The faces of the people on the other twenty-four small stages also showed a trace of solemnity.
Although no one knew how strong Calvin Ponce was, just the strength of Alfonso Ponce and the four priests made them wary.
It was known that among the people present, the strongest were only at the half-step Condensed Kun Realm.
The gap between the Condensed Kun Realm and the half-step Condensed Kun Realm was like a chasm. If a conflict were to occur, Alfonso Ponce and that False Condensed Kun Realm priest alone could crush them.
“Many of you here may not know me, so let me introduce myself!” Calvin Ponce spoke again from the stage.
“I am Calvin Ponce, the current Hall Lord of The Hallowed Court. I believe you all know why I invite you here.”
“The Heaven Alliance is now history. This star domain needs a new master…”
“Mr. Ponce, there’s no need for more pleasantries!” An elder from one of the sects interrupted loudly.
“The strong are respected. We have no major objections to The Hallowed Court replacing the Heaven Alliance, as this star domain indeed cannot be leaderless.”
“However, we have a few thoughts we’d like to discuss with Mr. Ponce, if possible?”
“Of course!” Calvin Ponce smiled. “Feel free to speak!”
“Thank you!” The elder cupped his hands and began.
“First, we hope that the annual tribute can be reduced by half compared to what was required by the Heaven Alliance.”
“Second, although the Heaven Alliance governed the seventh-level star domain, they did not interfere too much in the internal affairs of other forces. We hope The Hallowed Court can maintain this practice.”
“Third, we propose establishing a star domain decision-making body, with each of the twenty-five forces here selecting one representative.”
“In the future, any major issues concerning the entire star domain would be decided by this body.”
“Good ideas!” Calvin Ponce continued to smile.
After speaking, he looked around. “Are there any other thoughts besides these three points?”
“Mr. Ponce, these three points are the result of our collective discussion!” Another elder from a different sect spoke up.
“If The Hallowed Court agrees, we can move on to the next topic. What about the Heaven Book…”
“Hold on, elder!” Calvin Ponce smiled and raised his hand. “Let me show you something first!”
“What do you want to show?” Many people were puzzled.
“Elder, you must be from Cloudpeak Sect?” Calvin Ponce turned to the elder who had spoken earlier and smiled.
“Indeed!” The elder responded.
Before his voice had faded, Alfonso Ponce took two steps forward and waved his hand.
The next moment, an image appeared not far from Cloudpeak Sect’s booth.
In the image, nearly ten thousand people were gathered in the central square of a sect’s estate. Most of them had some injuries, and their faces were filled with fear.
Additionally, hundreds of people lay on the ground, with severed limbs scattered around and the ground stained red with blood.
Around the perimeter stood nearly a hundred people, all wearing green skull masks and cloaked in green robes, holding crescent-shaped scimitars with bronze blades.
Even though it was just an image, those present could vaguely feel the chilling killing intent from these hundred people.
“What is going on?” Judge couldn’t help but ask.
“What else could it be!” Opal responded. “Clearly, The Hallowed Court has taken action against Cloudpeak Sect’s base!”
“Damn!” Soul Chaser cursed.
“I thought they would target us here, but their methods are even more ruthless than expected!”
“Miss Sanaa, those in green robes aren’t ordinary disciples, are they? Do you recognize them?” White Tiger asked Sanaa.
“Azure Guard!” Sanaa nodded. “The most mysterious team in The Hallowed Court; each member is a death warrior!”
“Back then, it was this team that fought to their deaths to keep The Hallowed Court’s legacy alive. Otherwise, The Hallowed Court would have been completely wiped out.”
“The Azure Guard rarely shows up publicly. Even when The Hallowed Court was in a standoff with the Heaven Alliance at Boundary River recently, they didn’t participate.”
“They probably wanted to preserve their strength, fearing that after a bloody battle with the Heaven Alliance, they would be expelled again like before.”
As Sanaa spoke, Cloudpeak Sect’s leader and members emerged from their booth, their faces filled with anger.
“Mr. Ponce, what is the meaning of this?” The elder who had spoken earlier looked at Calvin Ponce angrily.
“I didn’t quite understand your three points earlier. Would you mind repeating them?” Calvin Ponce still wore a smile.
“I didn’t expect The Hallowed Court to be so despicable as to…” The elder frowned.
Before he could finish his sentence or anyone could see Calvin Ponce move, he turned into a mist of blood.
A gasp echoed through the venue.
“Grand Elder!” Cloudpeak Sect members cried out in pain.
“You are truly despicable! We’ll fight you to the death!” Two more elders roared and rushed towards the central stage.
Like the previous elder, they turned into mists of blood mid-air, leaving nothing behind.
Another wave of sorrowful cries came from Cloudpeak Sect’s camp.
Several more people prepared to attack.
“Stop!” Cloudpeak Sect’s leader shouted loudly.
“Sect Master, let’s fight them!” A man shouted back.
“Stand down!” The leader ordered again.
He knew very well that in the face of absolute power, they were like ants; rushing forward would only result in death.
Taking a deep breath, he looked at the stage. “What do you want?”
“No rush; I’ll answer that in a moment.” Calvin Ponce smiled and looked around again.
“Does anyone else want to see what’s happening at their sect’s estate? I can fulfill your request.”
“Hmm?!” Everyone was stunned by his words.
Soon after, most people took out sound transmission stones and sent messages.
As expected, not long after, everyone looked towards the stage with extreme anger on their faces.
Clearly, like Cloudpeak Sect, their bases had also been taken over by Azure Guard.
“Miss Sanaa, could Universe Palace also be…” White Tiger asked Sanaa from their booth.
“No,” Sanaa shook her head.
“Miss, Universe Palace is currently fine!” An elder from Universe Palace put away his sound transmission stone and reported to Sanaa.
“As expected,” Sanaa nodded in response.
“Miss Sanaa, how did you know The Hallowed Court wouldn’t send people to Universe Palace?” White Tiger and others asked curiously.
“Calvin Ponce knows Universe Palace’s strength well,” Sanaa replied calmly.
“Even though I brought several elders here, taking down Universe Palace’s base wouldn’t be easy for them.”
“Or rather, it would be too costly! It’s much simpler to have everyone here take us down instead!”
“I see,” everyone nodded in understanding.
Their opponent’s move was indeed cunning!
Forcing everyone present to attack Sanaa; if she were killed, their biggest potential threat would be eliminated.
Conversely, if these people were defeated and killed by Sanaa instead, they would suffer no loss.
Moreover, it would create an unending conflict between Sanaa and all major forces in the seventh-level star domain.
Of course, if both sides were severely weakened, it would be an ideal outcome for them to reap the benefits as bystanders.
At that time, they could strike both sides simultaneously and eliminate all high-level opponents in this star domain at minimal cost.
A multi-faceted strategy!
Most importantly, this situation was hard to resolve…