Chapter 2790 — On the Road to the Trial
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
It was much the same as the training in the Ice Palace had been. After Wei Zhao drove through several cities, the signs of human life grew sparse, until at most a few villages could be seen; and as they pressed farther on, even the villages vanished. The climate here, however, was rather pleasant—nothing like the Ice Palace, where snow filled the sky and the roads were all but impassable.
Though the roads here were nothing but dirt tracks, the dry climate meant they did not slow the journey in the least. Another afternoon of driving brought them, by nightfall, to the very place named on the invitation: the Tiandan Inn.
Yes—there at the foot of a desolate, unpeopled mountain, a grand and lavishly built inn had suddenly appeared. This was the registration site for the Xuandan Sect's trial, prepared expressly for the trial's participants.
Unlike the Ice Palace, there were no ordinary residents here; the inn stood entirely alone. No doubt the Xuandan Sect's remote location was why no village had ever formed nearby—or perhaps the sect simply did not care to have common folk living in its vicinity.
Wei Zhao parked the car in the lot and got out with Zhao Qilei. A few other vehicles were scattered across the parking area—whether they belonged to other trial participants or to the Xuandan Sect itself, he could not tell.
"You two—this is no ordinary inn. If you have no invitation, I must ask you to turn back," said a man in coarse cloth, stepping forward to bar their way the moment they entered the lobby. His tone was courteous.
"We're here for the trial," Wei Zhao said flatly. "What wandering cultivator would have an invitation?"
"Oh? I see." The man in cloth showed no irritation; he merely nodded at Wei Zhao. "In that case, please demonstrate your strength, both of you, and I will register you."
Wei Zhao and Zhao Qilei both circulated their mental techniques and oral formulas, revealing their strength. Wei Zhao was late Earth Rank, while Zhao Qilei stood only at the peak of mid Profound Rank.
The rules of this trial, however, were simple: any expert of Profound Rank or above might take part, with no ceiling set. The man in cloth nodded in satisfaction. "Since you are both cultivators, there is no need to check your invitations. Please show me your identity documents, and I will issue your room cards."
Wei Zhao and Zhao Qilei handed over their papers. Only then, having watched Zhao Qilei circulate his internal technique, did Wei Zhao abruptly recall the man's strength: a mere peak mid Profound Rank expert—far too weak.
He was also one of the very few among Wei Zhao's followers who had never received any benefit. And yet, without any benefit, Zhao Qilei had remained utterly loyal, passing word to Wei Zhao at every turn—a rare and precious thing.
The trouble was that when Wei Zhao first met him, they had both been peak mid Profound Rank experts; there was no way he could have raised Zhao Qilei's strength then. Afterward Zhao Qilei had been placed under house arrest, and by the time Wei Zhao became an Earth Rank expert, he had no chance to help him advance. All along the road Wei Zhao had given it no thought—only now did he feel it necessary to strengthen Zhao Qilei somewhat.
Once their papers were registered, Wei Zhao and Zhao Qilei took their room cards and headed for the stairs. They had just turned the corner onto the staircase when footsteps and voices came drifting down from above—other cultivators, it seemed, who had arrived before them.
"Did you hear? The Mingqie Fuming Ri sect has brought in a ruthless one. On the way here, a disciple of the Divine Fist Hall clashed with him and came off none the better. They say two came, and one's already gone back without even entering the trial!" said one of those descending the stairs.