“Young master Wang Wei, what is your question?” Lord Spirit said.
“What is your purpose in bringing these geniuses from the Upper Dimension?”
Lord Spirit frowned. “Of course, to test all the participants and choose the best person to inherit the master’s mantle.”
“That’s what I thought. So, what are you doing to deal with the political ramification of these upper-dimension geniuses’ existence and ensure we can do our best for this trial?”
“I’m not following.”
“Alright, let me direct. These people’s backgrounds are a problem. How do we know they would not retaliate against us after we defeat them? How are we supposed to fight to the fullest of our abilities if we have to worry about the possible revenge from the upper dimension?”
The participants looked Lord Spirit, their eyes saying that this was a valid concern. Suddenly, Ao Tianyi snorted coldly: “You people think too highly of yourself.”
Wang Wei glanced at him before looking back at Lord Spirit. “See. If it were not for his background, I would have long used his scale for armor, his muscle for bows, consumed his blood for its vitality, and his flesh for the taste. But now, what I can I do.”
Wang Wei felt an intense killing intent locking him; he ignored him before feigning a shocked look on his face. “Oh my god; how stupid of me; I’ve already offended him. What am I going to do?”
“You should indeed be scared. Do you think the Dao Opening Sect is what it used to be? Our dragon race can easily slaughter it.”
“You and I both know as long as the name of our two Boundless Paragon exists, nothing will happen to the Dao Opening Sect,” Wang Wei replied casually, making Ao Tianyi red in embarrassment; he did not think the latter knew so much about the upper dimension.
‘Interesting,’ thought Wang Wei. He noticed four of the upper seeded player react once he mentioned the Boundless Paragon of the Dao Opening Sect. However, Zhang Yucheng and Monk Wuzhi seemed not to care, as if these titles held no weight against them, no, against their factions. So, he took note of this reaction.
Wang Wei then looked directly at Lord Spirit. “See? All I had to is use a little spiritual hint to make him angry, and he began to threaten me with his background. So, how am I supposed to fight them fairly, knowing they might retaliate?
“Although the Deceiving Heaven Longevity Art is an Insurgent technique, and most definitely a Longevity Scripture, it is not worth risking my life and the possible destruction of my faction.”
The lower-seeded players and other participants quickly analyzed much information. It made sense that this scripture was a Longevity Resource, hence why even the upper-dimension geniuses were interested.
Subsequently, the possibility of retaliation was a genuine problem. Logically, it made no sense to risk their life for this trial.
“You don’t have to worry about retaliation,” said Xi Shangyan. “We have our own pride, and so do the factions behind us.”
“But how do I know of this?” replied Wang Wei. “I’ve only met you today.”
“Young Master Wang Wei, you can be reassured regarding this,” said Monk Wuzhi. “You have my words, and the words of Buddhism, that no one will retaliate against you and the others.”
“Monk Wuzhi, I’m sure Buddhism’s reputation is enough to guarantee our protection. But this is the lower dimension; Buddhism has no reputation as a basis for us to judge. And we cannot just go by your words.”
Monk Wuzhi frowned, along with the others next to him. Xiao Tiandi still had his eyes closed, while Ao Tianyi was trying extremely hard to control his anger. At the same time, he tried to detect how he was so easily spiritually influenced without noticing.
“So, what exactly do you want?” said Lord Spirit with slight anger.
“Dao Oath. I want them to swear an Oath not to Heavenly Dao but to Grand Dao itself that their faction will not retaliate against us–directly and indirectly. I don’t want any loopholes.”
“Nonsense,” roared Ao Tianyi. Grand Dao Oath was the most restrictive oath; it was one not even Paragons could break.
“Who are you to demand such a thing of us?” said Zhang Yucheng with a sneer.
“Young Master Wei, it appears your request was too much.”
Wang Wei sipped his tea calmly. “By your response, it seems all of you already planned to get this inheritance by any means–even fouls one.”
“This has nothing to do with retaliation,” said Shi Ruolan. “No cultivator likes to be restricted. And taking an oath for such a trivial matter, it’s even worse.”
“Sound like excuses to me.”
“And what will happen if they don’t swear?” asked Lord Spirit, staring straight at Wang Wei.
“Nothing will happen. I won’t participate in this trial, but I’m only one inconsequential individual.”
Lord Spirit had veins appear on his forehead as he already knew what the latter was planning. And as expected.
“I will also forfeit,” said Chu Luo.
“Count me in,” added Ji Lanfang, who was drinking from his gourd after seeing Wang Wei casually drinking his tea.
“I will support my fellow countrymen,” said Tong Ruobing. Shi Qian hesitated as she did not want to bring trouble to her parents by offending these upper dimensions big shots. However, she agreed reluctantly, thinking how she would become enemies with her fellow lower-dimension peers if she did not pick their side.
Of course, Jingwu Hua also agreed, followed by the other participants like Xu Shi, Feng Heng, Liang Shixian, Huo Fenghuang, etc.
“See, Lord Spirit. With all of us forfeiting, you can choose one of them as an inheritor. Well, they are a better fit if you consider their talents and birthplace.”
Lord Spirit became quiet.
‘My divination was correct,’ thought Wang Wei. ‘Gu Xuan does not want to give his inheritance to people of the upper dimension for some reason.’
A few minutes of silence then ensued. Then, Lord Spirit said: “You can all dismiss. I will contact you after negotiating the logistic of the current problem.”
Everyone quietly packed their things before flying to their mansions. As soon as Wang Wei arrived, Wang Wucheng appeared before him.
“What you did there was dangerous. And you also revealed yourself to these faction’s eyes.”
“It’s not as bad as you think. They already noticed me because of the Dao Overlord Title. All I did was revealed my intelligence as an [Overlord].”
“What about your soul? You’ve revealed yourself with that spiritual hint.”
“I don’t believe for a moment that Lord Spirit or Gu Xuan could hide the result of these trials from these people. And even the lower-dimension participants who were on my side would gladly sell my information.”
On top of everything, Wang Wei did not think these people would come along. So, they must send people or have other methods to investigate his information back in the Myriad Emperor World. As such, they will know his soul is unique.
“Did you observe anything from them?”
“Zhang Yucheng has displayed some hostility towards me–even though he tried very well to hide it. He and Monk Wuzhi are definitely here because of Feng Heng, and I will probably get dragged into their confrontation.
“As for the others, they appeared to also be here for another mission besides getting the inheritance. And that mission seemed to involve observing us.”
“Now that you mention it, they seem not to be happy once all you forfeit.”
“Yes. They reacted as if they wanted us to display our strengths and abilities. It appears they want to assess us, but the real question is why?”
“I can’t think of anything, but I’m sure you will figure it out,” said Wang Wucheng. “By the way, what did you mean by what you said about our founding fathers?”
“Didn’t I tell you about their disappearance and possible death?”
“No. I think I would have remembered if you had said such an important thing.”
Wang Wei then remembered he told Wang Wucheng about his encounter with Empyrean Black Heart during his Outlaw Trial. But, he was not detailed in his encounter, so he did not mention he learned of the founders’ disappearance.
“Well, now you know.”
“Don’t take something so important so lightly,” replied Wang Wucheng with a serious face.
“It’s as I said. Our founders have reached the pinnacle of cultivation. And two of them can revive themselves as long as their names remain in the annals of history. So, it is only a matter of time before they revive themselves.”
“Even so, I think this the kind of information that the others should know.”
After saying that, Wang Wucheng left to see Origin One. Wang Wei shook his head as he also headed back to the sect. He wanted to learn more about Gu Xuan as he felt the latter was not simple. He hoped he could gather more information about him and know better how to deal with the upcoming storm.
The night of this event, two shadows secretly entered different mansions habited by the upper seeded-players. Meanwhile, Ao Tianyi activated a formation in a secret room inside his mansion.