LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 209: The Strong Rule
Chapter 209: The Strong Rule
After almost an hour of walking, they still hadn’t reached the top of the stone stairs.
Caixia, Yu Qingning, Miao Yueyue, and the other women who hadn’t even reached the Skin Refining Stage were inevitably feeling a bit exhausted, with beads of sweat forming on their foreheads.
Xu Lian had no choice but to release his energy to slightly lift them up, reducing their physical burden and making their journey easier. Building affection often started with these small details…
Sensing the strength of his energy, Gu Xiangzhen was surprised. “Great Grandmaster, 6th Stage?”
The disciples and their families coming and going on the stone stairs were also astonished. A Great Grandmaster at the 6th Stage wasn’t particularly remarkable, but paired with his age of around 17 or 18, it was truly impressive. He was undoubtedly one of the top geniuses of the younger generation.
The most deadly form of bragging is the unintentional kind. Xu Lian was also helpless. He had only used his energy to help the women, never expecting to inadvertently reveal his cultivation level.
Gu Xiangzhen said, “No wonder she values you so much.”
“She”? The goddess? Xu Lian keenly noticed her almost slipping up. It was most likely the Goddess of Nine Heavens.
Xu Lian casually grabbed a passing disciple. “Brother, do you know about the Goddess of Nine Heavens?”
Gu Xiangzhen was speechless. He was really eager to find out her identity, seizing every opportunity to ask.
The disciple was stunned for a moment, then his face filled with reverence. “Of course I know. Who in the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands doesn’t know about the Goddess of the Nine Heavens? Even the entire world knows about her.”
Xu Lian said, “The Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands are known far and wide. I came here to study under a master after hearing about its fame. I’ve just heard someone mention the Goddess of the Nine Heavens, but I’m not very familiar with her. Could you tell me more?”
The disciple explained, “In the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands, each sacred land selects one Holy Son and one Holy Maiden from the strongest geniuses of the younger generation. Then the Holy Sons and Holy Maidens from the nine holy lands will compete against each other.”
Xu Lian understood. “The ultimate winner will become the Son of the Nine Heavens and the Goddess of the Nine Heavens.”
The disciple shook his head. “It’s not that simple. The ultimate winners are only the Holy Son and the Holy Maiden. To be crowned the Son of the Nine Heavens and Goddess of Nine Heavens, one must defeat all the previous generations of Son of Nine Heavens and Goddess of Nine Heavens.”
Damn it… Xu Lian’s eyes widened. The term “previous generations” was a big deal. How could one defeat Son of Nine Heavens and Goddess of Nine Heavens who had cultivated for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years?
It was easy to imagine how difficult it would be to defeat all the previous generations of Holy Sons and Holy Maidens.
Those who could become Nine Heavens Holy Sons and Holy Maidens were undoubtedly the best of the best, the top geniuses of their generation. And they had cultivated for over ten thousand years… How could anyone hope to compete with them?
Xu Lian asked, “Since there’s already a Goddess of the Nine Heavens, is there still a place for the Son of the Nine Heavens?”
The disciple chuckled awkwardly and gave Xu Lian a strange look. Was he fantasizing about becoming the Son of Nine Heavens? Of course, many young geniuses who came to study here had such unrealistic dreams.
But once they actually entered the holy land and saw the countless geniuses swarming around like fish in a river, they would realize that they were nothing special…
“There is no Son of Nine Heavens right now.”
The disciple didn’t want to crush Xu Lian’s dreams. He patted Xu Lian’s shoulder and said some encouraging words like “I believe in you” and “work hard” before leaving.
What a nice guy… Xu Lian looked at his shoulder, gradually figuring out a bit about the laws of the Divine Kingdom. If he initiated contact with someone, the laws wouldn’t activate. Similarly, if someone touched him without exceeding his body’s tolerance, the laws wouldn’t trigger either.
“When the Law of Time was unleashed, many powerful beings couldn’t even resist, and they withered away like grasshoppers in the autumn, rapidly aging, drying up, and decaying… If my cultivation level was high enough and I fully mastered the laws of the Divine Kingdom, what would it be like?”
Xu Lian’s heart soared with excitement. No wonder so many powerful beings coveted the laws of the Divine Kingdom. This was the way to heaven.
Finally, they reached the top of the stone stairs where an ancient mirror stood.
Gu Xiangzhen said, “This is the Mirror of Reflection. Almost every major power has such a treasure in its core. If someone harbors ill intentions towards the sacred land, the mirror will detect it and they won’t be allowed in.”
Xu Lian instinctively looked at Jiang Yunyan. Her family didn’t have one.
Jiang Yunyan rolled her eyes at him. “It’s buried in the dam. You just can’t see it.”
Xu Lian easily led everyone past the mirror and entered the small world.
Although it was called a “small world,” it was only small in comparison to the outside world. How could something called “world” be small?
It was like the fry of a Kun Peng – even if it’s a fry, it’s still a Kun, right? It couldn’t be small.
The scene before them was breathtaking: colorful clouds scattered light, the sun and moon seemed to waver, the cries of cranes and the calls of golden pheasants filled the air, exotic flowers and auspicious grasses emitted fragrance, and clear springs flowed through mountain streams. It was like paradise on earth.
Everyone felt the rich spiritual energy, and the energy in their bodies became more active. Of course, those without energy were a different matter…
Besides the dense spiritual energy, the structure of this small world was also ingeniously designed, with different layers.
At the bottom was a vast, endless plain dotted with small villages, crisscrossed with paths like a utopia, where the families of the disciples lived.
Above that were sheer cliffs with countless honeycombed cave dwellings where disciples buzzed around like worker ants.
Further up, on the mountainside, were various academies and training grounds.
At the top were large, majestic halls, probably used for ceremonies.
Even higher, small world trees rooted in the void, each leaf containing an exquisite residence, presumably for those of high status.
Above the clouds, immortal palaces floated, shrouded in mist, hard to see clearly.
Beyond the clouds, shadowy figures seemed to be moving in the chaotic, indistinct sky.
Seeing Gu Xiangzhen stop, Xu Lian asked, “What’s wrong?”
Gu Xiangzhen said, “First, choose a place to live and settle your family. Then I’ll take you to the entrance assessment and registration.”
Choose a place to live? Xu Lian was confused. Shouldn’t the Sacred Land assign a residence? Why was he supposed to choose?
Gu Xiangzhen smiled, deliberately being cryptic. “Where do you want to live?”
Xu Lian thought for a moment.
He didn’t want to live in the villages – too ordinary.
The cave dwellings were too small – he had a slight phobia of crowded places.
He didn’t want to live in the clouds either – it was too cold and lonely up there.
He pointed to the exquisite residences on the World Trees. They seemed quite nice. “Can I live there?”
Gu Xiangzhen nodded. “Sure. Go ahead and take one of those residences on the World Trees.”
“…” Xu Lian wondered if he had misheard. This was chaos.
Seeing her master being teased, Huo Xin’er gave Gu Xiangzhen a slightly displeased look and explained to Xu Lian, “Master, I’ve heard that in the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land, no one has a fixed residence. If you want to live somewhere, you challenge the current resident. The winner gets the place, and the loser moves out. This is to encourage disciples to compete and strive to improve their strength.”
Xu Lian finally understood. “Who lives in those residences on the World Trees?”
He had to know. If they were occupied by elders, then challenging them would be asking for trouble.
Gu Xiangzhen said, “They are occupied by top genius disciples, true disciples, and direct disciples.”
Xu Lian hesitated. He still felt a little uncomfortable with the idea of confiscating someone else’s residence. It didn’t align with his usual principles. “Can’t I just find a random place to live?”
Gu Xiangzhen shook her head. “There is no such thing as a random place. If you don’t confiscate someone’s residence, you and your family will have no place to live. This is the first rule of the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land: the strong rule.
The philosophy of the Holy Land in training disciples is to avoid raising bookish, naive fools. We want our disciples to deeply understand the harsh realities of the outside world.”
Since this was the case, Xu Lian had no choice. He let go of Pei Zhaoxi’s hand and strode toward the World Trees at the summit, leaving afterimages behind with each step as he moved at incredible speed.
Soon, he reached the World Trees.
He was like a house buyer, inspecting each apartment one by one. Finally, he found one that suited him.
But he hesitated again. The house was occupied by a family of four-a young couple, a teenage girl, and a little boy. They were eating lunch in the courtyard, chatting and laughing, a picture of domestic harmony. How could he bear to drive them out…
But if he didn’t do this, he and his family would have no place to live.
In this world, there’s no perfect solution. The first rule of the Heavenly Mystic Sacred Land, “The Strong Rule,” had truly taught him a lesson.