Whoosh!
An elegantly decorated flying boat with a sword symbol on its sides soared across the sky. After several hours, it landed on the edge of a lake with a tall pagoda near it.
Sheng Tian jumped off the boat followed by Long Chen. A Divine Sense swept past them and the entrance to the pagoda opened.
He entered unceremoniously and found the envoy of the Xia Empire sitting at a round table while sipping tea.
He opened one eye and looked at the duo.
"Come sit, no need to stand on ceremony"
Heeding his words, Sheng Tian sat down rudely and poured himself a cup of tea. Long Chen on the other hand was much more polite and bowed slightly before taking a seat.
"Sheng Tian of the Sky Sword Sect, right? It's quite miraculous to possess such strength at your age. Your Sect Master has nurtured quite a good talent"
Long Chen smiled wryly, "I am embarrassed to say that I have taught this kid little to nothing"
"Oh?"
The man took another look at Sheng Tian, "So you're self taught, huh? That's even more impressive"
They could see through his eyes that he was genuinely impressed with Sheng Tian.
"Could you be planning on ascending soon?"
This piqued Sheng Tian's interest and he clasped his hands, "Could Senior tell me why it is such a big deal to ascend? I've seen quite a lot of people who can ascend with little trouble yet are wasting many years staying in the Mortal Realm"
The envoy glanced at Long Chen and then looked back at Sheng Tian.
"Nowadays, it is nearly impossible to ascend. This is because we've entered an era of peace for a while now and while small conflicts do happen, they are not big enough to cause any major waves in the Thirteen Heavens."
"Peace may seem like a good thing to mortals but for us cultivators, peace makes everyone stagnant"
He then showed a self deprecating smile, "Even I have been stuck without the motivation to continue cultivating"
Sheng Tian nodded and proceeded to ask more questions. It was a good opportunity to gain insight on the inner workings of the entire cultivation world and the man didn't seem to lie at all. Even Long Chen paid attention to the envoy's words as it wasn't everyday that one can listen to the representative of a central power give out advice.
"The reason for this period of peace is unknown to us lower realm dwellers, though a few assumptions can be made"
"It is said that a Diviner had read the Heaven's Code and saw that countless years ago, a young man with endless talent was born. He turned out to be a Anarchic Divergent of the highest caliber, possessing dense Divergent Aura, and rose to an unprecedented level"
"Eventually, he was somehow killed and that likely led to today's predicament"
"Wait, what is Divergent Aura?"
The man pondered this for a while before answering, "According to the various books I've read on Divergents, Divergent Aura is an aura that naturally manifests after a while in a fated Divergent. Think of it as killing intent, which naturally condenses after killing many people, only this one is filled with the will to go against the natural order"
Sheng Tian pondered the man's words. It seems that his Divergent Aura has not manifested yet, and yet his master had managed to sense its existence.
"It should be an ability of the All Seeing Eyes," he thought.
The envoy cleared his throat to get Sheng Tian's attention back, "Anyways, I'm surprised that you've healed those injuries in such a short amount of time. If it were me I'm afraid it would take months to heal"
He said this while taking out a black token with a dragon engraving. Underneath the engraving were the words 'Xia Pagoda' in a neat and bold print.
"This is..."
"This, is the identity token required to enter the Empire's Core Library which contains countless high grade techniques and information"
"You'll be allowed to enter for three days, no more, no less"
While Sheng Tian didn't know what was so special about this library, seeing Long Chen's eyes widen in shock definitely means that it wasn't so simple.
"Naturally this isn't the only reward. You'll also receive a rank one Earth beast egg of your choosing. Once it matures, it would have the strength of a Core Formation realm cultivator. Finally, Sect Master Long Chen will get ten spots allocated for the Mystic Realm that will open soon"
"Oh?"
Sheng Tian was quite interested in the rank one Earth beast eggs as it is quite uncommon for a beast that is supposed to reside in an Earth Realm to lay an egg in a Mortal Realm while Long Chen was ecstatic to hear that their sect will receive ten spots this time.
As long as his disciples perform well in the Mystic Realm, the Sky Sword Sect will witness a rise they haven't seen in a long time.
The only problem was the Sacred Blood Sect. Long Chen frowned, remembering the terrifying black ball Mo Tian threw at the end of the battle. While it was hidden well, he was sure he'd sensed a peculiar aura that wasn't human coming from the ball.
Sheng Tian didn't seem to notice Long Chen's thoughts and asked, "So, can I get the egg and go to the library now?"
"I'll have to send a message to the higher ups to have the eggs prepared and then prepare the flying ship. We'll most likely leave in a week or so"
He then took out a message jade, "When we leave for the Xia Empire, I'll contact you through this"
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Sheng Tian left with Long Chen and made their way back to their temporary residence. Once they reached the residence, Long Chen spoke.
"I am quite embarrassed to have taught you nothing. All your victories are achieved through your own hands"
Sheng Tian cupped his hands, "I prefer training by myself. I'm actually quite grateful that you took me in"
He waved his hand, "No need to be so humble. I can tell that you'll cause quite a storm in the near future. Just don't die"
He walked away and soon disappeared around a corner.