Su Zimo declared war to Glass Palace.
Regarding that, the major sects, factions and individual cultivators had varying opinions.
Some of them felt that the momentum was with Su Zimo now that he managed to survive and kill millions of cultivators now that he had returned.
Some felt that Su Zimo was arrogant, overconfident and did not know his limits – what he did was equivalent to an ant trying to move a tree.
He had a strong physique, shocking bloodline and frightening melee combat strength.
However, what was undeniable was the fact that his Golden Core was crippled!
20 years ago, there was no way a direct attack from a Void Reversion could have missed.
There was no way of recovering a destroyed Golden Core as well.
Furthermore, in the battle at Cang Lang Mountain Range, none of the surviving cultivators felt any spirit energy fluctuation from Su Zimo.
The destruction of his Golden Core meant that he had no Golden Core phenomenon to rely on.
For some people, the outcome of a fight between Su Zimo who had lost his Golden Core and the peerless paragons of Glass Palace’s Golden Core realm was indeterminate.
Furthermore, there would be Sealers in the intermediate ancient battlefield!
Glass Palace had a long history, solid foundation and they were one of the immortal sects – how could they be threatened by a single spirit crane from Su Zimo?
A massive battle was bound to break out in the ancient battlefield!
Glass Palace prepared for the battle while searching for Su Zimo, even offering a hefty reward for his capture.
Unfortunately, another 20 days passed without any news of Su Zimo.
The date to the opening of the ancient battlefield approached.
…
A tranquil old temple at the bottom of Dragon Burial Valley.
In the courtyard, there were two people and a fox.
A little monk sat in a lotus position facing the sun with his head lowered. Bathed in sunlight, he recited his Buddhist sutras and seemed like he was shrouded by a Buddha glow.
On the other side, a green-robed scholar sat on a stone bench casually with his hands behind his back. He seemed like he was resting with his eyes closed in an extremely relaxed manner.
A fiery red little fox hopped around on the green-robed scholar’s body in joy.
Old temple, monk, scholar, fox, Sanskrit…
Everything seemed like a scene from a painting.
The monk was Ming Zhen.
The scholar was naturally Su Zimo who had just caused a huge stir in the North Region.
An old monk walked out from the grand hall.
“Ming Xin, Ming Zhen, prepare yourselves. The ancient battlefield is about to open up. Let me explain to you guys about the origin of the Phenomenon Ranking.”
Su Zimo and Ming Zhen bolted upright and sat at attention.
“In the ancient era, humans rose and fought against the Primordial Nine Races. In order to ensure that the legacy of the human race continued, an expert of the ancient era, Fairy Ling Long, set up the ranking to select those with the strongest potential in the younger generation to groom intensively and retain our heritage.”
“Therefore, there’s a strict rule in the ranking for age. Anyone that’s above 200 years old is not allowed to be included into the ranking!”
Su Zimo nodded in agreement.
The ranking was meant to gather the paragons of the human race and strong monster incarnates. Naturally, there had to be a strong limitation to age.
Compared to Golden Cores who had a lifespan of 500 years, anyone who was 200 years old was considered young.
Su Zimo could not help but think about someone.
The number one of the previous Phenomenon Ranking, Di Yin!
Back when he was in his thirties a hundred years ago, he had already attained the number one spot of the Phenomenon Ranking.
The reason why he wanted to enter the ancient battlefield again was so that he could achieve the number one position twice in succession!
“Fairy Ling Long had long ascended after tiding through the tribulation. Now, the release of each Golden Core Phenomenon Ranking is done by Enigma Palace which she founded,” At that point, the old monk paused for a moment.
Nine immortal sects, eight demon races, seven fiend sects, six Buddhist monasteries, five heretical doctrines, four unorthodox groups, three aristocratic families, two islands and one palace!
Those were the strongest factions on Tianhuang Mainland as of now.
If Enigma Palace was qualified to publish the Golden Core Phenomenon Ranking in the ancient battlefield, it should be the ‘one palace’ in the top factions.
“Enigma Palace?”
Su Zimo’s eyes shimmered as he murmured.
In his mind, a pale, rotund and beardless cultivator with a folding fan appeared.
Su Zimo lamented, “Enigma Palace, Lin Xuanji[1]… hmm, I wonder if they’re connected.”
After a moment of contemplation, Su Zimo asked, “Fairy Ling Long must have been an ancient emperor as well if she had such an influence to gather all the monster incarnates in the world?”
“Although Fairy Ling Long was an expert of the ancient era, she wasn’t an emperor.”
The old monk shook his head. “However, she had another identity – she was the wife of the Human Emperor!”
The wife of the Human Emperor!
That explained everything.
Furthermore, the fact that Fairy Ling Long was able to set up Enigma Palace and pass down her legacy was proof that she was no weakling in the past.
The old monk continued, “That’s also part of the reason why Enigma Palace has a unique status in the cultivation world and is ranked alongside the immortal, Buddhist and fiend sects. Because the Human Emperor did not leave behind any legacy, Enigma Palace is the only sect that is related to the Human Emperor.”
“Apart from the Phenomenon Ranking, Enigma Palace has two other rankings, the Dharma Characteristic and Divine Power Ranking respectively. Those are the famous Three Enigma Rankings in the cultivation world!”
Ming Zhen had a lost expression and asked curiously, “Master, apart from being famous, what’s the use of being on the Phenomenon Ranking? If it’s just for fame, I’m not going to fight them for it.”
To Ming Zhen, being able to study Buddhism in peace meant more than fighting to the death with everyone else.
“Of course, there’s more to it than fame,”
The old monk chuckled. “Any cultivator that’s able to get their name on the Phenomenon Ranking would be known to the world and they would be watched by all the super sects. For example, if you’re able to get into the Phenomenon Ranking, you’ll have a chance to join the six Buddhist monasteries.”
“I don’t want to join the other monasteries, I just want to follow you, Master,” Master shook his head.
“You must not be emotional,”
The old monk said with good intentions, “It’s a rare opportunity and you can only grow more if you discover more about the strengths of others. Cultivation isn’t merely hiding in seclusion away from the world forever.”
“You’re still young and you’ll have to head out eventually to experience the pains, love, and emotions of the mortal realm and secular affairs. That is the true path of cultivation.”
The old monk said, “The only way to leave the mortal realm is after you enter it!”
Ming Zhen nodded, seemingly confused.
He had never left the bottom of Dragon Burial Valley nor had he experienced secular affairs – how could he understand any of that?
However, he could tell that the old monk wanted him to leave.
Ming Zhen felt disappointed internally.
Su Zimo eyed the old monk and sighed internally.
He was probably the only one who understood the old monk’s underlying intentions.
The old monk was trying to seek an alternative path for Ming Zhen.
He was already old and knew that he would leave this world one day.
That was the reason why he wanted Ming Zhen to join other sects. That way, the latter would be able to gain the protection of the super sect.
At that thought, Su Zimo smiled bitterly in self-deprecation.
He had offended all the major factions of the North Region.
There was no place left for him in the North Region.
No other sects or factions would accept him either.
That was because everyone saw him as a demon!
Humans and demons were different.
Sensing the sorrow in Su Zimo’s eyes, the old monk said warmly, “Apart from the chance to join super sects, there will also be rewards for leaving your name on the Phenomenon Ranking,”
“Naturally, the higher the ranking, the better the rewards. It could be Earth-grade Dharmic arts or cultivation techniques, or supreme or perfect-grade Dharmic weapons. In fact, there’s a small chance that it can be a connate Dharmic weapon!”
[1] It’s the same word as Enigma
