The Endless Promise

54. The Sect Tournament

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Just three days after the wedding, the sun rose on the tournament day, and an excited crowd had gathered at the Yue City Central Arena!

The Yue City Central Arena was much larger than the smaller arenas sect warriors or disciples used for normal practice or duels, and its high pillars towered over the crowd.

There were raised seats around for prominent figures, and then regular stepped seats or standing spots for everyone else.

"Welcome to Yueyan Sect's 153rd Sect Tournament!" One of the Sect Elders, Elder Zhou, announced in a loud excited voice, which razzled the crowd further.

Spectator 1, "It's Elder Zhou!"

Spectator 2, "Wah! He rarely comes out!"

Spectator 3, "Back then, he won for so many years, both as a disciple and Sect Warrior!"

Elder Zhou was the youngest Sect Elder, achieving Astral Tier at just thirty-five!

This made him highly admired, and he was the new goal among the current disciples, who sought to surpass him.

"Today, we will all see which of our young'uns have been working hard these past three years!" Elder Zhou was saying. "And now! I announce! The tournament has officially started!!"

There was a loud and raucous cheer as Sect Warriors and disciples alike processed round the arena.

The disciples were starting first, so the Sect Warriors left the platform, and under Elder Zhou's instructions, the eligible disciples all filed to the center.

For disciples, the minimum participation age was eighteen, so this was the first opportunity for Xu Weiyan, Xu Lin, Xu Wen, and Xu Lian.

There were two sections for the disciples, Senior and Junior, and all of them were in the 'Junior' category for disciples younger than twenty five, so they milled around in a group of more than sixty disciples, while the Seniors stood in another group of about forty.

Greetings flew here and as friends, comrades, and even siblings gathered. Most of the Xu Disciples stood together, their hairbands gleaming in the early sunlight, but Xu Haoyuan made a point of standing off to one side.

No one could really fault Haoyuan for his decisions during the Eye-eater mission, but when compared to how swiftly and efficiently Xu Weiyan had minimized the damage, he was once again lacking.

Meanwhile, amidst the Xu disciples, Xu Lian had pointedly not attended Weiyan's wedding, and she was now shooting Weiyan challenging looks!

"Sis, your intentions are too clear on your face." Xu Wen patted her head. "It's too late, just let go of Zhang Luoyin."

"No!" Xu Lian shook her head. "I know some blades of grass that are more engaging than Sister Weiyan! I'll impress Zhang Luoyin in the tournament, and wait till he's tired of her!"

"Are you cursing your own cousin's marriage?!" Xu Lin reprimanded. "It's better to destroy a nine-tier tower than break apart a couple!"

"Hmph! They aren't exactly 'two mandarin ducks'! I won't acknowledge the marriage!" Xu Lian retorted, but Xu Wen and Xu Lin comically stepped away from her.

"If you're going against Sister Weiyan, I don't know you." Xu Wen stated.

"You're my twin!" She reminded him, but he simply nodded.

"Umh. We even have similar auras." He nodded. "That's why I must keep my distance. If Sister Weiyan gets angry, I don't want to be mistakenly hit by her attack."