The trio was too excited to rest though. Even Jin who had lived longer couldn't help but feel the heat. They were on a flying boat moving through space itself. It wasn't the kind of thing anyone could remain stoic when encountering it. It didn't matter who you were or what you were, the sight of the space dimension outside the windows would capture your sight regardless.
After a few moments, they seem to exit the dimension. They were in a vast plain. Then, they entered the space dimension once more. And it went on and on like this as the boat seemed to go pick up guests all over the world. And that's what was actually happening.
One of the stops of the boat was a desert. From their window, the trio could see a city quite far away. It was easy to spot due to two giant towers with statue of dragons so big they couldn't be missed. This was Sophia's home city, with the twin dragon towers. She turned back to Hae-Hyuk who said: "Every cultivator who has reached the 69th stage is invited to the party. Of course, Isla is no exception"
Sophia was very happy to hear that. She had learnt a lot and enjoyed her time with her Master but she did miss her Mom. She was already beaming at the future reunion they would have. Hae-Hyuk didn't dampen her spirit and went back to his tea.
And the boat moved on once more.
This went on for many hours until they reached a weird place. From their window, the trio could only see the same colorful tears of space all over yet the feeling of movement was no longer the same. At that moment, a waiter bowed and spoke: "We have arrived at The Peak, Grandmaster Hae-Hyuk. We will soon dock at the End Castle"
Hae-Hyuk nodded without answering. He remained focused on his tea. It was at this moment that the door to their room was kicked open and a beautiful woman entered. She looked just like Sophia but had a charm even stronger than hers. It was obviously her mother Isla.
As soon as she entered, she looked for her daughter and rushed to hug her baby girl. Sophia hugged her back happily. Isla didn't even care about the others at the moment and treated them like air as she sent questions after questions at her daughter. Sophia did her best to answer and questioned back from time to time. It was a mother-daughter reunion indeed.
Meanwhile, Jin and Min-Su looked at the two men at the entrance. They wore the robes of the twin dragon towers. Were they rivals? Sent by Isla? Was she a participant too?
Hae-Hyuk clapped his hands once and everyone turned to him. He warmly welcomed Isla and offered her a seat. She took one while bringing her daughter to seat next to her. After a moment, she introduced the two men she brought. They were her champions, Manuel and Kilian Klestil. Both were middle-aged men who gave up on pursuing cultivation further. She took them under her wings as her champions in exchange for benefits for their descendants. Needless to say, their sons and daughters had already reached greater heights than they did in cultivation standards.
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
They were going to participate under Isla, with the goal to help Jin and Min-Su. Or so she said.
Min-Su was very straight-forward and happily welcomed the two middle-aged men. He was glad to have additional helpers. Jin was more skeptical about it and decided to keep his guard up.
Regardless, the arrival of Isla brought liveliness to the place.
Soon, the boat rocked once as it docked and a waiter appeared to lead the group outside. They followed him with Isla joining arms with her daughter. They were both still gossiping. The other remained more solemn. Jin kept checking the many paintings on the walls as they walked through the hallways.
All paintings depicted handsome men and women and the achievements listed under those were true eye-openers. They were nothing like what Jin expected. There was one who had 'raised an entire country' and another who had 'turned a desert into a lush forest'... But more than anything, they depicted heroes of their times. Those who reached the peak, got recognized for it and were lauded for their success.
He was jealous.
After some walking, they exited the boat from a side-door. The view was beyond anything they had seen until now. The bridge they were on led down to the ground. But it wasn't real ground. It was artificial. It seemed to be a floating disk of sorts, just like the one the twenty-two suns sect used to move from inside to outside their sect. The difference being that this one was bigger. A lot bigger. It was as big as the entire outer sect in size at least at a glance.
And on top of it was a single building. A gigantic castle without walls or towers guarding it. It was made from glittering blue stones with many glowing white runes all over it. Next to the castle was a statue as big as the castle itself depicting a woman. The statue itself seemed to give out a faint aura that commanded respect.
Behind the castle, statue and even the disk, one could see a towering mountain. The mountain was very impressive in that there seemed to be all kinds of ecosystems upon it. On one side, there seemed to be a desert, on another, a tundra... It felt as if the entire elements were in a chaotic mess over there. And that only gave it a more grandiose and imposing presence.
As they arrived, Hae-Hyuk introduced the place to the group: "This is the End Castle and behind it is The Final Peak"
If this wasn't enough of a sight, the fact that everything surrounding the castle and mountain was a void was more than enough of an addition. But it wasn't all there was to it as this void was surrounded by a wall of chaotic spatial distorted elements. The ever-changing colors brought light to this secluded place and made it a fairy tale like location.
Jin had seen his fair share of wonders until now but nothing could actually compare to this.