Although the gods had transmission slips for long-distance communications, compared to the Lower Three Realm’s cell phones, they were way too far behind.
After ascending, Ye Zichen had complained about the gods’ backwards transmission slips more than once. Now that he was back in the Lower Three Realms, he decided to try and take some of their technology back with him.
“They haven’t,” said the God of Thunder after giving it some thought. “Why do ask, Emperor Ye?”
“I’d like to take them back to the God Realm.” Ye Zichen went on to explain his thoughts to everyone, then added, “This way, even if someone ascends, we can still communicate through the chat. You won’t lose contact with anyone after they achieve divinity.”
“Then I’ll head back. Our information network is in perfect condition, so I’ll discuss this with the Emperor. I’m sure he’ll agree,” said the God of Thunder after a moment’s hesitation.
“I’ll do the same thing,” said Ox Head. “Back then, forming our information network was a joint effort between the Heavenly Court and the Underworld. Emperor Ye, if you bring people from both sides, it might increase your odds of success a bit.”
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Ye Zichen stood outside the gates to Maple City. All of his old friends were there to see him off. Their gazes revealed hints of reluctance, but when they looked at the dozen or so people standing beside Ye Zichen, quite a few of them seemed jealous as well.
These people were all information network maintenance men he’d gathered from the Underworld and Heavenly Court. He planned to take them with him to the God Realm. All of them were top-class experts of their respective homelands, and had been selected from a sea of countless competitors.
When they heard they were going to the God Realm, they were all so excited, they hadn’t slept a wink.
“So you’re leaving already?” Xue Qi sighed aand stepped out of the crowd. The Leisure House’s feelings for Ye Zichen were the deepest; they’d followed Ye Zichen even more closely than his friends from the Modern Realm.
“I have to go. I can’t just stay here forever.” In truth, Ye Zichen’s words had a bit of deeper meaning. On the surface, he meant that the Master of the Laws restricted him and was forcing him to return to the gods. But in addition, he was also reminding himself: the Modern World is ultimately where I belong.
With his current status, he had the position and money to muddle his way through an entire lifetime.
So why did he keep on forging ahead? Wasn’t it…. So that he could return to that vibrant, crowded city of the Modern Realm?
He looked up into the sky and called out, “Hey, Master of the Laws, I know you’re watching. Come on out and send me back.”
Before long, an ox-riding cowherd boy appeared before them in just a few steps. He looked over Ye Zichen and the surrounding communications experts, but said nothing. He simply tapped in front of him, and a formation appeared beneath their feet.
The onlookers’ eyes lit up with reluctance, but they knew full well that at a time like this, they couldn’t hold him back.
“Come on, don’t be like that.” Ye Zichen flashed the immortals a smile, pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and waved it at them. “It’s not like we’ll never see each other again. See you in the chat group!”
Could they really connect their networks to the Upper Three Realms?
No one could say for sure.
However, from the moment this thought first crossed Ye Zichen’s mind, it represented a new milestone in the Upper Three Realms’ technological development. Just like his Upheaval, this would create waves that rocked and overturned the stagnant pools that were the God, Yao, and Demon Realms.
Ancient trees and bizarre, craggy stones.
The moment he saw that endless forest of incomprehensibly ancient trees, Ye Zichen knew he was back in the God Realm. Based on the explosiveness of the spiritual energy in the air, he was most likely nowhere near a city.
In the God Realm’s Lower Lands, the divine energy outside of cities was difficult to absorb and refine. Human cultivators could only use it after running it through conversion formations. As a result, every city in the Lower Lands attracted vast numbers of human cultivators, and every city needed an entrance fee.
Actually, this had also created an extreme disparity within the human populace.
Rural villages of the Lower Lands could only fall further and further behind city dwellers. Still, it was fortunate that cultivators lived long lives. If a genius was born in a remote village, they could still achieve enlightenment and rise to the heavens.
“How strange. This time, I didn’t pass through the Time Corridor.” He still vividly recalled passing through the Time Corridor. He’d swiped his Devil Dharma Body technique from the warlock who livered there. But this time, he saw no trace of the corridor’s existence. Instead, he appeared directly in the Lower Lands.
“Could it be that the Time Corridor only appears by chance?” Ye Zichen stood there and frowned. If that was the case, and all he’d gotten out of it was a single Dharma Body technique, he’d really missed out!
The communications experts who’d followed him looked around curiously. Quite a few of them even pulled out tools to examine the stones or check the ancient trees’ ages.
“Enough, don’t investigate now. You’ll have more than enough time to do your research later,” said Ye Zichen, calling the “scientists” to a stop. He spread his divine awareness outward, ascertaining Raging Flame City’s location, and disappeared from the ancient path.
….
Raging Flame City had been well known for tens of thousands of years, but the establishment of Upheaval’s headquarters and breathed new life into this ancient city. No one dared treat it as an ordinary city of the Mortal Great District now.
With Upheaval around, it had become the true capital of the lands beneath the Northern Divine Mountain.
There was a constant flow of traffic in and out of the city with people hustling and bustling all about. As a result, more people settled there, so Raging Flame City had started expanding. When Ye Zichen returned, he saw quite a few workmen excavating ground to build a second city wall around the additions.
Upheaval’s base was right in the center; it had occupied the position that ought to belong to the City Lord’s manor.
Even though Upheaval hadn’t existed for long, it developed so quickly that it instilled terror in the hearts of even families from the Divine Mountains. They naturally weren’t afraid of a bunch of immortal kings and sky immortals. No, what they worried about was what would happen a few hundred or thousand years down the line, when all of them broke through and became supremes…
What would happen to the territorial divisions of the Divine Mountains then?
Two glorious statues of guardian lions similar to Denglong stood proudly before the gates of Upheaval’s grand headquarters. Coiling dragon pillars held up the lofty gates.
They’d yet to add the finishing touch, their eyes, but they were already fierce and terrifying.
Four stalwart men at the early immortal king stage stood right before the gates, each accompanied by a blazing lion.
As Ye Zichen appeared to pass through, one of the bulky men blocked him and said scrupulously, as if reciting a pre-formulated phrase, “Stop where you are! This is Upheaval’s headquarters. If you belong to this base, please present your elite member command medallion. If you’re from one of our branches, please present proof of your identity. If you’re here as a visitor, please present your invitation, then allow us time to go inside and ask our superiors.”
