The following day, shortly before noon.
Cloudsea Terrace stood beside the main peak of Dao Origin Mountain. It was a vast platform paved entirely with white jade, stretching for a thousand zhang in every direction. Clouds churned all around it, making the place resemble a celestial paradise.
By then, dozens of jade tables had already been arranged across the terrace, laden with spirit fruits and immortal wine. Fragrant aromas drifted through the air.
Two or three dozen people had arrived early, gathered in small groups and chatting among themselves.
Their auras were deep and composed. Even the weakest among them had reached the King Realm, while quite a few radiated the pressure of the Sage Realm.
When Xiao Ruobai, Fang Hanyu, Ling Xi, Fatty Wang, and Mo Yu arrived together, the already noisy terrace fell silent for a moment.
Every gaze turned toward them in unison.
Curiosity, scrutiny, and burning battle intent intertwined in the air, along with a faint, almost imperceptible trace of apprehension.
Xiao Ruobai swept his gaze across the gathering and took in the entire scene at a glance.
The jade tables had been arranged in two rows, and many people were already seated.
On the left were several native prodigies nurtured by the academy, led by Lu Chenzhou.
The few people who had accompanied Perfected Xuanji to welcome Xiao Ruobai several days earlier were all present. Lu Chenzhou was one of them.
Their auras were deep and steady, their cultivation profound. At this moment, they regarded the newcomers with a mixture of scrutiny and curiosity.
On the right were Chu Daolin, Qin Wuye, Jiang Ruofeng, and Lei Dong—the ancient monsters and supreme prodigies who had been among the first to climb the nine-thousandth step. Each occupied a table of his own.
Their auras varied. Some were as unfathomable as abysses, some radiated soaring battle intent, some possessed vast, surging vitality, and some flickered with hidden lightning.
Compared to the collective presence of the academy’s senior disciples, they seemed far more solitary and aloof.
There were also seven empty seats nearby. No one had taken them.
On the other side, Ji Xuanye, the Golden Lion, Shi Potian, Mo Xingyun, and several others were seated together.
As for Wang Zhan, he sat alone in a corner, pouring himself wine. His azure-green vital force was restrained to the extreme, yet when Xiao Ruobai’s gaze passed over him, he raised his cup in acknowledgment. His eyes held battle intent that was pure to the point of being almost tangible.
Clearly, nearly every newly promoted direct disciple who had climbed beyond the eight-thousandth step had gathered for this banquet.
This was no longer merely a welcoming banquet held by the academy’s native prodigies for the newcomers. It was also the first formal meeting between the leading prodigies of this Golden Age!
Upon seeing the five of them arrive, Lu Chenzhou immediately rose with a smile and greeted them.
“Your arrival honors this humble place. Please, take your seats.”
His attitude was courteous as he led the five of them to the five empty jade tables at the very front of the right-hand row.
After Xiao Ruobai and the others sat down, Lu Chenzhou, as the host, swept his gaze across the gathering. His brows furrowed slightly, and he let out a soft exclamation of surprise.
He beckoned to an attendant beside him and asked in a low voice, “Seven other prodigies climbed the nine-thousandth step. Why haven’t they arrived yet? Were their invitations overlooked?”
The attendant hurriedly bowed and replied.
“Senior Brother Lu, the invitations were delivered long ago. However, we just received confirmation that the seven of them submitted their resignations to Dean Xuanji today and left the academy. They did not explain the reason. The dean tried repeatedly to persuade them to stay, but they refused.”
Though the attendant’s voice was quiet, everyone present possessed profound cultivation and heard every word clearly.
In an instant, Cloudsea Terrace fell into an eerie silence.
“They left?”
“All seven of them?”
“On the eve of such a heaven-defying opportunity as entering the Dao Nurturing Pool, they gave up the chance to cultivate at the Dao Repository Academy? How is that possible?!”
After the brief silence came a wave of barely suppressed exclamations and discussion.
Everyone was stunned by this sudden news. It lay completely beyond their understanding.
Even people as composed as Chu Daolin and Qin Wuye revealed deep astonishment in their eyes.
The attendant hesitated, as though he still found the matter unbelievable. Then he added, “I heard that even Perfected Xuanji was astonished when he first learned of it. Only after confirming the matter several times did he finally agree to let them leave.”
As everyone discussed the matter among themselves, a prodigy who had remained silent until then—one skilled in the art of deduction—looked around. His face had gone deathly pale, and his expression was filled with near-horror.
“On the Heavenly Stairway, did none of you notice? Those seven looked plainly dressed and kept their auras restrained, but their foundations—their flawless, perfectly rounded foundations, and the depth of their accumulated strength—were so similar that it was frightening!”
“For all seven to resign at the same time, and to make such a coordinated decision… Could they all have come from the same sect?!”
His words were like an awakening thunderclap, exploding in everyone’s mind.
The same sect!
Of course!
If they had not come from the same sect, how else could one explain seven foundations equally astonishing enough to shock the ages?
If they had not come from the same sect, how else could one explain seven figures who were equally decisive and transcendent making such a coordinated decision that defied all reason?
“A single sect cultivated seven disciples capable of climbing the nine-thousandth step of the Dao Repository Heavenly Stairway?”
An academy senior repeated the words in a hoarse voice, feeling a chill shoot up his spine and rush straight to the crown of his head.
What kind of power did that represent?
Such a foundation had already exceeded the limits of their imagination.
“What kind of force is this? How could it make them regard even the Dao Repository Academy as beneath consideration? And where are they going after leaving?”
Another prodigy muttered to himself, his face filled with shock and bewilderment.
If this deduction was true, it meant that a colossal force—one they had never known of and could not comprehend—had appeared in this Golden Age.
Qin Wuye licked his lips, the battle intent in his eyes now covered by an unprecedented gravity.
Wang Zhan tightened his grip around his wine cup. The azure-green vital force within his body began circulating faster without his conscious intent.
Chu Daolin, too, completely shed the casualness in his eyes. His gaze became unfathomably deep.
Those seven empty seats now seemed to have transformed into seven bottomless black holes, emanating a mysterious pressure that made one’s heart tremble.
Xiao Ruobai and the others remained as calm as ever.
Before Li Xuanfeng and the others left, they had already exchanged messages with them in farewell.
Sect Master Xuanyangzi had sent an urgent transmission ordering them to return. Hearing the barely concealed excitement in the sect master’s voice, they had not dared delay. They had left that very night.
A sharp glint flashed through Lu Chenzhou’s eyes, but he swiftly suppressed the turmoil in his heart. Then he spoke aloud, pulling everyone’s thoughts back to the banquet.
“Everyone has their own ambitions. There is no need to force the matter. Since our seven junior brothers have encountered another opportunity, let us wish them success in the future.
“Today’s banquet is being held to welcome all the prodigies present. Come, let us drink this cup together. May we walk the Great Dao side by side!”
Everyone raised their cups, but the atmosphere had already changed.
Those seven empty seats had become a massive mystery—and a warning—casting a veil of secrecy over the banquet.
The feast began. Spirit wine, immortal brews, and exquisite delicacies were served in abundance, and the atmosphere appeared harmonious on the surface.
As the host, Lu Chenzhou was a gracious and capable conversationalist. He constantly guided the discussion, introducing various matters concerning the academy with wit and eloquence, ensuring that the gathering never fell quiet.
Yet beneath the surface harmony, invisible currents surged as the old and new prodigies engaged in a silent contest.
After three rounds of wine and two courses of delicacies, Lu Chenzhou set down his cup.
His gaze swept across the prodigies seated around the tables, each wearing a different expression, and he spoke in a clear voice.
“Everyone here is a peerless talent of this generation. Cultivating behind closed doors has its limitations. Since we have all gathered today, why not exchange pointers and discuss the Dao?
“It will serve both as a discussion of the Dao and as a way to test one another. We shall stop at the appropriate moment. What does everyone think?”
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
