'Let's hope this goes well…'
Although I wasn't supposed to have much worries as I already knew which sect I planned on choosing, all while having the privilege of the first ranker, I had to watch out just in case this backfired on me and hope for the better...
'That coordinator shouldn't be too stupid to act here, right?'
While I wasn't completely sure that I had already appeared on the rader of the demons and their seeds, I did consider this as I was already forced to make a few suspicious actions, which is why I also had to take precautions in case one of the seeds came to throw troubles at me, especially that coordinator who had a high position in a top sect like the 'Elemental Blade Sect'.
Of course, these were mostly just me overthinking, but having a backup plan could potentially save me from an unknown predicament that could pop-up out of nowhere…
"Thank you all for your excitement! Starting today's Acceptance Ceremony, the happy day for those sects that manage to get their hands on the talents they planned to pick and of course, a sad day for those who don't… Those who have managed to achieve the rankings between the 10th position and the 21th position, please step forward!" The organizer said as he stood at the small stage after bowing to the side ground platform.
The users of this platform were naturally the sects' representatives who were supposed to reward the winners and accept the new members who choose to join the sect or those who are chosen by the sects themselves.
As all twenty of us were standing in the same line, all in order of our ranking, the last ten took a step forward, including the 'Fire Fist' guy who had secured the eleventh position…
"According to the fixed rules of the tournament, those sectless participants who don't manage to get into the top 10 and only get a place within the top 20 naturally don't have the privilege to pick the sect they want to join, however, they do get the chance to be picked by high tier sects!"
Everything seemed to proceed just like it was mentioned in the booklet, well, it seemed like a waste to explain this part since there were only 1 sectless participants who managed to get within the ranking range anyway…
"We will take the 11th ranker!" a bulky guy who seemed to have a bulging muscle on every spot of his body exclaimed loudly as he stood up from his chair, excluding a slightly dominant aura that seemed to say, 'He is mine!'
"I accept!" The fire first guy didn't seem to hesitate as he slightly bowed to show his confirmation.
"Good! You are indeed worthy of joining my 'Body Strengthening Sect'!" the bulky guy nodded in acknowledgement.
According to the booklet, the 'Body Strengthening Sect' was supposed to be a sect that specialized in using both elements and weapon energy to turn their bodies into indestructible weapons. Their path was a unique one that deviated from the two main paths, in fact…
'Another high ranked branch…'
They were one of the special branches of the 'Elemental Blade Sect'!
Their own mixed path was also another part of the top sect's inheritance, but the 'Body Strengthening Sect' usually isolated itself from their father sect due to some special reasons.
'Well, at least it does suit him.'
The fire fist guy's immediate acceptance once again proved that he wasn't a total idiot, he did understand that this sect was indeed the most suited for his path as an 'elemental martial artist'...
"Now that everyone of the ten belongs to a sect, let me recount the sect members and their own ranking to celebrate their effort, which will naturally be rewarded by their own sects when they return back!"
"We have No.11 from the 'Body Strengthening Sect'! No.12 from the 'Supreme Metal Sect'! No.13 from…"
'I guess it's about time for 'Showing-Off'…'
Naturally, as one of the main causes of this tournament, the organizer recounted the names of the sects that the rankers came from to show off the results of each sect, as well as hand out the special tokens of the mentioned sects, which were naturally the sign of their accomplishments. Having the token naturally meant that they could claim the reward without any chance of being tricked as the sect master himself would know of it, meaning it also worked as a reassuring factor other than being some sort of a personal medal to be proud of…
Clap! Clap! Clap…
Another wave of clapping showed how much this 'Showing-Off' ritual was an important concept of the yearly ceremony, it seemed like some sort of a sport's annual tournament so it wasn't weird, at least they did give a minimal chance for talents.
'There should also be sects that recruited others who failed, but behind the scenes…'
Anyway, this was mostly irrelevant to me as I just needed this event to secure my ticket into the 'Elemental Blade Sect' and put my plan on motion so that I could stop the plans of the demons that might have already started a long time ago…
"Now moving on to the real show, the top 10 rankers, including three sectless members who managed to obtain high ranks, proving themselves as strong as elite sect members, please step out!"
Following the organizer's orders we took one step forward as the top 10~20 took a step to the back, it was naturally the time for us three sectless members to make our choices.
"You would obviously know this since you joined this tournament, but just as a reminder, you can go ahead and make your choice, from the lowest ranking to the highest ranking to be exact," the organizer looked at me, Sean and Clara in the eye as he explained…
"I wish to join the 'Cult of Elements'!" Sean exclaimed as he showed his eagerness.