Silence and rumination came next. Two of the Six Sect Masters have lost to Ninth by now.

Some glanced over at Terra Sword Saint. He was certainly the strongest in this group and could become the next target.

He himself understood this. If Ninth wanted to reach the next level, he and Nine-day Sword Saint would be next. The question became which of them would Ninth go for next?

He remained calm since he had expected this in the past. However, Ninth showed no sign of challenging the sword saint right now.

Nonetheless, everyone thought that this was inevitable.

“He has to beat the two saints if he wishes to break through to the next generation.” An older expert said.

Currently, the first generation of this era belonged to the Five Overlords or the reclusive ancestors.

The second generation consisted of the Six Kings and Six Sect Masters. This group had the most authority.

The young generation was represented by the Ten Sword Prodigies and Four Weapon Heroes.

In order to reach the first generation, he has to get through the two saints first.

“Once he does, only the slumbering ancestors or the Five Overlords will be able to beat him.” His friend responded.

“If he fights Terra Sword Saint right now, what is his chance of victory?” Someone couldn’t help but ask.

“I think Terra Sword Saint has a better chance but it’s hard to say.” An older expert with a good knowledge of the saint quietly responded: “From what we can see today, Ninth is only slightly stronger than Pineleaf Sword Lord. If the difference is really this small, he can’t beat the two saints.”

“Right.” Someone else nodded in agreement: “The two saints are stronger than the others, might be one whole realm. Ninth’s current self can’t win.”

The crowd had a hard time gauging their power by just looking at them. Ninth remained cold while the saint was calm, seemingly ready to accept the challenge right now. However, he didn’t take the initiative.

“If Ninth is confident and has the saint as a potential target, he should be challenging the saint right now since he’s right here.” One youth boldly speculated.

Alas, Ninth showed no sign of doing so.

“Maybe he’s not in a rush since he has just come out again with success. Maybe he’ll go into seclusion to learn the tenth slash, that’s when he’ll challenge the saints or Hallowed City Lord. When he has the eleventh slash, it’ll be time for the Five Overlords. Doesn’t that make more sense?” A high elder wondered.

People shuddered as a result. Just the ninth slash was already so terrifying. The eleventh would result in a massacre.

“It’s not time if he isn’t one hundred percent confident. If I were him, I would wait until I have the tenth slash, far less risk.” An expert added.

“I don’t know if we can guess what he’s thinking. The members of Sword God Sacred Ground don’t care for the word ‘safety’. They only have the sword in their mind and wouldn’t mind dying in battle.” An older cultivator disagreed.

“It’s such a strange sect, what is their goal?” A junior became curious.

Normally, sects had clear reasons for existing - protecting the world, domination, maintaining their dao legacy…

Regardless of their goal, they usually recruited more members and tried to grow. This wasn’t the case for the sacred ground.

It didn’t care about world domination or producing dao lords. It certainly didn’t exist for protecting the world either. It never tried to have more disciples as well. It was difficult for others to understand its existence.

Eventually, they realized that this was the end of the show.

“It’s over.” Someone said since Ninth didn’t challenge Terra Sword Saint.

However, a new development occurred thanks to Abyss Scion.

He stepped forward and said: “Your Highness, I am here to escort you back to Sea Emperor.”

This attracted everyone’s attention. All eyes were on Li Qiye’s group.

Princess Ning Zhu lost a bet and became Li Qiye’s maid. This was quite an interesting story. Now, it just became even more interesting.

Ning Zhu bowed slightly and said: “Thank you for your trouble and good intention. I’m afraid I will no longer be able to uphold the engagement with His Majesty.”

This naturally surprised the listeners.

“So weird, she would rather be Li Qiye’s maid than the prestigious queen of Sea Emperor.” One youth stated. Even a fool would pick the right choice.

“Why is Sea Emperor insisting on pushing this marriage through?” Another became curious.

The whole matter was humiliating and disgraceful for them. The moment Ning Zhu became Li Qiye’s maid, she was no longer worthy to become their future queen. Her past had besmirched their reputation and glory.

Thus, they should be the ones to abandon her and cancel the engagement. Given their power and status, they had too many candidates to be their future queen.

“Right, Peace Ocean Sword King can marry anyone. Saintesses and princesses are more than happy to be with him. Why Princess Ning Zhu? She’s not the prettiest in our continent.” Someone else expressed their confusion.