In the recesses of his room, Haotian sat with both his arms resting on his knees. His face was devoid of any visible emotion, his mind trapped in contemplation. Occasionally, he’d look at the door of his room with a conflicted gaze. At other times, he’d burry his face in his palm.

In here, he was isolated from the outside world. He had been commanded, suggested really, to cultivate in preparation for receiving guests for Hongjun’s upcoming seminar on the cultivation. But in reality, his entire being was stuck with too many thoughts to ever begin practising.

He didn’t understand, could not understand. Hongjun’s words confused him yet at the same time it didn’t.

His master’s love for him was fully genuine. But surely that could not be so because of his origin. Surely Hongjun would’ve seen through it and kept him around for some scheme as depictions in his past memories were prone to read. If not long ago then he would’ve surely known when he transcended to the Dao realm.

At that realm, nothing could be hidden from such an exalted being.

Yet nothing of the sort occurred. Haotian had seen it in Hongjun’s eyes. The genuine affection combined with the lack of falsehood in his words.

Hongjun didn’t suspect a thing.

Clutching his chest, the one on the other end had not reached back at all. Haotian could not be certain of his condition, nor did he really want to know. It should’ve been an impossibility in the first place.

“Is it worth it though? Even if he lives?”

Twisting his head, he sent a solemn gaze towards the 12 Petals White Lotus of Purification resting against the wall of his room. It’s withered form discarded like common trash in the midst of his belongings. Haotian found himself chuckling aloud.

The weight of the war never left him. After the fright to his being subsided, everything that had happened towards the end of the final battle returned once again.

“What even was the point of…of…of anything?”

Haotian reached out to cradle the lotus in his bosom. It’s gaunt petals lay dry beneath his gaze. But as if sensing its master, the flower begun absorbing little pierces of qi he gave off. It was recovering passively from a renewed connection between them.

A lone tear began streaking down Haotian’s eye which he blinked away fast. Yet he could not stop more from flowing.

“In the end I failed. I went in naively thinking I could mitigate the damage. I walked out accomplishing nothing.

“Hey,” he said to the lotus. “What should I even do? The master who raised me allowed such tragedy to occur, the heaven I fought for swallowed countless for its growth, the origin from which I came cared nothing for wanton destruction.”

Like this, Haotian waited doing nothing for three thousand years.

Not until the date of the seminar, when a light message from Hongjun entered his room notifying him, did he walk out. That whole time, Hongjun did not check up on Haotian, trusting in his disciple’s work ethic and determination to seek the Dao.

…

When the time came, countless streams of light blitzed into the void of a still chaotic Primitive World. Each stream representing a mighty figure, Chaos Immortals or exceptionally talented Great Unity Golden Immortals who sought audience with the strongest being in existence.

All the big names who’d survived the final battle in both the Netherworld and the succeeding battle with Luohu had made their presence known during this race. Three thousand individuals were stated to participate in this seminar, but there were far more than a mere three thousand.

Of course, this inevitably led to the assumption that only the quickest may enter. Those desiring for knew heights traveled with all their might to ensure their spot before Zixiao Palace.

The third generation of innate gods, Minghe, Zhen Yuanzi, Hongyun, Kun Peng, Lei Zhu, Dong Wanggong etc were among the foremost due to their superior cultivation. These people had been great heroes in the Anti-Devil war and thus were moulded by said war’s infernos into titans of this new unnamed era.

The demon higher ups were no slouches either. It was a shock to the rest of the world when instead of breaking apart as the myriad clans were expected to do, the demon race stuck together under what is essentially the same leadership. Only now, Eastern Emperor Taiyi had made his power grab known.

Those races unaffiliated with the Heavenly Demon court felt nervous at this revelation. Even if it was someone with a reputation of subservience like Taiyi at the helm, the faction was bound to make waves now that the dragons and phoenixes were shattered.

Speaking of them, no traces of dragons nor phoenixes could be seen among those traveling towards Zixiao Palace. While avian cultivators and sea folk were aplenty, the former masters of the cosmos did not bother leaving their dens.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

In a corner of the Primitive World, where a great body of water gathered into a single liquid planetoid. This was the new ancestral home of the dragons where the elders along with Yinglong watched with contained anger. But none did anything but observe.

In the broken down Great Wilderness, Zulong’s sons watched together from their old home at Kailong Chen passively. The phoenixes in hiding did the same, only they had no headquarters and were scattered to the wind. Their numbers were far lesser in the first place, not even being a proper race like the dragons had been.

In the Netherworld, a single great wheel payed no attention to to the ruckus. Neither did the red skinned man currently working to rebuild his home. Minghe may’ve left chasing power, but Emperor Fengdu had a city to build.

And by the dozens, cultivators from across a broken cosmos identified and landed on the gardens outside the main gate of Zixiao Palace. It spoke volumes of this treasure’s durability that so many Chaos Immortals slamming down upon it did not cause it’s immediate collapse.

“We’re here?” The three pure ones were at the forefront those choosing to partake in this event. For no other reason than because the geographical location of the eastern remnants of the Great Wilderness was closer to spatial tunnel leading to Zixiao Palace.

Yuanshi did not walk with haste and neither did Tongtian nor Taishang. The three walked in tense silence ignoring the others gradually arriving. Knowing their reputation by this point, not many wanted to get in their way.

Yuanshi glanced around the exterior of the palace and nodded in approval. It was a well constructed treasure. Just looking at it gave him some ideas on future projects.

“The main entrance is closed,” he said after pushing against the massive door. The immortal cultivators gradually arriving turned their heads when they heard his comment.

“Closed? Guess three thousand was meant most literally,” someone commented.

Hundreds upon thousands of light were all quickening their pace towards Hongjun’s abode. The other innate gods of the third generation arrived in a timely fashion. Noble heads of races or powerful rogue cultivators also made their presence known.

Seeing as the three thousand limit set by his master would be filled soon, Haotian pushed open the front entrance from within. He and Yaochi were already waiting for hours before the first cultivator touched down outside.

Moving before Yaochi, Haotian greeted those who already stood outside.

“One thousand seven hundred and ninety eight so far,” he said. “Okay then, I’m sure you already know who I am. The agreed upon lecture will take place inside. Please come in orderly.”

Yuanshi shared a look with Taishang. The latter gestured for him to move first. Yuanshi sighed and led the way for everyone else.

“It’s nice to finally properly meet our junior brother,” Taishang said immediately upon reaching Haotian.

“Junior?” Yaochi called out as if offended on Haotian’s behalf. Neither Tongtian nor Yuanshi showed surprise, but others were startled.

The Three Pure Ones were also disciples of Hongjun? Since when?

“This is news to me,” Haotian said without backing down from Taishang’s stare. “I only ever remember master taking us two in. And I’m also sure I am older then you three.”

“We were accepted before we were fully born. This was a age before master discovered your jade.” Taishang saluted Haotian while moving away to join his siblings. Haotian did not stop him nor say anything else, merely continuing to guard the entrance.

“Haotian.” “Good to see you well.” “It seems fate brought us to meet again.”

Various cultivators from the war greeted Haotian as they walked by. Most of them originated from brief meetings when Haotian had darted across the Great Wilderness fighting wherever he could.

Yaochi was amazed so many people already knew her senior brother. She had only vaguely been aware of his activities.

“Brother Haotian, how are you,” Dong Wanggong and Xi Wangmu reacted warmly when they saw the white robed lad again. They were a bit late, having taken a leisurely pace to enjoy the scenery of the void that was now populated by countless little realms.

“I’m well. Thank you both for asking,” Haotian greeted them back warmly unlike before. “It’s good to see…it’s…it’s been a trying time.”

The couple sensed something was wrong with their comrade and proceeded to share and odd look with each other. “I understand, it seemed everything we fought for had gone to waste. I stored whoever I could grab away to safety. But It wasn’t many,” Dong Wanggong said solemnly.

“When you were taken away by Hongjun, my beloved and I feared the worst. But to find out you were the disciple of the spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao as well as Dao Ancestor, that was truly shocking,” Xi Wangmu added.

Brining up the war again soured Haotian’s mood. It seemed the couple noticed quick as they decided to change topics.

“Thank you both anyway. Despite everything, it…”

“Ah finally made it.” The boisterous Lei Zhu made thunderous footsteps. Electricity coursed through his body even as he joined the little reunion. “Do my eyes deceive me? Haotian it is good to see you’re doing well. Unlike me.”

“That would hasn’t recovered?”

“I’m independent and broke, barely have the resources to recover from this. Where’s Yan Luo? Where is that red skinned fucker?”

“The Netherworld,” Dong Wanggong answered. “I’d wager he has no interest in anything outside. That or the Reincarnation Disc is preventing him.”

“That oversized wheel seems to have grown quite the ego huh? Commanding Yan Luo of all people.” Lei Zhu huffed about while towering above everyone present. Despite this, Haotian seemed to relax gradually.

“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Haotian chastized. “I don’t know the exact situation there and I don’t think any of you do either. Assumptions are a dangerous thing in this world.”

‘I didn’t know senior brother has so many friends.’ Yaochi could only stare at them from the side without any space to intervene. But she decided it was good as Haotian started to brighten up finally.

Eventually, more people passed by. More space was filled up within the great hall of Zixiao Palace but more people still wanted to get in.

A golden party arrived in a grand chariot pulled by magnificent divine beasts. The Ten Demonic Grand Sages all escorted their new emperor out. Of all those present, they pulled off the most spectacular entrance.

Taiyi’s party had arrived like they were the main event. It was enough to make many people secretly dissatisfied.

“Pretentious,” Yaochi scoffed. “Who’re they to show off at Zixiao of all places.”

“Quiet junior sister. Taiyi…Eastern Emperor Taiyi is among those who contributed most in the fighting. He deserves respect and curtesy as the leader of the largest nation current as well.”

“Huh?” Yaochi was confused by Haotian’s chastizing. With Hongjun as their master, what even was a demon race emperor?

“I hope we aren’t late,” Prime Minister Baize greeted at the head of the party. Taiyi merely saluted at Haotian from further back.

He did not make things difficult for them and allowed them to pass. Taiyi was not in a good condition at all. If Haotian was in charge of him, he would not allow him to move anywhere. It spoke volumes of the golden crow’s resilience that he was still walking despite the injuries he’d sustained.

“Is that a child?” Narrowing his eyes at Xihe’s bosom, there was a feathered infant being carried into Zixiao palace. There wasn’t much spirituality there despite clearly being Xihe’s son. For all intents and purposes it was a normal infant.

“Hey does that count as two people or one?” Lei Zhu asked Haotian. “Cause I doubt that infant can even understand his surroundings. Wouldn’t it be a wasted slot?”

“I’ve no idea.”

Much further in, inside the hallway where everyone had made their seats. Changxi glanced back at the sight of her sister and niece entering. The place was already cluttered with nearly three thousand people already present. But beside her was a little room. Hence she gestured towards Xihe.

To her disappointment, Xihe ignored her. She remained with the other demons and Taiyi. All of them made their way through the crowd to another place closer to the front.

The united front of so may Chaos Immortals was enough to scare many independent participants to make room for them. Even some old monsters leading their own races performed the same act.

Distantly, a lone figure watched this coldness between sisters from the front steps of the Lunar Palace. Sighing in disappointment, the ruler of the Lunar Star turned back around to enter her palace once more. The events of Hongjun’s lecture did not interest her.

Back at the Zixiao Palace, three thousand attendees have made their way to a seated position. Upon the very front of the great hall, right beneath the stage where Hongjun would appear lay six prayer mats positioned in a concave curve.

When Haotian counted exactly three thousand, he and Yaochi shut the door. He couldn’t help but feel curious at how this lecture would play out. What was Hongjun going to say? Who will even be the six saints?

The six prayer mats had no seaters as a barrier had been erected around all six of them. Not the Three Pure Ones, not Nuwa, not Taiyi, Kun Peng, Huoyun, or anyone myths spoke of had taken a seat.

As Hongjun manifested himself upon the stage in a form larger than all others, the lecture would finally begin.