Strongest Family System

Cultivators from Grey Shadow Hall were positioned at intervals within the forest. They were ready to assist anyone who got injured and needed extraction. However, it is important to note that being extracted from the forest meant you would be disqualified from scoring, regardless of the situation.

He paused for a brief moment to take a breath, then carried on. Pairs were allowed to challenge one another within the forest. Any beast cores they had already gathered could be claimed from another pair through direct combat.

There was no rule preventing one pair from intercepting another, challenging them, or relieving them of what they had gathered. The forest was not a protected space — it was a competitive one.

The only absolute restriction was this: killing was not permitted. Any pair confirmed responsible for the death of another competitor would be immediately disqualified and face consequences from Grey Shadow Hall directly, regardless of clan affiliation or circumstance.

Everything else that occurred inside the forest between pairs was the forest's business.

The crowd's noise level shifted the moment Elder Veylan Lie finished that section. Not loud—just a collective adjustment, the sound of several hundred people processing the same information simultaneously and arriving at the same understanding of what it meant. The cultivator platforms produced a low, continuous murmur that took several seconds to settle down.

Robert heard it loud and clear what elder Veylan lied. This was definitely a competition of that sort. He had his suspicions about it. The lack of inter-pair rules in the initial setup had hinted that something was brewing in this completion. Now, he finally understood what it was all about. Beast cores were up for grabs. Pairs could be targeted. The scoring system was not safeguarded by how close you were to the extraction point—it was only as secure as the pair's ability to hold onto what they had collected.

Three days in a forest where the other pairs were as much of a variable as the beasts.

He did not change his expression. He looked at the entry path. Sai, two steps to his left, had gone very still in the particular way he went still when he was processing something important. He was not looking at Robert. He was looking at the forest.

Elder Veylan Lie continued with the remaining rules without pause.

Beast cores had to be physically present at the extraction point at the competition's end—cores that a pair had gathered but lost through combat before reaching the extraction point did not count toward their score, regardless of when they were taken.

The location of the extraction point would be given to each pair as they entered through the boundary stakes—a sealed document handed to them by the personnel from Grey Shadow Hall who were stationed there. It was up to each pair to navigate to the extraction point on their own.

No cultivation resources from outside the forest could be used once inside. What each pair carried in at the moment of entry was what they had for the duration. Grey Shadow Hall personnel stationed inside the forest were observers and extraction assistants only—they would not intervene in any situation that did not constitute a medical emergency, and they would not provide information to any pair about the location or status of other pairs.

Three days. Two nights. The forest provided everything else. Elder Veylan Lie looked at the document in his hand and opened it to the final page.

The formal announcement of participating pairs. He read each entry clearly—clan designation, the two names, and the cultivation level of each participant delivered in the same level tone without distinction between them.

Brown Clan — Conner Brown, Spirit Root Realm Level 6 Low Stage. Dustin Brown, Spirit Root Realm Level 5 Low Stage.

The crowd acknowledged it. Conner Brown's broad patient face did not change. Dustin Brown looked at the forest entry path with the quick-ready quality that contrasted with his partner's grounded stillness.

Clark Clan — Rachel Clark, Spirit Root Realm Level 6 Low Stage. Evan Clark, Spirit Root Realm Level 5 Low Stage.

The platforms showed a bit more warmth this time. Rachel Clark's expression was calm and composed. Evan Clark shifted his posture slightly—not in tension, but in readiness. The cultivation levels of the Clark Clan drew a steady murmur from the observers—two solid entries, completely in line with what the crowd had anticipated from a clan known for their prowess.

Brooks Clan — Max Brooks, Spirit Root Realm Level 6 Low Stage. Miller Brooks, Spirit Root Realm Level 5 Low Stage.

The observer platforms produced a genuine response—the Brooks Clan name carrying real weight in the crowd's awareness. Max Brooks received the announcement at the front of his group with the managed restraint that characterised everything about him. The cultivation levels matched expectations, and the crowd's response reflected that—recognition, not surprise.

Robert saw the strength. Three clans had announced their presence, and we had three pairs at Level 6 Low and Level 5 Low, respectively. The numbers were clearly showing the competition's.

Walker Clan — Harvey Walker, Spirit Root Realm Level 7 Mid-Stage. Aaden Walker, Spirit Root Realm Level 6 Mid-Stage.

The crowd's noise rose by a full degree the moment Harvey Walker's level landed.

Level 7 Mid-Stage. The viewer platforms did not simply murmur—they produced a sustained sound that moved through the crowd in a wave, voices rising and then being cut short by other voices, the particular noise of several hundred people registering a number that changed the shape of everything they had been assuming about this competition.

Aaden Walker's Level 6 Mid-Stage arrived in the wake of it and added another layer—two entries sitting a full stage above every other pair announced, the gap between the Walker Clan and the three clans before them suddenly concrete and measured.

Harvey Walker did not look at the platforms. Aaden Walker did not look at the other clans. The Walker Clan's collective stillness did not change by any observable measure.

Robert heard the crowd's reaction and felt the weight of the number settle into his thinking without drama.

Level 7 Mid-Stage. The same level he had reached in that building.

The gap he had spent a month closing had closed to zero on paper. What it looked like when Harvey Walker actually moved was a different question entirely.

Elder Veylan Lie waited for the crowd's noise to settle. It took considerably longer than the previous three announcements had required. When it had returned to a level that permitted his voice to carry without effort, he looked at the document's final line.