Chapter 230 Differing Motives



In the distance, the confrontation between the two sides was nearing its peak. At any moment now, the attacks were going to be unleashed.

Duncan had riled up the crowd enough for them to attack him without remorse. His dismissive attitude and constant backhanded insults were really vicious enough to stir anger in everyone.

"Wu Dongmin," Lu Tianxin spoke looking at the burly cultivator arriving with his entourage. "You are here as well."

"Why wouldn't I be here? You two are already here, aren't you?" Wu Dongmin snorted in response.

Jiang Chen smiled looking at the open animosity between the two. Wu Dongmin belonged to Splitting Heavens Saber Sect. Everyone from Splitting Heavens Saber Sect cultivated saber arts. The relationship between Eternal Sword Pavillion and Splitting Heavens Saber Sect was very competitive. They were contemporaries in every aspect.

The Eternal Sword Lord, who established the Eternal Sword Pavillion, and Splitting Heavens Monarch, who founded the Splitting Heavens Saber Sect, were both rivals and contemporaries before they both settled down to establish their sects. The rivalry and competitiveness between the two ancestors even transferred to the disciples causing them to be at odds every time they met each other.

While they were competitors and rivals in every sense, the two sects boasted a very amicable relationship deep down. Due to their respective ancestors' closeness, the sects advanced and retreated together. Countless generations have come and gone, but these two first-tier sects always acted in unison.

Apart from them, there were three other first-rate sects in the region. His own White Plume Sect, the Iron Mountain Sect, and the Little Heaven Sect. The Little Heaven Sect has been in decline for the past few generations. Due to various accidents, their power at the higher realm has fallen drastically. They were on the verge of being demoted to a lower level currently.

The commotion in the Greenwood Forest was mostly related to the Little Heaven Sect at the beginning. If not for the Iron Mountain Sect forcefully interfering along with several other second-rate sects, things wouldn't have gotten out of hand. The rivalry between the Iron Mountain Sect and the Little Heaven Sect was really bad.

His own White Plume Sect was the one who acted as the intermediary between these four sects whenever a conflict arose. So, their status was slightly higher. But, that was only among the upper echelon. When it comes to disciples, there was no quarter given.

"So, we all are here. I don't think the Iron Mountain Sect will come anytime soon," Wu Dongmin said bluntly causing Jiang Chen and Lu Tianxin to nod in acceptance. "As for the Little Heaven Sect, they have been irrelevant for some time now. Moreover, the commotion at the Greenwood Forest has caused them to go into retreat. I don't think any of their younger generation will come over as well. That leaves, only us three to be in the vicinity."

"I expected the Iron Mountain Sect to take charge in this matter. But strangely, none of their elites have stepped out to take charge. After all, this is a criminal they have been pursuing," Lu Tianxin said derisively.

"I heard that Envoy Ming had ordered everyone to not interfere and is taking the matter under his own hands. He is currently not in the Dark Star City. I am sure, he will make haste once he hears the news," Jiang Chen chuckled.

By then, whether the demonic cultivator would be alive or not was not something they wanted to discuss. They all had the same tacit understanding of the situation. If they could disgust the Iron Mountain Sect and make them owe them a favor, they would gladly do it. After all the relationship between the first-rate sects was both competitive and cooperative at the same time.

"Good, then we are all on the same page," Wu Dongmin said smiling broadly.

"And this happened at the right time as well," Lu Tianxin said shooting a meaningful look at each of them.

Hearing that, both Jiang Chen and Wu Dongmin became serious as well. All three exchanged glances and gave a solemn nod at each other. That nod contained countless thoughts between the trio.

The reason that Lu Tianxin said such words was because of the timing of this matter. While the higher-ups in their sect had known about the matter of the Grand Event that was going to take place in seven years, the news hadn't been disclosed to them.

Only after the announcement from the Blue Wind Society Hall did they even know about such an event going to take place. Sects all over the world were preparing to take part in it. Naturally, they informed their prized disciples regarding the matter.no-veLuSB-c(o)m

However, for those who haven't even taken a step into the Violet Palace realm, this matter came as a huge blow. The entry requirement of being in the Nascent Soul realm alone was enough to make them despair.

Breaking through multiple major realms in the time span of seven years was a monumental task to accomplish. It has to be known that such things only rarely happen. One needed countless opportunities and rare encounters to accomplish such a thing.

Naturally, Jiang Chen, Lu Tianxin, and Wu Dongmin knew about this as well. Even their sect elders who always accepted their requests told them to not think wildly and to concentrate on cultivation. They advised them to let nature take its course. If they had fate, then they would break through the Nascent Soul realm before the event took place. If not, then can only blame their low cultivation.

How can geniuses like Jiang Chen, Lu Tianxin, and Wu Dongmin accept such advice? They were incredibly reluctant to let nature take its course. If they didn't actively fight for it, how can they call themselves geniuses among geniuses? They all wanted to have a shot at that Grand Event.

For that, they need to be in the Nascent Soul realm in seven years.

This had maddened them for a few nights recently. They couldn't let go of this obsession easily. While they didn't know what the event entailed, such grand preparation by the entire world was enough for them to know the seriousness of the matter. They all realized that this was a very rare opportunity. They didn't want to accept defeat at the onset.

So far, their cultivation has progressed smoothly and quickly due to the resources poured into them by their sects. If they wanted to maintain this speed and even increase it, then they must obtain more resources from their sects.

How do they accomplish that?

Only by showcasing their brilliance to their sects and doing meritorious service will they be afforded an increased amount of resources in their favor. Knowing this, they all had wracked their brains to try and figure out how to increase their worth in their sects' eyes.

Luckily, the matter of this demonic cultivator had come at the right time.

They have enquired about this demonic cultivator. At first, they just wanted to see if they could defeat this demonic cultivator from the Heavenly Demon Sect. The Heavenly Demonic Sect was after all a hegemonic sect. There were only four hegemonic sects in total in the Dragon Scale Continent. That alone is enough to prove to status of a hegemonic sect in the cultivation world.

Like the elites from ordinary sects and second-rate sects wanted to prove they were better than the elites of the first-rate sects, the eyes of the elites of the first-rate sects were always trained towards the elites of the hegemonic sects.

If any elite from a first-rate sect defeated an elite from a hegemonic sect, then the attention the first-rate sect would give the said elite would be drastically different. At first, they thought Duncan was just a normal disciple of the Heavenly Demon Sect. So, their interest in them was just curiosity about his strength and a desire to compare themselves with Duncan.

However, after learning that Duncan was the latest disciple of the Vice-Sect Master of the Heavenly Demon Sect, things changed in perspective drastically. Elite disciples are all named disciples of elders at the minimum. The direct disciple of a Vice-Sect Master was even above them.

If they could defeat this guy, then the resources poured into them by their respective sects would be far greater than before. With that, they will have a chance at breaking through to higher realms faster.

So, in their eyes, Duncan was the chip they needed to secure their own future. In order to have a brighter future, they must defeat Duncan here and now. Only by showcasing that they were powerful enough to take on an elite disciple of a hegemonic sect can they make their sects voluntarily invest more resources in them.

"We may have countless differences amongst ourselves," Wu Dongming said looking at the other two. "But, now we are all in the same situation. I propose a temporary alliance between us. For our bright future, this demonic cultivator must die today under our hands. What do you two say?"

Lu Tianxin and Jiang Chen exchanged glances and nodded solemnly.

"However, let's first wait and see if he has what is required to make us act. If not, this entire thing can only become a farce. If he can defeat those people by himself, then he is qualified to make us all act together," Jiang Chen said looking over at the distance.

"True," Lu Tianxin nodded along. "If he couldn't even defeat them, then there is no use in him. If that is the case, I promise that he won't have a good ending. I will make him regret his words by showing him how life is worse than death."

The vicious side of Lu Tianxin came out suddenly causing a bloodthirsty aura to emanate from him. Neither Jiang Chen nor Wu Dongmin commented on it. They too had the same idea in their mind.

"Let's see how powerful an elite from a hegemonic sect is?" Jiang Chen muttered causing the other two to nod in agreement.

While Duncan had his own plans for these cultivators, the others weren't different either. They all had their own motives and thoughts as well. Those who currently confronted Duncan wanted to steal the limelight away from the first-rate sect disciples.

As for the first-rate sect disciples, they were using these people as cannon fodder to test Duncan's cultivation and power. They too wanted to use Duncan, but their motives werent simple like the ones who were confronting Duncan right now.

As they say, the height determines the vision. Each had their own plans.

Just then, the first sounds of the clash began in the distance...

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