Heavenly Wheel Ascension

A massive shock hit the hearts of the invited guests. The Grand Palaces of gods and demons? Threats crawling from the depths? This information was like a storm crashing against the tranquility of the Dao Hearts of the Young Kings present. Some of them gripped their wine cups tightly, while others stared at the star map with ambition burning behind their fear.

"If what the Elder says is true," Wu Xinghan exclaimed from the center table, his voice trembling slightly. "Why is the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets sharing information of this magnitude with us? Shouldn't the ruling clans settle it themselves?"

Xuan Ji offered a thin smile, one filled with ancient bitterness. "Because behind every threat, there is always a coexisting opportunity, Young King Wu. We know that there lie a hundred treasures of Heaven and Earth buried there. To an Ancient Clan that inherits Emperor Treasures, perhaps it is nothing. But for mortal practitioners who are not of the Ancient Clans, treasures of Heaven and Earth are something that will be fought over for thousands of years."

"Treasures of Heaven and Earth..." muttered practitioners throughout the hall, a whisper that resembled the hum of thousands of bees. Ambitions that were previously buried now ignited, blurring the horror of the monsters crawling from the depths.

"Treasures of Heaven and Earth?" Zhi Xuan thought, feeling a faint vibration in his consciousness. "Treasures said to be born of Heaven and Earth, while not equal to Emperor Treasures, they must be equal to the Thirteen Banners of Calamity."

"Correct, boy," Ruo Xianxue spoke in the depths of his sea of consciousness. "Long ago, you only found the Eternal Bronze Palace belonging to Zhetian in the land of Huang Tu, but you did not explore deeper because that Valley of Heaven's Ruins was not the actual place where the door to the underworld resides. Rather, what that old man said is not entirely wrong."

"Great Saint, you know?" Zhi Xuan asked, his thoughts creeping forward. "So... there truly is something deeper than the Eternal Bronze Palace of Zhetian back then?"

"Of course," Ruo Xianxue’s voice sounded like a silver bell echoing behind the mist of Zhi Xuan’s soul. "Huang Tu is the place where the Heavens collapsed and the Earth split in the ancient era. What you saw before was indeed grand, but it was not deep enough. That Huang Tu hides something even more ancient. If the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets has truly found the rift, then they are inviting dragons to enter an ant's nest."

Zhi Xuan set down his wine cup. His movement was slow, yet the vibration of energy he released created small ripples on the surface of the clear liquid inside. "Then with what the barbarians said back then, regarding the monsters said to inhabit the space beneath the soil of Huang Tu, all of this feels like a circle that is about to find its end. Great Saint, what do you think?"

"Boy, if the end of that circle is a chasm, then leap. If the end is a wall, then destroy it," Ruo Xianxue replied with a tone containing boundless arrogance. "But remember, that aura crawling upward... I recognize it slightly. It is a rather troublesome threat if you wish to follow this journey."

Zhi Xuan cut off his mental communication. He returned to the real world, where the aura inside the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets hall was now growing increasingly heated. Shen Ruolan, who had been observing Zhi Xuan’s expression, brought her face closer. The floral fragrance of her breath brushed against Zhi Xuan’s senses.

"Senior seems very interested, doesn't he?" Shen Ruolan whispered as she exhaled. "Ruolan will not go to join this journey, for this is a matter for mortals. But Senior, you make Ruolan want to go just to keep you safe."

"Keep your intentions to yourself, Holy Fairy," Zhi Xuan replied without turning, his voice remaining as flat as the surface of a frozen pond. "My steps do not require shadows that are too large. If you go, all the Shen Clan elders will consider this journey as a shift of power, no longer an expedition seeking destiny."

Shen Ruolan pouted her soft lips, an expression that, if seen by other Young Kings, would surely make them willing to give their lives just to entertain the Holy Maiden. But to Zhi Xuan, it was merely an ornament in the middle of a stage of guile.

"Hmph, truly a lady-killer," Shen Ruolan sighed playfully as she pulled her head back. "This Banquet of Heavenly Secrets... is about to explode in a moment, Senior."

Suddenly, the gates burst open with a subtle thud, startling all the practitioners at the sudden intrusion. There stood Bei Yun with two elderly men, one of whom radiated a Weaver Transformation pressure that was profoundly oppressive.

The old man standing beside Bei Yun wore a grey robe with tiger embroidery that seemed to roar under the moonlight. His white hair was long. He was Bei Huanteng, the Grand Elder of East Tiger City—a mid-stage Weaver Transformation expert.

"Elder Xuan Ji," Bei Huanteng’s voice was heavy, vibrating like thunder hidden behind clouds. "Forgive our untimely interruption. However, the law of East Tiger City has been trampled by a rogue wanderer who is now hiding behind the grandeur of your pavilion."

Bei Huanteng’s gaze swept across the hall with a suffocating pressure until it finally locked onto the dark corner table. There, he saw the figure his nephew pointed out; Bei Yun pointed with a trembling finger toward the brown-robed figure.

"Uncle! Him! He is the one who slaughtered my guards and seized the city's prisoner!" Bei Yun roared, his face flushed with the overflow of the grudge he had harbored since that morning.

The entire hall instantly became a battlefield of invisible auras. Young Kings from various regions took deep breaths, feeling the atmosphere turn haunting. However, the tension sharpened further as Zhao Xue stood up.

"Bei Huanteng." Zhao Xue spoke the name with a sharp hiss; the Thousand Winters Sword in her hand began to radiate a suppressing frost.

"The blood curse of my master is still warm on your hands, Bei Huanteng!" Zhao Xue’s voice cut through the silence of the hall, bringing a bone-chilling cold. "You did not just slaughter him; you also robbed me of my right to live as a sword practitioner! And now, you dare speak of the law?"

Bei Huanteng shifted his gaze to Zhao Xue, his eyes narrowing in contempt. "Ah, that little rat from the northern region still has a tongue to bark. I should have handed you over to my nephew sooner so you would know your true place beneath the feet of the Bei Clan."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Bei Huanteng stepped forward, each of his footfalls on the marble floor creating energy cracks that spread like a spiderweb. His mid-stage Weaver Transformation aura exploded outward, pressing the practitioners at the nearest tables until they were forced to retreat with pale faces.

However, before that pressure could touch the edge of the corner table where Zhi Xuan sat, Zhi Xuan placed his empty wine cup on the table. The sound of that small tap was so loud in the midst of the haunting silence, as if thunder had just exploded in everyone's ears.

"The city law, is it?" Zhi Xuan said, the corners of his lips curling upward. "This banquet seems like it will be continued. I was waiting for more statements to be made by the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, but now... it seems I must remove a stone from the middle of the river."

Zhi Xuan rose to his feet. His tattered brown robe seemed no longer able to contain the overflow of energy he had suppressed within his chest. On his shoulder, Ao Sheng let out a subtle hiss, his golden scales glinting sharply like thousands of daggers ready to tear the air.

"Elder Bei," Elder Xuan Ji’s voice interrupted, his tone containing a clear warning. "The Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets is neutral ground. Anyone who steps in here is a guest, and anyone who swings a weapon here is our enemy. Please restrain yourself."

"Neutral?" Bei Huanteng laughed harshly, his wrinkled face appearing horrific under the lantern light. "Elder Xuan Ji, do not use the name of the pavilion to protect this thief! He has wounded the honor of the Bei Clan, and in Chi Di, honor is paid in blood!"

Zhi Xuan stepped out from the shadows of the corner table. Every movement he made radiated an oddity, as if the space around him curved to adjust to his presence. He stopped right in the middle of the hall, standing tall with his hands behind his back, staring directly at the bloodthirsty Bei Huanteng.

"Honor?" Zhi Xuan repeated the word with an extremely bland tone. "Did I not already tell your nephew to find another body to use? You instead come to collect a debt when your own debt has not been paid."

"Speaking of debts," Zhi Xuan continued, his voice now lowering. "The life of a swordswoman's master, is that not a high enough price to exchange for your own head?"

The entire hall choked on the silence. The courage of this brown-robed man was no longer considered madness, but a declaration of war. In the front row, Young Kings like Ji Haoxuan and Wei Tianfeng were frozen; they felt that behind the man's simple appearance lay a void of nothingness ready to swallow anything.

"Presumptuous! How dare you speak as if my life were a piece of merchandise!" Bei Huanteng roared. He was no longer able to restrain his rage.

His hand rose, gathering spiritual essence from around the hall until it formed a fierce storm vortex. The tiger rune on his robe glowed red, and behind his back, the shadow of an ancient tiger ten zhang tall appeared with fangs made of yellow lightning.

Bei Huanteng lunged forward. His right fist shot out, carrying the full weight of his mid-stage Weaver Transformation cultivation. The strike was not merely a physical attack, but a manifestation of the will to destroy everything into dust.

Zhi Xuan did not flinch. He did not draw his bamboo sword, nor did he form complex mudras. He merely raised his left hand, letting his palm open wide to welcome the lightning fist that was capable of toppling city fortresses.

DUMMM!

A shockwave exploded from the point of impact, sweeping away jade tables and sending low-level practitioners flying until they hit the hall walls. However, at the center of the explosion, the sight that occurred made everyone's heart stop.

Zhi Xuan caught Bei Huanteng’s fist with just one palm. Not a single drop of blood was spilled, and not a single step was taken back. The yellow lightning wrapping Bei Huanteng’s hand instead looked like a small snake struggling within an unshakeable grip.

"I have no grudge with you," Zhi Xuan said, his voice cold. "However, it does not mean you can bark before me when your cultivation is merely at the mid-stage of the Weaver Transformation."

Zhi Xuan pushed his palm, repelling Bei Huanteng until the old man’s figure staggered, before standing tall several zhang away in front of Zhi Xuan, his hand trembling slightly.

"H-how is it possible..." Bei Yun murmured behind his uncle, his face losing all its color, turning as pale as funeral paper.

"Uncle, kill him! He’s just using cheap tricks!" Bei Yun shouted hysterically, but his voice sounded like the squeak of a mouse before a roaring storm.

Bei Huanteng did not respond to his nephew. His cloudy eyes now burned with a fierce light wrapped in fear. He realized that the man before him was not just a talented practitioner; he was a steel wall that could not be pierced by mid-level cultivation.

"You... who are you exactly?" Bei Huanteng hissed. He took a deep breath, trying to mobilize his Divine Wheel which was beginning to churn. "In Chi Di, there is no independent expert with power like yours without leaving a name at the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets!"

Zhi Xuan merely turned around, his steps calm as he headed toward his table again. "My name is not fit to be known by someone unworthy of being a city ruler."

"You, how dare you!" Bei Huanteng roared, his eyes moving wildly toward Zhao Xue, who had been radiating killing intent. "Come here, you wretched wench!"

Bei Huanteng shot forward, appearing in an instant near Zhao Xue. He seized Zhao Xue’s neck and carried her as he shot back, appearing at the gateway along with Bei Yun. Zhao Xue’s face turned blue, yet her ice-cold eyes still stared at Bei Huanteng with pure hatred.

"If I must die here, then at least I will take the shame of the Bei Clan with me!" Zhao Xue groaned through her gasping breaths.

"Shut up!" Bei Huanteng spat, turning toward the hall with a look of madness. "Brown-robed thief! If you take a single step, this wench's head will explode! You want to be a hero? Let’s see how fast your hands are compared to the will of my soul!"

"A peak Weaver Transformation expert will still be helpless!" Bei Yun laughed cruelly, his fear vanishing. "In the end, this woman's sacred body will be mine again."

"Crazy! Truly crazy!" Wei Tianfeng slammed his table, his face red from an overflow of mixed emotions. "A Grand Elder of the Bei Clan... using a hostage in front of the eyes of all the Chi Di Young Kings? Where is the honor of the tiger they boast about?!"

"Honor?" Ji Haoxuan snorted coldly, his eyes never leaving Zhi Xuan’s back as he still stood facing away from the crowd. "Wei, when a beast is cornered by a dragon, it no longer thinks of dignity. It will only bite whatever it can reach to survive. But look at that man in the brown robe... why is he still as calm as a pond?"

"Brother, look at him!" Ji Yuanyi whispered in a horrified tone, her fingers clutching her brother's sleeve. "He isn't moving, but it’s as if he is an abyss. This pressure... this is no longer just peak Weaver Transformation. I feel as if the sky will collapse if he takes a step!"

"Xingyan, do not look into his eyes!" Wu Xinghan warned with a strained voice. "That figure... he is holding back a storm capable of sweeping away this entire city. If Bei Huanteng truly crushes that woman's neck, I bet not a single brick will be left of East Tiger City by tomorrow morning."

"But Brother, Bei Huanteng is a mid-stage Weaver!" Wu Xingyan replied with trembling lips. "How can he be so low? In front of the practitioners, he acts like a marketplace bandit!"

"Cih, he’s terrified!" chimed in a rogue practitioner from the back row in a disguised mocking tone. "Did you see that? The full-powered punch of Uncle Bei Yun was caught with only one hand! Anyone would lose their mind realizing they are facing an old monster like that!"

Elder Xuan Ji, standing on the stage, finally spoke with a soul-shaking tone. "Elder Bei! You have crossed the limit allowed by the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets! Release that woman now, or you will face the consequences of our order!"

"To hell with your oath, Xuan Ji!" Bei Huanteng roared from the doorway, his grip on Zhao Xue’s neck tightening until a horrific sound of creaking bone was heard. "Back off! Everyone back off! If I see a single movement of spiritual essence in this room, this sacred body will shatter into ice shards!"

"Young Master Bei, you are truly great!" shouted a practitioner from a small sect seeking favor, but that was cut off when Zhi Xuan turned his head.