Chapter 2156: Seating Arrangement

In the valley, it had competed against the other party. Its physical body was incredibly strong, making it difficult to resist, but its true energy and soul were remarkably weak. After only a few tens of seconds of secluded cultivation, its cultivation not only advanced, but more importantly, its spirit, body, and energy perfectly merged. This integration was immeasurably purer than that of the divine beast, who had cultivated for hundreds of years.

Turning its head to look at Sun Qiang nearby, it expected him to be as shocked as it was, but instead, he wore a matter-of-fact expression.

It seemed he was not surprised by what he saw.

This meant that Zhang Xuan's remarkably rapid cultivation was entirely within Sun Qiang's expectations.

What kind of master have I found, and what exactly is this group?

As it stood bewildered, a scrawny little yellow chick suddenly appeared on the young master's shoulder.

"You're awake?" the young master said, nodding at the chick.

"Yep, didn't you get a lot of Divine Origin Pills? I want to eat..." the little chick said, drooling.

"How dare you! As a spirit beast, you shouldn't demand anything if the young master hasn't offered it!" Zhang Jia frowned.

Although he didn't know why the young master was raising a chicken, a spirit beast should know its place. How could it demand food the moment it spoke? If all spirit beasts behaved this way, what dignity would a master have?

"Who are you?" the little chick asked, turning its head. Then, its eyes narrowed in a smile. "Oh, it's a Scales-Armored Beast. Must taste good..."

It opened its beak wide.

Before Zhang Jia could even react, he was swallowed whole.

"Spit him out! That's my newly acquired spirit beast..." Zhang Xuan exclaimed, startled that the chick caused trouble the moment it appeared. He slapped it on the head.

At this rate, it would be better if it had stayed asleep...

Hearing its master, the yellow chick reluctantly spat Zhang Jia out.

Zhang Jia had now returned to his original form. The thought of being eaten by a mere low-grade Divine Spirit chick infuriated him. His face twisted into a snarl, and he roared, "How dare you eat me! I'll kill you..."

With a furious roar, he charged.

Just as Zhang Xuan was about to intervene, he saw the little chick look over with an expression of pure enjoyment. "Come on, kill me! If you don't, you're a coward..."

"You..." The Scales-Armored Beast was utterly exasperated.

The young master's true energy and soul broke through two major levels in mere moments, and I endured that. But you, a mere chicken, how dare you be so arrogant!

He stomped down with his massive hooves, crushing the little chick into the ground. Lifting his foot and looking down, he saw that not only was the chick unharmed, but it was leisurely crossing its legs, looking utterly relaxed and content. "Harder..." it taunted. "Didn't you eat?"

"..." Zhang Jia was on the verge of madness once more.

After several consecutive stomps, several sections of the courtyard wall collapsed, and large pits appeared in the ground. Yet, this little chick, which looked like it could die at any moment, remained utterly nonchalant and unharmed.

"Master..." By now, even an idiot would realize that this fellow was definitely more than just an ordinary low-grade Divine Spirit. Zhang Jia returned to his human form and looked over.

"Alright, stop messing around," Zhang Xuan said. "Little chick, if you want to die, I'll take you to the City Lord's manor later to see if there's another way!"

Having been burned by fire twice, the little chick surmised that its increase in strength was connected to death. Thus, as soon as it woke up, it was intent on seeking death.

The little chick flapped its wings to dust itself off and returned to Zhang Xuan's shoulder.

After waking up from the spatial storm, its strength, while not having a significant breakthrough, had considerably improved its defense. Even Zhang Jia would find it no simple task to kill it.

"Alright, don't be disheartened," the little chick said, glancing at Zhang Jia. "I am a super divine beast that roams across heaven and earth; it's only natural you can't kill me. Just obediently become my subordinate!"

"Become your subordinate?" Zhang Jia scoffed. "Even if I can't kill you, you can't kill me either! Make me your subordinate? Dream on!"

"Dream on?" The little chick smiled faintly, its eyes suddenly opening wide as a powerful aura burst forth.

It was the power of bloodline among divine beasts!

Thud!

Zhang Jia knelt on the ground. "Big Brother!"

"Now that's more like it..." The little chick looked satisfied.

Zhang Jia wiped cold sweat from his forehead.

He had genuinely thought it was just an ordinary chicken. He never expected that once its bloodline power was released, it would give him a feeling as if heaven and earth were collapsing. Compared to that, his own bloodline, which he had been so proud of, was utterly insignificant!

What level of divine beast was this, exactly?

Zhang Jia felt his worldview had completely shattered.

He had originally thought that for a dignified Heavenly God like himself to become the other party's spirit beast was a degradation of status. Only now did he realize... he had actually climbed above his station!

"The Divine Mountain is very far from Evernight City," Sun Qiang explained. "It's also covered by a seal left by a God-King expert, making normal travel impossible. One can only reach it via the city's teleportation array!"

Ignoring the now harmonious yellow chick and Scales-Armored Beast, Zhang Xuan listened carefully to Sun Qiang's explanation.

Although he had heard of the Divine Mountain before, he didn't know its location or how one obtained Divine Spirit energy there.

"Each year, every city has a fixed quota of spots," Sun Qiang explained the information he had gathered. "Those who obtain a spot are then teleported into the Divine Mountain to find ways to locate Divine Spirit energy and absorb it for a breakthrough. Naturally, there are successes and failures; many people have visited the Divine Mountain multiple times without achieving success..."

"Let's go take a look," Zhang Xuan said, unfazed. "It shouldn't be difficult for Zhao Ya and the others to obtain it!"

Although Zhao Ya and the others were only Pseudo-Gods, they had spent considerable time in both the Master Teacher Continent and the Firmament. Their combat experience and personal strength far surpassed those of the native inhabitants of the God Realm.

Others might fail, but for his students to fail... he simply didn't believe it.

If they truly failed, they wouldn't even be worthy of being his students!

"You should also follow along and break through to Divine Spirit as soon as possible!" Zhang Xuan instructed.

"Alright..." Sun Qiang nodded.

The group headed towards the City Lord's manor.

The teleportation location was on the square outside the City Lord's manor. In less than an hour, they arrived and found it already teeming with an immeasurable crowd.

Evernight City wasn't considered very large in the God Realm, yet it had 1,200 available spots. With the addition of friends and family who came to see them off, the spacious square was completely filled and bustling with activity.

"Young Master Zhang Xuan, please come this way!"

Just as they arrived at the square and before they had even entered, the middle-aged man, Ying Fei, who had met them previously, approached them with a respectful expression.

Leading Zhao Ya and the others to follow him closely, they soon arrived at a room.

City Lord Wu Fangqing was inside. Seeing Zhang Xuan arrive, he stood up with a smile. "Young Master Zhang Xuan, please sit!"

Zhang Xuan looked around and realized the room was already filled with two to three dozen people.

Beside Wu Fangqing, several people were seated, each exuding a strong aura, indicating considerable strength.

It was clear at a glance that these individuals held extremely high positions and status in Evernight City.

Without declining, he walked to the seat beside Wu Fangqing and sat down.

As soon as he sat down, a middle-aged man nearby looked over with a puzzled expression. "City Lord Wu, aren't you going to introduce this friend?"

The others also looked over.

Not only was he curious, but the others were also puzzled.

The seat the City Lord had offered was significantly more prominent than theirs. While they would have acknowledged it for a renowned elder of the city, this person was so young and didn't seem particularly strong.

"This is Young Brother Zhang Xuan," Wu Fangqing said, gesturing towards Zhao Ya and the others. "He's taking a group of students into the Divine Mountain!"

"Students?"

Everyone grew even more curious, looking towards Zhao Ya and the others, their brows furrowed.

The youngest among them were already eighteen or nineteen, and they hadn't even broken through to godhood yet. Their talent didn't seem particularly impressive!

"City Lord," the same middle-aged man spoke, "while you may have your reasons for seating arrangements, with so many people in Evernight City watching, surely rules must be followed. If Young Brother Zhang's strength is great, we would be convinced. If his students are strong, we would also have nothing to say. But if neither is the case, then this arrangement seems a bit improper, doesn't it?"

Another middle-aged man added, "What exactly is going on? We paid a significant sum to get these seats! Young Brother Zhang shouldn't have been at the last auction, right? To arrange him directly in front of us, and with so many people, I still think it's improper!"

"Seats?"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had only come to sit down at the City Lord's invitation, not realizing that seating arrangements had such strict rules and weren't simply assigned.

Slightly puzzled, he looked at Wu Fangqing, who transmitted a message to him: "Young Master Zhang Xuan, I am truly sorry I didn't tell you earlier. The Divine Mountain is a mountain range where the closer one gets to the summit, the greater the chance of obtaining Divine Spirit energy, while at the foot of the mountain, the chances are much smaller. It opens once every six months, and all Pseudo-Gods in the God Realm who haven't broken through enter. Therefore, the teleportation array cannot send everyone to the foot of the mountain; that would be too troublesome and would also cause major conflicts.

"Therefore, some people are directly teleported to the mountainside or even the summit. Those who are teleported there will have a much greater chance of obtaining Divine Spirit energy than ordinary people!

"However, each city has a quota. To ensure fairness, the City Lord's manor auctions off the spots closer to the mountain summit every six months. These people... are all individuals who purchased those spots!"

Zhang Xuan suddenly understood.

Evernight City only had 120 spots in total, and surely not many of those reached the mountainside. If he were to simply arrive and use up thirteen of them, no one would agree!

"I am truly sorry," Wu Fangqing said, bowing slightly with a hint of awkwardness. "If your descendants cannot enter the mountainside, I will refund the auction money in full..."

If the person before him were an ordinary individual, it would be a different matter. However, Zhang Xuan was very likely a descendant of a God-King, and even Wu Fangqing dared not offend him, having no choice but to find a way to accommodate him.

"This isn't about money!" the first middle-aged man scoffed. "It's about rules!"

The first middle-aged man snorted. "How about this: if his students' strength can surpass that of our family's descendants, I won't question this matter any further, and it's fine for him to be in front. But if they cannot... then please apologize to us and obediently move to the back!"

Wu Fangqing frowned, not having time to reply, when he heard Zhang Xuan speak. "Very well!"

After speaking, he looked at Zhao Ya and the others. "Which of you will step forward?"

"I'll do it!"

Sun Qiang stepped forward, his plump body jiggling.