Chapter 278: The Four Great Forefathers

On the outskirts of the Redflame Kingdom was an enormous plain. All the nearly four hundred thousand participants were gathered here.

The participants’ faces held barely contained excitement, they’d just been notified that the highest levels of the four great sects were about to arrive and announce the selection rules for them.

They’d heard that not only would the executives of the four great sects arrive, but even the four great forefathers!

The four great forefathers had always been a legendary existence within the sixteen kingdoms.

Even many sect disciples had never caught a glance of them, never mind these ordinary practitioners.

Even the senior echelon of the sects couldn’t see the forefathers just because they wanted to.

The forefathers represented the highest levels of power within the alliance. Invincible, they held life and death in the palm of their hands.

When they heard that the forefathers would appear to talk to them, how could this not cause the young practitioners to jump for joy?

Some youngsters with particularly vivid imaginations even dreamed of having some special potential that catches the eye of the forefathers, then they would’ve really made it and would walk amongst the clouds.

There were quite a few with such wild fantasies.

Particularly when it came to youngsters, who didn’t harbor a few daydreams? The age of teenagers and twenty somethings was precisely the age filled with imaginings.

Many of them had never seen the highest levels of the four great sects, not to mention the forefathers.

However, Jiang Chen’s expression was as calm as his heart.

He hadn’t come here to sightsee and gawk at some senior executives. He had come for the final battle.

Even though it was just a group selection of ordinary practitioners right now, Jiang Chen didn’t allow a single ripple to appear in his heart.

With his knowledge, it was impossible for him to grow excited about an origin realm practitioner even after he’d reincarnated. It was even less likely for him to be full of idol worship like the others.

In his past life,, even experts that were hundreds of thousands of times stronger than these venerated origin realm practitioners were extremely polite in front of Jiang Chen.

He completely ignored the fervent atmosphere around him as he activated the Boulder’s Heart, temporarily entering a state of meditation.

When four hundred thousand people gathered, even if everyone only whispered, the scene was like a great boiling pot, continuously bubbling over with a hubbub of voices.

“Ho!”

A roar suddenly sounded in the air like a crack of thunder.

It dispersed into countless rumbles of thunder and seemed to cover the sky in an instant, making everyone’s blood boil and silencing the plains immediately.

Four hundred thousand practitioners abruptly fell silent.

“Haha, Sunchaser you old monster, are you trying to put on airs from the beginning?” Another wild and unbridled roar traveled through the air.

Four beams of light tore through the clouds. Filled with a stern divine aura, they were as if celestial beings descending upon the earth. All sorts of light and splendor resounded through the sky.

A strong presence immediately enclosed an area of a thousand li.

In his meditation, Jiang Chen’s blood slightly sped up, causing him to open his eyes and use God’s Eye to look upwards.

Four beams of light hovered in the air in four different areas.

Three men, one woman, four venerated origin realm practitioners!

“The four great forefathers of the great sects!” Jiang Chen’s heart raced as he narrowed his eyes to look at the four figures, standing there as if they were gods descending upon the earth.

Such strong auras were indeed something he’d never experienced before from Ye Chonglou. Jiang Chen had no doubt that these were the four people who controlled the core power and resources within the sixteen kingdoms, standing as representatives of the four great sects.

The Purple Sun Sect, the Precious Tree Sect, the Flowing Wind Sect, and the Myriad Spirit Sect.

Jiang Chen’s gaze first stopped on the elder who was second from the left. Dressed in a green robe, and with a hat like a crown on his head, an unearthly feeling exuded from his body as his long mustache trailed to his chest. A sense of tranquility spread out from between his brows, as if he was completely set apart from the struggles of the world.

“This must be venerated elder Thousandleaf of the Precious Tree Sect?” Jiang Chen decided.

The first elder on the left was tall and stocky, his eyes like lightning as a stern awe suffused them. Fiery red robes offset his entire being like a fireball as he flared and blazed, giving others a feeling as though he could send the world up in flames.

Jiang Chen could almost be certain that this person was the venerated elder Sunchaser of the Purple Sun Sect.

The third from the left was a lady, as clean as ice and as pure as jade. Wearing white clothing, she looked like a fairy amongst the clouds. She was middle aged, yet appeared exceedingly beautiful.

This was naturally venerated elder Icemist of the Flowing Wind Sect.

The one on the right was a brawny man. His outfit was the wildest amongst the four, as his clothes were as ragged as a quail’s tail, appearing quite disheveled. He had a head full of hair like an untamed lion’s mane, thrown haphazardly over his shoulders. The spirit creature beneath him was even odder as it had nine heads, a perfect combination with this wild, stocky person. The two of them together appeared even more ferocious and made others naturally respectful and fearful.

This person must be venerated elder Ninelion of the Myriad Spirit Sect.

Jiang Chen had heard of the four great forefathers from Ye Chonglou, and although he lacked exact knowledge of them, he could still discern who was who now that he had seen them in person.

They were origin realm practitioners alright, a single careless syllable from them was enough to make the entire place quiet down. Even a spirit king rank practitioner would be unable to produce this aura.

Jiang Chen lauded them in his heart.

“It’s… it’s the four great forefathers!”

“Venerated origin realm practitioners? My god, am I dreaming?”

“Hahaha, it really is them! Grandpa, da, your child has finally seen the four great forefathers! Be well in the underworld, and protect your child so as to emerge from the masses in the great selection and become their personal disciple! Your child will make use of the opportunity to bring honor and glory to the ancestors so that I may strut with pride!”

After a moment’s petrification, the ones with higher levels of training out of the four hundred thousand recovered their wits first, full of agitation as their lips trembled and tears gathered in the corners of their eyes.

The four great forefathers were the totems of the sixteen kingdoms, their absolute idols!

How would they not be greatly moved and have a face full of tears now that they saw that the forefathers had come themselves?

Figures continued to shoot out from the air. However, these ones knew their places, and found their positions behind the forefathers.

These people were obviously the senior executives of the four great sects, the judges of the initial selection.

“Sunchaser, since you like to make a scene, why don’t you go ahead?” The wild and stocky Ninelion elder spoke with a smile and a shake of his unbound hair.

Sunchaser of the Purple Sun Sect smiled faintly and didn’t refuse. He spurred the steed beneath him and cantered a few steps forward.

“A vibrant atmosphere of martial dao has always flowed within the sixteen kingdoms. With the four great sects as the banners, this atmosphere has only grown richer, spreading to the neighboring sixteen kingdoms. Today, we are gathered here, because the moment to select the geniuses for the sects has arrived. After consultation between my fellow daoists and I, today, we give you ordinary practitioners a chance to rise head and shoulders above your peers, an opportunity to carve out a noteworthy figure. Thus, this old man hopes that you will make use of this opportunity to enter our sights and thoroughly unearth your potential.”

Venerated practitioner Sunchaser was known for his stern personality, always emanating a feeling of oppression.

“Perhaps you might think it unfair that you have to go through an initial selection before obtaining the right to compete with sect disciples.”

“I can tell you now that there is nothing unfair in this. Fairness has never existed in the world of martial dao. You were born in the mundane dust and they were born into the sects. Your starting line was different. Although this may be cruel, in the world of martial dao, a birth of low circumstances is often an original sin.”

“Now, the four great sects are giving you a chance to shake off your destiny of low birth, and giving you a chance akin to that of a carp transforming itself into a dragon. If you can make use of this chance, I promise you that you will receive the same opportunities as the sect disciples. In the second round of selection, the sect disciples won’t receive special treatment, and the rules will not favor them. You will see fair competition when it reaches the second selection!”

The crowd grew agitated, fair competition!

At least ninety percent of the four hundred thousand had been worried about this.

They’d been worried that having ordinary practitioners participate was just a formality, that the final battle would be conducted between the sect disciples.

They feared that they, being ordinary practitioners, would just be supporting characters.

But elder Sunchaser’s words had thoroughly dispelled their hesitations and filled their hearts with emotion.

If there was no bias towards the sect disciples within the second selection, then they might have a chance!

Even if they couldn’t reach the final sixteen, they still had a chance to enter the sect if they displayed their entire potential, right?

As long as one made it into the sect, it would indeed be like a carp transforming to a dragon with a great bound upstream, leaving the mundane world behind!

“Of course, don’t be too optimistic either. Since it’s a selection, it will naturally be harsh. Competition will be fierce. You must be mentally prepared for the despair on the level of a thousand calvary trying to squeeze onto a wooden bridge.”

Venerated elder Sunchaser’s voice was like a ringing bell, reminding all practitioners not to be happy that early.

“There are around four hundred thousand of you, but less than ten thousand will make it into the second round. After that, no more than thirty percent will be chosen by the sects. That is to say that out of four hundred thousand of you, only three thousand will be able to make it into the sect at the end.”

The ratio of three thousand to four hundred thousand was the equivalent of choosing one out of every hundred.

This ratio was indeed cruel, but to those listening below, they became extraordinarily excited.

As high as three thousand?

This number had exceeded their expectations.

After all, ordinary practitioners still had a bit of self consciousness when facing the sects. They both yearned to enter and knew just how difficult it would be to set foot in one.

In their eyes, it would be a lot if one thousand made it in.

To think that there would be three thousand!

Jiang Chen also sighed slightly when he heard this number, “It looks like the four great sects are feeling no small sense of urgency. To take in three thousand all at once means that each sect will receive almost a thousand people.”

This truly hit home just how alarmed the sects were.