The capital city of the Great Jin was bustling today.
A bustling, yet fearful, populace.
The three major powers had all arrived with their armies, surrounding the city.
To say they were "attacking" would be an exaggeration. Though the armies exuded a palpable killing intent, they were merely stationed in the three directions outside the city, making no move to directly assault it.
And to call them "armies" was also a stretch; each faction had brought only tens of thousands of troops.
Following the earlier massive conflict between the three powers, their forces had suffered significant casualties, and provisions were scarce. Aside from the troops guarding the borders, this was the maximum strength each of the three could muster.
The patriarchs of the three powers were present, here to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament.
Their decision to bring their armies was twofold. Firstly, it was to pressure the Jin imperial family to honor their promise and reveal the Sacred Flame inheritance.
After all, no one could be entirely certain the Jin imperial family wouldn't renege on their word and refuse to produce the inheritance.
Secondly, it stemmed from the ambitions of the three powers.
They were simply waiting for the final victor to emerge. Whichever faction's strongest contender obtained the Sacred Flame inheritance, they would immediately dispatch their armies into the imperial city, forcing the Jin imperial family to abdicate and ushering in a new dynasty.
With over a hundred thousand troops encamped outside the city, the mere twenty thousand or so guards within the capital would be utterly incapable of resisting them.
The entire capital city, its inhabitants, were consumed by a palpable fear.
They dreaded the prospect of war once again engulfing their city.
Previously, many refugees had arrived in the capital, and the local residents had learned firsthand from them about the brutality and ferocity of war.
Before, they could maintain an attitude of detachment, standing idly by.
Now, with the shadow of war looming directly over them, they too began to panic.
These loyal citizens, living directly under the emperor's gaze, fervently prayed that the Jin imperial family would simply hand over the Sacred Flame inheritance for the three powers to contend for.
After all, no matter who became the ruler, they couldn't possibly slaughter the entire populace.
Their fate would merely be to have a change of masters.
The martial world across the Great Jin, along with its various wandering heroes and sects, began to converge on the capital. Consequently, the inns in the capital saw their prices skyrocket.
Previously, inns charged with silver.
Now, payment was in Fire Crystals, and even the most remote inns had inflated their prices to ten Fire Crystals per night.
This exorbitant price deterred many penniless wandering heroes. Yet, despite the steep cost, accommodation remained impossible to find within the capital.
Many citizens, spotting a business opportunity, cleared out their own rooms, converting them into guesthouses to accommodate the wandering heroes and earn some extra income.
The number of wandering heroes was substantial, yet not overwhelmingly so.
This world was not vast, and its power structures were primarily dynastic. It wasn't like the Lei Feng Realm, with its thousands of sects and the ultimate power residing in the six great families and three major sects, lacking a unified governing force.
However, it shared similarities with the Lei Feng Realm, such as many powerful individuals joining the three major factions in pursuit of better resources.
The structure of the Lei Feng Realm, while appearing decentralized, was in reality tightly controlled. The nine major powers divided the Central Domain, and the factions within their territories were beholden to their respective ruling houses.
This world, however, felt less like a fantasy realm and more akin to a wuxia world.
The wandering heroes here were akin to the rogue cultivators of the Lei Feng Realm: numerous, but not particularly powerful.
This was to be a grand event, and every wandering hero harbored the dream of becoming the world's strongest, cherishing ambitions of unifying the martial world for millennia to come.
Therefore, when word spread of the impending Martial Arts Tournament, the entire martial world of wandering heroes and sects rejoiced.
They barely gave a thought to who would ultimately claim the Sacred Flame inheritance.
What captivated them more was this gathering of the martial world's elite.
It was a feast for the strong, an event destined to be remembered by the martial world for ten thousand years.
Heroes from across the realm, converging on the capital; a Martial Arts Tournament, where myriad heroes would contend for supremacy!
The very thought sent these spirited wandering heroes into a state of ecstatic frenzy.
No one would miss this grand occasion.
Wan Lei and his two companions were also considered wandering heroes, though Wan Lei held a rather disdainful view of this group.
Especially when he overheard the conversations at neighboring tables, where these wandering heroes were pompously discussing the grandeur of the upcoming Martial Arts Tournament, even arguing heatedly, on the verge of drawing their swords, over who was the current strongest individual.
This only deepened Wan Lei's contempt.
What relevance did this Martial Arts Tournament hold for these people?
Any discerning observer could see that what was touted as a grand assembly of heroes from across the land, a free-for-all where anyone could participate and the ultimate victor would inherit the Sacred Flame, was nothing more than a facade.
The four strongest individuals in this world, three of them belonged to the three major powers.
This was merely a stratagem devised by the Jin imperial family to sow discord among the three factions.
It was also a self-serving embellishment by the three major powers, who, in their pursuit of the Sacred Flame inheritance, wished to avoid appearing overly avaricious.
These individuals, in essence, were nothing more than spectators, here to cheer and shout "awesome!" Did they truly consider themselves significant?
Did they genuinely believe they had a chance to claim the top spot, perhaps hoping the four great powers would annihilate each other, leaving them to pick up the scraps?
Fools.
Why all this excitement?
These people were no different from himself, merely seeking refuge in the tavern because they had nowhere else to stay. Had they arrived earlier, wouldn't it have been better to find an inn and get some sleep?
What was the point of coming here to feign camaraderie, clinking glasses and discussing heroes over wine?
The discussions of the surrounding simpletons grated on Wan Lei's nerves.
The trio rose, tossed a Fire Crystal onto the table, and leaped directly out of the window, landing on the street.
The streets were also quite crowded.
Despite the palpable sense of crisis and the encircling armies, the city, due to the influx of so many wandering heroes, had taken on a lively and prosperous air.
However, this prosperity was superficial, a mere fleeting spectacle. Like rootless duckweed, once the Martial Arts Tournament concluded and the wandering heroes departed, this vibrancy would vanish like ephemeral fire.
They made their way towards the west of the city.
The southern part of the capital was mountainous, the north was bordered by a meandering river, leaving only the western side with a plain spanning hundreds of miles.
During times of war, these hundreds of miles of plains were the most difficult to defend, a constant headache for defenders, and often the chosen battlefield for decisive clashes between armies.
But now, with the Martial Arts Tournament about to commence, this area had become an ideal location.
It would serve as the main arena for the Martial Arts Tournament; there was no more suitable place.
Were they expected to duel in the plaza before the imperial palace?
That was out of the question.
Firstly, with tens of thousands gathered, the plaza could not accommodate such a crowd. Moreover, with a mixed populace from all walks of life, the boisterous clamor would tarnish the royal dignity.
Secondly, with such a large gathering, what if a mutiny occurred and the palace itself was stormed?
Thirdly, the imperial palace plaza was simply too small. Not to mention that the beast cultivators, being generally large in stature, especially the Lava Giant Phoenix, whose body was nearly half the size of the capital city, would likely reduce the capital to rubble by the time the fighting concluded if it were held within the city itself.