Chapter 596: Arriving at the Celestial Sword Sect
The first thing that entered Hui Yue's eyes as he looked out over the vast Celestial Sword Sect was how massive the sect truly was.
The mountain range stretched in front of him as far as his eyes could see, and within every valley small villages were present.
Having merged with the memories of the previous Hui Yue, he understood that these valleys were for the families of the Celestial Sword Sect's members, their wives, and children.
Each person was allowed to have up to five wives, but every wife had to be accepted by the Celestial Sword Sect before they could marry. Usually, it was not a problem to get married and be given permission, but even so, the sect was very strict when someone had children outside of approved marriages.
But looking at how many villages there were spread all around this mountain range, Hui Yue understood that the sect was many times larger than even he had expected. Although he already had great expectations, he understood that to be a major sect within the galaxy one’s forces had to be truly exceptional.
They flew at a leisurely pace past all the villages for a few hours before they finally reached the core areas of the mountain range. Here were the highest peaks, and the deepest valleys.
"The three highest peaks are for our ancestors and the patriarch. They are the protectors of the sect, and as long as they live, the Celestial Sword Sect will never fall." Pei Ziqi said with reverence in her voice. Although she was of the elder generation, she still revered the patriarch and the ancestors with a fanaticism that had grown from seeing them fight in person.
"The next highest peaks are for the dao protectors. Anyone who retires from their position as an elder will become a dao protector of the sect. They are the next strongest force within our sect and can only be employed on the patriarch's direct order. Not even us elders or the sect master has such powers."
"Currently we have a patriarch, two elders, and one hundred and seventy-six dao protectors." Pei Ziqi introduced the details of the sect to them. "Recently, I have have been seriously considering if I should retire as well and become a dao protector, or if I should just stay as an elder. As a dao protector you have much more freedom, but at the same time, you give up all your rights to have your opinion heard when it comes to matters of the sect. I still feel like I have too many opinions to give up." Pei Ziqi sighed as she once more thought about the decision of whether or not to retire that had been weighing on her mind recently.
"Well, I am proud to be one of the elders that discovered such an unrefined gem. When you become an Immortal of Creation, you will be able to be promoted to an elder as well. Your strength is already astonishing, and you have so many secret techniques and strength that it would be weird not to make you an elder."
Hui Yue felt rather embarrassed hearing what she had to say about him, and he could not say anything in return but sheepishly look around. He just acted like he had not heard Pei Ziqi’s praise.
Seeing his reaction, Pei Ziqi wasn’t insulted, instead, she just chuckled slightly. "This is the main district of the inner sect," she introduced as they saw the inner sect spread out in front of them.
Majestic buildings rose up everywhere, and fields with dummies and other training equipment were visible in the distance. Experts were flying around everywhere, and the inner sect was bustling with life.
The moment they entered the main district of the inner sect a massive bell-like ringing sounded out. This sound caused all the flying experts to stop in their tracks.
Hui Yue was too far away to see their facial expressions, but if he had been closer, he'd see that the majority of the expressions were filled with annoyance, hostility, and indignation as they hovered in the air.
Suddenly, everyone flew off and headed towards the biggest mountain of them all. Their movements were as if they had been meticulously trained causing Hui Yue to be astonished.
"The heavenly mountain is the tallest mountain in the whole Holy Mountain range. We have carved out the inside of the mountain and use it for the Celestial Sword Sect's banquet hall. Usually, this hall is used when we celebrate a new Sect Leader or an elder. It is rather rare for it to be used, but it seems like your father has gone all out and has decided that your welcoming banquet will be held in the hall."
"If you were just returning without the position of the Second Judge of Hell, then this would have been impossible, but considering your current standing, and your relationship with Diyu, it is now indeed the most suitable place to introduce you. Although it is the best place for the occasion, I cannot help but feel that it will cause the majority of the other members of the sect to look at you with contempt. You, a new person who had never been to the main sect before, suddenly show up and you even receive such a reception."
Hui Yue had been considering this on his own, but after thinking it through, he also knew that he had no way of convincing his father to do anything less grand than he had already decided. Having thought his entire family dead, but then finding out that a son was still alive, and even so talented as he was, then it was no surprise that he wished to celebrate and show the world just how wonderful this son of his was.
When it came to strength, Hui Yue was aware that he was far from the strongest person around. He was only a Primordial Immortal, but even so, he had comprehended five complete daos. Regarding strength, this was already the same as being an Immortal of Creation.
Unfortunately, there were many different levels of strength for Immortals of Creation. There were strong experts who had only comprehended one dao. These experts included the beast Gods that Hui Yue had found in the red realm and other Gods who mostly focused on Ancestral Worldpower absorption.
Then there were the ones who had comprehended two or three complete daos. These were the most average and numerous Immortals of Creations; they were the average experts. When fighting such cultivators, Hui Yue could not win, but he still had faith in his ability to flee.
After these had come those who had comprehended four to five daos, and they were considered the stronger Immortals of Creation. They were some that Hui Yue should stay away from. Even he would not believe that he could flee from them if he were to encounter such strong Gods.
Finally, there were ones who had comprehended six or more daos. They would be able to kill Hui Yue with but a flick of their wrist. Amongst people at this level were also those who had comprehended a major dao, and these supreme cultivators were the ones Hui Yue feared more than anything.
A major dao was different from the minor ones in every possible way. A major dao was when one had comprehended all the minor daos that related to one another and were capable of merging them together. This dao was so frightening that it could flip mountains, move seas, and even overturn the heavens. Meeting someone who possessed a major dao was incredibly rare and also very dangerous.
In the Celestial Sword Sect, there were many Immortals of Creation, but there were even more Primordial Gods. In total, a full hundred thousand experts resided within the inner sect of the Celestial Sword Sect. Around seventy thousand of them were Primordial Immortals, and the rest were Immortals of Creation.
As a major sect, the Celestial Sword Sect focused on comprehending the dao at the same time as absorbing Ancestral Worldpower, and therefore the ones who had become Immortals of Creation had comprehended at least three or four full daos.
Although Hui Yue had comprehended five daos, he was far from being as strong as others. All his daos came from various major daos, and none of them could be merged. Usually one would focus on the minor daos beneath one major dao, but having lived so many different lives, it was impossible for Hui Yue not to have different daos. His power was weakened greatly from being unable to merge his daos
Although this was the case, Hui Yue had gained many benefits from having his other lives merged with him. Although he comprehended other daos, he also had a much deeper understanding of the daos he knew; he had a whole lifetime of experienced which he could draw upon.
Being deep in thought, Hui Yue had a faint smile on his lips. As long as he did not run into any of the true experts of the Celestial Sword Sect, he would be fine.
Considering he was a member of the younger generation, no one from the older generation would throw away their face to challenge him. Normally it would take a cultivator two hundred years before they could reach the Immortal of Creation rank from Hui Yue’s present strength, and only when he reached such heights would he no longer be part of the younger generation. Hui Yue, though, had complete confidence in himself to accomplish this.
Seeing the faint smile on Hui Yue's face, Pei Ziqi understood what he was thinking, and nodded her head. It made sense that Hui Yue was not too fearful of the other members.
In a major sect like the Celestial Sword Sect, face was incredibly important. To throw away one's face and attack a cultivator of the younger generation was simply impossible, especially someone who had become the Second Judge of Hell.
If they were to lose such a battle, they would have no face left; their life would be over. No one was willing to take this risk. If they won, they would not be rewarded or famed, but if they lost they would lose everything.
At least this was what Hui Yue hoped for. There were always a few people who would not care about anything other than venting their emotions. If they were truly lunatics that felt insulted by Hui Yue's sudden appearance, then it was always possible that they would ignore everything else to humiliate him.
"Remember you don't have to accept invitations for sparring matches," Pei Ziqi repeated by his side, clearly able to guess what Hui Yue had been thinking about.
"I will be fine," Hui Yue said with a sly smile as he thought about how he could use phoenix descent if it were truly needed.
He also still had his soulforce and daos. Although he did not feel any hostility towards the Nightcrawler Sect's youth, he would not be as polite towards someone who wished to humiliate him. If he had to, then he would request help from the black figure with control over space. Although he did not wish for things to get out of hand, he had a few tricks up his sleeve to convince the black figure to lend him his powers.
"Let’s hope I won’t ever have to," Hui Yue mumbled to himself before he turned and looked at the others. They too understood that Hui Yue had held back in the fight against the youth from the Nightcrawler Sect. Pei Ziqi had, after all, experienced the frightening dao of space that he controlled.