Realms In The Firmament

Master Guan walked on the road in the Monarch’s Hall with a heavy mind. People around the road were calling him with respect. On the practice ground, people were training in concentration. Many people were cultivating in their own rooms quietly, sitting in meditation…

They were trying to break their limits in the path to a great cultivator…

Everybody, including the guards at the gate, was in high spirits. The guards stood straight, spiritual energy flowing over their heads. It seemed they didn’t waste any second to try to improve.

The competition system in the Monarch’s Hall was pushing everyone up.

Whoever had the capability could seize the position he liked in the Monarch’s Hall.

Everybody got the chance, and they all knew it.

It stimulated them all to work harder and harder!

Who won a higher position would surely feel proud and respected, but those who got beaten down to a lower position only felt embarrassed! Whoever they were, they must train hard. Everybody wanted to be stronger, to go further on the path to great cultivation.

“With this impulse, in a few years, the Monarch’s Hall will embrace a great future…” Master Guan made a sigh.

“I have seen the rise and fall of many forces in my life, but this is the most energetic and had the most potential of the forces that I have seen… The atmosphere in this place is much better than any clans.

“Ye Xiao is weak, but in some cases, it is an advantage for him. He will grow with his followers. Those who are loyal to him will always stay with him and help him improve… As time passes, he will have the most trustworthy group of men!”

Master Guan sighed and said, “Ye Xiao has seen so far. He has a profound mind. He is confident and capable… There is no doubt that he will achieve greatness someday! But suddenly… He is not our man… He is not…”

Master Guan was frustrated.

…

In the reception room of a house somewhere.

A young lord in white clothes was smiling. He was sitting on a chair, elegantly holding a cup of tea.

His clothes were all white, and his face was pretty. He was tall, with long hair, long arms, and a slim waist. He just sat there with a cup of tea in his hands, and it already showed his elegant manner.

“Master, it seems they have noticed something…” An old man was sitting in the room peacefully, talking to the young man. He was smiling too. “For one full month, they have been through eight battles. Now they finally notice something wrong. What a bunch of fools.” The white-clothes young master elegantly smiled and said, “It is so interesting. It is good to have fun like this. This is something we can never experience again, isn’t it?”

The old man smiled blandly and said, “Well, if you want to play, young master, we will play. I hope you enjoy it. After all, everything is under control. It won’t hurt to let it go longer.”

“That’s right. We can just have fun before it gets serious.”

The young master blandly said, “Old Qin, do you think we can… You know… The entire Monarch’s Hall…”

The old man—Qin—seemed to feel difficult. After a while, he said, “I think… It is not going to be easy.”

The young man blandly smiled and confidently said, “Itinerant cultivators who have survived the cruel martial world always cherish their own lives the most. Those who can’t make the right choice must be morons. It is simple to choose life over death, isn’t it?”

“I think most of them will cave, eventually.” The young man kept talking with a bland smile. He was so elegant, but in his eyes, there was indifference.

‘Those guys? They are rubbish. They should thank God for my kindness to let them join my men.’

The old man, Qin, looked amiable, but he was thinking differently. ‘To choose life over death? To be smart? The most important thing for a cultivator in the martial world is an honorable heart! The things you think that makes them morons is exactly the most valuable thing for these people… If there is no loyalty and honor in the martial world, it will be no different from the court of a bunch of filthy officials! Those who give up honor to join you in fear must be useless. That young master, Ye Xiao, is a generous man. He is just like the man of a great clan as much as you. In fact, he seems to be better…’

It was late at night…

Ye Xiao slowly walked out the Hall of Life and Death.

Bu Xiangfeng was walking over to him.

He saw Ye Xiao’s face and knew something went wrong. He looked at Ye Xiao but didn’t say a word. He just stayed on Ye Xiao’s side silently.

Ye Xiao took a few steps ahead and then suddenly thought of something. He said, “Old Bu, where is your Farewell Sword? Give it to me. I think it would be better to fix it as soon as I can. Perhaps I can finish it today.”

Bu Xiangfeng laughed and said, “There is no need to hurry. We have a deal. Remember? You won’t fix my sword before I swear to be loyal to you. I don’t feel like making that sacrifice yet.”

Ye Xiao smiled and solemnly said, “I am not kidding. I want to fix your sword. It has nothing to do with the deal. I want to help, and that is all.”

Bu Xiangfeng smiled and said, “I know, but I want to wait. I don’t need to hurry.”

Ye Xiao nodded and said, “Well, fine. If you want to fix it, come to me. You have my word. I will fix it for you.”

Bu Xiangfeng seriously said, “I know!”

“How many people do we have now? How big is our territory? Do you have any idea, Old Bu?” After staying quiet for a while, Ye Xiao asked Bu Xiangfeng. His eyes were glittering in the night.

“The Department of Battle… The One Blade, Two Warriors, Seven Stars… I am not included… I guess we have two thousand and two hundred men.” Bu Xiangfeng knew well. “There are five Saint Origin Stage cultivators, me excluded. They are Old Meng and his wife, Gui Lingxiao, Ren Zhixi, and the new guy, Leng Biefu.”

“We have one hundred and twenty-seven Divinity Origin Stage cultivators who are over level eight, over six hundred below level eight and over level five. The others are all over level two and below level five. The weakest one of our men is at level two of the Divinity Origin Stage.”

Ye Xiao bitterly smiled and said, “You remember it well, better than me, at least.”

Bu Xiangfeng smiled and said, “That is our force. We must know everything about it.”

And then he said, “Oh, right. These people I mentioned do not include the men of the Dark Wind Mountain, who follow Meng Youjiang and his wife. With those people, we have nearly eight thousand men. However, Old Meng’s men are weaker. Many of them are below level two of the Dream Origin Stage.

“Our territory… At first, we have only three hundred mu of land, which we bought from the Brotherhood Alliance. After all those battles we won, our place is three times bigger than before. Other than the land under our feet, there are some places that follow our leadership. Some places aren’t decided yet. There are fights everywhere. It will take some time for us to seize them.”

“What do you think about the future of Monarch’s Hall?” Ye Xiao asked.

“If we have enough time and space to develop, we will be great.” Bu Xiangfeng sincerely said, “The Monarch’s Hall is a force that has the most potential that I have ever seen in my life. It is most likely going to become a great force in the world.”

“That’s true.” Ye Xiao sighed and said, “Time and space are what we need the most.”

Bu Xiangfeng said, “We will have both.”

Ye Xiao nodded and smiled.

He knew that there were not much time and space for him now.

The other clans hadn’t shown themselves yet. They must be waiting.

However, while the first four clans were still hiding, the other three actually sent their men to help. That didn’t make sense.

Something must have happened.

What was it?

Who did not want Ye Xiao to fail?

Ye Xiao sighed. One hundred thousand years had passed.

He happened to have the same family name as the Great Ye Clan people. However, there must be a true descendant of the Great Ye Clan!

The Ye Clan!

Ye Xiao was afraid that the true descendant of the Great Ye Clan had returned to the city.

The three clans joined the battle secretly, and that was a signal.

‘This is a dangerous time, but it brings me the opportunity to reveal the secret of who I am…’ Ye Xiao’s eyes flashed in a cold light. Suddenly, he felt a pain in his heart.

He grew up as an orphan in the Qing-Yun Realm in his first life. He had suffered a lot in the martial world. His fate forced him to live like a fallen leaf on the running water. Now, he found something that might bring him to the truth of who he was. It was something that echoed along with his soul and bloodline, the Bloodline Jade Plate.

What did it mean to him? What did the plate prove? Perhaps he knew.

He was sure about one thing though…

‘If the Great Ye Clan has sent their man over, it must be the best in the young generation. Whoever he is, he must be great. He has all kinds of support from the Great Ye Clan.’

‘He grew up in the protection of the entire clan with all kinds of resources…’

‘I…’

‘I had to fight the wild dogs for some sour food! I starved…’

‘Why?’

‘Why?’

Ye Xiao’s eyes glittered in a cold light. At this moment, even Bu Xiangfeng could feel the vibe of isolation over Ye Xiao.

The man was tough and obstinate!

For the next few days, Ye Xiao stayed in the Hall of Life and Death for practice as usual. When people come for help, he gave them treatment. The rule didn’t change. If nobody came for help, he would soak himself into cultivation. He was working a lot harder than before!

Perhaps the Boundless Space had sensed Ye Xiao’s desire. The purple qi from the space was denser and denser. Other than that, the Great Formation of Stars gathered more and more energy from the world for him.

Ye Xiao had improved a lot, but he was only at level five of the Divinity Origin Stage. The energy he needed for his improvement was like nothing in the Human Realm Upon Heavens. The Great Formation of Stars had gathered a lot more than he needed. No matter how much he needed, the Great Formation of Stars could offer him more!

The two great energy collectors worked together with the amazing cultivation method of East-rising Purple Qi. Ye Xiao was improving incredibly fast.

To reach the next level, Ye Xiao needed only a little energy, which meant nothing in the Human Realm Upon Heavens. However, for the low-level cultivators, it was still an enormous amount. Although he had all those magnificent supports, he still couldn’t reach the next level in just a few days.

He was limited in absorbing energy after all. There was also a limitation in cultivation.

He could feel that his dantian was growing stronger and stronger, but he still needed more time to get a breakthrough.

He was an expert in cultivation, so he knew it clearly. He was upset about it, and he wasn’t in a hurry. After all, he was already hundreds of times faster than ordinary people. If he felt upset, that would be unreasonable. What he needed was steady progress.

In those days, Ye Xiao had given everybody in the Monarch’s Hall proper rewards according to the rules. The men who got rewarded all chose to get some dan beads which could help them in cultivation. Half of the dan beads Ye Xiao had accumulated were given to them.

He didn’t care that much.

He was happy to know that everybody was so keen on improvement because it was a good thing for the Monarch’s Hall and for himself. He might have helped these guys, but they were helping him as well!

Besides, the Mountain of All Medicines had all kinds of materials. The Boundless Space kept producing dan beads every day. Erhuo had absorbed a lot of soul energy from the battles that the Monarch’s Hall had fought in. Erhuo had gotten some good time, and it asked to make more dan beads to digest the energy. A lot of dan beads were coming out fast.

The golden hawk had been sleeping for a long time. A dense spiritual qi was surrounding the hawk, and it seemed to be having a pretty good dream.

Ye Xiao was looking forward to the power of the golden hawk. He couldn’t wait to see the day when the hawk woke up.

…

One day.

Ye Xiao was concentrating on adjusting the purity rate of the spiritual qi in the body. Suddenly, he felt some energy waves in the dantian. That small person that came from the golden core had turned purple and gold. He opened the eyes, and his eyes seemed to contain the entire universe. It was profound and deep.

After that, some mysterious qi started to come out from the small person’s body.

All of a sudden, all the Jing and Mai in Ye Xiao’s body were wrapped by the mysterious qi, and Ye Xiao felt like the Jing and Mai were swelling.

In the end, he seemed to hear something explode while the swelling stopped.

– Boom! –

Ye Xiao felt dizzy.

He had a breakthrough!

He had reached an upper level, level six of the Divinity Origin Stage!

Ye Xiao slowly opened both of his eyes, from which two rays of sharp lights shot out. It flashed and then was gone.

When he broke the limit and reached a new level, a fierce power suddenly covered the entire Monarch’s Hall.

That power was strong, and it was something that he had never seen before!

Some great superior cultivators were coming to the Monarch’s Hall, not just one.

Ye Xiao made a sigh. The light in his eyes was gone. What was left in his eyes was a complicated expression.

It was pain.

He knew this would happen. He always knew. He hesitated on how to deal with it, but now it came.

It actually came when he had just reached an upper level. Was it his good luck or bad luck?

He was stronger now, but was he able to deal with it yet?

Lucky or not, it was there. He must face it!

“People from the Great Ye Clan… Heh heh…” Ye Xiao smiled bitterly.

The clouds in the sky turned dark, and the wind was howling.

At this moment, some unbearably powerful men had arrived at the Monarch’s Hall together!

People of the Monarch’s Hall were all frightened.