Chapter 119.1: Grand Trials
The center of the Lost Bog Forest was a wide and expansive clearing. Due to the circumstances where time was limited, they just erected a temporary arena stage.
Surrounding it was an isolation barrier put up by several of the Elders with profound cultivation powers which would activate once people enter the space. No one outside would be able to interfere or for the contestants to come out before the end of a battle or without one side being defeated.
Ten seats were placed around the arena. The Sect Leader would not be attending the grand trials as it had always been held by five of their highly respected Elders and the people holding the top five ranks among the top hundred chart. But as the top five ranked were highly laid back people who usually did as they pleased, except for Su Li Mo who had shown his face a little bit more and was well known to the others, no one knew what the other four of them looked like at all.
The Faint Mist Sect’s Sect Leader was an enigmatic person himself and he had never once attended such important events, highly mysterious. Maybe the top five ranked disciples were trying to emulate him but they had won the right to be so arrogant and wilful, and hence the Sect Leader had allowed them to have it their way.
The Faint Mist Sect had always given preferential treatment to highly skilled pugilists with immense powers.
The grand trials were set to commence at a quarter past the Chen hour after daybreak and quite a number of people were arriving in a constant stream before that.
Most of them were the Faint Mist Sect’s disciples dressed in white uniforms and a number of outer circle disciples wearing smoky green. If they were able to stand out and shine this time, they might be able to squeeze themselves into the inner circle ranks, and win themselves better resources for their cultivation training.
“Ptui ptui ptui! What bad luck! I almost could not get out!” An angry voice spat and cursed, drawing the attention of quite a number of people.
They saw a person where the high quality cloth on his body had become untidily creased, and stained with filthy muck, a terrible mess that was no different from a beggar.
Someone asked with mirth in his voice: “Bro, what happened to you? Did you just crawl out from a mudpit?”
That person spat out in disgust, and then said mournfully: “I don’t want to talk about it. It had been smooth sailing for me the entire way through but at the very last juncture, I did not expect to have a strange and mysterious vine suddenly tangle around my foot. If I had not reacted quickly enough to sever that vine, I would have been swallowed up by the bog.”
“Bro, that’s rather lucky for you already. You were able to escape death at least.”
“That’s right, luckily the Heavens are looking out for me.”
It was clear that this wave of people were those that risked themselves coming in here just to watch the show. Although they were in a somewhat decrepit state, they had succeeded in making their way through, and it was not known whether others behind them would be just as fortunate.