Xue Yanluo's group moved forward through the lines until they were close to the elders, who looked worn but still carried traces of their youth marked on their bodies.
Minutes later, two bell strikes rang out across the area, everyone took a step forward, and the final march toward the pillars began.
During the journey there were a few setbacks that both groups dealt with without much difficulty, the most troublesome being an encounter with a third realm beast, which left everyone surprised.
After dealing with it, they ran into no further problems, finding at most a second realm beast near the summit, which posed no real challenge and was even used by the disciples and soldiers in each group to train.
Xue Yanluo raised his gaze, completely fixed on the pillars that seemed to hold up the sky. Their color had deteriorated considerably compared to the moment they entered, and from this close, he could see they were cracked, pieces of them scattered across the ground nearby.
Lost in thought, one question took hold of him entirely and shifted his attention toward the group's elders—how were they supposed to break these cores.
General Huo hadn't explained anything, and now that he thought about it, no one had spoken about how the cores were to be destroyed.
He couldn't be certain, but these three pillars were probably the cores—what he was trying to figure out was whether they needed to break all of them or whether it would be a matter of finding a special stone or section within them.
His gaze ended up fixed on the Mistress of Currents and the two elders at her side, wanting to see what they would do. The Lord of Transition suddenly turned his head and looked back at him.
Both held each other's gaze for a few seconds until the Lord of Transition looked away and returned to his conversation with the other two.
What is it with them? Both of them did the same thing—do they have a sixth sense? I don't know much about the higher realms, but developing a sixth sense… The road ahead is so long. Xue Yanluo sighed inwardly and started turning his emblem over to pass the time.
After more than fifty turns of the emblem, a sound rumbled nearby, silencing the area and drawing all attention toward it.
Looking in the direction of the sound, two more groups from those who had entered could be seen. The lesser groups didn't even have the right to come to this area, only being able to explore the outer and middle zones of the world.
These two groups that had just arrived looked battered—the large number of injured, bandaged, or maimed people in their ranks was easy to see; the most troubling thing was their reduced numbers, barely reaching three hundred, having started with over a thousand.
"They really had a rough time," Hua Zhenfeng remarked to Bao Qingcao.
She nodded and said, "It's because they aren't as good as us. Incompetent leaders and useless members—a combination destined to sink."
Hua Zhenfeng frowned and asked, "Why do you say that?"
"Compare both groups—look at us and look at them. They also joined with another group to improve their survival, but look at their state." Bao Qingcao scoffed. "They even lost a main leader—I've seen lone cultivators with more ability to keep themselves alive."
Hua Zhenfeng narrowed his eyes to see the distant group better and said, surprised, "Do you remember every person who entered this world?"
Bao Qingcao kicked him in the shin and said, exasperated, "How would I remember every one of them? What an idiot—I only memorized the leaders. It's something you pick up after a few years wandering the world."
The conversation broke off abruptly when a voice struck the air, silencing both groups, which had burst into whispers after the arrival of the two new ones.
Standing on a large rock were General Huo and Division General Pei, and on the other side, the three senior elders of the sect.
The Master of the Sun waited a few seconds before continuing. "We are about to destroy the cores of this world, claim its benefits, and close it. Our sect and the empire will each take one core, and the two groups that have just arrived will take the remaining one."
"Shouldn't we wait for the other groups?" Hua Zhenfeng whispered.
"Why?" Xue Yanluo answered simply, not wanting to spend any more time on the question.
… Why? Didn't we have an agreement…? Those words echoed in Hua Zhenfeng's mind as he kept asking himself what the cooperation between the forces actually amounted to. Seconds later, he murmured, "… There's nothing."
Xue Yanluo smiled hearing those words. How bad would it be if his first vampire and subordinate ended up relegated to an unimportant position—he had to make sure he became someone worth something in the future.
To achieve that, he was having to keep his nerves in check and stop letting that head of his serve only as decoration; if he wanted to keep following him, he had to learn to move through these situations and political intrigues.
Xue Yanluo glanced sideways to the left toward Bao Qingcao. At least she had already seen the harshness of the world as a lone cultivator and wasn't so naive—he only needed to teach her a few specific things about the court and its darkness, and she would be ready to take an important position in the future.
All at once, Xue Yanluo turned his attention back to the words flowing through the air—General Huo was speaking now. "Our empire will take the left pillar, while the Five Eternal Seals Sect takes the center and the other groups take the right," he explained in his commanding voice.
"No group has the authority to interfere in another's area—not even after they have finished. I hope anyone who thinks themselves bold enough to try will; don't expect us to hesitate before drawing our weapons and killing you," General Huo finished.
The Lord of Transition swept his gaze across the group and added a final reminder. "This has been agreed upon between all groups—no one is exempt, not even our sect or the empire."
The leaders stepped down from the rock, and the final preparations began. For the assault, Xue Yanluo's group rejoined the empire and was assigned the right flank.