With Wang Ping, Zi Luan, Wu Quan, and Gan Qi in personal attendance, the start of the Grand Tournament was preceded by a complex ceremony of formal greetings. This process served to affirm the four's seniority and status within the Southern Cultivation Realm.
First, Xia Wen Yi led everyone in three full prostrations. Gazing at the vast, dark expanse of kneeling Cultivators, the human part of Wang Ping felt a lofty sense of superiority, as if he were enthroned among the clouds. It was a marvelous feeling, one he quite enjoyed. Yet, his cultivator's instinct immediately put him on guard, for it warned against anything captivating.
As Wang Ping received the adoration of the crowd, Yu Lian spoke to him within his Spirit Sea, "Quite a few of these people harbor hostility toward you. Well, not hostility, exactly. It's more like how we viewed Zi Luan back when we first reached the Entry Stage."
