In the Imperial Court of the Continent of the Nine Clouds, on a public field of the Fire Shrine…
There were flames all around a sacrificial altar. In front of the altar was a strong cultivator wearing a fire robe. He looked dignified and majestic. There were incredibly strong cultivators gathered around. Qiong Yu's mother was in the crowd.
"Fierce battles have started, it's at the point of no return now, the situation is really chaotic. What do you think?" asked the presiding man calmly.
"Everything is going to change now," said someone.
"Of course. We can read lots of things about the situation back in the days when it was chaotic, there were great changes. Some Shrines were destroyed, and some others rose."
"Of course. Things change all the time. People have different destinies. Many geniuses rise. Many people break through suddenly. Of course, even more people fall behind and get killed."
The leader smiled. "Indeed. Some of you will rise, too. Some of you will die. You all have different destinies.
"You've probably heard of what happened yesterday."
"We know," everybody nodded. "I hadn't thought that the legends would be true. All the worlds the Shrines have created are connected, and the territories which connect two different worlds are sometimes forbidden territories. It's incredible. These last few years, we've found a dozen worlds connected to the Continent of the Nine Clouds."
"Yes, so there's the Imperial Court of the Continent of the Nine Clouds which is something different, then there's the Continent of the Nine Clouds and twelve worlds that are connected to it. In those other worlds, there are some incredible influential groups, but still, there is no world that is more complete than the Continent of the Nine Clouds. The Continent of the Nine Clouds is the best and main world."
"The other worlds were created by gods. The Continent of the Celestial Stars was created by cultivators who control star strength. They might have close relations to the Fortune Shrine. We have already sent some cultivators to investigate that matter. We'll see if we can find anything related to the Fortune Shrine, and to the god or gods who created that continent."
"The World of the Celestial Stars isn't the only one. We sent strong cultivators to all the other worlds to investigate. We're not the only ones doing that, the other Shrines are also doing it. The relationships between all the Shrines are complex nowadays. We need to help the younger generations grow strong. From now on, the Fire Shrine's gods' picture scrolls should be made available for the core disciples."
"Elder, I have something to report," a woman said to the leader.
"What?" asked the elder.
"Maybe that Lin Feng who has a Forbidden Body is in the lower world. Can we send a peerless Saint to kill him?" asked the woman. Qiong Lin had been killed, so she understood that without a peerless Saint, they wouldn't be able to kill Lin Feng.
The elder's eyes glittered, and he said to the woman, "Last time, you told us about the situation. Back then, the Shrines even went to the Fortune Shrine to oppress some young people, but nothing was done to kill them quickly. Now, some of them have already become famous, the Shrines made a mistake of strategic importance."
The elder said the Shrines had made a mistake without feeling ashamed. He continued, "But the Shrines' leaders didn't think that the world would become so chaotic later. We forgot or neglected what happened a thousand years ago; the Destiny Wheel is not a joke! The top cultivators of the last Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds were really talented, that's why they became strong so quickly.
"And last time you acted alone; you sent people and you failed. You think the Fortune Shrine doesn't know about that? They know! Lin Feng's real body has a mysterious strength. Even if we send a peerless Saint, it might not work, either. Let's forget about it for the time being," said the elder.
The woman's face stiffened. "Elder, Lin Feng is becoming strong extremely quickly. He probably has the Forbidden Body. If we let him become strong, he will overturn the Shrines," said the woman.
However, the elder just glanced at her and retorted, "You think it's so easy for a low-level Saint to become a peerless Saint? It's already extremely hard to make one sort of original strength reach its maximum level, so imagine two sorts of special original strength, it's even harder! In the history of the world, nobody has ever managed to do that in less than a thousand years! We still have time! We need to wait until it's the right time. Just have some people spy on him, that's enough."
The woman wanted to say something else, but the elder said, "Enough! If Lin Feng has a Forbidden Body, we'll see. The Fortune Shrine will also attach more importance to him. Don't you understand these basic principles?"
When the woman heard the elder, she pulled a long face. How could she give up and let Lin Feng off?
"We're not the only ones who want to kill Lin Feng, the other Shrines want to kill him, too. We shouldn't stir up trouble," said the elder icily. The woman shuddered as she understood something. Shrines could be destroyed in troubled times. Thus, all the Shrines wanted to protect themselves and their people, as their people were their assets. They couldn't take risks and let their people die. The Fire Shrine didn't want to take risks and then have other Shrines attack them in a moment of weakness.
"This time, I called everybody together because I want you to do some things. First, I want you to make efforts to teach our young people more things and help them become stronger. Second, I want you to recruit young geniuses. Third, I want everybody to get ready to battle. The world is chaotic, and it'll be the same as in the past. It will be a very long fight. The fighting may last for one, five, or even ten thousand years. He who laughs last, laughs longest."
"We understand," everybody nodded. The worst times were also the best. Who was going to use the losers as stepping stones?
——
Those things had nothing to do with Lin Feng for the time being. As the Fire Shrine thought, there would be chaos for a very long time. No Shrine was stupid enough to attack another Shrine straightforwardly, and nobody was stupid enough to use their trump cards immediately, either. Also, nobody was stupid enough to send their strongest cultivators first and have them die. Therefore, they focused on raising their young geniuses, they needed to accumulate strength.
Lin Feng wasn't strong enough to make the whole world change. He didn't have such a power.
Those days, Lin Feng stayed in Tiantai with his teachers and his friends; he taught young people about cultivation. The Holy City calmed down again. Many people who wanted to become Tiantai's disciples came, but Tiantai didn't recruit disciples so easily. To become a member of Tiantai, the rule was now to become a student at Champion University first, then they had to become core students of Champion University. Only then did Tiantai consider their applications.
It also meant that Tiantai and Champion University belonged to the same group. Champion University used to be strong, and now they were even stronger. They had always been respected, so many students wanted to study there. Regarding Tiantai, people admired Tiantai because of Lin Feng.
——
Mu Chen, Emperor Yu and Tian Chi were gathered in a courtyard. Mu Chen asked Lin Feng, "Little Lin Feng, you really intend to go?"
"Yes. I've been in the Holy City for half a year. Tiantai is becoming stronger and more stable. I have left nine Bestial Saints here to protect Tiantai. They can protect Tiantai for a thousand years. They will do their best. I need to leave," Lin Feng told Mu Chen. "But now the passage between the Imperial Court of the Continent of the Nine Clouds and the lower world is open. I can come back to see you anytime, anyway."
Mu Chen nodded, "You stayed here for a while and you did so much for Tiantai, you should indeed leave and do your own things now. Little Chi, are you going to leave too?"
"Teacher, I won't call you great fellow disciple or brother, you're my teacher. Qing Lin is my great fellow disciple or brother. They all left for so many years, I was a demon for so many years, too. I should go and travel," said Tian Chi, smiling calmly. He looked soft and kind, like in the past.
"Even though you were a demon for a while, your fellow disciples might not necessarily be as strong as you, you're already a Saint. But you were lucky. This time, if you go and travel, be careful."
"I understand," Tian Chi nodded.
"Alright. Old buddy, let the kids leave the nest," smiled Emperor Yu. However, he also looked sad; he didn't want the young ones to leave, either.
"Haha, alright, go," said Mu Chen, laughing wholeheartedly. "These little boys don't want to leave, either. And Ling, she keeps following Little Lin Feng everywhere."
"Tell them after we leave. Let's go now." Lin Feng and Tian Chi bowed before their teachers and flew up. Mu Chen and Emperor Yu watched them disappear in the distance. They turned around only when the two of them completely disappeared into the horizon.