Sign-In System: Starting With Invincible Physique-Chapter 27: Challenging Fourth Elder
Chapter 27: Challenging Fourth Elder
"No! Absolutely not!"
As soon as Rhain’s voice dropped off, Harmon resolutely shook his head.
His usually calm face warped in sudden anxiety, and he immediately rejected the notion without the slightest hesitation.
"You will not be entering the Hollow Realm," Harmon stated in a heavy, unquestionable tone.
The entire hall fell into a pin-drop silence.
Dorris Graves, Great Elder Silas, and the rest of the esteemed elders all slowly nodded in agreement.
There was no doubt that in their point of view, this was the only correct decision.
"Does sect master think I am not strong enough?" Rhain asked without any change in expression.
Harmon let out a slow, heavy sigh.
"You are misunderstanding me. I have no doubt about your strength. But inside Hollow realm, no one can guarantee their life," Harmon stated with a concerned face. "Even cultivators at Essence Condensation Realm can easily lose their lives to a sudden trap"
Harmon’s voice took a rare note of fury as he continued.
"Every five years, the Ironpeak Sect uses that isolated space to hunt our most talented disciples. They do not fight fair. They ambush, and use every underhanded method available to ensure our geniuses do not return alive."
Harmon’s voice grew heavy, as he recalled the geniuses their sect painstakingly cultivated, and those elders who were the pillars of their sect.
They had more than fifty elders at the Essence Condensation Realm thirty years ago, and no the number had been reduced to less than thirty.
None of them died of old age. They got buried in the Hollow realm.
As his mind flashed with those bitter memories, his expression hardened.
"You are the future of the Azure Cloud Sect, Rhain. You are the sole variable capable of changing our inevitable decline. If you perish inside that space, our sect’s last hope dies with you. I cannot risk your life."
He shook his head, his tone filled with absolute finality.
It was a completely logical decision.
The sect needed him alive to grow into a Spirit Manifestation expert, not dead in a ditch over a few resources.
Rhain understood Harmon’s dilemma perfectly.
The old man was merely trying to protect the sect’s long-term survival over short-term gains.
But Rhain was not a normal cultivator.
His Abyssal Sovereign Physique was a bottomless void.
To break through the remaining levels of the Essence Awakening Realm and step into Essence Condensation, he needed an astronomical amount of energy.
He needed to go.
Rhain looked at Harmon and asked with an unbothered expression.
"You said the spatial laws of the Hollow Realm forbid anyone at or above the Spirit Manifestation Realm from entering."
"That is correct," Harmon nodded slowly. "The space will collapse if they try."
Rhain tilted his head slightly, scanning the grim faces of the elders, and then spoke with absolute confidence.
"If Spirit Manifestation experts cannot cross that threshold," Rhain said evenly, "then there is nothing to worry about. As long as it is only Essence Condensation cultivators inside that space..."
Rhain paused, his dark grey irises devoid of any fear or hesitation.
A collective breath hitched around the table.
"...then I am absolutely certain that no one inside can threaten my life."
As Rhain’s voice dropped off, the hall stilled for a long time.
"No!" Harmon’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, and his expression darkened. "You are too young. Although your talent is shocking enough to stir the entire Greymist Region, you are still only at the Essence Awakening Realm!"
He shook his head and sighed, "You obviously have not experienced the true cruelty of the Hollow Realm. In the face of those ruthless killers, your raw strength alone is not enough. I absolutely will not allow you to throw your life away!"
Rhain did not argue anymore.
Arguing was inefficient. If logic and absolute certainty could not sway the old man, then words were completely useless.
"How long until the Hollow Realm opens.?" Rhain asked.
Sitting to Harmon’s left, Great Elder Silas answered, his white eyebrows knitting together. "Fifteen days."
"Fifteen days..." Rhain put his hand under his chin, smiling mischievously.
He then slowly turned his gaze toward the older man sitting near the center of the long table—the Fourth Elder, Torin.
"Then let us make an agreement," Rhain said with a light grace, his voice completely calm. "In fifteen days, right before the Hollow Realm opens, I will challenge Fourth Elder Torin. If I lose, I will drop the matter entirely. I will obediently stay within the sect and cultivate."
He paused, his eyes devoid of any fluctuation.
But if I win... Sect Master must allow me to enter Hollow realm."
A collective gasp echoed in the massive hall.
Shock. Disbelief. Absolute absurdity.
Even Dorris, a Spirit Manifestation Realm expert, stared at Rhain as if the boy had suddenly grown a second head.
Challenge the Fourth Elder?
Torin wasn’t just an Essence Condensation Realm cultivator. He was at the absolute peak of Level 9.
He was a man who had accumulated his foundation for decades. In fact, Torin could have already attempted to break through to the Spirit Manifestation Realm years ago. He had deliberately suppressed his cultivation, holding himself at the peak of Condensation for the sole purpose of entering the Hollow Realm to lead the sect’s forces.
"You... want to challenge me?" Torin pointed at himself, and asked in disbelief.
Rhain did not speak, but he slowly nodded his head.
Harmon stared at the calm, unreadable face of the boy sitting across from him.
The old man’s mind raced.
Rhain had experienced an explosive rise in power. He had crushed outer disciples, dismantled Roderick’s guards, and forced Maren back. In his eyes, he was invincible.
This was the fatal flaw of all true prodigies: the blind arrogance born of unbroken victory.
If Rhain was not taught the absolute limits of his current strength, this arrogance would eventually get him killed.
A duel with Torin was perfect.
It would teach him the much-needed lesson of humility, and more importantly, it would permanently sever his dangerous ambition to enter the Hollow Realm.
It was a flawless solution.
"Alright!" Harmon stated in a dignified tone. "I agree to your terms."
He turned his gaze to look at Torin.
"Torin. In fifteen days, you will have a duel with Rhain."
Torin nodded his head slightly. He did not care much about the challenge.
In his opinion, Rhain was just an ignorant brat who had yet to see the wider world.
"Understood, Sect Master."
With the agreement struck, the oppressive tension in the Sect Master’s Hall finally dissolved.
Harmon shifted the conversation back to the matter at hand.
For the next two hours, the discussion proceeded smoothly.
The alliance between the Azure Cloud Sect and the Graves family was solidified for the coming bloodshed.
"We are finished here," Harmon announced, "Prepare yourself. In fifteen days, you will have to enter Hollow realm."
The elders stood up in unison, bowing respectfully to the Sect Master before filing out of the room.
Dorris and Roderick also stood, offering their formal farewells.
Rhain did not linger.
He stood up, gave a nod to Harmon and Dorris, and left.
Only Doris and Harmon remained in the hall.
Dorris stared ahead in the empty hall and spoke with an amused tone.
"He is exactly as arrogant as the rumors."
Harmon let out a slow, tired sigh.
"He has the right to be," Harmon replied, staring at the empty chair Rhain had just vacated. "His talent is something this region hasn’t seen in centuries."
"He is young," Dorris chuckled. "And highly immature."
Harmon slowly stood up, looking toward the heavy wooden doors through which Rhain had departed.
"Absolute power gained too quickly breeds absolute blindness He genuinely believes that raw physical strength and exceptional speed can bridge decades of bitter cultivation."
The old man turned back to the table.
"In fifteen days, Torin will shatter that illusion."
Dorris nodded.
In their eyes, the outcome of the duel was already an undeniable fact.
