Chapter 168

Chapter 168: Ninghua Sect, the Dark Horse!

As soon as they stepped onto the stage, they showed their full momentum, and the whole crowd gasped in surprise.

Someone blurted out: “No wonder they are the top sect, Flying Cloud Sect; they even have three cultivators at the Divine Transformation Stage!”

People knew that once a cultivator advanced beyond the Nascent Soul Stage, they could start a sect of their own.

The people of Flying Cloud Sect straightened their backs with pride.

Across from them, the opposing team looked ready to cry. They were only a mid-tier sect and never expected to face Flying Cloud Sect in the first round. There was no hope of moving on.

But they still thought: “If we can face Master Ling Xiao, it is worth it.”

Master Ling Xiao flicked his sleeve, and the three across from him were thrown off the platform at once.

The Elder matches went quickly. Each result took less than a quarter of an hour, and there were no long, desperate brawls.

First, Elder matches were basically show fights, and all sects stopped at a safe point by unspoken agreement. Second, it did not look proper for seniors to go all out in front of their juniors.

Soon, half the teams were eliminated.

Most of the audience focused on the top squads from Flying Cloud Sect, Heavenly Sword Sect, Beast Taming Sect, and the Red Desert Jiang Clan.

These teams were far ahead of the rest.

Someone said: “Feels like the rankings will stay the same as before. The ones fighting to the end will still be those sects.”

Another agreed: “Flying Cloud Sect, Heavenly Sword Sect, and Beast Taming Sect basically have no rivals.”

Because Ninghua Sect always fought at the same time as Flying Cloud Sect, few people noticed such a small sect.

Only when a few dozen teams were left did the picture start to clear.

Ninghua Sect drew the Alchemy Sect, which had ranked sixth last time. Only then did the cultivators present really look at Ninghua Sect’s three fighters.

A voice cracked with shock: “Whoa! Alchemy Sect lost!”

“What? Who lost? It is not even the last few rounds yet,” others said, all turning to the Alchemy Sect’s platform.

There, Sect Master Zhong Chuan was already leaving the stage with two Elders.

“Did they actually lose?!”

The draw was random, but it always tried to keep top teams from meeting too early.

So Flying Cloud Sect and the others usually made it to the last rounds.

Alchemy Sect and Artifact Forging Sect were close allies and often swapped between fifth and sixth place.

Most people treated the two sects as tied for fifth.

But with dozens of teams still on the field, Alchemy Sect had been knocked out. That meant they were outside the top dozens and would get no points at all.

This had never happened in recent Sect Grand Tournaments.

“Who did it? Which sect suddenly crushed Alchemy Sect?”

“Zhong Chuan is peak Early Divine Transformation. Show me, who is the dark horse?”

They looked at the three on the platform, and many cried out: “Ninghua Sect?! How is it them?!”

Wasn’t that the tiny sect that could barely gather enough people?

How did they eliminate the sixth-ranked Alchemy Sect?

A few who had watched Ninghua Sect from the start spoke up: “Finally someone noticed them. Listen, Ninghua Sect is absolutely not simple!”

“They have beaten almost everyone with a single move. They strike fast, accurate, and hard, without showing much of their real strength.”

This was also why Immortal Lord Chang Li’s group had not drawn attention.

If they had shown Divine Transformation strength earlier, Fengling Terrace would have exploded with chatter.

“Only when they faced Alchemy Sect did they reveal most of it.”

“Then hurry up and tell us, what are their levels?” People who missed that amazing match scratched their heads in frustration, itching to pry his mouth open.

“The one in the middle has the highest cultivation,” the watcher said, “he is at Mid Divine Transformation.”

“Mid Divine Transformation?!”

Gasps sounded all around.

That was top-tier. Heavenly Sword Sect Leader Ming Xi and Beast Taming Sect’s Sect Master Guan Hui were both at Mid Divine Transformation.

Someone from a small sect had strength equal to a great sect’s leader?

Even those who had looked down on Ninghua Sect were now solemn and respectful.

“What is Ninghua Sect’s background? When did our world gain another Divine Transformation cultivator?”

“Not one, three,” the watcher corrected, voice shaking: “that old man and that female cultivator are both Early Divine Transformation.”

This sect had only eight people, yet its three elder-level members were all Divine Transformation cultivators. Could that be true?

Across the whole cultivation world, only Flying Cloud Sect, Heavenly Sword Sect, Beast Taming Sect, and the Red Desert Jiang Clan could even field three Divine Transformation cultivators for the tournament.

“Three Divine Transformation cultivators, my goodness.”

“I take back what I said. I was too rash! I apologize to Ninghua Sect!”

No one had expected Ninghua Sect to start with a royal flush.

“So how do we judge Ninghua Sect’s overall strength?”

Immortal Lord Chang Li and the other two could reach top-tier levels, but calling an eight-person sect top-tier still felt odd.

“What a pity. If these three had joined other sects, they would have done great things. Instead, they started their own sect.”

Even so, Ninghua Sect now stood far above most of the other sects in people’s eyes.

This battle not only revealed Ninghua Sect as the dark horse, it also made the top sects take them seriously.

Especially Flying Cloud Sect.

Shen Dao Chen frowned. Ninghua Sect did not match the rootless little sect he had imagined.

He had been waiting for Ninghua Sect to collapse so Shen Sang Ruo would realize her mistake and slink back.

But now, with three Divine Transformation cultivators, they could stand firm in the cultivation world.

At least until those three fell, Ninghua Sect would not topple.

Would Shen Sang Ruo really stay in another sect for life? [Nonsense.]

Reality did not match his plans, and his steady heart started to waver.

Master Ling Xiao’s face stayed calm, but his fingers tightened inside his sleeve.

He had already paid close attention to the three.

The more he looked, the more it felt like a thorn in his heart, and the more they annoyed him.

Especially the one Shen Sang Ruo called master, who used the same fire element spiritual power as he did.

Master Ling Xiao pressed down his anger and said in a low voice: “Imposter.”

The matches continued.

Beast Taming Sect eliminated the Red Desert Jiang Clan, then got eliminated by Flying Cloud Sect. Flying Cloud Sect was now one fight away from first place.

Even more surprising, Ninghua Sect beat Heavenly Sword Sect and reached the final too.

Next came the last showdown: Ninghua Sect versus Flying Cloud Sect.