Logically speaking, as a famous and orthodox major sect, the Divine Blade Sect’s Sect Master Hall should be as magnificent and resplendent as an imperial palace.

But Magnus’s nature was indifferent to fame and fortune, and he liked peace and quiet.

To prevent people from constantly finding him to discuss matters, he specifically had his Sect Master Hall built as a small thatched hut.

Its scale wasn’t even as large as the cave dwellings of most disciples, nor did it have any servant girls or maids.

Hearing the knocking, Magnus opened his eyes in displeasure. With a snap of his fingers, he opened the door.

The crowd of elders instantly swarmed inside, completely surrounding Magnus by his bed, and began questioning him in unison.

"Sect Master, how could you, without discussing it with us, use the Vault of Divine Sword Heart as the reward for first place and hide it in the treasure chest?!"

"The Vault of Divine Sword Heart is a sacred relic of the Divine Blade Sect. Every single one of us elders has the right to know its whereabouts!"

"Sect Master, this is partiality! Unfair!"

"Rematch! I demand a rematch!"

Listening to the noisy clamor of everyone speaking at once, Magnus felt so irritated his scalp tingled.

He waved his hand and said helplessly, "Can you all stop arguing? Are you here to discuss matters, or are you here to quarrel?"

"Are the assessment results out? Aerin, you speak."

Aerin fell silent for a moment. "Taryn Lark of Broken Sword Peak seized the championship."

"However, the second place, Aya of Falling Dust Peak, took away the Vault of Divine Sword Heart you placed inside the treasure chest."

"...What the heck?" Magnus froze, saying in bewilderment, "The Vault of Divine Sword Heart?"

"Where would I get a Vault of Divine Sword Heart?"

Seeing Magnus’s bewildered appearance, the elders were also bewildered. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"What?" Torin said suspiciously.

"That Vault of Divine Sword Heart... wasn’t placed in the treasure chest by you, Sect Master?"

"Nonsense!" Magnus said grumpily.

"If I truly had the Vault of Divine Sword Heart, I would have fused with it myself long ago!"

"Even if I didn’t use it, I would definitely store it safely and properly. How could I possibly gift it to a newcomer who just joined the sect a few days ago?"

"The reward I placed in the treasure chest at the mountain peak was clearly a Middle-Grade Heaven and Earth-tier Sword!"

"...A sword?!" The elders froze, thinking of that rust-stained, broken bronze sword Alex was toying with, their expressions instantly became incomparably bizarre.

"If the reward the Sect Master arranged was only that sword..."

"Then where did that Vault of Divine Sword Heart come from?"

"Does that even need to be said?" Magnus said grumpily.

"The Vault of Divine Sword Heart is the fortuitous encounter inheritance of our founding ancestor, the Evergreat Sword Ancestor!"

"This inheritance was naturally sent down by him, appointed to be bestowed upon that Aya from the unseen world!"

Hearing these words, the elders looked at each other, every single one wearing a face full of mournful grief.

"Putting it that way... that Aya joining Broken Sword Peak was also dictated by Destiny?"

"On what basis?! I refuse to accept this!"

"The sun shines on him, but it doesn’t shine on me!"

Seeing the elders sighing and groaning in despair, Magnus was somewhat bewildered. "What are you talking about?"

"Sect Master, there is something you do not know." Aerin sighed.

"That Aya Cale was originally a disciple of Falling Dust Peak, but she was unwilling to stay there."

"Instead, she resolutely declared that whichever peak Taryn Lark joined, she would follow and join that peak as well."

"And that Taryn Lark firmly expressed his desire to stay at Broken Sword Peak. If he wasn’t allowed to stay, he would simply walk away."

"So right now, both geniuses have been taken away by Senior Brother Sylra..."

Magnus froze slightly, then couldn’t help but laugh. "Hahaha, interesting, interesting!"

Torin said resentfully, "Sect Master, you’re just mocking us."

"Originally, after Sunblaze Peak suffered misfortune previously, we were still planning to compete for the position of First Main Peak."

"As a result, who could have expected that it would be drawing water with a bamboo basket, all in vain."

"I’m afraid this time, Broken Sword Peak is going to rise up and become the unparalleled existence among the Main Peaks."

Magnus asked with deep interest, "You take in these two geniuses, and then what do you want to do?"

"Have them participate in the Sect Grand Competition and fight for glory for your respective peaks?"

The crowd nodded blankly. "Of course..."

"Heh, don’t be silly." Magnus gave a dry laugh and shook his head.

"Setting aside what kind of aptitude that Taryn Lark has..."

"Aya Cale has already obtained the Vault of Divine Sword Heart. Within a year, she is bound to step into the Supreme Realm."

"At that time, her strength will rise above you elders."

"Would this Sect Master allow her to participate in the Peak Grand Competition to bully the other disciples?"

The elders froze slightly, only then awakening as if from a dream.

Right, the essence of the Peak Grand Competition was to compete in the disciples’ strength and select talents with superior aptitude.

Aya had already obtained the Vault of Divine Sword Heart, guaranteed to reach the Supreme Realm within a year. By then, her strength would rise above all the elders, perhaps even the Sect Master.

Did such aptitude and talent still need to be selected through a Grand Competition?

Even if Sylra were reluctant, the Sect Master couldn’t possibly allow this kind of rule-breaking monster to participate, letting the other disciples get bullied into doubting life and losing their fighting spirit for cultivation.

Furthermore, Sylra was inherently a person indifferent to fame and fortune, never fighting or scrambling for anything.

"Everyone, do you understand now?" Magnus said faintly.

"A genius of Aya’s caliber does not belong to any single peak, but rather to the entire sect."

"No matter which peak she is at, it is merely a temporary residence."

"Rather than wasting time fighting back and forth here, you’d be better off taking advantage of the fact that she hasn’t fully risen yet to quickly find a way to befriend her."