Chapter 1016: Rules
"Imperial Consort, what does that mean?" Qiu Yuexin stared at Lin Feng, asking curiously.
"Imperial Consort means the emperor's woman." Lin Feng smiled. Qiu Yuexin shot him a fierce glare, but there was no anger in her heart; instead, there was a faint trace of delight.
Imperial Consort — that name actually sounded quite nice!
"Is it almost time?" Lin Feng lifted his head to look at the void, speaking indifferently. At this moment, the morning sun blazed like fire, full of vibrant life, adding a layer of atmosphere to this grand ceremony.
"It should be soon." Qiu Yuexin nodded.
"Hum!" A bell sound seemed to come from a distant place, striking the hearts of the crowd. In that instant, the noisy space seemed to fall silent all at once. Many people wore solemn expressions, lifting their heads to gaze at the eighteen-thousand-foot heavenly staircase. At that moment, a ray of radiant light flowed down from the Heavenly Terrace, like a shimmering wave of water, sweeping across each step of the staircase. In an instant, the staircase was covered in a layer of fantastical brilliance, exuding a faint, ethereal aura, as if it were a true heavenly staircase.
"It's different!" Lin Feng's expression tightened. He looked up into the sky. At the upper end of the staircase, there seemed to be streaks of dazzling luster flickering, though what they were remained unknown.
"Hum!" Another bell sounded. The crowd's expressions grew even more solemn, their eyes fixed on the void like pilgrims on a sacred journey. In the distance, from the direction of the Heavenly Terrace, a figure stepped out from it.
This figure was dressed simply, calm and serene, with hands clasped together and a prayer bead necklace around his neck. Looking at him, the crowd felt an even deeper sense of peace.
An ascetic monk — the one who appeared was actually an ascetic monk.
"Those who come to offer congratulations, please ascend the auspicious clouds!" A golden light burst from the ascetic monk's body, exceptionally dazzling and brilliant. His entire being resembled a small golden Buddha statue.
"Could this ascetic monk be an ancient Buddha cultivator?" Qiu Yuexin's expression tightened, and she exclaimed in surprise. Lin Feng's brow twitched slightly as he asked in confusion, "Aren't all ascetic monks Buddhist cultivators? What does 'ancient Buddha cultivator' mean?"
"Who told you all ascetic monks are Buddhist cultivators?" Qiu Yuexin shot Lin Feng a glare and said, "Ascetic monks are those who cultivate with a simple will, practicing austerities, single-mindedly pursuing the Dao, with a pure heart and few desires — that is the 'ascetic' part. Shaving off the worldly attachments, letting go of the three thousand troubles, casting aside fame, profit, and external vanities, with only a body and a kasaya — that is the 'monk' part. Monks can be good or evil, even Buddha or demon."
"But ascetic monks practice in various ways; there is no fixed rule that they must be Buddhist cultivators. Especially ancient Buddhas, which are extremely rare nowadays. In fact, ancient Buddhas are also Buddhist cultivators, but they are distinguished by time. Those who practice ancient Buddha techniques are called ancient Buddha cultivators. The two are not absolute and can be considered one and the same. This ascetic monk can summon auspicious clouds with a wave of his hand, exuding a peaceful aura that makes people feel calm and touches their hearts. Even from such a distance, one can feel that natural stillness and harmony from his every move. This kind of temperament, in harmony with heaven, closely resembles the ancient Buddha cultivators recorded in ancient texts, which is why I made this guess."
Qiu Yuexin explained slowly to Lin Feng. Lin Feng nodded slightly — he had been too presumptuous.
Golden light burst forth, and auspicious clouds rolled, transforming into a thousand-zhang expanse of clouds. Under the morning sun's rays, they appeared even more peaceful, exuding an immortal aura.
On the ground, many figures soared into the air. These people all had extraordinary temperaments, some carrying unrestrained pride, others bearing a humble air. But the crowd understood that these congratulators were all disciples of Martial Emperors, even personal disciples of Martial Emperors. If you were not an emperor, then beneath the emperor, all living beings were ants. Without being an emperor, you didn't even have the qualification to offer congratulations, and no one would be so tactless as to do so. This meant that behind these people stood Martial Emperors.
There weren't many people on the auspicious clouds — only a few dozen. Most of them were in groups of several. In this vast and boundless Eight Wastelands Realm, there were only so many emperors, and even fewer could send people to offer congratulations, so naturally, there wouldn't be too many.
"I ask you all to wait here on the auspicious clouds for a moment. Later, you will ascend the Heavenly Terrace together with them. Please forgive me!" The ascetic monk bowed slightly to the crowd on the clouds, his hands clasped together, extremely polite.
"No matter, Master, please attend to your own affairs." The crowd nodded to the ascetic monk. They actually already knew who this ascetic monk was. Among the personal disciples under the Stone Emperor and the Yu Emperor, there was only one ascetic monk, an ancient Buddha cultivator. As fellow disciples of Martial Emperors, they were aware of this!
"Thank you all for your understanding!" The ascetic monk said politely again, then turned his gaze to the crowd below and announced loudly, "Those who are not participating in the disciple selection, please step back and move to the rear of the crowd."
The peaceful voice seemed to easily influence people. Many onlookers immediately flickered backward, cooperating exceptionally well. With just a casual word from the ascetic monk, they all complied.
Today was the day when two emperors were jointly recruiting disciples of Martial Emperors. Who would dare to show disrespect?
Soon, countless people retreated to the back. The vast crowd seemed to split in two, with a clear distinction between front and back.
Seeing the crowd's actions, the ascetic monk nodded slightly, then spoke again: "Today, the Stone Emperor and the Yu Emperor are officially beginning to recruit disciples of Martial Emperors. However, the number of people coming to participate in this grand ceremony is immense, making it impossible to select from them all. Therefore, the emperors have set up this heavenly staircase. The eighteen-thousand-foot staircase totals eighteen thousand steps. As long as you cross seventeen thousand nine hundred and nineteen steps, you will appear before the final eighty-one steps, which is the Nine Heavens. On the Nine Heavens, there are keys to ascend the Heavenly Terrace. Only by obtaining a key and crossing onto the Heavenly Terrace will you have the qualification to compete to become a disciple of a Martial Emperor!"
The crowd's expressions stiffened upon hearing the ascetic monk's words. Obtaining the key to ascend the Heavenly Terrace only gave them the qualification to compete? Just the qualification!
Lin Feng's eyes also widened in surprise. So the Nine Heavens weren't even considered part of the Martial Emperor disciple selection; it was just an entry ticket.
He had experienced the first heaven of the Nine Heavens before. It was terrifying — the oppressive force of heaven and earth pressing down on the body was extremely fearsome. And with such difficulty, it was only to obtain the possibility of becoming a Martial Emperor's disciple. After that, who knew what trials awaited.
Then, after crossing the Nine Heavens to obtain that qualification, wouldn't the subsequent tests for the two emperors' first batch of Martial Emperor disciples be even more terrifying?
"What a great difficulty, but it makes sense!" Qiu Yuexin murmured. The first batch of Martial Emperor disciples was probably highly valued by the Stone Emperor and the Yu Emperor themselves. With so many geniuses coming, if the tests weren't difficult, how could they distinguish and eliminate them?
"Eighty-one steps of the heavenly staircase, nine steps to one heaven, divided into nine heavens in total. To climb up is as hard as ascending to the blue sky. Ascending the first heaven gives you the qualification to ascend the Heavenly Terrace, but only the qualification to be a guest on the terrace, not the right to continue competing to become a Martial Emperor's disciple!" The ascetic monk began to explain the rules. Ascending the first heaven and obtaining the first key granted the qualification to ascend the Heavenly Terrace; otherwise, one probably couldn't even get on the terrace.
"Ascending the first heaven grants the qualification to ascend the Heavenly Terrace, but from then on, you lose the right to compete to become a Martial Emperor's disciple!"
The crowd was shocked. This meant they had to ascend at least the second heaven.
"Ascending the second heaven also gives a different key. Obtaining this key gives you the chance to continue competing to become a Martial Emperor's disciple. Of course, you must remember one thing: once you touch the key on the Nine Heavens, the key will immediately send you to the Heavenly Terrace. Thus, you will lose the chance to compete for the key on the third heaven and beyond. However, obtaining keys from higher heavens only benefits you. So, don't touch the key lightly unless you can't hold on any longer. The further you go, the better!"
The ascetic monk explained patiently, his voice slow but clear, so everyone could hear distinctly.
So the key on the second heaven only gave the qualification to become a disciple and continue the assessment, while obtaining keys from higher places brought greater benefits. This made many people's hearts surge with excitement, vowing to seize the key on the ninth heaven and astonish everyone!
Of course, at this moment, they could only dream. They still had no idea how powerful the forces on the Nine Heavens would be. No one knew!
"Alright, now, ascend the heavenly staircase!" The ascetic monk clasped his hands together and chanted, signaling the start of the true ascent of the heavenly staircase!