Return of the Mythic Bloodline-Chapter 363: The Competition begins!

"As for that man, he also has his true Soulforce concealed, yet I cannot determine what he truly is," Aurelion revealed.

"If even you cannot discern their true identities, they must be dangerous," Lunaria said, worry lacing her voice. "Should we order their capture?"

Aurelion looked at the blindfolded man, who was busy conversing with Ume, and shook his head. "There is no need. The people will only grow restless if we arrest them without explanation. I will keep an eye on them."

---

Once the disciples from all the sects arrived at the center, Javier, the host of the competition, began in a booming voice,

"Like every year, the opening of the Azure Sky Competition shall commence with the clash of the Inner Disciples from each sect!"

Javier pulled a lever embedded in the ground. The land began to tremble, and from beneath the earth, a platform rose upward, ascending to the same level as the walls where the audience was seated.

"Any participant who falls from the platform will be eliminated. Killing another disciple will result in expulsion from both the competition and your sect."

Casting a brief glance at Titan and Aethon, Javier continued, "Even if you belong to the Rockbane or Flamebane Sect, the punishment shall remain the same, as the Sect Masters of both sects have agreed to it.

Two teams will enter the stage. Once one team is completely eliminated, the victorious team will face the next challenger. To ensure fairness, the winning team will have the privilege to either invite a quarter of their eliminated disciples back into their ranks or reduce the opposing team’s members by the same number they are permitted to invite.

If a team secures four consecutive victories, they may invite a Core Disciple from their sect to participate in the tournament.

The top two sects from the previous year, Rockbane and Flamebane, are exempt from the first round."

After explaining a few additional rules, Javier produced a glass bowl filled with chits from his ring and, turning toward the High Tower where Aurelion was seated, said, "Your Majesty, please draw the teams for the first round."

While remaining seated, Aurelion slightly moved his index finger. Two chits floated upward from the bowl and traveled toward him.

He unfolded the first chit and announced in a low voice that nevertheless echoed throughout the arena, "Waterbane Sect."

A roar of cheers rippled across the arena as the thirty Inner Disciples of the Waterbane Sect, each bearing a slit mark upon their foreheads, advanced toward the raised platform along a smooth path formed from a rolling wave of water, conjured by none other than Tartaglia.

"Wasn’t that elegant, Lady Sylvaris?" Tartaglia said with a smug smile. "Just like you."

"Hmph. It was nothing more than showmanship," Sylvaris retorted, her expression tinged with irritation.

"Pfft." Barbatos barely restrained his laughter. Tartaglia, however, paid him no mind and continued stealing glances at Sylvaris.

Aurelion then opened the second chit and read aloud the name inscribed upon it. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Thunderbane Sect."

"Hehe. We have a free victory in the first round," Tartaglia said, covering his face with a silken fan. "We got the weakest—"

He abruptly cut himself off as he felt Robert’s sharp glare upon him.

"M-master Robert, perhaps you should assist them in climbing the stage," Tartaglia added hurriedly, attempting to recover.

"If they cannot even scale such a height themselves, then they have no business participating in the competition at all," Robert replied, faint irritation coloring his voice due to Tartaglia’s earlier remark.

---

"If I heard correctly, our sect’s name was called. Why are you all still standing there?" Lucifer demanded, sitting cross-legged while leaning casually against the ground.

Realizing that Robert would not assist them, the Thunderbanes began moving forward.

The moment they stepped ahead, red lightning flickered around their legs. In the next instant, they bolted forward, sprinting up the sheer wall as though running across flat ground.

This was the footwork technique they had mastered during their attempts to escape the merciless beat—training sessions of Lucifer.

There were no cheers for the Thunderbanes when they reached the platform, unlike the Waterbanes, when the crowd had erupted in delight at their entrance.

The reason was obvious. Since the Azure Sky Competition had been introduced fifteen years ago by Aurelion to foster a competitive spirit among the young cultivators of each sect, the Thunderbanes had been eliminated in the very first round every single time. Whether they entered first, in the middle, or last, they had never secured even a single victory.

"Greetings, descendants of the mightiest warriors of the Western Continent," the Waterbanes called out with mocking bows. "We are blessed by the heavens to stand before such might."

In the past, whenever disciples from other sects addressed them in this manner, the Thunderbanes felt pride swell within their chests. Their egos were inflated, and they felt superior despite their inevitable first-round elimination.

After their defeats, other sects would continue their veiled mockery with phrases such as,

"Thank you for granting us victory."

"The Thunderbanes are so humble that they willingly surrender their wins."

Now, however, with their arrogance thoroughly shattered by Taranis in the guise of Lucifer, they finally understood the ridicule hidden beneath those words.

Yet they offered no response to the blatant taunts and remained firmly in their positions.

"Why are you all silent?" Dante of the Waterbane Sect asked. Fixing Cedric with a concealed smirk, he continued, "Brother Cedric, have we done something to offend you?"

Instead of replying, Cedric turned to Javier and said respectfully, "Please announce the beginning of the competition."

"O-oh, right," Javier stammered, slightly taken aback by Cedric’s composed demeanor. "The first round begins now!"

With the announcement made, Javier ascended into the sky, leaving the stage to the disciples of the two sects.

"Arrogant fools. How dare they ignore me?" Dante muttered through clenched teeth. "We will utterly destroy them."

With that, the thirty disciples of the Waterbane Sect charged toward the Thunderbanes, who were only half their number.