The Great War may have concluded five hundred years ago, but the deep-seated animosities were not something that could be erased. And nobody understood this better than the Grand Elder.

Back then, he was only a Foundation Realm Expert. He faced the upcoming war like any young man; full of energy and excitement. However, a war that was supposed to be a one-sided trashing became a brutal stalemate that lasted for several decades. The scenes of complete destruction, barbaric atrocities and infernal despair were still well imprinted inside his mind as if they had happened yesterday.

And one of the reasons why it turned out like this was the appearance of a particular man.

Nobody knew of his real name; everyone called him by the epithet ‘Chief Iron Hand.’ What they knew though was that his body was sturdier than a mountain of steel and his fists were more reliable than the largest armies. Havoc and destruction accompanied him wherever he appeared, and he always came out victorious no matter what the alliance sent against him.

Acknowledging him as the main treat, one of the Ancient Divinities had personally tried to eliminate him. It was an earthshattering battle that lasted for an entire day, and yet the one that died in the end was the demonic beast.

Back in the day, Peak Spirit Realm Demonic Beasts were considered the pinnacle strength of the Divine Vajra Continent, each having the strength to rival the powers of a Human Divine Realm Cultivator. This and their longer lifespans were the reasons why they were called Ancient Divinities despite still being in the Spirit Realm.

Even though there was no questioning their strength, they still weren’t invincible. As the war clearly showed, they could be taken out if ganged by a number of human Spirit Realm Cultivators. However, a lone human Spirit Realm Cultivator killing an Ancient Divinity was completely unprecedented.

Thus, after the conclusion of that particular battle, the name ‘Iron Hand’ circulated not only through the Desert Tribes but the entire continent. He had become a living legend and a never-ending nightmare for the alliance.

And this same man was now standing before them.

The Grand Elder knew very well that even if there were hundreds of him, it wouldn’t make any difference. Unable to offer any type of resistance, he affixed his eyes on the monster before him. His body was trembling both from anger and another emotion that he had long forgotten the last time he had experienced it.

Fortunately, Chief Iron Hand remained at the entrance without taking further action.

Seeing the subdued Grand Elder, the young instigator regained his courage. “Hah? What a disgrace! I heard that the alliance’s top disciples were strong, so I came here asking for some friendly pointers. Tsk, Tsk, it seems that you lot are a bunch—”

“Enough, Li Bai. Come back here.”

Surprising, the one who interrupted him was Chief Iron Hand. Li Bai’s face was full of puzzlement and confusion. Unable to hide his disappointment, he hurriedly obeyed as if the entire matter was related to his very own survival.

Chief Iron Hand narrowed his eyes as he faced the Grand Elder one last time. “That appearance… there is no doubt you are his offspring… next time, act carefully unless you don’t want to accompany your father in hell.”

The Grand Elder could only clench his fists as he watched the disappearing silhouettes. The presence of this man was beyond his expectations. He had to proceed with extreme caution from now on, already considering to withdraw from the festival or call for reinforcements.

“Grand Elder, they can’t touch us while we are in the Palace’s lands.” Dai Jun expressed a much-needed voice of reason.

The Grand Elder was clearly not in the mood as he waved everyone to go back to their dwellings. The three inner sect disciples were also full of anger and sympathised with him. Meanwhile, Shui Tao noticed that the mysterious disciple didn’t seem affected at all. This further lowered his opinion about her.

It was then that a carefree Long Mu made his grand entrance. Full of confidence, he placed both of his arms over his hips, staring at the crowd.

Everyone’s anger and frustrations were immediately replaced by incredulity. Tian Jinse covered her mouth while Jack facepalmed himself.

The Grand Elder was also confused. “Long Mu, why are you walking around naked?!”

The rock-solid Long Mu seemed to realise something was wrong as he looked down, observing his natural jewels in all of their glory. The Creature was so used to being naked that it forgot to wear back the clothes. It remained with a bland expression as it cuddled its face. Of course, seeing a naked man cuddling his face in a weird way further confused the onlookers.

It was also at this exact moment that a middle-aged man entered the place. Judging from his stature and aura, it was not hard to figure out that he was the Palace Head. He paused for a moment, observing the bizarre acting naked man retreating away.

“Your excellency, this...” Grand Elder didn’t know how he should start explaining.

“Haha... every sect has their set of weird cultivators; no need for any explanations. I regret my late arrival; I couldn’t come earlier as I was caught with some unexpected developments. But it looks like my bad timing has actually worked in your favour.”

The Grand Elder now understood why Iron Hand had retreated. “The Divinities Alliance owes you for your assistance.”

The Palace Head nodded indifferently as the duo kept exchanging pleasantries. However, the Palace Head’s bodily movements clearly showed that he was in a hurry. He soon cut the conversation short.

“You should use the remaining of your time to prepare well for the festival. We have detected some abnormalities inside the Counterbalance Realm. We are confident that this time the portal shall open in a never before seen area. We also have some pleasant surprises prepared. More information will be revealed during the official opening.”

The Palace Head then left after a brief discussion, and the whole place had finally returned to tranquillity.

Still curious about the previous hostilities, Jack started pestering Dai Jun for answers. The latter had no other choice but to explain everything, mostly details about the war.

Eventually, everyone returned back to their dwellings, and the remaining days had passed without any further troubles.

Jack had spent most of his time revisiting books related to herbs, making sure to memorise the image of the rainbow-coloured camellia and a bunch of other precious herbs just in case he encountered some.

Glancing at the book one final time, he joined to meet the Group, departing together towards the arena.

The streets along the way were full of activity and decorations. Red lanterns were affixed almost everywhere as several different coloured fans were suspended high up on ropes. Several children were playing and chasing after each other, almost bumping into Jack on quite a few occasions. Many merchants were screaming with a hoarse voice, trying their best to make the most out of this once in a decade occasion.

The group soon arrived at their destination. The arena seemed decently sized, able to accommodate around twenty thousand spectators, and the atmosphere inside was rather lively. Jack felt a bit nervous as he took his seat.

From his position, he could notice seven additional wooden platforms, all separated by an equal distance. Below each stand, there was a large plaque indicating the region of the envoy.

Opposite to their stand, there sat Iran Hand together with five disciples. Jack could remark that these were intentional arrangements made in advance by Zhongyang Palace to avoid potential conflicts.

Jack sighed as he glanced over his left, noting the stand belonging to the Blood of Cult. The competitors there were three, all red-haired women dressed in black. Accompanying them was a middle-aged female elder that emitted a sinister aura. One of the competing disciples seemed to notice Jack’s glance as she turned facing him, licking her lips.

Jack could only smile wryly as he moved on to the next stand, which pertained to the Hidden Hands Sect. The envoy here consisted of four elders and four competing disciples. All of these wore strange clothing as they did random things; some were playing a zither while others were doing a round of chess.

Next was the stand pertaining to The Empire. Jack was surprised as sitting there were only an elder and a lone competitor. Both were wearing decorated masks that completely hid their appearance.

Anticipating the taunting glances from the Desert Tribes’ stand, Jack directly skipped to the subsequent stand, belonging to Vajrayana Temple. Here the group was entirely composed of bald men.

Jack was interrupted by the sound of breaking chairs originating from the stand over his right. There, he saw a large fatso struggling to stand up again, being aided by five disciples that all looked like meatballs. This innocent scene produced a smile on a lot of people, but there were also those who were shamelessly laughing at them. The Elder fatso remained unfazed though as a group of embarrassed arena stewards attended to him, providing him with a comfortable couch.

Jack was surprised when he learned that this Group actually came from Flower Valley. He didn’t know why, but their appearances were utterly different from his expectations.

Perplexed, he suddenly caught sight of something amazing. His eyes rounded as he watched five swordswomen giggling and sharing jokes with each other.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about their appearance. However, all five seemed to have an encaptivating charisma that couldn’t be described in words. The way they moved their bodies, how they waved their hair, their sparkling red cherry lips; all of these made Jack’s heart race erratically.

Absorbed inside a fantasy land, he didn’t notice the large platform descending from the clouds. Standing on it were several officials from the Zhongyang Palace that took positions in a much-organised fashion. The Palace Head and an old man who had a long white beard stood at the very centre of this group.

The arrival of Zhongyang’s main forces was met with a general round of applause. A lot of the spectators rose up to their feet as they cheered for their elites. They were proud of their main forces, they were proud that they could organise a festival of this calibre. Last but not least, they were proud to be part of Zhongyang Palace, the jewel of the Divine Vajra Continent.

Amidst the celebrations, the Palace Head saluted the crowds with a broad smile over his face.

“Thank you for joining us today and be part of this prestigious festival. You can’t even imagine the gratitude we are feeling by your presence. I am sure the young ones here might have questions about the festival’s origins. I don’t know if you have already noticed, but the borders of our Palace are defined by a natural phenomenon caused by the Counterbalance Realm. No matter where you stand inside these lands, you will never be able to see the moon.”

“But the dark nights didn’t scare our ancestors. As long as there is the will, there is always a way.”

He pointed his hand to the sky. Everyone observed attentively as lights began coalescing high up. Soon, a bright yellow moon formed, illuminating the place as if it was a miniature sun.

He then raised his voice and extended his arms. “Let the official festivities begin!”