Chapter 25: The Imperial Sky Emperor's Trial
Lee Chun Hua slowly opened her eyes with a sigh. She really hated to have a discussion with her other half. But yet, deep down she knew that what the bitch said was true. She was not nearly strong enough to survive the Imperial Sky Emperor's trial at all.
***
"What's the Imperial Sky Emperor's trial?"
Seth raised a brow in confusion. He had not heard about such a concept anywhere in his mind. Not from webnovels, anime, or even in movies. The merchant gave him a strange look.
"Kid, have you been living under a rock or something? Even if you HAVE been living under a rock, you should know about the Imperial Sky Emperor, everyone does."
"Can you explain it to be like I'm a child? I... um... got hit on the head really hard by a beast and I lost my memory."
Seth could not really let anyone know that he wasn't really from their world. Thus, he had to swifty create an excuse and hoped for the merchant to buy it.
"Hmm. That sounds plausible..." The man stroked his white moustache in thought.
"... Well, the Imperial Sky Emperor is one of the most powerful existences that exist around here. His cultivation has far surpassed the Yin/Yang awakening tier, and he rules over the four empires...."
Sometime yesterday, Lee Chun Hua had said something in passing about some three great empires surrounding the Sectdom, so Seth nodded and asked a question of his own.
"So this Imperial Sky Emperor dude rules all the three empires?"
"Oh no. No no no no..." The old merchant shook his head in stark disagreement. "The Imperial Sky Emperor is like a god. Heck, he even is one since he has already faced each and every one of the Nine Hells and emerged victorious."
Seth took note of a few key terms that he had learned, just in case the information would come in handy sooner or later. 'So there is an unknown cultivation tier far above all others that only this Imperial Sky Emperor guy has achieved. Then to achieve immortality, a person would have to face a literal nine hells?'
The merchant continued to ramble on and on about the Imperial Sky Emperor's strength, but that due not really interest him. Oblivious to Seth losing attention, the old man spoke on.
"Sure, giving us a hero to protect the lands from beasts and all isn't a bad thing to do, but forcing each and every cultivatior on the continent to participate in a death guaranteed survival tournament of sorts is rather cruel."
That was enough to perk the youth's ears up. It sounded rather interesting actually.
"So that's the Imperial Sky Emperor's trial?" Seth asked. "Yes, basically..." The old man had replied, and they continued on their way. The old man was a former cultivator turned merchant who fancied anything cultivation and related. Heck, the only reason why he had agreed to give Seth a ride to town was only because the latter said that he was a cultivator who was out hunting beasts. As they continued on their journey back to the Sectdom, Seth had one last question for the man.
"Sorry, uncle. But do you mind me asking just what the surviving cultivators receive at the end of it all?"
The question was merely out of curiosity as Seth did not really want to join in the competition. If he were a few tiers stronger, sure, as that would be a way to make himself known and famous, but not right now as he was still too weak.
The old man had finally arrived at the ruined city square, and abruptly stopped the carriage. Then he looked around in suspicion and turned around to face Seth.
"Between you and me, kid, no one is really sure as the last one was held long before the oldest man in this generation's parents were born. However, there is an ancient scroll said to hold the key to unlimited power. It is kept high up in the Immortal Sky king's azure dragon temple."
Seth paled slightly as he heard those words. The temple sounded eerily similar to the place where he had found his cheat.
"Uh, may I ask what happens if the scroll were to... um... go missing?" He was not even remotely sure, but he had a really deep gut feeling that the two were one and the same, his cheat and the scroll. Instead of answering right away, the old man let out a heart chuckle.
"You've got a nice sense of humor, kid, I think I like you. How could anyone in a quarter of their right minds try to steal the scroll? Even if they 'managed' to get past the fire breathing golden dragon's statues, the dragon statue holding the scroll would burn the thief to ashes the moment he touches it. And if he does manage to escape that somehow, then once the Imperial Sky Emperor finds out, he would be wiped out of existence by the Imperial Sky Emperor himself. Nothing is hodden from the Imperial Sky Emperor"
The black haired youth froze for a second. Now he was really, really sure that he was in possession of the ancient scroll. The thought of being anhillated did not really sit well with him, and so it was either he returned the system, or risk being anhillated.
'Well, as far as I know, systems aren't removable, right?'
Sure it was strange how he managed by bypass the strange security system, he had even climbed on one of the dragon statues, but that odd phenomenon could be explained by the fact that he had transmigrated and such traps might not work on him since he was not from this world, but the main problem now was that he had inadvertently stolen the prize scroll of the Imperial Sky Emperor's trial. That was basically getting the teacher's answer sheet and duplicating it before an exam started! With the scroll, he was sure to win the trial something and once he won, he would officially receive the scroll and clear his name. It was a win-win!
"I think I'm going to join in the Trial." Shrugging, the old man sighed.
"It's your funeral, kid."
Seth thanked the man for the ride and was about leaving, when the merchant called him back.
"Hey kid, where are you going?"
Seth scratched the back of his head and let out a sheepish grin.
"Nowhere in particular. I kinda lost my place in the beast attack."
The old man frowned deeply and wrinkled his forehead in thought, then flashed a bright smile.
"Would you like to come over?"
"Oh no, I couldn't."
"Come on, kid. You obviously need a place to stay."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone