The three heavens in the Three Heavens Connection Meeting did not refer to the three continents. Otherwise, the meeting would have been named the Three Continents Connection Meeting. Instead, three heavens referred to the three hegemonic powers of the three continents.
Buzhou Immortal Sect of Heaven Continent.
Eight Pillar Sect of Earth Continent.
The Cultivator Alliance of the Mortal Continent.
Buzhou Immortal Sect and Eight Pillar Sect still existed while the Cultivators' Alliance had been disbanded and replaced by the Saint Scholar School in the Mortal Continent. The remnants of the Cultivator Alliance were now relocated on numerous islands in the endless seas, waiting for the day to reclaim their past glory.
Even with the fall of the Cultivator Alliance, the Three Heavens Connection Meeting still continued on Heaven Shroud Island. It was a stationary island that floated above a hole in the endless sea. Without the coordinates and special methods, seeking Heaven Shroud Island would be a near-impossible task even for those at the immortal realm.
The island consisted of flat ground and various formations engraved upon it. With just one look, it could be inferred that the island was either man-made or heavily modified.
At the same time, as if on agreement, three enormous immortal boats began to appear from three different directions.
One boat seemed to be the color of white one moment but suddenly became black the next moment. Not only that, but the boat's existence seemed to drift between false and truth, illusionary one moment but real the next.
Another boat seemed simple and ordinary and sailed in the sky as if it was sailing on the water, but the more one looked, the more profound the boat would appear.
The third could only be described in one word; grand. The boat was made of the finest spiritual wood with a jade dragon carved at the front, and rather than the boat flying through the air, it seemed that the world was moving instead of the boat.
Soon all three boats arrived at Heaven Shroud Island. When Tianyi disembarked with the other passengers of the boat, he stared curiously at the disciples from the Earth and Mortal Continents.
He looked towards the crowd from the Earth Continent. They were the ones who had the black and white boat, and just by looking at the boat, Tianyi felt himself comprehend something yet nothing.
The crowd from the Earth Continent consisted only about a third of people wearing black and white robes, the uniforms of the Eight Pillar Sect. It was sad that the hegemonic sect of the Earth Continent only made up a third of the participants from their own continent.
Tianyi could see the members of the other sects that also came from the Earth Continent standing neither too far nor too close to the Eight Pillar Sect members.
In contrast, the participants from the Mortal Continent all wore light green robes and had a scholarly air about them. Rather than cultivators, they seemed more like scholarly students on a field trip. The participants from the Mortal Continent were all part of the Saintly Scholar School.
'Hmmm, I wonder if this world has the saying of wearing a green hat? Who knows. None of the disciples are wearing green hats, after all.' Tianyi held his chin as he instantly pictured everyone from the Saint Scholar School wearing green hats at once. Tianyi agitated himself and started coughing again before he could even laugh, but he did not regret it one bit.
The disciples disembarked first. It was only after all of the disciples had left the ship did the elders appear.
Each of these immortal realm elders was famous in their own continents, and just uttering their names could send tremors through the continent, but here at the gathering of the most powerful forces of the Huang Realm, few stood out. Only those with fame that resounded throughout the whole realm would be paid attention to. Some average immortal realm elders might not even get as much attention as the disciples during the competition.
The most eye-catching immortal realm elder was a white-haired old man with a long beard wearing azure robes. Although he seemed ordinary at first glance, but like the immortal boat he disembarked, the more you looked at him, the more you would notice how unordinary he was. You would even unknowingly gain a sense of empathy and goodwill towards him.
In contrast, the immortal realm elders of the Earth Continent were far more explosive in announcing their arrival.
The first to disembark was a man wearing black and white robes with black hair and white sidelocks. He seemed to be disconnected from the world around him. Next was a dark blue-robed man with electrifying blue hair. With each step he took, the observers heard a thunderous roar. The immortal was like lightning incarnate.
"Monarch Dong, you know more matters of the realm more than I. Which one is the Sword Empress' son?" The blue-haired man asked the elder beside him.
"Monarch Evernight, I don't believe you can't tell. With one look, you will be able to tell." Monarch Dong, the man in the black and white robes, said, too lazy to even bother with saying anymore.
To say the relationships between the Eternal Night Sect and Eight Pillars Sect were tense was an understatement.
"Oh?" Monarch Evernight looked at the disembarked passengers of the Heaven Continent, and his eyes narrowed as he spotted Tianyi. "Indeed, those eyes are very similar to hers. But that face...hehe."
Monarch Evernight chuckled strangely. "Say, Monarch Dong, no one expected the infamous Sword Empress to have a child. What do you think will happen to her if her son dies?"
"Seeking death!" Monarch Dong sneered at Monarch Evernight and moved towards the Eight Pillar Sect disciples with a swish of his sleeve.
Monarch Evernight snorted before he directed his eyes back at Tianyi, a sense of ill intent seemingly not even hidden in his eyes, but at this moment, everyone's gaze focused on the immortal that stepped down from the immortal boat from Heaven Continent.
It was a woman of ethereal beauty. Her clean white robes, pristine snow-colored hair, and eyes that were like pearls were mesmerizing. Each movement was like something out of a painting. Each step, a painting was formed. It was as if the world was a canvas, and she was the beauty in the painting. Everything was colorless in comparison to her.
"Empress Voidink!" One immortal from the Earth Continent cried out in shock.
"To think Empress Voidink would come for a mere Three Heavens Connection Meeting!"
"There were rumors that she had long perished after the battle with the Dragon Emperor, but it seems that is false." One knowledgeable elder from the Saintly Scholar School said.
For the cultivators who had not attained immortality, all they felt was that Grand Elder Zhang was unspeakably beautiful even though they could not see her face clearly, but it was different for the immortal realm cultivators. All of the immortals were greatly pressured by the appearance of Grand Elder Zhang.
This was especially the case for Monarch Evernight. Although not once did Grand Elder Zhang direct her sight onto him, but he felt that Grand Elder Zhang had him locked in her sight.
He felt cold sweat appearing on his back even though he was a seamless immortal and no longer had the need to sweat. He was like a rat that stared into the eyes of a snake. Finally, the pressure disappeared when Grand Elder Zhang's feet touched the ground of the island.
Off by the side, Monarch Dong sneered. In his heart, he wished that Monarch Evernight would offend Grand Elder Zhang and get killed for it.
There was an awkward silence, but soon Headmaster Ren, along with a few immortals from the Saint Scholar School, made their way towards Grand Elder Zhang.
"Senior Zhang, I did not think I would have the honor of seeing your esteemed self once more." Headmaster Ren said as he saluted the white-robed immortal.
With Headmaster Ren breaking the ice, the other immortals followed the lead and came to greet Grand Elder Zhang. Naturally, only the outstanding immortals came up, and the ordinary ones stayed behind, not daring to go up. Just as there was a difference between a foundation establishment disciple and a unity venerable, so too were there differences between immortals.
"I never expected an esteemed senior to attend a minor event like this." An immortal elder said.
"Indeed. These juniors aren't worth an elder like Empress Voidink's time." Monarch Evernight said he glanced at Tianyi again.
"That is not true. These juniors are the future of our sects. Although some may fall, those that survive will become the pillars that support the sect." Grand Elder Zhang suddenly said, surprising the groups of conversing immortals.
Monarch Evernight kept his facial expression calm, although inside, he was anything but. He was famous for his explosive temper, but he dared not display it in front of this legendary immortal.
"What Empress Voidink says is true. Empress is kind towards your juniors." Another immortal added.
"But who knows if even one of these juniors will ascend to become a true immortal, the chance of one ascending is simply too hard. And how many will transcend the barrier and become Seamless Immortals? Many immortals can only reach the True Immortal Realm." Monarch Evernight said, his tone prideful.
"That may not be so. There is always a sliver of a chance. The Heavenly Dao always leaves a chance." Grand Elder Zhang said.
"..." Monarch Evernight felt that Grand Elder Zhang was countering at every moment like she had something against him. But looking at her rippleless eyes, he felt that was not the case. Perhaps his views were truly not compatible with hers?
All the immortals were wondering why this old monster had come to this Three Heavens Connection Meeting. Perhaps the Buzhou Immortal Sect had insider information concerning the remnant of the Immortal Court?
The Buzhou Immortal Sect claimed to have inherited the orthodoxy of the Immortal Court, so having insider information was not outside the realm of possibility.
Although the immortals made time to greet Grand Elder Zhang, they did not forget the most important matters.
Very soon, the formerly flat island began to change, and ninety-nine pillars rose into the sky. Atop each of the pillars were individual arenas around fifty meters in diameter. Each pillar was different in height, with the highest at the center, and each proceeding was lower by a level.
"I will now explain the rules to the Three Heavens Connection Meeting!"
The speaker was an Elder from the Buzhou Immortal Sect, Monarch Fiendblood. His red hair shone devilishly under the sun, and his snow-white robes only served to enhance the bloody aura on him.
The rules were simple. Only two people were allowed on the platform at the same time. The winner would stay on the platform and have an hour of rest after each battle, while the loser would be booted off. There would be no deliberate killings or maiming or crippling in any way. Should such a thing happen, then they would lose the qualifications to enter the ruins of the Immortal Court.
The condition to be qualified was for the cultivator to win a certain number of consecutive victories. Each of the arenas was numbered one to ninety-nine, with one being the tallest—the higher the number, the greater the number of victories needed to pass. Of course, if you were lucky and you were the last one standing when the time ended, you would also pass.
Disciples could challenge more than one time, so even if they lost, they still had a chance to pass. This tested not only a cultivator's combat prowess but also their judgment, as choosing the most opportune time to step onto the arena was also crucial.
"I will now announce the start of the Core Formation Assessment round!"
With those words, many Core Formation Masters used various means to reach the platforms. As they had not formed a Nascent Soul, they did not have the ability to walk on air and had to use various techniques or artifacts in order to reach the arenas.
Tianyi watched the first fights with interest but soon lost interest. The fights didn't seem too different from the spars he had witnessed back at the sect. Although there were standout disciples and some variations, there was nothing out of the norm.
Spells from spiritual cultivators and martial arts from martial cultivators, it was an all too familiar routine. Tianyi looked around to see many of the disciples with extraordinary aura waiting calmly. Tianyi also forced himself to calm down like them, but soon he began to frown.
He simply felt bored, he had thought that there would have been more exciting battles, but he was wrong. Or perhaps it was simply too early. Tianyi felt that he was never a patient man, and so he searched the platforms, and his sight landed on arena number nine. Tianyi really liked the numbers nine and five since they were associated with the emperor.
Without waiting anymore, Tianyi leaped onto his flying sword towards arena number nine, causing those who knew of his status as the son of Sword Empress Xi to pay more attention to him.
The disciple on the ninth arena was a cultivator from the Earth Continent but not of the Eight Pillars Sect, not that Tianyi would recognize them either way. The red-robed disciple frowned when he saw Tianyi cough into a handkerchief before smiling at him.
"Buzhou Immortal Sect Disciple Xi Tianyi, please advise."
"Paradise Earth Sect Disciple Meng Tuguo, likewise."
Tianyi kept smiling as he walked towards Meng Tuguo, not even bothering to unsheathe the sword at his side.
Meng Tuguo snorted. "You look down on me too much. Even if I'm not from a hegemonic sect, I'm still a disciple of a first-rate sect!" Saying he charged forward with a halberd. The halberd was encased in orange flames like a coat of armor, enhancing its destructive power.
In response, Tianyi simply reached out, and as if Meng Tuguo was snatched by an invisible hand, he froze midair and suddenly flew out of the arena.
Monarch Dong, who was observing at the side, narrowed his eyes as he looked at Tianyi.
When Meng Tuguo broke out of his stupor, he gazed dazedly at the arena where he was thrown out of one move. His thoughts were written on his face, and he was clearly questioning his life right now. Aside from a few close friends, no one was paying attention to him. The ease of Tianyi winning sent a ripple through the Core Formation and even the Nascent Soul realm cultivators watching.
But Tianyi wasn't concerned as he stood near the center, waiting for his next opponent. After his hour of rest passed, a new challenger immediately stepped into the arena.
It was a cultivator with long black hair and red hairpins in their hair. The cultivator had a beautiful and mesmerizing face and wore loose inner white robes with a red gauze outer robe hiding the figure.
"Fellow daoist, I fell in love with you at first sight. Would you consider becoming my, Nanfang Wubai's, dao companion?" Nanfang Wubai said with a falsetto tone and a charming smile.
Tianyi instantly felt goosebumps cover his entire body.