Meanwhile, the royal city was holding the annual “Worshipping Assembly.”
“The first Lord Beihan established the thirty six states and gave billions of people places to live. We worship him every year to express our gratitude to him,” an officer read aloud.
Many members of the royal family stood there solemnly.
All the important people in the entire Beihan Region—including the Sect Masters of the six Grotto-heavens, the leaders of the eight powerful families and the leaders of the Top Ten—were present.
Countless Golden Core Cultivators and Overlords were attending.
Every one of them was a cultivator that could cause earthquakes in the Beihan Region just by stomping a foot.
“Brother Ji, what’s going on? We don’t usually see these Sect Masters. Why did they come to the assembly this year?” a young man asked with his Immortal Will.
He was Zhang Ming from the Pure Essence Sect. He had already entered the Connate Level at his young age, but he still wasn’t outstanding enough among the other guests. Each of those guests was powerful enough to shake half a state.
Qi Feng, the representative of Tianji Grotto-heaven, replied, “Haven’t you heard about it? People said Lord Beihan will decide who’s going to be his successor after this assembly, which is why all the members of the royal city are here, even those Golden Core Ancestral Patriarchs. The descendants are battling with one another; the guards have shut the gates and all the arrays in the royal city are active. Not even a mosquito could come in right now.”
“Really?” Zhang Ming said.
He saw the descendants of the royal family in the Arctic Hall clenching their fists and holding their swords.
There had only been two generations passing the Lord Beihan title in the past thousands of years.
The present Lord Beihan had lived two thousand years, which was much longer when considering normal Golden Core cultivator standards. So, he had dozens of generations of descendants. Even though it was difficult for cultivators with the blood of the Sky-Swallowing Python to procreate, Lord Beihan still sired thousands of descendants.
“Among all the descendants, Prince Zhao Duluo, Prince Zhao Duming and Prince Zhao Duxuan are the most powerful ones. They’ve all become Golden Core Cultivators. Prince Zhao Qingchen was also half a step away from the Golden Core Level, but Chen Beixuan took his blood and was later banished from the royal family.”
Qi Feng shook his head. “All these three descendants are qualified to be the next Lord Beihan, but I’m not sure if they can protect the throne.”
“What do you mean?” Zhang Ming asked.
“There are nine grades of Golden Core. Even the most talented Prince Zhao Duluo, he only has a fourth-grade Golden Core. I heard that in some of the historical sects outside the Beihan Region, only superior-grade Golden Core Cultivators can aspire to be the successor of their Sect Masters or leaders. Some even required a ninth-grade Golden Core.”
Qi Feng explained, “The Golden Core level determines the potential and future of a cultivator. In order to be immortal and become a Heavenly Lord, one must have a superior-grade Golden Core. Cultivators with a mid-grade Golden Core only have a small chance, while nobody has ever been able to do so with an inferior-grade Golden Core.
“That’s why the future is settled the moment the cultivator goes through the Thunder Tribulation. These Princes aren’t even as powerful as Sword King and the Sect Masters of the Grotto-heavens. How could they rule the Beihan Region?”
Hearing what Qi Feng said, Zhang Ming was envious.
“Ah, a ninth-grade Golden Core. I wonder which level I can reach when I go through the Thunder Tribulation.”
Zhang Ming shook his head and asked, “Brother Qi, what level do you think Perfected Cultivator Chen is at? I heard that the elder of the Tianji Grotto-heaven was also there during the battle outside Old China Town.”
“Chen Fan?”
Qi Feng frowned and said with hesitation, “When Perfected Cultivator Tianluo went past Old China Town, he measured the level of Perfected Cultivator Chen. One of the results was that he was a sixth-grade Golden Core Cultivator, while the other was… that he wasn’t a Golden Core Cultivator, but a Connate Cultivator.”
“What?” Zhang Ming yelled.
Everyone around immediately looked at him angrily and the elder of the Pure Essence Sect glared at him. Zhang Ming quickly held Qi Feng’s arm and said, “Brother Qi, are you sure? Perfected Cultivator Chen killed five Golden Core Cultivators and scared Chi Fenkong away. If he isn’t a Golden Core Cultivator, the entire Beihan Region would be stunned.”
“Not only the Beihan Region, even those historical sects around Planet Tianhuang might not have such a peerless being!”
Qi Feng smiled wryly.
At the front of the Arctic Hall.
Sword King stood alone in a white outfit. Not Even the Sect Masters of the Grotto-heavens dared to stand beside him and the three Golden Core Princes stood behind respectfully.
Perfected Cultivator Heiming of the Xuanming Grotto-heaven said, “Do you know that Sword King actually came from a powerful sect outside the Beihan Region? He fought with the heir of that sect for the throne, but lost. That was why he had to leave for the Beihan Region.”
“Really? Sword King is the most powerful Overlord in our region. Even the Grand Elder of the Xukong Sect, Lord Red Dragon and the Ancestral Patriarch of the Ling family are no match for him,” a few elders present said.
The Grand Elder of the Xukong Sect, Perfected Cultivator Taixu, the leader of the Red Dragons, Lord Red Dragon, the Ancestral Patriarch of the Ling family and Sword King were four well-known peak-stage Golden Core Perfected Cultivators.
They were the most superior beings in the region, following the mysterious Lord Beihan.
However, the powerful Sword King was in fact a loser. How could anyone not be surprised?
“I heard about this from an old friend in the Tianji Grotto-heaven. That historical sect is extremely powerful and is one of the top forces on Planet Tianhuang. They have more than one Nascent Soul Heavenly Lord. Their appointed heir is even someone on the Longevity Roll, who has completed a superior-grade Golden Core and is close to entering the Nascent Soul Level,” Perfected Cultivator Heiming continued.
“The Longevity Roll!”
This time.
All the elders were speechless.
That name seemed to have magic; no one questioned anything from that point onwards.
The Worshipping Assembly was going smoothly. Towards the end, Sword King asked, “Zhao Duluo, how are things going at Old China Town?”
Zhao Duluo bowed and said, “Uncle, Zhu Jiushan started attacking. There will be news coming in a while. I think Zhu Jiushan will be able to bring Chen Beixuan to you before the assembly ends.”
The few descendants of the royal family looked over with a jealous face.
“Brother Zhao took me in when I was banished from my sect. Now that he’s lost an elite descendant, I’ll offer him a Golden Core Overlord. Of course, if Chen Beixuan refuses to surrender, we can just kill him. I’ve killed countless elites throughout my life,” Sword King said calmly.
“Got it.”
Zhao Duluo was immediately thrilled.
Chen Fan took the blood of a Prince, but no one in the Royal Palace knew what actions to take. In the end, it was Zhao Duluo who sent out troops and cultivators out there to catch Chen Fan. He was obviously more outstanding than his siblings. As to the impending succession, Lord Beihan would surely have a bias for Zhao Duluo during the selection process.
The conversation in the Arctic Hall quickly circulated around the assembly.
“What? Perfected Cultivator Chen is Chen Beixuan? Zhao Duluo has already sent the guards to go after him?”
“They even mobilized the Black Elder and the White Elder, the seven Lords and the General of the Navy. No matter how talented Chen Beixuan is, he won’t be able to resist attacks from more than thirteen Golden Core Cultivators.”
“Ah, what a shame. A powerful elite is going to die.”
The Royal Palace was stirred in an instant.
Countless elders from sects and families who attended the assembly were startled by the news.
Sword King was apparently trying to scare the Grotto-heavens and the prestigious families. If the royal family could capture or kill Chen Fan who was a mid-stage Golden Core Cultivator, who else would dare to offend the Zhao family in the future?
The Sect Masters of a few Grotto-heavens were also terrified.
Only Perfected Cultivator Golden Crow of the Yin Yang Grotto-heaven was thrilled. He was the backbone of the Golden Crow. Chen Fan had already killed two of his Golden Crow Envoys. So, how would he be unhappy about it?
Then, a ray of light flashed in the sky. It was a flying sword that delivered a message.
“The news should be here.”
Zhao Duluo took the flying sword with a smile and opened the letter. He immediately froze as if he had seen a ghost.
“What’s wrong?”
Sword King frowned. Even though he hadn’t turned around, he felt that Zhao Duluo was in shock.
Zhao Duluo looked up and said with a shaking voice, “Uncle… It’s news from Old China Town…”
“…We lost the battle. All three Commanders, seven Lords, the Black Elder and the White Elder, and three hundred thousand guards… all of them were annihilated, except for Zhu Jiushan.”
“The killer… is Chen Beixuan!”
“What?”
The entire hall went silent.
All the members of the royal family, the Sect Masters of the Grotto-heavens and the elders were shocked by the revelation.
Prince Zhao Duxuan said, “Brother, are you sure? We have three troops, seven Lords and thirteen Golden Core Cultivators there! Even the Grand Elder of the Xukong Sect would be no match for them. How could Chen Beixuan kill them all?”
Zhao Duluo looked pale and his hands were shaking. He couldn’t even say a word.
When everybody was about to ask him further…
“Boom!”
A beam of golden light came from afar.
The golden light was too bright. When it got closer to the royal city, it didn’t stop even when the army of the Royal Palace and six Golden Core Perfected Cultivators stood in its way.
It went past the guards and layers of arrays, stopping above the Sky-Swallowing Palace.
As the golden light arrived, a clear voice came.
“Chen Beixuan and Xiao Mang of the Chinese are here to meet the Zhao family!”
The voice resounded in a thousand mile range and thousands of people were shocked.