Chapter 107: The Grand Ceremony of Dao Discussion (Part Two)

City of the Gods, the Dao Debate Platform.

The Dao Debate Platform was a colossal arena spanning a million miles in circumference, suspended within the southern sector of the City of the Gods. It was the sacred ground where the Grand Dao Debate Ceremony took place.

The entire platform was paved with an indestructible white jade-gold stone, capable of withstanding the full might of a God Monarch’s assault.

This superstructure comprised a central Dao Platform, surrounded by nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine subsidiary platforms, making a total of ten thousand Dao Debate Platforms.

Each of these minor platforms existed as an independent spatial barrier, hosting various types of battlefields: the Field of Flames, the Frost Arena, the Tempest Grounds, the Radiant Plains, and many others.

Though the central platform appeared to be a simple white jade dais, it could endure any surge of power below the peak of a God Monarch—unshakable and impervious.

Encircling the platform was a meticulously arranged ring of spectator seats, rising high above to overlook the arena, with a staggering ten million seats for the audience.

In the one hundred and twenty thousandth year of the Divine Court, one hundred thousand champions selected from every domain and water realm of the Northern Wilderness had already battled here for ten thousand years.

During these ten millennia, the gods of the City, the deities of the Divine Court, and immortals of every road had watched these dazzling, perilous contests, each unable to restrain their own blood from surging with excitement, utterly immersed in the grandeur of the event.

In this primordial age, newly wrought from chaos, all living beings struggled desperately for survival; even God Monarchs dared not relax their vigilance for a moment.

In this era where might reigned supreme, to lag behind was to court extinction.

This grandest of all ceremonies, the Grand Dao Debate, was truly the first great contest since the dawn of creation.

To witness the ceremony was to behold the most exquisite displays of the Dao, to draw upon their power to elevate one’s own cultivation.

How could any living being not adore and celebrate such a festival?

Indeed, it had become the most anticipated event amongst all the denizens of the Northern Wilderness.

During the ceremony, the Divine Court strictly forbade conflict and slaughter among the myriad clans, creating an unprecedented peace that allowed the Grand Dao Debate to flourish.

In this era of universal truce, the people’s passion for the event reached fever pitch.

The hundred thousand contestants became the talk of every household, their deeds recounted with relish.

Even domains with longstanding rivalries declared they would settle their scores in the arena, urging their champions to strike down their adversaries.

These feuds only made the battles more intense and unforgiving.

With the event’s popularity, powerful clans like the Black Tortoise Clan openly established betting pools, drawing in multitudes eager to wager on their favored contestants.

Naturally, every domain supported their own, staking their precious divine stones in the hope that their champions would emerge victorious.

Betting fever swept the Northern Wilderness, enriching clans such as the Black Tortoise beyond measure.

Yet this windfall lasted only a short while.

Once the Divine Court discovered these rampant gambling dens and the involvement of the nine great clans, they swiftly intervened, making all betting official and restricting it to the Divine Court alone, forbidding private enterprises.

Of course, the Divine Court did not entirely sever the clans’ avenues for profit, granting the agency rights for betting to the nine great clans.

Thus, only the Divine Race and the nine great clans were permitted to host bets. Any other clan who tried would quickly find themselves beset by the combined wrath of these powers.

And so, around the greatest spectacle of the age—the Grand Dao Debate—countless curious and wondrous affairs unfolded without cease.

“Dao Sovereign of the Five Elements, victory is yours!” “God Monarch Shui Kun, invincible!” “Sky Roc God Monarch, mighty and peerless!” “God Monarch of the Seven Emotions, unstoppable!”...

All around the arena, the stands erupted with fervor as countless beings waved their betting slips—officially sanctioned by the Divine Court—shouting their chosen champions’ names.

The entire platform was awash in a feverish atmosphere, and any beneath the rank of God Monarch who entered it could not help but be swept up, becoming yet another voice in the fanatical chorus.

Yet such enthusiasm belonged only to the lesser clans and weaker lives.

The truly powerful found refuge in the Divine Court’s exclusive pavilions, enjoying the spectacle from on high, untouched by the passion of the masses.

There were nine tiers of these divine pavilions.

On the ninth tier resided the Dragon Clan’s envoys.

Dragon Lord Ao Yan gazed down at the tumult below, his crimson eyes tinged with envy. “I wish our Dragon Clan could host such a grand Dao Debate.”

Beside him, Dragon Lord Ao Run’s icy blue eyes glimmered with composure and wisdom as he replied with a gentle smile, “Ao Yan, let go of such notions.”

“The Divine Race has existed for but a hundred thousand years; their foundations are shallow, so they must use the Dao Debate to draw the world’s heroes to their banner.”

“Our Dragon Clan, by contrast, has flourished for over a million years. With such deep roots, why would we need outsiders?”

“Besides, with the Dragon Clan and our kin numbering in the billions, where would we house so many outsiders?”

He finished with a sigh, emotion coloring his words.

Indeed, with the vast numbers of the Dragon Clan and its kin, possessing only the Eastern Sea, how could they ever accommodate so many heroes from afar?

And these outsiders, proud and arrogant, would never submit beneath the dragons.

In truth, it wasn’t just the dragons. The Phoenixes, the Qilins—none of the great clans had the space or inclination to take in foreign heroes.

“It’s the Divine Race who profit,” Ao Yan grumbled, jealousy in his tone. “With the Dao Debate, multitudes flock to their court, each hoping to become an official of the Divine Court!”

Ao Run sneered, “Who told the Divine Race to have weak foundations? They have the strength and space to attract these heroes. But such a mix of talents will one day become a hidden peril for the Divine Court.”

As Ao Run and Ao Yan whispered their judgments on the Divine Race’s grand tournament, the mighty Candle Dragon standing before them kept his gaze upon the champions below.

Dao Debate Platform, Deep Sea Arena.

The battlefield was, naturally, the crushing depths of the ocean, where a billionfold pressure would instantly kill an ordinary god.

Yet two figures stood within those depths, composed and unhurried, as if the crushing pressure meant nothing at all.

One was a serene immortal spirit, clad in the five-hued robes of the Five Elements, exuding the ethereal grace of a master of the Dao.

Opposite, Xuan Yuan wore azure divine armor, a crown of jade upon his head, a divine halberd in hand, his expression grave as he regarded his opponent.

“The Dao Sovereign of the Five Elements—his strength is unfathomable. Undefeated in a hundred battles,” Xuan Yuan thought, gripping his halberd all the tighter.

As the two faced off, the spectators outside the Deep Sea Arena were already waving their betting slips, shouting the names of Xuan Yuan and the Dao Sovereign.

“Xuan Yuan, God of War—undefeated!” “Dao Sovereign of the Five Elements, peerless!”

Alas, the Deep Sea Arena’s barriers kept these wild cheers from reaching the combatants.

“Strike, God of War Xuan Yuan. You have but one chance,” the Dao Sovereign said with a gentle smile.

Xuan Yuan replied coldly, “Who is stronger or weaker is yet to be seen. Spare me your boasting!”

“Kill!”

With that, Xuan Yuan lunged, halberd flashing with thunderous might toward his foe.

The Dao Sovereign smiled softly at the oncoming assault. “One move.”

He flicked his dust-whisk, and a surge of elemental force shot forth, colliding with Xuan Yuan.

Xuan Yuan’s eyes narrowed as he summoned all his divine power, cleaving his halberd down to meet the onrushing energies.

Yet in the next instant, he was swallowed entirely by the light of the Five Elements.

“So strong!” was Xuan Yuan’s last thought before consciousness left him.

...

“After ten thousand years of debate and battle, I hereby announce the birth of the top ten. They are: Dao Sovereign of the Five Elements, Sky Roc God Monarch, Nether Sea God Monarch, Shui Kun God Monarch, Frost God Monarch, Earth God Monarch, Soul Reaper God Monarch, God Monarch of Seven Desires, God Monarch of Slaughter, and God Monarch of Thieves.”

At the heart of the arena, Celestial Lord Wubing, clad in blood-red celestial robes and holding a golden scroll, proclaimed in a voice that shook the heavens.