Chapter 180 - 178: Five Hegemons
The first portion of the message read:
"Lord Wei, I've received news from the Shadow Haven Pavilion. According to them, there was once a society that devoted their beliefs to an ancient dragon called Anu Zhirazu, herald as a descendent of True Dragons."
Wei Wuyin read this and it caused his expression to change with a tinge of excitement! Anu was the azure-scaled creature he had met on the Myriad Yore Continent, and he had been seeking information regarding him for quite a while. He couldn't fathom why such an existence was located beneath the Beast-Taming Sect.
Moreover, Anu could be a threat of the future, so he wanted to ensure he had a sufficient amount of knowledge regarding this variable.
As for Societies, they were often seen as religious groups with members that bonded together under a common belief or goal, and they weren't much different from sects. In fact, they could be considered as alliances of various like-minded forces.
He didn't delay and read the rest.
"Anu is classified as a now-extinct member of the Horned-Firmament Dragon Race. This specific race and several others were obliterated by the Divine King Han Xei and his force, the Elemental Heaven Pavilion. Supposedly, there were countless other societies that worshipped dragons at that time, even stronger than Anu's, but they were eradicated after Divine King Han Xei took action."
Oh?
'So was it hiding beneath that mountain? But it seemed like it had a grudge against the Beast-Taming Sect. Was there no connection or did the Beast-Taming Sect quietly built a base around its assumed hibernating corpse trying to seek benefits? Well, considering they enslaved beasts, I don't blame it for obliterating them all.'
Wei Wuyin had seen crueler acts for less. As a beast worshipped by humans, forced to witness their enslavement and demeaning statuses, even he would be furious beyond imagination. However, a glorious past was still that—a past.
'To think the Divine King Han Xei actually eliminated an entire beast race...wonder what's the story there. Now that I think about it, it's possible he's the Founder of the Elemental Heaven Pavilion.' His eyes roamed a bit before settling on this conclusion. The Elemental Heaven Pavilion was one of the five hegemonic powers of the Tri-Vision Starfield, controlling immense territory and authority.
They were alongside the Myriad Monarch Sect, Sacred Light Palace, Demonic Abyss Mountain, and San Clan.
The San Clan was the rulers of the Tri-Vision Starfield and bestower of its current name. They had two Realmlords holding the fort, making them the #1 undisputed superpower within the starfield. They specialized in fire methods, and were said to have a deep legacy with the King of Everlore.
The Sacred Light Palace was a force ruled by elves, and the majority of their territory's population and members were of the elven race. This held true for the Demonic Abyss Mountain and Elemental Origin Pavilion, which were demons and humans respectively.
The Myriad Monarch Sect was the only multi-varied force that accepted all members. They were a steaming pot of various ingredients and were widely considered the weakest force, and this was attributed to their diversity. While this might not be the actual case, it was still a fact that they were regarded as the weakest of the Five Hegemons. The high-level beastmen were all located here, and two of the five Grand Imperial Sages were beastmen.
For a force to be recognized as a hegemon, they didn't just need a foundation and territory, but cultivators at the Sixth Stage of the Astral Core Realm, the peak of the middle-phase.
Wei Wuyin assimilated all this information and felt that Anu will likely attempt to take revenge for his race's unfortunate fate. The Elemental Heaven Pavilion was definitely its target, and considering how its far weaker than during the era of Divine King Han Xei and the King of Everlore, this was the ripe time.
'Unfortunately, Divine King Han Xei's successor is a Blessed.' Wei Wuyin shook his head slightly. No wonder no one could find his legacy until now; it was designated by the Heavenly Dao as a tool to sharpen Blessed with conflict. In that case, Anu was destined to fail and likely die as he benefited the Blessed in the end.
How unfortunate.
He rubbed his chin slightly and thought about interfering in this, but stopped the thought. Blessed seemed to always have tools or means to survive calamities or unforeseen events, so it would be best not to be the target of the trump card that will be used against Anu at a critical moment.
That's if that unknown beautiful expert doesn't personally act.
Wait.
Wei Wuyin briefly stalled. "Was Divine King Han Xei's legacy on the Myriad Yore Continent? And if it was, why did that expert let that Blessed use the Myriad Void Gate? I know he was never inducted into the sect, never even tried to enter, but the Elemental Heaven Pavilion is even further away than the Myriad Yore Continent from the Myriad Monarch Sect."
His eyelids twitched slightly as he pondered.
"...!" His eyes widened slightly. 'Could the rest of his legacy be on the Myriad Monarch Planet?' This thought caused him to audibly groan. How did he miss this?! A set of fortuitous trials to select a successor!
If so, then he would definitely be too late to claim any benefits. While he didn't have the Heavenly Daos guidance, he had an Elemental Natal Soul, so he would benefit greatly if he piggybacked on that Blessed fortuitous chance, just like before.
He rubbed his face with his palm in aggravation. 'I'm an Inheritor of Sin, I'm supposed to steal!' He had to take several breaths before he regained his normal calm. He also needed to test his theory that killing a Blessed allowed him to steal their Karmic Luck Value as his own.
Long Chen felt too dangerous to act against due to his ring, but if an opportunity presented itself, he needed to take it. Regardless if it was Long Chen or that other Blessed. He just had to do it discreetly and with utmost certainty. If that beautiful expert descended for revenge, his death might be unavoidable even with his Karmic Luck Value. He didn't want to test it.
Unlike the others, he didn't have some protective charm from some spirit or expert. In fact, he felt the Heavenly Daos was quite biased as it provided everyone else with beauties and protective shields. Perhaps the truth was that there are different sets of methods or guidelines of Karmic Luck Value usage for each Blessed, but he still felt uncomfortable thinking about it.
Everything he received had all been opportunities that required his own talent, comprehension, level of situational discernment, ability to grasp to its fullest. A single mistake and he could miss out on everything and receive absolutely nothing.
He decided to put aside such thoughts for later, unwilling to descend into becoming whining and ungrateful. If his karmic luck was tied to min-maxing his lucky chances, then so be it. He'll always maximize every chance he gets with his own ability and talent.
Speaking of, it's been three years and he was still in the Qi Condensation Realm. The Draconic Natal Soul was still undergoing various changes of his bloodline, organs, and cellular structure. His blood, heart, and bones were slowly becoming light-grey in color. His body had given birth to additional arteries and veins, leading to other portions of his body, and he had even given birth to a unique organ that sat at the base of his throat, behind his tonsil.
It was like an abnormal crystalized growth of flesh, but it had a few holes within. This growth seemed to connect into his larynx, and quivered slightly whenever he wanted to loudly speak. It was clearly underdeveloped.
He felt it would definitely show itself after his bloodline had solidified and the various transformations had completed. When his Gaze of the Celestial Spirit viewed his body at a microscopic level, he could see his blood and bone cells possess unique rippling patterns on their surface. It was endlessly repeating and vivid, making him recall the refined Jade Crystal.
"What is this exactly?"
ROAR!!!
Just as he asked this question, his body emanated a ferociously explosive roar that shook the entire Sky Palace! The tiles beneath his feet shattered, fragmented and countless cracks extended that penetrated through the dense material and formations that reinforced the walls!
Wei Wuyin's head jerked back as his silver eyes effused a bright grey light! His entire body was filled with an unfathomably domineering and dominant power that quaked his everything!
A mysterious force shook space and time, causing a disturbance of a hundred feet with him as the epicenter to tremble endless as countless ripples emerged out of nowhere. They appeared and vanished as if they were fading in and out of space. The world instantly became restless!
He heard a voice that sent his mind, heart, and soul!
"I! AM! VOID!!!" - Draconic Void Natal Soul!