Strife had started in the Imperial Court of the Continent of the Nine Clouds and then had spilled over to the Continent of the Nine Clouds. Dark Clouds was no exception.
These days, there was a terrifying vortex in Dark Clouds' sky. It was a passage, connecting the Imperial Court and Dark Clouds.
Dark Clouds wasn't the only region so afflicted; the other nine regions of the Continent of the Nine Clouds were in the same boat. They all had a passage in the sky which led to the Imperial Court of the Continent of the Nine Clouds. When the sky was broken, such passages appeared. However, according to legends, only great emperors could cross such passages without being destroyed by the destructive energies inside. Other people died instantly.
The Holy City was the center of Dark Clouds. After Lin Feng had destroyed some clans in the past, Champion University had become the First University of the city. They had many very talented students. At the same time, Tiantai had also been rising, and they also had incredibly talented disciples. Tiantai had many great emperors, which made many people sigh. What was going on in the world? In the past, great emperors were extremely rare, even in the biggest influential groups.
After all, people needed a very long time to become great emperors, and they had to be very talented. But in Tiantai, it was common. It was the case everywhere in the Holy City, actually.
The world was changing. After Champion University and Tiantai started rising, the Great Imperial Palace also continued rising. The Canaan Buddhist Clan also became stronger and stronger. Some people had managed to get to the top of the Supreme Buddhist mountain and had obtained the Buddhist Sutra. Buddhist cultivators became stronger and stronger. Some incredibly strong Buddhist monks had appeared.
The atmosphere in the Holy City became a bit wild. Many groups were competing, and the four universities also got involved.
However, things started and finished in the strongest group, the Celestial Martial Dynasty. The Celestial Martial Dynasty hadn't existed for a long time, but they were rising at a terrifying speed. They hadn't raised their cultivators, though, they had recruited them. In such a short time, they had become the strongest group in the Holy City, and could oppress the four universities. That was possible because of one single reason: the Celestial Martial Dynasty had Saints.
If the Buddhist clan hadn't been powerful and prosperous, the Celestial Martial Dynasty would have taken control over the entire Holy City. But the Buddhist clan had created the Canaan Dynasty. They were positioned in the south and north.
With time, the Holy City had completely changed. Two powerful groups controlled the Holy City: the Celestial Martial Dynasty, and the Canaan Dynasty.
In the lower world, Saints were usually hermits. People never saw them, there were just legends about them. However, these days, Saints had showed up in the Holy City. That's why the Celestial Martial Dynasty and the mysterious Canaan Dynasty rose so quickly.
The other groups weakened. People were well aware of that, but what could they do? The Celestial Martial Dynasty was unstoppable. Even the four universities thought so. They even made their students go to the Celestial Martial Dynasty. They hoped some of their students would become Saints' disciples.
The situation which was initially unstable in the Holy City calmed down thanks to those two groups when they took control of the city.
Tiantai was in the Holy City. They were also powerful, but these days, many of Tiantai's disciples left to join the Celestial Martial Dynasty.
——
Lin Feng appeared outside of Tiantai. After realizing he was in Dark Clouds, he had decided to go to Tiantai. He had heard about the situation, he hadn't thought things would change so quickly in the Continent of the Nine Clouds. Only a few dozens of years had passed, and so many things had changed.
Lin Feng was wearing a simple robe as he stood outside of Tiantai, it was a bit cold. "I wonder if my teachers and friends are in Tiantai."
Lin Feng released his godly awareness which surrounded Tiantai, he could see everything apart from a few mysterious places.
My friends are all gone, only my teachers are here. My friends must all be traveling the world, thought Lin Feng. He looked inside a temple, Mu Chen and Emperor Yu were there. Apart from them, there was also Yun Qing Yan and Qin Wu. They were talking about something.
Xiao Chen is there too, he's a great emperor now. I didn't fulfil my obligations as a teacher!, thought Lin Feng. He felt guilty.
In the palace, Mu Chen looked at Ye Chen and said, "Xiao Chen, this time, the Celestial Martial Dynasty is organizing this ceremony to prove how strong they are. It will be extremely dangerous. After all, you're Little Lin Feng's only disciple, and he's never here. We weren't able to teach you anything, either. You can only rely on yourself. We hope nothing will happen to you."
"Teacher, how can a cultivator fear anything? My teacher is busy, he's going to become a peerless cultivator someday, I have to honor him and his reputation. Everybody knows why the Celestial Martial Dynasty organized the great ceremony. However, nobody can avoid going, all the powerful groups of the Holy City will participate, including the four universities. How could I flinch? Let me go," said Ye Chen, bowing before Mu Chen.
Mu Chen and Emperor Yu glanced at each other and nodded. "Since you're determined, we're happy. If your enemy is too strong though, don't take risks."
"I understand," replied Ye Chen with a smile.
"Little Chen, good luck!" said Yun Qing Yan before adding, "Now, all your teacher's friends are traveling the world, otherwise, nobody would have dared act arrogantly in front of us. Your teacher, that bastard, hasn't come back for so many years. I wonder if he's a Saint now. If he's a Saint, he'll destroy the Celestial Martial Dynasty and make them shut up, those bastards always put on an air of extreme arrogance, now they'll stop."
"Saints are legendary cultivators. Little Lin Feng is talented and I am sure he is at the top of the Sheng Di layer, but becoming a Saint is extremely difficult," said Mu Chen, smiling wryly. "But Little Lin Feng left some puppet with me back in the days, he's quite strong. I've never used it, but he can protect Tiantai without any problem."
"Alright, everybody can disperse. The grand ceremony is tomorrow. The competition between the Celestial Martial Dynasty and the Canaan Dynasty will be scary. Xiao Chen, you should get ready too. We'll talk to Champion University, too," said Emperor Yu. Everybody nodded and left.
After everybody left, Emperor Yu and Mu Chen sighed.
"Unfortunately, we're powerless. Our disciples have to endure the pressure," said Mu Chen, shaking his head.
Lin Feng saw and heard everything. He felt sad for his two teachers, they'd had to take care of everything because his fellow disciples were all traveling.
"I understand. I'll go and see the grand ceremony tomorrow," whispered Lin Feng. He closed his eyes and after that, a group of strong cultivators appeared on the ground. Their Qi was terrifying and contained death intent. Some of them looked bestial.
"You guys go to Tiantai and become Tiantai's disciples, no matter what they tell you, listen to them, and never betray them," said Lin Feng to those people.
"Yes sir!" said the group of people automatically.
"Go. Don't talk about me. I'll show up tomorrow," said Lin Feng. His figure flickered and he left. He didn't gather with his teachers immediately, he went to honor his promise. He had to give back the Heavenly Grace Ancient Tree within a hundred years. This time, he was in Dark Clouds, so it was a good time to give it back to the Godly Wood Valley!