Hearing the unfamiliar name, Headmistress Xi and Instructor Sheng both raised an eyebrow. Qing Zhao’s face turned ugly as said, “This is an incredible fortune for everyone in the Realm but a disaster for the Ancient Clans.” Hearing this, Instructor Sheng’s eyes turned cold as he asked, “What exactly is the “Heaven Sealing Dragon Pendant”?”
Qing Zhao said with a cold face, “The qualification given by the Realm’s Will to fight for the position of Realms Lord.” Hearing this, the two people’s pupils dilated as they sucked in a deep, sharp breath. Although Instructor Sheng wasn’t as old as Ancestor Jing or Qing Zhao, he was still old enough to have taken part in the last Realm War as a Heavenly Sovereign. His hatred for the Ancient clans stemmed from that very same war. When the Realm War was about to be concluded, the Ancient Clans colluded with the Invaders to take down the Realms Lord of the time.
As the Realm Lord fell, the Four Primordial Beasts that had sworn their allegiance to him had been sealed. The Primordial Clans established by the four were rooted up and slaughtered. Not only that but they had also managed to seal the Realm’s Will somewhere. This matter had caused quite an outrage in the entire Realm with the 9 Ancient Clans now being treated as the plague.
Although the Ancient Clans were strong, they were only strong enough to stand toe to toe with the 5 Ancient Academies. The roots of the Academies were far deeper than the Ancient Clans, tracing back to Primordial Times. The people that had graduated from the school, the Alumni, were still closely tied to the school.
The Nine Ancient Clans had over thirty Heavenly Sovereigns but the Five Ancient Academies had over the double of that number of Heavenly Sovereigns if they counted the Alumni of the Academies. However, Alumni were still Alumni, people that had graduated and weren’t enrolled any more. They were affiliated but they weren’t a part of the Academies Forces.
Suddenly, Qing Zhao’s face turned sharp as an extremely overbearing and powerful Aura shot out from the Heavenly Hall of the Academy. There, a person resembling Qing Zhao shot out and to high in the sky over the Academy and shouted, “You Ancient Meng Clan shit heads truly have balls. Since when is my Hidden Dragon Academy a place where you can snoop around as you please?!”
As the furious shout echoed across the skies, another light flashed from the Heavenly Hall and stood at the side of Founder Xi. When the light dissipated and Instructor Sheng saw the person, his gaze grew complicated. The person was Jing Fang. Seeing Instructor Sheng’s expression, Qing Zhao said, “You can join us.” Instructor Sheng hesitated for a moment before a powerful aura shot out from him and he joined the two figures in the sky.
While all of this was happening outside, Curo was in a weird mysterious space. The space was a bright space, filled with a hazy, grey mist. As he fumbled around this mist, he came across a figure, a figure with astonishing aura sat before him. When Curo first saw the man, he was stunned. The natural aura the man gave off was both serene and like a tempest. Calm, yet filled with rage, Happy, yet incomparably sad.
As Curo was looking at the man, the man waved his had and Curo felt a tugging force, inching him closer and closer. When he followed the tugging, he realized there was a prayer mat in front of the man. He then sat down on the prayer mat and waited. After a short while passed, the man lightly opened his eyes that seemed to contain galaxies within them, “You are different from the rest.” Curo tilted his head and asked, “How so?” The man looked Curo in the eyes and said, “Usually, when people arrive here, they first run around screaming, then sit in front of me terrified to death.”
Curo shrugged his shoulders and said, “A lot has happened to me this past year. Honestly speaking Senior, I have gotten used to being tossed into one strange situation after another.” Hearing this, the man let out a chuckle and asked, “Mind telling me about it? I have been here for so long I have even forgotten how long it has been. It has been a long time since I met another being who to talk to.”
Hearing this, Curo let out a smile as he started talking about all the things that had happened to him. He knew what loneliness felt like, having no one to talk to, having no one to be around. After he had narrated everything that had happened, he paused for a bit.
The man had been engrossed in his story, feeling rage when he told him his Father’s Clan had crippled him due to greed and about his life as a cripple. He had felt joy when Curo placed first on the Examinations. He had felt amused by all the headaches Curo had managed to cause on his first day. Curo then asked, “And might Senior be?”
The man answered, “My name is Long Heng. I was born to a small cultivation Clan, where every resource counted. When I was fifteen, while gathering herbs to increase my cultivation, I came across a peculiar pendant. The pendant recorded an Art that had a lot to do with Formations. By training in this Art, I slowly grew in power. First I became the Number One in my generation in our City, then I grew to be the strongest person in my World. During that time, I made many friends, several enemies, found love, lost it.” Saying the last part, the man’s voice was filled with a tinge of sadness.
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Curo calmly listened and waited, he didn’t ask questions, neither did he intervene in the man’s story. He then continued, “Before I knew it, I had reached the peak of cultivation, the Heavenly Sovereign Stage. At that time, I found out the true purpose of the pendant. It was the key to entering the Realm’s Will Space and having it, meant that you had the qualifications to become the Realms Lord.” Hearing this, Curo was astonished.
The man then sighed, “However, where there is power, there is greed. Some people didn’t like the fact that I had grown so strong so quickly and annihilated my entire Clan when I went to bind the Realm’s Will.” The man then looked up in melancholy and said, “When I exited the Realm’s Will Space, several hundred years had already passed. I only found the ruins of my home. Then I set out to destroy every person involved with the annihilation of my Clan.”
The man’s eyes then began filling with hatred as he continued, “By becoming the Realms Lord, I gained the ability to peer into the past and future. When I used this ability I was able to figure out who were involved. Then by using the power of a Realms Lord, I annihilated all of their bloodlines.” Hearing this, Curo shuddered. As always, the greed and jealousy of people are present everywhere, at any time, no matter ones cultivation.
The man then sighed, “However, I underestimated the people behind the destruction of my Clan. Once the Realm War started, they teamed up with the Invaders to plot against me and my allies. In the end, I was killed, with only a Soul Fragment being saved by the Realm’s Will. My four Brothers, who I had grown up with and fought every bloody battle with, were sealed.” When Curo heard this, he shuddered for a moment before he asked, “Ancestor Jing?”
The man nodded his head and said, “Brother Jing was my first sworn Brother, with who I have been through a sea of fire and over a mountain of knives.” The man then looked at the sky mysteriously and said, “Karma and fate. These two things are intangible but ever present. The karma had been set in motion way, way before I was born. Only, it is up to you whether you can end this karma or be another stone on the road for it like me.”
Hearing this, Curo’s eyes turned serious as he said, “What does Senior mean?” The man then said solemnly, “This was something that I found out before I was killed; The Nine Ancient Clans are not native to our Realm but from outside.”
Hearing this, Curo’s eyes widened. Before he could say anything the man continued, “More precisely, they are Branches of the Nine Primordial Clans. Those Clans each control several Realms and amongst the myriad of Realms are known as one of the Top Three Powers.” Curo’s heart grew cold. This information, he wondered how many of the people knew about it.
The man then said, “Before I became a Realm Lord and was only a Peak Heavenly Sovereign, I travelled from Realm to Realm. It was then that I learned about the Three Monarchs.” Curo asked with suspicion, “The Three Monarchs?” The man nodded his head and said, “The Three Monarchs are the 9 Primordial Clan Alliance, The Heavenly Way Alliance and the Wanderers.” Curo took in a deep breath as he thought to himself, “The world outside truly is bigger than the eye can see.”
The man then said, “The 9 Primordial Clan Alliance is as it is, the Alliance between the 9 Primordial Clans. The Heavenly Way Alliance is an alliance made up from various Realm Lords to stand against the rampant growth and behaviour of the 9 Primordial Clans.” Curo perked his ears as he listened but frowned when the man stopped there.
He then asked, “But, who are the Wanderers?” The man looked up and said, “They are true war gods. They are all people that have managed to surpass the limits of the Realm and break through the Heavenly Sovereign Stage without becoming Realms Lords.” Hearing this, Curo was stunned. “Didn’t he just say that the Heavenly Sovereign Stage was the peak of cultivation?” As Curo thought that to himself, the man let out a chuckle as he looked up with a murky expression and said, “One can fight agaisnt their fate but no one can fight the Heavens. So, instead of fighting, why not gently stroll along the path, Heavens created for you and see where it ends up.”
Hearing this sentence, Curo was stunned. He didn’t know where he had heard this sentence before but he had been extremely young when he had. He had thought that he had made this sentence up when he was young. Now to hear the previous Realm’s Lord say this sentence…. The man then turned his gaze towards Curo and said, “This is the one and only sentence to describe the Wanderers. They are a complete mystery in terms of cultivation, all that is know is that they are the Number One force without question. They alone can fight against the Two forces and force them to submission.”
The man then gave a wry smile and said, “When the fight happened countless years ago, there were only 12 Wanderers. With only 12 people, they dominated the two powers.” Curo felt his throat dry up as he asked, “Do you know anything about the sentence?”
The man looked at Curo with a complicated gaze as he said, “Only he rumour….. If one manages to comprehend the meaning behind this sentence. they will be able to break through the limits of a Realm and become a Wanderer.” Hearing this, Curo’s face also grew complicated. Curo then remained silent. The man’s eyes flashed as he said, “You are an anomaly my little friend.”
Hearing this, Curo tilted his head to the side in confusion. The man then let out a chuckle and said, “A Wanderer has planted a seed in you which would help you break through the Limits of a Realm. However, at the same time, you have been chosen by the Realm’s Will to succeed me in becoming a Realms Lord.”