Translator:StarveCleric
Editor:StarveCleric
After learning how the wall worked, Zhang Xuan unhesitatingly took out 100 Divine Coins and placed it on the pedestal.
Weng!
The Divine Coins disappeared, and white light began to glimmer on the wall in front, forming a screen.
Zhang Xuan quickly walked up and wrote down Zhao Ya’s name.
Of everyone who had entered the Celestial Mountain, the one who was most likely to achieve a breakthrough first was indubitably Zhao Ya.
Thus, he wanted to see what was going on inside that prevented her from achieving a breakthrough within the past six hours.
Hu!
The screen flickered a little, and it looked as if the characters would appear on the screen at any moment.
“This is the time of reckoning…”
“Do you recall what happened with Wang Xiao three years ago? He was unwilling to believe that his son was really a wastrel, so he spent 100 Divine Coins to check on his condition. But as it turned out, his son actually fell asleep on the Celestial Mountain! To this day, I still can’t help but chuckle when I recall how his face crumbled when he saw the results on the wall!”
“Due to how widespread that matter became, the Wang Clan lost its prestige and honor overnight. Once, it was one of the top ten clans of Twilight City, but in a matter of days, it fell to the point where it couldn’t even be considered as a third-rate clan anymore!”
“This fellow is probably doomed as well. City Lord Wu is a true pragmatist at heart. The only reason why he treated that fellow so well is probably because there is something he stands to earn from him. If that fellow loses his worth as a result of this, there’s no doubt that City Lord Wu would immediately change his tune!”
The middle-aged men behind shook with mirth.
Just as they were filling their minds with scenarios of Zhang Xuan’s impending downfall, they suddenly felt an unbelievably powerful and authoritative body clutching their bodies, causing their laughter to fall flat.
Boom!
It felt almost as if the world was caving in on them. The entire room rattled fearfully in the presence of this aura.
“This is… the aura of a God Monarch?”
Someone amidst the crowd exclaimed, and everyone quickly kneeled to the ground as a sign of respect.
“I am Monarch Fumeng of the Sky of Adamant Gold. Zhao Ya is suited to practice the cultivation techniques of our Sky of Adamant Gold, so I’ll be taking her with me…”
A voice that seemed to be completely devoid of emotions sounded slowly from the wall.
It wasn’t loud, but it seemed to hammer right into one’s soul. Those on the receiving end of the voice couldn’t help but tremble in fear and deference. Before such a presence, they couldn’t even bring up the will to retaliate at all.
“God Monarch?”
“His disciple has been taken away by a God Monarch?”
The crowd felt as if their heads were going to blow up from how ridiculous the situation was becoming. They turned to look at the young man before them with eyes filled with frenzy.
They thought that the young man’s disciple, like Wang Xiao’s son, would probably be sleeping or lying injured somewhere on the Celestial Mountain… But who could have thought that she would have actually caught the eye of the God Monarch, inducing the latter to fetch her personally!
More importantly, the God Monarch even left behind a message to explain the situation…
When had the God Monarchs needed to explain their decisions to others?
This honor was greater than anything else in the world!
They were thinking of making use of this opportunity to mock the other party, but who could have thought that things would turn out in such a manner?
They turned their heads toward Zhang Xuan, expecting the young man to lose himself amidst happiness, but what they saw instead was the frown between the young man’s brows tightening.
The young man’s face was growing so dark that it looked as if it would drip ink.
To have one’s disciple taken away and trained personally by a God Monarch, there was probably no greater honor than that in the world. Shouldn’t he be so happy that he could skip in joy?
Why would he have such an expression on his face instead?
“Young Master Zhang Xuan, hurry up and thank the God Monarch for his benevolence…” Wu Fangqing tugged at Zhang Xuan’s robe and urged.
It was one thing to offend others, but offending a God Monarch…
There was no one in the world that could possibly save him from the wrath of a God Monarch!
But before he could finish his words, the young man’s angry voice had already echoed in the room, “Sh*t… Are God Monarchs that arrogant as to take away my people without my permission? Are they bandits without any pride and honor?”
Zhang Xuan was on the verge of blowing up from anger.
Did the God Monarchs think that they could do as they please?
That was his disciple! How could they take her away from him without even informing him? That was too shameless!
“Master!”
Hearing those words, Zhang Jia nearly burst into the tears.
Didn’t you emphasize again and again to me the importance of humility and low profile?
Yet, you actually lost your temper and berated a God Monarch when your student has been taken away by the latter…
Is this what you mean by humility and low profile?
Even though it will be beneath the God Monarch’s standing to settle the score with you, still… is it really alright for you to insult them so openly?
While Zhang Jia was on the verge of fainting from shock, it saw the Young Master writing down Zheng Yang’s name on the wall.
Barely after his name was written down, another powerful aura suddenly burst from the wall once more.
“I am the Monarch Zhuoyang of the Sky of Blazing Sun. Zheng Yang has the aptitude for the cultivation techniques of our Sky of Blazing Sun, so I’ll be taking him away with me.”
“Screw you! How can you lot be so shameless?”
Zhang Xuan was on the verge of going insane.
Getting a really bad feeling about this, he quickly wrote down Lu Chong’s name on the wall as well.
“I am Demon Monarch Qiankun of the Sky of Drifting Spectre. Lu Chong has displayed an exceptional talent for the cultivation techniques of our Sky of Drifting Spectre, so I’ll be taking him away with me…”
Zhang Xuan felt even more light-headed. He hurriedly wrote down the names of his other direct disciples too.
“I am Fairy Linglong of the Sky of Linglong. Wang Ying and Wei Ruyan fit my palate, so I’ll be taking them away with me…”
“I am the Cloud Dragon Monarch of the Sky of Cloud Dragon. Kong Shiyao and Liu Yang have caught my eye, so I’ll be ki—I mean taking them back with me…”
…
As Zhang Xuan went through the names of his disciples, the God Monarchs made their appearances one after another, each of them leaving some words behind. By the end of which, Wu Fangqing and the others were left completely dazed.
Those middle-aged men who had come along to watch Zhang Xuan’s humiliating downfall hadn’t expected things to turn out like that instead.
The elusive God Monarchs actually appeared one after another, almost as if they were watching a street parade…
One must know that they were the top existences of the world, and most people wouldn’t even get to see them once in their entire lifetime!
Yet, why the heck were they suddenly appearing all at once?
Wasn’t this a little too much?
While swallowing mouthfuls of saliva, the middle-aged men looked at one another, and they could see the horror in each other’s eyes.
How in the world did they find the courage to mock the young man’s disciples earlier?
Compared to the young man’s disciples, their offspring were really nothing in comparison!
One must know that their offspring weren’t even talented enough to catch the eye of a Celestial God whereas the young man’s disciples actually drew God Monarchs over to snatch them up as though housewives tussling with one another over a bargain sales…
Thinking about it, it was laughable how they actually felt a sense of superiority over the other party a moment ago…
They immediately turned to Zhang Xuan anxiously, hoping to placate him out of fear that he would exact vengeance on them in the future. However, what they saw was the young man pointing at the wall in agitation and bellowing, “You bunch of shameless scoundrels! They are my disciples… My disciples!!!”
“…”
Everyone trembled even more intensely. None of them dared to speak a word at all.
Insulting the God Monarchs… Was this fellow insane?
“Young Master… What happened to low profile?” Zhang Jia tugged at Zhang Xuan’s robe as it begged with tears in its eyes.
It thought that its master was a smart and reliable person, but in this very moment, it could almost see itself meeting its end at its master’s recklessness…
On the other hand, Wu Fangqing felt the world spinning around him. He was pinching himself so hard that his flesh was going to tear off, but he was so shocked that he couldn’t feel a thing at all.
After berating the God Monarchs for a while, Zhang Xuan finally calmed down a little.
Looking at this from a rational standpoint, it was not necessarily a bad thing for the God Monarchs to take Zhao Ya and the others away.
Given the limited resources he had on hand, it would be hard for Zhao Ya and the others to raise their cultivation swiftly if they were to follow him. As much as he hated to admit it, the God Monarchs could provide much better conditions for them.
“What about my parents and Sun Qiang?”
He had nurtured his direct disciples from young, nurturing and cleansing their bodies with his Heaven’s Path zhenqi. It was understandable why they would catch the eye of the God Monarchs. But when it came to Sun Qiang and his parents…
They didn’t build their foundation well, and their age was also on the higher side. It should be unlikely for them to catch the eyes of the God Monarchs…
He quickly wrote his mother’s name, Wang Mengya, down on the wall.
“I am an envoy from the Sky of Heavenly Sword. I’ll be imparting Sun Qiang, Zhang Zhenxing, and Wang Mengya swordsmanship. I’ll be sending them back to your side after their training is complete.”
This time around, a calm voice sounded from the wall.
“Even the secluded Sky of Heavenly Sword has sent an envoy over?”
Everyone was rendered speechless once more.
Just like the Sky of Freedom, the Sky of Heavenly Sword was closed off from the rest of the Firmament, making it a mysterious existence to the rest of the world. As such, it was perplexing why it would join in the crowd this time around just to teach three Semi-Divinities swordsmanship.
Of the fourteen people that Zhang Xuan had brought, eleven of them were taken away by the God Monarchs and the remaining three were going to learn swordsmanship from an envoy of the Sky of Heavenly Sword…
Heavens, just what kind of fortuitous encounter was this…
“Alright then…”
Seeing that at least his parents and Sun Qiang hadn’t taken away, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
At least, they left some people for him so that he wasn’t all alone.
That being said, it would probably take some time for his parents and Sun Qiang to grasp the swordsmanship from the Sky of Heavenly Sword.
Zhang Xuan would have never thought that the trip to the Celestial Mountain would end like that. Heaving a helpless sigh, he turned around, only to see everyone kneeling on the floor, looking at him with admiration gleaming in their eyes.
He immediately recoiled in shock.
It took him a while before he realized what they were up to. Given that his disciples had come under the tutelage of the God Monarchs, it was clear how they should act around him in the future.
Shaking his head, he said, “I don’t wish to be in the center of attention, so I hope that you can keep whatever you have seen here today a secret.”
He could already imagine the hassle that would occur if others were to learn of this matter. Perhaps, some might even view him as a threat and attempt to make a move on him!
In the end, it was still wiser for him to maintain a low profile and continue life as it was.
“You don’t like to be in the center of attention…”
The lips of the crowd twitched upon hearing such unbelievable words.
Those words don’t seem to hold much credibility after watching how you berated those God Monarchs without holding back at all…
Even though that was what they were thinking on the inside, they were smart enough not to allow it to show on their faces. Nodding their heads obediently, they replied, “We understand. Our lips are sealed.”
“Let’s head back out,” Zhang Xuan replied before taking the lead out of the room.
While walking back to the main hall, he turned to Wu Fangqing and asked, “City Lord Wu, do you have any sword art manuals that I can browse through here?”
He knew that it would take some time for his parents and Sun Qiang to return, and there was no way he could leave without them too. So, he decided to settle this matter first.
He was no longer fully reliant on the Library of Heaven’s Path for his cultivation techniques and battle techniques, but it was still important for him to acquire new knowledge so as to broaden his horizon.
It would be foolish to not tap into the wisdom of the predecessors and attempt to do everything by himself. He would just be making things difficult for himself for no reason.
Only with a vast base of knowledge would he be able to create more profound techniques, and that was the most sustainable way for him to continue growing stronger.
“Young Master Zhang Xuan, our clan has plenty of books that you can refer to.”
“Our clan has quite a notable collection as well. I’ll have my subordinates send some over this instant!”
“I dare not say for other things, but our clan is known for the diverse array of cultivation techniques on our shelves!”
Before Wu Fangqing could respond, the middle-aged men at the back had already volunteered their services subserviently.
This was the perfect opportunity for them to suck up to the young man, so they were more than happy to do him this favor.
“I’ll be troubling the rest of you then.”
Seeing how passionate this group of people were, Zhang Xuan accepted their goodwill. They would probably live in fear if he didn’t give them a chance to ‘redeem themselves’ after all of the mockings they had done.
Zhang Xuan first entered the City Lord Manor’s library, and it took him four hours to collect all of the books inside.
Shortly after he was done, the middle-aged men returned with the full collection of books they had, so he quickly began browsing through those as well.
It took him another six hours to clear everything.
Most of the manuals in Twilight City were limited at high-tier God realm, and there was very little that covered the Celestial God realm. Nevertheless, it still gave him a much deeper understanding of the Firmament and the cultivation techniques that were practiced here.
“I reckon that my next realm will be regarding the ties between a teacher and his students…” Zhang Xuan thought.
After what he had gone through today, he found a new direction for the next level of his Pathos of Heaven.
While he hadn’t worked things out yet, with a concrete direction to work toward, it shouldn’t take him too long to perfect the theory.
Once everything was in place, he should be able to become a Celestial God easily.
