As their eyes adjusted to the light, Rocky found themselves in a brighter and more spacious
environment all of a sudden. It turned out that the members of all five great clans who managed to
enter the valley were transported to a huge, flat stone. When he looked down, he could see the entire
Ethereal Valley.
It was nothing like he imagined it to be—it had a dense jungle with lots of birds circling around, clouds
and mist were scattered in many places, and of course, it gave off a sense of transcendent mystery. At
the far end of the valley was a towering snow peak that stood straight, like a divine mountain in heaven.
Everything in this place looked magnificent. It was ethereal indeed.
While Rocky enjoyed the view, he heard the person beside him sigh. He turned to look and saw Vivian
admiring the scenery as well. "What a beautiful place. The name certainly is fitting."
Soon, the members of the five clans started gathering together, preparing for the beginning of their
training journey in the Ethereal Valley.
Alex had also called up her team.
Rocky and Vivian then walked towards her together.
After everyone in their team had shown up, Alex made a head count. Apparently, only eighteen
members from their clan had gotten into the Ethereal Valley. Aside from Jeffrey and the other Spiritual
Emperors who were all in charge of protecting and guiding the team, only about ten members from
their clan made it to the valley to train.
Meanwhile, the other four clans had more people in their teams. Each of them had around twenty-five
members in average, which was almost twice as many as the members of the Wankong Clan.
Nonetheless, their success in gaining something useful from the Ethereal Valley did not depend on
their difference in strength and numbers.
One reason why the spiritual race opened the Ethereal Valley from time to time was so the talented
juniors of the five great clans could increase their strength in a shorter time, thus making the five great
clans grow stronger and stronger. Another reason was that it was a place full of adventures. Anyone
who managed to enter the valley and was lucky enough to experience such adventures would have the
chance to get some holy—or even divine—treasures, apart from greatly increasing his strength. This
was why it was undoubtedly a win-win situation for the five great clans.
However, ever since the Ethereal Valley was open to the public, only a few people were lucky enough
to truly experience any kind of adventure in this place. After all, everything was based on luck in a
divine land like the Ethereal Valley.
Since it was her first time coming here, Alex decided to ask Jeffrey something. She turned to look at
him and said, "Spiritual Emperor Jeffrey, you are familiar with the terrain of the Ethereal Valley. Please
walk us through it."
With a proud look on his face, Jeffrey cast everyone a glance before speaking firmly. "Listen up! Don't
think you can just rejoice now that you've made it to the Ethereal Valley. It's still too soon for
celebrations. Surviving this place isn't as easy as you think. It looks beautiful, doesn't it? But be on
guard! Once you go deep into it, you will find what is called hell."
This was the first time that most of his junior team members had entered the Ethereal Valley, so they
did not know anything about it. Naturally, Jeffrey's speech had quickly unnerved them.
Jeffrey then took out a carefully prepared map and started explaining in detail. "The Ethereal Valley is
divided into six major areas. This is a part of the topographic map drawn by our elders. This green area
here is the most suitable place for you Spiritual Kings to cultivate, and the yellow area is best suited for
the Spiritual Emperors. Now, listen. Steer clear of this red area here. Got it?
In order to make sure that everyone can fully train their selves in the valley, I plan to divide the whole
team into three groups. All three groups will be assigned to different regions. I will lead one group. The
second group will be led by Spiritual Emperor Mike and Spiritual Emperor Clarkson, and the third group
will be led by Young Mater Alex and Spiritual Emperor Finnegan. We will cultivate and train for the next
twenty days. After that, we will reunite and continue to explore some other places to search for
treasures together. Is that okay?" Jeffrey advised.
Everyone listened to him intently and just nodded in agreement.
"If there are no objections, let's proceed to choosing group members. I'll start first." Jeffrey then picked
out several Spiritual Kings at peak state. They all had the best spiritual roots, yet he didn't choose
Vivian to go with them.
Now, the Spiritual Emperors who would lead the other teams were a little unhappy with Jeffrey's picks.
Of course, having members with the best spiritual roots would be much easier because they could
cultivate faster together.
Even so, they didn't bother complaining since Jeffrey was a high-level Spiritual Emperor.
"Spiritual Emperor Jeffrey, why don't you take Rookie with you? After all, he's..." Alex didn't finish
voicing out her concern. She had thought that Jeffrey would choose Rocky since he was the chosen
one. If they had him in the group, they could enter most areas without any restrictions.
"We are not one hundred percent sure he is the chosen one, aren't we? I can't risk bringing him when I
have other members with the best spiritual roots and conceivable potential. Besides, What the clan
needs right now are talents. It will only be counterproductive. For the sake of the clan, it's best to give
these Spiritual Kings a chance to break through to the Emperor Realm." Jeffrey shot Rocky a piercing
glare. He still hadn't forgotten what had happened to his nephew last time, so he was unwilling to bring
Rocky with him. Moreover, the last thing he wanted to happen was to let Rocky drag their group down
since Rocky seemed like the weakest among the entire team.
The other Spiritual Emperors agreed with Jeffrey. In fact, it didn't matter to them so much if Rocky was
the chosen one. They thought his current strength was so weak that he couldn't possibly make any
significant progress. He was simply the Wankong Clan's ticket to searching the valley for treasures.
They didn't think his presence in their group was crucial, so no one was willing to take Rocky with them
for cultivation.
Although Alex was a little disappointed, she knew that Jeffrey was right. She needed to consider
everyone's best interests and let them proceed with their training plan in the Ethereal Valley without
Rocky in their group.
"I see. Why don't you take Tripp instead?" If Jeffrey wouldn't take Rocky because he was too weak,
Alex thought he should at least bring Vivian with him since she had the best spiritual root in the
Wankong Clan's team.
"Those who don't want to be disciplined will only cause trouble if I take them with me," Jeffrey snorted.
He also remembered that Vivian had challenged him public for the sake of Rocky.
His attitude had left Alex feeling frustrated. She didn't expect Jeffrey to be so narrow-minded.
Thankfully, Vivian stepped in and whispered, "Young master, if you don't mind, Rookie and I will join
your group. We'll make some self-righteous guys regret their decision."
"Alright!" Of course, Alex wouldn't refuse. After all, she had personally invited Rocky and Vivian into the
Wankong Clan for believing they would bring promising changes to their clan.
Now, the other two Spiritual Emperors had selected middle-level members with spiritual roots at the
intermediate level. Those who didn't get chosen had joined the group led by Alex and Finnegan.
When they finished designating members, all three groups set out separately to their assigned areas
and began their training journey.
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