"Broken?"
"Did the Pillar of Courage just break?"
"Damn, the Pillar of Courage actually broke?"
The Ancient Lightning Martial Monarch, the Illusionist Martial Monarch, the cultivators, and the experts were completely dumbfounded.
The scene before them was something they could never have imagined.
The Pillar of Courage had shattered immediately. What did that imply?
It meant that Qin Nan didn’t have any fear toward the South-Heaven Gate!
That was the South-Heaven Gate, the number one artifact of the South-Heaven Sacred Ground. It had conquered the entire half-God region for tens of thousands of years. Its power was unimaginable!
How did Qin Nan do it at all?
"Nice, very nice!" The Ancient Lightning Martial Monarch collected his thoughts and burst out shouting with joy. He turned his head to the Illusionist Martial Monarch and said, "Hall Leader Illusionist, is Qin Nan's result in his second attempt acceptable?"
The Hall Leader Illusionist said with a rather unpleasant face, "It is indeed quite impressive. As the Vice-Leader of the Anti-Heaven Palace, I'm a man of my word. I'll be responsible for the loss of the Pillar of Courage."
He cast a cold glance at Qin Nan before flicking his sleeve and leaving the place.
It was completely useless for him to say anything further.
"Cultivator Yu Langyan, didn't you say that Qin Nan would only produce two crystals on his second attempt?"
Mu Mu recovered from the shock and calmly said to Yu Langyan.
"This…"
Yu Langyan's face instantly flushed.
The scene before him was like a huge, loud slap to his face.
Mu Mu did not bother mocking him further. She focused her gaze onto Qin Nan with flickering eyes.
"Everyone, the second round has come to an end. Qin Nan has come first. Based on his performance in both the first and second rounds, he will be given two hundred thousand contribution points." The Ancient Lightning Martial Monarch looked at Qin Nan and said with a smile.
The cultivators did not seem to disagree, while the eyes of the experts in the sky were filled with envy.
These new disciples might be unaware, but they clearly knew how important the contribution points were.
With enough contribution points, they would even have a chance to alter their destinies.
Two hundred thousand contribution points were considered a huge amount, as it was equivalent to the amount earned after killing twenty important people of the South-Heaven Sacred Ground.
"Qin Nan, since you have seven Martial Trees and such courage to go against the South-Heaven Gate, as the Vice Leader, I now invite you to join the Anti-Heaven Palace as one of the Five Great Elders, the Metal Elder. Will you accept it?"
The eyes of the Ancient Lightning Martial Monarch flickered as he spoke.
"The Jin-Character1 Elder?"
"One of the Five Great Elders?"
"Qin Nan is soaring into the sky!"
The experts in the palaces were startled once again.
In the Anti-Heaven Alliance, the Vice Hall Leaders came after the Hall Leaders, followed by the elders who were identified by the five elements, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, who were then followed by deacons.
For any other palace, becoming the Five Great Elders was not too difficult, but the status of the Five Great Elders of the Anti-Heaven Palace was completely different.
The Illusionist Martial Monarch who had returned to the Anti-Heaven Palace harrumphed coldly.
Even though he did not want Qin Nan to take on the role, now that he had proved himself, it was impossible to stop him.
"Five Great Elders?"
Qin Nan frowned slightly.
Yi Feng who was nearby immediately transmitted his voice, "Qin Nan, accept it quick. Once you become one of the Five Great Elders, not only will you be given great benefits, you also have power over gathered intel, information regarding destiny-altering fortunate encounters, etc."
"Intel?"
Qin Nan's eyes flickered.
Since he had successfully joined the Anti-Heaven Alliance, his next step would be searching for the pieces of the Canglan Tree.
It would be like searching for a pin in the ocean if he were to do it alone, thus making it quite troublesome. However, if he could let the people of the Dark Shadow Palace gather information regarding the pieces of the Canglan Tree, it would be easier for him to find the pieces.
On second thought, there was not any reason not to accept it.
"Thank you, Hall Leader Ancient Lightning. I won't let you down."
Qin Nan said as he brought his fists together.
"Very well." The Ancient Lightning Martial Monarch nodded before facing the crowd and saying, "Yu Langyan, you've come second in the trial. I now reward you with thirty thousand contribution points, and also invite you to join the Anti-Heaven Palace as an elder…"
They proceeded to make arrangements for the newly recruited disciples.
Among the new disciples, apart from a few that joined the Anti-Heaven Palace, the others went to the other three palaces.
After the trial came to an end, the disciples were led away by the people from the four palaces. The series of events finally came to an end.
That being said, not long after, the news regarding the trial quickly spread across the entire Anti-Heaven Alliance.
It did not make any difference to Qin Nan. Even if he had decided not to shatter the Pillar of Courage, as long as he was a part of the Anti-Heaven Alliance, he would surely attract some attention.
In fact, after he had shattered the Pillar of Courage, most people would look up to him, thus saving him a lot of trouble.
A moment later, Qin Nan, Mu Mu, and Yi Feng followed the Ancient Lightning Martial Monarch's clone to the Anti-Heaven Palace.
The Ancient Lightning Martial Monarch seemed to be in a good mood, as he was relatively chatty, allowing Qin Nan to quickly learn more information about the Anti-Heaven Alliance.
Among the four main palaces in the sky, the one highest was none other than the Anti-Heaven Palace.
There were three Vice-Leaders in the Anti-Heaven Palace, the Ancient Lightning Martial Monarch, the Illusionist Martial Monarch, and Martial Monarch Rongtian. They were all staying inside the Anti-Heaven Palace.
As for the Five Great Elders, deacons, and disciples, they were located in the smaller palaces around the Anti-Heaven Palace according to their ranks.
"Qin Nan, here is the Anti-Heaven Alliance's scroll. It will help you to understand more about the faction." The Ancient Lightning Martial Monarch smilingly said, "By the way, the Anti-Heaven Alliance will be holding a Welcoming Feast. Those with ranks above deacons are required to attend, so make sure you're there."
"Welcoming Feast?" Qin Nan was startled. It was his first time seeing a faction holding such a feast.
"That's right, it's a rule that the Alliance Leader has set. The Welcoming Feast is compulsory whenever there's a batch of people joining the Anti-Heaven Palace. You will drink three cups of blood wine, which implies that you're one of us from today onward." The Ancient Lightning Martial Monarch transmitted his voice to Qin Nan, "You should keep an eye out for the other four elders. They are all the disciples of the Illusionist Martial Monarch."
Qin Nan instantly understood his intention after hearing this.
The Ancient Lightning Martial Monarch was quite fond of him. It was possible that he was asking him to compete with the other four elders.
After all, the Illusionist Martial Monarch had only been picking on him because of the Ancient Lightning Martial Monarch.
Even though the Anti-Heaven Alliance was rather different than the other factions, it was still full of internal competitions.
Qin Nan chatted with the Ancient Lightning Martial Monarch for a brief while, before the latter excused himself. Qin Nan, Mu Mu, and Yi Feng returned to their respective palaces.
However, what Qin Nan did not know was that, inside the rift of the half-God region…
An ancient pagoda was floating in the air. No one was aware of its existence.
"Magical Hair, I didn't lie to you, right?"
A young man burst into laughter.
He was the owner of the Martial Serendipity Pavilion.
In front of him was an illusionary figure with a terrifying aura.
It turned out to be the will of the Magical Hair Sword God.
[1] TL Note: Jin(金) here is referring to metal, one of the Five Elements (a.k.a Wu Xing). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Xing
