In the massive city constructed within the Lovesick Courtyard for this grand competition, people from various Grotto-Heavens gathered together.
Among these people are many mighty local overlords, including numerous famed paragons of heaven. Their purpose for coming here was clear: to make their respective Grotto-Heavens stand out in this grand competition.
Therefore, even before the official start of the competition, a covert contest had already quietly commenced.
All kinds of alliances and secret struggles are being staged one after another within this city.
Someone you shared a drink and pleasant conversation with just a second ago might, in the next moment, calmly add you to the list of important contenders to be wary of in the memory of their Sect.
In the face of one’s own Sect and Grotto-Heaven’s interests, all else must give way.
And the Sects from lesser-ranked Grotto-Heavens spare no effort to establish ties with larger Sects.
Suddenly, all sorts of tactful and unsavory methods are flying around, some of which are enough to reset people’s belief in how low one can stoop, leaving onlookers utterly astounded.
And just as this underground rivalry was reaching a boiling point, a piece of news suddenly emerged out of nowhere, spreading rapidly among all the esteemed Grotto-Heaven visitors.
"What? Golden Cauldron Pavilion has the audacity to claim they’ll seize first place in this competition? Has Fu Guang gone mad from faulty cultivation, leading to demonic deviation, making him lose his wits?"
Xie Tianwu, the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Martial Sect, which ranks sixth among the seven great Grotto-Heavens and is only slightly stronger than the Golden Cauldron Pavilion, was utterly dumbfounded upon hearing this and couldn’t help but blurt out a retort.
"Heh, Sect Leader Xie, you’re quite out of the loop. Who told you that Golden Cauldron Pavilion’s current Sect Leader is that guy Fu Guang? I heard that Golden Cauldron Pavilion has recently undergone a significant upheaval. Fu Guang, as well as the previous Sect Leader Xiu Wen, were both killed by some unknown youngster who burst onto the scene! These are words right out of his own mouth!"
The speaker was Lei Shuangren, the Hall Master of the Yellow Sand Hall from the Fifth Grotto-Heavens.
"Oh? Such a thing happened?" Xie Tianwu’s eyes widened, then he shook his head, "Even if that’s the case, and Fu Guang and Xiu Wen were killed, with the strength and heritage of Golden Cauldron Pavilion, dreaming of taking first place is sheer folly!"
Lei Shuangren laughed heartily, "True, which is why I think this might be an opportunity for both of our Sects!"
"Hall Master Lei means...?"
Avarice gleamed in Lei Shuangren’s eyes, "It’s simple, the current Golden Cauldron Pavilion should be at its weakest, even losing two successive Sect Leaders to murder. If our two Sects collaborate and take out the Golden Cauldron Pavilion’s contenders in the competition, Golden Cauldron Pavilion, lacking its legacy, will naturally fall to pieces without a leader."
Xie Tianwu’s eyes gradually lit up, and he followed up saying: "If that happens, our two Sects, which border Golden Light Grotto-Heavens, could swallow it up with impunity, is that right?"
Lei Shuangren laughed loudly, "Sect Leader Xie is indeed astute, that’s exactly my plan. When do you think?"
Xie Tianwu smiled even more proudly, especially when recalling the vast wealth of the Golden Light Grotto-Heavens. His heart burned with eagerness. Thus, he raised his wine cup and said with a light laugh, "A brilliant plan indeed. Come, let us drink deeply to this, as if to mark a moment of mourning for Golden Cauldron Pavilion!"
As the wine cups clinked together, the froth spilling forth was much like the greed in people’s hearts – lingering on unabated.
While Heavenly Martial Sect and Yellow Sand Hall were secretly forging an alliance and planning to swallow Golden Cauldron Pavilion...
The other great Grotto-Heavens had various reactions.
But without exception, everyone who heard the rumor first thought that the people from Golden Cauldron Pavilion had gone mad.
The room instantly fell silent, and all the elders looked at the top disciple of the Soul-Dissolving Pavilion with respectful eyes.
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