Chapter 299: Roll Call of the 32 Sects

Chapter 299: Chapter 299: Roll Call of the 32 Sects

Dawn broke over Solaris City.

The Great Solaris Arena filled with the roar of tens of thousands of spectators.

Grand Marshal Vane stood at the center of the arena floor, his Halberd of Order planted beside him, his burning eyes scanning the assembled sects.

He raised his hand.

Silence fell.

"The Grand Roll Call begins," he said.

His voice carried across the entire arena without amplification.

"Sect Representatives. March."

The first sect name was roared by a herald standing at the edge of the stage.

"THE THUNDERCLAP SECT!"

Seven cultivators marched onto the arena floor under a banner crackling with lightning.

The crowd cheered.

Damon watched from the Azure Dragon staging area.

One by one, the sects answered the call.

"THE IRON BODY SECT!"

Seven massive cultivators stomped onto the stone.

"THE MIST WALKER SECT!"

Seven figures in grey robes drifted into position.

Damon counted them off.

Thirty-two sects.

Two hundred twenty-four cultivators.

Only seven would remain standing at the end.

The herald’s voice grew louder with each announcement.

"THE VERMILION BIRD SECT!"

A team of seven cultivators in crimson and gold marched onto the floor. Their leader was a woman with flame-touched hair and burning eyes. She carried a banner embroidered with a phoenix rising from ashes.

The crowd erupted.

The Vermilion Bird Sect was one of the four guardian beast powerhouses.

"THE WHITE TIGER SECT!"

Seven massive cultivators in white and silver armor stomped onto the stone. Their leader was a mountain of a man with tiger-striped skin and claws that glinted like steel.

He roared at the crowd.

The crowd roared back.

"THE BLACK TORTOISE SECT!"

Seven cultivators in deep blue and black robes walked onto the floor. Their leader was an old man with a serpent coiled around his arm and a tortoise shell pattern woven into his robe.

He moved with the weight of centuries.

The crowd bowed their heads in respect.

Then the herald’s voice shifted.

"THE CRIMSON ECLIPSE SECT!"

The arena went quiet.

Kai Reventon led his team onto the floor.

He walked like a predator.

His skin had taken on a pale, almost translucent quality. Dark veins pulsed beneath his flesh. His eyes burned with a sickly crimson light.

And his aura.

King Spirit Realm.

Kai turned his head and locked eyes with Damon.

A grin spread across his face.

It was not a human expression.

The herald continued.

"THE AZURE DRAGON SECT!"

Damon stepped forward.

Behind him, Ariel, Mio, Mia, Seraphina, Flare, Alena, and Lark followed.

They marched onto the arena floor under the Azure Dragon banner.

The crowd gasped.

Not at their power.

At their beauty.

Six women.

Six peerless, radiant, breathtaking women.

And one man in the back and with one handsome man leading them.

The whispers spread like wildfire through the stands.

"Is that their team?"

"Six women?"

"Who is that guy?"

"He must be some prince."

"Look at them. They’re all stunning."

The other sects stared.

The Vermilion Bird Sect leader raised an eyebrow.

The White Tiger Sect leader grunted in approval.

The Black Tortoise Sect leader smiled knowingly.

But the Crimson Eclipse Sect.

They stared with hunger.

Kai’s eyes roamed over the women.

His grin widened.

Damon felt the shift in the air.

The herald called the remaining sects.

"THE SILVER WIND SECT!"

"THE EARTH FANG SECT!"

"THE STONE HEART SECT!"

"THE CRIMSON MOON SECT!"

Each team marched onto the floor.

But the atmosphere had changed.

The tension was palpable.

Then the herald called the final name.

"THE NAMELESS SECT!"

A team of seven walked onto the floor.

They wore dark, tattered robes.

No banner.

No sigil.

No name.

At their head walked a man with ash-grey eyes and a calm, expressionless face.

Kael.

The dark horse.

The unknown.

He moved like smoke.

His aura was sealed, unreadable, but Damon’s Incubus Celestial Eyes caught glimpses of something ancient beneath the surface.

Something that did not belong in this realm.

Kael did not look at the crowd.

He did not look at the other sects.

He looked only at the arena floor.

As if he had already seen the outcome.

The herald finished the roll call.

Grand Marshal Vane raised his hand.

"All thirty-two sects are present," he said.

"Take your positions."

The teams began to move toward the staging ranks arranged around the arena floor.

Damon led his group toward the Azure Dragon staging area.

Kai led his team toward the Crimson Eclipse staging area.

Their paths crossed at the center of the floor.

Kai stopped.

Damon stopped.

The arena went silent.

Kai turned his head, his crimson eyes burning with demonic light.

"Damon Arcknight," he said.

His voice was wrong.

It had an echo beneath it, like two voices speaking at once.

"I’ve been waiting for this."

Damon looked at him.

He did not speak.

Kai’s grin widened.

"I’m going to break every bone in your body," he said.

"I’m going to make you watch as I take your women."

He tilted his head.

"One by one."

The air between them shifted.

Killing intent erupted.

It was not a subtle thing.

It was a physical force, a pressure that pushed against the arena floor, against the banners, against the spectators in the stands.

Damon’s Incubus Dragon Lord Bloodline responded.

His golden eyes flared.

The air crackled.

The ground beneath their feet trembled.

The other sects felt it.

The Vermilion Bird Sect leader took a step back.

The White Tiger Sect leader’s hand went to his weapon.

The Black Tortoise Sect leader narrowed his eyes.

Kael watched.

His ash-grey eyes remained flat.

Unimpressed.

The pressure built.

It wrapped around Damon and Kai like a cocoon of murderous intent.

The air grew thick.

The temperature dropped.

The spectators held their breath.

Grand Marshal Vane did not move.

He watched.

His burning eyes tracked the exchange with cold, clinical interest.

Damon met Kai’s gaze.

He did not flinch.

He did not blink.

He let the killing intent flow around him like water around a stone.

And he smiled.

It was a small smile.

A cold smile.

A smile that promised nothing but pain.

Kai’s grin faltered.

Just for a moment.

Then it returned, wider than before.

"I’ll see you on the stage," Kai said.

He turned and walked toward the Crimson Eclipse staging area.