The geniuses of all thirteen prefectures were all gathered together in an area segregated into thirteen parts.
As the silhouettes of the partic.i.p.ants soared through the air, the geniuses of each prefecture gathered respectively at the spot designated for their prefecture.
The Eastern Sage Thirteen Prefectures are known as: Eastern, Qian, Li, Cloud, Mo, Jing, Thunder, Yue, Rock, Blazing Sun, Supreme Moon, Western Desert, Underworld. And from a geographical point of view, the three top-ranked prefectures were in the center while the latter four prefectures stood in the four directions.
Among them, the Eastern, Qian and Li Prefecture were known as the leaders of all the thirteen prefectures. Their strength was overwhelming and they were located in the central core of the entire territory governed by the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect.
For prefectures of the second tier, they were not the next six but rather, the latter four prefectures which were located at the boundaries, namely: Blazing Sun Prefecture, Supreme Moon Prefecture, Western Desert Prefecture and Underworld Prefecture. In fact there were even people who said that the strengths of these four prefectures weren’t any weaker than the centralized top three.
The Eastern, Qian and Li, being located at the center was naturally the gathering places for geniuses in their territory. There’s no need to doubt why these prefectures are luxurious and why their strength was overwhelming.
And as for the four other prefectures, because they were situated at the boundaries of the Eastern Sage’s territory, they were neighbours to other immortal empires controlled by immortal emperors. Maybe because it was of the pressure, as well as the lousier environment, they naturally had to be stronger. In addition, the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect also stationed their powerful troops at the four prefectures, hence the strength of the experts there were all extremely high as well.
The Blazing Sun and Supreme Moon Prefectures were polar opposites, while the same goes for the Western Desert and Underworld Prefecture.
The days in the Blazing Sun Prefecture were scorching hot, the scorching flames of the sun were extremely intense. hile the Supreme Moon Prefecture was the exact opposite. The Western Desert Prefecture was also extremely arid and vast with many desolate cities there and home to many powerful nomad tribes, the people there have various and strange methods of cultivation that were different from the norm. As for the Underworld Prefecture, it had the name of the Prefecture of h.e.l.l.
These were the unique points of the four prefectures and their strength was on a different level compared to the remaining six that were squeezed in between the top three prefectures and the outer four. Jing Prefecture, Mo Prefecture, Cloud Prefecture, Thunder Prefecture, Yue Prefecture, and the Rock prefecture. They had nothing unique and the average level of strength was considered weaker compared to the other seven.
As for the geniuses of the thirteen prefectures, if one wanted to talk about fame, it would naturally be that the geniuses from the Eastern Prefecture were the most famous, with geniuses from the Qian and Li Prefecture behind them. After all the selection was organized in the Eastern Prefecture; and the Qian and Li Prefecture were also two of the core prefectures and were located geographically closer to the Eastern Prefecture. Hence, the name of famous geniuses had a higher possibility of being circulated around which led to their higher fame.
And it was precisely because of this reason that Gusu Tianqi, Xia Jiufeng, Ye Qianchen and Cang Aochi would be so famous and were recognized by the people of the Eastern Prefecture. But in reality, during the mini banquet organized by Ye Zixuan, the top rankers from the four outer prefectures were also unfathomably strong, giving off an aura of extreme danger. And taking one more step back, for geniuses of the other six prefectures, even if they were weaker in comparison, how much weaker would they be considering that they managed to achieve the top three rankings within the countless geniuses of their prefectures?
And right now, alongside with the over 10,000 geniuses arriving, this area was filled with a stifling pressure. The aura from them all was too overwhelming despite the fact that they were merely Celestial Phenomenon Ascendants. When over ten thousand supreme geniuses stood together, the aura that gushed forth from all of them seemed to become a force field capable of collapsing anything.
Qin Wentian and his companions were also in the air, heading straight for the location where the Idlecloud Immortal King was based at. He, Jun Mengchen and Zi Qingxuan were contemplating the experts similarly rus.h.i.+ng there with a solemn look on their faces. These would be the people that would be their compet.i.tors and many of them are extraordinary individuals. Just taking an additional glance would incite the feeling of being pressured and the term ‘geniuses as common as clouds’ must surely be describing this situation.
They understood that not only for the top three rankers of the various prefectures, there was no guarantees that the lower rankers would be weaker than those top rankers. A very good example was Qin Wentian himself. Although he was only ranked 27th in his prefecture selection test, was it accurate that he was really ranked #27 in terms of talent within the Cloud Prefecture? If that was the case, he had no need to attend this banquet at all. If his talent was ranked #27 in the Cloud Prefecture, on what basis does he have to compete for the position of the top three in the Eastern Sage Thirteen Prefectures?
"They’ve arrived. The selected partic.i.p.ants from the thirteen prefectures are all here." Below, the crowd commented as the stared in the air, feeling stunned in their hearts. What a powerful force field. There were so many characters that exuded a magnificence beyond the generations.
"Gusu Tianqi has also arrived. He’s over there at the Eastern Prefecture spot. Seeing that he isn’t standing in the lead, his character should be rather low-profile. But even so, I spotted him with a single glance." Someone in the crowd pointed in a random direction towards a young man with no aura whatsoever. That young man just casually stood there but his presence was like a crane in a flock of crows. n.o.body could obstruct the radiance emitting from him. The demeanor of an innate immortal-king physique was evident to all, forming into an invisible halo of radiance that made him conspicuous no matter where he went. In this life, he was destined to reach the immortal king realm sooner or later because of his physique.
There were some whose destinies were already fixed when they were born, that they would become characters whose names resound famously throughout the world. The Gusu Clan only had a single descendant for nine generations, and all of them without fail were immortal kings. Gusu Tianqi will become one sooner or later and those standing around him dared not be too close to him for fear of their own radiance being blocked. There seemed to be a special force field around Gusu Tianqi that made everyone look up to him in admiration.
Qin Wentian also noticed Gusu TIanqi. The lines on his face were extremely clear and the contours were well-defined. He appeared very young and his handsome features were like still water, with no signs of any fluctuations. His forehead was wide like the heavens and the center of his brows were like blades. That pair of deep black eyes flickered with a terrifying l.u.s.ter that could seemingly absorb those who gazed into them.
Other than Gusu Tianqi, there was one more person which Qin Wentian paid attention to. This person had a tall and lanky figure, exuding an extraordinary demeanor. There was a hint of wildness about him, and his forceful eyes were currently staring daggers at Gusu Tianqi as though he couldn’t wait to contend against him. This person was none other than the second ranker of the Eastern Prefecture, Xia Jiufeng.
"So many demon-level characters." Beside him, Jun Mengchen mumbled. Qin Wentian and Zi Qingxuan nodded their heads lightly. Other than the two top rankers of the Eastern Prefectures, there are still many outstanding characters.
"That person is so strange, he’s the top ranker of the Blazing Sun Prefecture. There seems to be b.a.l.l.s of fiery flames around him and he’s wearing rings of light as his accessories. Just gazing at him made me feel a rush of scorching heat. I wonder how people would fight against him." Below, the crowd mumbled as they stared in the direction where those of the Blazing Sun Prefecture convened.
Not only for the top ranker of the Blazing Sun Prefecture, there were many experts who also wore rings of light around their bodies.
"Those from the Supreme Moon Prefecture are the opposite, giving off a cold and sinister feeling."
"Look over there at the experts from the Underworld Prefecture, those characters are so ugly and some even have such bizarre forms. They were truly akin to beings that originated from the underworld."
"Both the Underworld and Western Desert Prefectures also have giants among their numbers. What race is that person? And there are even monks here? Monk cultivators are rarely seen but there are many in the Western Desert Prefecture. Over there, it’s an arid land of desolation, the environment is extremely wretched and there would often be natural disasters such as heavenly lighting striking out from the blue, destroying the cities there. For example, a building constructed today might simply be destroyed tomorrow due to these natural disasters. Hence, the number of cities in the Western Desert Prefecture were fewer, with many different races living there const.i.tuting a variety of cultivators.
"These four outer prefectures were also situated near many particle worlds. The Deepflame Immortal King would often be stationed within the Underworld Prefecture and led his troops on punitive expeditions."
There were many discussions going on among the crowd. Qin Wentian’s perception was powerful and could clearly hear the discussions. He couldn’t help but to marvel at how vast the immortal realms were. Just the thirteen prefectures alone contained so many things that he had no idea of. After entering the immortal realms, he directly arrived in the Cloud Prefecture. The Cloud Prefecture was one of the more ordinary ones out of the other prefectures and had an average level of power. There were too many extraordinary grounds and different races in the thirteen prefectures which he couldn’t imagine and hadn’t come into contact with.
"Move out." At this moment, the Prefecture Lord of the Eastern Prefecture commanded. Instantly, the 1,000 geniuses from the Eastern Prefecture all moved out together, const.i.tuting an imposing and magnificent sight.
"Move out."
"Move out."
The Prefecture Lords of the thirteen prefectures all commanded one after another as the partic.i.p.ants all flew towards the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect together.
Over 10,000 experts were currently flying in the air. They looked down at this ancient Emperor City, and the ends of the city couldn’t even be seen within their vision. However, a gigantic towering statue could clear be seen in the far off distance.
This statue seemed to connect to the heavens. It was so gigantic that it could clearly be seen even if one was impossibly far away. It was the most majestic statue in the entire thirteen prefectures and all other statues weren’t allowed to exceed the size of this statue. Because the man which the gigantic statue depicted was none other than the hegemon of the Eastern Sage Thirteen Prefectures, the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor himself.
"Do you see that statue? How majestic, that’s the Eastern Sage Majesty. That statue is located at the highest point of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, and symbolizes an unparalleled peak." Someone spoke, "Everyone has to show respect when facing this statue. If one were to show disrespect or even dared to vandalize it, the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor would instantly be able to sense it.
"Is it really so mystical?" Someone asked in doubt.
"Of course it is. He’s an immortal emperor. That level of cultivation isn’t something we can imagine. With a single thought, they can reach everywhere in the world. And they can even create laws with just a wave of their hands. How terrifying is that? It’s something we would never be able to come in contact with. In any case, we must remember to be respectful in front of the statue. If not, even if you soar high up in the future, and if the the Eastern Sage Majesty knew that you disrespected him before, although he might not do anything to you considering his status, he wouldn’t value you as much."
A group of people chatted while they flew. Finally, the distance to that towering statue became increasingly nearer. When the distance was 1,000 miles away, they had already arrived at the exterior grounds of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. Numerous immortal mountains with immortal stairs leading up could be seen. The statues of the Four Paragons of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect were situated with one in each direction and when the partic.i.p.ants of the thirteen prefectures arrived, all of them had to bow before the statues of the four paragons.
The four paragons of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect were founder-level characters who had followed the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor right from the very beginning when he fought for his empire. Their strength was strong to an inconceivable degree and they no longer appeared in public. All of them were pursuing the Immortal Emperor Realm and were just a hairbreadth away from it. It could be said that their cultivation levels have already surpa.s.sed countless immortal kings and there were rumors saying that there would surely be someone among the four paragons to step into the immortal emperor realm in the future.
The four paragons were the guardians of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. n.o.body dared to show them any disrespect.
In the Eastern Sage Thirteen Prefectures, if the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor was G.o.d, they were the divine generals under G.o.d. Even for such a tyrannically powerful character like the Deepflame Immortal King, there was still quite a large disparity between him and these four paragons!
After paying their respects to the statues of the four paragons, the geniuses of the thirteen prefectures headed towards the stairs as they climbed up. After which, a heaven-shaking bell chime resounded through the air as experts of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect were all awaiting them with smiles!
Author’s Note: Many commented that the storyline recently has been too naggy. But in order to create a good backdrop in a vast world, writing things with a little more detail is definitely a must do. What meaning is there if the geniuses fought directly without a proper build up? Please bear with me for the time being.