Translator: Larbrestudio
At the Suspended Holy Mountain on Ancient Cloud Star.
As the headquarters of the Ancient Cloud Star Alliance, this place was not only the holy ground of the Alliance, but it was also the holy ground of the Cloud Ridge World, filled with saints.
Reverend Jin Wu, along with Su Mo, Ling Chang, and Lin Ya, arrived at the foot of the mountain. They reported their presence and waited to be summoned.
“Thirty-six golden palaces and over three thousand silver palaces!”
Su Mo glanced up at the majestic Suspended Holy Mountain. It was huge indeed, with over three thousand palaces occupying only a small region.
From the outside, the mountain did not hold many mysteries. In fact, the Source Energy here was just a little bit thicker than what they had at Palmy Branch.
But this was exactly where the entire hub of the Ancient Cloud Star Alliance was located.
It seemed very quiet at the top of the Suspended Holy Mountain. Other than the two guards station at the entrance at the foot of the mountain, there were only a handful of people up there.
“The thirty-six golden palaces represent the thirty-six Lords in the headquarters, while the three thousand other silver palaces represent the three thousand or more disciples,” said Reverend Jin Wu in a low voice.
“I see!” Su Mo nodded.
Swoosh!
Right then, a figure dropped down from the top of the mountain and landed in front of them.
“Reverend Jin Wu!” someone called.
Reverend Jin Wu nodded and led the trio up the Suspended Holy Mountain one step at a time towards the peak.
Reverend Jin Wu was quite familiar with the Suspended Holy Mountain because he used to be a disciple in the headquarters and had stayed there for many thousand years.
Within that time, he had earnestly trained under Lord Fa Wu until he had achieved the Great Completion Supreme Realm. After that, he had left the Suspended Holy Mountain after being appointed as one of the Chief Elders of the Palmy Branch.
Ever since joining the Branch, he could not simply enter the Suspended Holy Mountain again. If he wanted to go back, he first needed to reach the Kismet Realm.
At that point, he could become a Lord, return to the headquarters, and reign supreme over the Cloud Ridge World.
Of course, paying regular visits to his teacher was permitted.
The other disciples of the headquarters shared the same fate with Reverend Jin Wu. Any disciple who achieved the Great Completion Supreme Realm would have to leave the headquarters and hold a position among the Branches.
Including Young Master Liu Yun.
But Young Master Liu Yun was a little different from the other disciples. His father was a Lord, so naturally he had grown up in the headquarters.
Despite that, Young Master Liu Yun had still had to go through the Selection before becoming a disciple of the headquarters. Otherwise, just being the son of a Lord would not mean he was guaranteed a spot.
The quality of the headquarters’ disciples spoke for itself.
There were millions of disciples residing in the thousands of branches across the Ancient Cloud Star Alliance, but there was only a little over three thousand disciples in the headquarters. It was evident what each disciple was made of.
Each disciple of the headquarters had to be an incredible individual with outstanding talents. No exceptions.
Su Mo, Ling Chang, and Lin Ya followed Reverend Jin Wu as they hiked up the Suspended Holy Mountain. This was their first time at the headquarters, each of them was as nervous as the other.
Su Mo was being cautious as well. He could not contend with anyone on this mountain.
He could not even detect the training levels of the two guards below. He estimated that they should be somewhere around the Supreme Realm, with skills comparable to the branch Elders.
Awhile later, they arrived at a location above the Suspended Holy Mountain, standing before a golden palace.
‘The whole structure of the palace seemed to have been built with gold. It was not large, occupying a mere hundred feet and standing at less than ten feet in height, yet it exuded contempt towards the world below.
It was as though the golden palace was a supreme ruler reigning above all sentient beings.
Actually, the atmosphere did not read that way, but the trio could truly feel it.
“Greetings to you, sir, from my three students and I!” Reverend Jin Wu said solemnly as he got down on his knees and kowtowed the golden palace out of respect.
Su Mo, Ling Chang, and Lin Ya exchanged glances before they knelt too.
Their teacher was showing respect so, as apprentices, they had to do the same and bow down to their teacher’s master, whom they had yet to meet.
“Enter!”
Amoment later, an elderly voice sounded from the within the palace.
The voice contained endless vicissitudes, as though it contained everything in the world, sounding both ethereal and deep.
The palace gate opened soundlessly.
“Thank you, teacher!” Reverend Jin Wu got up, hinted at the trio to follow, and then strode into the palace.
At the entrance was an empty hallway.
Reverend was quite familiar with this place. He led the trio through the hall into the depths of the palace.
Deep inside the palace were many roomes made of golden metal. Reverend Jin Wu stopped in front of the third room.
Rumble!!
There was a dull rumbling sound as the metal door slowly opened. Reverend Jin Wu and his disciples looked inside.
It was an ordinary room, with a radius of six feet. There was nothing in it. A single old man sat with his legs crossed on the floor.
The old man, who looked extremely old, was dressed in a brown robe. His long white hair had fallen to the ground, piling up to three feet in height.
‘The old man had a squarish face, his skin rather dull, but his eyes were crystal clear, perhaps even brighter than the pupils of a ten-year-old boy.
He was very old indeed, much older than Reverend Jin Wu.
Reverend Jin Wu could have been considered old too, for his hair had gotten grayish-white. But, compared to the elder in the room, Reverend Jin Wu seemed like a young man.
“Salutations, teacher,” Reverend Jin Wu bowed as he entered the room and sincerely knelt before the old man. This was a show of absolute respect, not humility.
The three disciples looked on and knelt behind Reverend Jin Wu as well.
They did not dare to take in deep breaths. This was Lord Fa Wu, a truly invincible senior, an ominous presence, and a Lord of the Kismet Realm.
They could not possibly imagine the power of the Kismet Realm.
‘They could barely peep into Reverend Jin Wu’s Realm, much less the scary existence of the Kismet Realm.
“Xian’er, how long had it been since your last visit?” A grin stretched across Lord Fa Wu’s wrinkly face. He had only had one disciple in his entire lifetime, and that was the man currently in front of him.
“Teacher, it’s been sixty thousand years!” Reverend Jin Wu replied respectfully. Xian’er was his nickname. In this world, only his teacher called him that.
‘The Palmy Branch was not far away from the headquarters, but he had not seen his teacher in about sixty thousand years.
‘That was mainly because he understood that his teacher had only had one goal in life. He could stay in seclusion for several thousand years, maybe even more than that. He would not bother his teacher for unimportant matters.
“Sixty thousand years indeed, but you haven’t improved much,” Lord Fa Wu muttered.
“Tm ashamed!” Reverend Jin Wu sighed. He did not argue, for he certainly had not had much improvement in sixty thousand years.
One could not enter the Kismet Realm simply by training. His state of mind was not adequate.
In fact, it was considered a form of discipleship for all the disciples of the headquarters upon reaching the Great Completion Supreme Realm to be transferred to serve in the other branches.
Once their state of mind achieved a certain stage, they would be able to enter the Kismet Realm.
Otherwise, they could train in seclusion until the day they died and would still be unable to get there.
“are these three your disciples?” Lord Fa Wu asked calmly as he surveyed Su Mo, Lin Ya, and Ling Chang.
Lord Fa Wu paused when his eyes fell on Su Mo. It was only for a brief moment, but Su Mo keenly spotted the tiny motion.
“Can he see through my Vastness Purple Qi?” Su Mo shivered slightly, His Vastness Purple Qi had fused with his blood and could not be hidden.
The Vastness Purple Qi was mysterious indeed. If it was not triggered, he himself could not detect it, let alone outsiders.
As for the Devouring Primordial Spirit and the other types, they too could not be detected when fused with the Vastness Purple Qi. If it were not for the mindful connection, he could not even have perceived that he had a Primordial Spirit too.
“Yes!” Reverend Jin Wu nodded. Pointing at the trio, he introduced them to Lord Fa Wu one by one, “This is my eldest, Lin Ya. My second, Xuan Qing. My third, Wu Shan.”
“Salutations, Master!” the three greeted Lord Fa Wu simultaneously and bowed deeply towards him.
The trio had become less nervous. So far, the master seemed nice, with no feeling of coercion.
“Not bad!” Lord Fa Wu nodded without further remark.
“Teacher, the Headquarters Selection shall begin in a few days. I brought them here to meet you, hoping you could give them a little guidance, so that they stand a chance of getting into the headquarters,” said Reverend Jin Wu.
“alright, I’ll spend one day with them. Whether they can get in or not is up to them!” Lord Fa Wu nodded, not refusing.
He had countless years of seclusion ahead. It would not hurt to guide the young every once in a while, but whether they could comprehend him would depend on their own capabilities..
