Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 239 - 164: The Appearance of the Candle Dragon_3

Chapter 239: Chapter 164: The Appearance of the Candle Dragon_3

The conversation did not linger on this topic, but rather took a sharp turn.

"Since no one has any objections, let’s discuss recent events. As you all know, the sect selection will take place in two years, and the World Martial Arts Competition is in five years. Some days ago, I paid a visit to Jade Radiance Palace."

"At that time, the sect masters of several other renowned families came in person, even those from the Southern Border and the Northern Territory sent their esteemed elders to discuss this matter."

"So, the location for the martial arts competition in five years has been decided."

Everyone sat up straight.

Even the two who had been exchanging glares and verbal jabs just now immediately shut their mouths, wearing serious and solemn expressions. A matter referred to as important by the Sect Master was clearly of great significance.

Only the oldest looking former peak master of Qingxia Peak seemed to have an odd expression on his face. Announcements about the competition had been made in previous years without much fanfare, but why such seriousness and formality today?

His gaze swept over everyone as if he was observing each person present. Amidst the shocked expressions, he uttered four words.

"In the belly of the Candle Dragon."

This single sentence caused an uproar among all those present!

Especially the elderly man and the Peak Master of Divine Wood Peak, who even jumped up from their seats!

The news was not just explosive - it completely surpassed their understanding, to the extent that several of the dozen or so people present wore blank expressions, unaware of what had just happened.

It was not that they were unaware of the Ancient Strange Beast known as the Candle Dragon, but everyone believed it to be mere legend.

Yet the Sect Master seemed to have anticipated this scene, his eyes instinctively glancing toward Liu Tangxi at the end of the table. But to his surprise, Nephew Liu did not seem too shocked, even showing a hint of anticipation.

Realizing this, he waved his hand to the crowd below to calm down and looked toward the two elders who had stood up.

"The two junior brothers should remember."

"Of course."

The first to speak was the meticulous and dignified elderly man, known to others as Zhang Fengzi, the Peak Master of Divine Wood Peak.

"The Candle Dragon is an Ancient Divine Beast, its size surpassing even that of Xiang Liu whom the nine sects fought against, not to mention comparable to the Kunpeng. According to ancestral records, such exotic beasts are over a thousand miles long, living as long as the heavens and the earth."

"Isn’t this a legend?"

The beautiful woman holding the Jade Rabbit couldn’t help but ask, but Peak Master Zhang just shook his head and sat back down, trying to calm the waves in his heart.

"Wen Shu, you were the last to join our sect and the youngest among us brothers and sisters, which is why you missed several great battles."

"But at that time, Sect Master, Third Senior Brother, I, and... our departed Second Senior Brother witnessed the might of the Candle Dragon. It soared from east to west, crossing the horizon, endless to our view."

"Everywhere it passed, it was like dark clouds covering the sun, with no light to be seen. It is said that this Candle Dragon usually dwells in the Upper Realm and does not descend unless a great power emerges to shatter the void and ascend, or when a great power fails to transcend a tribulation. Through its breathing, it brings Spiritual Energy of the Upper Realm into the material world to offer to the spirit of heaven."

"The Candle Dragon has lived for longer than tens of thousands of years as per the records, but for all cultivators in the world, a sighting of the Candle Dragon is a blessing."

"A blessing?" Many present were puzzled, except for Liu Xianzi, who quietly sat in a corner sipping tea, not saying a word.

"Yes, a blessing."

The Sect Master at the highest seat took over the conversation.

"That Ancient Strange Beast once swallowed a piece of the heavens and the earth many years ago. According to the records, an island in the East Sea was devoured by it ten thousand years ago, for reasons unknown. And that piece of heaven and earth within the Candle Dragon’s belly will be the location for this World Martial Arts Competition."

The majority of those present furrowed their brows, filled with doubt. To place such an important event on such an uncertain factor? Inside the belly of an Ancient Divine Beast? Was the Sect Master joking with us?

"Sect Master, wouldn’t this be somewhat rash?"

It was the woman holding the Jade Rabbit who spoke up again, the youngest sister doted on by many senior brothers and the only one who dared to question the Sect Master at this time.

But the Sect Master just smiled, clearly also fond of this youngest junior sister, making a gesture of reassurance.

"Setting aside the dangers of entering the belly of the Candle Dragon, how can you be sure this is an opportunity rather than disaster? And how can you be certain that one can return from the beast’s belly? Moreover, no one knows what lies inside that beast’s belly."

A series of questions that voiced the doubts of most people in the room, because it all sounded too absurd.

Entering a Strange Beast’s belly to conduct the competition?

Was it a martial arts competition or a death sentence? Even taking the Sect Master’s words as truth, how could they be confident that the Candle Dragon would go to a particular place? What could be inside? Even if there was a piece of heaven and earth contained inside, who could ensure that what was inside would be beneficial for cultivation?

Sect Master tapped his knuckles lightly on the table, his expression tinged with a touch of melancholy and nostalgia.

"Indeed, someone has personally entered the belly of that Strange Beast and informed me about it."

"Six hundred years ago, the Central Plains Eight Heroes experienced more than one chaotic battle. During that battle, Lao Wu, the disciples who joined the sect after you hadn’t been born yet. Even you, Lao San and Lao Si, I remember you were new to cultivation, and Master didn’t allow you two to come forward, so you could only watch from thousands of miles away."

The white-haired Peak Master of Divine Wood Peak just nodded, a hint of remembrance and emotion flickering in the eyes of the two elders as they recalled the past.

To this day, they could still remember the massive shadow that streaked across the sky, its full shape unseeable even from a thousand miles away, but they remembered that terrifying figure that emerged from the torn sky, silencing the entire chaotic battlefield.

"It was also during that deadly fight, which involved numerous sect forces attempting to reshape the power structure of the Central Plains, that several talented geniuses were unfortunately drawn into the belly of the Candle Dragon as it absorbed its breath."

"All your questions, Wen Shu, have been answered by that genius who returned to the mortal realm himself, and even I learned everything about the inside of the Candle Dragon’s belly from him."

"If I remember correctly, there were no less than a hundred people swallowed at that time, not only from the Central Plains but also participants from the Northern Territory and the Southern Border, all of whom are aware of what’s inside."

But the woman holding the Jade Rabbit stood up again.

"Sect Master, how can we be certain that what he says is true? How can we be sure it’s not a trap he’s set? If he holds ill intentions, wouldn’t all our disciples be doomed to fall into their hands..."

"Do you know, Wen Shu, who the person is who returned from the belly of that Strange Beast?"

"I do not."

The others shook their heads too, with only the three people at the highest seat and Liu Tangxi at the end showing no reaction.

And then the Sect Master’s gaze again landed on the one at the end, and finally.

She spoke up.

"It was my master, Liu Jian."