Chapter 3173: A Nightmare
There was half a month left before the rankings of the middle realm of the Southern Heaven Ancient Realm would reset. At this moment, five out of the six people who occupied the top six places had already left the middle realm. Out of the five people, Duan Ling Tian was the only one who left willingly while the other four were transported out of the middle realm because their time in the middle realm this month was up.
“Only a few people who’re ranked in the top 30 are still in the middle realm. I don’t think there’ll be any huge change in the ranking until the end of the month.”
“I’m not sure about the other rankings, but I’m certain the first place won’t change!”
“That’s right! He accumulated more than 1,000 points, and he even surpassed the person in second place with almost half of that person’s points. Under these circumstances, his place at the top is secure!”
Most of the people from other grade-six Celestial Mansions were certain Duan Ling Tian’s ranking would not change this month and that he would remain at first place.
…
Soon enough, news of an unknown disciple from the Profound Nether Mansion rising to the top of the scoreboard spread further and further. This, naturally, piqued the interest of many people. It did not take long before even the Ten Major Clans and Top Five Sects in the Southern Heaven Territory learned about Duan Ling Tian.
“Investigate the origins of that outer court disciple from the Profound Nether Mansion. He’s a Ten Directions Celestial Duke and is said to have comprehended six profundities from the law of space. Most importantly, he’s not even 100 years old.”
Upon receiving this news, the high-ranking officials from the Ten Major Clans and Top Five Sects wasted no time and sent their men to investigate Duan Ling Tian.
Naturally, the Su Clan, the clan that the Profound Nether Mansion was under, sent someone to the Profound Nether Mansion to meet the Mansion Master of the Profound Nether Mansion because of Duan Ling Tian.
It did not take long before the Ten Major Clans and Top Five Sects learned that Duan Ling Tian had come from the Simplicity Celestial Sect and had consumed the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit. With this, they assumed Duan Ling Tian’s innate talent and comprehension skills were not as heaven-defying as they had originally thought. They attributed his current achievements to the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit. They considered his talent to be similar to those peak Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials under the age of 100 who had comprehended two or three profundities of a law. There was no lack of these people in the Ten Major Clans and Top Five Sects, therefore, most of them no longer paid any more attention to Duan Ling Tian.
…
In a vast courtyard in the Tao Scholar Profound Sect.
The Tao Scholar Profound Sect was a grade-five sect and one of the Top Five Sects in the Southern Heaven Territory.
“Duan Ling Tian didn’t die in the Jade Emperor Heaven? He even succeeded in snatching the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit from that reincarnated Celestial Emperor?” A young man cocked an eyebrow when he received the news about Duan Ling Tian.
The young man was handsome. He wore a long white robe and held a fan in his hand. Based on his extraordinary bearing and elegant manner, it was apparent he was not an ordinary character. This young man was Yan Ru Yv, one of the three true disciples in the Tao Scholar Profound Sect. He was the youngest true disciple in the history of the Tao Scholar Profound Sect.
After receiving this news, Yan Ru Yv sent a message to Chen Li, the son of the Vice Leader of the Blood Skull Gang. “Chen Li. Did you hear the news regarding Duan Ling Tian?”
“You’ve heard about it as well?” Chen Li asked. Clearly, he had also heard the news about Duan Ling Tian.
“That’s right. How’s everything on your side? Are you alright? Please let me know if you need any help,” Yan Ru Yv said.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. My father is taking care of it. The Blood Skull Gang will continue with this mission,” Chen Li said.
A member from the Simplicity Celestial Sect had hired the Blood Skull Gang to assassinate Duan Ling Tian, and Chen Li was the guarantor of the mission. Initially, everyone thought it was going to be a simple mission. However, when the Blood Skull Gang lost Celestial King assassins one after another to the mission, they began to realize the mission was not as simple as they had thought. Naturally, the higher-ups in the Blood Skull Gang were displeased by the matter. Under these circumstances, it was only natural that Chen Li, the guarantor of the mission, was under immense pressure. However, since his father was a Vice Leader of the Blood Skull Gang, it was not difficult for his father to help him deal with this matter.
…
The Realm Battlefield was the intersection where two realms met. It only appeared once every 10,000 years and would last for 1,000 years.
The current Realm Battlefield was formed by the meeting between the Divine Offering Land and the Sanction Land. At this moment, it had been open for a few decades.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A few towering mountains collapsed, stirring up clouds of dust, as two figures could be seen flying high into the sky.
One of the figures belonged to a muscular man while the other figure belonged to a beautiful woman dressed in white robes.
The muscular man seemed completely unharmed while a trace of blood could be seen on the edge of the white-clad beauty’s mouth.
The muscular man smirked before he said arrogantly, “You’re no match for me.”
The beautiful woman gritted her teeth with a bitter expression on her face. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts at this moment. A hint of reluctance flashed in the depths of her eyes as she thought to herself, ‘Am I going to die here today? No! If I die, what will happen to Sister Li Fei, Nian Tian, Si Ling, my parents, and Uncle Feng… If I possess the strength from my past life, I won’t need to fear him. Currently, I’m only one step away from recovering my previous strength. Alas, at this moment, that one step is like a huge chasm…’
As she fell into despair, her blood qi surged in her body.
At this moment, the muscular man exclaimed in surprise, “You’re a descendant of the Xia Clan in the Divine Offering Land? Are you related to Xia Jie?”
“You’re familiar with my third uncle?” A startled expression appeared on the beauty’s face. At the same time, her blood qi gradually calmed down.
“He’s your third uncle?” The muscular man’s eyes widened imperceptibly. A hint of nostalgia could be seen on his face as he recalled the past. After a moment, he shook his head and said with a sigh, “10,000 years ago, he saved my life in the Sanction Land. Since you’re his niece, I won’t kill you…” After he finished speaking, he left immediately.
When the beauty regained her senses, the muscular man had already disappeared from sight. A faint smile could be seen on her face as she murmured to herself, “I didn’t expect I’d be able to escape with my life intact due to third uncle…”
The beauty was none other than Ke’er who was Xia Ning Xue from the Divine Offering Land’s Xia Clan in her past life.
‘With my current strength, I can’t go too far into the Realm Battlefield. If my opponent weren’t an old acquaintance of third uncle, I would’ve died today!’ Ke’er sighed as she thought to herself, ‘I miss Brother Tian so much…’
After a moment, Ke’er turned around and left. She was not going to venture deeper. After all, she could not risk her life. There were still many things she had to do; she must not die!
…
The Southern Heaven Territory’s Profound Nether Mansion in the Spirit Overarching Heaven.
“Ke’er!”
Duan Ling Tian abruptly sat up, waking up from a nightmare. He was drenched in cold sweat.
Initially, he was dreaming about the Supreme Powerhouse demonstrating the law of space. However, he suddenly dreamt of Ke’er in trouble.
Unbeknownst to him, it was not just a nightmare. He had dismissed it as a nightmare, unaware of the close brush Ke’er had with death. He was unaware that due to the Supreme Powerhouse Divinity containing the essence of a Supreme Powerhouse, the strongest beings to exist in heaven and earth, he could somehow sense Ke’er when she was in danger.
…
In just a blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
The rankings were finalized, and those who were still in the middle realm of the Southern Heaven Ancient Realm were transported out.
“Duan Ling Tian is first!”
Although the members of the Profound Nether Mansion had expected this, there was still an uproar when Duan Ling Tian’s rank was confirmed at the end of the month.
With this, the Mansion Master of the Profound Nether Mansion made a public announcement about his decision to make Duan Ling Tian an inner court disciple. Duan Ling Tian did not even have to take the test to become an inner court disciple.
Naturally, nobody objected to it nor were they dissatisfied. With the glory Duan Ling Tian had brought to the Profound Nether Mansion, they thought Duan Ling Tian more than deserved this privilege.
On the other hand, the title of an inner court disciple did not matter to Duan Ling Tian at all. His only goal was to become the Imperial Tutor of the Profound Nether Mansion so he could enjoy the best cultivation resources. He might not need the mansion’s help to comprehend the law of space since he possessed the Supreme Powerhouse Divinity, but in regard to cultivation, he would need the mansion’s cultivation resources to go beyond the stage of a Ten Direction Celestial Duke. It was a long and tedious process to break through even with the Divine Crystal and the branch of the Divine Tree of Life to help with his absorption of the Heaven and Earth Spirit Energy.
There were resources in the Profound Nether Mansion such as pills that could raise one’s cultivation base. However, they were incredibly rare. Usually, only core disciples of the mansion were given the chance to obtain these precious items.
“After becoming the Imperial Tutor of the Profound Nether Mansion, I should have a chance to obtain these Celestial Pills and Celestial Fruits… Well, that’s if the position of Imperial Tutor is as high as Old Qi said…”
…
When the middle realm of the Southern Heaven Ancient Realm opened in the new month, Duan Ling Tian only entered through the Transporting Formation in the Profound Nether Mansion’s estate after three days had passed.