The pitch-black outline of the tower glimmered softly under the night skies. The top of the tower which pierced into the skies above could not be seen even by craning one’s head upward.

All kinds of fighters and Celestial Beasts that morphed into fighters alike gathered outside of the Soul Pagoda. They packed together tightly, perching themselves on top of tree trunks and sitting atop boulders. The cultivation base of these individuals was at least above Earthly Venerable One. An enormous number of mystical beasts were gathered in another region.

The number of humans, Celestial Beasts, and mystical beasts amounted up to hundreds of thousands. This was the first wave to enter the Soul Pagoda.

Ye Chen hid in a group of fighters so he did not stand out too much.

“Look, those over there are a part of the Thunder Beasts!”

“It’s said that the Thunder Beasts are born with natural talent. From the moment they are born, they are already at Tenth Level. After several years of cultivation, they can easily advance to Earthly Adept Level. The average adult Thunder Beast is at least Heavenly Adept Level, the stronger ones are Mystique Adept Level. There are many Daemon King Rank fighters among the Thunder Beasts. They boasted the largest number of Daemon King Rank fighters among all species!”

“The ones over there should be Heavenly Adept Level or Mystique Adept Level as well. It’s a good thing that the Thunder Beasts have difficulty breeding. Otherwise, the Great Eastern Continent would be overrun by the Thunder Beasts!”

There were several people near him whispering among themselves and pointing at something so Ye Chen followed the direction they had pointed at. He saw around twenty people sitting together, each one of them carried a cold, hard expression on their faces. These people distinctly stood out among the crowd. They were large men who stood above two meters and were extremely muscular. Their skin exuded a faint and dark radiance. They held a resemblance to some sort of steel monsters.

“Master Lion, what sort of secret ancestral technique does the Thunder Beasts have?” Ye Chen asked after his Astral Body dove into the Heavenly Astra Seal.

“Thunder Beasts? Back then, even the strongest among the Thunder Beasts are just a bunch of small fries that can be taken out effortlessly. To think that the Thunder Beasts would now be labeled the strongest species in the Great Eastern Continent. What a joke.” The Purple-fire Astra Lion laughed. “The Thunder Beasts only boasted extremely resilient bodies. All they could cast were simple Thunder-type techniques.”

Ye Chen wondered why there were so many powerful beings in the ancient ages and yet, so many of them had disappeared today.

“Still, the Thunder Beasts aren’t foes that you can defeat at your current stage. It’s better to avoid confronting them if you come across them,” the Purple-fire Astra Lion said, “if I went out there myself, I can kill them all with just a simple sneeze. At your current stage, you might not even be able to defeat a Mystique Adept Level Thunder Beast.”

Even though the Purple-fire Astra Lion viewed the Thunder Beasts as insignificant beings, they were still an unopposable threat for Ye Chen. This was especially true for Bi Mie the Beast Emperor, who was the strongest in the Great Eastern Continent. He was a Grand Supreme Rank master!

“Though the Thunder Beasts are an ancient bloodline, they are still nothing compared to the little Winged Serpent hiding within your clothes.”

That was true. Not long after Little Wingsy’s birth, his body was already at Daemon King Rank. It was an unfair comparison between him and the Thunder Beasts. Ye Chen did not release his Astral Body, he only used his ears to carefully listen to the conversations of the people around him. It was about time to enter the Soul Pagoda so it was the right choice to collect more intel.

Even though Ye Chen did not release his Astral Body, his senses were heightened by his Astral Body. He was able to listen to the faintest voice within a twenty to thirty meters radius around him. Even though they spoke in a low voice, Ye Chen could hear every word clearly.

“Those are from the Tribunal Council. I heard the Tribunal Council sent a Grand Supreme Elder called Cang Lu. The Tribunal Council has three tribunal leaders and seven Grand Supreme Elders. Their cultivation bases are at the fabled Peerless or Grand Supreme Rank. I don’t know if the ancient families dispatched anyone yet. They say that the ancient families and the Tribunal Council are rivals so it’s going to be interesting if they do run into each other.”

“Who are those over there?” One of them pointed at several men far away who wore a suit of golden armor.

“Looks like they are from the Temple of War. The Temple of War is a super faction as well. They usually keep to themselves in the deep mountains in the northern region of the Central Empire. Most of them are devoted cultivators. They say that every member of the Temple of War is an orphan of the war that went through gruesome training since the day they were taken in. Only one in every ten thousand survived and managed to learn the secret ancestral technique. All of their cultivation bases are at least Mystique Venerable Rank. They very rarely show themselves. It’s a surprise they made an appearance this time.”

“Thunder Beasts, Temple of War, and Tribunal Council. Tsk tsk, who knows who else would be here?”

Ye Chen closed his eyes. All these hidden forces were lurking around the Soul Pagoda. He felt immense stress weighing down on him. Still, he knew that this was not the time to back down. The Soul Pagoda must contain some sort of incredible secret that could help him break through to a higher stage. If he managed to achieve a breakthrough, his Astral Body would reach the stage of a Godly Venerable One. It would be greatly helpful when he confronted the House of Storms. If he were not able to surpass his current cultivation base, he would not be able to protect his loved ones when they were in danger. He would not be able to protect Little Tanuki, Little Rou, and Little Wingsy.

On the path of cultivation, there was only one path. That was to continue advancing and never backing down, only then would he be able to ascend to the peak!

Ye Chen sat cross-legged and looked far off into the distance. He noticed a familiar silhouette. He suddenly realized that it was Fu Yu of the Tribunal Council. The last time they fought for the Celestial Martial Chi against Fu Yu, he was heavily wounded by Tantai Ling but managed to escape. He did not expect him to be recovered already.

It made sense when Ye Chen thought about it. With the capability of the Tribunal Council on top of Fu Yu being the tribunal leader of a sub-council, it would be a simple task to regrow a severed limb. In truth, the real damage Tantai Ling had inflicted on Fu Yu was the attack to his Spirit.

Fu Yu stood just dozens of steps away from Ye Chen. If he recognized Ye Chen, he would not let Ye Chen have the chance to get away.

Ye Chen had a hat on that concealed his appearance and he sat inconspicuously among the crowd. There were many people around him, each one of them a wandering warrior who came from a different place. They had varying appearances, many of them were dressed differently and strangely. Hence, Ye Chen was not going to attract much attention among the crowd.

Fu Yu walked by Ye Chen’s side with two of his subordinates accompanying him when a Godly Venerable One’s aura extended toward his direction. Fu Yu’s gaze swept through the crowd, the air tightened and seemed to become colder.

“Who is this?” one of the men among a group of three whispered.

“This is the tribunal leader of the Teal Cloud Sub-council, Fu Yu. He’s a Godly Venerable One. There are different rumors. Some say that he’s a beginner Godly Venerable One while others say he’s a mid-Godly Venerable One.”

“Look at that arrogance, that’s a man of the Tribunal Council for you!” A tall man scorned.

Even though they were a small distance away, Fu Yu heard everything they said loud and clear. Fu Yu scoffed. “Who do you think you are to criticize my Tribunal Council!” All that could be seen his shirtsleeve slightly waving in the air as a loud smack echoed. The tall man around thirty steps away took a hard slap and flew backward. He held his hand to his face, fresh blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He held his head down and kept his tongue. His cultivation base was merely Mystique Venerable One so he was no match for Fu Yu. Furthermore, he was just an independent cultivator. He could not oppose the Tribunal Council.

Fu Yu remarked to the crowd coldly, “If anyone else dares to run their mouth and talk about the Tribunal Council, it won’t end this well next time!”

Nobody in the crowd dared to say anything. They kept their heads low.

The Thunder Beast Clan a long distance away glanced toward this direction and retracted their gaze. Fu Yu only punished some random no-named fighters without any background. If it was the Thunder Beast Clan members that he had punished, the matter would not be resolved so easily. For those with no significant background and did not belong to any faction, all they could do was stomach their displeasure.

“After all these years of the Tribunal Council ruling over the Great Eastern Continent, we’ve always been fair rulers. If there’s any among you that found any treasure in the Soul Pagoda, sell it to our Tribunal Council. I promise that the Tribunal Council will not let you be mistreated.” Fu Yu’s voice carried over the crowd.

What Fu Yu meant to say was clear. Anyone who found any treasure in the Soul Pagoda must sell it to the Tribunal Council. Whether they were treated fairly or not was up to the Tribunal Council to decide. Ordinary people did not even have the right to negotiate prices with the Tribunal Council.

Upon hearing Fu Yu’s words, the people of the Thunder Beasts Clan, Temple of War, City of the Apothecary King, and several ancient bloodlines snickered among themselves. Still, they did not say anything. Though they were the enemies of the Tribunal Council, they would not oppose the Tribunal Council in broad daylight.

All the common fighters in attendance stayed silent. You would have to be a fool to willingly sell any treasures you find to the Tribunal Council. Any treasure found in the Soul Pagoda was worth an entire city on their own. There was no way they would give it away easily. However, it would not be easy for them to keep the treasures for themselves for they would have to fight for it with their lives. They only had themselves to blame for not being born in a powerful family!

When he saw the crowd staying silent with their heads held down, Fu Yu continued, “Think about it carefully. Even if you do find the treasures, you need to have the strength to hold onto it! If you take the initiative and hand it over to the Tribunal Council, not only will we reward you with some medicinal pills and spirit artifacts, we just might consider letting you join our Tribunal Council.”

Fu Yu’s words were meant as a blatant threat to all of them.

Although the common fighters were not pleased, they kept their silence. A Godly Venerable One was too much for them. The highest cultivation base fighter among them was just mere Mystique Venerable One and Mystique Adept Level. They were not even comparable to the same tiered Mystique Venerable One and Mystique Adept Level of the large factions as they did not learn any secret techniques.

“That’s all I have to say, Whether to live or die, the choice is in your hands.” Fu Yu finished and walked away. He was just a small distance away from Ye Chen.

Ye Chen kept his head down the entire time. After hearing Fu Yu’s speech, he scornfully raised his lips. So, this was the Tribunal Council!

After Fu Yu had walked several hundred meters away, he suddenly came to a stop and looked back into the crowd.

“What is it, tribunal leader?” one of Fu Yu’s subordinates asked. The subordinate was also an officer of a high position.

Fu Yu inspected the rows of common fighters before him. He felt like he had sensed a familiar energy earlier. He only caught a glimpse of that energy before it vanished and was not felt again. There were thousands of common fighters before him, all of them were dressed differently. He searched for a long time but was not able to find the person he was looking for.

Maybe Fu Yu was just mistaken. He shook his head. “It’s nothing, let’s go.”

Fu Yu and his two subordinates turned around and walked away.

Ye Chen looked at Fu Yu’s figure far away. Fortunately, a large man was blocking him, otherwise, Fu Yu might have been able to spot him.

“Ye Chen, the Soul Pagoda is about to open. Get ready and listen to my instructions!” Master Lion’s voice rang out.

“Master Lion has been to the Soul Pagoda before?” Ye Chen asked curiously.

“Of course, I have. I have not just simply been there. I have been to the seventy-second level and also the thirty-fifth level underground.” The Master Lion laughed.

“Seventy-second? The gems on each level will glow once someone has ascended to its respective level. If Master Lion had been to the seventy-second floor, why did the gems only glow until the seventh level?” Ye Chen asked.

“I don’t know when exactly these gems are carved into the exterior walls. Back when I was in the Soul Pagoda, there weren’t any gems on the exterior of the Soul Pagoda at all!”