Ashes Of Heaven Book 1 : Solar Calamity

The assembly was full by the time they reached the central plains. The Elders and the Sect Master had made it to the front of the crowd. Seeing the last few teams of disciples slipping into the crowd, Xuan Zi raised a hand in the air, silencing all conversations, attracting every pair of eyes.

"Disciples, I hope you enjoyed your well-deserved rest. Yesterday was a good day for us. Many teams were successful in completing the tasks set for them, by me or by the tournament authorities. Some of you came back injured, some of you returned with a precious harvest. A few of you even carried back treasure sets, which, unfortunately, have been lost again."

While Xuan Zi's booming voice paused countless dissatisfied gazes turned to focus on Han Xuhan and his defense team. While his teammates looked ashamed of themselves, Han Xuhan took the brunt of the psychological attack with a serene face. No matter where he stood, no matter which team he was a part of, such gazes remained an inextricable part of his day. The shame his teammates were feeling went unregistered through his mind.

"By the merit of your performance, our ranking has inched closer to the benchmark we need to clear in order to qualify for the next round of the tournament. Of course, the exact mathematics used to calculate our ranking is still a mystery known only to the organizers. So far, some of you have figured out a number of acts that boost our ranking, such as defeating invading teams in combat, robbing the resources of other sects, destroying the properties of the competitors and spreading chaos among them, and of course, most importantly, robbing or retaining the treasure sets."

Han Xuhan clicked his tongue in wonder. Xuan Zi had personally guided them into committing many of these acts, albeit hiding the fact that these deeds would affect their rankings. Luo Yi, being a biased, spiteful adjudicator, would definitely hold it against their sect, labeling Xuan Zi as a cheater. Just like how Kong Ye had been punished several times for giving away crucial hints related to the competition, Xuan Zi would be punished too...right?

Then again, Xuan Zi's cultivation was so high. What kind of punishment could bother him? Perhaps Luo Yi could only threaten to disqualify their sect, or take away a large number of points accumulated by the disciples as the punishment for cheating.

Xuan Zi's speeches were never long enough to bore the disciples. After a brief recount of the exceptional achievements of some disciples, he concluded it with a piece of advice that made Xuhan's lips curve like a bow.

"Disciples, don't limit your imagination, don't restrain your creativity. Experiment with more acts that have the potential to cripple our competitors. Bound by the rules, I cannot tell you what exactly you need to do. But I can tell you that you have yet to figure out ALL the ways our sect can climb the ranks-"

"Ahem! Sect Master Zi, that's already crossing the limits set for you. Please don't make me contact the authorities who have the power to disqualify you," Luo Yi said before Xuan Zi could end his declaration.

"My apologies for the mistake, Lady Yi. Age is really catching up to me, it seems. My memories are failing me," Xuan Zi said somberly. The Elders standing behind him suddenly seemed very interested in the color of the sky. Some of them put handkerchiefs over their mouth, acting like someone in their midst had farted.

A snort came out of Luo Yi's nose, so loud that the entire assembly heard it. Once again, Han Xuhan's interest in this sound-enhancing technique grew. He made a mental note to inquire about it someday if his cultivation status ever stabilized.

The assembly came to an end after that. But none of the disciples left. Because Su Chen had climbed on top of the mound from where Xuan Zi conducted the assembly. Doing her best to scream loudly enough for everyone to hear her, she revealed the news they all were waiting for.

"Brothers and sisters, we have made great progress in unearthing the secrets of the treasure tracing technique! Brother Han Xuhan has worked tirelessly for the sect, cultivating day and night without breaks. He has finally gained enough mastery over it to impart the basics to everyone! Right now, he's going to teach all of you how to outperform those disciples of Abyss Guild. Whether you can do it, of course, is up to your own potential!"

Han Xuhan was impressed by Chen Su's ability to twist words in a way that would please all parties involved. Just yesterday, she had criticized him brutally for not paying any attention to the treasure tracing technique. Today, she was openly boasting about his diligence. Cultivating day and night? Hah!

He had indeed done that, technically speaking. Without feeling a speck of shame in soaking into the impressed stares, he climbed up on the 'podium' and stepped ahead of Chen Su, easily becoming the center of attention of the entire outer court.

"Several facts must be established before we set out on mastering the technique. Firstly, this technique requires..."

As his explanation lengthened, the eager faces in the crowd grew ugly. Han Xuhan made no effort to hide the fact that only by the merit of his special cultivation technique had he reached the second layer. Of course, he did not elaborate on what this special cultivation technique was, mostly reporting to vague descriptions and erroneous data. By the time he ended his verdict on the technique's nature and his experience in cultivating it, a crestfallen expression was mirrored on every face in the assembly.

"There is no need to look so dejected, my brothers and sisters! If I, Han Xuhan, could make a breakthrough in one night with a minor advantage, why can't you? Are you really so timid? Do you dare give up before trying your absolute best?"

Seeing the little effect his encouragement had on his peers, Han Xuhan's voice rose, both in volume and impact.

"Come on! What you should be feeling right now is anger; anger because we fell into Abyss Guild's trap!

"What you should be feeling now is inspiration; inspiration because you've just learned that the worst cultivator of your sect has managed to do something they thought impossible!

"What you should be feeling now is motivation; motivation to be diligent! For success! For glory! For vengeance! For victory!"

Under his careful wording, the gloomy aura slowly receded from the crowd. The top talents who secretly or openly harbored a superiority complex were the first few to show enthusiasm. Infected by them, the rest of the disciples listened on eagerly as Han Xuhan began to explain the core concepts of the treasure tracing technique.

Chen Su was even more resourceful than him in this aspect. She pointed out an unremarkable disciple in the crowd who apparently practiced a private cultivation technique that could create copies of inorganic materials at low levels. As long as Han Xuhan could provide him with a scroll containing the treasure tracing technique's full explanation, he would be able to create countless replicas and give each disciple a copy!

Han Xuhan immediately gave Zhanxian the order to start copying the manual word by word. Su Chen directed the crowd into forming their groups of ten members as determined a couple of days prior. Liu Yue and Xuhan took on the duty of going from team to team, clearing away their confusion regarding the technique and guiding their cultivation sessions. Zhang Dahai led the other six members of the defense team to monitor their cultivation sessions closely. Accidents took place almost every minute, despite their best efforts.

The least accident-prone group was, of course, the three-person team of the Heavenly Hailstorm mountain peak. Han Xuhan barely needed to tell them what to do and what not to do. Yuen Zhou was at the forefront of everyone else in terms of smoothness, while Mu Ran made up for his little mistakes with unmatched speed. Xiao Wu didn't even bother competing with the two....not that he needed to, anyway. With Mu Ran and Yuen Zhou in the team, Xuhan doubted he'd need to take up the mission of tracking the treasure's position.

After nearly an hour of nonstop talking, Han Xuhan staggered out of the crowd and plopped down on a flat rock, tired of watching his peers struggling to control their qi. Zhang Dahai followed his trail and stood beside him, appearing a bit hesitant.

"Something on your mind, brother Dahai?"

"...Yeah, brother Xuhan. I wanted to have a chat in private with you," he replied, eyes shifty like a guilty thief.

Han Xuhan's interest was piqued. He stood up and followed him nonchalantly, trying not to appear suspicious to any curious eyes. They walked further away from the assembly, ensuring that nobody could eavesdrop. Zhang Dahai still looked quite nervous as he glanced back at the crowd and whispered,

"Brother Xuhan, when I was trying to heal Liu Yue's body this morning during his backlash, I discovered something strange."

"Oh?!" Han Xuhan didn't even need to mentally pause at the revelation. He had been a bit suspicious at that time too.

"I discovered that Liu Yue has lied to us about having a special physique!" Zhang Dahai said in a dry voice.