"And also, it’s when we hold a tournament."
Kyrian remained silent for a second.
"A tournament?"
"To decide how the resources will be allocated in the coming years." Dong Zhen explained.
"Only the younger ones of each branch, except the main one, participate... but this time it will be different."
Kyrian thought of something immediately.
"I will participate?"
Dong Zhen nodded.
"Yes. You will be the only one representing the main branch. So, prepare yourself."
Kyrian sighed briefly, looking away. The silent courtyard ahead of him seemed wider than before.
A tournament...
As soon as he arrived, he would already be thrown into something like that.
Dong Zhen continued walking through the courtyard, and Kyrian followed him.
"Don’t worry so much." He said without looking back.
"Participants are usually between the late stages and the peak of the Qi Liberation realm, anything above that is rare."
"It seems you trust my strength too much." Kyrian said, slightly doubtful.
His cultivation was only at the 2° stage of the Qi Liberation realm, yet Dong Zhen wanted him to fight those at the peak.
Kyrian had no fear of those in the same realm, but he doubted why Dong Zhen trusted his strength this much.
Dong Zhen laughed.
"If you can’t even defeat those with that level of strength, then an innate talent would be wasted on you. And I don’t believe that’s the case." He said firmly.
Kyrian nodded slowly.
They crossed the courtyard and reached a side corridor. The walls were smooth and black, without decorations. The lighting came from red crystals embedded in the ceiling at short intervals.
"The branches... what exactly does each one do?" Kyrian murmured suddenly.
Dong Zhen replied without slowing his pace.
"The main branch is the administrative core. I command it directly. It’s responsible for the overall organization and major decisions."
Kyrian tilted his head.
"That’s the main branch, right? So, it’s where I’ll stay?"
"Yes. Although we don’t have many active members here. In the core, it’s only me, some old subordinates, and a few guards and servants. That’s all."
"That explains why I haven’t seen many cultivators..."
"Exactly. But the other branches also carry weight and importance. They are spread throughout a large territory, hidden from other forces. Each handling its own part."
They passed through another wide door that opened as soon as Dong Zhen approached.
Kyrian noticed the slight flow of Qi being absorbed by the door’s mechanism.
"The second branch handles the gathering of resources and spiritual stone veins." Dong Zhen continued.
"The third handles the military force and training. It’s the branch with the most members, the majority begins there."
"The fourth commands information, espionage, and assassinations."
"The fifth manages agreements with other forces. And the sixth is responsible for external missions and the control of the Blood Court’s territory."
Kyrian processed everything quickly.
The Blood Court seemed rigid. With many rules, but functioning with precision.
"Unlike traditional sects and organizations. We do not train common disciples, only selected cultivators and talents. Each one skilled enough for the branch they chose."
Kyrian noticed one detail.
"I will start directly in the main branch. What does that mean?"
"It is where those I deem destined for something greater than what the other branches can offer stay." Dong Zhen replied.
"Talents that cannot be wasted following only one branch’s teachings. You fall into that category."
Kyrian remained silent. It wasn’t praise, but a statement.
At the end of the corridor, they reached a staircase that descended slowly in a circular shape.
"Down there is the main inner courtyard. You will be housed near it."
Kyrian went down right behind Dong Zhen. The staircase was long, and every ten steps the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.
A coldness that came from the black bricks.
The smell of blood became even more present in that place.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, the space opened into a vast circular area with a polished black floor and red veins running underneath, as if they were living roots.
In the center, a stone altar rose four meters tall. Above the altar was a core the size of a head. From it emanated a blood energy that fed everything around.
Kyrian also noticed that there were countless protective formations around that blood core.
And right behind it, small rectangular buildings existed.
They were dormitories.
"You will stay in one of those." Dong Zhen said as he pointed.
"They are simple but have everything you might need."
Kyrian nodded once.
Dong Zhen then turned and began walking again.
"As for the tournament..."
"The branches will send two cultivators each. They are young, but they are strong."
"Usually, there are ten participants. This time there will be eleven with you."
Kyrian thought and asked.
"Is it a tournament to the death?"
Dong Zhen looked over his shoulder.
"No. That would be a waste. But severe injuries are common. And no one interferes."
Kyrian nodded briefly. That was expected.
"I haven’t sent anyone from the main branch in the last fifty years. But this time will be interesting." Dong Zhen finished with a small smile.
Kyrian looked directly at him.
Dong Zhen was truly confident in his victory.
Kyrian also couldn’t deny he was confident in his own strength. And well, Kyrian didn’t like losing. If he had to fight, then so be it, he would see what the Blood Court’s disciples had that was special.
Dong Zhen then walked up to the altar and placed his hand on the core. Suddenly, threads of blood appeared and were absorbed by the core, which pulsed twice before returning to normal.
Kyrian imagined it was the blood of the elders from the two sects and Yan Hui that Dong Zhen had killed before coming here.
So he used the enemies’ blood to strengthen the fortress’s core.
Kyrian then watched as he disappeared through a side door.
Silence returned.
The fortress seemed to breathe in slow cycles, emitting a faint pulse from time to time, while an almost imperceptible blood energy spread.
Kyrian raised his hand and felt the Qi in that place.
If he were a common cultivator who walked the blood path, this place would be some kind of paradise.
But for him, such an environment was useless. He could only continue cultivating, absorbing spiritual stones.
Kyrian slightly focused his eyes and realized.
’In about two more days, the limit will disappear again...’