Chapter 1819 - 1820: Divine King of Li Shan
Old Man Chu's words indeed helped relax everyone, and subsequently, they began chatting with each other. However, Lin Chen did not join their conversation and instead closed his eyes to cultivate.
Old Man Chu glanced at Lin Chen inadvertently and nodded lightly.
As expected of a God Realm beast, the Iron-Feathered Eagle's speed was incredibly fast. In just half a day, it crossed a great distance and arrived at the destination, the core city of the Eastern Region Qingshan Commandery, Qingshan City.
Seeing the increasingly clear outlines of Qingshan City beneath them, Old Man Chu instructed everyone, "Hold on tight!"
Without waiting for a response, the Iron-Feathered Eagle swiftly descended to the ground, causing several people to stumble and nearly fall.
Seeing that everyone had disembarked, Old Man Chu smiled slightly and said, "Alright, we have arrived!"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked up to see a colossal city spread out before them, even Lin Chen, who had seen this scene before, couldn't help but marvel once again.
Old Man Chu smiled lightly and then led Lin Chen and the others into Qingyun City.
Without any halts along the way, they quickly reached their destination. Before Lin Chen was an enormous plaza capable of accommodating tens of thousands of people effortlessly.
Many people were already present on the plaza, seemingly waiting for something. At the forefront of the crowd stood some individuals who drew particular attention, their strengths unfathomable, clearly very powerful figures!
A gray-clad young man next to Lin Chen glanced at the dense crowd and whispered, "So many people, are they all here for the testing? Or are they Divine Realm people?"
Everyone was new here, hence unable to explain to him, but not all were completely in the dark about it.
A yellow-clad youth from Donglong City disdainfully cast a sideways glance at the previous speaker and snorted, "What a bumpkin, obviously from a lower realm!"
But having ascended to the God Realm, the young man who asked the question wasn't easily bullied, he squinted his eyes and responded coldly, "Hey, who are you talking about?"
Listening aside, Lin Chen furrowed his brows.
Lower realm? It seems there are many things about the Divine Realm I do not know!
At this moment, Old Man Chu also heard their argument. Turning back to look at them, he frowned and was about to say something when suddenly a hearty laugh rang out, "Hahaha! Old Man Chu! So you're still not dead!"
Upon hearing this voice, Old Man Chu's complexion darkened a bit, evidently not fond of the newcomer, and responded sharply, "Old Man Ling, as long as you aren't dead, there's no way I'll die first!"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked up to see a burly elder dressed in a black robe approaching with over twenty others, his aura unfathomable to Lin Chen, indicating he was likely a formidable expert as well. As for those behind him, their aura was similar to Lin Chen's, suggesting they were probably Ascenders too.
It turns out Lin Chen's guess wasn't far off; this black-robed elder named Old Man Ling is the Ascension Envoy from Yunhai City, located not far from Donglong City. These people were Ascenders he had recently recruited.
Old Man Ling raised his eyebrows, not minding Old Man Chu's address. He casually glanced at Lin Chen and the others, then chuckled and said, "Old Man Chu, you still have such a bad temper. This month, Donglong City's Ascenders seem sparse, and their strength rather ordinary. Tsk tsk, I'm afraid you won't get the Commandery Princess's reward!"
Old Man Chu's expression cooled at these words, saying, "Hmph, you only have twenty-three people as well. Besides, Donglong City's affairs require no concern from you!"
Bumping into a soft yet firm nail, Old Man Ling felt displeased, coldly stated, "Then watch yourself and don't shame Qingyun Commandery in front of those sect leaders! By the way, I'll let you know, this time our Yunhai City has five Ascenders from upper realms! Hahaha!"
Seeing Old Man Chu's undisguised surprise, Old Man Ling felt immensely pleased, laughing as he walked away.
The gray-clad youth beside Lin Chen was evidently curious, softly asking, "Sir, what exactly is called an upper realm? And what kind of existence is Qingyun Commandery?"
Old Man Chu seemed in a foul mood, dropping a line: "You'll know in a moment!" Then he closed his eyes, stopping further conversation. Seeing him annoyed, everyone refrained from provoking him, remaining quiet while looking around, while Lin Chen simply started cultivating.
Within his dantian, Xiao Lian had already recovered from the prior battle in the Tianmo Realm and was gradually absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy, strengthening his cultivation.
For some reason, as the spiritual energy absorbed grew more abundant, Lin Chen felt as though something extra existed within his meridians, but he couldn't identify it, and since he was sure there was no harm, he chose to abandon pondering this issue.
For martial artists, waiting is naturally not a difficult task, and it wasn't long before there was movement on the plaza.
A white-robed elder with flowing beard and hair, exuding an immortal demeanor, leisurely walked to the center of the plaza.
"Li Shan's Divine King? I didn't expect him to host this time's testing!"
"I heard that this Li Shan Divine King Murong Fu has reached a high level of Divine King status, remarkably powerful!"
Upon hearing the surrounding discussions, Lin Chen also felt a jolt of surprise.
"Divine King? A full two major realms above me, no wonder his aura alone gives me an intense sense of danger! I better be cautious to avoid inviting trouble!"
On the field, the kindly-faced Murong Fu surveyed the crowd, amiably saying, "Good day, everyone, I am Murong Fu. Thanks to the Commandery Prince's trust, I'm hosting this test!"
"Lord Murong, you're too modest. You gracing us with your presence is truly our good fortune!"
"Indeed, indeed!"
Murong Fu smiled faintly, ignoring these flatteries, and continued:
"Some among you may not be fully clear about the content of our test. As Ascenders from different realms, you might also be unclear about the relationship between the Divine Realm and your respective realms. Let me put it this way: each realm you hail from is connected to the Divine Realm, but only those who are sufficiently powerful can traverse the passage to enter the Divine Realm."
Watching as some people revealed astonishment, Murong Fu stroked his long beard and continued:
"Furthermore, the realms you hail from differ. Some come from upper realms, where each ascension might involve dozens, even hundreds of Ascenders, while some hail from lower realms with only a few. Additionally, some upper realm experts have thrived in the Divine Realm, enabling them to directly bring their descendants here."
The previously questioning gray-clad youth immediately showed dissatisfaction, muttering softly:
"That's unfair!"
