Wan Ling and Shen Yuan looked at each other in surprise before the latter asked, “Then what happened? Why are there not even ruins of that sect left?”
Bing Rong pointed to the central mountain, “Do you see that peak? The entire Sect was situated on top of that peak with multiple Mystique Realm cultivators hosting the entire sect. And they also had the least amount of disciples as they believed in quality over quantity.”
She closed her eyes as if thinking deeply, “But one day, the Legacy Disciple of the Sect went into a conflict with a rogue cultivator in which he was heavily injured, and even his limbs were broken. That news shook the entire continent. At that time the legacy disciple was one of the top cultivators in the younger generation with a handful of people who could fight with him on equal footing.”
“But that rogue cultivator’s cultivation base was not only at the same level as him but was even weaker. Despite that, he defeated the legacy disciple. But the World Raiser Sect didn’t pursue this matter as it was the matter of the younger generation.”
“Who was that rogue cultivator?” Wan Ling quickly asked.
Bing Rong looked at her and chuckled, “Wait, wait, I’m getting there.” Then she thought for a second and continued, “But the legacy disciple didn’t stomach this defeat very well and put a bounty on the rogue cultivator’s head in secret. And that was his biggest mistake.”
Shen Yuan and Wan Ling held their breaths, “The rogue cultivator not only killed all the assassins who went after him but also uprooted a lot of headquarters of different assassin organizations before finally learning who put a bounty on his head. And by now his cultivation base had also surpassed the legacy disciple. But he was still not strong enough to face the powerhouses of the World Raiser Sect, so he left the Eastern Desolate Region and went inside the Central Desolate Region.”
“The legacy disciple didn’t leave the matter as it is, he tried to find out more details about who the person was after finally failing to find him. And that’s when he learned that he was the one who triggered the 9 Heavenly Thunder Tribulation which spanned for thousands of miles—Jiao Heng.”
Realization dawned on Shen Yuan as he had heard of this name before. During Ling Yue’s tribulation. ‘So it’s him.’
Bing Rong continued, “But not even a few years had passed when Jiao Heng returned to the Eastern Desolate Region. With a single sword in his hand, he slaughtered his way into the World Raiser Sect. The legacy disciple didn’t even have a chance to resist before he was cut in half by Jiao Heng. But his actions greatly angered the Sect Master and Ancestors of the World Raiser Sect.”
“They gave him two choices: either to join the World Raiser Sect or cripple his cultivation base.” She paused, letting the suspense build, “But Jiao Heng simply raised his sword and utilized a strange sword technique—and the result,” she pointed behind them, “The entire sect was razed to the ground, not a single survivor was left as all the Mystique Realms were destroyed and the inheritance lost in the Spatial Turbulence due to it.”
Shen Yuan took a deep breath as he thought what kind of power would be required to destroy the main base of a Sect that was above the Divine Grade. “Wait, it was a Divine Grade sect?” he quickly asked.
Bing Rong shook her head, “No, it was a Celestial Grade Sect. One level above Divine Grade sects.”
Shen Yuan turned back towards the tall mountains, “No wonder no one builds a sect on this ground, they are all afraid of Jiao Heng as well as possible misfortune for inheriting this place.”
Wan Ling tilted her head in confusion, “Then why do we host the Aurora Zone Competition here?”
Bing Rong finally smiled slightly, “That’s because this is the best place to host it. This is the central-most place from all the peak sects of the Aurora zone. And it’s been far too long since these events had happened. So the other sects also didn’t want to waste such good land, but they also didn’t want to build a sect here. So they all decided together to hold competitions here.”
The Grand Elder came just then, “Finished telling them about the World Raiser Sect?” she asked just after arriving.
Bing Rong and the others bowed slightly in greeting before she said, “Yes, I just finished telling them about the sect and Senior Jiao Heng.”
The Grand Elder nodded her head, “Good, that’s the least we can do to pay our respect to the past giants. Anyways, the other sects will be there so act accordingly. I don’t want them to look down on our sect and think we are only good at healing.”
Shen Yuan smiled and nodded, “I will take care of it, Grand Elder. I will make sure to win this competition.”
The Grand Elder’s expression softened as she heard his reassuring words, then she turned to Wan Ling, “And Ling’er, we don’t have much expectation from you, your cultivation base is far too behind so just treat this as a gathering experience.”
Wan Ling nodded her head seriously, “I will do my best Senior Qianxue.”
The Grand Elder was named Sun Qianxue, she was one of the strongest members of the sect, on par with Mei Hua. She nodded, “Don’t force yourself here. You still have a bright future ahead of you.”
Shen Yuan speechlessly looked at Qianxue, ‘I don’t remember her worrying this much about me.’
Just then she turned to Shen Yuan and said, “Ah yes, someone is waiting for you at the base of our sect on the mountain.” She left after saying that.
Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow, ‘I don’t remember having any acquaintance in the outside world though. Who can it be?’
He turned to Bing Rong who shrugged her shoulders while Wan Ling did the same. He shook his head and walked back inside, “Let’s go back, there is still some time before we reach there. Might as well drink some tea.”
The two of them looked at each other and followed behind him.
…
After a few hours, the ship stopped on top of a large courtyard with multiple buildings inside. The disciples who came to take the test gathered on the hull of the ship looking below.
Shen Yuan was among them as well, looking here and there to see who was waiting for him. But he didn’t see anyone. ‘Was she just playing with me?’ he thought with some suspicion.
Bing Rong patted his shoulder with a smile, “Let’s go down Yuan’er, we need to explore this mountain. A lot of small sects and rogue cultivators come here during this time to open stalls to sell their treasures and watch the competition. Who knows you might find something interesting among there.”
Wan Ling’s eyes lit up at the thought of going shopping with Shen Yuan, she hurriedly nodded her head, “Yes, senior brother, we should go out soon.”
Shen Yuan helplessly nodded his head and descended from the ship with the others. Just as he stepped foot on the ground, someone from behind him covered his eyes, “Guess who~”