The entire crowd went silent as Yan Zaizen shamelessly took every last drop of food. Each one of these individuals had profound backings or chances of becoming Heavenly Genesis experts, but their minds went blank.
In truth, it wasn't like no one wanted to do it. They all would if they could, but taking personal face into account and the Xiantu Emperor, how could they do so? Fortunately, the servers immediately tried to replace all the taken food, but it was rather slow. Yan Zaizen didn't even pause, directly arriving towards a newly arrived emerald-colored cake and digging in.
As for the food he just obtained?
That was for later.
"...Lord Yan Zaizen, there are quite a few people who wish to make your acquaintance." Eke regained his calm and urged once more. To him, Yan Zaizen was someone who reached or exceeded the Xiantu Emperor in power. He wouldn't stop him even if he decided to snatch his daughter. After all, each difference in floor-tier of the Heavenly Genesis Realm was massive.
"Mhm. Let me finish this first." He enjoyed the cake as he wished, his hand reached out to grab newly placed wine jug, and he enjoyed that too. Each drop of this wine contained dense lifeforce and essence. If he were to give this to his aunt, she would regress ten years in appearance and live an additional ten years. Of course, to those like him, it'll be lucky if it gave him ten minutes.
After eating for a while, he followed Eke towards a group of people. He was somewhat surprised to know that they were divine beasts as well. "Mystic Wave Continent?" His thoughts recalled the Mystic Wave Continent and how it was regarded as home for beast-kind. Plagued by constant fighting and wars for resources and territories. After all, to refine their bloodline, they needed raw materials infused with attributed essence.
Therefore, a territory that produces these resources were often fought over.
"This is Moana," he introduced a young woman with pure pink eyes and mesmerizing dress. She had a foxy body and incredible curves, her hair was brunette and looked like soft fur. He realized that the lack of pupils likely had to do with their human transformation as each divine beast didn't have them.
"This is Grimm," a burly man filled with dense muscles and draped in wolf fur. He gave off a very primal alpha type of aura, but his smile, or at least an attempt at one, felt off.
Yan Zaizen then realized that Eke didn't work for the Xiantu Emperor. Instead, he was a divine beast who awaited his arrival and gave him a reception. With this, his opinion of the Xiantu Emperor dropped a notch. "Can't even get someone to escort me?" He thought.
The naming sense for divine beasts was odd, but he didn't question it. After all, typically only humans had the naming sense of clan and personal name, sometimes family if wished. Only because there are far too many humans.
"Greetings. Yan Zaizen." He replied, giving them both an acknowledging look. Afterward, they started to talk and discuss. While they did, Yan Zaizen was interested in everyone else. Many seem to want to walk up to him, but because of Eke's initiation, they were hesitant. Mainly because Yan Zaizen walked in with Eke, causing intense speculations to be thrown about.
Personally, he didn't care. He did see Wu Kun. Who, immediately exchanging glances, communicated to him in a brief exchange. It seems the Apex Essence Pill had brought him to the peak-True Essence Realm. With his comprehension of conceptual laws, he'll be able to reach the Heavenly Genesis Realm as long as he could obtain a dao.
It was only after an hour did the Xiantu Emperor arrive. His golden hair, deep blue eyes, an elegant golden robe which exuded a heavenly aura, immediately stole the gazes of all. A smile filled with imperial presence was on his expression.
As he took the center stage, he immediately gave an opening speech. It detailed his thanks for their arrival and various other things Yan Zaizen didn't particularly care about. In truth, he didn't even want to be here. If it wasn't for the expedition invitation, he would already be in another realm, exploring and having many adventures.
However, the food helped ease his discontent greatly.
"Let's begin the Xiantu Dao Trials!" With that, he clapped his hands and the heavens seemed to tremble. At his heavenly aura fluctuations, everyone was stunned.
"Third-floor Heavenly Genesis Realm?!" The keener eyes immediately recognized the Xiantu Emperor profound ascension to the next floor. There were a few with eyes filled with discontent, others with praise and awe, and others with sheer fear shaking their bones.
"To think...he built his third floor. However, it's very recent and has yet to be fully solidified." Pinaka voiced. Despite her background, a peak initial-stage Heavenly Genesis expert could be considered extraordinary even during the chaos era. If they have a profound backing, they could have their own minor realm.
Unlike now, in the rebirth era, where anyone who built their second-floor can own a minor realm.
"Mhm." Yan Zaizen echoed her thoughts. Still, it was impressive.
As space shook, above the Xiantu Continent, a single slit in space appeared. It wasn't long before, with the help of their seniors, all participants shot into the slit. This was the start of the Xiantu Dao Trials!
Immediately, several large screens filled the Palace hall, revealing various angles within the spatial slit. From what Yan Zaizen could see, it was a sub-dimensional space, similar to the cultivation rooms in the Anima Syndicate.
Within large, golden temple with four sides, each side had 33 wide, deep, and tall stairs. The entire temple was the size of a grand mountain. Each participant landed near it in vast numbers - about four hundred thousand. All of them were elites of their forces and ready to make a name on the stage.
"The first test will be the 33 Heavenly Steps, I see." Eke said with an appraising gaze. Yan Zaizen had heard of this from Tao. It was a template that released faint heavenly pressure. They one ascends each step, they'd have to overcome the pressure. However, to pass, they just needed to reach step 13.
A voice explained the rules to all participants. No talismans, armaments, or pre-set formations were allowed. If one reaches the 13th step, they pass. If they reach the 14th step, they will be awarded one low-grade essence crystal. This continues to multiply by ten for each step until the 30th.
By then, one could earn one quadrillion low-grade, or ten trillion mid-grade, or ten billion high-grade essence crystals. In truth, it may sound extraordinary, but a single drop of heavenly law liquid amounted to just that - ten billion high-grade essence crystals. A large reason had to do with the irrelevance of essence crystals for Heavenly Genesis experts. They've exceeded the limits if the Essence Path.
If you reach the 31st step, a peak sky-grade armament. 32nd, a pinnacle grade art. If one could reach the 33rd, they would immediately earn the right to the Xiantu Dao Trial, no longer requiring to participate any longer.
Yan Zaizen looked at the screens and found Lin Feilin's figure. He also found Prince Renlong from the Imperial Grux Family, it seems he reached the initial-Origin Core Realm despite Yan Zaizen stealing his pill. There were also countless other talents and notable figures including Yan Qiu.
"You may begin." The voice resounded, causing all participants to soar towards those incredibly large steps at different paces. At the moment, no one was thinking of fighting or schemes. Their only thought was reaching the 13th step!
"Hm?" Yan Zaizen caught the sight of a figure dressed in blood-red, donning an oni mask, and soaring towards the first step slowly. For some odd reason, Yan Zaizen felt a hint of familiarity with this person. His cultivation had already reached the initial-Origin Core Realm and his aura contained an astonishing amount of blood qi.
"I wonder who'll reach the highest?" Grimm said, his eyes filled with competitiveness. Both he, Eke, and Moana had their own group entering this trial. His question was towards the others, unwilling to lose to them in terms of disciples or children.
However, Yan Zaizen exclaimed something almost instinctively that drew everyone's attention. "Isn't that?!"
He slightly smiled, "it seems...no matter the adversity, us three disciples will always rise given the opportunity."