When the Diviner took Lin Feng and the others away, the crowd looked confused.
"The Diviner left quickly because of the other Shrines," they realized. The other Shrines had joined hands and finally, the Fortune Shrine had decided to react and to take away the strongest cultivators of the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds away. That also officially the end of the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds. Everything was going to happen behind the scenes after that.
Duan Feng's eyes were twinkling at that moment. He didn't understand either, what was going on?…
The members of the Snow Clan were stupefied. Zhe Tian clenched his fists. The young man in front of him smiled indifferently and said, "Interesting."
The two strong cultivators from the two Shrines who had just appeared, disappeared again. Some members of the Fortune City appeared to sort things out there. They took those of the top fifty to Fortune City to become members. At the same time, the top hundred would also be able to travel to and from the inner part of Godly Clouds City freely.
After that, people slowly left the platform and everything returned to normal. People from Godly Clouds City also slowly started leaving. They were confused and astonished. The Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds was over? They had the sensation things hadn't ended the way they should have. They were still thinking about all the great battles…
The watchers slowly left. The inner part of Godly Clouds City and the outer part were divided once more. People from the twelve towns of Godly Clouds City couldn't see what was going on in the inner part of Godly Clouds City anymore.
Only those who had the permission to come to the inner part of Godly Clouds City could see what was happening there, like the top hundred cultivators of the Meeting of the Continent of the Nine Clouds. They wanted to explore the inner part of Godly Clouds City and see what it looked like, as it was a legendary place.
—–
Hou Qing Lin, Lang Ye, Jun Mo Xi and the others were in a city they knew nothing of. They could see celestial palaces floating in the air. It was an incredible sight.
"That celestial city which is floating in the air is Fortune City." The friends were amazed.
"The Qi here is incredible. The cosmic strength is thick and dense. Is this the inner part of Godly Clouds City?" wondered the people glancing around. There were spectacular buildings everywhere containing celestial Qi.
The top hundred cultivators of the meeting started walking around, many people sighing. What a mysterious world! Sometimes, people passed and when they saw them they looked surprised, some of their eyes glittering. The people who had just arrived were all new geniuses.
"Let's go to Fortune City." At that moment, the top fifty cultivators of the meeting headed towards Fortune City. At that moment, a group of young people with astonishing Qi appeared in the distance. They smiled at the crowd when they arrived and said, "Congratulations and welcome to the Imperial Court of the Continent of the Nine Clouds!"
"Imperial Court of the Continent of the Nine Clouds?" The fighters were taken aback. This place was the Imperial Court of the Continent of the Nine Clouds?
...
In Fortune City…
There was a starry sky above when Lin Feng and the others arrived there with the Diviner. They all stood there and looked at the dazzling stars. They looked so close and so far away at the same time.
Lin Feng looked at the rest of the crowd. One of them was missing: Chu Chun Qiu. He had been taken away a moment before them. The strong cultivators of the other Shrines had chased after him. Lin Feng didn't know what it was all about.
Some people in white robes came up to them slowly. Their Qi was only barely discernible, they looked aloof from worldly strife, and their cultivation level was hidden. They were obviously extremely strong.
"We shouldn't have let you go through this, but it was also a test for you. You'll go to different places now and choose your path," the Diviner informed them. He nodded at the people in white clothes.
"Kong Ming, come with me," said one of them to Kong Ming.
"Zhou Rong Man, come with me!" said another one. The fighters didn't understand and had their doubts, but they were in the Fortune Shrine now and people from Fortune Shrine would definitely take care of them. Everybody left but Lin Feng. He was left behind, alone with the Diviner.
"Lin Feng," the Diviner said, smiling gently.
"Master," said Lin Feng respectfully. They had met again, after such a long time.
"Lin Feng, first, congratulations to you for your achievements. You must have many questions. But now I'm going to tell you some very important things. Listen carefully," said the Diviner seriously.
"Alright…" said Lin Feng when he saw how solemn the Diviner looked. It probably had something to do with what had just happened.
"I need to tell you what about what happened on the continent in the ancient past. Strong cultivators can create small worlds when they reach a certain level. In the Continent of the Nine Clouds, there were more and more people being born. In the small worlds, the same thing happened. So the Continent of the Nine Clouds became too small, and Qi even became rare.
"As a result, some of the strongest cultivators started creating rules. They wanted a unified continent. But people fought for power, which is how the Shrines were created. They started fighting for supremacy."
Lin Feng listened carefully. His heart was pounding. As he had always thought, someday he'd join a Shrine and learn about the behind-the-scenes stories. That moment had finally come. He was going to learn more about the real world.
"Nobody knows how long those supreme cultivators fought. However, it stopped long ago. In the ancient past, there were nine Shrines establishing their dominance: The Starlit Sky Shrine, the Time Shrine, the Countless Shrine, the Empty Space Shrine, the Life Shrine, the Fire Shrine, the Ice and Snow Shrine, the Dazzling Gold Shrine, and the Earth Shrine. Those were the original Shrines, with the Starlit Sky Shrine now called the Fortune Shrine. The Countless Shrine is the current Buddha Shrine. The Time Shrine disappeared a long time ago.
All the other Shrines emerged with time."
"However, no matter what, the nine Shrines are symbolic because after their establishment, the ancient wars and chaos ceased. At the same time, because of the scarcity of Qi, nine extremely strong cultivators built nine worlds which would never change: the Continent of the Nine Clouds."
Continent of the Nine Clouds…, thought Lin Feng. His heart was pounding. The Continent of the Nine Clouds had been created by strong cultivators?
"So the place where we are now… is the real, only, and original world?" asked Lin Feng.
"Indeed. It's called the Imperial Court of the Continent of the Nine Clouds now.
"This world became a symbol of the ancient days because of the nine Shrines. After that, many strong cultivators rose and created their own worlds: Hell, the Supreme Animal World, and so on. But those worlds' histories aren't as old as the Continent of the Nine Clouds' history, and those worlds are controlled by some individuals most of the time. For example, Hell is controlled by the Hell Shrine. The Continent of the Nine Clouds is the most mature world, and it has no leader. Many strong cultivators keep rising in the Continent of the Nine Clouds, and then they also create their own small worlds."
Lin Feng listened calmly. Even though the Diviner said the Continent of the Nine Clouds had no leader, the Shrines were the supreme leaders there. They controlled the Continent of the Nine Clouds!
"Nobody has ever managed to control this world alone. No Shrine has ever managed to completely take control over this world," said the Diviner. Raising his head, he gazed into the distance and said, "Until now, it has never happened.
"Back then, the Destiny Wheel rotated, and an incredible cultivator appeared. He took control over the Fortune Shrine and made it rise. He could pose a threat to all the Shrines. Therefore, back then, all the other Shrines joined hands and attacked us. Every part of the continent was affected by the battle. That war has two names: The Destiny Battle, or the Shrines' Dusk War.
"That battle ended long ago, and the strongest Shrines remained. The weakest Shrines weakened. Some other powerful groups also started rising. The different groups have always been competing, but there hasn't been such a great war again. But a thousand years ago, the Destiny Wheel rotated again, and all the Shrines came to the Fortune Shrine."
Lin Feng shivered. The Destiny Wheel had rotated and a terrifying cultivator had appeared, a great war had happened. A thousand years ago, something similar happened again.
And the Diviner continued, "And now, after a thousand years, the Destiny Wheel has rotated again."
Lin Feng's heart was pounding violently.