After Tuo Shishan’s short soliloquy, he took a big drink of alcohol.6

The nine figures bowed, then stood aside motionless. All of them were completely willing to follow this young lord’s lead. Whether it was his personality, or the way he handled himself, the things they had been through together ensured that he had earned their respect.0

For instance, after learning that Xu Qing had more forbidden mountains than him, he could have called on the power of his clan to get a few more mountains for himself. In fact, even without calling on the powers of his clan, he could have relied on his reputation alone to have forbidden mountains literally handed over to him by others. If he had given the order, his nine subordinates could have used all sorts of methods to intercept Xu Qing and cause trouble for him. But they knew that their young lord disdained behavior like that. He was obviously interested in this human named Xu Qing, and was waiting for him here. He wanted to win the title of champion in an honest and above-board manner.15

The nine of them weren’t worried about Tuo Shishan losing. As far as they were concerned, their young lord could crush someone like Crown Prince Brightsouth with hardly any effort. The Darkheaven bloodline was extraordinary to say the least.6

Thus, time passed....0