The Conference Begins

"Welcome, friends from the Divine Land of Middle Earth, to the 236th Righteous Path Leader Tournament."

"Since everyone has traveled thousands of miles to our sect to participate in the competition, I assume you don't want to hear I, Zhang spout nonsense here. The rules of the competition remain unchanged from previous years. For the first round of the competition, will the representatives of each participating faction please come up to the stage to draw lots."

Zhang Wudao stood on the high platform of the Supreme Dao Sect's arena. His gaze swept across all the competitors and the cultivators who had come to watch, wearing a smile and speaking in a calm tone.

Evidently, this year's Righteous Path Leader Tournament was being hosted by him, the Vice Sect Master of the Supreme Dao Sect.

"I'll go draw the lot. Everyone get ready. After the drawing, the first round of the competition will begin immediately, which will determine the top six."

After Zhou Muxi reminded everyone, she rose and flew toward the high platform. The other participating factions also sent their representatives to draw lots.

There were twelve righteous factions participating in the competition in total, encompassing almost all the major powers of the Divine Land of Middle Earth.

The rules were simple: it was a sect-versus-sect competition. The winning sect would advance to the next round until the final rankings of all sects were fully determined.

A moment later, Zhou Muxi returned to the Noble Righteousness Sect's team. She waved the token in her hand, which had the number "One" written on it.

"Arena One. Let's go and see who our opponent is."

The first round consisted of six matches held simultaneously across six arenas. Aside from the Saint Realm expert referees dispatched by the Divine Land of Middle Earth, there were also over a million spectators supervising the matches, making any foul play impossible.

Led by Zhou Muxi, Mo Tianxiao and the others arrived at Arena One in the massive plaza. The opposing sect had already arrived as well.

"The Noble Righteousness Sect!?"

"With this kind of luck, it looks like we can only fight for the bottom six spots."

Upon seeing that their opponent was the Noble Righteousness Sect, the other sect instantly lost all their nervousness, as the outcome was already set in stone.

Facing a sect that had ranked second for several consecutive tournaments, the competitors from the Flowing Water Sect had already given up.

After all, their original goal was never to compete with sects that possessed Saint Realm experts. Their true opponents were the other sects that also lacked Saint Realm powerhouses.

"It seems there's more to this lot-drawing than meets the eye," Mo Tianxiao muttered to himself as he looked at the opposing sect.

Was there even a need to draw lots? They might as well just eliminate all these sects without Saint Realm experts right away instead of going through this unnecessary process.

Zhou Muxi chuckled softly. "Don't underestimate these sects. Aside from lacking Saint Realm experts, their strength in other areas is not weak at all."

"Oh? Then will we lose?" Mo Tianxiao shot her a glance.

Zhou Muxi stared at Mo Tianxiao. "Although they aren't weak, they are still far behind a sect like ours."

"Nonsense."

"They don't have much strength. Let the others handle this match; I'll just watch how the process goes."

Against such a sect, Mo Tianxiao felt there was no need for him to make a move. The people Zhou Muxi brought were more than enough.

Zhou Muxi nodded. "As you wish. Hiding your strength is fine too, since we haven't reached the finals yet."

"I want to join in for fun too! Can you arrange a match for me?" Huang Xiaoyao hurriedly raised her hand, her small face full of excitement.

She rarely saw such a grand spectacle and wanted to go up and have some fun.

Zhou Muxi looked at Huang Xiaoyao and the others, smiling. "Your strength is naturally sufficient, little sister. If Sister Yun wants to participate, I can arrange it for you as well."

With Huang Xiaoyao at the late stage of the Dharma Idol Realm and Yun Sangyi at the peak of the Primal Spirit Realm, they were more than capable of winning two matches. Naturally, Zhou Muxi didn't want to waste these two combatants.

Yun Sangyi glanced at Mo Tianxiao, seemingly asking for his opinion. Unknowingly, her subconscious had already come to believe that she needed Mo Tianxiao's permission for such matters.

"Go if you want. Just remember not to use the Blood God Palace's techniques," Mo Tianxiao reminded her via voice transmission.

Yun Sangyi nodded slowly. "I will leave it entirely to Elder Zhou's arrangements."

Zhou Muxi cast a meaningful glance at Mo Tianxiao, feeling quite curious. This guy's way of managing people seemed to have some merit.

"The Righteous Path Leader Tournament officially begins. Will all participating factions please commence their matches according to the schedule."

As the various factions got ready, the first round of the competition commenced.

Starting with combat power battles, there were eleven matches in total. However, due to the current matchmaking setup, several unlucky sects without Saint Realm experts were all matched against sects that had them, meaning the combat battles were destined to be one match short.

Half a month passed in a flash. The combat power battles concluded, and the sects began their secondary profession competitions.

The Flowing Water Sect, competing against the Noble Righteousness Sect, could not even gather the four top-tier secondary professions. Aside from hiring a top-tier alchemist and a top-tier array master as external aid, they didn't even have top-tier representatives for the other two secondary professions.

Without exception, the Noble Righteousness Sect successfully advanced in the competition.

Top-tier alchemists like Zhou Muxi and Mo Tianxiao didn't even need to make a move. Old Man Jiu, the deacon who had originally joined the Noble Righteousness Sect's Alchemy Hall, easily won the top-tier alchemist match against their opponent.

The first round of the competition took a full month to conclude.

"The real show is about to begin."

"What comes next is the true battle for the Righteous Path Leader. I wonder who will take the crown this year?"

"Do you even need to ask? It will definitely be the Supreme Dao Sect again. They've been first for several consecutive tournaments. Aside from the Noble Righteousness Sect, who can put up a fight against them, the other factions aren't a match at all."

"It's hard to say. I feel like the Noble Righteousness Sect has a great chance of winning the championship this year. Didn't you see that Elder Zhou is personally leading the team this time? She's already at the peak of the Saint Realm. I'm afraid she is determined to win the title of Righteous Path Leader this time."

"The Holy Son of the Supreme Dao Sect is also at the peak of the Saint Realm. As for who will be the leader this year, it really is hard to tell."

In the spectator stands, the massive crowd discussed frantically. Those who wanted to place bets placed them, and those who wanted to cheer cheered.

High up in the void, three old men sat cross-legged in a small pavilion. Two were playing chess, while the third watched from the side.

"Daoist Qingwei, your chess skills have improved, but alas, you are still one step behind. I win this game."

"Senior's chess skills are indeed formidable. I suppose the title of Righteous Path Leader will likely change hands this year."

"It is merely an empty title; it doesn't matter who takes it. However, I did promise that girl Zhou that if the Noble Righteousness Sect wins this year, I will hand the sect over to her."

"Is that so? Senior is truly generous."

Daoist Qingwei poured three cups of tea and handed them to the two men in front of him. "Speaking of which, the time is almost up. I wonder if you two seniors have any thoughts on the matter?"

"Hahahaha, I know my own aptitude is shallow, so I shall stay behind. You are young and still have drive. Me guarding the Xuanhuang Realm is enough."

The other old man also spoke slowly, "I originally wanted to give it a try alongside Daoist Qingwei, but unfortunately, you know what my lineage is best at. I expended five hundred years of my lifespan to divine my own fortune: certain death with no chance of survival."

"Staying in the Xuanhuang Realm leaves at least a sliver of hope."