Xin slowly opened her eyes with a sigh.
She really hated to have a discussion with her other half.
But yet, deep down she knew that what the bitch said was true.
She was not nearly strong enough to survive the Imperial Sky Emperor's trial at all.
***
"What's the Imperial Sky Emperor's trial?"
Shen raised a brow in confusion. He had not heard about such a concept anywhere in his mind. Not from web novels, anime, or even in movies.
The old man gave him a strange look.
"Kid, have you been living under a rock or something? Even if you HAVE been living under a rock, you should know about the Imperial Sky Emperor, everyone does."
"Can you explain it to be like I'm a child? I... um... got hit on the head really hard by a beast and I lost my memory."
Shen could not really let anyone know that he wasn't really from their world.
Thus, he had to swifty create an excuse and hoped for the old man to buy it.
"Hmm. That sounds plausible..."
The man stroked his white moustache in thought.
"... Well, the Imperial Sky Emperor is one of the most powerful existences that exist around here. His cultivation has far surpassed the the other Overlords and he acts as an overseer for the first empire...."
Sometime yesterday, Xin had said something in passing about some three great empires, so Shen nodded and asked a question of his own.
"So this Imperial Sky Emperor guy rules all the three empires?"
"Oh no. No no no no..."
The old an shook his head in stark disagreement. "The Imperial Sky Emperor is like a god. But in the end he's still just another one of the three Great Overlords."
Shen took note of a few key terms that he had learned, just in case the information would come in handy sooner or later.
'There are three empires and three Overlords?'
The old man continued to ramble on and on about the Imperial Sky Emperor's strength, but that due not really interest him. Oblivious to Shen losing attention, the old man spoke on.
"Sure, giving us a hero to protect the lands from beasts and all isn't a bad thing to do, but forcing each and every cultivatior on the continent to participate in a death guaranteed survival tournament of sorts is rather cruel."
That was enough to perk the youth's ears up.
It sounded rather interesting actually.
"So that's the Imperial Sky Emperor's trial?"
Shen asked with interest.
"Yes, basically..."
The old man had replied, and they continued on their way.
The old man was a former cultivator under one of the Great Samurai sects who fancied anything cultivation and related. Heck, the only reason why he had agreed to give Shen a ride to town was only because the latter said that he was a cultivator who was out hunting beasts.
As they continued on their journey torward the second empire, Shen had one last question for the man.
"Sorry, uncle. But do you mind me asking just what the surviving cultivators receive at the end of it all?"
The question was merely out of curiosity as Shen did not really want to join in the competition.
If he were a few tiers stronger, sure, as that would be a way to make himself known and famous, but not right now as he was still too weak.
The old man had finally arrived at the Dao mountains that acted as a border and abruptly stopped the carriage.
Then he looked around in suspicion and turned around to face Shen.
"Between you and me, kid, no one is really sure as the last one was held long before the oldest man in this generation's parents were born. However, there is an ancient scroll said to hold the key to unlimited power. It is kept high up in the Immortal Sky king's golden serpent temple..."
Shen paled slightly as he heard those words.
The temple sounded eerily similar to the place where he had found his cheat.
"Uh, may I ask what happens if the scroll were to... um... go missing?"
He was not even remotely sure, but he had a really deep gut feeling that the two were one and the same, his cheat and the scroll.
Instead of answering right away, the old man let out a heart chuckle.
"You've got a nice sense of humor, kid, I think I like you. How could anyone in a quarter of their right minds try to steal the scroll? Even if they 'managed' to get past the fire breathing golden dragon's statues, the dragon statue holding the scroll would burn the thief to ashes the moment he touches it. And if he does manage to escape that somehow, then once the Imperial Sky Emperor finds out, he would be wiped out of existence by the Imperial Sky Emperor himself.
Nothing is hodden from the Imperial Sky Emperor."
The black haired youth froze for a second.
Now he was really, really sure that he was in possession of the ancient scroll.
The thought of being anhillated did not really sit well with him, and so it was either he returned the system, or risk being anhillated.
'Well, as far as I know, systems aren't removable, right?'
Sure it was strange how he managed by bypass the strange security system, he had even climbed on one of the dragon statues, but that odd phenomenon could be explained by the fact that he had transmigrated and such traps might not work on him since he was not from this world, but the main problem now was that he had inadvertently stolen the prize scroll of the Imperial Sky Emperor's trial.
That was basically getting the teacher's answer sheet and duplicating it before an exam started!
With the scroll, he was sure to win the trial something and once he won, he would officially receive the scroll and clear his name. It was a win-win!
"I think I'm going to join in the Trial."
Shrugging, the old man sighed.
"It's your funeral, kid."
***
Shen thanked the man for the ride and was about leaving, when the merchant called him back.
"Hey kid, where are you going? There's no other province around these areas."
Shen scratched the back of his head and let out a sheepish grin.
"Nowhere in particular actually. I kinda lost my place in a beast attack."
The old man frowned deeply and wrinkled his forehead in thought, then flashed a bright smile.
"Would you like to come over?"
"Oh no, I couldn't."
"Come on, kid. You obviously need a place to stay."