Eldest Brother has many past lives, and has been reincarnated many times. He’s profoundly mysterious. Second Elder Sister found a destined opportunity in Huang Yan. And being loved by Flame Phoenix has its own extraordinary aspects. Third Elder Brother… is connected to the Ghost Emperor. Either that or he’s from the holy lands. And then there’s me…. What’s so unique about me?

Even after thinking about it, Xu Qing couldn’t come up with anything about himself that was very unique and special, with the exception… of his relationship to the crow.

There were also the scenes in the violet crystal he had witnessed when he faced Crimson Mother, except he wasn’t even sure if they were real. He had seen a time period in which he died, which was an image that conflicted with his actual experience.

“Have I really died before?” Xu Qing murmured into the moonlight. His words disappeared into the darkness.

It was almost as if the cloud cover sensed that, and then there was a flash as lightning fell noiselessly. Shortly after, the thunder caught up. Rumbling booms filled the imperial capital as fat raindrops started falling. It rained the whole night. When dawn came, there was still a haze that filled the air and made many people want to just stay inside where it was warm and dry.

It started raining again in the afternoon.

Xu Qing didn’t go to the Imperial University. He had already visited all the different schools of thought, and now he just had to make a choice.

Besides, he also had an appointment. He had been invited to meet with Princess Anhai. If it had been anyone else, he could have refused. But considering how kind she had been when escorting him to the imperial capital, he didn’t think it would be appropriate to decline, not even if he did so tactfully. That was just his personality.

The rain still poured down when evening came, so Xu Qing left the mansion with an oil-paper umbrella in his hand. A cultivator could rely on their cultivation base to keep the rain away. But sometimes when walking among mortals, there was no need to stand out as different. It was an aspect of mental cultivation that Xu Qing had gained enlightenment of from the Mental State School in the Imperial University.

Xu Qing walked the streets of the imperial capital, keeping an eye on the other pedestrians as he contemplated the various schools in the Imperial University. He also mused about what was going to happen at this meeting.

Rain pattered onto the umbrella, then turned into streams of water pouring down. On the way down, the wind would hit the streams of water, causing them to bend and sway. In the end, the water once again turned into raindrops that fell to the ground with all the other rain.

The raindrop is a raindrop. Then it isn’t a raindrop. Then it becomes a raindrop again.

Xu Qing looked up into the canopy of heaven. Gradually, his muddled mental state from learning about his Master’s origin and everything his Eldest Brother had talked about began to calm down.

Life is wonderful because of the unknown. I guess it doesn’t really matter if I died before or not. What’s important is that I’m still alive. And if I can make my life a little bit better, that would be great.

That had been Xu Qing’s dream when he lived back in the slums, and still was. That part of him hadn’t changed. Keep on living. Only by staying alive could he eventually remove the veil from his eyes and find out the truth. And then… he could travel the world… with his Master, his Eldest Brother, and his other fellow apprentices.

He took a deep breath and started walking through the rain again. The sky was dark by the time he reached the southwestern part of the capital. There he found a palace with a phoenix theme. He stopped and looked at it.

This was Princess Anhai’s mansion outside of the imperial palace.

Xu Qing wasn’t the only one coming to this meeting. There were other elite cultivators from the Imperial Region, including close friends of the princess and other outstanding individuals. Xu Qing knew that this entire event was a show of kindness on the part of Princess Anhai. She was arranging to introduce him to more people.

Xu Qing wasn’t an expert in social niceties, but when people showed kindness to him, he accepted it. Just as he stepped into Princess Anhai’s mansion, a loud crack of thunder echoed out. Heaven and earth trembled. It was almost like the shout of a god, causing the raindrops to explode and turn into mist. It was loud enough to cause the hearts of many to pound.

Xu Qing frowned, stopped walking, and looked up into the pitch-black canopy of heaven.

Of course, a thunderclap couldn’t do anything to him. But the uneasy feeling he’d been experiencing grew stronger because of the thunder. It was a warning from his heavenly dao bluegreen dragon.

That was noteworthy, as his heavenly dao bluegreen dragon hadn’t even provided a warning about the assassination attempt. But now he could sense it clearly.

Something big is about to happen. But what…?

With such thoughts on his mind, he entered Princess Anhai’s mansion.

***

In the northern part of the imperial capital, there was a mysterious building complex built of a host of neatly arranged black towers.

The tall towers formed the borders, with the shorter ones being in the middle. The borders were tightly guarded by patrolling cultivators, and there were shocking spell formations. In fact, this place was a focus of the imperial capital’s grand spell formation.

It was one of the Five Greater Celestial Divisions, the Creation Division, which focused on the research of immortal skills and the study of gods. It was also the place where all the research and development of the Dawning Suns had occurred. When it came to humankind as a whole, this division had a big responsibility. 1

The Creation Division itself was important, but there was more. The emperor had assigned his ninth son a post there. When Ninth Prince accepted the post in the Creation Division, he swore an oath to refrain from any of the succession struggles to secure the spot of crown prince. Nor would he pick sides with any of the others involved in such struggles. That was why he hadn’t participated in the enlightenment event at Planet Ancient Emperor.

As far as he was concerned, the most important pursuit he could focus on was research of gods and immortal skills. In the end, he lived up to the emperor’s expectations, and his work on the Dawning Suns was declared a major meritorious service. Normally speaking, he wouldn’t go out in public unless he was summoned by the emperor. But today… as thunder crashed in the sky and rain poured down, he could be seen staggering out of one of the inner buildings in the Creation Division. His expression was one of alarm, even terror. He was shaking, and didn’t do anything to stop the rain from soaking him.

“As the ninth son of the emperor, and the keeper of law and order in the Creation Division, I hereby order this place to be locked down immediately! Nobody is to leave. Any who violate this command shall be executed immediately!!”

As his voice echoed through the booming thunder, the imperial capital’s grand spell formation created a sealing power that descended on the Creation Division. All the other cultivators present looked around in bewilderment.

Ninth Prince ignored them. Pulling out a jade slip, he sent a voice message. Finally, he stood in place, guarding over the Creation Division as he waited… for the emperor to arrive.

At the same time, other high-ranking leaders in the Creation Division came out into the rain, their faces ashen and unsightly.

***

Back at Princess Anhai’s mansion, a lovely banquet was underway. Princess Anhai sat in the position of honor, with Xu Qing next to her, and everyone else seated in rows on either side.

There were a few dozen people present, including both men and women. They were either important government officials or elite chosen. Meng Yunbai was there, and was chatting enthusiastically with those around him. Princess Anhai had put a lot of thought into every invitation she sent, all with the goal of ensuring that nothing inappropriate happened during the event. All of the people present liked Xu Qing to a degree, and also respected him.

Xu Qing was in the same generation as these cultivators, but he had a special status. It was also profoundly significant that he had acquired The Emperor’s Sword. Therefore, even though Xu Qing wasn’t very adept at formal occasions like this, he still got along well with everyone.

After three rounds of drinking were done, the atmosphere was noisy and energetic. At that point, Princess Anhai steered the conversation in the direction of the Imperial University.

“Did everyone hear about the announcement from the God-Merging School? In half a month, they’re going to have a conclave trial to pick a hundred people to join their conclave.”

“When you talk about the God-Merging School, you have to talk about its schoolmaster. Except the schoolmaster’s identity is a big secret…. That said, according to what I’ve heard, he’s merged eighty percent of his body, but covers the effects with a magical treasure.”

“His battle prowess is completely astonishing. I heard that the schoolmaster of the God-Merging School would only need one palm strike to crush a first-stage Void Returning godly entity.”

“For a chosen like that to keep such a low profile hints at some amazing future developments.”

People sighed in amazement. The discussion continued, touching on some of the other schools of thought, such as the Spirit Forging School, the Myriad Magics School, the Mental State School, and the Tranquil Treasure School. People talked about the students and schoolmasters from those schools, and everyone generally sighed in admiration. There were many opinions on the true identities of the schoolmasters, with some people even speculating that some of them were imperial princes. It was abundantly clear that the big schools of thought from the Imperial University exerted influence that went far beyond the university.

“I think it’s a pity that the God-Merging School has become the most orthodox school in the university. All the other schools of thought have fallen behind. In other words, the chances of outright clashes between schools of thought is minimal. Some of the ancient records I read about the Imperial University indicate that throughout the history of the university, there have been four instances of a school war. Every single time, the emperor gets involved, and the ramifications are profound.”

Some people sighed. Others nodded. The conversation went on. Eventually, someone mentioned the Xeno-Immortal School.

“I’m actually a lot more interested in the Xeno-Immortal School than any of the other schools of thought. Sadly, the place is basically deserted. In the final analysis, their cultivation methods are too difficult, and their standard for latent talent is too high. Although, all of that could be overlooked. What’s of even greater significance is that they’ve never produced a single person who succeeded.”

The person who had brought up the Xeno-Immortal School was a young man named Mu Nan. He looked elegant, with a warm smile. Based on Princess Anhai’s introduction when he arrived, he was from the main headquarters of the human branch of the Church of Departure.

“Granted, they have two heroes who died for their cause by partially succeeding. One of them was killed. The other transformed his body but couldn’t reverse the process. I’m pretty sure they enshrined the body of the latter. However, after all their years of isolation, nobody has actually seen the body. That said, I saw some recorded images at the Church which show Chen Daoze’s soul-weaved state.”

With that, he glanced casually at Xu Qing.

Looking back at him placidly, Xu Qing said, “Any chance you can share that image with us, Fellow Daoist Mu Nan?”

Mu Nan grinned. “It’s top secret in my church, so normally speaking, outsiders aren’t allowed to see it. But you’re different, Region Lord Xu.”

Mu Nan took out a jade slip and sent it floating through the air toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing took it and focused on it. Instantly, an image appeared in his head. It showed a middle-aged cultivator in a daoist robe. He waved his hand, and a massive amount of mutagen poured into him. As that happened, he transformed, turning into an extremely vicious godly entity.

Xu Qing didn’t react physically to what he was seeing, but his heart started pounding. And that was because it looked very similar to his god states!

At that exact moment, bells started tolling in the imperial capital, so loud that they surpassed the volume of the thunder. They rang nine times.

Everyone at the banquet froze briefly, then got to their feet.

“The imperial bells rang nine times. That means something big is happening!”

A grave expression could be seen on Xu Qing’s face. The warning from his heavenly dao bluegreen dragon had left him unsettled, and that feeling was only growing more intense. All of a sudden, a crashing boom could be heard from outside Princess Anhai’s mansion.

A moment later, a squad of imperial guards stormed in, their golden armor flashing.

A somber and desolate aura filled the banquet hall. As everyone looked over in confusion, the leader of the squad looked coldly at Xu Qing. After bowing at the waist, he said, “Region Lord Xu, you have been invited to the imperial palace for an audience with the emperor!”

1. We originally heard about the Creation Division (and its connection to the Dawning Suns) in chapter 547.1. It was mentioned in passing in the couple of chapters after that one as well. ☜