The golden staff of the Chief Judge struck the marble floor of the royal box three times.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
The sound echoed through the Precursor deep ring channels. It echoed across the snowy peaks of Mount Taiyi like the final judgment of an ancient dynasty.
The Chief Judge cleared his throat, his chest heaving with an emotional rough churning he hadn’t experienced in his eighty years of court service. He looked down at the dueling floor. At the forty-pace deep gap dividing the bedrock, at the catatonic sword prodigy weeping against an iron-shod boot, and at the unarmored youth in gray linen standing calmly with his hands clasped behind his back.
“The Grand Finals of the Decennial Seven Sects Tournament are finished!” the Chief Judge proclaimed, his voice magnified across the entire tiered arena by thirty-two surviving deep ring pylons.
“Jian Chen of the Heavenly Sword Sect is incapacitated by total spiritual and psychological tiredness! Victor by complete combat pacification: Lin Tao of the Azure Cloud Sect!”
The Judge drew a deep, ragged breath before speaking the final, historic words:
“By the decree of the Royal Judicial Ministry, by the mandate of the Seven Founding Charters, and by the witness of the Grand Dao: Lin Tao is hereby announcedthe Grand Champion of the Seven Sects!”
