Xu Zimo looked up at the massive structure before him, this towering presence rooted in heaven and earth. His heart was full of emotion.
No matter how far he roamed, this place always felt like home. He had grown up here, and his parents were here too.
As the Dark Sky Tiger entered the Sacred Ground, the disciples guarding the entrance immediately stepped forward to block it.
Xu Zimo slowly lifted his head from the tiger’s back, and the two disciples were stunned on the spot.
"H-Holy Son, you’ve returned!"
Xu Zimo nodded slightly.
"Greetings, Holy Son," the two disciples quickly bowed and stepped aside.
Watching Xu Zimo walk away, the two whispered to each other.
"The Holy Son came back at this time, do you think he’ll join the tournament?"
"Probably not. The tournament’s almost finished by now."
In fact, the Sacred Ground was taking this tournament very seriously. After all, the time for the Heaven's Will to appear was getting closer.
Although only the Sixth and Seventh Elders were publicly overseeing the event...
Up on Heaven-Genesis Mountain, where Sacred Lord Xiao lived, the Grand Elders, including Xu Qingshan, were watching from above.
Before them was a massive mirror, clearly projecting the events of the tournament.
As they watched, several elders offered their commentary.
"This Gao Xiong has the blood of the Ancient Tyrant Bear. A fine seedling, limitless potential. But his bloodline is only half awakened. He’ll probably lose this round."
"This Ji Baiyu is no ordinary girl. I heard she’s a descendant of Grand Emperor Fei Yu. She’s inherited many of his techniques. Her future looks promising."
"The disciple the Sacred Lord brought back isn’t simple either. Top-tier talent and temperament, stronger than many of our own disciples."
"And this Dugu Ao, he hasn’t lost once in recent years. He’s already being called the strongest in the Sacred Ground's younger generation. It’s a pity though, I've tried to take him as my disciple several times, but he always refused. They say his master is a hidden expert. I’d love to meet him one day," the Fourth Elder said with a sigh.
Hearing this, Sacred Lord Xiao glanced at Xu Qingshan and smiled. "Shouldn’t the title of strongest disciple belong to Nephew Zimo?"
"That’s true," the Fourth Elder replied, "but Nephew Zimo hasn’t been in the Sacred Ground these past few years. The new disciples haven’t even seen him. Seeing is believing, without the Holy Son title, most of them might not even remember him."
Xu Qingshan remained calm and said lightly, "My son doesn’t need to prove himself to others."
"Vice-Lord, you have great confidence," the Fifth Elder said with a smile.
"My son has the bearing of a future Grand Emperor," Xu Qingshan replied simply, saying no more.
Everyone could clearly feel how confident Xu Qingshan was in his son, and how little he cared about others' opinions.
Xu Zimo strolled through the Sacred Ground. He had planned to head straight to Green Mountain to see his parents.
But the loud cheers coming from afar caught his attention.
It wasn’t often that the True Martial Sacred Ground was this lively.
He walked toward the noise.
Ahead was a dense crowd, nearly all of the younger disciples had gathered here.
He could hear the chatter and excitement.
"Who would've thought? This year’s results are really unexpected."
"All the personal disciples of the top elders got eliminated. Meng Chenxue is the Sacred Lord’s personal disciple, so her making it this far makes sense. But this Dugu Ao, he doesn’t even have a master, and he still made it to the final round?"
"Looks is the Sacred Ground tournament," Xu Zimo guessed.
He remembered Meng Chenxue, last time he returned, she had even challenged him.
As for Dugu Ao, he didn’t have a deep impression. Back then, he had probably still been an inner disciple.
"Young Master Xu, what are you doing here?" a voice interrupted his thoughts.
He turned and saw Ji Baiyu standing nearby, looking a bit surprised.
"I just got back," Xu Zimo said.
Ji Baiyu looked pale, probably from injuries sustained in her match.
As they chatted, other disciples noticed them.
Ji Baiyu was very popular in the Sacred Ground, with many admirers.
Seeing her with Xu Zimo, some disciples seemed to recognize him.
Someone shouted in surprise, "The Holy Son! The Holy Son has returned!"
"That’s right, it’s him! I saw him myself at the last Sacred Ground tournament."
Some new disciples looked at Xu Zimo and whispered among themselves.
"So that’s the Holy Son of our Sacred Ground? He doesn’t look that different."
On the stage, the fight between Dugu Ao and Meng Chenxue had reached its peak. Both were going all out.
But Xu Zimo’s appearance caused a stir, at least in part of the crowd.
Elder Wan Zhen frowned and asked, "What’s all the noise about?"
The disciples quickly lowered their heads. A few carefully said, "Elder, the Holy Son has returned."
At that moment, the crowd automatically parted, and Xu Zimo calmly walked out from the back.
Seeing him again, it was clear he had matured a lot. Elder Wan Zhen sighed to himself.
He glanced at Xiao Yuexuan, knowing the past history between the two.
Xiao Yuexuan’s expression remained calm, as if nothing had ever happened.
"Little Mo, over here!"
In the group of core disciples up ahead, Xia Zihe and Meng Kuo waved at Xu Zimo.
These two were Xu Qingshan’s first and third disciples. They had grown up with Xu Zimo.
Xu Zimo smiled and walked toward them.
Nearby, the personal disciples all had different reactions. Jiang Xi’er’s gaze was cold, she didn’t look at him.
Xiang Qianheng and a few others smiled, but who knew what they were really thinking.
Onstage, the match was nearing its end. Dugu Ao held a long halberd and unleashed wide, sweeping Heaven-breaking Halberd Techniques.
Endless empyrean pressure surged from him. One strike hit Meng Chenxue in the stomach, knocking her off the stage.
"Senior Brother Dugu is invincible!"
Disciples below shouted loudly.
Dugu Ao stood proudly, looking around the stage. His halberd burst with sky-shattering force.
Many nearby couldn’t even look him in the eyes.
"The number one among the younger generation of the True Martial Sacred Ground, am I worthy of the title?"
Dugu Ao looked up and stared directly at the Seventh Elder, asking loudly.