"Divine Martial Sovereign, not long ago... the Nine Heavens Dragon Palace sent me an incense message," Qiu Lin spoke slowly as he approached Jiang Che.
"What did it say?" Jiang Che stretched lazily, admiring the opulent decorations of the Dragon Palace as if it were his own backyard.
When he had nothing better to do, he could stroll around here with the ladies to unwind.
Qiu Lin knelt on one knee, his nearly three-meter-tall frame bending low.
"According to the message from the Nine Heavens, the Gates have fully awakened. The great clans of the Nine Heavens have already secured the spatial anchors of the altars. Soon... people from above will begin descending."
Jiang Che nodded. "I know that. What does the Dragon Palace want?"
If even the Kunlun Gate had awakened, it stood to reason that the Gates across the rest of Blue Star (Earth) were also stirring. Jiang Che no longer bothered using spirit-gathering arrays to contain the leaking spiritual energy—after all, it was better to guide than to block.
Following the usual pattern of spiritual energy resurgence, Blue Star's awakening would undoubtedly become the most critical phase. After all, Blue Star was the origin of the Nine Heavens. As the Heavenly Dao reawakened... Blue Star itself was slowly expanding, gradually returning to its ancient scale.
This resurgence... also meant that Blue Star had once stood at the pinnacle.
The future of Blue Star would surely bring countless opportunities!
Jiang Che raised his head slightly, glancing at the enormous dragon pearl suspended above.
If even a Dragon Pearl of this ancestral level had appeared, there would undoubtedly be many more treasures emerging in the future. Those from the Nine Heavens would never sit still.
"Reporting to the Sovereign, the Dragon Palace may soon send another group to the mortal realm. Rumor has it they’re searching for a supreme dragon treasure!"
Qiu Lin’s voice trembled with excitement. A supreme dragon treasure... if he could obtain it... wouldn’t he soar to greatness?
He might even refine a pure-blooded dragon lineage!
For every mixed-blood dragon descendant, purifying their bloodline was the ultimate goal.
"Can you actively contact the Nine Heavens Dragon Palace?"
Qiu Lin lowered his head. "No. They only send me incense messages to assign tasks. To the Dragon Palace, my cultivation at the peak of the Shattering Heaven realm should be enough to dominate the mortal world..."
The more he spoke, the more he wanted to curse.
Before descending, those Dragon Palace officials had confidently claimed: "The strongest in the mortal world are only at the Celestial Origin realm. You’ll be invincible down there."
Yet after arriving, he found that damn near everyone was a Shattering Heaven expert!
Not long ago, an old man had even survived the Divine Ascension Tribulation, becoming a Divine Ascension realm powerhouse.
And the young man before him? Even more absurd—a Divine Martial Sovereign!
He had no idea how Jiang Che had reached such heights, but he’d clearly been deceived by the Nine Heavens Dragon Palace.
"Good. If you can contact the Nine Heavens Dragon Palace, tell them... you’ve discovered an enormous Dragon Pearl."
Jiang Che patted Qiu Lin’s shoulder with a grin.
Instantly, Qiu Lin’s eyes widened.
"An... enormous Dragon Pearl?"
His gaze involuntarily drifted upward—toward that colossal luminous pearl.
"Exactly. This is most likely one of the supreme treasures the Dragon Clan seeks—a Dragon Pearl."
Jiang Che was nothing if not sincere.
Qiu Lin felt his blood boiling. Though not a pure-blooded dragon, he understood the significance of a Dragon Pearl.
Any dragon capable of leaving behind a Dragon Pearl as an inheritance would typically be at least at the Divine Martial Sovereign realm!
The higher the cultivation, the larger the Dragon Pearl.
Qiu Lin stared at the pearl overhead. Just how powerful must its original owner have been to leave behind such a massive Dragon Pearl?
Nirvana realm? Or perhaps even the Creation realm?
His knowledge was too limited. He hadn’t even recognized it as a Dragon Pearl earlier, let alone guessed its owner’s cultivation level.
"S-Sovereign, this subordinate would never betray you! The matter of the Dragon Pearl... I swear I won’t breathe a word of it!" Qiu Lin immediately prostrated himself.
This had to be a test from the Sovereign!!!
"S-Sovereign! If you doubt me... I can swear a Heavenly Oath! I, Qiu Lin, hereby swear upon the Heavenly Dao that I will never betray Sovereign Jiang Che. If I break this oath... may lightning strike me dead!"
Jiang Che: "..."
The poor guy was practically pissing himself in fear.
For a mixed-blood dragon like Qiu Lin—no protagonist’s luck to speak of—breaking a Heavenly Oath meant instant annihilation.
Still, Qiu Lin had performed well. After some more observation, if he remained reliable, Jiang Che might just reward him with a system.
For ordinary folks, clinging to Young Master Jiang’s coattails was a one-way ticket to prosperity—or an early grave!
...
As Jiang Che had predicted, weeks after the Kunlun Gate’s awakening, Gates across the world began stirring one after another.
Even hidden realms and ancient caves unsealed, granting fortuitous encounters to many cultivators among the common folk.
Of course, ordinary people had no such luck.
Those who obtained treasures were almost exclusively protagonists of fate.
Jiang Che’s early investments were finally paying off.
He controlled nearly the entire world’s supply of elixirs and spirit stones.
Now, with countless hidden realms and caves emerging globally, treasures were bound to surface.
And given the sheer scale, those treasures would inevitably flow into Jiang Che’s hands!
Among his subordinates, Xiao Chuan stood out as the mastermind.
With global-scale secret realms opening, foreign lands naturally had their own. Many foreigners who obtained treasures had no idea how to use them.
Xiao Chuan exploited this gap brilliantly.
He established a massive international auction platform.
What did foreign cultivators lack most?
Elixirs and spirit stones!
Taking advantage of their ignorance, he acquired countless treasures in exchange for cheap elixirs and spirit stones.
Though ruthless, it was simply a matter of knowledge disparity.
As the spiritual resurgence surged, the altar gates grew more stable, allowing more and more figures from the Nine Heavens to descend.
Among them, none were more prominent than the Jiang Clan.
...
Cultivator Academy.
Principal Jiang’s office had transformed into a sacred cultivation ground.
The air was thick with the aura of supreme-grade spirit stones—courtesy of Jiang Che’s generosity.
Jiang Yunhuang, now the strongest cultivator on Blue Star, having condensed a Monarch’s Martial Mark, saw his cultivation skyrocket.
Just weeks after surviving the Divine Ascension Tribulation, he had already reached the second revolution of the Divine Ascension realm.
An oppressive, majestic aura radiated from him.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Jiang Yunhuang’s eyes snapped open, narrowing as he gazed in a specific direction.
"Which fool has crossed over this time?"
Ripples of energy emanated from the Jiang Clan’s ancestral grounds.
Rising slowly, his expression darkened.
He had no goodwill toward these interlopers.
In the next instant, he vanished.
Meanwhile, deep within the forbidden altar grounds...
"Oh? How intriguing... a spirit-gathering array? The mortal realm actually has someone capable of setting up such an array? It seems our Jiang Clan has stumbled upon quite the opportunity down here, haha!"
"With our Jiang Clan’s influence in the Nine Heavens, sending down a few arrays isn’t surprising."
"What’s so strange about that? After all, the lower realm’s Jiang Clan produced a Sacred Body!"
"Even the Great Emperor Ancestor personally descended with divine will to investigate... I wonder what kind of Sacred Body it could be."
"Hiss... a Sacred Body! With the spiritual energy resurgence and the golden age approaching, Sacred Bodies are rare even in our Jiang Family. Perhaps this one could even contend for the position of family head in the future."
"Family head? Don’t get ahead of yourself. Aren’t all ten Imperial Scions Sacred Bodies? Rumor has it... our Jiang Family even has a hidden true immortal descendant!"
Clearly, the elders of the Nine Heavens Jiang Family had downplayed Jiang Che’s Immortal Body to a mere Sacred Body to avoid drawing attention.
Though only a single character separated "Sacred Body" from "Immortal Body," the gap between them was as vast as an unbridgeable chasm!
Just as the group was loudly scheming, a thunderous roar descended from the heavens:
"You insolent fools! State your names at once!"