"He's stark raving mad," officials and gods came to a unanimous conclusion. In the history of the 33 Heavens, the Serpent Emperor aside, who ever had the gall to challenge an entire generation? Did recent successes inflate the boy's self-esteem past reasonable limits, or was he just that mad?
"Did he comprehend a profound secret art from the stele? Or...wait, the stele is gone?" Only now did the deities take notice of the stele's disappearance—wariness twisted their eyes. The Life and Death Stele was an incomparably mysterious monument that left even emperors puzzled. But within three seconds, the boy could make it resonate. No one would believe that a deep connection between them didn't exist.
Worse, mysteries aside, they still had to figure out if the stele could turn into an artifact, what type of artifact, and the might it could display. While most artifacts possessed matching Qi requirements, there were always exceptions to the rule. The more they reasoned, the more the officials felt that Harun's goading attempt was too obvious. Clearly, he didn't fear them.
The Sovereign Pupils possessed irresistible appeal, but without their lives, how could they enjoy it? A probe became necessary.
"The White Tiger clan complies with the Dao agreement and will dispatch 300 disciples below 200," said a gruff man with bronze-skin and a burly frame. The 33 Heavens' sects and clans were too large. For those at the top, finding a few hundred sacrificial lambs posed no challenge. At the same time, for those young disciples, the chance to snatch the Sovereign Pupils—thereby becoming the most honored members of their faction—was a once in a lifetime opportunity they wouldn't miss for the world.
No one cared that without his pupils, Harun would lose his life. But he bet that faced with his obvious taunt, most of those old goats wouldn't dare risk their prized juniors. That craving the eye but unwilling to risk valuable necks, they'd send the expendable en masse to probe the truth—thereby giving him precisely what he wanted.
For indeed, as he completed the sorting of his new mnemonics, Harun realized...that it was time for him to die.
Unlike what some might expect, those mnemonics weren't cultivation methods or peerless secret arts—but remembrance chants. Each chant triggered the recollection of a person's life and the myriad of reincarnations they went through before their soul collapsed. Some chants even showed the past incarnations of men or women, creatures that still breathed somewhere in this vast world.
Humans, beasts, ghosts, yamas, asuras; though many more species stood on the stele, those five held key positions, and seemed to point toward one precise mystery: the Power of Reincarnation.
As he pondered their mysteries, Harun could feel a bridge, or rather a succession of joined bridges, take shape in his mind. The joined bridges and the cycle they formed demanded that Harun abandon the false divine path to step on the true road. And as an indescribable feeling of enlightenment fueled him, even without guidance, Harun knew what he had to do.
"The Vermillion Bird clan complies with the Dao agreement and will send 400 disciples."
"The Great Roc clan complies with the Dao agreement and will send 550 disciples.
"The Phoenix clan complies with the Dao agreement and will send 600 disciples."
"The Dragon clan complies with the Dao agreement and will send 800 disciples."
One after the other, Heaven's noble and hegemonic clans pledged to dispatch hundreds of disciples to meet Harun's challenge. Over thirty clans came forward, none put out less than 100, and on average, they each dispatched 300 disciples. With over 9000 contestants, Harun's heart teemed with joy. By now, he was only waiting for two clans to make their pledges: the Empyrean and Golden Crow clans.
Both hesitated. Dilnaz didn't believe that anything worthwhile could come out of this confrontation. Assuming Harun lost and died, whoever got his eyes automatically became the target of thousands—heading straight toward damnation. And that was a big "Assuming." The more she observed the youth, the more Dilnaz realized that while he seemed erratic and unreliable, he wouldn't do anything that'd bring him no benefit. No longer taking Harun for a powerless boy, Dilnaz wondered how unwise it was to feed her foe's plans.
Rajan held similar thoughts. As he secretly held a high opinion of mortal-born celestials, Rajan believed that one with Sovereign Pupils could definitely break the stele's mysteries and stood ready to point Harun toward that path through a mental message. Seeing that someone beat him to it, he remained in the shadows and focused on the aftermath. Now taking Harun as a man of indomitable spirit, Rajan believed that if strong juniors were destined to die, sending the weak ones only helped build a pile of corpses.
In that instant, both Rajan and Dilnaz were ready to back off. But one voice shattered their thoughts.
"The Empyrean clan complies with the Dao agreement and will send one disciple," a harsh-sounding voice echoed, as if its owner forced the words out of his throat. Hearing that voice, at the exception of Harun, all were petrified—Dilnaz even more so.
"Are those sealed fossils already emerging from torpor?" All wondered, and it didn't take a genius to realize that if the Empyreans only sent one, that one would be worth 10,000. Instantly, the officials and gods realized...that only one person could fit the bill, and fury twisted Dilnaz's mesmerizing face.
Harun didn't care, whoever came, whoever died. But as all deities' thoughts went to that Empyrean disciple's name, fearing that the Empyreans' killing mace could indeed foil Harun's plans, Rajan made his bid:
"The Golden Crow clan complies with the Dao agreement, and will send three disciples." Again, all could guess the three names. And while their appearances could tip the scales, the leaders of the noble and hegemonic clans didn't change their plans. Unlike the Golden Crows and Empyreans, the junior generation of their clans hadn't produced many prodigies.
They couldn't afford to risk them in uncertainty. And seeing that despite being faced by over 9,000 disciples from Heaven's top factions, Harun remained stoic, they couldn't help but cling on their previous choices.
"Over 9,000 disciples from Heaven's top factions, all for my little neck. Even if I die, my name will be remembered across all eras. What regret can I have? Gentlemen, go prepare your lads. We shall meet again in one wee—" Harun started, but before he could finish his words, another voice came from the distance and butted in.
"The Twin-Headed Purple Snake clan will send 300 disciples—to back Harun Erdevan."
And then it began.
"The Sovereign Cobra clan will send 500 disciples—to back Harun Erdevan."
"The Feathered Python clan will send 800 disciples—to back Harun Erdevan."
"The Nine-Headed Hydra clan will send 1000 disciples—to back Harun Erdevan."
An unprecedented silence dropped on the scene, and this time, even Harun became speechless. But the worse had yet to come.
"The Devouring Serpent clan complies with the Dao agreement, and will send seven disciples—to back Harun Erdevan."