Chapter 957: Like a Reef
The process of the Grand Selection Ceremony was indeed simple and swift. As the matches progressed, only half of the participants remained after each round, so the pace quickened. Though the day was still young, more than half of the entire process had already been completed.
Many arenas had already produced their final victors, who then began fierce competition for supremacy within their respective divisions. The arenas near the Imperial Palace and the Celestial Keep had determined their final candidates very early on, because no one dared to challenge those few.
Xiao De, the Second Prince of the Great Western Continent, and that mysterious young man in the bamboo hat stood in their respective places.
The demon tribesfolk gazed at the figures on the arenas—figures that seemed solitary yet stood proud—their eyes filled with reverence and admiration.
The most eye-catching was Xiao De. This foremost powerhouse of the demon race’s middle generation had displayed truly terrifying combat prowess in the earlier matches. Whether it was the Deputy Commander of the Red River Demon Guard or those demon generals, none could last more than a few exchanges against him.
This was only natural.
With Wang Po advancing into the Divine Domain and Xiao Zhang being hunted by the Great Zhou court, Xiao De now ranked second on the Carefree List.
Powerhouses of the Divine Domain on the continent naturally wouldn’t participate in the Grand Selection Ceremony. The reclusive elders from the southern sect mountains couldn’t possibly shamelessly come to seek Princess Luo Luo’s hand in marriage. Unless Liang Wangsun arrived in person, or the top-ranked Divine Generals of Great Zhou came, who could possibly be his opponent?
Just as the vast majority of ordinary citizens in White Emperor City thought.
In the end, the one who would marry Princess Luo Luo, undergo the baptism of the Desolate Fire, and become the next White Emperor would surely be Xiao De.
Xiao De knew more secrets than the common folk, but he thought the same way.
This was the confidence a continental powerhouse must possess. More importantly, regardless of what the Empress Dowager might think, no matter what political maneuvering lay hidden behind the Grand Selection Ceremony, since they were to follow ancestral rules, he could not fail—because no one could defeat him.
He stood quietly on the arena, feeling the gazes cast upon him from all around, neither intoxicated nor impatient.
The figures on the other arenas were equally calm. Whether it was the young man in the bamboo hat, the Second Prince of the Great Western Continent, or those demon powerhouses—they were all true giants, long accustomed to being the focus of public attention.
At this moment, they only needed to wait calmly for the final few participants to emerge.
As for whether those participants might affect them in any way, they paid it no mind. Anyone who could fight through so many battles to reach this point was certainly no simpleton. But what remarkable figures could emerge from those remote, impoverished districts? How could they possibly pose a threat?
Just then, some of the crowd’s gazes shifted downward, curiosity flickering in their eyes.
The Imperial Palace and the Celestial Keep both stood on high ground. To reach them, one either had to take the winding slope or ascend the Heavenly Stairway at the city’s center.
A heavy sound came from below the Heavenly Stairway, like the beating of war drums.
The crowd knew it probably wasn’t war drums, because the hour was still early, far from the time when the Grand Selection Ceremony would end. Then what was this sound? Why was it so heavy, yet stirring and uplifting, as if even the aura of the Desolate Fire had grown several times stronger?
Ripples suddenly spread across the water around the Celestial Keep. The young man in the bamboo hat watched quietly, perhaps discerning something.
The Second Prince of the Great Western Continent looked at the dust rising between the stone bricks before the Imperial City, raising an eyebrow slightly, as if thinking of something.
Xiao De stared toward the Heavenly Stairway, his expression sharpening, as if sensing something.
Powerhouses like them had long since realized that the sound coming from below was not war drums, but footsteps.
The question was: how many people had to walk simultaneously to produce such vibrations—to stir waves on the water beside the Celestial Keep and raise dust from the bricks before the Imperial City?
And how perfectly synchronized must those footsteps be, without the slightest disorder, to sound as stirring as war drums?
More and more gazes turned downward.
Gradually, the looks of reverence or admiration once directed at Xiao De and the Great Western Prince shifted to shock.
……
……
On the Heavenly Stairway appeared a great many people, dressed in simple, coarse clothing. Some wore tattered garments that gave off a dirty, foul smell.
They were clearly from the Lower City, possibly even from the riverside districts.
If the elegantly dressed residents of the Upper City had seen these poor folk’s ragged clothes on an ordinary day, they would have mocked them mercilessly. If the noble ladies carrying fragrant sachets caught the stench of sweat from these poor folk, they would have covered their noses and curled their lips in disdain. But today, they did none of this—because the number of these poor folk was too great.
A dense, dark mass covered the Heavenly Stairway, so countless that it was impossible to count. This instinctively struck fear into the onlookers.
The people walked in silence, like a tide, quickly flooding the Heavenly Stairway and spreading toward the front of the Imperial City.
The officials in charge of maintaining order naturally thought of a riot, their expressions shifting sharply. But then they realized it wasn’t that. Though the faces of these poor folk from the Lower City showed fervor, there was no madness—only reverence and longing.
Were these people taking advantage of the Grand Selection Ceremony to come to the Imperial City front, a place they could never normally set foot, just to watch the excitement?
That wasn’t right either, because they were very quiet, and their faces lacked the usual cowering unease of the poor. Instead, they looked unusually proud.
Most crucially, these poor folk didn’t even glance at the majestic Imperial City. They only looked straight ahead.
……
……
Seeing this scene, many demon dignitaries frowned, including Lady Mu, who sat before the stone hall at the highest point.
A demon court minister asked in a stern voice, “What is the meaning of this?”
Even as the people left the Lower City, officials had already gone to investigate, and the reason was quickly determined.
An official reported in a low voice, “They say they’re following a participant.”
The demon court minister’s expression shifted slightly. “What kind of figure could come from a place like the Lower City? Even if there is one, why would so many people follow him?”
It was common for crowds to follow a victorious participant to the Imperial City front to watch the excitement.
But what made today unusual was the sheer number of Lower City folk following that participant.
And their mood was different from usual.
……
……
The poor folk from the Lower City didn’t look at the Imperial City, didn’t look at the Celestial Keep. They only looked ahead.
Ahead of them stood a single person.
He was a bear clan youth who looked very ordinary, his demeanor steady to the point of being wooden.
That bear clan youth wore simple, clean clothes. His features were unremarkable, with nothing special about him.
But many demon dignitaries had already noticed that the onlookers from the Lower City deliberately kept a certain distance from this bear clan youth.
If the Lower City folk were like a tide, that bear clan youth was like a reef, with all the seawater retreating fearfully to a distance.
That distance might well signify reverence.
The eyes of the Lower City folk, as they looked at the bear clan youth, were filled with reverence.
Besides reverence, there was fervor—and a hint of bewilderment.
As if they had been too shocked, and still hadn’t fully come to their senses.
What exactly had happened?