Translator: AL_Squad Editor: Chrissy

  The main fighting arena in the middle of the City of Immortals was packed with numerous people.

  This large fighting arena, which could accommodate the True Immortal level fighting had been transformed into a huge stage. The thousand miles space was compressed into a stage with a diameter of one mile but it was, in fact, incredibly flexible—it could accommodate around a million spectators, and now it was almost full.

  In that warped space, when watching the performance, the audience could adjust their position and watch from various angles. Of course, the range of seat adjustment would be different according to the value of the seat. If one was invited as in important guest, the seat adjustment level would usually be higher.

  The highest ranked seat was at the rostrum, which was also the place where the representatives of Earth Immortal and Nine Regions' Cultivator were seated.

  When Wang Lu arrived, the Earth Immortal team had already arrived on their side of the rostrum. On Nine Regions side, He Tu and the other Supreme level cultivators had already taken their seats. Of which, quite a few of them were angrily glaring at the newly arrived Wang Lu. Wang Lu, this kid, was the youngest and with the lowest cultivation base, but because of the opportunity, he rose to the same level as them. Yet, he was so arrogant, almost arriving late at such an important occasion. How could people not be annoyed?

  Especially at today's opening ceremony, Wang Lu obviously shouldered an extremely important mission. It was a privilege that many people were envious of, yet he unexpectedly did not take it seriously!

  When Wang Lu was seated, from the Earth Immortal side, the leader Xuan Mo slightly nodded to He Tu, asking whether the ceremony could start. He Tu smiled and nodded, thereupon, the light suddenly bloomed in the field like a burning sun. Although the light was fleeting, it successfully attracted everyone's attention.

  When everyone looked at it, they saw trees with shade-giving foliage, with the babbling sound of streamlets. In the embrace of this beautiful scenery was a piece of smooth fragrant meadow, which was the official stage of this opening ceremony.

  At the same time, in the group of immortal tombs, the signs hung everywhere, which previously showed direction guide, changed their content. Now, they showed the scene in the field. This allowed those who did not have the time to enter the arena or could not find a seat to watch to see the situation in the arena at any time and anywhere. Though not as detailed as seeing the scene in the arena, at least the main content would not be missed.

  The pedestrians in the City of Immortals stopped their footsteps and watched.

  Outside the City of Immortals, the major immortal cultivation sects of Nine Regions, as well as all the capitals and imperial cities of various countries, had such instruments to broadcast what happened at this time.

  Suddenly, Nine Regions was silent.

  In the field, the breeze blew the green mountains, and the rustling sound created a quiet and peaceful atmosphere. Then, in the clear wind, a young cultivator descended from the sky on a flying sword.

  His speed was very fast, and soon, from the cloud, he landed on the ground. At the moment of landing, the signboards that served as the broadcasting board in the City of Immortals one by one gave a close-up shot.

  It was a young man dressed in a red and white robe, had a pink sword at his waist, had handsome facial features, full of spirit, and elegant like an immortal.

  At this moment, a lot of people were surprised that their eyeballs almost popped out.

  "Wang… Wang Lu?"

  In area A17, a teenager who watched the opening ceremony in a public square on a certain floor almost dislocated his jaw. "It's him!"

  Whether he knew Wang Lu or not, he was shocked by his appearance on the field.

  The first speech in the opening ceremony of the grand competition should be the leadership speech. Originally, one person from the Earth Immortal side and one from the Nine Regions would speak. However, the Earth Immortal side declined politely, indicating their unwillingness to participate in the opening ceremony. Obviously, for them, this was a complete farce, and the sooner it ended, the better.

  However, the Nine Regions side attached great importance to this, so it was reasonable to say that it should be delivered by Supreme He Tu. He was the leader of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals and also the cultivator in Nine Regions whose cultivation base was the closest to Mahayana Stage. Nobody was more suitable than him.

  However, at this moment, the person standing on the stage was Wang Lu, the young man whose cultivation base was mere Jindan!

  How could he?

  On the rostrum, the Supremes who had long known that there would be such a scene also shook their heads and sighed. They then glanced at He Tu, feeling particularly puzzled by the bias of this number one person in Nine Regions. No matter how much favor and confidence he had on Wang Lu, He Tu's decision was far beyond the necessary level…


  At the same time, in the limelight, Wang Lu restrained his usual relaxed posture and became serious.

  "Hello everyone. I am Wang Lu from the Spirit Sword Sect of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals. I am entrusted by Supreme He Tu as the representative of the Nine Regions for the opening speech."

  With that, he took a deep bow. When he stood straight again, his handsome and refined face was filled with sincerity.

  "I am standing here not because I have so much virtue and talent. Nine Regions is vast, so there are lots of people who are better and stronger than me. When Supreme He Tu entrusted me with the speech, I once felt that it was a difficult-to-bear very heavy responsibility. However, Supreme He Tu told me that the things that happened before and after the discovery of the group of immortal tombs are due to me, so I should give everyone an account. On the other hand, as the chief planner of this Grand Competition, I do have something to share with you about this grand event. Thus, I ended up standing here, hoping that everybody would listen."

  A sincere and humble speech had gradually calmed people's doubts.

  Of course, there were also some people who were particularly familiar with Wang Lu who, just because of this excessively sincere words, felt that their gum had turned sour…


  "Smelly kid, your acting is getting more and more realistic…"

  On the stage, Wang Lu continued, "Where and why did this Grand Competition happen should have been known to everyone in Nine Regions by now, and I would not want to dwell on it. However, for some time, I discovered that so many people have misunderstandings about this Grand Competition. Some people say that this Grand Competition is just a conflict of interest; the present day cultivators and the predecessors Earth Immortals are competing for resources of Nine Regions. Some also said that with the lack of cooperation, it would ultimately be difficult for this Grand Competition to have any practical effect. Some people also said that this Grand Competition is just a child's play, a big farce…"

  Wang Lu paused, took a deep breath, and then continued, "In fact, during the preparation period, we have publicized it more than once. Here, I will say it again very seriously. This Grand Competition is not a dispute of interests, and the real target of the battle is not the Earth Immortals or our present-day cultivators. Instead, it's the Fallen Immortals who once created numerous upheavals in the Nine Regions. Unfortunately, I have no way to bring out a real Fallen Immortal for everyone to see. It's difficult to win the trust with empty words, but as the Lead Disciple of Spirit Sword Sect, the future leader of Spirit Sword Sect, I can tell you a story about my sect. One hundred and fifty years ago, Spirit Sword Sect had a really fierce battle against a Fallen Immortal. People know that the black tide of Savage Land in Blue River Region is vicious, but in fact, it's just the residual powerful poison of the Fallen Immortal. In that battle against the Fallen Immortal, the Elders of Spirit Sword Sect who were the pillars of the sect that supported the absolute prestige of the Five Uniques turned into ashes overnight, and the golden generation suffered heavy casualties, with only one in ten surviving the calamity. However, because of this record, Spirit Sword Sect still retained its position within the Five Uniques of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals during its most declining period. Coupled with the support from the other sects, the sect has made its smooth transition to today. However, thinking back to the fierce fight one hundred and fifty years ago, everyone in Spirit Sword Sect is still shaking to the core."

  After Wang Lu's remark, he could almost hear the sound of uproar coming from all over the place.

  Prior to this, Spirit Sword Sect had never explained to the world the fierce battle one hundred and fifty years ago. The temptation to take over the heritage of the Fallen Immortal from a cornered solitary sect was enough for many people to stake out everything. At that time, the few high-level Elders of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals who knew the truth fully respected the choice of Spirit Sword Sect and did not spread the fact that it had killed a Fallen Immortal. Now that the truth was revealed, it suddenly drew a great shock.

  "As a survivor, Spirit Sword Sect is very clear about how formidable the Fallen Immortal is. One hundred and fifty years ago, it was only an advance scout that came to Blue River Region, and he was able to make one of the Five Uniques nearly collapse. Moreover, between the two sides, there was no surrender, no compromise, and no possibility of coexistence. This has been proven by Spirit Sword Sect at the price of blood… if there are two, three, or even a hundred of such an opponent, what would happen to Nine Regions? How much blood could we shed?"

  After another pause, he took a deep breath and then said, "The group of immortal tombs was built sixteen thousand years ago. It was before the Age of Chaos when the immortal cultivation world experienced an era of prosperousness. However, under the suppression from the Fallen Immortal, they were forced to go underground and sleep in the ancient tomb for thousands of years. That is our opponent, they are the immortals from the upper realm, and they have incredible and hard-to-match magical ability. They are, to us, like we are to ordinary mortals. In the face of such enemies, we actually don't have many choices.

  "Joining hands is the only choice. It is impossible for just any of us to defeat the Fallen Immortal. Even if the two sides unite, we still can't be certain of our winning chance. However, at this time, if each of us acts on our own, it would only make the remaining odds scarcer. Joining hands is the only way out, and this Grand Competition is actually for this purpose."

  After reaching this point, Wang Lu slowed down for a moment before saying with a smile, "A lot of people have asked me why we should design such a competition. Since we have to work together to cooperate, wouldn't it add to the internal frictions? The answer to this is very simple. It's because we and the predecessors Earth Immortals are separated by sixteen thousand years. This period of time is so long that it is difficult for both sides to understand and trust each other. And trust never comes from empty talk. There is an old saying in Nine Regions that say, 'don't fight, won't make friends.' Some people also say that men communicate with each other by fists. Thus, I have to design such a grand competition that both sides could heartily show themselves on the field. During this period, strength, wisdom, and character would all show up, which would certainly cause frictions, contradictions, and even conflicts. But, at least we would know each other and understand each other. And when the time comes that we have to face a common threat, we could finally put aside the temporary ill-feeling and join hands."

  When Wang Lu finished his speech, many people fell into silence.

  Previously, when the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals made the mobilization for the grand competition, it provoked hostility from those hot-blooded cultivators. However, after listening to Wang Lu's speech today, people gradually started to have a new perspective on this grand competition.

  Some of the cultivators who previously questioned Wang Lu's qualification inwardly felt somewhat convinced.

  It was a rare skill for a person to be able to stand on the stage alone while facing countless eyes but still speak freely. Moreover, his speech was logically sound, well-organized, and sincere. It was simply impeccable.

  Even many of the Earth Immortals secretly nodded, deeply thinking about Wang Lu's words. In the face of the threat of the Fallen Immortal, cooperation was inevitable. However, on the basis of lack of recognition and understanding, the so-called cooperation was nothing but empty talk. Thus, instead of wasting decades or even centuries of two sides cautiously trying to reach out to each other, it was better to do everything in a grand stage.

  Finally, Wang Lu smiled and said, "There is also a saying in Nine Regions that says, 'peaceful measures before using force'. Before the two sides pick up their arms, we have especially arranged art performances, which is also the theme of today's opening ceremony. Because the so-called art is the sublimation and interpretation of life, art exchange is an effective way to enhance mutual recognition and understanding. Therefore, please hold your patience for a moment and earnestly appreciate the performance brought by the Nine Regions team!"

  With that, Wang Lu made a deep bow to the audience and then prepared to turn around and leave. However, when he bent over, he couldn't hide the smile appearing on the corners of his mouth.

  "Be sure to resolutely hold your patience."