The three individuals returned to the wooden house and sat down in front of the yellow rosewood table. There were a few servants that were dedicated to attending to them. They were all women around the age of 40. One of them then served snacks and tea.
Fei Lun drank a mouthful of tea. He smiled and then said, "I'll have to address you as Honorable in the future. For your introduction to the Mysterious Heavenly Palace, let us start with the staff. The supreme leader of the Mysterious Heavenly Palace is naturally His Excellency, the Palace Master. Under the Palace Master are the four Supreme Elders. They have equal status and two sun marks."
Upon hearing up to this point, Zhou Weiqing interrupted. "What cultivation level are these elders at? The Heavenly Emperor Tier?"
It was easy to guess from Fei Lun's Heavenly King Tier cultivation base that their cultivation base was likely higher than his for them to become Supreme Elders.
Fei Lun nodded and replied, "All the four Supreme Elders are Heavenly Emperor Tier powerhouses. They're also the most powerful fighting force in this place. However, the four Supreme Elders no longer intervene in worldly affairs and rarely leave the Mysterious Heavenly Palace grounds."
Zhou Weiqing asked curiously, "What about the Palace Master? Is he at the Heavenly God Tier?"
Fei Lun was taken aback, and after hesitating for a moment, he shook his head and said, "Nobody knows what cultivation level the Palace Master is at. All incumbent Palace Masters have a rule. They must wear masks. The next Palace Master is also being secretly trained by the current Palace Master. So, nobody knows what cultivation level the Palace Master is at."
Zhou Weiqing asked skeptically, "If that's the case, how do we know that the new Palace Master has enough strength to succeed the previous generation?"
Fei Lun replied, "That's not that difficult. After the new Palace Master of the generation is selected, they would be secretly tested by the four Supreme Elders. The new Palace Master will only take over when he has achieved the sufficient cultivation base and be skilled in various aspects. Just between the both of us, I'm not sure if our Palace Master is at the Heavenly God Tier, but I'm certain he should at least be at the Heavenly Emperor Tier. Otherwise, how can he convince the Supreme Elders?"
Zhou Weiqing smiled and asked, "Since the position of Palace Master is passed down, is this also true for the Supreme Elders?"
Fei Lun shook his head and replied, "No. The Supreme Elders are determined by their strength. As long as they can attain the level of Heavenly Emperor Tier, they can become a Supreme Elder in the palace. This is also good as it gives others the motivation. I'll continue. Below the four Supreme Elders, there are many more Elders also determined by their cultivation levels. The requirement to become an Elder is to be at the Heavenly King Tier. There are currently twelve Elders. They also form the strongest upper echelons of the Mysterious Heavenly Palace. Besides us, there are also other branches in the city with designated responsibility. I have nothing much to say about their levels. Either way, all these people below you, a Lord God Tier Master, must obey your orders. Their specific grade is distinguished by moon and stars. The greater the number, the higher their level."
The hierarchy of those in the Mysterious Heavenly Palace was extremely strict but easy to distinguish. They used the emblems on the chest for identification.
After that, Fei Lun gave Zhou Weiqing a brief introduction of the Mysterious Heavenly Palace's current situation. Through Fei Lun's introduction, Zhou Weiqing learned that the Mysterious Heavenly Palace's headquarters was in this mountain range. The mountain range was a forbidden ground to outsiders. Even low-ranking members of the Mysterious Heavenly Palace were barred from entry.
The Mysterious Heavenly Palace usually did not involve itself with the Mysterious Heavenly Empire's politics. However, the individual in charge of each Mysterious Heavenly Palace branch had a higher status compared to the local officials. This was also the reason why Er Chun was completely superior to Sang Tan who was the mayor of Ubaatar City.
There was nothing more to say about other matters. The Mysterious Heavenly Palace had an extremely lofty position on the Mysterious Heavenly Mainland. It could not be compared to any other faction. As such, they were people who could take whatever they want on the continent. This was one of the important reasons why the lower ranked members of the Mysterious Heavenly Palace were not heavily supervised.
"In that case, what do I usually need to do, Elder?" Zhou Weiqing asked Fei Lun after he was done with the introduction.
Fei Lun chuckled and said, "My Lord, your position is second only to the Palace Master. Apart from him, there is nobody who can request you to do anything. Even the Palace Master himself has to consider your suggestions. You can do whatever you want usually. We'll get you whatever you ask for as long as it can be found on the continent. The subordinates will do it for you. Your freedom is unaffected as well. You can go wherever you like. You'll only need to act if an extremely disastrous situation occurs to the palace. Of course, the possibility of that happening is close to zero."
Zhou Weiqing chuckled. The treatment he was receiving as an Honorary Master, to say the least, was not bad at all. It looked as though his plan was very successful. Having such an extraordinary position in the Mysterious Heavenly Palace was a great advantage for him to find the Spatial Teleportation Stone.
Zhou Weiqing did not ask any more questions. He had just joined the Mysterious Heavenly Palace. It was obviously not a smart move to ask about the Spatial Teleportation Stone. He had to first settle down and gain the trust of the Mysterious Heavenly Palace. Besides, with his current status, it was very likely that he might directly come across the Spatial Teleportation Stone.
After Fei Lun briefed Zhou Weiqing on the internal structure of the Mysterious Heavenly Palace, he did not overextend his stay. He left after vaguely implying that Zhou Weiqing could request him to do any errands.
Zhou Weiqing's first step into the Mysterious Heavenly Palace could only be described as perfect. Not only did he manage to enter successfully, he even obtained such an esteemed position which increased his chances of getting close to the Spatial Teleportation Stone. On top of that, his status as a God Tier Master had been established. Perhaps, after gaining a little more trust from the Mysterious Heavenly Palace, he could directly request the Spatial Teleportation Stone for research. If the situation turned out like that, then it would be perfect.
After Fei Lun left, Zhou Weiqing did not take Shangguan Bing'er out for a walk. Instead, he continued staying in the cottage to cultivate and stabilize his recently elevated realm.
Shangguan Bing'er told Zhou Weiqing about the feeling she had in Zhou Weiqing's arms when he was unconscious. The two attempted it again. As long as she cultivated within one meter of Zhou Weiqing, the Saint Energy in Shangguan Bing'er's body would be driven along by Zhou Weiqing's Saint Energy.
This way, Shangguan Bing'er's body continued to improve during the Saint Energy circulation and the Atmospheric Energy absorption process. Her cultivation improved so quickly that even she herself was shocked. When she had met Zhou Weiqing again, she was only at the Sixth Jewel. However, she was now in the middle of the Seventh Jewel level. All this happened within the span of a few months. Although it could not be compared to when Zhou Weiqing absorbed the large Heavenly God Tier dragon, it was still shocking.
Zhou Weiqing made a bold guess. Perhaps once his Saint Energy condensed into a Nucleus Core, it would be possible to help the three Shangguan sisters who were filled with Saint Energy but had no Saint Attribute to condense Saint Core.
That evening, two attendants with a moon emblem on their chest came to invite them to a banquet. Only then did Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing'er end their cultivation.
This time, they did not take the carriage. After they left the mountain valley, two attendants greeted Zhou Weiqing, who then led the way. Their speed was not too fast as they needed to take care of Zhou Weiqing who 'only had five jewels.'
This time, Zhou Weiqing finally had a chance to look at the mountain range in its entirety. Because he was in the mountains, there were not much to see with naked eye. However, this did not mean that Zhou Weiqing could not see. With his upgraded sense of perception, he discovered that the undulating mountains were very vast. With his current perception, he could only feel the surrounding terrain but not the limits of the mountain range. The valley he was at was likely at the periphery of the mountain range.
They went down the mountain on the main road laid with granite. The road was surrounded by a variety of lush and green plants. Some were similar to the ones found on the Boundless Mainland, but there were also some that Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing'er had never seen before.
Occasionally, there was a breeze blowing through the mountain. The rich fragrance of the plants wafted about in an especially refreshing manner. Compared to the Atmospheric Energy that would appear only after conjuration in the valley, the Atmospheric Energy was denser the further one went in.
Zhou Weiqing thought that this was the reason the Mysterious Heavenly Palace was so powerful. The Atmospheric Energy was no less dense than at the Heavenly Jewel Island. Furthermore, the difference between the Mysterious Heavenly Palace and the Heaven's Expanse Palace was that the Mysterious Heavenly Palace could make full use of the resources on the mainland and even the ocean, as well as recruit all the talented people on the mainland. As such, if it was solely a conflict between Saint Lands, perhaps only the Heavenly Snow Mountain which controlled all beasts could match it. Even the Heaven's Expanse Palace could not do so.
On the Heaven's Expanse Mainland, although the ranking of the Heaven's Expanse Palace was above the Heavenly Snow Mountain's, it was only based on the rankings of the Heavenly Jewel Masters. It did not take into account the Heavenly Beasts the Heavenly Snow Mountain controlled. Naturally, the Heavenly Beasts would not leave the Ten Thousand Beast Heaven so easily. Otherwise, they would surely be slaughtered by the powerhouses in the entire continent. That was why when it came to overall strength, the Heavenly Snow Mountain was stronger. After all, Zhou Weiqing had already seen at least one Heavenly Beast at the Heavenly Emperor Tier in the Heavenly Snow Mountain. In comparison, the Shangguan brothers were the only two that were at the Heavenly Emperor Tier in the Heavenly Expanse Palace. One of the advantages the Heavenly Expanse Palace had was that they had a lot of experts, with dozens of Heavenly King Tier experts. It was a lot more than the Mysterious Heavenly Palace.
Therefore, Zhou Weiqing made a simple conclusion. The collective strength of the Heavenly Snow Mountain was likely enough to fight against the Mysterious Heavenly Palace. However, the chance of victory was not high. The Heavenly Expanse Palace needed to cooperate with at least two of the Five Great Saint Lands just to defeat the Mysterious Heavenly Palace. This had yet taken into consideration the lower-ranking Heavenly Jewel Masters of the Mysterious Heavenly Palace. According to Zhou Weiqing's estimate, the number of the Heavenly Jewel Masters controlled by the Mysterious Heavenly Palace was more than the total number of the Heavenly Expanse Palace and the Five Great Saint Lands put together. Although recruiting all sorts of people resulted in a motley crew, the Heavenly Expanse Palace and the Five Great Saint Lands cherished themselves too excessively. They did not recruit external disciples.