Chapter 480: Western Pantheon

Wang Hou was cultivating in his training room when Jiang He came looking for him.

He was the elite who had pioneered Martial Dao and was blessed with Fortune Qi, and he was unmatched in both talent and luck, not to mention that his talent and accomplishments in martial arts were without precedent, or he would not have gained the accomplishments he had today.

After cultivating 108 godly martial arts and reaching the Deva-tier, his cultivation had improved by leaps and bounds, and it took him just half a month to further improve up the eleventh tier, Undying. Still, his martial cultivation was already comparable to Grotto-Heaven—the twelfth tier—and he was merely retraining in the new martial arts system, so it was natural that he progressed rapidly.

Still, his cultivation progressed slowed down after he reached Undying.

How was he supposed to open a Grotto-Heaven?

Even as Wang Hou racked his brains, Secretary Zhou’s voice could be heard outside, “Minister Wang, Mister Jiang has arrived.”

“Oh?”

Wang Hou’s expression turned into a smile. “Just as I wanted to ask him about the key to Grotto-heaven tier…”

Rising to his feet, he left his training room and entered his office.

Jiang Hou was playing Fight the Landlord on Wang Hou’s office computer, and quickly threw away his King Bomb hand when he saw Wang Hou entering, leaving the computer as it was.

“You never visit a temple without a cause, Jiang He. Tell me, why have you come to me today?”

Wang Hou asked with a smile after entering his own office, and then gave Secretary Zhou a look. Getting the hint, Secretary Zhou left the office, and soon returned with steaming hot tea.

“What, I can’t visit the Martial Arts Department (MAD) without reason?”

Jiang He joked, and settled down on the couch with Wang Hou to have some small talk over tea.

After a while, Wang Hou cut to the chase and asked, “I’ve had a problem in cultivation recently that I wanted to asked you about.”

“Just ask.”

“How do I open a Grotto-Heaven?”

“After one is opened, could I slowly perfect and strengthen it in my subsequent cultivation?”

“Does the strength or weakness of the Grotto-Heaven have a significant effect on the martial artist’s combat ability?”

Wang Hou asked three questions at once.

Jiang He appeared surprised in response and asked in return, “You could give a Grotto-Heaven tier elite a run for their money, Minister Wang, and yet you don’t get how to solve that problem?”

Wang Hou glowered but shook his head.

Would I have to ask you if I did know?

And judging from Jiang He’s reaction…

He doesn’t know either, does he?

No way!

Jiang He was the one who created the Martial Scripture and the new martial arts system. He was the key and already Grotto-Heaven tier himself, so how could he not know?

Wang Hou could not help laughing. “I assumed a different path in my journey before, and it is different from the system you’ve developed. Standard cultivation is unsuitable for old martial arts, and while my old tier was equal to Grotto-Heaven, I had not opened it.”

“I see!”

Jiang He had a look that implied ‘I get it’, but soon lifted his brow and studied Wang Hou from head to toe, exclaiming in surprise, “Oh, right, Minister Wang… Why haven’t you ascended from the moment after you cultivated until now?”

This is going slower than he imagined!

His own dog was already Ten-Millennia tier.

Without dwelling on the problem too much, Jiang He felt out his own physical state…

Grotto-Heaven, the twelve-tier of martial arts, was actually an evolution of the martial artist’s Cinnabar Field.

His Martial Yuan Spirit was submerged in his Cinnabar Field, and as his Grotto-Heaven was opened, his Cinnabar-Field was emptied, leaving a boundlessly vast Grotto-Heaven.

Dense Qi filled that Grotto-Heaven, and one could vaguely see planets floating within.

With just a thought, energy would flow out from the Grotto-Heaven, strengthening a person’s body.

“The strength or weakness of the Martial Grotto-Heaven naturally affects combat ability,” Jiang He said. “It probably wouldn’t be that powerful when it is first opened, but with the improvement of cultivation, you could perfect and strengthen your Grotto-Heaven as well.”

“Probably?”

Wang Hou appeared puzzled.

Jiang He answered truthfully, “When I ascended, my cultivation had almost instantly risen from Grotto-Heaven novice to full-fledged Grotto-Heaven, and the Martial Grotto-Heaven I opened took shape instantly to the size it is now. That is why I only have hunches with regards to your questions.”

Wang Hou’s expression darkened further, and he soon saw Jiang He invoke his Grotto-Heaven’s strength to buff himself.

His aura rapidly strengthened just as a silhouette of his Grotto-Heaven manifested. It resembled an illusory world floating beyond the skies outside, blocking out even the sun, and was no less than ten thousand miles wide.

“Huh…”

Jiang He gasped in surprise and said, “Minister Wang, I’ve found another use for the Grotto-Heaven. Aside from buffing myself so that the power of my godly martial arts greatly increases while my strength is increased boundlessly, the projected Grotto-Heaven is now a separate domain. Any opponent inside it would definitely be restrained to a certain extent…”

Wang Hou was dumbstruck.

Though he was shocked by the ability of the Grotto-Heaven, he was inwardly at a loss for words.

It is a martial arts system you had developed yourself! Did you just find out what abilities it possesses?

And you have been at tier twelve for so long, or did you not test out the wonders of your new tier?

And how is this supposed to help me open a Grotto-Heaven?

Jiang He then said, “While I had only ascended briefly, I did feel the entire process of the Grotto-Heaven being opened…”

He then told Wang Hou about how his Grotto-Heaven was opened, and appearing a little inspired at that, Wang Hou closed his eyes to cultivate. Soon enough, his aura was strengthening and there was a resounding rumble in his body.

A dozen minutes later, Wang Hou opened his eyes and laughed, “Thank you for resolving my problem, Mister Jiang.”

On the other hand, Jiang He was beside himself with envy, and exclaimed in wonder, “I really can’t be more jealous of your talent, Minister Wang. I merely showed you how I opened my Grotto-Heaven, and you’d already gained some inspiration for it and opened your own Martial Grotto-Heaven.”

“I have reached that tier before, and I am merely retraining now. It is the fourteen new martial arts tiers that you’ve developed that becomes more wondrous the more they are cultivated. Though I have just opened my Grotto-Heaven, I can feel that my combat ability is a notch stronger than before, and should my Grotto-Heaven take shape, I would at least be strengthened by fifty percent in combat ability.”

One should know that Wang Hou had the power to match average Grand Luo already.

A strengthening by fifty percent would be enough for him to fight average Grand Luo… should his combat ability further strengthen, he would be able to fight a veteran Grand Luo, and that would be exceedingly frightening.

The two men hence continued discussing martial arts for an hour, and then went on to talk about the state of the world.

Wang Hou could not hold back a smile at the mention of that. “With the Ten Thousand Swords Sect and Skull Island’s Ape King helping us, the cleanup is moving along smoothly. Right now, every dangerous spot and the oceans within Hua Nation bodies have been cleared, and we have found a total of nine cultivators and fourteen daemons in seclusion. Of them, three are True Immortals and seven are Heavenly Immortals, while the rest are all Mahayana-tier.”

“All of them have been living by a thread for over two thousand years, but they do value their lives. After we killed two demonic cultivators and several daemons, all of them swore by the Dao tat they would not disturb the order of the mortal realm.”

“Moreover, we suspect that there are more elites hiding across the world, and we are still searching for them.”

Wang Hou seemed to remember something upon mentioning that and said, “By the way, a group of elites seemed to have appeared at the west. A few days ago, a swordsman cultivator ran into a western elite when he headed overseas for the cleanup operation—he calls himself a Divine Envoy and his abilities are extraordinary.”

“Oh?”

“Could he be an elite of the Western Pantheon?”

“They were said to have ventured deep outer space as well. Could they be returning too?”

Jiang He’s interest was piqued and he laughed out loud. “It’s been so boring lately, and I was just thinking about going to the celestial battlefield myself. It seems that I could meet the elites from the Western Pantheon if I go.”

Wang Hou frowned and said, “Are you going to the celestial battlefield, Jiang He?”