Chapter 2072: Becoming the Team Leader
Hearing Lin Hao, the Yin Elder couldn’t help but knit his brows, “We’re sending only this many? In the past, we sent 30 to 50 people.”
Li Hao nodded, “Yes. But all of them are elites. The Sect Master received information that the Demon Alliance and the Devil Coalition would also send out elites to attack us. To reduce casualties, we also reduced the number of people we send.”
The Yang Elder frowned, “Senior Brother’s intention is good. But with this, not a lot of disciples could obtain experience.” Then he shook his head and said, “Forget it, we’ll look for less dangerous trials for them to undergo.”
Li Hao didn’t say anything. In the entire Tyrant Blade Sect, only a few people could comment on the Sect Master’s actions. The Yin Yang Elders belonged to this group of people. Li Hao wasn’t qualified to comment on this.
The Yin Elder looked at Li Hao and said, “When do they leave? Has the destination been decided?”
Li Hao immediately replied, “They leave seven days later. The destination is Topfire Mountain.”
Hearing this, the Yang Elder raised his brow, “Topfire Mountain? They actually chose a good place. It’s quite far from our Tyrant Blade Sect. We’ll suffer some losses.”
Li Hao nodded, “It’s indeed far. But this is the place that the representatives have voted for. There’s no way to change it.”
The Yin Elder coldly snorted and said, “Those fellows are clearly targeting Little Hai. If that is the case, then there’s no need to be polite. They will learn that the Tyrant Blade Sect’s position isn’t easy to attain.”
The Yin Elder wasn’t speaking nonsense. Topfire Mountain was indeed very far from the Tyrant Blade Sect’s territory. The further they were from the destination, the more they would suffer. This was because the time they would spend on the road would be longer, which would increase the window for them to be attacked.
Zhao Hai was now famous in the True Spirit Realm. With his Clone Stage strength, he was able to play around with a Teleportation Stage cultivator. Although Lu Sheng just broke through, he still had a foot inside the Teleportation Stage. This was proof of Zhao Hai’s strength.
Although the compet.i.tion had certain rules that needed to be followed and Zhao Hai might not be able to use all of his strength, Zhao Hai’s blade techniques were also well-known. If the other sects were afraid of Zhao Hai and the possibility of him getting first place, then they would definitely find ways to give him trouble. The compet.i.tion being held in Topfire Mountain might be one of the ways these sects had thought of in order to deal with Zhao Hai.
Because of this, the Yin Elder immediately thought that this arrangement was aimed at Zhao Hai. The compet.i.tion had never been held in Topfire Mountain. So, his suspicions were possible.
Li Hao didn’t say anything, but the expression on his face wasn’t good. In fact, when he heard the compet.i.tion’s arrangement, he immediately thought the same as the Yin Yang Elders.
At this time, the Yang Elder said, “Alright, no matter what, Little Hai will partic.i.p.ate. Moreover, he will take first place. This will show those people that no matter what schemes they come up with, they can’t stop Little Hai from taking first place.”
The Yin Elder coldly snorted, then he looked at Li Hao and said, “You can go back. We’ll let Little Hai leave when it’s time.” Li Hao cupped his fist to the two elders and then to Zhao Hai before leaving.
After Li Hao left, the yin Elder looked at Zhao Hai and said, “Since you already know about the compet.i.tion, prepare for it in the next few days. Remember, if you meet cultivators on the way, don’t travel with them, don’t show favor towards them. Those people might attack you at any time.”
Zhao Hai replied, “Yes. Master can rest a.s.sured. I know what to do.”
The Yin Yang Elders nodded and then they left the courtyard. Zhao Hai sighed and then turned to Laura and the others before saying, “I’ve just returned. I didn’t expect that I would go out once more. This time, I don’t know how long I will be gone.”
Laura smiled and said, “It’s alright. We’re used to it. Don’t worry about here, we will deal with the courtyard’s matters. We’ll also observe Little Tie’s progress.”
Zhao Hai sighed and said, “Thank you.”
Laura smiled faintly. To be honest, they were already used to Zhao Hai’s absence. So, they weren’t too worried about Zhao Hai this time.
Several days pa.s.sed in a blink of an eye. On the seventh day, Zhao Hai used his transmission formation to go to Heaven Slas.h.i.+ng Peak. All partic.i.p.ants were to meet in the palace before departing together.
When Zhao Hai arrived in the square in front of the palace, he discovered that there were already people. These people were at least at the Clone Stage while the strongest were Earth Monarchs. They grouped up into twos and threes as they talked with each other.
Zhao Hai’s appearance captured the crowd’s attention. By this point, there were only a few people in the Tyrant Blade Sect who couldn’t recognize Zhao Hai. Although they might not have seen Zhao Hai, the sect’s disciples have at least seen his image. Therefore, seeing him arrive, everyone immediately turned their head to look.
Three years was not short, but it wasn’t enough for the disciples of the Tyrant Blade Sect to forget Zhao Hai. Those close by greeted Zhao Hai who also politely greeted them back. He had a faint smile on his face giving people a favorable impression of him.
Those who saw Zhao Hai for the first time were surprised. They couldn’t relate this faintly smiling and temperate person to someone who could exterminate an entire realm all by himself. The contrast was very big.
While greeting everyone, Zhao Hai arrived at the place for Clone Stage disciples. Then he looked around to see the situation.
Now, there were about a hundred people in the entire square. There were around 20 Clone Stage disciples, 30 Soul Fusion disciples, and 50 Earth Monarchs. It seems like the sect would send exactly 100 people to partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion.
Not long after Zhao Hai arrived, a melodious sound of the bell rang. The entire square immediately fell silent. At this time, three cultivators walked into the square. These cultivators were above the Teleportation Stage, Zhao Hai can’t exactly tell. But from looking at them, they should be elders of the sect.
As the three elders stood in front of everyone, they looked at Zhao Hai and the others. Then an elder with white hair said, “You should already know why you are here. Now, we’ll give you half an hour to elect a team leader for each cultivation stage. These leaders will lead you in the compet.i.tion.”
After the elder said this, the humming sound of murmur was heard in the square. Soul Fusion disciples and Earth Monarchs immediately discussed with each other. However, their thoughts differed from each other. Only the Clone Stage disciples were quiet. All of them were looking towards Zhao Hai.
Feeling the gazes of his fellow disciples, Zhao Hai smiled faintly and then cupped his fist towards the Clone Stage disciples, “If everyone has no other opinion, then I’ll be impolite. This one will act as the team leader of the Clone Stage disciples. Does everyone agree?”
“I agree” “I agree” “It’s right for Senior Brother Zhao Hai to be the team leader.”
The Clone Stage disciples immediately opened their mouths and expressed their agreement. Besides Zhao Hai, n.o.body else has the strength, reputation, and influence to become the team leader of the Clone Stage disciples. Therefore, it was natural for Zhao Hai to become team leader.”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “Then I’ll impolitely accept the appointment. As the team leader, I’ll just be leading everyone to the destination. I won’t exert any control. So, you don’t have to worry.”
The Clone Stage disciples all laughed. Zhao Hai also laughed and then cupped his fist towards everyone once more. Then he turned his head towards the three elders.
The other two groups looked at Zhao Hai’s group and couldn’t help but look at each other in dismay. They were somewhat embarra.s.sed. It must be said that these people were very familiar with each other. They knew each other’s strength and character. They might even know who the team leaders would become. They only fought for the position to save face.
Seeing the progress with the Clone Stage group, the other two groups straightened up and seriously elected the team leader. Before long, the three team leaders have been selected.
Seeing this, the three elders couldn’t help but nod. Then the white-haired elder said, “Alright, the three team leaders come to me to receive this jade slip. Marked inside is your traveling route. Only the three leaders know of the route. The team leaders only have one duty, and that is to bring everyone to Topfire Mountain safely.”
Zhao Hai and the other two nodded and then received the jade slip. As he used his spiritual force, Zhao Hai saw their route. Surprisingly, huge sections of their route involved waterways while the rest were on main roads, which could be said to be safe. However, this caused their route to be quite long. Zhao Hai calculated that even if they went on horseback, it would take them 20 days to reach Topfire Mountain.
Moreover, their route would take them through five sect territories. Two of these sects didn’t have a good relations.h.i.+p with the Tyrant Blade Sect. Safely pa.s.sing through their territory wouldn’t be easy.
Zhao Hai knit his brows, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he bowed and said, “Elder can rest a.s.sured. We will bring everyone to Topfire Mountain.”
The elder nodded, “The sect will provide mounts for you. You can select which mount you want. Naturally, you can choose to not use the mounts. But you need to reach Topfire Mountain within a month.”
Zhao Hai nodded. Then he went to the Clone Stage Disciples and said, “Everyone, I’ve already acquired our route. The sect will also provide us with mounts. However, I don’t plan to use them. Instead, we’ll be using my mount. If you trust me, we can depart immediately.”
Hearing Zhao Hai, the Clone Stage disciples couldn’t help but stare. Then they quickly replied, “We’ll listen to the team leader’s plan!”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “Alright. Then we’re departing. Let’s go down the peak first.” After he said that, he walked down Heaven Slas.h.i.+ng Peak. The other Clone Stage disciples also followed behind him. They don’t know why, but they discovered that Zhao Hai had a convincing temperament that made the Clone Stage disciples unknowingly follow him.
The other two team leaders looked at each other and bitterly smiled. They were aware that Zhao Hai had all sorts of beasts. He even had flying beasts in hand. On the other hand, they don’t have any flying beasts. They can only rely on the mounts that the sect provided.
Zhao Hai didn’t care about what the others thought of him and just led the Clone Stage disciples down the mountain. To be honest, he could easily transport 20 people to Topfire Mountain using a few of his Nine-winged Cloud Centipede. However, he didn’t plan to do that. He knows that the sect must have some arrangements in place. This route was also a trial. If they were to reach Topfire Mountain easily, then the purpose of the trial would be trashed. Therefore, Zhao Hai planned to follow the route that the sect has provided. He would also use his demon horse to travel.
When the group of 21 reached the foot of Heaven Slas.h.i.+ng Peak, Zhao Hai looked at everyone and said, “Brothers, there are all kinds of beasts we can use to travel. Our route will take us through waterways. If we used the beasts provided by the sect, when we reach the waterways, those beasts would need to use boats to travel. In that case, we would need a big boat. A huge boat isn’t easy to find, and it would slow down our travel time. Because of this, we will be using the beasts I have. This way, we can use different beasts according to our situation. It will make our travel more convenient.”
When they heard this, the other disciples immediately understood why Zhao Hai didn’t use the sect’s beasts. The way they looked at Zhao Hai quickly changed. Just now, as they were heading down Heaven Slas.h.i.+ng Peak, they were holding their feelings back. At that time, they were enticed by Zhao Hai to follow him down. But when they were halfway down the peak, they couldn’t help but feel regret. The sect only gave them a month to reach their destination. The sect would also provide beasts. This proved that Topfire Mountain was quite a distance away. If they can’t reach Topfire Mountain within a month, then they would return with nothing.
Because of this, they were feeling bad deep inside. But Zhao Hai’s words just removed the bad air in their hearts. Instead, they believed that they would succeed with Zhao Hai.