Chapter 310: End of Phase

The following days inside the Pocket Realm were of pure, escalating chaos.

What had once been sporadic fighting at the base of the Ancestral Tree turned into a total and relentless war. More and more participants arrived from the peripheral regions, drawn by the constant noise of Qi explosions, cries of pain, and the intense glow of battle techniques.

They came exhausted, covered in dirt and blood, but with hungry eyes, they knew the wooden beasts had practically disappeared. There were no more easy points to hunt. The only way to secure passage to the next phase was to steal from others.

The clearing around the colossal tree became a living slaughterhouse.

Kyrian observed everything from above, seated on the same wide branch, his legs lightly swinging in the empty air. His green eyes with sword-shaped pupils registered every detail without emotion. He saw groups forming only to betray each other minutes later. He saw disciples hiding in the shadows, waiting for the exact moment to strike those who were weakened. He saw temporary alliances being born and dying within seconds.

His own points continued to rise slowly, not because he hunted, but because, from time to time, he interfered to protect Mo Tianhai and the others. Each invisible elimination added points to his leaf. Now, it showed 6.012 points. An absurd gap. The second place, Huo Ling, had reached 3.000 points after a series of brutal victories but was still far from threatening Kyrian’s lead.

The last week inside the Pocket Realm was extremely bloody.

Mo Tianhai and the other members of the Verdant Sword Sect fought with fierce determination. They had hunted beasts on the outskirts and, above all, eliminated other disciples from lesser domains. Mo Tianhai now possessed 1.900 points, a solid position. Mo Xia, Long Xue, Shen Yu, and Wu Jian were not far behind, all between 1.400 and 1.700 points. They knew Kyrian was protecting them from afar, which gave them the confidence to fight with everything they had.

Kyrian, from atop the tree, helped briefly when necessary. An invisible slash of sword intent here, a precise strike there, just enough to save a companion without drawing too much attention. He did this mainly to benefit the Verdant Sword Sect as a whole. The better the collective performance, the greater the sect’s prestige would be.

Finally, time ran out.

On the last day of the first phase, an intense green light burst from the Ancestral Tree. All the participants still alive were enveloped by it and transported back to the Central Plateau.

Kyrian was one of the first to appear. He landed calmly on the arena floor, his black robe immaculate despite everything. Mo Tianhai and the others appeared shortly after, exhausted but alive and with good points.

The Leader of the Ancient Forest Sect floated to the center of the stage, above the great tree the elders had made grow at the beginning of the ceremony. He raised an ancient wooden plaque and sent his Qi into it. The plaque shone intensely.

“I offer my congratulations to all who managed to remain until the end of the first phase.” He announced, his voice echoing throughout the plateau.

“But not all will continue to the next and final phase of the Domain Gathering. Only the one hundred disciples with the highest number of points will participate in the next phase.”

Everyone turned their attention to the great golden list that appeared in the sky.

Out of the approximately four hundred initial participants, only one hundred would advance.

Kyrian looked up. It was obvious he was in first place by a wide margin. Mo Tianhai appeared in position 38, an excellent placement. The others from the Verdant Sword Sect were between 45th and 78th place. It was, without a doubt, the best performance in the sect’s history.

A huge commotion took over the plateau. Many sighed sadly for not having passed. Others celebrated, jumping and shouting with joy.

The Verdant Sword Sect, a sect considered average among the fifty minor domains, had stood out in an impressive way thanks to Kyrian and his group. Comments about them spread like wildfire.

“An average sect producing a monster like Kyrian… that’s unbelievable!”

“They entered the top 100 with five disciples! That has never happened before!”

“The Verdant Sword Sect is going to gain a lot of attention after this.”

The Leader of the Ancient Forest Sect continued.

“Everyone will have today and the entire next day to rest. After that, the final phase of the Domain Gathering will begin.”

Kyrian followed Mei Ran and Feng Yuan back to the Green Sword Tree, the accommodation designated for their sect.

As soon as they entered the central hall, Feng Yuan gave several firm pats on Kyrian’s shoulder, laughing loudly with evident pride.

“Good! Good! Good! You have my congratulations!” he exclaimed, his voice full of satisfaction.

“You truly represented the sect very well. I could not be happier!”

Mei Ran, beside him, nodded, a rare gentle smile on her face.

“It was an exceptional performance. Especially you, Kyrian. And all of you.” she said, looking at the group.

Mo Tianhai and the others were extremely happy with the words of the leader and the elder. Their faces lit up with pride. For them, coming from a mid-ranked sect, reaching this far was a dream come true.

They talked for a few more minutes, recalling moments from the trial. Feng Yuan then grew more serious and announced.

“The next phase is always the same, it will be one-on-one battles. I am confident in all of you. Fight with all your strength and show your talents.”

He paused, looking at each of them.

“In the coming days, envoys from fourth-level sects will likely arrive. If any of these envoys take a liking to you, you will have the chance to be recruited into those forces. This will benefit you, as you will enter a much larger world, and it will benefit the sect, which will gain valuable connections. So fight with everything you have.”

Kyrian was already part of the Blood Court, but if the others entered fourth-level sects, it would be excellent for everyone. He nodded silently in agreement.

Everyone nodded excitedly and returned to their rooms to rest and recover their strength.

Kyrian entered his room, sat on the balcony, and looked at the floating city glowing with thousands of spiritual lights. The Domain Gathering was far from over.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep