Over the course of the next half day, a similar scene repeated itself without exception. The city was being discovered continuously by those who roamed through the desert, and each arrival always had someone in the group who thought themselves the strongest around.
By now, John's feats had spread quite wide already. Youths who had witnessed John's feats had made their ways to other trials spread across the Jade Dragon Empire lands, and couldn't help but tell what they had seen. However, just as before, the feats were all regarded as fairy tales, something utterly impossible.
Most ignored the tales, but some found issue with such a rumor being spread. Clearly such a thing was impossible, and some found offense with being told such an egregious lie, mostly the geniuses of their own sects and clans. Many of these geniuses found their way to the coliseum city, eager to defeat John and prove the rumor a lie once and for all, all while raising their own status.
…
"I, Taran Zeral, of the Zeral clan, have arrived to this meager city," a booming voice echoed out from the front of the town as a group of youths entered through the arch. The youth had a Middle Heaven Tribulation cultivation, which he did nothing to conceal. His aura leaked out powerfully, almost as if he was declaring his power publicly for all to witness. His light blue clothes danced lightly in the wind, as if it was part of the wind itself.
Gong!
The sound of a bell bellowed out over the town, signifying the end of the current round.
"Haha, I made it just in time for this round," Taran bellowed out with great satisfaction. "Time to claim what is mine."
The youths at the town entrance all glanced over towards Taran and his group, their eyes going slightly wide.
"Its Taran, from the Zeral Clan," a startled youth exclaimed.
"The Zeral Clan," his friend replied. "Aren't they quite strong?"
"They sure are," another friend in the group replied. He had a head of short golden hair, and an average looking face. "Out of the nearly one thousand sects and clans within the alliance, the Zeral Clan is in the top one hundred. Taran Zeral is their most prodigious young master, who is set to take the reins from the Zeral Clan Leader when he grows older."
"He's that talented?" a youth in the group who was less knowledgeable about things asked. He had just left his alchemy trial after spending the entire day there, and was not knowledgeable about the outside happenings.
"You don't know?" the youth who had spoken previously asked.
The youth shook his head, indicating that he had no idea about it.
"Here, read over this," the golden haired youth said as he handed over a jade piece to the youth.
"What's this?" the youth asked as he took the jade piece and sent his divine sense into it. There were four sections; Warrior, Alchemist, Formations Expert, Healer. The youth focused on the warrior section, and immediately a list of five hundred names popped into his head, with a number next to each one. The numbers went from five hundred down to twenty, at which point the last twenty names did not have numbers next to them.
"This is a list that's started to be distributed by the Heaven Scrying Sect," the golden haired youth replied.
"The Heaven Scrying Sect? The sect that scries into the heavens to predict the future?" the youth asked.
"That's the one," the golden haired youth replied. "The Heaven Scrying Sect does indeed focus on attempting to scry into the future, and their predictions are sought after by all. But they're also the premier information gathering sect," the golden hair youth explained. "If you want information about anything on the Divine Martial Continent, they're the ones to go to. And it seems as though they gathered plenty of information before they entered this realm along with the rest of us, and have started to sell these jade pieces to anyone who has enough money."
The alchemist youth glanced at the jade piece in his hands, and studied the list once again.
"So what's this list?" the youth asked, although he had an idea of what it was.
"It's the list of the five hundred strongest disciples in these lands, according to the Heaven Scrying Sect," the golden-haired youth replied. "Apparently each jade piece has a small communication formation etched into it, which links it to a main piece controlled by the Heaven Scrying Sect disciples. This allows them to update all the jade pieces in real time when any big event happens in these lands. Naturally, everyone is fighting for the top spots, Taran included," the youth said as he gestured over towards Taran.
"What about the top twenty?" the youth asked. "There are no numbers next to their names."
"Ah, that. Apparently the top twenty have yet to be ranked, as their strengths are all monstrous. The Heaven Scrying Sect needs more information on their feats and strengths before they will rank them," the golden haired youth explained.
The alchemist youth inspected the jade piece once more, and he quickly found Taran Zeral on the list. His number was listed, and as soon as the youth focused on the name, a flood of information entered his mind, which the youth read out loud.
"Taran Zeral.
-Power: Zeral Clan
-Cultivation Level: Middle Heaven Tribulation Realm.
-Rank: Two Hundred and Sixty Eight
-Fighting Style: Specializes in Wind Battle Arts
-Feats: None yet"
After reading all of this, the youth went back to the start and decided to take a look at the other sections. However, the sections were blank, with only the words "to be updated in the future" contained there.
After his inspection, the alchemist youth handed back the jade piece over to the golden haired youth.
"Wow. With the information contained in these jade pieces, I'm sure everyone will be wanting to buy them," the alchemy youth said. "The Heaven Scrying Sect must be making a killing on these."
"That they are," the golden haired youth said as he glanced at Taran, who was loudly making his way deeper into the city towards the coliseum.
"As you can see, everyone is trying to get on the top five hundred list, as the prestige and honor that comes with it is second to none. Being listed means you're one of the top five hundred youths in the entire Honorable Alliance, which is something everyone is striving for, as the rewards for such a thing will be beyond counting," the golden-haired youth explained while gesturing to Taran. "Taran is clearly looking to make a splash and propel his name forward up this list, starting with this coliseum."
"Top five hundred," the alchemist muttered in awe as he watched Taran make his way up to the coliseum and quickly enter it. "His strength must be incredible. Surely he'll control the coliseum for quite some time, right?"
A strange look appeared on the golden-haired youth's face, as he was unsure of how to reply.
"What's that look for?" the alchemist youth asked.
"I suppose you wouldn't know since you just left your trial, but there's an even bigger monster than Taran waiting inside the arena," the golden-haired youth replied.
"An even bigger monster?" the alchemist youth exclaimed in surprise. "Who is it? What rank is he on the list?"
"Ah...he's not on the ranking, yet," the golden-haired youth replied after a moment of hesitation.
Gong!
The second gong of a bell sounded out, indicating the start of the next round.
"How is someone that strong not on the list?" the alchemist youth asked.
"Ah…he's kind of what you would call…an anomaly," the golden-haired youth replied. "I'm sure the Heaven Scrying Sect didn't know about him, which is why he's not on the list. But there's no doubt that he'll be on the list before long."
"How can you be so sure though?" the alchemist youth asked. "Maybe Taran is stronger than him. Afterall, he's ranked top three hundre-"
"Gahhhhh!"
A loud cry of pain boomed over the town, interrupting the youth and catching the attention of all. Everyone looked towards the source of the cry of pain, and quickly spotted a youth flying out of the coliseum and out into the desert beyond the town.
Blood trailed behind the youth, as well as a trail of smoke, as his body crashed into the desert sands, kicking up a cloud of dust and dirt.
"Light blue robes…that wasn't Taran…was it?" the alchemist youth asked in shock. Clearly those robes matched what Taran had been wearing.
A strange look appeared on the golden-haired youths face as he patted the alchemist youth on the shoulders. "I'm afraid it was," the youth replied. "Just be happy that you're an alchemist, and not a warrior like me who has to contend against such monsters. Now let's leave this town and find some other trail to participate in. As long as that freak is in the arena, there's no hope for anyone else."
The alchemist youth remained mouth agape in continued surprise for some time before he nodded his head. The group of youths all ventured out of the town and deeper into the desert, leaving the town behind.
At the same time the group left, another lone youth arrived at the entrance of the town. He wore dark purple robes, which had many stars etched onto it, making him look quite mystical. He carried a staff in his hands, making him look even more mysterious.
"This should be the town from the rumors," the youth muttered as he laid his eyes on the coliseum and started to walk towards it.. "Those rumors, if true, would be a blow to our reputation for not including someone as monstrous as the rumored youth on our list. I best verify the information quickly, and if found to be true, add him to the list."
