The Innkeeper
chapter-1220

Lex met the gaze of the countless immortals in the room before going to find a corner to sit in. He restrained his aura, as he was not here to pick a fight - he was here mostly to get his process started and make an impression. By being able to effortlessly ignore the simultaneous gaze of hundreds of immortals without so much as batting an eye, he had proved himself.

Others also did not pick a fight or bother him, not because they were good tempered people, but because they were all there for the same purpose of being briefed. Had that not been the case, the strong ominous presence given off by his suit would have surely provoked someone.

Some time passed and more and more participants came, until eventually a hush fell over the room and all was silent. A projection of a man appeared in front of everyone… no, not a man.

Lex sat up straight as he identified one of the more mysterious races in the Origin realm - the Oolin race!

At a glance he looked like every other human, until you got a good look at him and noticed the lines of power within his body. Lines of deep blue, pulsing energy passed through his fair skin like a river cutting through land. Those lines, naturally formed in various artistic patterns, supposedly contained entire rivers of spiritual energy too vast and rich for any mundane race to tolerate.

Lex paid close attention to them, sensing a subtle sense of danger each time he saw the line's pulse, and a few shimmerings appeared around them.

He could see them, and admire those lines, known as the Lines of Power, but he could not sense anything else from them. There was no affinity of any kind, yet they did not contain pure spiritual energy either. How strange.

Lex was mildly curious about the Oolin for more than once he had heard Vera talk about them, yet hadn't been able to learn much about them. Seeing one now, Lex suddenly realized that he couldn't even sense his cultivation level! How unusual.

"Congratulations for being here," the man said, his voice deeper than anyone might have expected. "Being here means you are either the best this realm has to offer, or have been deemed worthy by powerful forces deserving of admiration. Yet being here only means you are at a starting line. Whether it was your training, your perseverance, your background, all of them could only get you to the finishing line. Now what you do from here is up to you."

Lex could not help but chuckle internally. He had given plenty of speeches to large crowds, but now, he was the one being given a motivational talk to.

"What you are competing for now is not a light honor. It is not a title to adorn your name with. It is not a plaque to add to the decorative walls in your homes. You are competing for a chance to become Henali's Champion, and in each age, there can be only one. A Champion is not a mindless brute who wields great strength, nor a wise old strategist who can peer into the future. A Champion is he who can bear the weight of expectation, represent enormous honor and not let it interfere with getting the job done.

"Whether it is an impossible trial, an impossible enemy, obstacles no one expected, new dire situations, a Champion is one who can deal with them all. Know this, the Henali would rather choose no one than choose a weak Champion, for a Champion is he who clears all obstacles. He is an all rounder with no weaknesses, only strengths.

"In exchange for selecting a Champion, the Henali will put their full force behind nurturing him or her until they stand at the very zenith of this realm. There is no better example than the previous champion, the Djinn of Narkom, Zarqon Al Azif!"

A hush fell over the room as the Oolin mentioned Zarqon. Lex, too, knew about him since he had done some research about the Champions tourney. Djinn were a rare race, hardly found anywhere and usually did not reach very high levels of cultivation, unable to reach the immortal realm. Usually.

The previous Champion, Zarqon, was a serious underdog who appeared out of seemingly nowhere. He took the whole tourney by surprise, and became the contested Champion. But his legend did not end there. By now he had reached the Heavenly Immortal realm, and though that was nowhere near the peak of the realm, Zarqon's legend was growing ever stronger.

To date, he had never experienced a defeat since he became Champion, and it was said that he never failed the Henali on any mission they sent him to. When he was sent to the Fuegan battlefields, the battle would end.

When he was sent to explore new corners of the realm, he would come back with riches and treasures. It was as if Zarqon could make any wish the Henali had come true. The high society of the Origin realm, his name was one that was commonly brought up.

"That is the name… the legend that you aspire to. Remember that, as you venture forth and face the challenges that are in store for you. The first challenge is in a place you will surely have heard of. It is called the Trial of Eternity."

If an artificial hush had fallen onto the room before, the hush now was genuine. Everyone had naturally heard of the Trial of Eternity. Nobody knew how it came to be, or how long it had existed, the Henali included. It was a place filled with immense danger, and the only reason its name was commonplace was because it was said that rare treasures grew in that place that made it easier to pass through various immortal tribulations.

Yet venturing in and coming out successfully was a tribulation unto itself that few succeeded, and that was but the first venue for the Champions tourney.