"The winners are the Mysterious Mountain Sect, triumphant with an advantage of 26 points. Yet, the great sects harbor suspicions about their origins."
The declaration came from Elder Bao of the Infinite Wisdom Sect, a man whose flowing blonde hair contrasted with rather generic facial features.
"What does Elder Bao mean by that?" As Corey spoke, their voice flowed through the tense air like a soothing melody, soft yet resonant, neither deep nor high - each syllable dancing gracefully upon the ears of the listeners. The elders, aware of the persuasive effect in Corey's voice, consciously steeled themselves against its subtle pull.
"I mean that your sect had arrived out of nowhere, and we suspect you come from a hidden background with malicious intentions. For your sect's victory to be admitted, we hereby ask you to let us pick ten disciples and two elders, and feed them with high-grade truth pills. After questioning them about the Mysterious Mountain Sect's goals, we will accept your victory as justified and well-deserved."
Bao's lips curved in a slight smile that seemed to mock the evil cultivators for their attempt to gain legitimacy and status through the channels of the righteous sects. Normally, his mockery would befit the situation, however, someone thought otherwise.
"Elder Bao, aren't you bullying a new sect that worked hard to rise to the level of the top 20 sects? Are you perhaps trying to manipulate the ranking and have control over the continent? I don't remember anybody asking to have your sect's members investigated when you received a spot among the top 5 sects."
A sarcastic voice arose to Bao's side. When he turned, he found his peer from the Serene Lotus Sect, Ravi.
"Elder Ravi, what are you implying? I agree with Elder Bao, we cannot let unknown forces contaminate our continent with evil. We must ensure it's safe to give them a territory to reign, or else we might find out we had brought disaster upon the millions of mortals and cultivators in that area."
A black-haired man scolded Ravi sternly. On his shoulder was the symbol of a cloud, sun, flower, and leaf, marking him as a supreme elder of the Four Seasons Sect.
"I mean that unless you have sufficient proof to justify an investigation, you must not violate the privacy and freedom of the unranked sects only because they're weaker. Bullying the weak is not the way of the righteous sects," Ravi answered with a confident smile.
The tension in the elders' area was so palpable that the air itself seemed to thrum with vibrancy. In fact, it indeed moved and changed, a result of the powerful intents those supreme cultivators of the mortal realm radiated.
Despite the stifling sensation, Ravi remained unbothered by the pressure of going against many ninth-stage cultivators at once.
"Thank you, Elder Ravi, for your support and just nature," Corey cupped their fist and bowed. "Indeed, I think the great sects are bullying us into submission due to their fear of change, forcing the ranking to stay the same even when a sect does not deserve it."
Their words made the various elders distort their faces in annoyance. Everyone present was 99% sure that the Mysterious Mountain Sect was nothing but a proxy of evil sects. Truth be told, they were not used to them being subtle with their words and playing the righteous game correctly.
Before the other sects could refute Corey's words, Ravi took the chance to insert additional trouble. While the Serene Lotus Sect was full of troublemakers, none of them was stupid or incapable of twisting reality with their words as expected from a top righteous sect.
"I think it might be even worse. I heard that the Infinite Wisdom Sect has some deals with the different sects under the table, which encourages them to make sure those indebted to them would not lose their power and influence," Ravi said with a shake of his head.
"Slander! Do you have any proof?" Bao shouted angrily at the accusation. It had some truth to it, but it wasn't something someone could say openly.
"No, but how about you eat a ninth-grade truth pill and prove me wrong by letting me question you freely?" Ravi asked with a smirk. Everyone knew very well it was an impossible offer. All sects had some dirty laundry that they did not want to air in public. Such an act would make them lose face and expose their underground activities.
"Ridiculous! We are an esteemed top-five sect, how can you request something like that from me?" Bao clenched his teeth when he saw where this was heading.
"And the Mysterious Mountain Sect is an esteemed sect that entered the top twenty fairly. If you wanted to disqualify them, you should've done it before the competition began; banning them now is unfair to the disciples they had lost in the competition and the elders who had fought hard to earn a foothold in our continent."
With that, Ravi rested his case with an eloquence that Ken might say wouldn't put a lawyer of his previous world to shame.
"Then, what if they cheated the oath to participate with only 30% of their elders somehow? Unlike the long-established Myriad Beasts Sect, which we are familiar with and know a rough estimate of their numbers, we know nothing of the Mysterious Mountain Sect. I believe we must feed them with truth drugs and check whether they followed the rules. Otherwise, we should organize a rematch with 100% participation, it's the only way to ensure the integrity of the challenge."
An elder with the embroidery of a lightning spoke with a smug expression on her face. She was a supreme elder of the Thunderclap Peak Sect, the seventh strongest sect of the continent.
"I object!" Jabari said resolutely. "We have worked hard and took an oath before the match to keep the matches clean. Is the Martial Arts Summit nothing but a ruse of the great sects? Do the rules mean nothing to you?"
To everyone's surprise, the one to make that judgment true was none other than Ravi from the Serene Lotus Sect.
"No, no, their fears are right. Since the sects fear you might have cheated, please agree to a rematch tomorrow," Ravi declared his support for the rematch solution. Nobody knew what crossed his mind. Until a few seconds ago, they all thought he was siding with the evil sects to add chaos.
"Elder Ravi…?" Jabari and Corey looked at him in confusion, a hint of betrayal written on their faces. They could not understand why the Serene Lotus Sect would renege on their word to support them.
"Good," Bao was just as surprised as the others, but he did not let the chance go. "Does anyone have an objection to this arrangement?"
The elders around remained silent, giving their support to the decision to allow a rematch. Since the unranked sect consisted of evil sects, it meant that they could not deploy a large number of their elders, since those would be recognized and persecuted. It meant that the Mysterious Mountain Sect would never be able to fill the numbers for a competition relying on 100% of the elders.
"Fine, we will fight tomorrow then," Jabari said with gritted teeth while glaring hatefully at Ravi for his backstabbing. However, he missed the playful glint that passed in his eyes, as if he knew that a rematch would be irrelevant by the next day.
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