The Realm God attendant delivered the token and departed, leaving the other thousand-plus divine-level experts gazing longingly, each filled with helplessness.
Being taken as a disciple by a supreme being?
Difficult indeed.
Even those who could participate in the Divine Court Battle and had the potential to become a Realm God of the First Heaven were often deemed unworthy by supreme beings! The supreme beings of the Bloodblade Divine Court were each assigned a few disciples during the Divine Court’s Ten Thousand Flowers Banquet. These were not disciples they actively sought but rather those assigned to them—such disciples were rarely taught with true dedication. A casual word or two of guidance, the bestowal of two or three Realm God-level secret arts, and the granting of one or two treasures would mark the end of their tutelage.
And yet… even this was beyond the reach of most divine-level experts.
Thus, figures like the “Mortal World Sage,” who willingly opened their doors wide, allowing countless divine-level experts—even demigods—to challenge the Redstone Mountain and, upon passing the trials, become guardian disciples and receive Realm God-level secret arts, were considered exceptionally benevolent.
“Brother Dongbo, congratulations,” said the Seventh Plum Rain beside him, though a trace of concealed longing flickered in his eyes. He, too, wished to receive a token, but his luck had been slightly worse—he hadn’t even made it into the top hundred.
“Hmph.” Another participant nearby, the “Nine Abodes,” snorted coldly.
Dongbo Xueying glanced at Nine Abodes and mused inwardly, “Cultivation strength truly has nothing to do with personality! Someone as petty and narrow-minded as this actually managed to master the Infinite Divine Heart.”
Cultivation was the comprehension of the laws of heaven and earth.
Among these laws existed paths of darkness, cruelty, and destruction—perhaps those with wicked temperaments were better suited to comprehending them?
“Buzz.” Dongbo Xueying gripped the golden token, channeling his consciousness into it to sense its message—
“I, Gu Zang, am willing to take you as my personal disciple.”
Just this single message.
Dongbo Xueying exhaled softly in relief. At the very least, a supreme being was willing to take him as a disciple—and a personal one at that.
“Dongbo, who is it?” the Seventh Plum Rain asked curiously via mental transmission.
“It’s the supreme being Gu Zang,” Dongbo Xueying replied.
“Emperor Gu Zang? That’s one of the Divine Emperor’s most favored disciples!” the Seventh Plum Rain exclaimed in awe. “Among the supreme beings of the Bloodblade Divine Court, Emperor Gu Zang is considered the most low-key. But as one of only two supreme being disciples under His Majesty, he naturally receives focused nurturing. According to my father, his rare few public displays of power were astonishing—his strength is nearly unfathomable. Some even speculate he might be close to the Three Ancestors.”
Dongbo Xueying nodded.
Emperor Gu Zang, a personal disciple of the Bloodblade Divine Emperor—his backing was rock-solid! However, Emperor Gu Zang had one flaw… he was far too reclusive. As the Seventh Plum Rain had said, he was the most low-key figure in the Bloodblade Divine Court’s faction. Since becoming a supreme being, he had grown even more withdrawn, never once stepping beyond the borders of the Bloodblade Divine Court’s territory… spending nearly all his time secluded in his lair, immersed in cultivation!
“Emperor Gu Zang has been a supreme being for over a hundred billion years. On the rare occasions he emerges, it’s only within the Bloodblade Divine Court’s domain. Otherwise, he remains perpetually in seclusion!” Dongbo Xueying muttered to himself. “Is choosing such a master… suitable?”
—
One by one, participants were eliminated from the Divine Court Battle. As the number of remaining divine-level experts dwindled, the number of venomous beasts spawned increased drastically. Now, they moved in packs of eight or ten, sometimes even dozens at once. Even those wielding divine weapons of slaughter could easily perish. Soon, only five experts who had grasped First-grade Divine Hearts remained, barely holding on.
Those who had mastered First-grade Divine Hearts would also battle and eliminate one another.
As the numbers thinned further…
The supreme beings gradually began bestowing tokens.
“Dongbo’s Divine Court Battle has concluded. I’ve heard that supreme beings might take the initiative to recruit disciples. I wonder who Dongbo will end up apprenticed to,” remarked the Purple Thunder Emperor among the Xia Clan’s assembled deities.
“Whoever it is, it’s still a supreme being taking him as a disciple!” said the somewhat despondent Crimson Fire Emperor.
“Not all supreme beings are equal. How can ordinary supreme beings compare to His Majesty?” Longshan Emperor said eagerly. “In my opinion, there’s a chance His Majesty might take Dongbo as a disciple.”
“His Majesty is the strongest in the Divine Realm. Even the two rulers of the Spacetime Island and the Myriad Gods Hall are slightly inferior to him—this is universally acknowledged! At His Majesty’s level of invincibility, would he even care about teaching disciples?” Cloudsea shook his head. “If His Majesty takes a disciple, it’s a matter of luck. If not, it’s perfectly normal. Let’s just hope another powerful supreme being takes Dongbo as a disciple.”
Yu Jingqiu silently raised her head, a faint smile on her lips.
In this Divine Court Battle, Dongbo had already performed brilliantly, shining brightly! Though his ranking had now fallen out of the top ten, his short cultivation span made him even more attractive to supreme beings than those who had mastered First-grade Divine Hearts.
—
“The Divine Court Battle is down to just a few First-grade Divine Heart wielders. Dongbo’s final ranking is eleventh,” White Sand City Lord chuckled, stroking his upturned mustache. “Among them, eight have mastered First-grade Divine Hearts. Such a ranking is already excellent. Tsk, tsk… I just wonder which supreme being Dongbo will end up apprenticed to. If he could become a disciple of the Three Ancestors, that would be ideal.”
Beside him, drinking companions like Darkcloud City Lord, Qin Army Master, and Ronghai King also smiled as they glanced at the distant, towering main hall.
“The Three Ancestors? That’s hard to say,” Darkcloud City Lord remarked.
“Pang Yi’s temperament makes him unlikely to take disciples. The Destruction Overlord, with his immense lifespan—especially since five of his disciples have become supreme beings—is similarly disinclined. The Bamboo Mountain Mansion Lord is aloof and rarely takes disciples,” Qin Army Master analyzed.
Ronghai King laughed heartily. “At the level of the Three Ancestors, how many still care about taking disciples?”
The stronger one became, the less one cared about discipleship.
If they were in a good mood, they might take a disciple. If not? Even if you were a First-grade True Intent transcendent, they couldn’t be bothered!
What did it matter if you were a First-grade True Intent transcendent? At best, you might become a Fourth Heaven Realm God. And even if, by some incredibly slim chance, you ascended to supreme beinghood, the Three Ancestors wouldn’t care much. What difference would one more supreme being disciple make? They valued their own strength far more. A slight advancement in their own power would be more beneficial than teaching a disciple to supreme beinghood!
“According to intelligence from some of my old comrades above, three supreme beings have already bestowed tokens upon Dongbo,” White Sand City Lord said with evident pride.
—
At the highest point of the Bloodblade Divine Court…
The Ten Thousand Flowers Banquet was underway. Among the 1,900 divine-level experts at the banquet’s periphery, as the Divine Court Battle entered its final stages, venomous beasts appeared in overwhelming numbers—some even rivaling First Heaven Realm Gods in strength. The last five remaining First-grade Divine Heart wielders were swiftly slain.
Now, the supreme beings began issuing tokens in succession.
Dongbo Xueying was quite popular among them, having already received three tokens.
“Seventh Plum Rain.” A Realm God attendant, under the fervent gazes of the 1,900 divine-level experts, walked up to the Seventh Plum Rain and handed him a token.
“Me?” The Seventh Plum Rain was stunned.
Though his cultivation span was short—just over 80,000 years—he was only relatively young among the Divine Court Battle participants. His ranking, 159th, was decent but awkwardly outside the top hundred. Yet, among the mere six divine-level experts (including Dongbo) who had received tokens so far, the Seventh Plum Rain had been granted one. He could hardly believe it.
The Realm God attendant departed after delivering the token.
The Seventh Plum Rain, unable to contain his excitement, immediately probed the token’s message. His father, the Snowblade Monarch, had always hoped he would become a disciple of a supreme being—and now, it had actually happened?
“Brother Meiyu, congratulations,” Dongbo Xueying transmitted mentally.
The Seventh Plum Rain was genuinely overjoyed. He turned to Dongbo Xueying beside him, eyes brimming with delight, and transmitted, “It’s the supreme being ‘Vortex Mother Emperor.’”
“Impressive,” Dongbo Xueying praised. The Vortex Mother Emperor was female, and her elder sister, the “North Profound Palace Master,” was on par with the Three Ancestors—notorious for her domineering ruthlessness. Her most famous battle occurred during a treasure dispute on the Moon Star. Enraged, she faced nine supreme beings head-on. Confident in their combined strength, the nine never expected the North Profound Palace Master’s newly comprehended killing technique to excel against group assaults. The moment she unleashed it, three supreme beings were slain on the spot, while the other six fled in disarray.
From then on, the North Profound Palace Master’s name shook the heavens. None dared provoke her lightly.
Like most supreme beings, she roamed freely, unaffiliated with the Bloodblade Divine Court, the Myriad Gods Hall, or the Spacetime Island.
The Vortex Mother Emperor and the North Profound Palace Master were sisters, bound by deep affection. Anyone who dared harm the Vortex Mother Emperor would face the North Profound Palace Master’s wrath! The Vortex Mother Emperor was similarly protective—all her disciples were women.
When it came to discipleship…
Most supreme beings cared little for their disciples’ external conflicts. If they died, it was simply a matter of inferior skill—after all, without true life-and-death trials, how could a disciple grow?
But a rare few supreme beings were fiercely protective! Their disciples bullying others? Perfectly fine. Others bullying their disciples? Absolutely unacceptable!
“Hmph.” Nine Abodes, seated not far from Dongbo Xueying and the Seventh Plum Rain, grew increasingly resentful upon seeing them both receive tokens. As a divine-level expert who had mastered a First-grade Divine Heart, he had yet to receive a single token from any supreme being.
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