NFBE Chapter 123: Stirring Up the Storm
Chapter 123: Stirring Up the Storm
While Shen Xu was flipping through the books, a heated discussion was taking place in the teahouse regarding the upcoming Four Directions Sword Selection.
"Do you know how many potential swordsmen appeared in this selection?" a young man in purple asked mysteriously.
Upon hearing this question, everyone in the teahouse immediately strained their ears, since the number of candidates for the Sword Selection was crucial in determining how many spots were left for them to compete for.
"Stop keeping us in suspense. Since you know, just tell everyone. We all appreciate your kindness!" The black-robed youth's words were met with unanimous agreement from the crowd.
"Everyone, please don't be anxious. The sword selection team from the Tianhe Sword Sect only arrived in Tianjian City yesterday afternoon. I don't know how many candidates the Tianhe Sword Sect has."
"Are there any people from the Tianhe Sword Sect here? If I know the number of seeded members from the Tianhe Sword Sect, I can roughly estimate the number of seeded members in this Four Directions Sword Selection." The purple-robed youth asked loudly.
A short-haired youth standing nearby said, "Each of the three Flying Cloud Boats sent out by the Tianhe Sword Sect probably has a dozen or so seed members. Adding the Tianhe Sword Sect's own seed members, I guess there are about sixty sword selection seed members from the Tianhe Sword Sect!"
"Sixty people!" Everyone was shocked when they heard this number.
At this moment, the young man in purple clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you for informing me, brother. Now we can calculate together how many seeds have appeared in this sword selection."
The first to arrive, the Crimson Flame Sword Sect, had about fifty sword-selection candidates, followed by the Crimson Origin Sect with around fifty, the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect with the most candidates, no less than seventy, the Qingshan Sect with the fewest but still around forty, plus the Heavenly River Sword Sect with sixty…”
"Two hundred and seventy!" Everyone instantly came to a number that made them somewhat alarmed.
The purple-clad youth continued, "There are 270 potential swordsmen, which means there are only a little over 700 spots left for us ordinary swordsmen. With over 80,000 people vying for these remaining 700-odd spots, I wonder if any of you here have the confidence?"
"Are you kidding, brother? Apart from those top picks, who has an absolute guarantee of getting a spot? After all, everyone's strength is about the same." Someone said with a wry smile.
The young man in purple smiled and replied, "What this brother said is right. If we're just talking about strength, the difference between us ordinary swordsmen isn't that great."
If we want to break through the encirclement, we can't rely on our own strength alone. We must unite and use our collective power to continuously eliminate smaller groups, thereby increasing our chances of being selected. The larger the group we join, the easier it will be to achieve final victory with the team!
Someone immediately retorted: "If you can think of this method, how could those major sects not think of it! All five fifth-rank sects have their own Sword Selection Alliance, and each has its own unique title."
In order to increase the number of their own members who passed the sword selection, the five sects were already competing with each other before the selection even began.
Not only did they offer huge rewards to win over talent from their respective camps, but they also planted spies within each other's ranks. During each Sword Selection, the five alliances fought fiercely in the secret realm, making it one of the biggest highlights of each Four-Way Sword Selection.
The young man in brocade robes next to the speaker added, "So, besides selecting disciples of the Four Directions Sword Selection, another very important function is to provide a public competition channel for the five sects. The sect with the fewest disciples passing the selection will be ridiculed for ten years."
Generally speaking, wherever you come from in Tianjian City, you belong to that Sword Selection Alliance, but you are only an outer member.
The true core teams can only join through invitations from the Sword Selection Seeds, and they also have to go through a series of assessments. Therefore, without sufficient strength and background, it is impossible to access the core of the league.
The vast majority of the thousand people selected each time are core members of the five major alliances.
"So you're saying that we ordinary swordsmen have no chance of passing the Four Directions Sword Selection?" someone asked, full of resentment.
"Not necessarily. It also depends on the rules of the Sword Selection. I remember once the rule was that the last thousand people who stayed in the secret realm would pass the Sword Selection. As a result, the five major alliances got really angry and completely forgot about the rules in the final battle. As a result, many ordinary Sword Selection candidates who had hidden well also passed the Four Directions Sword Selection."
"That battle wasn't because the five alliances were blinded by rage and forgot the rules; rather, it was because someone wanted them to forget the rules."
"That person, relying on his unparalleled mastery of illusion and his ability to manipulate emotions, could control the winds and clouds in the secret realm with a flick of his finger, manipulating the five major alliances at will. In the final chaotic battle, even the leaders of three alliances were eliminated." The purple-robed youth suddenly spoke.
"Holy crap! What kind of extraordinary person could do something like this!" The entire tea room immediately erupted in commotion.
"That formidable person was not a sword-chosen seed, but just an ordinary disciple of a seventh-rank sect, yet he carved out his own niche with the Illusionary Intent in his hand."
"Now, a Sword Chosen One with equally masterful Illusionary Abilities wants to stir up the Sword Chosen Faction once again. Are you all willing to follow him and accomplish something great?" the purple-robed youth declared with boundless enthusiasm.
Upon hearing the purple-robed youth's words, everyone in the teahouse fell silent. The swordsmen who had come to Tianjian City were not fools, and they could naturally see that the purple-robed youth was trying to win over the swordsman seed who possessed the Illusionary Will.
Seeing the silence of the crowd, the purple-robed youth seemed unsurprised and continued to smile, saying, "I believe you all understand that only when this sword selection goes completely chaotic will we ordinary sword selectors have a chance to pass the selection."
Since everyone is willing but unable to help with this matter, that person is willing to lend a hand this time. In truth, he doesn't expect anyone to be of any help to him, after all, he is confident that he can accomplish this task alone, just like that person did back then.
However, I still hope that if anyone encounters that person during the sword selection, they can help him to the best of their ability, because helping him is also helping ourselves.
Suddenly, someone spoke up from the silence: "Since that chosen swordsman has such confidence, why don't we help him out?"
“You’re right. Only when the sword selection is in chaos will we have a chance! I’m willing to help.”
"I can do it within my capabilities."
As more and more people voiced their opinions, the atmosphere in the teahouse became increasingly heated, and the smile on the young man in purple's face grew more and more unrestrained.
Although some people saw through the impure motives of the purple-clad youth, and estimated that many people in the teahouse were his shills, under the influence of the crowd's emotions, their hearts gradually filled with dissatisfaction with the Five Alliances, as well as expectation and trust in the chosen one.
Shen Xu also felt an invisible soul force slowly spreading throughout the teahouse, gradually influencing everyone's emotions, and the center of the force was the black jade pendant worn by the purple-clad youth.
A thin wisp of mist instantly concealed his figure as Shen Xu slowly descended the teahouse, book in hand.