This thought had barely surfaced in his mind for a moment before it was cast away.
God Monarchs were the strongest experts in the world. It was one thing if others misunderstood his identity; after all, they were the ones who would be humiliated if others realized that they had recognized the wrong person as their God Monarch.
However, if he was caught impersonating a God Monarch, that could be viewed as an act of challenging the long-established authority of the God Monarchs!
That could make him an enemy of the God Monarchs.
So, unless he was able to raise his strength, it was best to avoid such a risky move.
This was similar to how if an artisan dared to forge the imperial seal and act as if they were the emperor, everyone in their lineage would be beheaded as a warning to others.
Besides, even if he wanted to impersonate a God Monarch, who should he impersonate?
He knew far too little about the Nine God Monarchs and their special abilities. He had asked Qi Ling-er directly about it previously, and it seemed like the Qi Clan thought that he was the Spirit God.
Perhaps the Qi Clan only made such a mistake due to their lack of understanding of the Spirit God, but if he continued assuming the same identity in Spirit Origin Royal City…
If the current Spirit God was really Luo Ruoxin, that would be fine. If not, he would be royally screwed.
Besides, what would be the point of it? Once the Conferred God Kings start asking questions, I’d end up giving myself away for sure. And a God Monarch would be able to see through my disguise instantly…
With Luo Ruoxin’s disguise amulet, he could disguise himself as the member of some clan and fool ordinary humans. He had no confidence that he could do the same when it came to the God Monarchs.
It might be possible for Conferred God Kings to make a mistake, but would the God Monarchs fail to recognize their own peers?
If he could not get in contact with the Conferred God Kings and God Monarchs even after impersonating a God Monarch, there would be no point in him doing so in the first place.
Thus, he pondered for a while longer, but no ideas came to mind. In the end, he looked at the guard ahead of him once more before saying, “To be frank with you, I need to meet the Deathless God Monarch by hook or by crook. Do you know of any ways I could possibly do so?”
“You wish to meet our God Monarch?” The guard shook his head. “We would love to meet our God Monarch too, but it’s a pity that our cultivation is too low… Probably only those who have reached the level of a Conferred God King are qualified for that!”
As the citizens of the Sky of Spirit Origin, it was only normal for them to be curious about their own God Monarch. However, if everyone was allowed to meet the God Monarch, the latter would not have to do his work anymore.
Just meeting everyone would be enough to tire him to death!
“Then… what about entering Spirit God Palace?” Zhang Xuan asked. “As the center of the Sky of Spirit Origin, it shouldn’t be possible for Spirit God Palace to be completely closed off from the world, right?”
“It is possible to enter Spirit God Palace, but that won’t be easy either. Usually, only those summoned by the God Monarchs are allowed to enter the area… Even for the members of the Three Great Clans, only the one who has triumphed over all others will be granted the right to enter Spirit God Palace to cultivate for a night,” the guard replied.
“The strongest can cultivate for a night in Spirit God Palace?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“The most powerful ability of the Phoenix Tribe is their ability to revive from ashes,” the guard said. “However, the only lineage to have inherited this ability is the Deathless Celestial Phoenix. Furthermore, our God Monarch has no offspring. So, he permitted the Phoenix Tribe to hold a tournament among themselves every hundred years to select the most talented offspring to enter the Deathless Lava Reservoir. Through the powers of the Deathless Lava Reservoir, there’s a chance that they can comprehend the Quintessence of Deathlessness, and with such a foundation, their cultivation and standing will catapult straight up. It’s highly possible that the cultivator would be able to make a breakthrough to God King swiftly after that!”
“The Deathless Lava Reservoir?” Zhang Xuan was slightly surprised. “Didn’t the facility fall to ruin decades ago?”
He had heard about it from Zhuo Feng, and it was known to be the number one body tempering spot in the Firmament. The only problem was that it had grown obsolete and could not be repaired anymore. Due to that, he had gone to the Lucid Lunar Lake instead.
“I don’t know the details, but even if it has fallen to ruin, the spiritual energy and laws infused into it should still exist. Furthermore, there are traces of our God Monarch in Spirit God Palace. It would still be highly beneficial for a cultivator to cultivate inside the palace,” the guard replied.
Zhang Xuan nodded silently.
The higher one’s cultivation, the deeper one’s comprehension of the heavens.
The God Monarchs had reached a level where even a mere thoughtless gesture from them could become inspiration for others, such that one could contemplate over it for their entire life.
This was similar to how Kong shi’s teachings were still being interpreted by the cultivators in the Master Teacher Continent through the artifacts he had left behind.
Even though the Deathless Lava Reservoir had been destroyed, the opportunity to enter Spirit God Palace and cultivate for a night would still be highly beneficial to one’s future cultivation.
“As long as I can enter Spirit God Palace, there’s a good chance that I’ll be able to meet Ruoxin…” Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly.
Currently, it was difficult for him to ask about the affairs of the Deathless Monarch, and there was a good chance that the news he received wouldn’t be reliable either. Furthermore, he might just get himself into trouble for probing too deeply.
There was nothing more effective than entering Spirit God Palace himself and seeing the truth with his own eyes.
With such a thought in mind, he hurriedly asked, “You mentioned that the most talented offspring of the Three Great Clans is allowed to enter Spirit God Palace, right? How do they select the most talented offspring?”
“It’s through a tournament, of course,” the guard replied. “You arrived just in time. The centennial tournament will be held just five days from now. Each of the clans will elect ten of their most talented offspring to represent them in the tournament, and the one who emerges at the top will gain the right to enter Spirit God Palace. As for what kind of tournament it is, I’m afraid that I don’t really know the details. So far, the news has caused quite a bit of commotion in Royal City, and there are many people looking forward to it.”
After asking a few more questions, Zhang Xuan finally had a good grasp of the situation.
There was only a single slot to enter Spirit God Palace every hundred years, so the tournament for it was extremely brutal. It was viewed as a huge festive affair that would attract a lot of spectators every single time.
Even among the members of the Three Great Clans, there were some requirements that one had to meet in order to become a candidate.
Their cultivation had to be at high-tier Celestial God at the very minimum, and their age must not have exceeded thirty.
Even with the superior bloodline of the Phoenix Tribe, the criteria were more than enough to filter off most of the people.
After all, not everyone was as monstrous as Zhang Xuan, who was able to overcome his bottleneck so easily.
Other than that, one’s bloodline needed to be sufficiently pure, and one’s intelligence had to be decent as well. Otherwise, it would simply be a wasted opportunity if the winner of the tournament failed to comprehend the Quintessence of Deathlessness.
While the guard was not sure about what the tournament format was, the tests were likely designed in a manner that assessed one’s cultivation, temperament, and intelligence. Only those who had ticked off all the criteria would be able to rise to the top.
“Over the past month, the Three Great Clans have been summoning their offspring back to Royal City so that they can make it in time for the selection,” the guard said.
Zhang Xuan nodded in response.
It was common for offspring of clans to journey around the Firmament to accrue some worldly experiences. Nevertheless, they would still gather together for something as important as this.
Zhang Xuan proceeded to ask a few more questions, and the guard answered what he knew honestly. It was only after the guard bade farewell and left that he began venturing into the city.
Spirit Origin Royal City was a floating city, but somehow, it did not feel any different from any landbound city. Walking through the streets, Zhang Xuan swiftly internalized the information that he had just received.
Similar to the Dragon Tribe of the Sky of Cloud Dragon, the Phoenix Tribe likely has a lot of offspring around the Firmament. Some of them eventually returned whereas the others chose to settle down elsewhere. As such, it’s impossible for them to keep track of everyone in their lineage. Is it possible for me to come up with an alternative identity, similar to that of Luo Tianya, and try to sneak my way into one of the clans to acquire the opportunity?
