dongyao asked.
"Father, she went out to have fun with Uncle. They said they'd definitely come back before the Realm Wars," Jun Tianyi said.
"That Jun Niancang... he's always messing around. Isn't your grandfather worried he'll hold back Long'er's cultivation?"
"Dad, given Uncle's talent and cultivation, Sis Long will only get better. Uncle's the most terrifying person our sect has produced in the past thousand years, right?"
"That's true," Jun Dongyao mused.
"Don't worry, Dad. Even if she doesn't come back, these people from the four sects won't even get a chance to glance at the Grand-Orient Sword. I can be sure they'll no doubt have a lot to 'gain' before they return to their sects."
"Alright."
......
Near the Throughgate was quite a few others from Heaven's Elysium who were there to watch the show. They were curious about the so-called top disciples of the four other sects. Three people stood among them in a corner, their leader a slender, mysterious old man clad in black, behind which stood a man and woman.
"Elysian Long's improvement is truly shocking. Within three or four short months, she made such impressive strides. The three of us really did luck out after helping her deal with some trouble," said Ling Yichen.
"That's right. Otherwise, given my and Yixue's status, there's no way we'd be able to enter Heaven's Elysium that easily," said Jin Yixuan.
Song Yixue chuckled; she was working really hard to protect the Yueling Clan.
"I heard she and some elite in the Jun Clan are lovers now," Ling Yichen added.
"Is that true? I thought it was just some rumor. That's impressive. I heard that even though the East Cardinal King contributed a lot to the sect, the Elysian Emperor actually intends for his young son that just returned from the theocracy to be his heir!" Song Yixue said.
"If that's the case, Elysian Long will definitely soar even higher."
"That's right. If she manages to make her way to the theocracy, she's definitely capable of fulfilling her dreams of dominating the entire Grand-Orient Realm. After all, she’ll join the Jun Clan soon enough. It really is impressive how someone her age can reach such a height," Ling Yichen said as he looked down at the Throughpath.
There were fifteen disciples from the four other sects on the path. Ling Yichen couldn't help but say, "What do you think? Do any of these geniuses deserve to be compared to her? They even came here to take the Grand-Orient Sword. They really don't know what's best for their own lives. I heard that Elysian Yi intends to give the Realm Wars an interesting twist. We will definitely be looking forward to it."
......
The fifteen disciples embarked on the Throughpath from different directions. The path stretched wider the lower it was, so the disciples wouldn't see the others at the start. But as long as they continued upward, they would eventually gather at the same spot.
Ye Shaoqing and the rest waited beneath the path. After Tianming entered, he saw a dense forest before him, and the tall and majestic Heaven's Elysium up on the mountain above.
"Four months ago, I chose not to join Heaven's Elysium. I didn't think I'd end up here all the same."
He could already feel the pressure coming from the sect. It was only now that he truly knew how much disparity existed between Heaven's Elysium and the Grand-Orient Sect. Even so, he was now part of the sect that belonged to his clan.
"Let's go!"
Once he got on the path, he sped through the forest up the mountain. The terrain on the Throughpath was rather dangerous. If it weren’t for him being able to see the sect above, he would've easily lost his way. If he had a flying lifebound beast, he would be able to fly up high for a better vantage point, were that not forbidden by the rules, which stated that flying lifebound beasts were restricted to low altitude flights on the Throughpath. Even then, normal disciples wouldn't dare risk flying, lest they attract the attention of the wildbeasts on the path.
"It's said that the wildbeasts here are at least sixth- or seventh-order." Seventh-order wildbeasts would be hard to deal with even for Heavenly Will disciples. Thankfully, they only numbered three at most on the path.