The more violently the heavenly pillar shook, the angrier the members of the Wuling Mountain Domain became.
Just then, Xu Ziqing saw Honored Master Xing slash out a mass of qi, which transformed into a gigantic palm and steadied the pillar.
Ke Hong immediately leaped up and shot toward the heavenly pillar.
His figure resembled a shooting star, or perhaps a cannonball. In the blink of an eye, he soared into the clouds and vanished.
Xu Ziqing was surprised again. Could Senior Brother Ke have reached the very top of the pillar?
With that thought, he asked, “Seniors, what is this…?”
Mi Xing, the handsome young man who had been first to offer them welcoming gifts, restrained his anger and smiled. “Junior Brothers Xu and Yun may simply call us senior brothers. Here, we don’t distinguish by generational seniority, only by order of arrival. Those who came first are senior brothers, and those who came later are junior brothers. The only exceptions are the Domain Lord and Honored Master, whose responsibilities warrant particular respect.”
Xu Ziqing readily complied and addressed them all as senior brothers.
Mi Xing explained, “Three hundred li to the southwest lies Baiyun Mountain Domain. Its people have caused trouble for our Wuling lineage for years. Today they’re here for another routine ‘Heaven-Challenging Battle.’ You two had better get used to it.”
Xu Ziqing was even more perplexed. “What exactly is a Heaven-Challenging Battle?”
Surely it was not a literal battle against heaven. The name must mean something more.
Several other senior brothers came over. One handsome youth with a face like polished jade spoke gently and deliberately. “The Zhoutian Immortal Sect is very different from our Wuling Immortal Sect. Now that you’re here, you ought to learn a few everyday rules.”
This man, Gongye Feibai, then explained what had just happened.
Every mountain domain possessed eight of the heaven-supporting pillars Xu Ziqing had seen. They stood in eight directions and served as the eight vulnerable points of the domain’s defenses.
Each vulnerable point, each heavenly pillar, had to have someone guarding it.
Thus a mountain domain required at least eight pillar guardians. If it had fewer than eight, it would lose the right to control an entire mountain range and be forced to retreat to a single mountain or even a desolate tract of land.
That would be an enormous humiliation.
At present, only nine powerful cultivators from the Wuling Immortal Sect had been admitted to the Qianyuan Great World.
Among them, the Domain Lord was a mighty Tribulation Transcendence cultivator who kept the entire mountain range under control. Were his cultivation weaker, he might not command sufficient respect, and the domain could be lost.
Because the Domain Lord occupied a special position, he could not lightly participate in the fights for the pillars.
Beneath the Domain Lord came the Honored Master.
There was no fixed cultivation requirement for this position, but it usually went to the most powerful among the disciples.
The Honored Master was responsible for supervising the pillar guardians, supporting them when necessary, and overseeing all eight pillars.
With only eight people available for these duties in the Wuling lineage, each had to guard a pillar. Even Honored Master Xing had been obliged to fight personally.
The so-called Heaven-Challenging Battle was a battle over resources.
Whenever one mountain domain coveted the resources of another, it could openly arrange a challenge. The signal was an attack on the heavenly pillars, summoning their guardians to the summits for combat. The domains wagered resources before the fight, and the strong could plunder the weak with naked cruelty.
Fortunately, when only one guardian defended a pillar, challengers had to fight him one at a time and could not gang up on him. Otherwise a weakened domain could not survive even briefly, let alone protect itself.
Hearing this, Xu Ziqing was profoundly shocked by the Zhoutian Immortal Sect’s practices.
Wasn’t such ruthless behavior practically an invitation for disciples to seize others’ possessions by force? These rules were far too tyrannical!
No wonder the Sect Master had been so guarded when he spoke of the main sect…
Considering the Wuling lineage’s present situation, Xu Ziqing could not help worrying.
The domain was so sparsely populated that one guardian per pillar was its absolute limit. No one could rotate out. Every challenge must therefore be exceptionally perilous. They surely could not have won every battle over the years. How many precious resources had they lost?
And there was another concern. Although Domain Lord Hang was a Tribulation Transcendence expert, cultivators at that level ascended as soon as their accumulation was complete and the heavens summoned them. Once he ascended, Honored Master Xing would naturally have to take his place.
But Xing was merely at late Out-of-Body. Even if he advanced to Mahayana in time, he would still lag behind the other Domain Lords, placing Wuling in still greater danger.
As for the other senior brothers, all were formidable, but none seemed capable of distinguishing himself sufficiently to assume Xing’s duties as Honored Master.
Perhaps that was why the Sect Master had experienced such complicated feelings upon receiving the decree.
After the senior brothers finished explaining, Honored Master Xing suddenly said, “Now that Junior Brother Yun has arrived, the main sect’s rules no longer permit me to assist as a pillar guardian. Junior Brother Yun shall take over the pillar I previously guarded.”
Yun Lie nodded slightly. “As it should be.”
Seeing no unusual reaction in his expression, everyone was somewhat relieved.
It was good that their new junior brother was so composed.
At least he would not add unnecessary trouble.
If something did go wrong, Honored Master Xing would be there to support him. They only hoped that, through repeated Heaven-Challenging Battles, their junior brother would grow quickly into a force they could rely upon.
Honored Master Xing turned to Xu Ziqing. “Junior Brother Xu and Junior Brother Yun are dual-cultivation Dao companions, united in heart and body. Ordinarily you should accompany him in guarding the pillar, but this isn’t an absolute requirement. What do you think, Junior Brother Xu?”
Xu Ziqing smiled faintly. “Naturally I’ll be with Senior Brother.”
If he could fight alongside Senior Brother, why should he fear even hundreds or thousands of enemies?
Seeing such courage from a young Golden Core cultivator, everyone grew still more pleased with their two new junior brothers.
They could only hope Junior Brother Xu would enjoy sufficient fortune to form his Nascent Soul soon. Then he and Junior Brother Yun could guard the pillar together with far greater security.
They had spoken for less than a short while when a thin, winding line suddenly descended from atop the heavenly pillar.
Xu Ziqing looked up. He could make out only a vague shape and had no idea what it was.
He learned the answer in the next instant.
A black speck fell from the sky like a bird with broken wings, seemingly about to smash into the ground.
But midway down, a streak of blue light shot out, turned into an auspicious cloud, and caught the speck.
It was a person.
Someone who had been knocked off the pillar.
Had the thin line he had seen before been this person’s blood?
The fallen person was not Senior Brother Ke, which relieved Xu Ziqing.
It appeared Senior Brother Ke had held his pillar securely in this first challenge.
Soon several other pillars began humming and trembling, as challengers came to attack them too.
Three or four senior brothers sprang into the air, each rushing straight up a different pillar like an eagle soaring to the heavens, their momentum magnificent.
Before long, several more enemy cultivators were knocked down.
A short while later, all the heavenly pillars began trembling at once.
Apparently this had enraged Baiyun Mountain Domain, which had launched a full-scale attack!
Honored Master Xing sighed. “I’d hoped to give you two a little time to adjust. Unfortunately, you must defend your pillar immediately.”
Xu Ziqing had not expected a fierce battle so soon after arriving in the Qianyuan Great World. Nevertheless, he smiled. “Senior Brother and I are members of the Wuling lineage. Naturally we should contribute to its defense. Honored Master Xing needn’t worry about us. Since people have come looking for trouble, we’ll simply send them packing.”
Xing laughed heartily. “Well said! That’s the fearless spirit men of our Wuling lineage ought to possess!” He pointed toward the only remaining unattended pillar. “That’s the pillar assigned to you and Junior Brother Yun. Go, drive away the enemy!”
Xu Ziqing’s expression became solemn. “Yes.”
Then he looked toward Yun Lie.
Yun Lie extended his hand, and Xu Ziqing clasped it firmly.
The two transformed into a streak of black-gold escaping light and soared upward. Within a handful of breaths they disappeared into the clouds.
Honored Master Xing and Domain Lord Hang stood side by side, looking up.
Domain Lord Hang sighed. “I only hope they can overcome this trial and establish their footing here.”
Xing smiled. “Junior Brother Xu may be weaker, but his cultivation method seems extraordinary. Junior Brother Yun has comprehended sword intent, so his abilities should be considerable.”
Hearing this, Domain Lord Hang also smiled and stroked his beard.
As for Xu Ziqing, after dual cultivation with Senior Brother, some of Yun Lie’s aura had entered his body. For reasons he did not entirely understand, he had acquired a special movement technique.
Ordinarily, a cultivator using an escape technique to carry someone else would be slowed somewhat. But Xu Ziqing could transform into something like drifting duckweed or airborne willow fluff, disappearing inside the streak of escaping light without placing the slightest burden on Yun Lie.
This time was no exception. As he rose hand in hand with Yun Lie, he felt as though the pillar stretched upward forever, with no summit to be reached.
But that impression was mistaken. After only a few moments of Yun Lie’s extraordinary speed, they landed upon the pillar’s summit.
The top was by no means as narrow as it appeared from below. It extended dozens of zhang across, wide and spacious.
There would be plenty of room for a magical battle.
Five or six cultivators were already waiting on the other side.
Each exuded powerful cultivation and such unmistakable malice that merely seeing them was unpleasant.
Clearly they all came from Baiyun Mountain Domain.
Xu Ziqing sighed inwardly. This was only a battle over a pillar. Since the opposing domain had initiated the challenge, it surely would not have sent every disciple here. Yet even so, they faced several opponents in a single battle.
By comparison, Wuling really was pitiable.
No wonder Baiyun considered it an easy target.
The men from Baiyun burst into loud laughter upon seeing them. “Hahaha! So they’ve sent two green little brats! A mere Nascent Soul and Golden Core actually dare challenge their ancestors? You’ve got some nerve!”
“Kneel down and lick your ancestors’ feet, and we might spare your miserable lives!”
“Surrender at once, and we’ll at least leave your corpses intact!”
A relentless stream of crude insults poured from their mouths.
Xu Ziqing had seen many cultivators of profound cultivation. Most, righteous or demonic, retained at least a little dignity. These men barked like dogs, making themselves thoroughly repellent.
But he quickly discovered that despite their foul mouths, they were far from stupid.
One fairly handsome man raised a hand to silence the abuse.
Then, with malicious intent, he said, “If you had only one pillar guardian, as in previous years, our Baiyun Mountain Domain would naturally send only one fighter. But since two of you are standing there now, we should be entitled to send two into battle as well.”
Baiyun Mountain Domain had already learned that Wuling had accepted a young Nascent Soul cultivator of limitless potential, though his current cultivation remained relatively low.
They had therefore sent five late Nascent Soul cultivators and one Soul Transformation cultivator to this pillar.
This challenge was the perfect chance to kill that promising young Nascent Soul and extort a handsome profit from the Wuling Immortal Sect!