AGM 0116 – Gathering at the Chu Emperor District
“What exactly happened just now?” Low murmurs could be heard drifting about Emperor Star Academy.
The radiance of that single instant had lit up the night in Emperor Star Academy. It was as if they had seen a second starlit sky. This scenario was too fascinating and marvelous.
The old man in charge of Astral River Hall trembled violently as he witnessed a handsome youth slowly strolling out of the exit. His eyes glowed with a fiery blaze despite that feeble and aged countenance of his.
Although it had only lasted for an instant, this youngster had actually stepped onto the 6th level. How had he done that?
“Too terrifying.” Qin Wentian was extremely depressed. When he had stepped onto the the 5th level, he’d realised that the runic lines the boundless constellations contained revolved together as one. As a result, the fist light they’d formed contained an extremely powerful might within them, and when his consciousness had been blasted, it had gotten exceedingly difficult for him to continue enduring. Using all the strength he could muster, he’d broken apart the restriction of the 5th level and had set foot upon the 6th level of the Astral River Hall.
However, the time he spent on the 6th level had only lasted for an instant. In there, it was as though he saw constellations transforming into meteors of fist light, gathering together, and exploding forth with the speed of a shooting star. Luckily, the astral pressure hadn’t killed him, and had only forced him back onto the 5th layer.
Because his consciousness and will had been damaged, even the pressure at the 5th level became too tough for him to endure. Qin Wentian had thus chosen to exit the Astral River Hall.
“I need to go into closed door seclusion.” The first thing that escaped his mouth after exiting the Astral River Hall was actually saying that he wanted to cultivate.
“Er……” Fan Le blinked his eyes. This perverse beast, didn’t he know what he had just done?
“Tomorrow is the Jun Lin Banquet.” After muttering to himself irresolutely, Fan Le remarked to Qin Wentian.
“I want to cultivate.” Qin Wentian replied, staring at Fan Le, before departing the vicinity of the Astral River Hall.
Fatty stood there, stunned. He mumbled, “Could it be that the crucial moment has arrived?”
After all, Qin Wentian had stayed many days within the Astral River Hall, and should have gained some insights. Fatty didn’t believe that this rascal had wasted his time in the Astral River Hall doing nothing.
Just now, he’d personally witnessed that after so many days of stillness, a beam of dazzling, resplendent light, had radiated out for a moment.
The only regretful thing was that there had been no audience…… Fatty, was extremely depressed.
After thinking of here, Fatty pulled a face. He chased after Qin Wentian, the flesh on his body bouncing and quivering with each step.
The Emperor Star Academy was still extremely quiet. But at this moment, the emotions of a group of special existences were unsettled. They had always stayed within the grounds of the Emperor Star Academy, guarding this sacred ground. It was as though they existed perpetually in the darkness, and had very few chances to walk out in the light. Besides, even if they did, almost no one would know who they were.
Qin Wentian did indeed enter closed door seclusion for his cultivation. Although tomorrow was the commencement of the Jun Lin Banquet, he wanted to sort out all the insights and comprehensions he’d gained within the Astral River Hall. These would enable his strength to take another step forward. As these ‘steps’ gradually increased, they would allow him to complete a kind of transformation.
Thus, he returned to his residence and fell into a deep slumber, stepping into the dreamscape he created.
Beside him were numerous Yuan Meteor Stones. He would be able to use these Yuan Meteor Stones anytime they were needed.
Tonight, the starlight around the residence Qin Wentian was staying in was incomparably resplendent. Above the skies, the astral energy from two constellations cascaded downwards, enveloping the dreaming Qin Wentian.
Although he was in a state of deep slumber, both of his Astral Souls were released, and they absorbed the astral energies. From his body, crackling and rattling sounds unceasingly rang out, as a surge of terrifying energy surged about frenziedly within. Akin to the torrential waves of the ocean, the sound of gushing water ringing out in the silence of the night could be heard extremely clearly..
At this moment, Qin Wentian didn’t create an overly profound dreamscape. He was only observing his body in his dream. In this instant, it was as though he could see all the arterial pathways and energy channels within his body. A brand new arterial pathway was currently being formed, as the the arterial pathway frenziedly rushed forward. It connected all parts of his body together, including his four limbs and bone structure.
A beam of light entered Qin Wentian’s body as the 7th arterial pathway was created. These seven arterial pathways were akin to seven astral rivers flowing in his body, and it was as though they had their own individual trajectories. Moreover, motes of astral light could be seen flowing through the arterial pathways, causing Qin Wentian’s heart to tremble slightly.
He had crippled his own meridians, using astral energy to form a set of Stellar Meridians pathways. Making a comparison, it was as though his arterial pathways were akin to the astral rivers in the heavenly layers. If that’s the case, wasn’t the human body also a heavenly layer of sorts?
“My stellar meridians would allow the flow of astral energy to be extremely smooth. The astral energy would be able to gather in any part of my body, and executed via my innate techniques. It would be just like in the past, when I spat out a palm imprint.”
Qin Wentian was silently contemplating in his heart. He gradually began to grow more convinced that cultivation wasn’t easy. Why not just eschew logic and proceed forwards using his own insights and methods, rather than limiting himself, following the pre-set rules of cultivation?
He had already discovered the connection between divine imprints and innate techniques, this was something that even Senior Gongyang had not thought of before. In addition, Senior Gongyang had once said that the Astral Soul, after stepping into the Heavenly Dipper Realm, would be one of the most direct methods of attack, and could even be used to complement one’s innate techniques.
The road of cultivation was hard to traverse, but the road was also incomparably vast. Why not explore it fully, rather than following the clear-cut path?
When he awoke from his dream, it was already morning.
Qin Wentian opened his eyes, and in the depth of his eyes, a sharp, radiant light exploded forth, as bright as the glow of constellations. He felt extremely clear-headed, as his senses sharper. This was the transformation that had occurred as a result of the increase in his cultivation base.
Every time an arterial pathway was formed, it represented an increase in cultivation level. The quality of one’s body would naturally improve along with it.
“I’ve actually used up all the Yuan Meteor Stones.” Qin Wentian felt shock in his heart. Cultivation exhausted resources way too quickly. Luckily, the him today didn’t have to worry about insufficient Yuan Meteor Stones for the time being.
As he moved and stretched his body, the crisp sounds of cracking could be heard. This kind of feeling felt extremely marvelous, as though all the pores of his body were incomparably comfortable.
“You finally bear to wake up.” A voice drifted over, only to see Fan Le lazily lying down under the shelter of a pavilion, rubbing his sleepy eyes, as though he had not fully awoken.
“Fatty, why are you sleeping here?” Qin Wentian involuntarily smiled as he discovered Fan Le.
“I’m waiting for you to attend the Jun Lin Banquet.” Fan Le stood up as he shook the dust of his body, and glared at Qin Wentian with disdain. This rascal, even the commotion he caused when he cultivated in his dream was also so great. Couldn’t he just let Fatty get a good night’s sleep?
“You are also participating?” Qin Wentian’s eyes shone brightly. These few days, Teacher Mustang had been personally guiding Fatty on his cultivation, thus there should be a huge improvement. Not only that, Qin Wentian had also given Fan Le several Yuan Meteor Stones to aid him in his cultivation.
Qin Wentian was very certain that the talent of this fatty was not low at all. It was just as Mustang had said, this fatty was too lazy.
“I’m going there to bet.” Fatty said with a straight face. After Qin Wentian’s registration, Heaven’s Wonder would naturally release the betting rates for Qin Wentian. Once the betting rates for Qin Wentian were out, Fatty would stake all his possessions on this fellow. For cultivators that were totally disregarded like Qin Wentian, as long as they could obtain one of the top nine rankings, the payout should be sky high.
Thinking of this, Fan Le stared at Qin Wentian with a fervent glow in his eyes, causing Qin Wentian to shake uncontrollably. What weird ideas was Fatty having again?
Despite it still being early morning, the Emperor Chu District was already flooded with people. The Royal Capital mobilised a regiment of 10,000 troops to provide security and maintain order, sealing the entire perimeter of the Chu Emperor District. For those that came to spectate, they had to stay a distance away to avoid disrupting the commencement of the Jun Lin Banquet.
This area had the same rules as the other areas of the Chu Capital. It was prohibited for those below Yuanfu to mount flying beasts. However, there were many cultivators mounted on flying-type demonic beasts flying about in the skies today.
That wasn’t all, rows of flying-type demonic beasts also delivered good wine and delicacies over to the guests’ seats. Looking at the multitude of demonic beasts blotting out the skies, the crowd exclaimed in excitement in their hearts. This was indeed the grandest event to be held in the Chu Country this year.
The Jun Lin Banquet would officially commence today.
The Royal Clan had invited all the dukes, feudal lords, and important guests from every area.
“The Mu Clan that has always kept a low profile have actually arrived this early.” Some of the crowd cast their gazes over only to see a line of silhouettes walking up the flight of stairs. As one of the noble clans, the Mu Clan naturally had a seat on the spectator stands.
Mu Rou also appeared within the ranks of those that came here today from the Mu Clan.
“Those from the Ou Clan are here as well. I heard that Orchon’s ambition this time round is really great.” Another line of silhouettes appeared, and these were none other than the members from the Ou Clan.
According to the betting rates of Heaven’s Wonder, it was highly probable that Orchon would enter the top 9 rankings of the Jun Lin Banquet. At the moment, the Ou Clan was probably feeling proud..
“The Ye Clan and those from the Violet Palace have also arrived together.”
“And who are those behind the Ye Clan, that young lady is really beautiful. She shouldn’t be from the Ye Clan, right?”
“That’s Autumn Snow, from the Bai Clan. Her name had once resounded throughout Chu, creating a huge commotion. However, it seems that there were some problems when it came to condensing her 2nd Astral Soul. it was as though she had somehow regressed.” Someone replied, as the crowd was enlightened. So, they were from the Bai Clan that hailed from the Sky Harmony City. Last year, the Bai Clan did indeed cause a huge commotion. After all, as someone that’s able to condense her first Astral Soul from the 3rd Heavenly Layer, she had a high probability of becoming a strong existence that would create history in the future.
Now, after having arrived at the Royal Capital, Autumn Snow didn’t seem to have any major accomplishments, and had thus gradually been forgotten by others. On the other hand, the trash back then, Qin Wentian, had already become a mighty figure endowed with the blessings of various factions.
“Students from the various martial academies are here.” At this moment, more and more silhouettes appeared. As they made their way up the flight of stairs, they caused much commotion.
“The Star River Association’s members are also here.”
“The Divine Weapon Pavilion has also arrived. It’s really rare to see them attending the Jun Lin Banquet.”
“The Mo Clan came as well.”
The crowd gazed fervently at the spectators stand, feeling immensely excited. The Jun Lin Banquet was about to commence!