Volume One: The Devil's Nature Never Changes
Arc: The Strategic Sect War
[Two Months After the Internal Infiltration Incident]
All the sects implemented compulsory conscription for anyone aged thirteen or older in order to reinforce their internal fronts.
At the same time, an order came down from the Second Dimension stating that the total number of participants in the Bloody Sect War had been increased from twenty to twenty-two.
That meant two additional disciples would be participating in the war.
During this period, Scarlet King continued acting like a drunken boy devastated by his nonexistent aptitude and roots.
Meanwhile, the war became increasingly brutal.
Tens of thousands of people died, while the three sects managed to weaken the Moon Sect's overwhelming pressure.
But the event Scarlet King had been waiting for was finally approaching.
The Bloody Sect War.
All the disciples would gather and fight one another.
First, the twenty-two participants would fight through multiple matches inside a combat arena, earning points for every victory.
Once the preliminary competition ended, the eleven disciples with the highest scores would advance, while the remaining eleven would be eliminated.
Afterward, those eleven would travel to the frozen universe, which had expanded into six universes arranged around one another in a hexagonal formation.
There, the second competition among the eleven remaining disciples would take place.
After that, only three final winners would be chosen.
Those three would then be transported to the Second Dimension along with several elders.
During this period, Scarlet King had also been constantly manipulating the elders, convincing them to adopt strategies that were only half-successful.
In other words, both sides would suffer losses without either side achieving a true victory.
For the sect, that was considered a gain because they had prevented the Moon Sect from advancing.
At the same time, it was also a loss because they had made no progress of their own.
Scarlet King, however, simply collected the benefits.
During this period, Scarlet King also secretly moved between the three sects and the Moon Sect, placing various seals.
He gave the seal-activation talisman to Wei Xia Mo and placed several other seals in different locations.
[Two Weeks Later]
The preliminary competitions began.
The twenty-two disciples would fight multiple battles against one another, collecting points for every victory.
Once all the matches were completed, the eleven disciples with the highest number of points would advance to the next competition.
It was decided that the competition would take place in the center of the Dimension.
The area was already disputed territory and belonged to no one.
That meant the competition could be held there without anyone violating the rules, since everyone stood on equal ground.
[At the Competition Arena]
The arena was enormous, surrounded by massive stands capable of holding huge numbers of people.
And they were already packed with spectators.
A single square-shaped fighting platform stood at the center, with stairways on both sides.
There were also special elevated viewing platforms extending forward, square in shape and furnished with chairs.
They were divided among four sides, with each side belonging to one sect.
Beneath each section stood the competing disciples of that sect.
Scarlet King, Lin Yuan, and several other disciples stood beneath the Food Sect's section.
On the Thousand Flowers Sect's side stood Fang Chen and several girls.
On the Heaven-Grasping Sect's side stood Ikalat and several disciples.
As for the Moon Sect, there was a cloaked figure concealing their identity alongside several other disciples.
Scarlet King leaned against the wall while drinking heavily.
He drank so much that wine spilled from both sides of his mouth, running down his neck and chest and soaking his clothes.
The disciples began taking turns entering the arena and fighting.
Eventually, it was Fang Chen's turn.
He stepped onto the platform opposite a disciple from the Moon Sect.
Fang Chen did not wait.
He immediately used the Flower Severing Technique and completely severed the disciple's arm.
The disciple screamed in pain while clutching the wound.
"Damn it!! I surrender!"
Fang Chen thought:
(I don't like hurting innocent people, but my sect matters more!)
The rest of the competitions continued until only the final six matches remained.
Scarlet King had already won one match.
Fang Chen had won two.
Ikalat, Lin Yuan, and the cloaked figure had each won one.
Now Lin Yuan stepped onto the platform for his next match.
Standing before him was a woman from the Thousand Flowers Sect.
Lin Yuan drew his two daggers.
Ikalat, meanwhile, leaned his back against a stone wall, drew his own dagger, and held it behind his back while watching the fight.
The referee announced loudly:
"The battle begins!"
Lin Yuan moved in an instant and attacked the woman.
She barely managed to block the strike.
But she immediately counterattacked, drawing a flower from behind her back and using it against him.
Lin Yuan quickly avoided the attack because he had been able to see it from Ikalat's point of view.
Then Lin Yuan used the Meteor Compression Technique.
The woman was immediately crushed against the ground.
Lin Yuan moved quickly and placed one of his daggers against her neck.
The referee announced:
"Lin Yuan is the winner!"
Lin Yuan stepped down.
With his victory, only five matches remained.
Scarlet King then climbed onto the platform.
This time, the person standing opposite him was Fang Chen.
Fang Chen stood with wavering determination before his elder brother, who was still drinking wine.
From the stands, one spectator laughed and spoke to the person beside him.
"Haha, Fang Chen is the genius of the Thousand Flowers Sect, and the one facing him is Gu Yue."
"His cultivation level may be high, but he's a drunkard with absolutely terrible aptitude."
"Want to bet on Fang Chen?"
The bets overwhelmingly shifted in Fang Chen's favor.
Only a small number of people bet on Scarlet King.
Then the referee announced:
"The battle begins!"