Chapter 2044: Four great monarch tiers
“Let’s go!”
Multiple figures flew towards that doorway in the skies. Xiu, xiu, xiu. When the figures passed through that doorway, they immediately disappeared from sight.
That was a Mystery Realm.
Ling Han, the Empress, and the others also flew, pouncing towards that doorway.
Weng, weng, weng, weng. One after another, it was as if the figures were passing through mud, their movements slowed. However, when they passed through these doors, they suddenly felt a feeling of ease fill their whole bodies.
Ling Han discovered that he was presently standing on a cliff, and multiple bridges were connected to this cliff. Upon counting, there was no less and no more, but 3,000 exactly.
So these were the so-called 3,000 great paths.
Great Dao naturally numbered more than 3,000, but has always been represented by 3,000 great paths.
Ling Han uncovered that 2,990 of the great paths were extremely ordinary, and were not much different from ordinary covered bridges, while the remaining 10 were more unusual[1].
Nine were golden, and one was black.
“After so many countless years, there has only been a mere 321 people that could step on those nine golden paths. On average, there is even less than one person every time,” Fu Yue said. “Brother Ling, do you know how many years this is?”
“At least an epoch!
“However, every person that could step on the golden paths had become a Fifth Heaven Celestial King at least!”
Over an epoch, there were actually only a mere 321 people that had managed to step on those nine golden paths, which showed just how high the difficulty level was.
“You cannot simply step on these great paths just because you want to. You must be guided by your heart. Whichever great path is closest to the Dao that you cultivate, that great path would then light up. Otherwise, if you stepped on another path, you would immediately lose your footing and fall down.
“In this place, don’t even think of flying. As for those that have fallen off this cliff… I have never heard of anyone managing to survive.”
Hu Niu was curious, and pointing at that black path, she asked, “What about this one?”
“This black-colored bridge is also called the Most Venerable Divine Path, and so far, there has not been one that has managed to step on it,” Fu Yue said.
Most Venerable Divine Path!
Ling Han looked closely. Actually, every bridge was formed by a dragon, and the end connecting their side was the dragon’s tail, while the body of the bridge itself was the dragon’s torso, and it extended across countless miles. He was sure that the other end would be the dragon’s head.
The golden paths were different. Every bridge was formed by nine dragons interwoven together. Their dragon claws protruded, showing endless overbearing might.
The most unique one was naturally that black-colored path, which was formed by a total of 99 dragons. It was like the emperor of dragons, exceptional and domineering[2].
While they were conversing, people were already stepping forwards to stimulate the dragon bridges. There were very many people. Thus, the dragon bridges would endlessly flicker with light, as if they were the keys of a piano being played, which looked incredibly lively.
But it was indeed just as Fu Yue had said. Not one person managed to stimulate the golden bridges.
Through an epoch, only a mere several hundred people had managed to step on them. All of them had been king among kings, overlord of overlords.
Of course, also because of the fact that this would only once open every 100,000,000 years and the restriction that those exceeding 10,000,000 years in age could not enter, about 90 percent of all top-grade prodigies would not be able to come here. Otherwise, theoretically, the number of successful people would still be able to multiply tenfold.
Weng, an extremely imposing and domineering aura surged past, and a person appeared in the skies.
This was a man of lanky build, dressed in green robes and extremely dashing in appearance.
“Tian Qingyue!”
“It is actually Tian Qingyue. I did not expect that he would actually come here.”
“Gods, this is one of the top three monarch tiers of the Universal Peace Heaven!”
“So what if it is the top three? If he could obtain the benefits of the Hundred Dragons Mystery Realm, then he would no longer have to share the position with Xia Houtong, Yu Huaqing, and Zhu Huiyun, but would instead become the one and only monarch.”
“Yi, isn’t he in the top three? Why would there be three other people that share the position with him?”
“That is because Yu Huaqing had not participated in the monarch tier ranking battles that year, but his strength is publicly acknowledged as being ranked in the top three. Thus, these four people have always been talked about together.”
“The strength of these four people is close, and they have never managed to decide which one of them is the one and only monarch. However, I am sure that after this contest, the result will be clear to see.”
Now that this kind of super character had appeared, it was naturally inevitable that he would be discussed by others. As Ling Han listened, he couldn’t help but take a second look at Tian Qingyue.
This person… was unfathomable!
“Do you know of this person?” Ling Han asked Fu Yue. Though the two of them did not belong to the same Heavenly Realm, Tian Qingyue seemed to be extraordinarily famous. Perhaps Fu Yue might know something about him.
However, Fu Yue shook his head. Even Celestial Kings had not been to many Heavenly Realms, what more a minor character like himself.
“Tian Qingyue, cultivation level of the peak stage of the Heaven Soul. After the Hundred Dragons Mystery Realm this time, he would probably be establishing his Immortal Palace.” A voice suddenly rang out from behind Ling Han.
Ling Han turned his head to look. It was Du Shaojun.
The latter was a citizen of the Universal Peace Heaven, and was monarch tier at that, so he naturally would not be unfamiliar with Tian Qingyue.
“Peak-stage Heaven Soul?” Ling Han murmured.
He had confidence in himself, but was definitely not blind. At present, his battle prowess was indeed very high, especially after he had grasped the method of Great Clash of Source Powers. At that instant, the battle prowess that he could burst out with was incredibly terrifying.
However, if he wanted to defeat a peak-stage Heaven Soul monarch tier, that was still filled with unknown variables.
‘I really want to spar with him.’
Weng, the light doors in the skies suddenly flashed, and another person had entered into the Mystery Realm. He, too, caused a commotion.
“Xia Houtong!”
This was another supreme monarch tier of the Universal Peace Heaven, ranked equal with Tian Qingyue.
“Xiao Houtong!”
“Tian Qingyue!”
The two super monarch tiers stared at one another. The intense fighting spirit in their eyes could be seen, as if a great battle could explode at any moment.
“Haha, I haven’t missed anything, right?” With a laugh, another young man entered into the Mystery Realm.
“Yu Huaqing!”
The people below all exclaimed in shock. This was really coincidental. The three supreme monarch tiers would actually show themselves at about the same time.
Without waiting for the masses to catch their breath, another monarch tier had arrived.
This time, it was a woman. She was exquisitely beautiful and dressed plainly, but it could not conceal her supreme grace, causing hearts to beat wildly.
“Zhu Huiyun!”
The four great monarch tiers had all gathered together, representing the strongest in the Dividing Soul Tier of the Universal Peace Heaven. Though Universal Peace Heaven still had other monarch tiers, they were on completely different levels when compared to these four people.
“The stupid bird would fly first[3],” Du Shaojun said. “Brother Ling, we can’t compare to those four freaks, but it is never the strongest person who ends up laughing last in the Hundred Dragons Tournament Battles. Another factor would be luck.
“Leaving first would mean an additional sliver of opportunity.”
He strode out, and went to stimulate the 3,000 dragon bridges.
After a while, eight dragon bridges lit up at the same time.
This meant that Du Shaojun had as many as eight choices. He could walk on any one of these dragon bridges.
He hesitated slightly, and then chose the dragon bridge on the extreme left.
These eight dragon bridges were all related to Water Element Dao, which was also the great dao that he cultivated. Because they were similar in nature, they had thus lit up at the same time, offering him an invitation.
“As expected of Du Shaojun, to be actually capable of stimulating eight dragon bridges.”
“Too bad. As long as he could stimulate another bridge, it would form a qualitative change, and gain him the approval of the golden dragon bridges.”
“This is the difference between a monarch tier and a top-grade monarch tier. Perhaps it is only a sliver of difference, but this sliver has formed a world of difference.”
Du Shaojun strode out, and gradually walked further and further away. Soon, his figure could no longer be seen.
“I’m going!” Fu Yue leaped out.
[1] A covered bridge is a bridge with a roof, decking, and siding which creates an almost complete enclosure. Extract from wikipedia.
[2] Actually, 凌霄 here means trumpet creeper, but it may also refer to 凌霄宝殿, which is the mythical court in which the Heavenly Jade Emperor holds court with his celestial subjects. The second reference seems to be more appropriate in this context.
[3] A Chinese saying that means one must work hard to overcome his limited ability.