Nine bronze bells chimed in rapid succession from the Sovereign Tower, their heavy vibrations rolling down the mountainsides and scattering the morning mist across the valley.
The resonant chimes signaled the opening of the Inner Sect Combat Assessment, the most brutal martial tournament held within the Azure Cloud Sect.
Once every three years, the newly elevated Core Disciples gathered on the Grand Registration Plaza to fight for rank, status, and survival.
The stakes were higher than mere pride or copper coins.
The victor of the tournament was granted immediate, unrestricted entry into the Heaven Tier Cultivation Vaults, where ancient heritage manuals, celestial spirit stones, and sovereign grade marrow elixirs were stored beneath royal seals.
For an ambitious cultivator, claiming t
