Cultivating Disciples To Breakthrough

by Stayrr

Within a quiet pavilion on top of a lonely mountain peak, Xuan Hao slowly opened his eyes with a bewildered look on his face, he had transmigrated into a cultivation world as an elder of the Flying Sword Sect. He was even an expert at the Nascent Soul Realm, who had the power to easily destory an entire city with a wave of his hand. Most importantly, he had a system that allowed h

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Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough #Chapter 821 Terrifying Ancestor Of The Imperial Family - Read Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough Chapter 821 Terrifying Ancestor Of The Imperial Family Online - All Page - Novel Bin

I don't think it will hurt for me to watch from afar, as long as I don't get too close, I should be able to keep myself safe with my current strength. Even if the ancestor from the imperial family shows up, I doubt he will have time to care about a Domain Lord Realm Expert like myself when faced with two equally powerful Soul Ascension Realm Experts in the process of fighting not too far away from the capital city...

Having come to a decision that it would properly be a good idea to stay behind and try to figure out where these two powerful Soul Ascension Realm Experts had come from, Xuan Hao remained on top of the lonely mountain while watching as the fight in the distance got closer and closer to him. Not too worried about getting targeted by any of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts due to his current strength only showing as someone in the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm.

On the negative side, to make his current disguise more believable, he would be forced to retreat further back when the shockwaves from the fight grew too intense for someone in the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm to handle.

Of course, this was only considering that his current disguise worked against the powerful Soul Ascension Realm Experts in the first place-

Whoosh-!

Just at this moment, a terrifying aura equal, if not superior, to the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts fighting each other, appeared in the direction of the capital city. Momentarily causing the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts busy fighting with each other to come to an abrupt stop before both turned to look towards the origin of the terrifying aura. Even without seeing who the aura belonged to, it was not difficult to guess who the aura belonged to.

"So, the old ancestor from the imperial family finally decided to show up." Turning to look in the direction of the terrifying aura like the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts, Xuan Hao could not help quietly muttering this as he saw an old man covered in an imperial garment floating in the air with a stern expression on his face.

From a glance alone, it was easy to guess that he was less than pleased at the fact that two foreign Soul Ascension Realm Experts had decided to start fighting with each other inside his territory. Especially when considering the current precarious situation that existed between the imperial family and the three religions...

"Hmph! How dare you two cause trouble inside my empire!"

Swish-!

Without warning, the ancestor from the imperial family launched a powerful strike towards the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts.

"How dare you!? Do you think you can just show up and attack us like this!?"

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"Hmph! Overestimating your own abilities!"

As the attack of the old ancestor from the imperial family approached them, the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts that had been fighting just a second earlier stood their ground before saying this. Not retreating as they prepared to take the attack of the imperial family's ancestor head on.

Observing the scene from afar, Xuan Hao could not help showing a hint of surprise after sensing the terrifying power contained inside the attack of the imperial family's ancestor. Even if he had been no problem dealing with a Soul Ascension Realm Expert that had gone through a single tribulation, he understood that he would have no way to resist against a Soul Ascension Realm Expert like the ancestor of the imperial family who had gone through four tribulations. Faced with someone like that, the only option for him would be to escape...

Rumble-!

Finishing his train of thought, the sounding area was bathed in a blinding light as the attack reached the two foreign Soul Ascension Realm Experts.

BOOM-!

The ground trembled violently, as cracks the size of canyons formed around the centre of the impact, and the air was filled with the deafening roar of the wind-

BOOOOOOM-!

As the attack reached its peak, the ground erupted in a massive explosion. The shockwave from the attack spread outwards, obliterating everything in its path. In an instant, entire mountains and forests were erased around the place where the two foreign Soul Ascension Realm Experts were standing!

"This... Is the old ancestor of the imperial family really someone who has only gone through four tribulations...?" Feeling the shockwave carrying the remnant power of the attack wash over him, Xuan Hao could not feel a shiver run down his spine as he looked towards the old ancestor from the imperial family.Ñ00vl--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

The force of the attack was beyond anything he had ever seen before if he didn't count what he had seen through the ancient book. Even when compared to the more powerful Soul Ascension Realm Experts he had seen in action through the ancient book, the old ancestor from the imperial family did not seem to lack that far behind!

Whoosh~

As the dust settled and the two foreign Soul Ascension Realm Experts came inro view, Xuan Hao did not have to inspect them closely to understand that they had been seriously wounded by the attack just now. Not only that, but the way they looked towards the ancestor from the imperial family had clearly changed compared to before.

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For a short time, an odd silence descended upon the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts that were locked in an intense staring competition with each other following the attack just now. None of them making a move.

"Y-you are not someone who has only gone through four tribulations!" Interrupting the odd silence that had fallen after the dust had settled, one of the foreign Soul Ascension Realm Experts bit his teeth together with a slightly fearful expression on his face as he said this while looking towards the ancestor of the imperial family.

"Oh? You already knew about me, yet still decided to come to my empire to fight it out with your little friend? Not to mention fighting in the border region of my empire by accident, but you decided to sneak into the core of my empire a short distance away from my capital city to start your little fight. If I didn't know better, I would think you were trying to set up an ambush for me... But this isn't the case... Right?"

"This... Of course not, senior, these two juniors will take their leave now!" Freezing up on the spot as a panicked expression appeared on his face for a short moment following what the old ancestor from the imperial family said, the foreign Soul Ascension Realm quickly turned around before leaving without waiting for his response. Not daring to stay for even a second longer after having faced the terrifying attack just now.

"What about you? Are you going to leave as well?" Seeing that one of the foreign Soul Ascension Realm Experts had turned his tail and fled at a speed that even surprised him to some degree, the old ancestor of the imperial family looked towards the last remaining foreign Soul Ascension Realm Expert.

"I will be taking my leave..."

Swish~!

Knowing that it would not be wise to stay any longer, the last remaining Soul Ascension Realm Expert also took his leave in the same direction that the first had left in.

"Hmph! Those people are getting more and more bold with each passing day..." Quietly muttering this just barely loud enough for Xuan Hao to hear from where he was standing, the old ancestor from the imperial family made his way back towards the capital city. Disappearing from the place as fast as he had shown up.

"..."

Left behind with only the destruction caused by the powerful attack just now to hold him company, Xuan Hao had no idea what to say about the short yet destructive battle he had just witnessed.

From the little information he had managed to gather and from what the three people involved had said during the short confrontation, it was rather obvious that the fight just now had just been a ruse to get the ancestor of the imperial family to leave the capital city where his guardian formation was in place and ambush him.

How they were going to do this, Xuan Hao had no idea, nor did he have any idea what power these two terrifying Soul Ascension Realm Experts belonged to... But then again, an obvious choice for where they had come from would be the three religions. After all, they were in essence only branches of a much larger religion that was spread throughout the entire Ewaria Continent.

Considering this, it would not be too odd if these powerful religions decided to send some of their more powerful experts over to deal with the old ancestor from the imperial family that was currently posing a threat to their presence inside the Sky Empire.

Looks like things are going to get far more chaotic after this...

Understanding this, Xuan Hao also understood that his time in the core region of the Sky Empire was over. Staying any longer was bound to get him involved in something troublesome...

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"That damnable old man is far stronger than what we were told about! Not to mention, now that he has some idea about the fact that we are targeting him, the chances of getting him to leave his capital protected by his guardian formation is close to none! How in the world are we supposed to do anything to him in such a situation... Hah... It looks like we will have to inform an exalted pope if we want to ensure a continued flow of faith from the Sky Empire..." At the same time Xuan Hao was making his way back towards the Star Shattering Sect, one of the two foreign Soul Ascension Realm Experts that had been chased away by the ancestor of the imperial family was filled with anger as he said this.

The two foreign Soul Ascension Realm Experts had indeed planned to ambush him like the ancestor from the imperial family had guessed. Not only that, but they had indeed also been from one of the three religions like he had suspected.

"Involving an exalted pope!? Are you crazy!? Do you really think an exalted pope would care about a small Sky Empire located outside the core of the continent...?" Beside the angry Soul Ascension Realm Expert, the other Soul Ascension Realm Expert could not help exclaiming loudly with a shocked expression on his face upon hearing an exalted pope being casually brought up.

"This... Indeed... Looks like we will have to find another way to deal with that old man from the imperial family. Maybe the other two would be interested in joining in. After all, it not only affects our flow of faith, but also their flow of fate...!" Understanding how difficult it was to get a pope to move, the other Soul Ascension Realm Expert quickly changed his approach as he brought up the remaining two religions that had yet to take action to deal with the imperial family.

"Hm... Good idea. Considering how they would also be affected if the imperial family ended up destroying their branches in the Sky Empire, it is indeed plausible that we can convince them to work together to deal with the ancestor from the imperial family. Even if the old man from the imperial family is powerful and has managed to go through five or six tribulations, I doubt he will be able to fight a combined force of six Soul Ascension Realm Experts that have gone through four tribulations!" Nodding his head in agreement after thinking about the matter for a short moment, the other Soul Ascension Realm Expert agreed that working together with the other two religions was a good idea.

"Great! Then let's get going and find them before coming out with a way to get that old man to leave the capital city again!" Feeling a wave of excitement after hearing the agreement, the other Soul Ascension Realm Expert didn't waste any time before pulling out a communication talisman to get in contact with the experts from the other two religions.

"..."

Not saying anything upon seeing how excited his friend was to get back at the ancestor from the imperial family, the more cautious among the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts decided to just remain silent for now. Part of him understood that the reason for his friend's behavior was not only because they were about to lose their branch inside the Sky Empire, but instead because of how he had been sent running by the ancestor of the imperial family a short time ago.

Although the injuries they had received would heal within a few hours due to the powerful healing ability of the divine power from their god coursing through their bodies, the humiliation of being beaten up and sent running in a single attack, was not something that his friend was willing to endure. To be honest, deep down, he also wanted to get back at the ancestor from the imperial family!

...

"To think I managed to survive..." After Xuan Hao left him and he began making his way towards the direction that the group of elders and disciples from the different independent sects had gone in, Xu Bao could not help letting out a quiet sigh as he muttered this to himself.

If not for the fact that Xuan Hao had shown up just in time to save him back there, he doubted that he would have been able to make it out alive. Even if he noticed that the fighting had come to a stop shortly after he had left the area, he also understood that there was a chance for the people who had ambushed him would return to check on whether or not he died.

Considering that he would have spent all of his energy trying to survive the terrifying shockwaves from the battle between the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts, he would have no way to defend himself and would only be able to motionlessly wait for them to kill him...

"Hm? What are they doing stopping here!?" Spotting the group of independent sects appearing in the distance, Xu Bao could not help quietly muttering this to himself as surprised expression appeared on his face after realizing that they had come to a stop not too far away from the place where he and Elder Scarlet Flame had first confronted the ambush by the major sects and their backers.

Given how he and Elder Scarlet Flame had both risked their lives to buy time for them to escape, Xu Bao could not help feeling that something was wrong after spotting them having stopped only a short distance away from where he and Elder Scarlet Flame had split off from them.

Whoosh~

Not wasting any time after realizing something was wrong, Xu Bao directly flew forward before landing a short distance away from the small camp that had been set up by the independent sects-

"Everyone! Look! Senior Xu is back!"

"Senior Xu is back? Haha, those major sects have nothing on us independent sects!"

"Senior Xu!? To think even the combined forces of the major sects can't do anything... Senior Xu is truly powerful!"

Not even a second after he landed on the ground, the other Domain Lords present spotted him before calling out with joy upon seeing him return alive.

"What happened, why are all of you here? Didn't I tell you to escape while me and Elder Scarlet Flame held back the major sects!?" Narrowing both of his eyes as he said this, Xu Bao stared directly at the elder that had come forward first to greet him.

. "Senior, it's not that we don't want to leave... It's just that Elder Scarlet Flame stopped us from leaving after he returned and told us to wait for you..." Feeling Xu Bao focusing his attention on him, a shiver ran down the elder's spine as he quickly said this before pointing towards Elder Scarlet Flame who was standing a bit further away.

"Hm? Elder Scarlet Flame did?"

"He is telling the truth; it was Elder Scarlet Flame that stopped us from leaving."

NvεlB¡n: Your Escape into Infinite Tales.

"Yeah, it was indeed Elder Scarlet Flame! All of us wanted to escape, but he forced us to stay and wait for you to return!"

"Indeed, Elder Scarlet Flame returned shortly after you two went off to stop the Domain Lords from the major sects and told us that everything was going according to plan and we just had to wait for your return, he even told us that everything had already been predicted by you and was under control...!"

Hearing what the elders around him said, Xu Bao had no idea whether to laugh or cry as he looked towards Elder Scarlet Flame smiling proudly towards him while giving a small thumps up like he had done a good job at stopping the group of elders from the different independent sects from leaving.

"What do you- Ah...!" Suddenly remembering how he had told Elder Scarlet Flame that everything had been under control, and he had already had some idea about what was happening and had plans to deal with it, Xu Bao could not help stopping himself from saying anything as he felt a wave of embarrassment washing over him.

Out of everything he thought might be the reason that the independent sects had not moved any further, he had never expected that the reason for all of this, was the few careless words he had said to Elder Scarlet Flame. After all, back then, he had just said those words so as to make him leave. Not wanting him to get caught up in his fight with the three Seventh Stage Domain Lords Realm Experts that had already surrounded him at that point in time.

"Senior Xu, I'm sure you took care of those people from the major sects already. Hehe, to think they dared to underestimate us independent sects! Serves them right!"

"..."

Hearing what Elder Scarlet Flame said with a respectful expression on his face as he came over, Xu Bao once again felt like crying. Elder Scarlet Flames words causing him to remember the past few days of him escaping with his tail between his legs before getting one-sidedly beaten up by the experts behind the major sects...

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"Senior Xu, are we going to deal with that matter now, or are we going to wait until later?" As he got up to him, Elder Scarlet Flame sneakily used his divine sense to ask this.

"This... We will wait until a later date; I still don't have a hundred percent certainty in who the traitor from the Stone Horn Sect is as of now..." The thing in question that Elder Scarlet Flame was asking about being rather obvious to Xu Bao, who had to think about the matter for a short moment before answering in a way that would not give away the fact that he had no idea about who the traitor was, nor if there even was one in the first place...

"I see... That is understandable. After all, we don't want to end up going after the wrong person. Only for the real traitor hiding inside the Stone Horn Sect to escape unharmed!" Nodding his head with a look of understanding on his face, Elder Scarlet Flame did not doubt what Xu Bao said and only felt that it was natural. Allowing Xu Bao to breathe a sigh of relief at the fact that he had managed to avoid the subject of the traitor.

Following the matter of the traitor getting thrown to the side for the time being, Xu Bao, Elder Scarlet Flame and the rest of the elders and disciples from the other independent sects all began making their way back towards their own sects once again. Feeling far safer now that that Xu Bao had returned alive and was moving alongside them again. None of them having any idea just how badly damaged his body was...

...NvεlB¡n: Your Escape into Infinite Tales.

"How come not a single person was sent over to help us deal with the demonic cultivators still rushing in from the Frozen Wastelands? Did something big perhaps happen after we left that prevented them from sending people over... But then again, what in the world could have happened back at the capital that would result in them not being able to send anyone over...?" Back at the border between the Frozen Wasteland and the Sky Empire, one of the soldiers that had been fighting with demonic cultivators for the past few days, could not help muttering this to himself with an exhausted expression on his face.

For close to a month, he and the rest of the soldiers from the Sky Empire had been trying to block the constant stream of demonic cultivators coming from the Frozen Wastelands from rushing into the kingdom located behind them.

Although this had been to mixed degree of success due to the sheer number of demonic cultivators that came at them day and night, they had at the very least managed to prevent any stronger cultivators from rushing past them and get into the territory of the Sky Empire where they could start causing chaos.

"Now that I think about it, that Star Shattering Sect has also been a great help in cleaning up those weaker demonic cultivators that passed us..." Looking towards a group of disciples from the Star Shattering Sect not too far away from where he and his fellow soldiers were fighting against a group of powerful demonic cultivators who had just recently reached the Nascent Soul Realm by devouring some of the more powerful demonic cultivators that had died at their hands earlier, the soldier could not help feeling grateful for the fact that there was such a powerful sect located nearby.

The group in question that he was looking towards had all reached the Core Formation Realm and were busy fighting with some of the weaker demonic cultivators that made it past them. Preventing them from making it further inside the territory of the Sky Empire.

Not only that, but a little further away, a group of Nascent Soul Realm elders from the Star Shattering Sect had joined them and helped in dealing with some of the demonic cultivators in the First Demonic Transformation Realm. Relieving a large part of the pressure put on them as a result.

However, the most shocking thing was not that a sect located at the border of the Sky Empire had so many powerful disciples and Nascent Soul Realm elders. Instead, it was the fact that a Domain Lord Realm Expert had appeared to help in dealing with the demonic cultivators!

Boom-boom-boom!

Even now, the soldier could not help feeling a sense of awe as he looked towards the place where his general was fighting together with three other Domain Lords. One of these Domain Lords being the Domain Lord from the Star Shattering Sect!

"Hm? Wha-"

Ptsh-!

Being distracted by his own thoughts while thinking about the Star Shattering Sect, the soldier was suddenly caught off guard as one of the demonic cultivators managed to pierce through his defence and stab him through the heart.

"Ahh-!" Rapidly retreating with a small pain-filled scream after having his heart pierced through, the soldier could not help feeling grateful that he was not someone in the Core Formation Realm. Although recovering his heart was difficult and required a long time. At the very least he did not end up dying.

Whoosh~

"Hm? Is something wrong?" About to jump forward and join the fight again, the soldier could not help showing a confused expression on his face after one of his friends stepped forward and stopped him.

"Brother, you should leave for now and recover. Now that we have the help of the Star Shattering Sect, we are more than capable of preventing any First Demonic Transformation Realm demonic cultivator from getting through! Even if one gets through, I doubt the elders from the Star Shattering Sect watching over the disciples a little further away will allow it to get far..."

"This..." Not knowing what to say after hearing what his friend said, the soldier could only gaze around at the elders from the Star Shattering Sect ensuring the safety of their disciples not too far away "I understand, I will find a place to recover..." In the end, he could only agree and leave the frontline before looking for a place to recover from his injuries.

The support of the Star Shattering Sect was truly a great thing... But at the back of his mind, the soldier could not help wondering just what had happened back in the capital city that prevented any support from showing up even after a month's time.

No matter what it was, he was sure that it should involve something extremely important figures inside the imperial family. Not only that, but it most likely also had something to do with the three religions that had been looking to stir up trouble from far before he had left the capital city together with his general to sort out the increasing number of demonic cultivators from the Frozen Wasteland.

Over the past few years, the Sky Empire has grown more and more chaotic with each passing day... Does this perhaps mean something big is going to happen soon? No matter, this is not something that a small soldier like me will be able to change. For now, I should just focus on keeping myself safe and ensuring that I stay alive...

Thinking this to himself as he sat down to recover a short distance from where the battle with the demonic cultivators was taking place, the soldier could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine before he began looking over towards the place where the disciples from the Star Shattering Sect were fighting.

No matter how hard he thought about it, he could not understand where such a powerful sect had appeared from. Not just that, but also the fact that this sect had decided to stay at the border of the Sky Empire instead of moving to the core region of the Sky Empire.

Given the fact that the Star Shattering Sect had a Domain Lord Realm Expert guarding it, he understood that they had more than enough strength to move into the core region of the Sky Empire where the resources were far more abundant and there were far more opportunities present!

Not only that, but the soldier had also overheard some of the disciples talking about a Grand Elder and a Sect Master that should also have reached the Domain Lord Realm. Making him even more confused as to why he had never heard about the Star Shattering Sect before.

Just the fact that the sect had three Domain Lords should be more than enough for it to become well known across the entire Sky Empire.

"Is the appearance of this Star Shattering Sect perhaps going to affect the current Sky Empire?" Letting his thoughts wander as he was recovering, the soldier could not help muttering this to himself before he slowly closed both of his eyes to fully focus on recovering as fast as possible without getting distracted by all the fighting happening around him.

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The fight to push back the demonic cultivators that had managed to pass through the border of the Sky Empire and enter the kingdom just next to the Frozen Wastelands, was already approaching its ends. At this point in time, the only way for the disciples of the Star Shattering Sect to find any demonic cultivators, was by moving closer to the border, where the demonic cultivators came from...

As the disciples of the Star Shattering Sect were all fighting against the constant stream of demonic cultivators that came from the Frozen Wasteland, the Nascent Soul Realm Elders from the sect were busy doing their best in helping make sure that none of the disciples ended up getting attacked by a First Demonic Transformation Realm demonic cultivator or get overwhelmed by the sheer number of demonic cultivators that were coming out from the Frozen Wastelands.

Due to this, the elders from the Star Shattering Sect ended up helping the people from the Sky Empire in ensuring that no powerful demonic cultivators could enter the small kingdom located behind them.

The appearance of the young disciples and elders from the Star Shattering Sect had caught the people from the Sky Empire by surprise, they were happy knowing that the demonic cultivators that had made it past them had already been dealt with and they didn't have to worry about hunting them down in the future.

Shu Yao who had been fighting alongside the three Domain Lord Realm Experts from the Sky Empire was also someone from the Star Shattering Sect. Giving not only the soldiers from the Sky Empire fighting on the ground the impression of the Star Shattering Sect being a powerful sect, but also gave the three Domain Lords from the Sky Empire the impression that the Star Shattering Sect was a powerful sect.

As for the reason why such a powerful sect had not been known before, the three Domain Lords had far more knowledge about the world compared to the Nascent Soul Realm soldiers fighting on the ground and guessed that the Star Shattering Sect was an old reclusive sect that had kept to itself without interfering with the outside world.

pαпdα-ňᴏνê·сóМ Although they were not certain whether or not this was the truth, they felt that this was the most likely reason for a powerful sect like the Star Shattering Sect with multiple Domain lord Realm Experts to suddenly pop up inside the Sky Empire without them having any prior knowledge of it before today.

After all, for a sect to reach the level of the Star Shattering Sect, a lot of time was needed. Not to mention, a lot of resources would also be needed to allow their disciples to reach their current realm and the same could be said about the elders of the sect!Ñ00vl--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

Even if the group of Domain Lords from the Sky Empire knew that Shu Yao was only in First Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, they had already witnessed the power of another Domain Lord Realm Expert from the Star Shattering Sect back when Feng Chen had slain a Third Demonic Transformation Realm demonic cultivator.

Although the group of Domain Lords from the Sky Empire had no idea about the true strength of this demonic cultivator, nor the fact that it had only just broken through to the Third Demonic Transformation Realm when Feng Chen had attacked it, they still understood that the Star Shattering Sect was among the most powerful sects inside the Sky Empire... And that was not mentioning their encounter with Xuan Hao earlier on their way to the border.

Taking him into account, this group of Domain Lords from the Sky Empire understood very well that the current strongest set inside the border of the Sky Empire was likely to be the Star Shattering Sect!

Even if the sect itself might not compare to the most powerful kingdoms beneath the imperial family, the appearance of such a powerful sect in the current chaotic environment of the Sky Empire was sure to make the larger kingdoms start panicking at the prospect of such a powerful new competitor. Not to mention the fact that this new sect was not tied to any kingdom and was fully independent from what these three Domain Lord Realm Experts had seen so far.

"I wonder how his majesty will react when he learns about the appearance of such a powerful sect..." Secretly glancing towards Shu Yao as he muttered this to himself, the general from the Sky Empire could not help wondering just what kind of reaction the imperial family would have to such a powerful sect inside their territory. Especially considering the current unstable situation between the imperial family and the three religions...

Boom-boom-boom!

Turning his attention away from Shu Yao and focusing on dealing with the powerful demonic cultivator in the Third Demonic Transformation Realm that was single handily beating up his two subordinates, the general and two other Domain Lords from the Sky Empire did not take long before they managed to heavily injurie the demonic cultivator and force him to escape back into the Frozen Wasteland.

All because Shu Yao had managed to hold back the three remaining Third Demonic Transformation Realm demonic cultivators that were trying to interfere with the short three on one battle. After all, they understood very well what would happen if one of them ended up getting heavily injured without any way to join the fight again...

Whoosh~!

Whoosh~!

Because of this, the moment they realized that their friend had been knocked back without any possibility to join the fight again, the three Third Demonic Transformation Realm demonic cultivators turned around and escaped back into the Frozen Wasteland. Not daring to stay behind and fight against the combined might of Shu Yao and the three Domain Lords from the Sky Empire... Although, there was also the option of them deciding to leave due to their injured friend, without much ability to fight left in him, provided a great opportunity for them to further increase their strength!

In the end, Shu Yao and the Domain Lords from the Sky Empire would never find out which of these were the cause for the demonic cultivators retreating so fast. In the end, they were all rather happy that the close to month long struggle at the border of the Frozen Wastelands had come to an end.

Whoosh~

Whoosh~

Whoosh~

As for the weaker demonic cultivators that were still trying their best to make it through the defensive line formed by the soldiers of the Sky Empire and the elders of the Star Shattering Sect, they all did their best to escape back towards the Frozen Wasteland after discovering what had happened. Understanding very well that they would get targeted by the terrifying Domain Lord Realm Experts floating in the air above them now that the group of powerful Third Demonic Transformation Realm demonic cultivators had disappeared.

BOOOOM-!

However, before they had a chance to run too far, the terrifying might of the general's domain descended on them. Locking the demonic cultivators trying to escape in place without a single way to resist.

"Hmph! Think it's that easy to leave?" Snorting coldly as his eyes filled with killing intent while looking at these demonic cultivators, the general from the Sky Empire didn't bother wasting any more words before directly killing all of the demonic cultivators that had been locked in place inside of his domain-

Boom!

Boom!

Following what the general did, the two other Domain Lords from the Sky Empire followed his lead, as they began killing the demonic cultivators that had yet to escape. Not intending to let any of them leave alive. After all, even if the soldiers of the Sky Empire had managed to hold back most of the demonic cultivators now that they had the help of the elders from the Star Shattering Sect, it didn't mean that they didn't suffer any losses.

In fact, the soldiers from the Sky Empire ended up losing more than three people that had all reached the Middle Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. Even worse, they had also lost a Peak Nascent Soul Realm Expert due to a Third Demonic Transformation Realm demonic cultivators trying to sneak by the general and the rest of the Domain Lord Realm Experts being stopped by this Nascent Soul Realm Expert.

Although the arrival of Shu Yao had prevented any more casualties from this sneaky demonic cultivator, it had still ended up killing the Peak Nascent Soul Realm Expert from the Sky Empire that had ended up revealing it before being restrained.

Even in the Sky Empire, a Peak Nascent Soul Realm Expert was a rare existence that was hard to come by under normal circumstances and the general especially, would feel the pain of losing one of the most powerful subordinates under him. Even possibly losing out on a future Domain Lord Realm subordinate!

Considering all of this, the anger shown by the general from the Sky Empire was reasonable...

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"The demonic cultivators shouldn't try to cross the border again any time soon. Now I just need to return to the capital and figure out what happened during the month I was gone..." Muttering this to himself as he stared towards the Frozen Wasteland after killing off the last few demonic cultivators that had entered the border kingdom he was currently inside of, the general from the Sky Empire felt a sense of worry upon thinking about what might have happened back in the capital city.

Knowing a bit about the situation inside the capital city, the general also knew about the fact that the imperial family was establishing a sect alliance to try and weaken the power of the three religions. However, even knowing about this, he did not think that the sect alliance would be able to cause a large enough problem that the imperial family would not be able to send over reinforcements to prevent demonic cultivators from entering and establishing themselves inside the borders of the Sky Empire.Ñ00vl--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

After all, all things considered, the strongest person among the sects of the Sky Empire had only reached the Sixth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm... And that was not mentioning the fact that most of the sects inside the Sky Empire were under the control of a more powerful kingdom. For them to be able to cause a problem for the imperial family was not possible with this level of strength!

"Hm? But... What about that senior from the Star Shattering Sect? If I don't remember wrongly, he was on his way towards the capital city when we met him and he should be far stronger than the Sixth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm..." Almost whispering this to himself as he suddenly remembered his encounter with Xuan Hao over a month ago when he had been making his way towards the border to deal with the recent surge in demonic cultivators trying to enter the Sky Empire, the general could not help turning to look towards Shu Yao who was in the process of talking with the elders from her sect that had helped out his subordinates.

The appearance of the Star Shattering Sect had been far too sudden, and he had no idea how powerful it really, nor did he really have a clear idea about the strength of Xuan Hao whom he had met over a month earlier.

Maybe that Grand Elder from the Star Shattering Sect is related to the matter of the imperial family not being able to send over anyone? Maybe his majesty already knew about the Star Shattering Sect and saw no need to send over more people to deal with the matter...

As his thoughts began running wild trying to think of what might have caused the imperial family not to send anyone over to reinforce him and prevent the demonic cultivators from establishing a path inside the Sky Empire, the general ended up attributing all of this to the Star Shattering Sect. Slowly starting to think that the imperial family already knew about the Star Shattering Sect beforehand and understood that they would be helping him out when it came to dealing with the demonic cultivators.

All things considered; this was the reason that the general concluded to be the most likely one. In the end, there was no way that he would have guessed that a demonic cultivator in the True Demon Realm had managed to sneak into the capital city and cause havoc. Not to mention the fact that the old ancestor from the imperial family had also been ambushed outside the capital city!

If he knew about these things happening, he might have come to a different conclusion, but in the end, he had no idea about what had taken place in the capital city and could only work off what information he had managed to gather about the situation by himself.

"General! What should we do now that the demonic cultivators have been dealt with? We already talked with a few of the elders from the Star Shattering Sect that helped us out and they told us that they would clean up the place and ensure that the kingdom here won't get invaded by demonic cultivators from the Frozen Wastelands again..."

"Ah? Don't worry about it and let them deal with it, gather everyone in preparation to leave for the capital city." Suddenly hearing one of his subordinates coming up to him and saying this, the general took a short moment to get out of his thoughts before saying this. Not feeling that there would be any problems with the Star Shattering Sect cleaning up the battlefield.

In the first place, the things carried by the demonic cultivators were mostly useless to normal cultivators and weren't worth that much. The only one that had anything worth it was the Third Demonic Transformation Realm demonic cultivators, but only one of them had died... And that was due to someone from the Star Shattering Sect. No matter how shameless the general was, there was no way that he was going to offend a powerful sect like the Star Shattering Sect over something like this!

"I understand, general! I will inform the others about this and get ready to leave for the capital!" Nodding his head dutifully upon hearing what the general said, the soldier soon made his way back towards the place where the rest of the soldiers had stopped to relax after the demonic cultivators had been dealt with.

...

"Grand Elder Shu Yao, we are going to send the disciples from the sect back before finding a good location to establish a branch sect inside this kingdom like Elder Song instructed... And getting this mess cleaned up..."please visit

"No need to tell me this, Elder Song is the person in charge of this matter... So do as you wish." Rolling her eyes as she said this while looking at the group of elders that had gathered in front of her following the end of the battle against the demonic cultivators, Shu Yao understood very well that this entire matter had nothing to do with her and was all part of one of Elder Song's plans to expand the Star Shattering Sect and grow their sphere of influence.

The only reason why she was present, was to make sure nothing unexpected happened and to prevent any of the Third Stage Demonic Transformation Realm cultivators from breaking through the three Domain Lords from the Sky Empire.

"Thank you, Grand Elder! We will make sure to get everything done straight away!"

"Yes, you don't have to worry about anything!"

"Haha, indeed! Now that there are no more demonic cultivators around, it will be an easy matter to establish a branch sect inside this small kingdom! As for cleaning up the battlefield, we will-"

As the group of elders were happily reassuring her that they would get everything done, one of the last elders to talk suddenly froze midsentence after catching a glimpse of the large number of dead demonic cultivators all over the place and the devastating damage caused by the fight between the three Domain Lords from the Sky Empire and the Third Stage Demonic Transformation Realm cultivators that had lasted close to a month.

Even if he was someone in the Nascent Soul Realm, he had instantly realized that cleaning up the battlefield would not be a simple matter and would at least take a month or longer. Especially when considering that they would also have to fix up the damage that had been caused to the environment.

"""..."""

The rest of the elders were in the same situation, as they all similarly realized the scale of the battlefield. All of them simulations turning to look towards Shu Yao filled with expectations.

"Hah... I will help restoring the environment after you finish cleaning this place up..." Understanding very well what these elders wanted to ask her but did not outright dare to ask after what they had just said, Shu Yao could not help smiling a bit wryly as she said this while shaking her head at how fast these elders changed after realizing the scale of the task they had happily agreed to take on.

Although the matter would take some time, she was still a Domain Lord Realm Expert that had managed to comprehend a nature related domain. Restoring the damaged environment would not take that much effort on her part. However, because of her domain being a flower domain, the entire battlefield would most likely end up becoming a massive flower field...

"Thank you, Grand Elder!"

"Haha, I knew the Grand Elder was a kind person!"

Rolling her eyes once again upon hearing the group of elders start happily praising her, Shu Yao did not bother responding to them, as she directly turned around and left in the direction of the Star Shattering Sect. Now that the matter with the demonic cultivators had finished, she had no more reason to stay.

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Already having ascended into the sky, about to fly back in the direction of the Star Shattering Sect, Shu Yao could not help frowning as she noticed the general from the Sky Empire approaching her from the distance.

Even if part of her wanted to leave and let someone like Elder Song deal with the questions that the general from the Sky Empire would have for her sect, Shu Yao also understood that just leaving would be a bit too rude.

"Thanks for the help earlier. If you don't mind, would it be fine for me to ask a few questions...?"

"Sure, ask away." Nodding her head in response to what the general who had showed up in front of her asked, Shu Yao could not help feeling a bit nervous as to what this person might want to ask her. After all, the person in front of her was a powerful person from the Sky Empire, that had the backing of multiple Soul Ascension Realm Experts!

Even if he seemed kind on the surface, Shu Yao understood that it was best to remain cautious in the face of someone from the Sky Empire who could potentially cause a lot of trouble for the Star Shattering Sect in the future...

"Great! I just wanted to ask you if your sect has a Grand Elder called Xuan."

"Grand Elder Xuan...? Yes, he is from my sect..." Not understanding why, the person in front of her suddenly brought up Xuan Hao, Shu Yao could not help narrowing her eyes as she cautiously inspected the general from the Sky Empire in front of her.

"Haha, looks like that senior is indeed from the same Star Shattering Sect as this one! Well, I will have to take my leave before my subordinates start to get impatient. Thanks for answering my question and don't worry about any problems following this battle, I will make sure to take care of them when I return to the capital!" Unaware of the suspicious look Shu Yao was giving him, the general from the Sky Empire seemed to have come to his own conclusion on the matter and left the place as quickly as he had appeared-

Whoosh-!

"What in the world was all of this about..."

Not giving Shu Yao any time to understand what had just happened before everything was over and the flying ship belonging to the Sky Empire started floating back in the direction of the capital city without wasting any time.

...

"How troublesome... I never expected for something like this to happen now of all times..."

At the same time Shu Yao had been left in a state of confusion by the general from the Sky Empire's sudden leave, Elder Song was hovering above a document on top of his table with a troubled expression plastered all over his old face.Ñ00vl--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

The document in question was a general report on the current situation of the kingdoms located around the Star Shattering Sect. At first glance, everything seemed to be going well and was under the control of the Star Shattering Sect as it was slowly expanding and taking over the territories of these kingdoms.

The problem in question that caused Elder Song's expression to become so troubled was not this, but the last part of the document that stated that an old ancestor from a kingdom that had already fallen under the control of the Star Shattering Sect had returned from adventuring outside looking for opportunities.

If this was the end of it, everything would have been fine... But the ancestor in question had managed to break through to the Domain Lord Realm... And this was not the false Domain Lord Realm that was achieved through force like what the ancestor from the Feather Kingdom had done. Instead, it was a real breakthrough to the Domain Lord Realm!

After he found out about the fact that the kingdom, he had spent most of his life building up conceding and giving up their land to the Star Shattering Sect, he was furious and had directly beaten up the person who had overseen that royal family... But even more troublesome than this, he had started causing trouble for the Star Shattering Sect branch located inside that kingdom.

"Well... he didn't destroy the branch sect or kill anyone... But the damage he caused is almost the same as completely destroying it..." Muttering this to himself, Elder Song could not help glancing down at the description of the damage done to the branch sect by this old ancestor. If not for the fact that he knew that the Star Shattering Sect had multiple Domain Lord Realm Experts, Elder Song did not doubt that this old ancestor would have already destroyed that branch...

"I should consult Feng Chen about this matter, this is already something that far exceeds my capabilities..." Understanding very well that he had no ability to deal with a matter like this alone with his strength only in the Nascent Soul Realm, Elder Song decided to get up before leaving to find Feng Chen. Hoping that he would be able to settle this matter so he could focus his attention back towards the expansion of the Star Shattering Sect without having to worry about a Domain Lord Realm Expert suddenly starting to cause trouble inside the territory they had just taken control of.please visit

At the very, the Domain Lord in question did not seem to have broken through for too long and should still be at the First Stage of the Domain Lord Realm according to the description of his attack on the branch sect by the Nascent Soul Realm Elders who had witnessed it.

Now that Xuan Hao was gone and was dealing with the sect alliance matter in the capital city of the Sky Empire, Elder Song really didn't want to have a powerful Domain Lord Realm Expert as an enemy. Even if they could always hide on the Shattered Star Peaks until Xuan Hao returned, Elder Song understood very well that the progress that the Star Shattering Sect had made over the past few years in expanding would be ruined if this happened.

Swish~

Knowing how serious this matter was, Elder Song soon left his room before rapidly moving along a large road leading deeper inside the sect where Feng Chen's home was located.

"Wha- Elder Song!?"

"Elder Song...? The quiet and kind elder who always sets up all kinds of events?"

"Yes! I'm sure something happened for him to be like this all of a sudden!"

As the older disciples and new disciples walking along the road saw Elder Song speeding past them, everyone could not help turning their heads as they wondered just what in the world had happened. After all, everyone in the Star Shattering Sect were familiar with Elder Song and almost instantly understood something had happened for him to be rushing through the sect suddenly.

"Huh? Elder Song, what in the world happened...?"

"How unusual. For Elder Song to be like this... Something serious should have happened!"

"Hm? Isn't that the direction of where the Sect Master is staying...?

The elders who were a little more familiar with Elder Song reacted a little differently, as all of them understood that something serious had happened for Elder song to be rushing towards the core of the sect where Feng Chen, the sect master, was staying.

Even without understanding the details of the what had happened, it still ended up causing all of the elders to tense up as they got ready for a possible emergency meeting that might come following Elder Song's meeting with the sect master.

...

"Elder Song? What in the world happened for you to be like this?" Seeing Elder Song who suddenly rushed inside the small garden he was relaxing inside of while cultivating his sword intent, Feng Chen could not help showing a surprised expression on his face as he said this.

"Feng Chen! Let's go inside, I have something important to talk about!"

"I understand, you can just explain the matter to me here, there isn't anyone other than us present here." Understanding the seriousness of the matter from Elder Song's tone of voice, Feng Chen signaled for him to sit down on a bench next to him before saying this.

"A Domain Lord Realm Expert appeared among one of the kingdoms we have taken control of. Not only that, but..." Starting to explain the matter of the ancestor that had returned after reaching the Domain Lord Realm and the damage he had caused to one of their sect's branches, Elder Song slowly started calming down after seeing how relaxed Feng Chen was when he heard about the appearance of a possible enemy Domain Lord Realm Expert inside their territory.

"... And that is all... Feng Chen, Ehm... Sect Master, do you have any way to deal with this matter?" Finishing his explanation of what had happened, Elder Song suddenly realized his somewhat disrespectful way of addressing Feng Chen, as he awkwardly corrected himself before looking towards Feng Chen to see if he had a way to deal with the Domain Lord Realm Expert that had suddenly popped up.

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"If possible, I think the best option would be to try and recruit this Domain Lord Realm Expert as an elder... But considering how we took over the territory of his kingdom while he was gone, I doubt he will just agree to something like this... How troublesome..." Feeling exhausted by just thinking about how troublesome this matter would be to deal with, Feng Chen could not help thinking about Xuan Hao's pet, the winged lion demon beast.

In the end, this thought was quickly thrown away after he remembered how grumpy it had become after Shu Yao had taken it to deal with some of the more troublesome kingdoms standing in the way of the expansion of the sect.

Although there was a chance, he could persuade it, Feng Chen still felt a bit scared when faced with the winged lion demon beast. Especially because the winged lion demon beast was still grumpy after having been put to work by Shu Yao.

I should see if I can deal with this matter by myself first. Even if things go bad and that old ancestor in the Domain Lord Realm wants to start trouble, I'm more than strong enough to deal with someone in the First Stage of the Domain Lord Realm. The only problem is if that old ancestor decides to run away and cause trouble for the different branch sects, we established over the past few years...

Feeling a headache starting to set in as he thought about this possibility taking place, Feng Chen shook his head as he turned to look at Elder Song who was patiently waiting for an answer on what to do regarding the Domain Lord Realm Expert that had suddenly popped up out of nowhere and started causing problems.

"I will be dealing with this matter myself, Elder Song, you can head back for now and resume what you were doing earlier... If it turns out that ancestor who returned is stronger than the First Stage of the Domain Lord Realm or proves to be a problem, I will just ask Xuan Hao's pet for help. Even if it's not in the best of moods at the moment, I'm sure some high quality spirit stone and roasted demon beast meat should be able to get it to move..."

"I understand... Sect master, I will be taking my leave. Make sure to inform me in case you need help with anything!" Nodding his head upon hearing that Feng Chen would be dealing with the matter himself, Elder Song let out a breath of relief that he had unknowingly been holding in before taking his leave. Not forgetting to hand over the documents that described the attack of the Domain Lord Realm Expert to Feng Chen in case he wanted to look through it himself before going to face this unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert.

Swoosh~

Watching as Elder Song left, Feng Chen turned his attention towards the documents now in his hands. Intending to read through them to get a better idea of the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert before heading over to face the other party.

It was not that he doubted Elder Song's assessment of the other party's strength, but as someone in the Domain Lord Realm himself, he would be a far better judge of how strong the other party was!

...

At the same time Feng Chen was reading through the documents describing the attack of the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert from a royal family of one of the kingdoms that had surrendered to them, the person in question was looking towards the branch of the Star Shattering Sect he had just destroyed rapidly getting rebuilt.Ñ00vl--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

"The Star Shattering Sect, where in the world did such a powerful sect appear from... And why are they located at the border of the Sky Empire...?" Filled with both curiosity and confusion as he muttered this to himself, the old ancestor could not understand why a powerful sect like the Star Shattering Sect had suddenly appeared at the border of the Sky Empire during the short hundred years he had been gone.

As a Domain Lord Realm Expert himself, he understood just how few opportunities there was in the border region for someone to reach the Domain Lord Realm, let alone for someone to increase their strength after they had broken through to the Domain Lord Realm!

Even if such a powerful sect had appeared, under normal circumstances, it should not stay in the border region and start expanding their power. Instead it should move towards the core region of the Sky Empire where the resources were more plentiful and opportunities were easier to come by.

Originally, his plan had been to do just this. Pick up his descendants before moving to the core region of the Sky Empire to carve out his own place in the resource rich core region of the Sky Empire before trying to increase his own cultivation base and look for ways to possible get in the good graces of the imperial family.

However, the sudden appearance of the Star Shattering Sect that had taken over his kingdom had completely ruined his original plans. Even if he could still take his descendants and leave for the core region of the Sky Empire, a part of him felt curious about the reason why a powerful sect like the Star Shattering Sect had decided to stay around and expand their power in a place like the border region. The anger he had felt when he first discovered that a foreign sect had taken control of his kingdom's territory had also disappeared after he destroyed the Star Shattering Sect's branch sect.

At this point in time, he wanted nothing more than to find out more about this mysterious sect that had suddenly appeared and why they were still staying in the border region of the Sky Empire.

As for the matter of him destroying a branch sect of the Star Shattering Sect angering the Star Shattering Sect enough to go all out in killing him, he didn't believe that this would happen. Especially considering how he had made sure to ensure that he didn't injurie anyone when he attacked the branch sect, let alone kill anyone. Not to mention, he had every right to be angry since the branch sect he had destroyed was inside his kingdom!

Even if the Star Shattering Sect wanted revenge, they would at the very least be able to understand that he did not intend to fight it out with them.

"Someone from the Star Shattering Sect should be showing up soon... I hope I can find out more about this sect and maybe also get an idea of how strong it is." Muttering this to himself as he looked in the direction of the Shattered Star Peaks where the Star Shattering Sect was located according to what little information he had managed to gather about the sect so far, the old ancestor could not help feeling a bit nervous.

The strength of the Star Shattering Sect that he knew about, was that they apparently had at least two people in the Domain Lord Realm and an extremely powerful guardian beast in the shape of a massive lion with wings, that should be above the early stage of the Domain Lord Realm.

The fact that he even stayed behind to wait for an expert of the Star Shattering Sect to show up, was more than enough to show that he did not want to fall out with them.

After all, why would he want to become enemies with such a powerful sect if it could be avoided? In the end, the territory that his incompetent descendants had lost in the border region was useless to a Domain Lord Realm Expert like himself. Not to mention that he had already planned to abandon this territory when moving to the core region of the Sky Empire...

Rumble~!

Feeling a terrifying sword intent heading towards his direction at a speed far above that of someone in the Nascent Soul Realm, the old ancestor could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine as he turned to look in the direction of the powerful sword intent.

"Looks like he is here..." Seeing a person covered in a pure white robe with the symbol of the Star Shattering Sect embroidered into it, the old ancestor did not have to think for long before realizing the identity of the person who had appeared in front of him as one of the Domain Lord Realm Experts from the Star Shattering Sect.

Whoosh-!

As the expert from the Star Shattering Sect came to a stop, the old ancestor could clearly feel that the other party had surpassed him in cultivation. Not only that, but the other party was also a sword cultivator, someone widely know for being capable of fighting above their cultivation Realm!

"So, you are the person that have been causing trouble...?"

"Y-yes...!" Feeling the terrifying gaze of the sword cultivator, the old ancestor accidently stumbled over his words as he answered like a junior talking to a senior-

"Eh..." Catching the person from the Star Shattering Sect by surprise, as an awkward atmosphere appeared around both of them.

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Hm? The ancestor who broke through to the Domain Lord Realm is still waiting around the branch sect. Hopefully it means he is open to talking and isn't too hostile towards us...

Letting out a sigh of relief as he spotted the ancestor that had broken through to the Domain Lord Realm patiently waiting in the air not too far away from the branch sect he had just attack, Feng Chen understood that the other party was not outright hostile towards Star Shattering Sect.

Whoosh~!

Flying in front of the old ancestor who was floating in the air, Feng Chen could not help examining the other party's strength. In the end, the ancestor was indeed someone who had just broken through to the First Stage of the Domain Lord Realm. Far from being a threat, Feng Chen would be more than strong enough to catch and kill the other party if he truly wanted to cause any trouble. Especially since he could clearly sense that the old ancestor had yet to fully stabilize his cultivation base at the Domain Lord Realm and would have a hard time fully utilizing his strength in combat against someone above the Nascent Soul Realm!

"So, you are the person that have been causing trouble...?" Filled with far more confidence knowing all of this, Feng Chen could not help narrowing his eyes as he said this while using his sword intent and superior cultivation base to pressure the other old ancestor.

"Y-yes...!"

However, unexpectedly, the old ancestor in front of him had a far bigger reaction to the sudden pressure than he had first expected. Directly acting like a junior who had been caught doing something he shouldn't by a senior.

"Eh..." For this reason, Feng Chen could not help letting out an awkward sound as a confused expression appeared on his face when looking at the old man in front of him. Not fully understanding what had just happened.

"Ehm! I mean yes, it was me who destroyed the branch sect of the Star Shattering Sect. If I'm not wrong, you should be one of the Star Shattering Sect's Domain Lord Realm Experts."

"Indeed, I'm a Domain Lord Realm Expert from the Star Shattering Sect. For you to know this and still stay here after destroying one of my sect's branches... Do you have anything you want to say or ask me about, or maybe you just have a death wish...?" Leaking a small bit of killing intent as he said the last part, Feng Chen could not help wondering just what this old man wanted from staying behind and waiting for him to show up.

Given his current strength, the old ancestor should understand that he would not be able to win against someone in the Domain Lord Realm with his current unstable cultivation base. Even on the short end, he would at the very least need to stabilize his cultivation base for a few weeks and spend some time to get more familiar with his new strength. After all, the difference between the Domain Lord Realm and the Nascent Soul Realm was something that would take time to get used to.

Yet, even knowing all of this, he had still chosen to stay and wait for him to show up...

"I do indeed have a few questions I want to ask... And I hope this senior won't make things difficult for me. In consideration of the fact that I didn't harm anyone from your sect." Tensing up as he said this, the old ancestor from the royal family of the kingdom that Feng Chen was currently inside of, nervously looked towards Feng Chen for a response.

"Hm... Fine, let's find somewhere different to chat." Observing the old ancestor in front of him for a short moment as he tried to see whether the old man just wanted to ask him a few questions, Feng Chen felt like he was telling the truth and decided to have a chat with him and find out just what this old man wanted to ask him about.

Considering that he had come here in hopes of possible recruiting the old man as a possible elder of his sect, Feng Chen felt happy deep down that it didn't look like he would end up having to fight with him.

...

"I wonder when master is going to return... It's already been over a month since he left for that sect alliance meeting in the capital city of the Sky Empire..."

At the same time Feng Chen was facing off against the old ancestor from a royal family that had just happened to reach the Domain Lord Realm during his adventures outside, Chu Yang was gazing off into the distance as he quietly said this.

Although he had made full use of his time during this month to challenge any and all of the Nascent Soul Realm elders of the sect that he could catch, he had started missing his master after realizing that the elders he sparred with weren't able to help point out his mistakes after their battle. Even Feng Chen, whom he had managed to spar with once during this month, was not able to give him the same level of feedback that his master had been able to give him.

To be honest, it was only at this point in time that Chu Yang had realized just how important it was for him to have a teacher that could point him in the right direction and help him further his cultivation. Although his strength was still constantly increasing even without the help of his teacher due to his own talent, Chu Yang could still clearly feel that his speed of improvement at the moment had slowed when compared to when his master had been around to help point out any doubts he had along the way.

"Who knows when he will be back? If I'm not wrong, the distance between our sect and the capital city of the Sky Empire is incredibly long. Long enough that it would take us several years to reach with our current cultivation base!"

"Qing Yi?" Hearing a familiar voice behind him, Chu Yang could not help showing a somewhat surprised expression as he turned around to see Qing Yi standing a short distance away from him.

"Indeed, it is me! Finally finished stabilizing my cultivation base at the Nascent Soul Realm and wanted to get out of that damnable secluded cultivation room I spent the last few months inside of without leaving- Ah! Why are you laughing at me!?" As a slightly dark expression appeared on her face upon mentioning her time in secluded cultivation, Chu Yang could not help letting out a soft chuckle upon seeing the sudden change in expression.

"Nothing, I just thought about something funny when listening to you and ended up laughing."

"Hmph! Sure, you did!" Narrowing her eyes for a short moment in response to Chu Yang's response, Qing Yi decided to return to the subject of when their master was returning. "Anyway, with master's strength somewhere in the Domain Lord Realm, I think he should be able to return in another month or so. Maybe even faster!"

"Indeed, with master's strength, he should be able to return far faster than those Nascent Soul Realm Experts participating in that sect alliance meeting. Even if he takes a little longer, I don't think it will take him more than two months to return." Nodding his head in agreement with what his junior sister said, Chu Yang could not help wondering just how strong his master actually was and what his actual cultivation realm was.

From what he had managed to gather, his master should be the strongest person in the Star Shattering Sect. Above the sect master, Feng Chen who had reached the Second Stage of the Domain Lord Realm according to most rumors going around the sect.

So, had his master reached the Third Stage of the Domain Lord Realm? Maybe even the Fourth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm!?

To be honest, Chu Yang had no idea about just what kind of realm his master had reached. All he knew was that his master was the strongest person he had ever met since he began cultivating. Even the faint terrifying aura he could feel from the Devil Immortal Jade that had now become a permanent resident of his dantian could not compare to the otherworldly aura he felt around his master.

The aura in question did not seem to come from his master's cultivation base, but instead seemed similar to the constant fiery aura he could feel around his junior sister due to her special divine physique.Ñ00vl--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

Maybe I should try and asak master how strong he is when he returns...?

Thinking this to himself as he returned to looking into the distance, Chu Yang began looking forward to the day that his master returned.

"..."

Standing beside him, Qing Yi had also entered a quiet state, as both of them just stood side by side looking into the distance while enjoying a quiet and relaxing time together.

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I wonder just how close the old ancestor from the Sky Empire is to the Peak of the Soul Ascension Realm…

Making his way back towards the Star Shattering Sect, Xuan Hao could not help thinking about how powerful the old ancestor from the imperial family had been when he had faced off against the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts working together to fight him earlier.

Compared to the fights he had seen between Soul Ascension Realm Experts before this, the power shown by the old ancestor from the imperial had been strong enough to make him feel a sense of dread that made him understand that he would have no way to resist against the other party if he ended up on the other end of the attack he had thrown towards the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts that had been working together to team up on him. Not only that, but he also had a feeling that he would not be able to escape. At least not with his current strength.

"Hah… I really need to improve my domain more if I want to stand a chance against anyone who has gone through more than a single tribulation in the Soul Ascension Realm…" Shaking his head as he muttered this to himself, Xuan Hao decided that after he returned to the Star Shattering Sect, he would focus all of his attention towards searching for ways to further enhance his strength without having to break through to the Soul Ascension Realm.

Now that I think about it, it's been a long time since I last looked at my status through the system.

Suddenly remembering the status that the system was able to construct of him, Xuan Hao felt curious as to how it had changed since the last time he had seen it. Considering how much his strength had increased and how his domain had changed, he felt that there should at least be some changes. Not to mention, he had more than enough time to kill on his journey back to the Star Shattering Sect…

Name: Xuan Hao

Dao Domain: Dao of Ice (Small Success), Dao of the Sword (Small Success), Dao of Corruption (Elementary)L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøvl--B1n.

Sword Intent: Nascent Sword Soul Realm

Talent: ???

Physique: ??? (25% Awakened)

Realm: Initial Stage Dao Domain Lord

Professions: Alchemist (Artisan), Formation Master (Expert), Blacksmithing (Expert)

Sect: Star Shattering Sect

Status: Grand Elder of the Star Shattering Sect

Disciples: Qing Yi, Chu Yang, Bai Ning

Pet: Lazy Winged Lion (Eighth Stage Domain Lord Realm)

Reading through his status, Xuan Hao could not help freezing on the spot as he looked over the most obvious changes to his status.

"Dao Domain… Small Success, Elementary… Initial Stage Dao Domain Lord…?" Muttering this to himself as he read through his status one more time to make sure he had not seen wrong; Xuan Hao could not help wondering when he had reached a brand new cultivation realm.

Not to mention, from what he knew, the realm that came after the Domain Lord Realm was the Soul Ascension Realm. Not the Dao Domain Lord Realm that he had currently reached!

Whoosh~

Just at this moment as Xuan Hao was feeling lost over the sudden change to his cultivation base, a small window from the system appeared in front of him in a timely manner.

[Due to the host reaching the unique realm, Dao Domain Lord, a brief description of the realm is available through the system.]

[Read, Short Description of the Dao Domain Lord Realm?]

[Y/N]

"…"

Why did you only appear after I inspected my status? Are you perhaps mad that I'm not using it more…? Hah… Whatever, I should read through the description and figure out what this Dao Domain Lord Realm is…

Not knowing what to say, Xuan Hao decided to not think about it and instead just read through the description that the system was offering to him.

[The Immortal Soul tribulation is a tribulation one will have to go through to surpass the Mortal Realm. In total, there are two paths to ascending the Immortal Soul Tribulation. The most well-known path being to ascend the tribulation step by step, overcoming a single tribulation at a time and using the tribulation to increase one's strength. People using this method to ascend the Immortal Soul tribulation Realm are normally called Soul Ascension Realm Experts.

The Soul Ascension Realm itself consists of six minor realms, the First Tribulation Realm, The Second Tribulation Realm and all the way up to the Sixth Tribulation Realm, where the cultivator will have to prepare for the final seventh tribulation.

The second and far less-known method is to overcome the entire Immortal Soul Tribulation in a single step. To have a chance at surviving all seven tribulations of the Immortal Soul Tribulation, one will need to comprehend different Daos and fuse them together to form a Dao Domain. People using this method can still be considered to be in the Domain Lord Realm, but due to the fact that their strength far surpasses that of the Domain Lord Realm, they were given the title of Dao Domain Lords.

The Dao Domain Lord Realm itself consists of four minor realms, the Initial, Intermediate, Late and Peak Stage, but a Dao Domain Lord can attempt to ascend the Immortal Soul tribulation at any moment. The goal of the Dao Domain Lord Realm is for the cultivator to increase their comprehension of the different Daos, they have already comprehended and comprehend new Daos that they can fuse into their Dao Domain. Although, due to the sheer difficulty of this, most Dao Domain Lords chose to attempt the Immortal Soul Tribulation at the Intermediate Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm.]

"Wha- This is a short description!?" Exclaiming in surprise at the long and detailed description that the system had given him not only about the Dao Domain Lord Realm, but also the Soul Ascension Realm and the Immortal Soul tribulation Realm, Xuan Hao could not help feeling grateful towards the system.

Not only did the description give him a clear path to work towards, but it also helped him gain a better understanding of the Immortal Soul Tribulation and the Soul Ascension Realm, something that he had not yet managed to gain a lot of information on before this moment.

Now that he had a better understanding of the different minor realms that existed in the Soul Ascension Realm, Xuan Hao could not help growing curious as to what realm the old ancestor of the imperial family had reached.

Did he reach the Fourth Tribulation Realm? Maybe the Fifth tribulation Realm…?

Xuan Hao could not help guessing to himself as he recalled the two times that he had seen the old ancestor from the imperial family attacking. Even without too much reference material to go off, he was at least certain that the old ancestor from the imperial family should be somewhere in the later stages of the Soul Ascension Realm, yet not at the Peak of the Soul Ascension Realm.

If he had really reached the Peak of the Soul Ascension Realm, Xuan Hao doubted that the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts that had tried to attack him would have been able to get out alive. After all, their strength should at most be somewhere around the middle of the Soul Ascension Realm.

Knowing that he would not be able to get an answer to this question in the near future, Xuan Hao decided to put this question to the back of his mind as he instead focused his attention on resuming his journey back towards the Star Shattering Sect.

Now that he had found out how to increase his strength and prepare himself to face the Immortal Soul Tribulation, Xuan Hao could not wait to return back to the Star Shattering Sect to try and explore the Daos he had comprehended, while also trying to see if he could comprehend any new Daos that could be used to strengthen his Dao Domain.

On a side note, he also wanted to figure out what the small success and elementary written next to the different Daos he had comprehended was about… Although… A part of him had a feeling that trying to figure this out was going to be a dead end. Especially when considering the fact that the system had not mentioned any of this in its description of the Dao Domain Lord Realm…

"Maybe if I inspect my status more often in the future, I will be able to get a description of it from the system…" Shaking his head as he said this, Xuan Hao unconsciously took out an interspatial ring before throwing it towards a small forest below him.

At this point in time, throwing out interspatial rings whenever he had the chance had already become second nature due to the interspatial ring quest from the system. To be honest, Xuan Hao did not really care too much about the reward from this quest and was just curious as to what kind of trial would be created for those who happened to obtain one of the interspatial rings he had thrown out over the years…

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At the same time, unknown to Xuan Hao, a young girl making her way back home after having spent the entire day gathering herbs in a small forest not far away from the small city where she lived. The only light left to guide her back being the bright moonlight from the moon above her illuminating the small downtrodden path that led out of the forest.

"Hm? What is that...?

It was precisely at this moment that the young girl happened to spot something small reflecting the bright moonlight from the moon hanging in the sky above her.

For it to reflect the moonlight so well, I'm sure it has to be a precious silver coin or something made out of metal! No matter what it is, I'm sure I will be able to sell it and cover my food needs for the next week or two! Hehe, I won't have to enter this dangerous forest and will be able to eat properly soon...

Feeling her eyes brighten as she thought about what she might have found, the young girl who was an orphan from one of the many cities spread throughout the core region of the Sky Empire, could not help getting excited as she quickly made her way towards the small bush where the thing reflecting the bright moonlight was hidden.

"A ring made from silver! Not to mention a few weeks, this ring should at the very least be able to cover my food expenses for the next half year!" Feeling ecstatic after realizing what she had found was not just a silver coin, but an entire ring made completely of what she thought to be silver, the young girl reached down towards what she believed to be a small silver ring-

Whoosh-!

However, the moment she touched the ring, a weird power engulfed her and soon, both the young girl and the ring disappeared from the small forest.

The next moment, the young girl found herself in the middle of a large empty platform that floated in the middle of an endless ocean of mist.

"D-did I perhaps enter one of those legendary secret realms!?" Quivering in fear as she said this, the young orphan girl could not help feeling a shiver run down her spine.

Although she was an orphan and did not have any cultivation base to speak of, she had still managed to hear a lot about the world from the different cultivators passing through the city on their way to explore a very famous ruin that was located a short distance away from the city itself.

Even if it was only by chance, she had once managed to overhear two powerful Nascent Soul Realm Experts who had been catching up with each other.

Listening to their conversation from the side, she had managed to not only learn how many treasures could be found inside a secret realm, but also how dangerous they could be... Not to mention a small orphan like herself, even powerful experts who had reached the Domain Lord Realm could die inside a secret realm!

For this reason, the young girl could not stop herself from shivering in fear as she looked at the silent mist that surrounded her from all sides. Expecting a dreadful demon beast to jump up from the mist and devour her at any moment...

Not daring to move a single muscle as she continued to observe the mist all around her, her eyes getting heavier and heavier with each passing second and before long, the young orphan girl could not fight the sleepiness that she had been trying to hold back.

Creak~!

A short moment after she fell asleep, a loud creaking sound echoed out from the platform beneath her-

"Wha-!? What is happening!?" Instantly waking up the young girl who had just fallen asleep and was now looking around herself to find out what had happened.

"A door- A way out!?"

To her astonishment, the young girl discovered that a large door had suddenly appeared at the center of the platform during her short sleep... And due to her still half-asleep state, she didn't think twice before stepping through the door in hopes of leaving the strange place that she currently found herself inside of.

Whoosh-!

The moment she stepped through the door, a wave of energy entered her body. Filling her with vitality, like she had just woken up from a good night's sleep.

Surprised by the sudden energy boost, the young girl let out a surprised sound before starting to examine her surroundings-

"Huh?"

However, before she could even begin to examine her new surroundings properly, she came face to face with a weird box filled with letters floating in the air directly in front of her.

[Welcome, you have entered the trial space. The first trial is going to begin shortly and will be based on your current cultivation realm.]

Reading the words written in the floating box, the young girl did not feel the slightest bit relieved. Instead, she felt a shiver run down her spine.

From all the stories she had heard about trails set up by cultivators, all of them were about fighting different opponents to prove one's strength... And none of them had a happy ending for the weak!

Even if the words floating in front of her had said the trail would be adjusted to her cultivation realm, of which she had none, the young girl had close to no fighting experience outside of the few brawls she had been forced into to protect the little food and coins she had managed to gather. Faced with an experienced fighter, she stood no chance at all...!

[The first trial is starting, please say your name. If no name is given within the next 10 seconds, a random name will be assigned to the trail taker. 10, 9, 8...]

Having her chaotic train of thought interrupted as yet another box filled with words appeared in front of her, the young orphan girl could not help panicking as she saw that a countdown had appeared at the bottom of the box of words.

As for saying her name... She had always been an orphan and had never been given a name in the first place, so there was no name she could give to the strange box of words floating in front of her.

[2... 1... 0! No name has been given. Proceeding with generating random name... Loading... Loading...]

Feeling nervous as she watched the countdown reach the end, the young girl could only nervously watch as all sorts of different names flashed across the box floating in front of her. The moment the floating box had chosen her name, the dreadful trail was going to start...!

[Name Generation has been completed. A random name, Mui, has been chosen. The first trial, Test of Comprehension, is going to start now. The trial has been adjusted based on your current cultivation realm.]

"My name is Mui...?" Muttering this to herself as she looked over the random name that had been chosen for her by the floating box in front of her, the young orphan girl could not help feeling a weird sense of happiness washing over her.

Mui... I like this name...

Smiling happily to herself as she repeated the name a few times inside her head, the young orphan girl, or now Mui, decided to keep the name that had been given to her.

"Ah! Didn't the box of words also say that the first trial is about to-"

RUMBLE~!

Not managing to finish her sentence, the ground beneath her shook violently before row after row of bookshelves shot up through the ground all around her. Transforming the empty space, she found herself inside of, into a massive and seemingly endless library that stretched as far as she could she in all directions.

[The first trial, Test of Comprehension, will require you to search through the library in front of you to find a suitable cultivation technique and use it to take your first step on the path of cultivation by reach the Qi Condensation Realm. The time limit is one week, food and water will be provided throughout the trial to ensure that the trial taker, Mui, does not die of hunger or dehydration.]

"Find a suitable cultivation technique... step on to the path of cultivation!?" Having no more than a few seconds to take in the large bookshelves that stretched hundreds of meters into the sky all around her, Mui could not help opening both of her eyes in surprise while looking over the box of words floating in front of her.

The surprise she felt was not due to the objective of the first trial. Instead, it was due to the fact that she did not have to fight anyone like the many stories she had heard about the dangerous cultivator trials that would always be filled with life and death situations at every corner!

Let alone having a trial that did not require her to fight, Mui had never heard about a cultivator trial that provided its participants with food and water throughout the trial!

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Chomp~

Biting down on one of the delicious fruits that had appeared in front of her shortly after the box of words disappeared, Mui could not help silently cursing the people and orphans, who had told her all sorts of scary stories about how dangerous cultivator trials were.

How was the trial she was going through dangerous in any way? Not to mention the fact that there weren't any terrifying demon beasts hunting her down like she had been told would happen, she was even being given a lot of delicious fruits to enjoy without having to do anything!

Lost in thought for a moment, Mui could not help remembering how she had refused to join any of the recruitment trials that were set up by the different large powers that existed inside the city due to the scary stories she had heard about those trials ending up with most of the participants dying... But thinking about it again, Mui clearly remembered that the powerful forces would only accept a limited number of people every time they held a trial to pick new recruits or disciples to join them...

"Did the others perhaps lie to me for a better chance to pass the tests and get taken in by those powers...!?" Muttering this to herself as she seemed to understand what had happened, Mui could not help feeling angry when thinking about the older orphans who had constantly told her stories of the terrifying trials they had once taken part in.

Now that she thought about it, she always thought the people who didn't come back from joining one of those trials had ended up dead... But from the looks of it, they had most likely managed to pass the trial and enter one of those large powers in control of the city!

"Ah! I shouldn't waste my time like this!" Suddenly realizing that she had wasted more than half an hour of her time sitting in her own thoughts while chomping down the seemingly endless supply of delicious fruits that had been provided to her, Mui quickly got up and began to look through the books on one of the bookshelves in front of her. Beginning her search for a cultivation technique.

Chomp~

Not forgetting to bring a few of the delicious fruits along with her to enjoy during her search for a suitable cultivation technique.

As for how to judge if she was suitable for a cultivation technique? Mui had no experience in this regard...

For now, she had decided that the most logical way to judge this was to go off how well she understood the different cultivation techniques. In her head, the easier it was for her to understand a cultivation technique, the better suited for her it was!

...

[The first trial set up by the system has been activated by a potential disciple, due to this being the first time a trial has been activated, you will be informed about their progress. After the trial is over, you will have the chance to transport the potential disciple to your location if the potential disciple successfully overcomes the trial.

Be aware that this will only happen the first time, for the rest of the trials, the potential disciples will be given a special token and get informed about the Star Shattering Sect's location and will have to find their way to the sect on their own.

One of these special tokens can be found inside your interspatial ring, it is recommended that the host makes sure that potential disciples carrying the special token will have the ability to join the Star Shattering Sect even when the host is not present.]

Flying above a large mountain range that stretched on for as far as the eye could see, Xuan Hao could not help looking towards the system prompt that had suddenly appeared in front of him out of the blue with a surprised expression on his face.

"The trial inside one of the thousands of interspatial rings I threw out was activated!? Hm... I wonder just what kind of geniuses managed to accomplish this..." Feeling a bit excited as he said this, Xuan Hao used the temporary function given to him by the system that allowed him to track the progress of the first trial.

[Trial Participant: Mui (random name, generated based on native names from the Ewaria Continent)]

"Huh...? Random name?" Reading the first part of the description of the person currently undergoing the trial hidden inside one of the interspatial rings he had thrown out, Xuan Hao could not help showing a confused expression on his face upon seeing what was written next to the trial participants name.

[Status: Nameless Orphan]

However, after reading the next part of the description, a look of understanding appeared on his face. Although... he had never expected for the first person to get the opportunity of entering one of the trials managed by the system to be a nameless orphan.

[Age: 12]

[Talent: 78]

[Cultivation Realm: Nonexistent]

[Progress: First Trial (Test of Comprehension)]

[Time limit for First Trial: 7 Days]

Reading the last bit of the description, Xuan Hao could not help wondering about something that had been on his mind for some time now. Two of his disciples, Bai Ning and Chu Yang, were also orphans who did not have any clue who their parents were before he took them in. Did becoming an orphan happen to increase one's natural talent...?

Although he understood that there would be no way for him to answer this question, Xuan Hao had feeling that it might be a good idea to mention this to Elder Song when he got back, so he could ensure that the Star Shattering Sect made sure to send out people to recruit from the different cities located inside the territory to give these orphans a chance to enter one of the Star Shattering Sect's branches.

This way, the chance of them missing a possible heaven defying genius like Mui would reduce significantly...

"I hope she manages to pass the trial given by the system, it would be a pity to not take in such a talented person as my disciple..." Quietly watching the floating screen in front of him for a few more seconds, Xuan Hao put it away before looking down towards the mountain range below him where a strange hole had appeared in the side of one of the largest mountains, whose peak was far higher up than the current height he was flying at.

Ever since he had started flying over the mountain range, he had a feeling that there was something weird about the mountain range below him. All over the mountain range, countless similar holes could be seen in the different mountains of the mountain range, some large and some small.

The only problem was that he could not figure out what it was. Even using his domain and divine sense to investigate had not managed to yield any results.

Now, the giant hole in the side of the mountain gave him a feeling that the origin of the weird feeling he had felt could be found if he entered the large hole.

Hm... Should I ignore it and continue my journey back towards the sect, or should I explore-

RUMBLE-!

Just at this moment, as Xuan Hao was debating with himself whether he should enter the giant hole to explore where the weird feeling was coming from or not, a loud rumbling sound echoed out across the entire mountain range.Ñ00vl--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

RUUUUUUUMBLE-!

Not a second later, a massive worm like creature with a width easily the size of a small mountain emerged from the giant hole in the side of the large mountain before it burrowed into another side of the mountain before disappearing. Only leaving behind a brand-new hole the size of a small mountain in the now hollow looking mountain that looked like it was about to collapse at any moment due to the two massive holes that were now present.

"..."

Swish-!

Not wasting a single second after seeing this, Xuan Hao used the Drifting Cloud Steps to rapidly escape from the mountain range. Not wanting to stay there for even a second longer after having personally seen the massive worm-like creature that lived below the mountain range.

Even if it had only been for a short moment, Xuan Hao had clearly been able to sense the strength of the worm-like creature that was even above that of the old ancestor from the imperial family!

Although he understood that the territory under the Sky Empire was not truly under their control, he had never expected for such a terrifying worm-like creature to be present in one of the places devoid of any cultivators... But then again, he also began to understand why some places in the core region of the Sky Empire had been designated as places even Soul Ascension Realm Experts could die in.

The mountain range he was currently passing over was not one such location. Instead, it had been designated as still under investigation and was considered safe as long as one did not enter the holes in the ground...

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Escaping from the mountain range without looking back towards the hole he had seen the giant worm like creature disappear into, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine as he remembered the terrifying aura he had felt just a few seconds ago when the creature had surfaced for a few seconds before disappearing back into the ground below.

Well, it's only a given that areas still under investigation would be dangerous…

Thinking this to himself, Xuan Hao could not help coming to a stop just outside the mountain range with the terrifying worm-like creature hidden beneath it.

Even if he did not end up having to fight the terrifying creature he had just seen, it allowed him to understand just how dangerous areas still under investigation could be and for the foreseeable future, he decided not to go through any of those places on his way back to the Star Shattering Sec.

"I should inform Yi Min about this when I pass through the Iron Sky Kingdom on my way back…" Muttering this to himself as he thought about all the information Yi Min had given him about the different dangerous areas that he should avoid on his way to the capital city of the Sky Empire, Xuan Hao felt that the least he could do was give her the information about the danger lurking below the mountain range he had just passed through.

Although this information would not be that useful to her, she would at least be able to give it to the Explorer Union in exchange for a few treasures. After all, from what he had learnt about the Explorer Union so far, they would be more than happy to exchange a few treasures for information on an area that they had yet to explore themselves.

Not to mention, the appearance of such a powerful creature lurking beneath a mountain range in the Sky Empire might even attract the attention of the more powerful members of the Explorer Union. Maybe even resulting in some of the Explorer Unions Soul Ascension Realm Experts showing up to explore the area beneath the mountain range where the giant worm-like creature resided!

But… With even more Soul Ascension Realm Experts showing up in the Sky Empire, it was certainly going to cause the already unstable situation of the Sky Empire to become even more unstable.

Thinking about this, Xuan Hao could not help smiling. The more chaotic and unstable the Sky Empire was, the better it would be for the Star Shattering Sect. After all, with everyone in the Sky Empire preoccupied, there would be no time left for them to pay attention to the Star Shattering Sect located at the border!

"Well… It's not certain that the Explorer Union will really end up sending over a group of Soul Ascension Realm Experts after learning about the giant worm-like creature, but even if they don't, the appearance of such a powerful creature is still sure to cause some chaos among the Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the Sky Empire…" Shaking his head as he muttered this to himself, Xuan Hao did not bother staying around the mountain range any longer. Continuing his journey back towards the Star Shattering Sect.Ñ00vl--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

…

"Myriad Water Art?" Having walked through the library searching for a cultivation technique that would be the most suitable one for her, Mui had ended up stopping her search after landing on a water based cultivation mantra called Myriad Water Art.

Although the cultivation technique might not be the most suitable one for her inside the seemingly endless library that spread out in all directions around her, she had already spent close to one day searching for a suitable cultivation technique.

Even if she did not know a lot about cultivation outside of the names of some of the cultivation realms, she had still heard how long it took to cultivate and knew that the most difficult part of the First Trial was going to be for her to break through to the Qi Condensation Realm and take her first step on the path of cultivation.

Normally, doing this would be a rather simple endeavor and could be accomplished within a short period of time with the help of another cultivator… But for Mui who had no teacher and had no information on how to cultivate outside of the cultivation mantra she had chosen to try and reach the Qi Condensation Realm with, breaking through to the Qi Condensation Realm would be a difficult thing. Especially considering that she only had six days left to do it!

"I shouldn't be wasting any time! For now, I should first try to get a better understanding of the Myriad Water Arts and on how to reach the Qi Condensation Realm." Focusing her attention on the Myriad Water Arts in her hands, Mui did not waste a single second before flipping open the cultivation technique and starting to thoroughly read through it in far more detail compared to the first time where she had just flipped through it to see if it was a suitable cultivation technique for her.

"This… So, I have to gather this thing called qi that is supposed to be everywhere into something called a dantian inside my body. After which I must form it into a small cyclone to officially be considered to have entered the Qi Condensation Realm…?" Reading through the Myriad Water Arts, Mui could not help feeling her head hurt, as she got introduced to brand new concepts she had never heard about before.

The fact that a dantian was located inside her body was not new information to her, but the fact that there was qi everywhere in the air around her and she had to gather this mystical energy into a cyclone inside her body was a completely new concept. Although she had learnt a bit about cultivation before this, the information she had learnt about was based around how powerful cultivators were and how scary they were. None of it had been focused on cultivation itself.

Shaking her head as she thought about how she had only been fearful of cultivators in the past and never thought about how they had gotten so strong in the first place, Mui focused back on the Myriad Water Arts. Now curious if she could also become as strong as the cultivators, she had always heard stories about her entire life while wandering the streets of the city she had spent her entire life inside of.

As a few hours flew past like this, with Mui deeply absorbed in trying her best to understand the Myriad Water Arts, she slowly placed the Myriad Water Arts on the ground in front of her before deciding to try and gather the qi around her-

Whoosh~!

Following the steps put down in the Myriad Water Arts, Mui slowly felt the qi around her rushing towards her body before rushing through her meridians towards her dantian.

"So, this is what qi feels like…" Muttering this to herself as a smile bloomed on her face after feeling the comfortable feeling of qi flowing through her body for the first time in her life, Mui soon felt her dantian for the first time in her life, as the qi rushing into her body finally managed to reach it.

Given that she had not yet reached the Qi Condensation Realm, her dantian was completely empty, without any sign of life.

Whoosh~

The moment the qi from outside rushed inside her empty dantian that had never seen this unknown energy before, it sprung forth with life-

Rumble!

Not even waiting for Mui to form a cyclone, her dantian started forming one by itself the moment it encountered qi for the first time.

"Hm? This is far easier than I expected. Maybe reaching the Qi Condensation Realm is not as hard as I thought…?" Not having any idea about the fact that her dantian was actually helping her form the qi cyclone that was the foundation of a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator, Mui just thought this was normal and started to use the Myriad Water Arts to shape the qi cyclone that was slowly forming inside her dantian.

During the entire process, Mui did not feel any burden or struggle that other people would have to go through when first trying to break through to the Qi Condensation Realm and form a qi cyclone inside her dantian.

Everything went smoothly without any problems and before long, the qi cyclone finished forming inside her dantian-

Boom!

Signifying that Mui had managed to step into the First Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm and become an official cultivator. Even if her strength was not that much different from a normal mortal at the moment, her aura had completely changed.

No longer was she a normal mortal. Instead, she was now a cultivator!

A real cultivator that had reached the First Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm!

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Feeling elated at having reached the Qi Condensation Realm and officially becoming a cultivator, Mui didn't notice that the box of words had returned-

"The box of words!?" Only after calming down a bit from the happiness of having broken through to the Qi Condensation Realm, did she discover that the box of words was hovering no more than a few centimeters away from her face.

[First Trial, Test of Comprehension, has been successfully cleared. Proceeding to calculate participant Mui's score for the Test of Comprehension...]

"Score...? I thought it was just about completing the trial in time..." Muttering this to herself as she read through the words hovering in the box in front of her, Mui kept her attention focused on the box of words. Feeling curious about what kind of score she would be given by the box of words.

Considering that she still had a lot of time left before the time limit was up, Mui had a feeling that she should have done better than normal... But then again, she did not really know a lot about cultivation and how fast other people would be compared to her.

[Calculation finished, generating score in accordance to participant Mui's performance during the First Trial, Test of Comprehension.]

Keeping both her eyes focused on the box of words, Mui could not help starting to wonder what the next trial was going to be. After all, the box of words had mentioned that the Test of Comprehension was the first trial, with this in mind, there should at the very least be one more trial left!

[Trial Participant: Mui]

[Trial: Test of Comprehension]

[Total Score: 91/100]

[Evaluation: Passed, Reached minimum requirement for the second trial.]

"Hehe, I passed the first trial! Now I just wonder what the second trial is about..." Seeing the evaluation and score she had been given by the box of words, Mui laughed happily before starting to grow curious as to what the second trial was going to be about.

At least she was not worried like she had been when she had first discovered that she had ended up entering a trial set up by a cultivator. Instead, it would be more correct to say that she was looking forward to the second trial. Not too surprising since the first trial had not only given her a chance to choose a cultivating technique. Allowing her to step into the Qi Condensation Realm... But it had also given her an endless supply of delicious fruits to eat from!

Although the cultivation technique had allowed her to reach the Qi Condensation Realm, Mui was still not sure if it was comparable to the endless supply of delicious fruits. The fruits were simply far too delicious...

Having experienced what, it felt like not having anything to eat, deep down, Mui felt like the endless supply of fruits she had available inside the trial was by far the most precious thing she had gained so far. Enough for her to seriously consider staying inside the trial to continue eating the delicious fruit after the trial ended!

If she could really do this, she would never have to worry about food again and could focus all her attention towards trying to understand the Myriad Water Arts. A peaceful existence that Mui preferred far more than her life of constantly having to worry about food or getting attacked by other orphans like herself.

As for leaving the trial space... Mui thought she should at the very least increase her strength to the Core Formation Realm before doing this. After all, she had clearly seen that cultivators in the Core Formation Realm were people that didn't have to worry about their safety while wandering around the city, she had even heard stories of the larger forces of the city willingly taking in anyone that had reached the Core Formation Realm. Giving them a place to live and food for free when they join them!

Just thinking about this was more than enough for Mui to feel that she had to at least reach the Core Formation Realm before leaving the trial space. Leaving earlier was not an option, as she would have to find food on her own again, something Mui was not willing to do after she had experienced the luxury of an endless supply of delicious fruits provided by the box of words...

[Second Trial, Test of Will, is going to start in seven hours, it is recommended that you rest before the start of the second trial.]

"Test of Will...?" Looking at the words in front of her, Mui was left in a state of confusion. Having absolutely no clue what the second trial, Test of Will, was going to be about.

Well... At least it does not want me to fight some kind of demon beast...

Shaking her head as she thought about this, Mui decided to heed the warning given by the box of words-

Rustle~

Laying down on top of a small pile of soft books made from some sort of fluffy material before closing her eyes to take a quick nap. Not questioning the existence of soft and fluffy books. All she could think about was how comfortable she was, as she slowly drifted off into dreamland.

Dreaming of having the ability to summon forth an endless number of delicious fruits even outside the trial space.

...

At the same time Mui was having the best sleep of her life inside the endless library created by the trial space, Elder Song was standing in front of Feng Chen with a troubled expression on his face.

"Ehm... So, can you please tell me why you asked me to come out and do something so troublesome instead of doing it yourself?" Trying his best to remain calm as he said this, Elder Song could not help glancing towards the elderly man that was standing no more than a few meters away from them, curiously observing the city located at the base of the Ninth Star Peak with a fascinated expression on his face.

This elderly person was none other than the Domain Lord Realm Expert that had destroyed one of his sect's branches no more than a few hours ago!Ñøvl-B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.

Even if Elder Song was confident that Feng Chen would be able to deal with him, he had never expected that Feng Chen would end up bringing the other party back with him in such a short period of time. Not to mention, he had dragged him out of the sect to help in convincing the other party to join the Star Shattering Sect.

If it was not a Domain Lord Realm Expert, Elder Song would not have been this troubled, but due to the other party having reached the Domain Lord Realm, Elder Song understood that it would be far from easy to convince someone like that to join the Star Shattering Sect. Especially when considering that the person asking him to join the Star Shattering Sect was just an elder that had reached the Nascent Soul Realm...

This was also the main reason why Elder Song was so confused as to why Feng Chen had decided to drag him out of the sect to be in charge of this matter...

"This... I wanted to do it on my own at first... But that old man is far shrewder than I expected, and I have a feeling that I might end up getting dupped by him if you are not around to take the lead. Given that we have been working together for so long, you should understand that I'm not good at dealing with people like this..." Whispering this with an awkward expression on his face as he used his domain to make sure the old man in question did not hear them, Feng Chen looked towards Elder Song with an almost begging look in his eyes.

"..."

Hearing what Feng Chen said, Elder Song could not help looking him dead in the eyes for a moment before ultimately letting out a sigh.

"Fine, I will help you out this time around, but you really have to learn how to deal with people like this in the future, I won't always be able to assist you like in the past. Managing the internal matters of the Flying Sword Sect and the Star Shattering Sect are two completely different things and I don't think I will also have time to manage things outside the sect like in the past..."

"I understand... I will make sure to spend some time learning from that old fox in the future!"

Looking at Feng Chen who was happily Nodding his head while saying this, Elder Song could not help smiling wryly upon hearing how he had referred to Shu Yao as an old fox.

Well... Considering that she was a few hundred years old, it was not wrong, but Elder Song had a feeling if she would not be too fond of the nickname Feng Chen had given her...

"Well then, let's get this over with." Muttering this to himself as he looked towards the Domain Lord Realm Expert still busy observing the rapidly expanding city located below the Ninth Star Peak, Elder Song made a mental note to inform Shu Yao about what Feng Chen had nicknamed her.

Wanting to ensure that she taught him how to handle the so-called old shrewd people like the one currently in front of him...

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"Mmmh~ That was the best sleep I've ever had!" Stretching her body after a long relaxing sleep at the fluffy and soft books, Mui wanted nothing more than to take these fluffy books along with her. Unfortunately, carrying so many books along with her was not possible. Especially considering that she still had a trial to complete!

[The Second Trial, Test of Will, is going to start within the next two minutes. For your own safety, it is recommend to be prepared for the trial.]

"Wah!? Only two minutes left until the second trial starts and it's also warning me about my safety- Don't tell me... Is the Test of Will perhaps some sort of dangerous trial!?" Feeling a hint of panic after realizing that the second trial might be far more dangerous than she had first thought, Mui sprung up from the small mountain of soft and fluffy books she was laying on top of before nervously waiting for the remaining two minutes to pass.

"Hm? Wha- The books are disappearing!?" Having waited for what felt like an eternity, everything around her had started emitting a gentle light at some point in time... And before she had time to react to what was happening, the bookshelves all around her turned into wisps of light before disappearing into thin air.

The books she had thrown on the ground during the First Trial were no exception, as they also turned into small motes of light before disappearing. The only exception being the Myriad Water Arts she had chosen as her cultivation mantra during the first trial.

[The Second Trial, Test of Will, is going to begin.]

"Begin? But there is nothing-"

Rumble-!

Not getting the chance to finish her sentence after having read through the short message that had been given by the box of words following the disappearance of the countless books and bookshelves, the ground beneath her started violently shaking.

Crack~

"Ah!?" Suddenly hearing a loud cracking sound coming from the ground around a thousand meters away from where she was standing, Mui could not help opening both of her eyes in disbelief.

RUMBLE-!

From the small crack in the ground, what started as a small pointy rock, soon turned into a large mountain that pierced through the misty sky above. Even the place where she had been standing had been lifted a few dozen meters off the ground. Turning into the base of the mountain.

"Ah!? Wha-what is this, why does my body feel so heavy...?" Feeling a clear change in her movements after the appearance of the mountain, Mui could not help exclaiming this to herself as she searched around for the box of words. Wanting to find out what had happened... And at the same time also find out what she had to do to complete the second trial.

Why is it so far away?

Finding the box of words after looking around her now rocky surroundings, Mui could not help wondering why the box of words that had always appeared directly in front of her had now appeared on a location that was different from the past... But due to the weird weight that seemed to be pushing down on her, Mui did not think too much about this as she quickly made her way towards the box of words to find out what was happening.

[The second trial, Test of Will, will require you to climb the mountain under a special pressure that will only affect your soul. The pressure will increase the higher up you climb. During the trial, there are special areas along the way that will allow you to rest. If you faint or fall asleep outside any of the special areas, the trial will be considered to have failed!

The time limit is one week, food and water will only be provided inside the special areas found on different elevations of the mountain. The requirement for completing the second trial is to reach the peak of the mountain.]

Reading through the box of words, Mui could not help freezing up after reading the last part of the description given about the second trial.

"No... No more endless supply of delicious fruits...?" Muttering these words to herself, a somewhat hollow look appeared in her eyes, as she realized that she would no longer have a constant and endless supply of delicious fruits available to her whenever she felt hungry.

No... I can still get access to the endless supply of delicious fruits if I reach one of the special areas higher up on the mountain!

Turning to look up the mountain as she thought about this, it did not take long for Mui to spot one of these special areas that had been mentioned in the box of words. Not that the special areas were in any way hard to spot considering that they were all made out to be filled with small trees, flowers and other plants. Making them stand out on the desolate rocky surface of the mountain without any other signs of life.

Thump~!L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøvl--B1n.

Fighting the part of her that wanted to rush up the mountain towards the closest special area where she could once again have access to her endless supply of delicious fruits again, Mui sat down on the ground before closing her eyes.

Although she had no clue about the pressure that was bearing down on her soul and causing her to have a more difficult time moving her body, Mui clearly understood how dangerous this was. Especially when considering the fact that this pressure was only going to grow stronger the farther up the mountain she made it.

If she did not prepare herself properly, would she not end up turning into a pancake at some point in time!?

Spending the next few minutes with her eyes closed trying to find a way to adjust herself to the special pressure on her soul, Mui ended up finding out that the pressure would grow weaker when she circulated the Myriad Water Arts.

Experimenting with this for a few more minutes until she was sure that the pressure on her did indeed grow weaker when she circulated the Myriad Water Arts, Mui got up before starting to move towards the special area that was located closest to her. Officially starting her journey towards the peak of the mountain!

...

Whoosh~

At the same time Mui had started the second trial, Xuan Hao was flying above a large lake that covered an area more than a dozen times the size of the Heavenly Sky Kingdom.

Below him, all sorts of ships could be seen moving around. Travelling between the different small islands that could be found around the massive lake, sometimes a few demonic beasts living in the lake could also be seen coming up to the surface to attack the ships travelling between the different islands located in the lake.

"I wonder how far that girl, Mui, has made it since last." Not paying any attention to what was happening below him, Xuan Hao could not help wondering how Mui was doing inside the trial that had been set up by the system.

Although her talent was by far the highest, he had seen so far. Given that she did not have any cultivation, he could not help feeling nervous about how well she would do in the trial given out by the system. After all, he had no idea what the trial was about and only had the title of the trial to go off...

[Trial Participant: Mui (random name, generated based on native names from the Ewaria Continent)]

[Status: A Young Orphan that has managed to take the first step on the path of cultivation.]

[Age: 12]

[Talent: 78]

[Cultivation Realm: Qi Condensation Realm, First Stage]

[Progress: Second Trial (Test of Will)]

[Time limit for Second Trial: 7 Days]

"She already made it through the first trial and moved on to the second trial!?" Using the system to view her progress, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a sense of happiness and relief after discovering that she had managed to pass the first trial and move on to the second trial.

At least it seemed like his worry had been for nothing. Not too surprising considering how focused the system was on the talent of the disciples he took in. Never really caring about what cultivation realm they had reached when he took them in.

BOOOM-!

However, just at this moment, a loud explosion took place below him. Followed by two powerful auras clashing violently with each other on one of the small islands.

"Hm? Two Domain Lords?" Instantly seeing through the strength of the two people clashing with each other below him, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit curious about what had caused two Domain Lords to start fighting with each other, as he came to an abrupt stop before looking down towards the small island where the two Domain Lords were located.

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Descending towards the island where the two Domain Lords fighting with each other were located, Xuan Hao could not help wondering what had caused them to start fighting.

The Sky Empire did not allow Domain Lords to kill each other because losing a Domain Lord would end up weakening the overall strength of the Sky Empire. Especially when it came to dealing with other empires that might try to attack them and take over part of their territory without Soul Ascension Realm Experts showing up.

Boom-boom-boom!

Be it a grudge or a precious artifact, Xuan Hao could feel the clear killing intent present in the attacks of the two Domain Lords, as he hid himself just above the place where they were fighting before starting to figure out what had caused these two Domain Lords to start fighting to the death.

"Lord Windfall, you old scoundrel, I'm going to kill you!" At the same time Xuan Hao descended towards the small island to figure out what had caused the two Domain Lords to start fighting each other to death, a loud voice echoed out across the small island, as one of the two Domain Lords launched a powerful attack filled with killing intent towards his opponent.

"Hmph! How is all this my fault!? You are just taking out your anger on me because I'm more handsome than you!" Not lacking behind the Domain Lord filled with killing intent, the Domain Lord that had been identified as someone called Lord Windfall, gathered his power together into a similarly powerful attack before charging forward to meet his opponent.

BOOOOOM-!

As the two clashed with each other at the centre of the small island, the impact of their fully powered attack was more than enough to sink part of the island, while also sending out a powerful shockwave that swept over the part of the island that had yet to sink into the water. Killing any cultivators and demonic beasts unfortunate enough to still be present on the small island.

The ships moving around on the lake not too far away from the small island were also affected by the shockwave, but due to the shockwave having weakened after travelling quite a distance from its origin, the cultivators present on these ships ended up surviving. At most one of the ships would roll over, causing everyone on board to get thrown into the water.

Lord Windfall... Where have I heard this name before... Lord Windfall...

Ignoring the fighting between the two Domain Lords for a moment, Xuan Hao went over the information that he had been given about the different Domain Lord Realm Experts present in the Sky Empire... And before long, Xuan Hao managed to recall some information about the Domain Lord called Lord Windfall.

Windfall was the name of a small noble house and if his information was not wrong, one of the two Domain Lords currently fighting, was the head of the Windfall Noble House.

The Windfall Noble House was not a well-known or large noble family. Instead, it could be considered a rather small noble family inside the Sky Empire... But even then, they were quite well connected and had managed to befriend a lot of the larger and more powerful noble families. Attacking them would inevitably end up offending these powerful noble families. Making Xuan Hao even more curious about the identity of the other Domain Lord.

"Damn you! Even if it's the last thing I do, I'm going to kill you today!" Screaming loudly filled with killing intent before Xuan Hao had the chance to try and figure out who he was, the unidentified Domain Lord Realm Expert's power suddenly started rapidly increasing. Allowing his strength to directly reach the Fourth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm. Far surpassing his original cultivation realm!

A forbidden technique that forcibly raises one's cultivation base. Even if he makes it out of this alive, he will never have a chance at improving his cultivation in the future. Maybe his cultivation base will even start detreating to the degree that he won't even be capable of dealing with someone in the Nascent Soul Realm...

Instantly understanding what the unidentified Domain Lord Realm Expert had done after his strength rose to the Fourth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, Xuan Hao could not help showing a shocked expression on his face.

From the fact that the unidentified Domain Lord Realm Expert had decided to use a forbidden technique to forcibly raise his cultivation realm, it was obvious that he had come prepared to die together with Lord Windfall today!

"What in the world did that Lord Windfall do to anger this person to this degree? Did he kill his entire family or something...?" Quietly muttering this to himself as he turned towards Lord Windfall, Xuan Hao turned his attention towards Lord Windfall to see what he was going to do now that his opponent was going all out to kill him.

"Elder Green Wing, are you crazy!? I only slept with one of your sect's elders one time and she was the one who came onto me first, there is no need for you to do something like this. Even if your Green Mountain Sect is among the major sects, my Windfall Family is in-laws with the Hollow Thunder Family!"

Realizing that his opponent was risking his life to use a forbidden technique to kill him, Lord Windfall could not help showing a panicked expression on his face, as he yelled loudly towards the other Domain Lord. Also known as Elder Green Wing. In a last-ditch effort to get the other party to stop what he was doing.

"Elder of my Green Mountain Sect- That was my wife!"

"Ah... That is... Eh... My bad..."

Following the words of Elder Green Wing, Lord Windfall froze on the spot as he could barely get any words out.

How in the world should he have known that the person he slept with happened to be the wife of Elder Green Wing. Especially with how she had been the one to approach him first!

Feeling like he had been wronged for now reason, Lord Windfall turned towards Elder Green Wing. Planning to explain the matter to him and get everything resolved without having to continue their pointless fight.

"Let's first talk this over and-"

"DIE!"

Not waiting for Lord Windfall to finish his sentence, Elder Green Wing's anger had reached its peak, as he charged towards Lord Windfall filled with killing intent.

Obvious to everyone watching, Elder Green Wing was not willing to continue talking any longer. Only wanting to kill the person who had slept with his wife and forced him to wear a green hat in front of not only the elders from his sect, but also the disciples...

"You old fool, you leave me no choice...!" Not willing to just get killed by Elder Green Wing without fighting back, Lord Windfall pulled out a small talisman from his interspatial ring before activating it. Instantly increasing his power to the same level as Elder Green Wing.

The main difference between the two methods being the fact that one was archived through a forbidden technique that burned through one's source of life and future potential, while the other was using the power stored inside a talisman to increase one's strength for a short moment.

Although both methods had clear side effects, the side effects brought on by using a talisman was far lower and wouldn't affect one's future achievements on the path of cultivation. Only weakening the user for a few months after the power in the talisman had been exhausted.

Swish-!

Not a second after Lord Windfall had used the talisman to forcibly raise his strength to the Fourth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, Elder Green Wing arrived in front of him-

BOOOM-!

As the two clashed with each other, the terrifying power of two Fourth Stage Domain Lords constantly bombarded the small island below them.

Rumble~!

Unable to handle this terrifying power, the small island inevitably cracked apart before what remained was either swallowed up by the water rushing in from all sides or sent flying into the distance.

"We have to get out of here before- Ahhhh!"

"Nooo-! Spare me, I'm-"

The ships belonging to some curious Nascent Soul Realm Experts who had approached the site of the battle between the two Domain Lord Realm Experts for a chance to gain enlightenment and break through to the Domain Lord Realm themselves, were caught in the crossfire, as their unwilling scream echoed out across the lake. Scaring off any other Nascent Soul Realm Experts that had a similar plan in mind from getting any closer.

"..."

Watching all this happening while hiding himself with his domain, Xuan Hao had no idea what to say.

In a sense, this could be considered a good thing for the Star Shattering Sect. After all, if the noble families and major sects started fighting with each other, the Sky Empire would get even more chaotic. An added benefit would be that the other independent sects would also be able to stay safe from the major sects because of this...

Whoosh~

Having come to this conclusion, Xuan Hao quietly left. Leaving as quietly as he had appeared, without any of the two even noticing he had appeared in the first place.

Swish-!

However just before he left the area, he created a small sword that remained hovering in the air above. Directly targeted at Lord Windfall who had all his attention focused on dealing with the constant onslaught of a half crazed Elder Green Wing.

If Elder Green Wing could not kill Lord Windfall, the sword above was going to descend and kill him on the spot before dissipating. Putting all the blame of Lord Windfall's death on Elder Green Wing, and by extension, the Green Mountain Sect. Making sure that the noble families and the major sects would end up starting to fight each other!

After all, there was no way Xuan Hao was just going to leave a chance to make the Star Shattering Sect and the independent sects of the Sky Empire safer up to chance...L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøvl--B1n.

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A few hours after Xuan Hao had left the two Domain Lords to fight with each other, Elder Green Wing had managed to gain the upper hand due to him not caring about the injuries he received. Different from Lord Windfall, who very much still wanted to be able to continue cultivating after the battle was over.

Swish-!

Just at this moment, Elder Green Wing managed to slip past Lord Windfall's defences-

"Ah-!"

Directly cutting off the arm that Lord Windfall was using to hold the talisman that was strengthening him and allowing him to fight back against Elder Green Wing.L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøvl--B1n.

"Haha, Lord Windfall, you are no match for me!" Laughing loudly as he watched the power of Lord Windfall rapidly declining at a speed visible to the naked eye before he ended up entering a weakened state, Elder Green Wing got ready to kill off the person who had made him wear a green hat in front of everyone from his sect.

"Hmph! You really think I'm that easy to kill!? Don't forget that my Windfall family is in-laws of the Hollow Thunder Family!" Filled with killing intent as he said this, Lord Windfall directly pulled another talisman out of his interspatial ring before activating it without wasting a single second.

The moment the talisman was activated, the space around Lord Windfall started bending and distorting.

"Hm!? A teleportation talisman!? How in the world did you get your hands on something like that- Don't think I'm going to allow you to escape!"

Knowing exactly what the reaction from the space around Lord Windfall represented, Elder Green Wing showed a shocked expression before using his most powerful movement technique to close the distance between them before the teleportation talisman could take effect and teleport Lord Windfall away... But in the end, he could only helplessly watch as the space around Lord Windfall started swallowing him up.

Swish-!

However, it was at this moment when Lord Windfall was about to get teleported away from the small island, that the sword Xuan Hao had left hovering in the air above the two Domain Lords busy fighting with each other, sprang into action and descended towards the unsuspecting Lord Windfall.

"Wha-"

Ptsh-!

Not having any time to react, Lord Windfall was directly cut down by the sword. Instantly killing him and destroying his nascent soul!

Other than this, the sword attack also caused the space around Lord Windfall to grow unstable for a short moment. Not only delaying the teleportation talisman from activating, but also making it hard for Elder Green Wing to notice the fact that Lord Windfall had already died.

"Die!"

With all this combined, Elder Green Wing who was still unaware of the fact that Lord Windfall had been killed. Gathered all his power together into a single attack before launching it towards the location of the dead Lord Windfall.

Swoosh~

BOOOM-!

Not a second later, the attack launched by Elder Green Wing, violently crashed into the dead body of Lord Windfall.

"Haha, your little teleportation talisman didn't work fast enough!" Seeing that his attack had managed to reach its target and how Lord Windfall's body fell lifelessly to the ground, Elder Green Wing was overcome with happiness. Not realizing that his opponent had already been killed before his attack had a chance to reach him.

"Hehe, even if you have something as precious as a teleportation talisman, you still ended up dying to me in the end!" Descending from the sky towards the water where the dead body of Lord Windfall had landed, Elder Green Wing was filled with arrogance as he said this. Not showing the slightest sign of caring about the fact that he had just ended up breaking one of the most basic rules put down by the imperial family.

Whoosh-!

Waving his hand towards the dead body of Lord Windfall, Elder Green Wing used the power of his domain to erase his body. Making sure that his opponent had not just pretending to have been killed off. Not forgetting to take away the interspatial ring before doing this...

Ptsh-!

Just at this moment, Elder Green Wing threw up a large mouthful of blood. Staining the water below him in a deep red colour.

"This is... The side effects of the forbidden technique have already started to take effect!? I should get out of here before I lose all my strength and the worst part of the side effects start to kick in...!"

Looking down at the large amount of blood he had just thrown up, Elder Green Wing could not help showing a panicked expression before jumping into the air. Using all the power left in his body to leave the lake. Hoping to find a safe place before the more deadly side effects of the forbidden technique started appearing.

...

"This... A Domain Lord Realm Expert died!? Is the other person not afraid of what will happen after the imperial family learns about this...?" While Elder Green Wing "finished off" Lord Windfall, a Nascent Soul Realm Expert observing the battle from afar could not help muttering this to himself. Shocked at the fact that he had witnessed the death of a Domain Lord Realm Expert.

"What do you know? It might be two wandering cultivators that happened to pass through the Sky Empire and ended up in a fight over some kind of treasure. The imperial family won't care about something like this..." Standing beside the shocked Nascent Soul Realm Expert, another Nascent Soul Realm Expert rolled his eyes as he said this. Believing that the two Domain Lord Realm Experts fighting with each other to be two wandering cultivators that just happened to be in the Sky Empire.

"I see, that is understandable-"

"Wait a moment!" However, just as the first was nodding his head in understanding, a third Nascent Soul Realm Expert stepped forward.

"If I'm not wrong, one of the two Domain Lords fighting should be an Elder from the Green Mountain Sect. As for the other one who ended up dying, I have no idea..."

"What!? Now that you mention it, the one who died did look a bit like the current head of the Windfall family... But would an elder from the Green Mountain Sect really be stupid enough to kill the head of the Windfall family? After all, it's not really secret that they are in-laws with the Hollow Thunder Family..."

"Who knows... For now, I think it would be a good idea for us to leave before that Domain Lord from the Green Mountain Sect starts thinking about silencing the people who saw him..." Not willing to stay around and ponder about what had caused the two Domain Lords to start fighting each other, the third Nascent Soul Realm Expert jumped off the boat he was on before escaping in the direction of the shore.

Not wanting to risk getting killed when the elder from the Green Mountain Sect started trying to silence anyone who had witnessed what had taken place to stop the imperial family from learning about what he had done.

"Indeed, we should leave" "Good idea, let's get going."

Nodding their head in understand upon hearing what the third Nascent Soul Realm Expert said, the two other Nascent Soul Realm quickly followed the third.

Whoosh~

Whoosh~

Whoosh~

Like them, the remaining Nascent Soul Realm Experts located around the place where the battle had taken place also scattered in all direction. All understanding that staying behind would be a bad idea.

...

The moment that the sword floating above Lord Windfall descended to kill him, Xuan Hao, who had already travelled far away from the lake where the two Domain Lords were fighting, came to a sudden stop before turning around to look back in the direction he had come from.

"Hm? Looks like that elder from the Green Mountain Sect couldn't finish up Lord Windfall by himself..." Muttering this to himself as he looked back in the direction of the lake, Xuan Hao soon turned around before continuing his journey back towards the Star Shattering Sect.

Although it would have been best if he didn't have to be the one to finish off Lord Windfall, it didn't matter too much. Even if the elder from the Green Mountain Sect understood he wasn't the one to kill Lord Windfall, he would still be the one that would end up taking the blame for it.

Not to mention the fact that the fight had been witnessed by a large number of Nascent Soul Realm Experts, the traces of the sword attack that had killed Lord Windfall would be impossible to spot for someone below the Soul Ascension Realm.

Even among Soul Ascension Realm Experts, the only person in the Sky Empire that should be capable of doing this should be the old ancestor from the imperial family... But for him to personally investigate the death of some random Domain Lord Realm Expert that was not even a part of the imperial family, Xuan Hao really doubted that something like this was going to happen...

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BOOM-!

Only a few seconds after the death of Lord Windfall, a terrifying aura erupted from the core of the Hollow Thunder Family located in the capital city. Making the guards standing around guarding the core area of the Hollow Thunder Family start looking at each other with fearful expressions plastered all over their faces.

"Wha-what in the world is this!? Who is unfortunate to have offended the old master!?

"I-I don't know, b-but I'm sur they won't be able to survive after a-angering the old master to this d-degree..."

"Indeed, I think-"

BANG-!

As they all came to the same conclusion that the person who had ended up offending the old master of their family was as good as dead, the large doors leading into the core area was thrown open before an old man filled with killing intent stepped out. Instantly scaring all the guards into silence. None of them daring to say a single word in the presence of the old man.

The silence lasted for close to a minute without the old man moving a single step. Only looking out into the distance with a terrifying glint in his eyes.

"O-old master... I-is there something we can help with...?" Not able to take the silence any longer, one of the guards managed to work up enough courage to step forward and say this-

"Hm?"

But quickly regretted his choice after the old master turned around and focused his attention on to him.

"I-I'm sorry for asking such a rude question old master, I will go to the discipline hall and accept my punishment!" Not wasting a single second in saying this, the guard who had asked the old master ran away the moment he had finished talking. Understanding very well that staying would be a bad idea. Especially so when considering the reputation of the old master...

"All of you, leave!" Not caring too much about the guard that had escaped, the old master of the Hollow Thunder Family just turned towards the remaining guards before saying this. Making it obvious to anyone that he wanted to be alone.

"Yes, yes! We will leave immediately!"

Whoosh~!

Whoosh~!

Whoosh~!

Flying across the paved stone path of the ground the moment they heard what the old master said, the guards soon disappeared. All of them taking the chance they had been given to leave the scary old master filled with killing intent. Not forgetting to warn the rest of the guards that they met along the way that it would be best to leave the core area completely for now if they cherished their life!

"Elder Green Wing!? One of the elders from the Green Mountain Sect dared to kill my brother in-law!? Does he really believe that my Hollow Thunder Family will just stand by doing nothing!? Not to mention us, the imperial family will probably also want to deal with this!" Following the guards having left, the old master muttered this to himself filled with killing intent.

"If not for the fact that I left behind part of my will in the talisman I gave him, I would probably never have learnt that the person behind the death of my brother in-law was someone from the Green Mountain Sect!" Remembering the image that had been transferred to him of his brother in-laws body getting erased by Elder Green Wing, the old master could not help trembling in anger.

No matter how strong a major sect was and the fact that they all had the backing of powerful kingdom that would at least have one person in the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, there was no way he could just brush this matter aside. Especially because the person who had been killed was none other than his brother in-law!

"Hmph! Even if those major sects are hard to deal with under normal circumstances, I don't believe I won't be able to kill that Elder Green Wing. All I need to do is bring this matter to the imperial family!" Filled with killing intent as he said this, the old master turned to look in the direction of the imperial family before taking a step forward in that direction.

Even if he had to work together with the imperial family for this matter, he was going to make sure that the Green Mountain Sect, and more importantly, Elder Green Wing, regretted killing his brother in-law!

...

Thump-!

At the same time Lord Windfall met his end at the hands of the sword left behind by Xuan Hao and the old master of the Hollow Thunder Family was trembling in anger thinking about ways to take revenge on the Green Mountain Sect, Mui collapsed on the ground exhausted inside one of the special areas along the path leading up towards the peak of the mountain.

"Hah... That... Hah... Was far more exhausting than I expected!" Breathing erratically as she laid down on the ground, Mui did not hesitate to use her now working favourite ability ever, summon delicious fruits, to summon forth a delicious and sweet fruit!

Chomp~!

Not wasting a single second before biting into it, the exhausted expression from climbing up the mountain was soon replaced by one of bliss. The delicious fruits did not only taste great, but they also helped ease her exhaustion.

Remaining on the ground as she looked around at the beautiful trees and other lush plants that surrounded the small special area isolated from the terrifying soul pressure outside, Mui could not help feeling a hint of sleepiness.

At this point in time, she had already spent the last eight hours trying to climb the mountain. Fighting the terrifying soul pressure at every moment. Only stopping at two other special areas to rest so far.

The only positive thing that had happened, being that the constant pressure bearing down on her had allowed her to break through from the First Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm to the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.

Although this was just an increase of a minor realm, the increase in strength was what had allowed her to reach the third special area. If she had not managed to break through, there would have been no way for her to endure the soul pressure between the second and third special area!

Chomp~!

Being filled with energy after eating the last bit of the delicious fruit, Mui turned her attention towards the fourth special area that was located farther up the mountain... But upon doing this, a sense of helplessness welled up inside her after seeing that the distance between the fourth and the third special area was almost double that of the distance between the third and second special area.

Even without starting her journey yet, Mui clearly understood that she stood no chance of reaching the fourth special area in her current state. Especially considering that she had just broken through to the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm and still needed to stabilize her cultivation base...

Before continuing towards the next special area, I should consolidate my cultivation realm... Maybe getting some sleep after I finish stabilizing my cultivation base isn't a bad idea either... Ah! I also need to take a few of the delicious fruits along with me!

Understanding just how unprepared she was when it came to attempting to climb to the next special area, Mui ended up deciding to stay inside the third special area for now. Wanting to make sure she was well rested and strong before challenging the difficult climb to the fourth special area.

Not that this was a difficult decision. After all, she was more than happy with staying inside the special area filled with delicious fruits for longer. Time was not a problem and she still had over six days before the time limit for the trial was up. Not to mention, the third special area was located around the halfway point of the mountain.

Keeping all of this in mind, Mui felt like resting for a day to stabilize her cultivation base and get some sleep in was not a bad idea. Especially if it meant that she wouldn't have to risk failing on her way from the third special area to the fourth.

Thump~

Having come to a decision on what to do, Mui plopped down on the soft grass below before starting the process of stabilizing her cultivation realm through the usage of her cultivation mantra. Not something that would take a more than a few minutes to half an hour considering that she had only broken through to the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Not a major realm or something like that.

Whoosh~Ñ00vl--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

"Hm? It only took half a minute!?" However, to Mui's surprise, it only ended up taking half a minute for her to stabilize her cultivation base at the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Although she had no idea what the normal time required to stabilize one's cultivation base after breaking through to the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, she still somewhat understood that her speed of stabilizing her cultivation base should have been faster than normal.

"Is it because of the weird pressure that it's easier for me to stabilize my cultivation base? Hm... I think that should be the reason. After all, it does involve some weird stuff with the soul... On the positive side, I get more time to sleep now!" Not having any real understanding or explanation as to why she had managed to stabilize her cultivation base so fast, Mui just linked it together with the weird pressure she had experienced while climbing up the mountain and threw it away before finding a comfortable spot to sleep inside the special area.

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"Mhhm~!" Stretching her body as she slowly woke up after having slept for what felt like days, Mui let out a comfortable sound before getting her hands on yet another delicious fruit to satiate the hunger that appeared the moment she woke up.

Chomp~

Finishing up the fruit in a single bite, Mui turned her attention towards the location of the Fourth special area located farther up the mountain. Even if part of her wanted to just stay inside the third special area where she could laze around with an endless supply of delicious fruits, she also understood that completing the trial was a top priority!

I... I should get going...

Feeling a bit afraid when she remembered how she had only barely managed to make it to the third special area due to suddenly breaking through to the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, Mui could not help hesitating for a short moment before finally taking a step outside the special area.

Whoosh-!

Not even a second after doing this, Mui felt all too familiar terrifying pressure once again weighing down on her. Even if this was not the first time, the pressure was even stronger than it had been between the second and third special area.Ñøvl-B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.

"I should start moving..." Knowing that the qi inside her dantian was extremely limited in how long it allowed her to do something simple like using her cultivation mantra, Mui did not dare waste a single second after she finished adjusting to the pressure. Directly beginning to make her way up the increasingly steep mountain path leading towards the fourth special area.

The path up the mountain was not anything special and had at most been made smooth to make it easier to walk along... Of course, that was if one didn't consider the terrifying pressure one would have to endure while traversing this path.

At least, the simple and empty path made it far easy for Mui, as she slowly got closer and closer to the fourth special area without any problems.

"Ah-!"

Thump-!

It was when she was just about to reach the fourth special area that Mui who had been ready to relax after the long climb, suddenly let out a painful scream before collapsing on the ground. Unable to stand up again due to the pressure constantly bearing down on her.

Wha-what happened!? Why did the pressure suddenly increase by so much!?

Barely able to keep herself conscious, Mui could not help wondering why the pressure that had been relatively easy for her to withstand so far, had suddenly multiplied by several folds. Not even giving her a chance to resist before she was pressed to the ground.

No! I can't fail like this!

Feeling her vision fading with each passing second, as she got closer and closer to fainting due to the pressure from above, Mui found what little willpower she had to use the last power left in her body to forcibly drag herself forward. Moving along the small rocks of the path leading up the mountain towards the fourth special area that was no more than a few meters away from her. Disregarding any pain, she felt from dragging her body along the small rocks while being pressed down towards the ground at the same time.

Continuing forward towards her goal like this for an unknown period of time, Mui managed to drag her exhausted body inside the fourth special area. Allowing her to finally relax her battered and exhausted body.

I... I made it!

The last ten meters of her journey towards the fourth special area had by far been one of the hardest things she had ever experienced, but in the end, she had made it!

Now I can eat more delicious-

Elated and bursting with happiness after making it on to the soft grass that covered the fourth special area, Mui didn't have any time to express her happy emotions before fainting on the spot. Falling into a deep sleep on the soft grass under the shade of a large tree filled with leaves large enough to cover her entire body.

...

Whoosh-!

"Ah!? I fell asleep... Hun!? What happened to my injuries...?" Waking up after an unknown length of time, Mui jumped off the ground before suddenly realizing that the pain she had felt across her entire body before falling asleep had completely disappeared.

"Hm? My strength also seems to have increased..."

Investigating her situation further, Mui also discovered that the qi cyclone inside her dantian seemed to have grown larger and had reached the limit of the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Only needing a single push to reach the Thirds Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Not only that, but it was also completely stable without her needing to due anything to stabilize the sudden increase in qi present inside her dantian!

"This place is amazing. Allowing my strength to improve rapidly... Maybe I can use this..." Muttering this to herself as she once again felt amazed by the fact that her strength had managed to take another leap forward without her doing anything, Mui began wondering whether she could use the pressure just outside the fourth special area to improve her strength even further before moving on towards the next special area.

Rumble~

"What was that!?"

However, before she had a chance to do this, a loud rumbling sound echoed out across the special area. Making Mui jump in surprise as she looked around herself for the source of the rumbling sound.

Rumble~

"Wait... the origin of the sound is-"

It was only when the rumbling sound returned for a second time, that she realized it was coming from her stomach.

"..."

Feeling her face turning red in embarrassment upon this realization, Mui quietly got her hands on a large number of delicious fruits before starting to eat in silence. Instead using this time to look for the box of words, that could be found at every special area, to figure out how much time she had left to complete the second trial.

"Ah, there it is." Finding the box of words half hidden behind one of the large trees inside the special area, Mui took a few delicious fruits along with her as she made her way over to the box of words.

Rustle~

Pulling aside a few leaves that was blocking the words on the box of words, Mui began reading through the information displayed on the box of words.

[Second Trial, Test of Will]

[Status: In Progress, Fourth Special Area Reached]

[Time left: 8 Hours, 17 Minutes, 24 Seconds... 23 Seconds... 22-]

"Waaaah! I only have 8 hours left before the trial is over!? Just how long did I sleep for!?"

Letting out a both shocked and surprised sound after discovering that she only had a little over 8 hours left before the second trial came to an end, Mui could not help starting to panic. The plan of using the pressure to increase her strength before continuing further up the mountain, was now useless, as she didn't have the time to do this anymore.

For the first time since she had started the trials, Mui felt like she didn't have enough time to complete the trial.

"At least I don't have a long way to go to reach the top of the mountain..." Calming herself down as she said this while looking towards the peak of the mountain that was at most a little over a hundred meters away from her current location, Mui decided to not think about the terrifying pressure she had experienced just before reaching the fourth special area.

After all, even with her improved strength, it would barely be doable to move ten to twenty meters further up the mountain... And that was not mentioning the fact that the pressure would most likely be even more terrifying compared to what she had experienced on the last ten meters to the fourth special area...

"Well... Considering I don't have that long to the peak of the mountain, I should try and see if I can break through to the Third Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm before trying to climb to the peak..." Muttering this to herself as she very well understood she was far too weak to make the last hundred meter journey up the mountain to the peak, Mui decided to use what little time she could to reach the Third Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.

At the very least, if she managed to reach the Third Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, she would have more qi available in her dantian and should be able to utilize her cultivation mantra more efficiently to negate the pressure.

Whoosh~!

Having come up with a plan on what to do before attempting to climb the last bit of the way to the peak of the mountain, Mui sat down on the soft grass before focusing all her attention towards trying to break through to the Third Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Hoping to breakthrough and stabilize her cultivation base as fast as possible.

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Boom!

Focusing all her attention towards trying to break through, it did not take long before Mui officially reached the Third Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Not only that, but her cultivation base was completely stable after her break through. Not needing to spend any time on stabilizing it.

"Still around five hours left." Glancing over towards the box of words that was showing her how much time she had left; Mui could not help a sense of confidence from welling up inside her. After all, her strength had just increased, and she only had a little over a hundred meters to the peak of the mountain. The fear of failure she experienced just after having reached the fourth special area had already disappeared completely.

"Better now than never..." Knowing that it would be best not to delay for too long, Mui decided to take a few of the delicious fruits along with her before stepping outside the protection of the fourth special area and on to the path leading up towards the peak of the mountain-

Whoosh~!

Not even a second after she took the first step out of the fourth special area, Mui once again felt the terrifying pressure weighing down her body. However, different from what she had experienced during the last ten meters leading up to the fourth special area, she was not forced to the ground this time around and could instead remain standing.

As for moving under the terrifying pressure...? That was close to impossible. For now, she focused all of her energy towards adapting to the pressure so she could start making her way up towards the peak of the mountain without having to worry about suddenly falling to the ground without any way to get back up again under the terrifying pressure.

Spending the next few minutes like this, Mui slowly began making her way up the final bit of the mountain. The pressure not able to stop her from moving forward!

Like this, time slowly passed with Mui getting closer and closer to the peak of the mountain. The pressure not able to stop her as she got within ten meters of the mountain peak-

Bang!

However, it was at this moment that the pressure suddenly increased by several folds and in a similar way like the last ten meters to the fourth special area, Mui felt her legs starting to give up under her. The only difference this time around, was that she had already been prepared for a sudden increase in the pressure she experienced-

Swish-!

So, before she was forced to the ground again, she used all the energy present inside of her dantian to forcefully push through the last ten meters of her journey, something that was only barely possible with the increased qi that was now in her dantian after she reached the Third Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.

Thump!

"Hah... I-I made it!" Letting out an exhausted sigh as she reached the peak of the mountain, Mui was filled with happiness before a wave of exhaustion spread through out her entire body. Preventing her from getting back up again.

M-maybe I should just stay like this for a bit...

Knowing that her body had already been pushed beyond her limit, Mui decided to just stay on the ground until she had recovered enough energy to retrieve the delicious fruits she had brought along with her. After eating them, she was certain that she would be full of energy once again.

...

Laying down on the small rocks that was scattered all over the peak of the mountain for what felt like days, Mui finally managed to recover enough strength to move one of the delicious fruits up to her mouth so she could take a bite out of it-

Chomp~!

The moment she bit down on the delicious fruit, she once again felt the exhaustion that had built up inside her body being washed away. Allowing her to return back to her peak condition. Almost like the exhausting journey up the mountain had never happened in the first place.

"These fruits are really great, I hope I can continue eating them even after the trial ends..." Muttering this to herself as she got back up, Mui began looking around the desolate mountain peak for signs of the box of words.

"Ah! There it is!" Spotting the box of words only a few meters away from where she was standing, Mui didn't hesitate to rush over to check that she had indeed managed to complete the trial.

[Second Trial, Test of Will, has been successfully cleared. Proceeding to calculate participant Mui's score for the Test of Will... Calculation finished, generating a score in accordance to participant Mui's performance during the Second Trial, Test of Comprehension.]

[Trial Participant: Mui]

[Trial: Test of Will]

[Total Score: 5/5]

[Evaluation: Passed, Made it through all five special areas and has met the minimum requirement for continuing on to the final trial.]

"Final Trial...? There is still another trial left..." Reading through the information on the box of words, Mui could not help feeling a bit surprised after discovering that there was still another trial left after the second trial.

Given how difficult the second trial had been for her to complete, it was not hard for her to imagine how hard the next trial was going to be.

Rumble~

NvεlB¡n: Your Escape into Infinite Tales.

"Wha-what is happening!? Wait... This is..."

[The Final Trial, is going to start in two minutes, it is recommended that you are well rested and prepared before the start of the trial.]

[Time left: 2 Seconds... 1 Second-]

Lost in her own thoughts about the final trial that she was going to face, Mui didn't even notice the new string of words that had appeared on the box of words before the two minutes were already up and the mountain below her feet started sinking into the ground below.

Soon transporting her all the way back down to the ground before completely disappearing, like it had never even existed in the first place...

[No description of the trial will be provided this time around, participant Mui, will have to find out on her own. The Final Trial is going to start now.]

"No description!? Wai-" Feeling taken aback by the box of words that suddenly appeared in front of her after she had reached the ground again, Mui was just about to say something when the box of words in front of her suddenly vanished into thin air.

RUMBLE-!

Following the disappearance of the box of words, the ground beneath her ones again began shaking violently like it had done before the mountain had sprung up from the ground. Making Mui start looking around herself for any signs of new things related to the final trial appearing. Hoping that it would be something that would give away what the final trial was about...

"This- What in the world is all of this!?"

However, much to her surprise, what appeared was not a single thing. Instead, over a dozen massive gates made out of all kinds of mystical materials appeared in front of her. Not giving her any clue as to what they had to do with the final trial.

"Do I perhaps have to enter one of the gates? But... Do I only get to enter a single one, or do I have to enter all of the gates...?" Inspecting the different gates that had appeared all around her as she felt her head starting to hurt, Mui silently prayed for the box of words to appear again and help her out with what she had to do. Just placing a bunch of gates in front of her was far from enough to figure out what the final trial was about!

[A hint for the goal of the Final Trial is available.]

"Huh!?" seeing the box of words suddenly appearing in front of her just when she wished for it to appear, Mui could not help jumping back in shock.

"The box of words- Ah! Yes! Please give me a hint!" desperately nodding her head as she looked towards the box of words now floating in the air no more than a few meters away from where she was standing, Mui answered almost instantaneously after realizing what was written. Not wanting to waste any time in case the box of words disappeared again.

[Hint: The gates that have appeared around you are related to the Final Trial; you can only enter one gate.]

Whoosh~

"..."

Watching as the box of words disappeared only a few seconds after she had finished reading through the hint, Mui had no idea what to say.

Entering one of the gates was already something she had planned to do and she already had a good hunch that they were related to the final trial... The only real information she had managed to gain from the box of words, was the fact that she would only be able to enter a single gate, something she would have found out about after she entered one of the gates like she had originally been thinking of doing...

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Standing around wondering about which of the gates she should enter after she had learnt that she would only be able to enter one of them, Mui could not help focusing her attention on a slightly smaller gate located in the back of a much larger gate.

Although the gate in question was far smaller than the rest of the gates that had appeared, it was obvious that the material used in its construction was of a far higher quality compared to the rest of the gates present. At the very least, that was what Mui thought after seeing the beautiful wood that made up most of the gate along with the different mystical beasts that had been carved into it.Ñ00vl--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

Even if the other gates also had their own special charm, they could still not compare to the small wooden one according to Mui!

For this reason, Mui did not bother thinking about what gate to enter. Instead starting to slowly approach the smaller wooden gate in the distance. However, the wooden gate might have looked smaller when compared to the other gates, but when she personally arrived in front of it, she realized just how large the wooden gate was...

"This... Is larger than I expected..." Mumbling this to herself as she stood in front of the more than a dozen meter tall wooden gate, Mui could not help starting to wonder how in the world she was going to push open such a large gate with her current strength.

Not to mention her current self, opening such a huge wooden gate, she doubted that even if she reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, she would still not be able to do something like this...!

Rumble-!

Just as Mui was lost in her own thoughts thinking of how she was ever going to open such a huge gate by herself, a loud rumbling sound echoed out from the gate in front of her as the large wooden gate began to open slowly, the intricate carvings of mythical beasts on its surface became more visible and almost seemed to come alive. Each of the mythical beasts being shrouded in their own unique aura, with different features and expressions, some fierce and menacing, with sharp teeth and claws, while others were more elegant and serene.

As the large gate continues to open, the room beyond is revealed to be shrouded in complete darkness. Only allowing Mui to make out the wooden floor on the other side.

Whoosh-!

As the gate reached its fully open position, a rush of cool air filled with qi flowed out through the opening. However, Mui had no time to focus on this, as the room behind the large wooden gate was now fully displayed in front of her.

Dimly lit, with flickering candles that had ignited by themselves after the gate had opened spread out all around the room. The floor made of the same mystical, yet beautiful wood that the gate had been made of. In the centre of the room, a large, raised platform, surrounded by mats and cushions, could be seen.

"A place where cultivators come to spar with each other...?" Not knowing too much about what the room in front of her was used for, Mui could only go off the small clues she could gather from the different weapons lined up along the walls of the room and what she had learnt about how cultivators would often spar with each other to hone their skills if they had the chance.

Bang!

"Ah!?" Jumping up in surprise at the sudden loud sound, Mui looked behind herself. Only to realized that she had unknowingly entered the room beyond the wooden gate. The origin of the loud sound she had just heard, was none other than the large wooden gate slamming shut behind her. Preventing her from leaving!

"Is this why the box of words said I could only enter one of the gates? Because the gate closes after I pass through it...?" Muttering this to herself as she remembered how the box of words had mentioned that she would only be able to enter one of the gates present, Mui felt herself calm down before returning to inspect the room she now found herself stuck inside of. Searching for anything that might point towards what she had to do to complete the final trial.

Whoosh~

It was at this moment, that a shadowy figure began to form on top of the raised platform in the middle of the room. The figure dark and indistinct at the moment, its form shifting and swirling like smoke in the wind, as the air around it started to crackle with energy, causing Mui to feel a shiver run down her spine at the sudden appearance of the shadowy figure.

Whoosh-!

As the still incomplete figure takes shape, Mui was left in awe, as faceless warrior, clad in black and wielding a large greatsword over twice her size appeared on top of the raised platform.

Zhing~!

Starting to swing the massive greatsword, the warrior swiftly moved around the raised platform, its movements fluid and precise, the air around it seemed to shimmer and ripple with every movement.

Not knowing what to do when she suddenly saw the shadowy warrior that had formed on top of the platform started practicing his sword techniques, Mui decided to sit down on one of the nearby mats before starting to observe the shadowy warrior. Feeling like its appearance should be the key to figuring out how to complete the final trial.

Soon, the only thing that could be heard inside the room, was the sound of the shadowy figure's sword as it cut through the air and the quiet breathing of Mui as she observed it from the side. Not daring to take her eyes off the figure in case she ended up missing something.

Swish-!

As the shadowy warrior finished displaying its sword techniques, it seemed to dissolve back into the shadows from which it had been first shaped from. The air still rippling due to a side effect of the greatsword techniques that the shadowy warrior had just used while moving around the platform.

"That's it...?" Looking towards the spot that the shadowy warrior had been standing just a second ago, Mui could not help feeling a sense of disappointment. Not understanding why, the shadowy figure had already disappeared.

Even if it was only for a short moment, she had clearly felt that the technique used by the shadowy warrior was extremely profound. If she could watch the shadowy warrior use this technique for a bit longer, she hoped that she would have a chance at comprehending this powerful and profound greatsword technique herself!

Although she was still not certain about what she had to do to complete the final trial. After watching the shadowy warrior for the past few minutes, she at the very least had an idea... And that was, learning the greatsword technique displayed by the shadowy warrior!

Given how empty the room she was currently inside of was, and the shadow warrior that had appeared to display a profound and powerful greatsword technique, Mui felt that this was a rather obvious conclusion to make.

Now, the only problem left, was the fact that the shadowy warrior had disappeared before she managed to learn anything...

"I should try and do the same that the shadowy warrior did earlier. Maybe it will help with trying to understand the greatsword technique he was using..." Knowing that she would get nowhere by just sitting on the ground hoping for the shadowy warrior to return to display his greatsword technique again, Mui stood back up before walking towards the different weapons lined up along the side of the room.

Swoosh~!

"Ah!? This- This is far heavier than I expected..." Trying to pick up a greatsword lined up along the wall, Mui ended up almost dropping it on the floor due to its weight. The weapon in question was only made from wood, but it was almost twice her size and was rather difficult to handle. Especially given the fact that Mui was only 12 years old. Even if she had reached the Third Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, it did not increase her physical strength by that much and she could only be considered at the level of a normal grown-up mortal...

"Haaa!" Not giving up because of this, Mui slowly dragged the wooden greatsword along the floor. Soon making her way up to the raised platform in the middle of the room.

Now I just need to repeat the movements that the shadow warrior did...

Swish~

Not wasting any time after reaching the middle of the platform, Mui began to move around the platform while swinging the massive greatsword like the shadowy warrior had done just a moment ago. The only difference between her and the shadowy warrior being the speed at which the different moves were executed... And the fact that Mui almost fell to the ground every time she swung the greatsword...

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Trying her best to copy the movements of the shadowy warrior while moving around the platform, while just barely holding on to the massive greatsword almost twice her size, Mui's movements slowly started to grow more fluid and precise with the passing of time. Soon enough, the clumsy movements from when she had first started trying to swing the wooden greatsword, had completely disappeared.

"Hah... I should... Hah... Take a break..." Coming to a stop, Mui collapsed on the ground with an exhausted expression on her face. The act of swinging around such a large great sword was an extremely exhausting thing for her. Especially considering that it was even difficult for her to lift the greatsword itself, much less move it in the same way that the shadowy warrior had done...

At the very least, her efforts had paid off and she had managed to comprehend a part of the greatsword technique that the shadowy warrior had demonstrated. Although she was still far away from reaching the level of the shadowy warrior, she could still be considered to have gained an initial understanding of the greatsword technique.

"Am I just supposed to continue trying to lean the greatsword technique...? Will the final trial only be finished after I manage to reach the same level as the shadowy warrior?" Having enjoyed a few delicious fruits that, she could now consume endlessly once again, Mui could not help wondering out loud if the goal of the final trial only was for her to comprehend the greatsword technique shown by the shadowy warrior and learn it herself.

Maybe the true goal of the final trial is something completely different and the shadowy warrior demonstrating the powerful and profound greatsword technique is only a distraction...

Sitting on the ground as she thought about this, Mui could not help starting to look around the room once again. However, this time around, she decided to look more closely at the different weapons along the walls and the other objects placed around the room. Searching for anything that seemed out of place.

As she carefully looked through the room once again, she noticed that one of the weapons hanging on the wall looked slightly askew. Looking out of place when compared to the rest of the weapons that were all lined up perfectly along the walls.

"Hm... Suspicious~!" Narrowing both her eyes upon seeing this, Mui got up from the ground before making her way over to inspect the weapon in question. Upon getting closer, she noticed that a small lever was hiding behind the weapon. Cleverly disguised to blend in with the weapon itself.

"Aha! I knew something wasn't right!" Smiling proudly after seeing this, Mui did not wait a second before pulling down on the lever-

Creak~

The moment the lever was pulled down, a panel in the wall just next to her, slid open. Revealing a dark, narrow path leading downward. The only light present being a small torch hanging at the entrance to the narrow path.

This should be the place where the real final trial is located...

Feeling a sense of anticipation as she looked down the dark path, Mui did not hesitate for more than a few seconds before grabbing the torch and making her way down the narrow path leading towards what she believed to be the final trial.

The walls rough and unpolished, while the air was cool and damp. The only source of light coming from the small torch, Mui was not bothered by her surrounding, as she continued walking along the dark and narrow path.

"This...? Nothing!?" Walking along the path for what felt like close to half an hour, Mui could not help exclaiming loudly to herself upon discovering that the path had suddenly come to an end. Nothing other than stone present around her.

Maybe there is some sort of hidden mechanism like last time...Ñøvl-B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.

As this thought appeared in her head, Mui quickly began looking around the narrow tunnel. Soon noticing that the faint outline of a door, almost invisible against the stone wall. Trying to push it open, Mui was left defeated after realizing that the door didn't budge even after she put all her strength into trying to push it open.

Now she was left with trying to figure out how she was going to open the hidden door and continue. Luckily for Mui, it did not take long before she found a small niche in the stone wall next to the door, just big enough for her hand to enter.

On a hunch, Mui did not hesitate to reach into the niche and feel around before finding a small button-

Click!

Pressing the button, the wall behind her slid away in a similar fashion as the wall that had revealed the dark and narrow passage, she now found herself inside of. The only difference this time around being that instead of revealing a path, it revealed a hidden mechanism that unlocked the door in front of her.

Creak~

Pushing open the stone door that had now been unlocked, Mui prepared herself to face another empty room with some kind of hidden mechanism she had to figure out as she entered the room on the other side.

"Huh!? This is-"

Passing through the stone door into the room on the other side, Mui could not help feeling surprised after noticing that the room on the other side was the same as the room with the shadowy warrior. Even the slightly askew weapon hanging on the wall with the lever behind it was the exact same. The only difference being that there was no lever hidden behind it this time around.

Bang!

Hearing the stone door behind her closing, Mui had a weird feeling that she had already experienced this once when she had first entered the room with the shadowy warrior inside of it...

Whoosh~!

Just as she was wondering if she was going to have to find another hidden mechanism again, the shadowy warrior from earlier suddenly formed on top of the raised platform in the middle of the room. However, this time around, he did not start demonstrating his greatsword technique. Instead, he remained silent on top of the raised platform without moving a single muscle. Almost looking like he had been frozen in time after appearing.

[Congratulations, participant Mui, you have successfully passed the first part of the final trial, finding the final trial. The last part of the final trial will require you to defeat the warrior on top of the platform. After this, the trials will be considered to have concluded and you will be given a final score. The time left for the final trial is one hour.]

"Ah!? Defeat the warrior on top of the platform... One hour left... I have to fight the shadowy warrior!?" Jumping back in surprise from the sudden appearance of the box of words, Mui could not help showing a shocked expression on her face after realizing that she had to fight the shadowy warrior standing on top of the platform in front of her.

Even if she had only witnessed the shadowy warrior showing off his greatsword technique for a short moment, she very well understood just how powerful the shadowy warrior was compared to her. Not to mention the fact that she could not even properly wield the greatsword that was required for the only combat technique she had learnt so far!

[Participant Mui, the cultivation realm of the shadowy warrior has been reduced to the same level as you.]

Almost like it had been reading her mind, a new sentence appeared on the box of words. However, this did not help make Mui any less uncomfortable at the prospect of having to fight the shadowy warrior. After all, this was going to be her first fight. Not counting the small skirmishes, she had participated in when defending her things from the other orphans when things were bad, and food was hard to come by.

Thinking about it, those fights had mostly been her trying to push the other kids away before escaping until things calmed down again.

"..."

Looking up at the shadowy warrior standing menacingly in the middle of the platform waiting for her to come over and challenge it, Mui had a feeling that the pushing tactic she had used back then would not work against the shadowy warrior. At most, it was going to get her beaten up faster...

"Looks like I will have to fight it with the greatsword technique if I want to have a chance at all..." Muttering this to herself as a helpless expression made its way on to her face, Mui did not feel the slightest bit confident when it came to fighting the shadowy warrior. In the end, she slowly made her way towards the wooden greatsword that had been placed along the wall in a similar fashion as the wooden greatsword she had used to practice with earlier-

Bang!

Even the weight of the greatsword was the same...

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Doing her best to hold on to the greatsword as she made her way up to the platform with the shadowy warrior motionlessly standing on top of it waiting for her, Mui could not help feeling nervous.

Not to mention the fact that she had no experience when it came to using the greatsword in real combat, the intimidating aura of the shadowy warrior that locked on to her when she arrived beside the raised platform, was more than enough to make her freeze on the spot without daring to take a single step forward.

"What am I hesitating for? It's not like it's going to kill me. At most I will fail the final trial..." Shaking her head as she quietly muttered this to herself, Mui took a deep breath before slowly stepping up onto the raised platform. Knowing very well that her chances of beating the shadowy warrior with her current experience in combat was close to none...

Swish-!

Without warning, the shadowy warrior charged towards her the moment she had stepped up on the raised platform, the greatsword held high in the air as it descended towards her with a terrifying might that made Mui second guess whether the shadowy warrior was truly in the same cultivation realm as her.

Bang!

Having already expected that the shadowy warrior was going to attack her the moment she stepped onto the raised platform, Mui dodged to the side, just narrowly avoiding the massive greatsword.

"Hah!"

Taking advantage of the small opening that had been created, Mui put all her energy into using what little she had learnt from the unnamed greatsword technique of the shadowy warrior, swinging the massive wooden greatsword almost twice her size towards the unprotected side of the shadowy warrior.

However, the shadowy warrior was far faster than she had expected and easily managed to move his greatsword over to block her attack-

"Waaaaaah!?"

Even worse, the impact caused by the two weapons clashing with each other, was enough to send Mui's small body flying for a few meters before landing in the middle of the raised platform with her wooden greatsword landing on the ground right next to her. Having somehow been lucky enough to not only have her weapon land next to her, but also avoid any injuries at the same time.

This... How am I supposed to win against that thing!?

Not having any time to feel happy about how she had managed to avoid any injuries during the clash that had sent her flying, Mui was panicking internally. During the short clash just now, she understood very well that her opponent was not someone, she had any chance of winning against.

Even if the shadowy warrior had also been reduced to the Third Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, his combat experience and mastery over the greatsword far exceeded her...

Turning towards the shadowy warrior on the edge of the platform getting ready to charge towards her again, Mui grabbed the greatsword on the ground beside her as she got ready. Although she understood how low her chance of winning was, there was no way she was going to just give up without a fight!

Swish-!

As the shadowy warrior dashed towards her with its massive greatsword raised high in the air, Mui pulled up her greatsword from the ground in preparation to meet the shadowy warrior. However, because she had been too nervous, she accidently used too much force when pulling the large greatsword up from the ground-

Whoosh-!

"Ah! M-my sword!"

As a result, Mui could only watch as she accidently let go of her greatsword. Sending the greatsword close to twice her height flying in the direction of the approaching shadowy warrior-

BANG!

Not having enough time to block the large greatsword that came hurling towards him, the shadowy warrior was hit directly in the head by Mui's wooden greatsword. Directly sending him falling backwards towards the ground-NvεlB¡n: Your Escape into Infinite Tales.

Fwoosh~!

Dissolving into black smoke the moment he hit the ground; the shadowy warrior completely disappeared from the platform. Leaving only a shocked Mui behind to stare speechlessly at the place where the shadowy warrior had slammed into the ground.

"H-he disappeared...?" Not fully believing what had just happened, Mui slowly made her way over to the place where the shadowy warrior had dissolved to make sure that he had truly disappeared.

"I... I won..." Only after seeing that the shadowy warrior did not reappear, did Mui manage to understand that she had indeed defeated the shadowy warrior. Although it was a rather unique victory, she did defeat the shadowy warrior...

"Ah! The box of words!" remembering that the box of words should appear if she had truly completed the final trial, Mui began looking around for it. Luckily, it did not take her long to find it hover no more than a few meters away from where she was standing.

If she couldn't find it and it turned out that defeating the shadowy warrior was not the final part of the final trial like the box of words had said, Mui had no idea what she would do. Struggling trying to find out what she had to do, was not something she enjoyed. Especially when the two other trials had been straightforward with what she had to do to complete them...

[The Final Trial, Hidden Mechanisms and Combat, has been successfully cleared. Proceeding to calculate participant Mui's combined score for the entire trial... Calculations finish, generating final score in accordance with the overall performance during the trial... Generating the final score will take longer than normal... Transporting participant Mui to a more comfortable location while calculations finish.]

"Transporting to a more comfortable location? What does it mean with- Waaah!"

Whoosh-!

Not getting to finish reading through the box of words, Mui suddenly felt her entire body getting swallowed up by something and before she knew it, she found herself in the middle of a large valley filled with all kinds of exotic plants and trees she had never seen before... But more importantly than this, Mui recognized a few of the fruits hanging from one of the exotic trees as the delicious fruits she had been eating during her time in the trial.

"So, this is where the delicious fruits come from... Indeed, a far more comfortable place compared to the weird training room filled with all kinds of different weapons... Hm?" As she took in her new surroundings, Mui suddenly noticed a small book on the ground beside her.

"This is... The greatsword technique that the shadowy warrior used!" Opening the book itself, it did not take long before she realized that the book was none other than the nameless greatsword technique used by the shadowy warrior. Not only that, but she also discovered that the wooden greatsword she had used during her fight with the shadowy warrior was located right next to the book on the ground.

Now, she not only had a cultivation mantra, but also had a fully fledged out combat technique. Everything she needed to continue increasing her strength without worrying about anything else!

If I can stay in here and just continue increasing my strength without having to worry about food, then everything would be great, I just wonder how long it will take for the box of words to calculate my score... And if I can continue staying in here after I get my score and officially finish the trial...

Thinking this to herself as she turned to look towards the box of words that only displayed, [Generating Score..., on it, Mui could not help silently hoping that the process would take a long time. At least that way, she would be able to stay inside the trial space for longer. Cultivating and enjoying the delicious fruits without having to worry about anything.

...

[First Trial Participant, Mui, has successfully completed the final trial. The final judgement for the first trial participant, will be given to host.]

"Hm?" Flying in the air above a large jungle located in between two dangerous location that was dangerous even to someone in the Domain Lord Realm, Xuan Hao could not help coming to a sudden stop after seeing the message from the system that appeared in front of him.

"I can give the final judgement...?" Muttering this to himself as he curiously looked over the message from the system, Xuan Hao's vision was soon blocked out by a long list of information that described each of the three trials and what Mui had done to overcome them. Even mentioning her large consumption of a certain spiritual fruit that had been provided to her as food during the trial itself.

"How can one consume so many spiritual fruits..." Reading through the number of consumed spiritual fruits by Mui, Xuan Hao could not help feeling shocked at just how many spiritual fruits she had managed to eat during her short two or so weeks inside the trial space. Even his gluttonous pet wouldn't eat that many spiritual fruits in a month, let alone half a month!

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"Hah... Looks like that little lion will have some competition in the future..." Shaking his head as he could already imagine the winged lion's reaction to another glutton similar to itself in the sect, Xuan Hao felt relieved that the Star Shattering Sect at the very least had the Ninth Star Peak to provide spiritual herbs and fruits for the sect. Although, it might be a good idea to plant a few more spiritual fruit trees to keep up with the increased consumption that was bound to happen in the future...

Not thinking too much about it outside of that, Xuan Hao turned his attention back towards the system that was waiting for him to complete the judgement of Mui's trial.

From what he had managed to learn about her trial so far, she had managed to pass all three trials smoothly without any problems. Displaying her powerful comprehension talent during the first trial, her strong will during the second trial and her combat ability during the third. Even if her method of completing the final trial was a bit unique, she had ended up successfully beating a much more skilled opponent.

The way he would have to judge her trial was not complicated in any way and only required him to consider her trial to have successfully been completed or failed. The only problem, was that if he considered her trial to be completed, she would end up getting teleported to his current location... And given that he was still a week or two away from reaching the Star Shattering Sect, Xuan Hao did not want to do this now. Especially when considering that he still had to pass through a few dangerous locations...L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøvl--B1n.

At this moment, Xuan Hao really wished that he could teleport around by tearing through space... But to do this, he would have to deepen his understanding of the Dao of Space. Not something he had time for before he returned to the sect.

Should I wait until I return to the sect until I give the judgement for Mui's trial...?

Noticing that there wasn't really any time limit on when he was supposed to give out the judgement for the trial, Xuan Hao could not help wondering if he should just wait until he had returned to the sect before giving out the judgement. At least, this way, he would avoid having to travel with her through the different dangerous locations that he had left on his journey back to the sect.

"Hm... This shouldn't be too much of a problem for her. After all, the location where she is currently, should be the location where the spiritual fruits she enjoys so much originates from..." Muttering this to himself as he thought about the description of the place that Mui had been teleported while waiting for him to give out a judgement for the trial, Xuan Hao ended up deciding to have her stay there for now until he made it back to the sect again.

Given how much she enjoyed the spiritual fruits there, Xuan Hao did not think she would be too unhappy about this. On the contrary, he had a feeling that she would be happy staying in the valley filled with not only the spiritual fruits she had enjoyed so far, but also many new spiritual fruits...

"Guess she is staying inside the trial space for a week or two." Having decided to wait until he returned to the Star Shattering Sect until he gave a judgement for Mui's trial, Xuan Hao continued his journey back towards the Star Shattering Sect.

Whoosh-!

Using the Drifting Cloud Steps to teleport close to a dozen miles with every single step. Not only making his speed far faster than anything doable by someone in the Domain Lord Realm, but also allowing him to comprehend the Dao of Space while travelling. Increasing the distance at which he travelled with every single step. Only being forced to slow down when passing through some of the more dangerous locations along his path.

...

"So, this is the place my brother-in-law was murdered..."

At the same time, the old master from the Hollow Thunder Family had arrived at the place where the battle between Elder Green Wing and Lord Wind fall had taken place.

Whoosh-!

Hovering midair above the island that had been sunk due to the fight between the two powerful Domain Lord Realm Experts, the old master used his divine sense to scan the battle for any energy left behind by the fight.

Even if he was almost a hundred percent certain that the person that had killed his brother-in-law was Elder Green Wing, he still had to make sure that this wasn't a set-up by someone who wanted to weaken his Hollow Thunder Family by having him start a fight with the Green Mountain Sect... But, as he scanned through the remnants of the battlefield, the killing intent present in his eyes began growing more and more intense!

Rumble~!

A few minutes later, a terrifying aura at the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm erupted around the old master from the Hollow Thunder Family. If Xuan Hao had been able to witness this, he would have discovered that the old master from the Hollow Thunder Family was not only at the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm, but the aura around him also carried a hint of power belonging to that of the Soul Ascension Realm!

Of course, there was no such thing as half a step into the Soul Ascension Realm. One had either reached the Soul Ascension Realm or in the Domain Lord Realm. The reason for the Soul Ascension Realm aura that had started forming around the old master of the Hollow Thunder Family, was because the old man had already begun the process of transcending the first tribulation. Meaning, his strength had surpassed the Domain Lord Realm, but the first tribulation had not descended yet...

Before the death of his brother-in-law, he should have been in secluded cultivation waiting for the tribulation to descend. The reason why for the old master's terrifying killing intent towards the Green Mountain Sect and Elder Green Wing, was not just because of the death of his brother-in-law, but more so the fact that the sudden news had ruined his perfect state of mind. Making the tribulation that he could face at any moment far more dangerous than it would have been if his state of mind had been perfect!

For this reason, the old master not only wanted to kill Elder Green Wing from the Green Mountain Sect to avenge his brother-in-law, but also because not avenging his brother-in-law would create a flaw in his perfect state of mind. Normally, this would not have been a problem and could be resolved over time but given that he could face the first tribulation at any moment now, he did not have the time needed to slowly fix this flaw in his state of mind and could only brute force it by avenging his brother-in-law.

As for the repercussions that could come from him killing Elder Green Wing without waiting for the imperial family to come out with their judgement on the matter-

What did it matter after he reached the Soul Ascension Realm? Even the imperial family had to show a certain level of respect towards him after he reached the Soul Ascension Realm... Punishing him over the death of a single Domain Lord Realm Expert that wasn't even part of the imperial family? That was impossible!

"Hehe... Looks like it really was the work of that Elder Green Wing from the Green Mountain Sect! That Elder Green Wing sure does have a lot of courage! Did he really think I won't dare doing anything to him because he is from one of those major sects!?" Having already finished examining the battlefield and confirmed that his brother-in-law had indeed been killed by Elder Green Wing, the old master from the Hollow Thunder Family could not help showing a vicious grin as he looked back in the direction of the capital city.

Through the remnant energy left behind by Elder Green Wing, he could roughly find out that he had gone in the direction of the capital city, or more accurately, the Green Mountain Sect, whose main sect was located inside the large kingdom that was backing them!

"Hehe, if you went straight for the capital city and hid in there, it might have been a bit difficult for me to kill you... But you decided to go back to your sect instead!"

Laughing happily as he said this with a wide smile on his face, the old master from the Hollow Thunder Family did not bother wasting a single second before using his movement technique to fly in the direction of the Green Mountain Sect, a hint of desperation and fear barely visible on his face.

Even if he didn't show it or say anything about it, deep down, he understood that the tribulation would not only determine whether he became a Soul Ascension Realm Expert or not.

There was only one ending for failing to overcome the tribulation... Death!

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Following the old master from the Hollow Thunder Family leaving the lake where Lord Windfall had been killed, a Nascent Soul Realm Expert that had come back to try and see if he could find any precious artifacts that might have been left behind by the fight, could not help shivering in fear as he looked in the direction that the old master from the Hollow Thunder Family had left in without moving.

"What in the world is happening, why are so many Domain Lord Realm Experts appearing suddenly!? Not to mention the first two, this one is even more terrifying!" Muttering this to himself after seeing that the old master from the Hollow Thunder Family did not return, the Nascent Soul Realm Expert could not help breathing out a sigh of relief at having escaped a possibly life-threatening situation.

This might be a good opportunity for me... Everyone else should still be far too afraid to approach the battlefield. Even more so with the sudden appearance of an even more powerful Domain Lord Realm Expert!

Realizing that he should at least have a few hours to search through the battlefield by himself before any of the other Nascent Soul Realm Experts appeared to compete with him, the lone Nascent Soul Realm Expert didn't wait for a second longer before dashing towards the place where the island that had been at the centre of the fight between the two Domain Lord Realm Experts had once been.

"Looks like there is still someone here, he should have some information about the battle here, so let's try and ask him first before going to the Green Mountain Sect."

However, just as he reached the area above the island that had now sunk beneath the water, a strong voice sounded out from above him and before he lost control of his body and felt himself floating up into the air towards a large flying ship that had appeared at some unknown point in time.

This is- The imperial family's insignia!L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøvl--B1n.

Seeing the detailed and beautiful insignia carved into the armour of the person floating in front of the flying ship looking down towards him, the lone Nascent Soul Realm Expert could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine. Compared to the powerful Domain Lord Realm Expert, the imperial family was far more terrifying!

I hope they will let me go after answering their questions...

Knowing that he had no way to resist the other party, the lone Nascent Soul Realm Expert silently prayed that the imperial family only wanted information and would let him go after he answered their questions. After all, he had been about to search the area for anything precious that might have been left behind after the battle, something that might end up offending the people from the imperial family, who most likely wanted anything that might help them in trying to figure out what might have caused a fight to the death between two Domain Lord Realm Experts to occur.

"Hm? No need to be afraid, we only want to ask you a few questions and that is it, we don't care about any of the things that have been left behind by the battle." Seeing the fearful expression present on the Nascent Soul Realm Expert, the Domain Lord Realm Expert from the imperial family that had lifted him into the air with his domain, could not help rolling his eyes before ensuring him that nothing would happen.

Unknown to the Nascent Soul Realm Expert, the imperial family already knew that the person responsible for the death of Lord Windfall was one of the Domain Lord Realm elders from the Green Mountain Sect. The only reason why they had decided to dispatch a Domain Lord Realm Expert to the scene of the battle, was to assess the damage done and confirm that the information they had gotten was correct.

As for the few half-broken artifacts that were left behind from the possible shattering of Lord Windfall's interspatial ring... That was not something the Domain Lord Realm Experts from the imperial family was the slightest bit interested in.

If there really had been something precious, the elder from the Green Mountain Sect would most likely already have taken it away. Not leaving it behind for others...

"Thank you! I will do my best to answer any question you might have regarding the battle that took place! Although my cultivation is far from enough to have seen it in detail, I was still lucky enough to observe the entire battle from a distance. Even hearing a bit of the conversation between the two Domain Lords before they started fighting!" Overcome with excitement upon hearing what the Domain Lord Realm Expert from the imperial family said, the lone Nascent Soul Realm Expert didn't hesitate as he said this trying to show how useful he could be.

"Hm? That's great! Then tell me about their encounter and the fight, start from the beginning." Not having expected that the random Nascent Soul Realm Expert that he happened to pick up had witnessed the entire fight. Even managing to hear parts of the conversation between the two Domain Lord Realm Experts before they started fighting, the Domain Lord from the imperial family could not help urging for the lone Nascent Soul Realm Expert to start talking. Feeling curious as to what had ended up causing one of the Green Mountain Sect's elders to kill Lord Windfall.

"Okay, it started like this... Elder Green Wing and Lord Windfall arrived above the island that is now below the water... Elder Green Wing confronted Lord Windfall... Elder Green Wing's wife... Big explosion and..."

As the lone Nascent Soul Realm Expert started recounting the events that had transpired before the death of Lord Windfall and the things, he had heard the two Domain Lord Realm Experts talking about, the Domain Lords from the imperial family listening became more and more shocked. None of them having expected for the cause of Lord Windfall's death to be Elder Green Wing's wife!

...

"Hmph! That Lord Windfall had what was coming to him! Now I just need to come up with an excuse for when the imperial family shows up... No matter what, they won't kill me. At most they will send me to guard somewhere along the border for a thousand years and have me give away some of my spirit stones and artifacts as punishment, I can just use this time to recover from the forbidden technique!" Not aware of just how much danger he was currently in, Elder Green Wing was leisurely making his way back towards the Green Mountain Sect with a smug expression on his face.

Even if he understood that the punishment from the imperial family was going to be harsh, he also understood that they wouldn't kill him. Thinking that his reason for killing Lord Windfall was reasonable and that the imperial family would take this into consideration when punishing him.

All things considered; Elder Green Wing felt that it was worth it. Not killing Lord Windfall was simply not an option. Especially when he remembered the way that the elder and disciples from his sect had been looking at him ever since they learnt about what had happened between his wife and Lord Windfall while he had been gone-

"Hehe, there you are!"

"Hm!? Who!?"

However, just as he was lost in his own thoughts thinking about how to explain the matter to the imperial family when they inevitably came for him, a voice echoed out behind him. Instantly causing Elder Green Wing to start panicking after realizing that someone had managed to approach him without his knowledge.

Even if he was in a weakened state due to the forbidden technique he had used, he was still a Domain Lord Realm Expert, and it would be close to impossible for someone to get close to him without being discovered.

This could only mean one thing... The other party was far stronger than him! Given his current situation, such a powerful Domain Lord finding him could only mean one thing...

"The imperial fam-"

"Hehe, wrong! Did you forget whose brother-in-law you just killed? Do you really think a mere Green Mountain Sect can protect you...?"

"Y-you! T-the Hollow Thunder Family...!" Feeling a shiver run down his spine upon realizing the identity of the person that had appeared behind him, Elder Green Wing did not know what to do as he froze on the spot.

"Looks like you do have some idea about what you did... But its too late to regret it now!"

Crackle~!

Realizing what was happening as thunder started appearing around the old master, Elder Green Wing's expression changed into one of sheer terror. "N-no! Please spare-"

BOOOM-!

Not showing any mercy towards Elder Green Wing, the old master from the Hollow Thunder family directly used the powerful thunder around him to kill Elder Green Wing on the spot. Not wanting to risk the experts from the imperial family showing up and stopping him, while at the same time not giving him any chance at escaping.

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Following the old master from the Hollow Thunder Family killing Elder Green Wing, the Domain Lords sent out by the imperial family to investigate the matter and catch Elder Green Wing, both appeared above the place where the old master from the Hollow Thunder Family had killed Elder Green Wing.

"Elder Green Wing is dead!? Who in the world did this..."

"The remnant power and the powerful lightning energy floating around suggest that the person who did this should be at the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm... And the only person who fits these two criteria, is the old master from the Hollow Thunder Family!"

Analyzing the situation while his friend was speechlessly looking at the place where Elder Green Wing had been killed, one of the Domain Lords from the imperial family almost instantly managed to figure out who had killed Elder Green Wing. However, this realization was more than enough for the two Domain Lords to understand that this matter was something out of their control.

After all, there was a big difference between an already wounded Domain Lord Realm Expert that had only barely reached the early stage of the realm and someone at the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm. Especially considering that they themselves had only reached the Fourth and Fifth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm. Trying to deal with a Peak Domain Lord Realm Expert with their strength, was the same as courting death!

Whoosh~!

Whoosh~!

For this reason, the two silently looked at each other for a short moment before making their way back towards the capital city to find someone strong enough to confront a powerful expert like the old master of the Hollow Thunder Family.

Rushing back towards the capital city, it did not take a long time before the two Domain Lords soon found themselves reporting the matter to their superior, who in turn quickly went off reporting the matter directly to the emperor. After all, the only person who had the ability to catch someone at the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm, was someone who had reached the Soul Ascension Realm!

"I hope everything goes well... This matter is far too weird, I almost feel like someone is deliberately trying to cause chaos inside the Sky Empire." Walking out of the imperial palace after having handed over the matter of the old master from the Hollow Thunder Family to their superior, one of the two Domain Lords could not help voicing his suspicions of the true reason behind the death of the two Domain Lords.

The entire matter seemed to be perfectly set up to make the noble families start a fight with the major sects and their backers, something that would make the situation inside the Sky Empire far more chaotic compared to before. Especially when considering that the sect alliance that had just been established by the imperial family to suppress the three religions would get thrown into the crossfire between these two powerful forces and might even get destroyed before it had a chance to do what the imperial family had intended. All of this seemed perfectly set up to destroy the sect alliance...

"Indeed, I also get that feeling... Do you think it's the Onyx Empire trying to cause chaos and seize control over part of our territory? Information on what is happening inside the Onyx Empire has been getting harder to get over the past few years and they should be preparing for something big!" Nodding his head in agreement before saying this, the other Domain Lord had clearly not thought about the sect alliance and the three religions. Instead thinking that this might be something done by the Onyx Empire.

"Hm... Maybe? I can't really say, there is far too many who would want to see the Sky Empire falling into a chaotic situation over the past few years... Let's stop for now, we should go back and pick up the flying ship we left behind. After that, we can go to the Grand General and ask him about the situation."

"Good idea, the general should know far more about the situation with the Onyx Empire compared to us."

As the two Domain Lords finished talking with each other just outside the imperial palace, they soon left to pick up the flying ship they had left behind while chasing after the now dead Elder Green Wing.

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"Hm~ How interesting, two Domain Lords died, and it just happened to perfectly benefit the three religions! I just came to the imperial palace for a business deal but happened to hear something great~"

Not long after the two Domain Lords left in a hurry, a young man stepped out from the shadows of a large tree just beside the entrance to the imperial capital, his movements graceful as a drifting cloud, and his striking appearance a sight to behold. His features like a god descended to the mortal realm, perfect and unblemished. Skin as smooth as jade, and a pair of charming eyes that shone like pools of liquid gold under the evening sun.

"That is- The Lord of the Jade Crystal Palace!"

"Ah!? The Lord of the Jade Crystal Palace is here!? How handsome, just as good looking- No even more handsome than the rumors!"

"Indeed, deserving of the title of the most handsome man in the Sky Empire!"

As the young man, now identified as the Lord of the Jade Crystal Palace, continued standing in front of the imperial palace thinking about the information that he had just learnt about from the two Domain Lords, a crowd of onlookers started gathering around him.

Hm... Considering that they haven't taken action to spread this and instigate the two to start fighting each other before the imperial family has a chance to calm down the situation, they shouldn't know about this matter yet. Hehe, I wonder... How much would the three religions pay for this information...?

Ignoring the people that had started to gather around him, the Lord of the Jade Crystal Palace smiled to himself as he thought about this.

"Well then, I should get going before this information ends up leaking. At least with those two Domain Lords around, I doubt this information will stay hidden for long..." Muttering this to himself as a wry smile made it onto his face while remembering just how careless the two Domain Lords had been when talking about something that important, the Lord of the Jade Crystal Palace did not bother waiting around the entrance to the imperial palace-

Swish-!

Directly leaving in the direction of one of the three religions headquarters located a short distance away from the imperial palace.

A few hours later news of what had happened to both Lord Windfall and the Elder Green Wing rapidly spread throughout the Sky Empire. Instantly causing tensions between the large noble families and the major sects to increase. In the end, the powerful kingdoms behind the major sects were also forced out.

The chaos caused by this situation ended up causing the imperial family to momentarily step in to prevent the two sides from starting a fight inside the capital, something that only ended up making them grow even more restless as they felt that the imperial family had no business involving themselves in the matter. Especially considering that they hadn't even started fighting yet!

In the end, the chaos in the capital did not end up lessening due to the intervention of the imperial family. Instead, it increased. Changing from the older generation in the Domain Lord Realm and above, to a fight between the younger members below the Nascent Soul Realm.

Given the special rules that the imperial family had set up inside the capital city, fighting between those below the Nascent Soul Realm was allowed. If it didn't affect the normal citizen of the city!

Because of this, the imperial family ended up deciding not to interfere any more in the fight between the younger people. Fearing that they might end up pushing either the major sect and the people behind them or the noble families towards the three religions as a result.

...

At the same time, the person who had ended up causing the current chaotic situation was quietly observing everything from the side. An interspatial ring filled with all sorts of precious spiritual herbs and artifacts from the three religions firmly situated on his finger.

"Eh... This is developing in a rather dangerous direction. Maybe I should leave the capital city for a bit until things calm down again..." Muttering this to himself as he glanced down towards some of the younger members from the two sides that had already begun fighting with each other on the street, the Lord of the Jade Crystal Palace turned around and left.

Understanding very well that the situation inside the capital city of the Sky Empire was only going to get more chaotic from now on. Even more so when since the three religions would be doing their best to ensure this happened.

After all, to them, the best thing that could happen, would be for the imperial family to start exhausting their resources dealing with someone who was not them. Even better if that someone happened to be the major sects that had been set up to weaken them!

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Unaware of just how much chaos he had ended up causing by making sure that Lord Windfall ended up dying, Xuan Hao made it to the Iron Sky Kingdom without encountering any problems along the way. At most he encountered a few random flying demon beasts that decided to court death by attacking him.

"I should have a chat with Yi Min about the things that happened and the worm like creature I encountered..." Not forgetting his goal of having a chat with Yi Min about some of the different things he had learnt about and the dangerous mountain range with the powerful Soul Ascension Realm worm hiding beneath it, Xuan Hao did not immediately leave the Iron Sky Kingdom and instead made his way towards the capital city of the kingdom to find Yi Min.

...

"Elder Xuan!? Why is he here...?" Noticing Xuan Hao, the moment he passed entered the formation that covered the Iron Sky Kingdom, Yi Min who was leisurely relaxing in a large couch inside the palace at the centre of the Iron Sky Kingdom's capital city, could not help curiously turning to look in the direction that Xuan Hao was approaching from.

However, as she focused her attention on Xuan Hao who was slowly making his way over towards her, Yi Mi's curious expression suddenly transformed into one of surprise.

"Ah!? Why can't I see through his cultivation realm? My formation should be able to see through the cultivation base of anyone below the Soul Ascension Realm! Don't tell... Does he have an artifact of some kind that allows him to hide his cultivation realm?" Muttering this to herself as she felt shocked at this realisation, Yi Min could not help wondering just what had happened during the short month he had been gone.

Reaching the Soul Ascension Realm was obviously impossible in such a short period of time, so the only reasonable reason for her not being able to see through his cultivation realm, was that he had been lucky enough to get his hands on a powerful artifact that had the ability to hide his cultivation realm.

Given the strength of her formation when it came to detection being around the same level as someone who had reached the Soul Ascension Realm, it was obvious that the artifact Xuan Hao had managed to get his hands on should have exceeded that of a normal Transcendent Rank Artifact!

Thinking about this, Yi Min could not help feeling curious as to what Xuan Hao had gone through during his short time in the core region of the Sky Empire.

Not long after, Xuan Hao arrived at the palace where he ended up spending the next few hours talking with Yi Min about the things, he had planned to inform her about. Outside of this, he also managed to learn that his plan to make the situation in the Sky Empire even more chaotic had worked out perfectly from Yi Min.

Now that the major sects were focusing all their attention on the noble families due to the death of Elder Green Wing and Lord Windfall, the other independent sects would have an opportunity to develop more smoothly with the help of the resources that the imperial family provided to the through the sect alliance. Not only this, but they should also be able to gain more control of the sect alliance if they played their cards right and managed to reduce the trust of the imperial family in the major sects enough for them to intervene in the sect alliance and take away one or more of their leader positions.

Although the chances of this happening were low because it was almost certain to anger the power behind these major sects and push them closer towards the three religions, Xuan Hao also understood that the imperial family would not hesitate to do something like this if the major sects continued to make the situation inside the capital more chaotic.

It could already be considered being tolerant from the imperial family's side to even allow them to fight things out with the different noble families inside the capital city. After all, them fighting inside the capital city also meant that the imperial family had been forced to call back some of their Domain Lords stationed around the Sky Empire to keep tight control over certain important locations, something that would aid the three religions in their attempts to weaken the imperial family...L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøvl--B1n.

"Well then, if there is nothing else, I will be taking my leave now-"

"Ah! Wait a moment, I have something I wanted to ask you!" Interrupting him just as he was about to take his leave, Yi Min almost looked like she was about to jump in front of him.

"Hm? What is it?" Not having expected for Yi Min to have anything more to say, Xuan Hao could not help curiously asking this. Silently wondering what she wanted to ask him.

"This- I just wanted to ask if you happened to- Ah..." About to ask Xuan Hao if he had managed to get his hands on a precious Artifact stronger than that of a normal Transcendent Rank Artifact that was specialized in hiding one's cultivation, Yi Min froze midsentence after realizing that it was properly not a good idea to ask someone she barely knew if he had managed to get his hands on a precious artifact. In fact, it might even end up looking like she wanted to rob him of this artifact...

"Hm? What is it?" Tilting his head slightly to the side with a confused expression on his face as he said this, Xuan Hao could not understand why Yi Min had suddenly frozen up on the spot before she even asked him anything.

"Ah! It's nothing! Just forget I ever said anything, I still have something to do, so I will take my leave first!"

Whoosh-!

Not waiting for Xuan Hao to answer, Yi Min dashed out of the room they were sitting inside of before disappearing out of sight the next instant.

"..."

Feeling extremely confused at what had just happened, Xuan Hao decided not to say anything and instead just quietly took his leave.

Whatever was taking place up inside Yi Min's little head, he in no way wanted to get involved in it. Especially considering that he wanted to return to the Star Shattering Sect within the next few days... And he had a feeling that he might end up stuck in the Iron Sky Kingdom for a few more days if he wanted to figure out what Yi Min had wanted to ask him just a moment ago before she had forcibly stopped herself...

If it was under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have minded staying in the Iron Sky Kingdom for a few more days to satiate his curiosity, but his future fourth disciple was still waiting inside the trial space for him to give the judgement so she could come out of there.

Although... Looking at the systems updates of what she was up to, Xuan Hao felt that she might be more happy staying inside the trial space filled with all sorts of different spiritual fruits for all eternity. The main reason why he didn't want her staying there for much longer, was that the spiritual fruits inside the trial space was not unlimited and would in fact run out in another two or three days given the current consumption rate of his gluttonous future fourth disciple... Something that could have lasted a normal person close to a month...

"Hah... Can the spiritual fruits present on the Ninth Star Peak really keep up with this girl's appetite? Looks like it might be a good idea to also mention a possible expansion of our spiritual herb fields... And more importantly, spiritual fruit fields, when I meet up with Elder Song." Muttering this to himself as he remembers the current size of the spiritual fruit and herb fields located on the Ninth Star Peak, Xuan Hao felt like it might be a good idea to expand them to some of the other Star Peaks that currently stood empty at the moment.

This was not only because he was going to take Mui in as a disciple, but also because it would be a good thing for the Star Shattering Sect to have more spiritual herbs and fruits available for both the disciples and elders to eat, but also for the alchemist to use in making pills and potions that could be used or sold for spiritual stones.

Thinking about this to himself while using the Drifting Cloud Steps with far more ease and speed compared to what he had done when he had first started his journey, Xuan Hao ended up reaching the Star Shattering Sect at a far faster speed than he had expected.

From a journey between the Star Shattering Sect and the Iron Sky Kingdom that would normally take around a week, Xuan Hao managed to cross that distance in less than half a day's time!

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"Hm? The tree does not have any fruits on it...?"

At the same time Xuan Hao was about to reach the Star Shattering Sect, Mui who was stuck inside the trial space could not help freezing up on the spot as she said this, a look of disbelief clearly visible on her face as she looked up at the empty branches of the tree in front of her.

From what she remembered; this kind of tree should have been filled with fruits on all its branches... But there was nothing!

Wait... Maybe I have already been at this tree before... But shouldn't the fruits grow back after I finish eating them...? Don't tell me... The supply of fruits is not endless!?

Feeling shocked as she realized this, Mui could not help looking at the rest of the fruit trees around her-

"Nothing...!"

Like she had already started expecting, the fruit trees all around her were all empty without anything on them. All having been eaten by her earlier... The only fruit she could spot was hanging on a small tree that had been tucked away into the corner beneath a large rock, something that she hadn't even noticed before when all her attention had been focused on eating fruits, training the unnamed greatsword technique and increasing her cultivation realm.

"Won't I end up starving like this...?" Realizing how bad her current situation was, Mui could not help turning her attention towards the box of words that had remained without any changes ever since she had first shown up.

It was only now that she understood that staying inside the trial space for an extended period of time was not a good idea. Especially now that she had gone through all the fruits that would normally have lasted her for several months if she ate them slowly and only when she was hungry instead of eating them whenever she wanted to...

[Generation of the score has finished and the reward for completing the trial has been calculated.]

[View the score and reward: Y/N]

"It finished!? When did this happen- Ah... Maybe I was too absorbed on eating the different fruits and training that I didn't even notice that the box of words had changed..." Noticing that the box of words had changed and had already finished generating her score, Mui had no idea to say.

After she discovered that the box of words would take longer than normal to generate her score, she had not turned to look at it once during her entire time in the new and comfortable location filled with delicious fruits. Instead, she had focused all her attention on eating the fruits and increasing her strength.

For all she knew, the box of words could have finished generating her score a few minutes after she had arrived, but she would have had no idea about it...

Pressing down the big yes button that had appeared below the box of words, Mui felt herself looking forward to what her score for the trial was going to be... But even more than this, she was looking forward to the reward mentioned by the box of words.

Although she had managed to get both a cultivation technique and a combat technique in the trial so far, Mui was still curious about whether she would get another reward after completing the trial. After all, from what she remembered about the stories she had heard about cultivator trials, other than being deadly, the reward for completing one such trial would always be something amazing like the inheritance of a powerful cultivator. Maybe even a chance to directly increase one's strength to a brand-new realm.

[Trial Participant: Mui]

[Evaluation: Managed to successfully clear a total of three out of three trials. All three trials have been cleared in accordance with the minimum criteria to be given a chance of a reward.]

[Reward: One Interspatial ring filled to the brim with spiritual fruits, a disciple token for the Star Shattering Sect, a chance to become the disciple of an elder within the Star Shattering Sect.]L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøvl--B1n.

"Star Shattering Sect? Becoming a disciple of an elder...?" Reading through the information that had been displayed by the box of words, Mui could not help tilting her head in confusion after reading past the part with the interspatial ring and spiritual fruits.

To be honest, Mui did not have a clear understanding of what a disciple was. Even if she had heard about disciples before through the other orphans, she had grown up around, she still did not understand a lot about what a disciple was. All she understood was that it was a title for someone who was a part of a sect.

As for the Star Shattering Sect that was mentioned, Mui had never heard about a sect like that before but considering that the box of words had mentioned it, she guessed that the Star Shattering Sect should be behind the trial.

Thinking about it like this, Mui did not feel like it would be a bad idea to become a disciple of an elder from the Star Shattering Sect. Especially when considering that they should also have a lot of delicious fruits and provide her with a safe place to live.

The matter of returning to the city she had lived in before ending up in the trial was never really something she considered. The main reason for this being that she had seen firsthand what would happen to someone who carried a precious treasure or anything else with them without enough strength to defend themselves... Be it cultivators or normal people without cultivation!

[You will be teleported out of your current location in five minutes and will appear in front of an elder from the Star Shattering Sect. The interspatial ring filled with spiritual fruits can be found in front of you.]

[Reminder: Put on the interspatial ring before you get teleported away or the interspatial ring will be left behind!]

[Time until teleportation: 4 minutes and 56 seconds... 55 seconds...]

"Hm?" Lost in her own thoughts as she was thinking about the different rewards mentioned by the box of words, Mui suddenly noticed the next part of the message-

Swish-!

Not even a second later, she leaped towards the interspatial ring that had appeared on the ground without wasting a single second.

Even if she had no idea what an interspatial ring was or how it could even store the delicious fruits inside of it, Mui did not think too much about this, to her, the most important thing was the fact that the ring somehow had delicious fruits inside of it. Figuring out how to access those delicious fruits and how it even stored them, was a problem for later. Maybe the elder from the Star Shattering Sect that she was being teleported to in a few minutes would be able to help her in this regard...

Whoosh~!

As the remaining four minutes passed by in what felt like an instant, Mui suddenly felt her entire body being enveloped in some kind of strange energy before everything around her turned blurry and she felt herself moving at a speed that was impossible to comprehend with her current cultivation realm.

Waaaaaah-!

Not able to say anything while moving through space, Mui could only let out a silent scream at the brand-new sensation-

Thump!

However, the entire thing only lasted for a few seconds before she suddenly found herself standing in the middle of a large open field with nothing more than a few wild animals and birds in view.

"Hm...? You are-"

It was at this moment, that Mui caught sight of a man standing a few meters away from her looking into the distance. He appeared to be in his late twenties, with a tall and lean build, dressed in a simple white robe. But what caught her attention the most was the powerful and ethereal aura that surrounded him and seemed to emanate from his very being.

Even if she had just started cultivating a short time ago and was still only in the Qi Condensation Realm, she still understood that the person in front of her was powerful. Far stronger than any of the cultivators she had seen during her time in the city!

As she gazed at him, he turned his head and their eyes met, causing Mui to feel a sense of warmth, though she couldn't quite understand why.

Without warning, the man spoke, his voice smooth and deep like a gentle stream. "Young lady, do not be alarmed. I am from the Star Shattering Sect, the most powerful sect in the Sky Empire."

Mui unconsciously felt her heart skip a beat at his words. Although she had never heard about the Star Shattering Sect before, she understood what the Sky Empire was and what it represented. For the Star Shattering Sect to be considered the most powerful sect in the Sky Empire, it was easy for her to imagine just how strong this sect was!

"It was sensed that one of the trials set up by my sect across the Sky Empire was triggered and successfully completed by you, young lady, and I'm here to extend my invitation to not only becoming a disciple of the Star Shattering Sect... But my personal disciple!"

Listening to what the man said, Mui could not help feeling shocked. Even if she had already somewhat guessed that the Star Shattering Sect was behind the trial, it was another thing for it to be directly confirmed, what more, she also managed to learn just how powerful the Star Shattering Sect was!

Not only that, but she was also going to become a disciple of such a powerful sect- No, she was going to become a person disciple of an elder from such a powerful sect!

Not having any idea what to say as she thought about all of this, Mui momentarily froze on the spot. Forgetting her original goal of wanting to ask about the interspatial ring and how to get her hands on the delicious fruits inside.

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A short time before Mui was teleported out from the trial space, Xuan Hao gently landed on a large grass field. Looking into the distance, the large, towering mountains of the Shattered Star Peaks could barely be seen.

"This should be more than close enough." Muttering this to himself as he looked towards the system panel that had appeared in front of him, Xuan Hao entered the judgement for Mui's performance during the trial. Not forgetting to give her the most suitable reward among the choices given by the system. An interspatial ring filled to the brim with spiritual fruits like the spiritual fruits she had eaten inside the trial space.

The rest of the reward was the token given by the system that would allow her to become a disciple of the Star Shattering Sect, while the last reward was going to be a chance to become a disciple of an elder from the Star Shattering Sect, something that had been set as a reward by himself.

"Hm? A formation...?"

Watching as the system panel disappeared after he had finished entering the judgement for Mui, Xuan Hao was surprised to suddenly see a weird formation the size of a small house appearing on the ground in front of him-

WHOOSH-!

Not a second later, the formation began rapidly absorbing the qi in the air around him. Not even the chaotic qi in the sky was sparred, as a terrifying amount of qi entered the formation created by the system.

"A teleportation formation... The formation is connecting to the trial space where Mui is located and teleporting her out...!" Sensing the clear changes to the space around him caused by the formation, Xuan Hao did not take long before he realized what the purpose of the formation was... But at the same time, it also made him realize that every interspatial ring he threw out didn't have a unique trial space hidden inside of it. Instead, it looked like the interspatial rings he threw out were all carrying a teleportation formation made by the system. Ready to teleport any young geniuses picking up the interspatial ring.

NvεlB¡n: Your Escape into Infinite Tales.

Indeed... This does make far more sense. After all, it would be a little too much if every single interspatial ring had a unique trial space of their own hidden inside them...

Shaking his head as he thought about just how many interspatial rings, he had thrown out so far, Xuan Hao felt that it would be a bit overkill if every single one of them had a unique trial space hidden inside of them. After all, how many interspatial rings had he thrown out so far? 2000? 3000? To be honest, he had no idea, as he hadn't really checked up on it in a long time due to the end of the quest itself still being a few years away from being completed.

"Hm? The Dao of Space has become far clearer because of the formation!?" Suddenly sensing that the space around the formation had not only grown unstable due to the teleportation formation activating, but also made the Dao of Space far easier to sense, Xuan Hao focused all his attention on trying to comprehend the Dao of Space.

With such an opportunity in front of him, Xuan Hao completely ignored his surroundings as he focused on increasing his comprehension of the Dao of Space.

"Hm...? You are-"

Because of this, it was only when the clarity of the Dao of Space had started weakening and a small voice called out filled with surprise that Xuan Hao realized that the teleportation formation had disappeared and had instead been replaced by a young girl. Even without the young girl introducing herself, Xuan Hao had already guessed that she should be the young orphan girl that had ended up being named Mui by the system inside the trial space.

However, looking at the current shocked expression on her face and how she was shivering through his divine sense, Xuan Hao understood that she should be in a state of shock. Feeling uncomfortable and fearful of the stranger that had suddenly appeared in front of her out of the blue.

Looks like I will have to try and calm her down... Maybe also mention that I'm from the Star Shattering Sect so she will link it together with the reward that the system displayed for her inside the trial space before she was teleported out...

Thinking this to himself, Xuan Hao turned around before trying his best to copy how Elder Song talked when trying to reassure and comfort some of the younger disciples of the sect. "Young lady, do not be alarmed. I am from the Star Shattering Sect, the most powerful sect in the Sky Empire."

Observing Mui after he had introduced himself as someone from the Star Shattering Sect, Xuan Hao felt himself let out a silent breath of relief upon noticing that Mui seemed to have calmed down significantly after hearing that he was someone from the Star Shattering Sect.

Indeed, Elder Song is the best when it comes to this sort of thing. Looks like I still have quite a bit I can learn from him when it comes to teaching disciples...

Knowing that things were working out and Mui was attentively looking up at him with a more curious expression on her face, Xuan Hao decided to just continue along the same way of talking in the same way as Elder Song. "It was sensed that one of the trials set up by my sect across the Sky Empire was triggered and successfully completed by you, young lady, and I'm here to extend my invitation to not only becoming a disciple of the Star Shattering Sect... But my personal disciple!"

Allowing the young girl to be left thinking for some time, Xuan Hao quietly observed as her expression turned from one filled with shock into one filled with happiness. Even without hearing her answer to the invitation he had presented her; it was not hard to understand that she was going to accept the invitation to become a disciple of the Star Shattering Sect.

As for becoming his personal disciple... Xuan Hao did not think she would say no after joining the Star Shattering Sect!

Waiting for another few minutes as the young girl was left thinking about the information she just had been given, Xuan Hao decided that she had been left to simmer in her own thoughts long enough. "Have you decided on your answer?"

"M-my a-answer!?" Taken aback by what Xuan Hao said, Mui could not help nervously saying this before looking up at Xuan Hao with a somewhat confused expression on her face.

"Yes, you don't have to feel any pressure, my Star Shattering Sect isn't a sect that forces others to join them... Except when it comes to expanding the sect..." Whispering the last part to himself so that Mui couldn't hear him, Xuan Hao nodded his head and waited for her response.

"I-I want to join the Star Shattering Sect and become a disciple of the Star Shattering Sect!" Feeling extremely shy and nervous when faced with Xuan Hao who was looking directly at her and waiting for her to respond, Mui only barely managed to say this without accidentally biting her tongue in the process.

That was scary- Ah! Didn't I forget something!?

"Ah...! I also want to become Elder's disciple!" Realizing that she had forgotten the part of her becoming the personal disciple of the Elder in front of her, Mui let out a small, surprised cry before lowering her head nervously.

"Haha, no need to be that nervous. Let me formally introduce myself, my name is Xuan Hao, I'm a Grand Elder from the Star Shattering Sect and already have three personal disciples under me. The first is called Qing Yi, the second Chu Yang and the last Bai Ning. From this day forth, you will be my fourth personal disciple. In the future, I hope you will be able to get along well with your fellow disciples!" Seeing just how nervous this new disciple of his was, Xuan Hao decided to introduce himself and her future senior sister and senior brothers.

"Fourth personal disciple... I-I have two senior brothers and a senior sister...?" Filled with surprise after learning that she was going to have three seniors, Mui could not help feeling curious about them as she said this without thinking. Her previous nervousness completely gone.

"Yes... But I won't talk too much about them here, I think it would be better if you met them yourself first." Feeling happy that he had succeeded in calming down Mui by mentioning that she had three seniors, Xuan Hao felt curious as to just how his three disciples were going to react after finding out that they had gained a junior sister.

"Yes! I want to see them!" Not showing any nervousness on her face as she said this filled with excitement at seeing her Qing Yi, Chu Yang and Bai Ning, Mui had unknowingly moved closer to Xuan Hao during their conversation.

"Haha, that's great! Then let's get going!"

"Huh...? What do- Waaaaaaaaaah-!"

Not giving Mui any chance to hesitate, Xuan Hao directly used his domain to lift her into the air before flying in the direction of the Shattered Star Peaks that could barely be seen in the distance. Making sure not to go too fast so Mui had a chance to calm down and enjoy the journey.

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Reaching the now large city that had been built beneath the Ninth Star Peak, Xuan Hao did not immediately go back to the Star Shattering Sect with Mui. Instead deciding to explore the city where a lot of the disciple's family members had decided to settle down and live their life in peace under the protection of the Star Shattering Sect.

Not only would it be a chance for Mui to see it, but it was also a chance for himself to get more familiar with the city that he had not really visited once since the Star Shattering Sect moved to the Shattered Star Peaks as far as he could remember.

This place has really grown since the time back when it was only acting as a small city for those climbing the Ninth Star Peak for spiritual herbs and those making their way towards the Third Star Peak to try a final attempt at reaching the Nascent Soul Realm...

Thinking this to himself as he observed the entire city through his divine sense while Mui was walking beside him with a curious expression on her face, Xuan Hao could not help spreading out his divine sense until he reached the small town that had appeared close to the new path leading up to the Third Star Peak.

Considering the current growth rate of the city, it would not take long before this small town would inevitably be engulfed and become a part of the larger city.

Considering just how large the Star Shattering Sect had grown over the past few years, the number of people wanting to enter the city had also grown in a similar fashion. Even reaching the point at which Elder Song had limited the people who could live inside the city to those who had a family member inside the sect or had some other kind of special permission from the sect itself... But even then, the growth speed of the city did not slow down in the slightest even when the requirements for living inside the city were getting more stringent!

The city itself was located right next to the entrance of the Star Shattering Sect so it was a rather obvious thing that the requirements to live there would be strict to prevent any spies or other people with bad intentions from causing trouble for the younger and weaker disciples that often entered the city to have fun or visit their families. Especially with the Star Shattering Sect starting to reach a level where the more powerful forces like the imperial family and three religions might start paying attention to them and think about sending someone over to investigate the true strength of the sect.

At least it looked like those forces were far too busy to think about the Star Shattering Sect for now...

"E-elder, are those people perhaps disciples from the Star Shattering Sect...?"

"Hm? Ah, yes, they are. If I'm not wrong, they should have just recently joined the sect. Not too different from you." Lost in his own thoughts as he observed the city through his divine sense, Xuan Hao still managed to perfectly answer the question Mui had asked him while looking towards the group of young disciples standing a short distance away from them. Far too busy with the foodstand in front of them to notice Mui who was pointing at them with a curious expression on her face.

"I see... I will also be able to eat delicious food like that from now on..." Showing an excited expression on her face as she almost looked like she was drooling, Mui quietly muttered this to herself. Only barely loud enough for Xuan Hao standing beside her to hear what she was saying.

"..."

As a result, Xuan Hao started wondering why this young girl had agreed to join the Star Shattering Sect and become his disciple. Did she do it to become stronger and progress further on the path of cultivation... Or just to eat more delicious food like the spiritual fruits she had eaten back inside the trial space?

To be honest, Xuan Hao had no clear answer to this question...

"E-elder... Can we get the thing they are getting...?" Not aware of her master's thought, Mui nervously asked this while keeping her attention focused of the foodstand that the younger disciples from the sect were standing around chatting with each other. Not feeling comfortable addressing Xuan Hao as elder. Mainly due to all the people known as elder that she had seen, were old people who looked like they already had one step in the grave. Not someone young like Xuan Hao.

"Sure, go pick whatever you want." Nodding his head in agreement to Mui's request, Xuan Hao watched as the girl happily jumped towards the foodstand to pick out the different things she had seen the group of young disciples from earlier get.

Like this, Xuan Hao ended up spending the next two or so hours walking around the city located at the base of the Ninth Star Peak, both showing Mui around, while also getting to know the city himself through his divine sense and first-hand experience of walking along the streets together with Mui.

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...

Having left the city below the Ninth Star Peak behind and made their way up the Ninth Star Peak where most of the spiritual herbs and spiritual fruits were being grown, Mui could not help unconsciously swallowing at the sight of the spiritual fruits and herbs that seemed to go on forever from her point of view. "C-can I take some of the-"

"Yes, but don't take too many..." Not even having to wait for Mui to finish her sentence, Xuan Hao already understood what she wanted to say and allowed her to go take a few spiritual fruits. In the first place, she would not be able to do any harm by eating a few spiritual fruits.

The number of spiritual fruits produced on the Ninth Star Peak was something that would be difficult for her to impact in the short term. At the very least she would need a few months and the help of his gluttonous pet...

"Yay~! Thank you!"

Swish~!

Not wasting a single second after getting his approval, Mui dashed towards the closest spiritual fruit tree before starting to happily chomp down on the delicious fruits. Not paying any mind to the disciples that tended to the spiritual herbs looking towards her with surprised looks on their faces after having witnessed how someone had been allowed to eat the spiritual herbs without first getting the approval from the elder in charge of the spiritual fruits and herbs on the Ninth Star Peak.

Looking towards the elder in question to see what he was going to do to Mui who had just started eating the spiritual fruits without permission, the disciples were even shocked to discover that he didn't say anything and instead just continued tending to a few new spiritual herbs without caring about Mui who had already consumed close to half of the spiritual fruits present on the spiritual fruit tree.

"Is there something special about that girl?"

"Maybe she's a core disciple or the personal disciple of an important elder!"

"Indeed, that would make sense. After all, there is no reason for elder to not start reprimanding her if she didn't have some kind of special identity... I just didn't expect for us to encounter someone like this on our first day working on the Ninth Star Peak..."

Chatting with each other as they focused all their attention on Mui who was paying them no mind, the group of disciples tending the spiritual herbs and fruits on the Ninth Star Peak inevitably ended up stopping what they had been doing before the arrival of Mui and Xuan Hao-

"You brats! Get back to work if you still want those spiritual herbs!"

Resulting in the elder in charge of taking care of the spiritual herbs and fruits on the Ninth Star Peak angrily calling out to them.

"""Yes! Sir!"""

Swish-!

Swish-!

Swish-!

Hearing the old elder calling out to them and even threatening with taking away the spiritual herbs they would get from tending the spiritual herbs and fruits on the Ninth Star Peak, every single one of the young disciples, that had stopped to observe what Mui was doing, quickly got back to what they were doing beforehand. Although, they did turn to look in the direction of Mui from time to time, still curious about just how many spiritual fruits this young girl was going to eat.

...

"That should be more than enough spiritual fruits, we still need to reach the sect before it starts going dark!"

"Okay..."

Having to forcefully step in and stop Mui from continuing to the fourth spiritual fruit tree, Xuan Hao could not help feeling even more certain that the Star Shattering Sect needed to expand their production of spiritual fruits and herbs in the future.

"Let's get going."

Not wasting any time after he had managed to get Mui to stop going after the spiritual fruits, Xuan Hao soon left the Ninth Star Peak together with her.

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Continuing along the path leading down from the Ninth Star Peak and down into the small valley that was located in between the different Star Peaks, it did not take long before the Seventh Star Peak where the sect was located came into view in the distance. Leaving Mui, who had never seen anything outside of the small city in the core region of the Sky Empire where she grew up, open her mouth wide in disbelief.

The beautiful buildings that were everywhere and the serene and peaceful surroundings that created a perfect environment for cultivating. If not for the fact that a large number of both disciples and elders could constantly be seen walking back and forth between the different buildings, she would have thought that they had accidently made their way inside some kind of ancient forbidden land from a long-lost era.

"That is the main sect of the Star Shattering Sect and also the place you will be staying from now."

"..."

Lost in her own thought as she looked up towards the Star Shattering Sect on the Seventh Star Peak filled with both amazement and awe, Mui did not even register what Xuan Hao said to her as she just mindlessly nodded her head before following him along the path leading up the Seventh Star Peak. Not able to stop herself from looking at the sect on top of the mountain growing closer and closer to her with each passing moment.

"Wait... Who is that? I feel like- Isn't that Elder Xuan!?"

"But... Wasn't he doing some sect alliance meeting in the capital city of the Sky Empire...? It can't be... Ah! I-It really is him...!"

"Elder Xuan returned from the sect alliance meeting!? We should inform the sect master and Elder Song about this! Maybe we can get a different assignment that doesn't require us to leave the sect!"

At the same time Mui was making her way up the Seventh Star Peak together with Xuan Hao, a few of the elders making their way down the mountain discovered them and froze in surprise for a short moment before rushing back up the mountain. Disappearing back inside the sect.

Hm? Those elders seemed really surprised just now when they saw my master. Does my master perhaps have a higher position than a normal elder?

Even if Mui had not been able to hear what the elders were talking about due to how far away, they had been, she had still been able to see the shocked expressions on their faces when they saw her master and could not help feeling curious as to just what kind of identity her master had inside the Star Shattering Sect for them to react like this upon seeing her master.

"As I said earlier, I'm a grand elder of the Star Shattering Sect. The position of a grand elder is above that of a normal elder and can even be considered above that of the sect master in some circumstances. Outside of me, there is only one more person that holds the status of a grand elder... But my circumstance can be considered a bit special, as I'm currently the strongest person in the Star Shattering Sect and my position can be considered above that of a grand elder." Feeling the curious and almost questioning gaze from Mui after she had witnessed the surprised group of elders running back up the mountain after seeing him, Xuan Hao did not mind giving some more details on his position inside the Star Shattering Sect.

No matter what, she was going to learn about it sooner or later, so Xuan Hao did not really see any problems with telling her about his current identity inside the Star Shattering Sect.

"Grand Elder... Most powerful in the Star Shattering Sect...?" Muttering this to herself as a look of disbelief made its way onto her face, Mui froze on the spot as she tried to comprehend what her master had just told her.

Not only was her master above the rest of the elders of the sect, but he was the most powerful person in the sect! For a moment, Mui found it hard to believe that she had managed to become the disciple of such a powerful person...

"No need to think about it so much, you are more than qualified to become my disciple. Even if you are only in the Qi Condensation Realm at the moment, I believe that it won't take long before you reach the Nascent Soul Realm and even beyond that!" Seeing the doubt on the face of Mui, Xuan Hao quickly reassured her. Not that anything he said was wrong, as with her talent, it would indeed not take long before she reached the Nascent Soul Realm. Especially with his support!

"Me... Reaching the Nascent Soul Realm...?"

"Yes, I believe it won't be a problem for you to reach Domain Lord Realm, let alone the Nascent Soul Realm!"Ñøvl-B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.

"T-thank you master..." Showing a flustered expression on her face due to the clear compliments given by her Xuan Hao, Mui no longer thought about whether she was qualified to become Xuan Hao's disciple. Instead, starting to look forward to meeting her seniors and finding out where she was going to stay.

Seeing that she had started happily smiling to herself after his compliment, Xuan Hao decided not to say anything more as they continued the rest of the way up the Seventh Star Peak. During which, Mui spent most of her time looking at the different disciples and elders that passed by from time to time, who were also curiously looking at the young girl that was walking together with Elder Xuan.

For them, it was surprising to see someone who was not among Xuan Hao's three disciples to be walking together with him. Especially considering that this person was not even wearing the standard uniform of a disciple nor that of a core disciple.

The main thought of these people was that she was possibly a new disciple of Elder Xuan or a talented person that was going to become part of the sect in the future.

As for her being an elder. None of the people passing by thought about this. After all, she was far too young to be an elder... Well, unless she was someone who had managed to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm at such a young age and decided to keep her appearance like that on purpose.

...

Walking the final way to his palace located close to the centre of the sect where the qi spring lake was located, Xuan Hao could not help rolling both of his eyes as he very clearly sensed the divine sense of both Feng Chen and Elder Song sweeping over him several times along the way.

Even if they wanted to find out about the sect alliance meeting and the person, he had brought back with him, Xuan Hao did not plan to leave Mui and thus decided to ignore the two curious old men for now. Explaining what had happened during the sect alliance meeting and telling them about his new disciple could wait a few more days. Especially considering that they had already been waiting for a few months, waiting for another day or two wouldn't hurt them.

If there really was anything serious that they wanted to talk about, they would have already shown up personally. Not just use their divine sense to subtly hint at the fact that they wanted to talk with him.

"Ah! Master, is this the place where I will be living!?"

"Hm? Yes, you will be staying here in the future together with me and your three seniors." Suddenly being interrupted by Mui who called out to him, Xuan Hao looked ahead and realized that they had already reached his palace and had already moved past the front entrance.

"Wow... I will be staying in a palace in the future...!" Muttering this to herself as she seemed to be in a daze after hearing what her master said, Mui had no idea what to say as she still felt like the last few weeks had been a dream.

From risking her life looking for food inside a large forest with demon beast in it and living on the streets to suddenly becoming a cultivator and finally the personal disciple of a powerful elder inside a sect called the Star Shattering Sect.

Although she had never heard about the Star Shattering Sect before, she didn't doubt the words of her master when he had told her that it was the most powerful sect in the Sky Empire. Even more so after she personally saw the sect and felt the different powerful auras from the different elders and disciples walking past her along her way to the sect.

Even if she had not said anything, Mui had been shocked when she had realized that everyone, she had met so far, was far more powerful than the so-called experts she had encountered in the city she had spent her entire life inside.

Of course, there was no way for Mui to understand that the so-called experts she had encountered back then were actually not real cultivators, but merely a bunch of people pretending to be in an attempt to earn the admiration and respect of the different orphans...

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At the same time Xuan Hao was busy showing Mui around the palace where she was going to live in the future, Chu Yang was standing in front of the Combat Hall waiting for a certain elder to show up.

The elder in question was one of the stronger Nascent Soul Realm Elders in the Star Shattering Sect and Chu Yang had been looking forward to challenging him to a duel inside the Combat Hall. The only problem was that the elder in question always seemed to disappear whenever he showed up...

Fortunately for Chu Yang, things would not end up like that this time around, as he had seen the elder in question entering the Combat Hall to teach some of his disciples around one hour ago and should be finished and come back out again. After which, he would be ready to challenge him before he could disappear like he had done in the past!

"This time around, I won't miss the chance!" Muttering this to himself as he remained fully focused on the entrance to the Combat Hall, Chu Yang didn't notice Qing Yi's figure appearing behind him.

"Junior brother-"

"Ah! Qing Yi?" Almost jumping up in shock as Qing Yi suddenly talked directly beside him, Chu Yang turned around and looked at Qing Yi with a confused expression plastered all over his face. Understanding very well that his senior sister would not normally seek him out without it being about something important. Especially after she had broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm and started using most of her free time on getting familiar with her new strength.

"Master is back again! I already informed junior brother Bai about it, and he should be leaving the Sea of a Thousand Furnaces after he finishes the artifact he is in the process of crafting. Although, knowing junior brother Bai, it might be a few days before this happens... Anyway, let's get going!"

Not noticing the confusion on her junior brothers face as she said this, Qing Yi started excitedly dragging him away from the Combat Hall. Clearly intending to go back to the palace and see their master, who had just returned.

"Master returned...?" Not expecting for his master to have returned, Chu Yang was even more surprised as he unconsciously said this.

"Yes, I heard about it from a group of disciples who recently returned to the sect after having visited the Ninth Star Peak to transport some fresh spiritual herbs to the Alchemy Hall. Not only that, but he was accompanied by a young girl who did not seem to be part of the sect! Do you know what this means? We might be getting a new junior sister!" Talking at an extremely fast speed while saying this with an excited expression on her face, Qing Yi could not wait to meet this new junior sister.

Given that she had been the only female disciple of Xuan Hao, it was obvious why she was so excited at the news that she was going to get a junior sister. Zhi Ruo did not really count, as she was busy dealing with the cleaning of the palace most of the time and always seemed to mysteriously disappear whenever she was not cleaning the palace.

"We got a new junior sister!? Hm... But I really want to challenge that person today, or I might not get the chance again..." Almost whispering the last part to himself as he thought about whether he should leave the Combat Hall, Chu Yang suddenly spotted the elder he had been waiting for leaving the Combat Hall together with two of his disciples.

"Ah! He is here! Qing Yi, I will go back later, I have something important to do!" Not wasting a second, Chu Yang quickly ran over before the elder had a chance to disappear. Leaving Qing Yi behind with a surprised expression on her face. Not having expected that Chu Yang would not follow her back to greet their master after he had returned and instead rushed over to challenge an elder that had just come out of the Combat Hall.

"Guess I will just greet master on my own and see my cute new junior sister..." Not wanting to waste any more time trying to get her two junior brothers to join her in welcoming their master back, Qing Yi decided to just go back to the palace and greet her master on her own.

On the positive side, by being the only disciple that came back, she would be the first that got a chance to spend some time together with their new junior sister.

...

"So that is my new junior sister..." Arriving at the palace only a short time after leaving the Combat Hall, Qing Yi could not help feeling a little nervous as she spotted the young girl standing beside her master. Even from a distance, it was clear that her master was currently showing her around the palace. Making it rather obvious that the young girl was indeed her new junior sister.

As for the young girl's cultivation realm only being in the Qi Condensation Realm, Qing Yi didn't really worry about this. Even if the cultivation realm was a bit lacking compared to the younger disciples that were around her age inside the current Star Shattering Sect, Qing Yi also understood that there was no way that her master would take in someone with bad talent.

Not to mention, back when she had become his disciple, she had been even worse when compared to the rest of the disciples that had been her age. Only after entering under the guidance of her master did, she get a chance to rapidly improve her strength and reach a level she had never imagined she could reach before!

Not only that, but because of her increase in strength, her family had also-

"Qing Yi, are you going to just stand around over there, or are you going to come over?"

"Ah!? M-master?!" Lost in her own thoughts as she started reminiscing about the past, Qing Yi was caught by surprise when she suddenly heard her master calling out to her.

Not only that, but when she turned to look towards the palace, she also discovered that her new junior sister was curiously looking towards her together with her master...

"Y-yes, I'm coming... I was just a bit lost in my own thoughts earlier..." Showing a slightly embarrassed expression on her face as she said this, Qing Yi made her way over to the entrance of the palace where her master and new junior sister were standing.

...

Having walked around the palace and seen the room she was going to live in, Mui and Xuan Hao had both made it back to the entrance of the palace, where a girl looking like she was in her early twenties could be seen spacing off while looking like she was thinking about something.

Is that person perhaps my senior sister?

Guessing that the person could be one of the seniors that her master had mentioned to her earlier, Mui could not help feeling even more curious about the young woman. The only problem was that she didn't seem to notice them at all...

"Master... Is that person over there my senior sister?" Seeing that the person in question was spacing off without noticing them, Mui turned towards her master and asked him.

"Yes, that person is your senior sister, Qing Yi. Although... She seems to be thinking quite deeply about something for her to not even notice us..."

"Qing Yi... So, it's senior sister Qing Yi! Hehe, I hope she is kind..." Hearing what her master said, Mui happily muttered this to herself as a smile made its way onto her face. Making it obvious to anyone about just how happy she was to have a senior sister.

"This girl..." Seeing the happy smile on his newest disciple's face, Xuan Hao could not help turning his attention towards his first disciple that was still spacing off.

"Qing Yi, are you going to just stand around over there, or are you going to come over?"

"Ah!? M-master?! Y-yes, I'm coming... I was just a bit lost in my own thoughts earlier..."

Having decided to call out to her, Xuan Hao could not help shaking his head upon seeing the flustered state of his first disciple when she discovered him and Mui standing at the entrance to the palace.

"Master, is this perhaps my new junior sister? How come I never knew I had such a cute junior sister before today!?" Not wasting a second to try and steer the conversation in another direction after she made her way over, Qing Yi smiled kindly towards the curious Mui standing at the side inspecting this new senior sister of hers that had appeared.

"Indeed, that is your new junior sister, I met her on my way back from the capital of the Sky Empire and decided to take her in. Now that you are already here... I have something to do, why don't you take care of her for me and show her around the sect in my place?" Realizing that it might be a good idea if Qing Yi was the one to show Mui around the sect instead of him, Xuan Hao did not waste a second before handing her over to Qing Yi.Ñ00vl--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

"Of course, master! Don't worry about this junior sister, I will make sure to take good care of her!" Nodding her head happily in agreement to what her master said, Qing Yi was elated upon hearing that she would be the one to show around her new junior sister.

This was a perfect chance for her to get to know more about this little junior sister and find out how she had even encountered her master in the first place!

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Seeing how happy Qing Yi was to show Mui around, Xuan Hao waited for Qing Yi to introduce herself to Mui and for Mui to grow comfortable around this new senior sister before leaving the two of them alone. Deciding that it would be a good idea to meet up with Elder Song and Feng Chen while Qing Yi was busy showing Mui around.

As for introducing her to his other two disciples… That was something that could wait for later, or maybe Qing Yi would be able to do this for him if she met up with those two while showing Mui around the sect. After all, it would be good if his disciples could take care of something like that by themselves instead of needing him to be around to do the introductions.

"I will be going now, if there is anything, you can always contact me through a communication talisman, and I will be there immediately!"

"I understand master, you don't have to worry about it, I'm more than capable of showing this cute little junior sister around. Not to mention, I'm not planning to leave the sect. At most I will show her around the base of the Seventh Star Peak and some of the different training grounds that have been established down there by a few of the younger disciples." Nodding her head as she said this, Qing Yi did her best to look trustworthy. However, this only ended up making Xuan Hao second guess if it would really be a good idea to leave Mui in her care.

I hope everything works out well…

Shaking his head as he thought this to himself, Xuan Hao did not say anything more before leaving in the direction of the sect master palace where both Feng Chen and Elder Song were currently located. Leaving Mui in the care of Qing Yi.

…

"Now its just us two… How about we introduce ourselves to start with? My name is Qing Yi and I'm the first disciple of master. Currently my cultivation realm is the First Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm… But I'm not the strongest among master's disciples. At least not yet…" Taking the chance to formally introduce herself the moment her master had left, Qing Yi could not help turning towards Mui. Waiting for her to introduce herself as well.

"Nascent Soul Realm!? As expected, senior sister Qing is really strong…! I'm only at the Fifth Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm." Hearing that Qing Yi was someone in the Nascent Soul Realm, Mui could not help opening both of her eyes up wide as she looked at the girl that looked no more than 10 years older than her filled with shock.

It had to be known that the only Nascent Soul Realm Experts she had heard about before, was the kind that had cultivated for hundreds of years before reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, she had never heard about anyone reaching the Nascent Soul Realm at such a young age. Not to mention, the senior sister in front of her was not even her master's strongest disciple!

Once again, Mui understood just how powerful the Star Shattering Sect was for there to be disciples that had reached the Nascent Soul Realm. Even the few rumors she had heard about the capital city of the Sky Empire, Nascent Soul Realm Experts still had a rather high status and would often be considered part of the older generation. Not the younger generation like it seemed to be in the Star Shattering Sect!

Then… If someone in the First Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm is still a disciple, how powerful are the elders of the Star Shattering Sect? The Peak of the Nascent Soul Realm… Or maybe they are all powerful seniors above the Nascent Soul Realm!?

Thinking this to herself, Mui could not help feeling a shiver run down her spine. Even if she understood that the Star Shattering Sect would be powerful, she had never thought that it would be so powerful!

"No need to overthink it."

"Huh?" Suddenly having her train of thought interrupted by Qing Yi, Mui could not help tilting her head to the side in confusion as she looked over towards her senior sister.

"The Nascent Soul Realm might be considered strong in your eyes, but when compared to how long the path of cultivation is, the Nascent Soul Realm can't be considered strong in the slightest. Especially when compared to the Domain Lord Realm and Soul Ascension Realm above it Not only that, but-" Listening to Qing Yi who had suddenly begun to lecture her on how weak the Nascent Soul Realm was in the grand scheme of things and the different realms that came after the Nascent Soul Realm, Mui was left speechless and could only nod her head mindlessly while listening to her senior sister.

During the lecture, she not only managed to learn about the Domain Lord Realm that was above the Nascent Soul Realm, but also learnt about an even stronger realm above that of the Domain Lord Realm called the Soul Ascension Realm.

All of this was brand new to her and Qing Yi had no idea just how powerful people in these cultivation realms were. Especially when considering she had never encountered someone that strong before, let alone get a chance to see them fight.

"-And that would be all. By the way, I never learnt what your name is?" As Qing Yi finished up her small lecture and said this, Mui who had been listening to what her senior sister was saying could not help showing a surprised expression on her face after realizing that she had not told Qing Yi her name.

"Ah! My name is Mui!" Not wasting a second after knowing this, Mui did not think for a second before using the name that had been given to her inside the trial space. After all, she did not really have another name to use, and she had already grown to like the name after more than three weeks inside the trial space.

"So, it's Mui, what a cute name. Hm… I think we should get going now if we want to look around the sect before it starts getting dark, what do you think?"

"Y-yes, I'm f-fine with going now…" Feeling a wave of embarrassment washing over her upon being called cute by Qing Yi, Mui barely managed to respond before lowering her head to not show Qing Yi how embarrassed she was.

"Hehe, okay then~ Let's get going!"

Of course, there was no way for Mui to hide her embarrassment from Qing Yi, who just chuckled happily to herself upon seeing the cute reaction from Mui before they began their journey around the Star Shattering Sect.

…

NvεlB¡n: Your Escape into Infinite Tales.

At the same time Qing Yi had begun showing Mui around the sect, Xuan Hao was slowly walking towards Feng Chen's palace as he thought about how he was going to help Chu Yang and Qing Yi improve their strength now that they had both reached the Nascent Soul Realm. Although the Divine Will Technique from the Divine Will Scripture would help them to some degree, it was far from enough to help them continue their current speed of increasing their strength…

Hm… Now that I think about it, both Qing Yi and Chu Yang have reached the Nascent Soul Realm now. Maybe It's time for them to try and enter the mystic realm that had an entrance at my old pavilion in the Flying Sword Sect…

Frowning to himself as he thought about the entrance to the mystic realm that had appeared at his old pavilion in the Flying Sword Sect, Xuan Hao could not help wondering if it was time to let them go in and explore this mystic realm together.

Considering that the mystic realm was accessible even for those below the Nascent soul Realm, it shouldn't be too dangerous for them. Especially considering that they would be going together and would be able to help each other in case anything happened.

In the worst-case scenario, he could always leave a few trump cards for them so they could escape if they encountered a powerful enemy that they couldn't deal with.

"This does seem like the best thing to help them get some real combat experience, while at the same time also get a chance at a fortunate encounter inside the mystic realm…" Muttering this to himself as he thought the matter through, Xuan Hao decided to send Qing Yi and Chu Yang into the mystic realm.

Considering that both had been locked up in the sect for a long time at this point without getting out, Xuan Hao had a feeling that the two of them would be more than happy with this. Especially Chu Yang, who had been looking for every possible chance to fight with someone. Given how dangerous a mystic realm was, he should get more than enough opportunities to fight in there…

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