Chapter 3257: Lei Ying the Merciless Celestial Emperor

The Boundless Heaven was one of the 81 Devata Realms. The Boundless Territory is the largest territory in the Boundless Heaven. It was also a place where most powerhouses were gathered; Celestial Emperors and Celestial Lords were a dime in a dozen in the Boundless Territory.

The east region of the Boundless Territory was ruled by the Heavenly Pool Palace, a heaven-grade force in the Boundless Heaven. However, it was not comparable to the other heaven-grade forces; its strength was mediocre at best. However, it was famous among its peers in the Boundless Heaven due to its connection to the Heavenly Emperor of the Boundless Heaven; the Palace Master of the Heavenly Pool Palace was the grandson of the Heavenly Emperor of the Boundless Heaven. Since it had the backing of the Heavenly Emperor of the Boundless Heaven, naturally, even stronger heaven-grade forces would avoid offending the Heavenly Pool Palace as long as it did not cross the line.

There were 12 years left before the commencement of the selection of disciples of the Heavenly Pool Palace that took place every 1,000 years. Therefore, many people had already arrived at the Heavenly Pool Palace’s estate. There were men and women from various backgrounds; some came with their elders and some came alone. The only commonality they shared was they were all under the age of 1,000. This was the only requirement to join the disciple selection of the Heavenly Pool Palace. As long as one was under the age of 1,000, one would be able to participate regardless of one’s cultivation base. After all, each participant’s test was set according to their cultivation bases and ages.

At this time, Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er were standing a distance away from the Heavenly Pool Palace’s estate. He looked at her and said reassuringly, “We have another 12 years to go… Let’s find a place to settle down and cultivate for 12 years before we participate in the Heavenly Pool Palace’s disciple selection.”

Huan’er nodded slightly in response as her gaze remained fixated on the Heavenly Pool Palace’s estate. However, since the estate was shrouded by a cloud of mist, only a vague silhouette of the estate could be seen.

“Let’s go.” Duan Ling Tian held Huan’er’s hand and pulled her away. He knew if he did not bring her away, she would stand here all day long staring at the Heavenly Pool Palace’s estate where her parents were imprisoned.

…

The duo traveled for a while before they arrived at a mountain range.

Duan Ling Tian set off to work immediately by carving out a cave at the side of a cliff, preparing to go into closed-door cultivation for the next 12 years.

When Duan Ling Tian was about to start cultivating, he could see Huan’er’s body trembling from her overwhelming and raging emotions. He quickly said to her, “Huan’er, calm down… How are you going to cultivate in such a state?”

“Brother Ling Tian… I have a strong gut feeling that my parents are in the Heavenly Pool Palace’s estate. I can acutely feel the restlessness of the blood in my veins.”

Duan Ling Tian smiled wryly as he tried to console her. “Even so, we have to wait for 12 years before we can enter the Heavenly Pool Palace. Huan’er, listen to me and try to calm down so you can cultivate. If our performances are outstanding during the disciple selection of the Heavenly Pool Palace, it’d be easier for us to catch the eyes of the high-ranking officials of the Heavenly Pool Palace. The higher their ranks and authority, the more matters they’d be privy to.”

After listening to Duan Ling Tian’s persuasion, Huan’er forced herself to calm down. It did not take long before she was immersed in her cultivation.

Upon seeing this, Duan Ling Tian was, naturally, relieved. Following that, he closed his eyes and began to cultivate as well.

Since they were in a foreign and open place, Duan Ling Tian had asked the World Divine Cleansing Water to set up a Formation that would block the fluctuating energies from their cultivation. This was to avoid others from discovering the secrets of his Little World.

‘It doesn’t matter if no one would be able to claim my Little World or snatch away the Heaven and Earth Spirit Energy in my Little World; I’d still die if someone discovers the secrets of my Little World.’ Duan Ling Tian was very certain of this.

He continued thinking to himself, ‘My current cultivation base is too low. I must break through and become a Four Phenomenon Celestial Lord after 12 years!’ He had only broken through and become a Three Talents Celestial Lord when he was in the Genius Secret Realm’s God’s Secret Treasure.

Duan Ling Tian was aware that the majority of his current strength was mostly from the law of space and the powers of the Five Divine Elements.

…

For inhabitants of Devata Realms, 12 years passed by in just a blink of an eye.

Now that 12 years had passed, the crowd outside the Heavenly Pool Palace had grown even bigger. There were men, women, young men, middle-aged men, and even the elderly.

There was an eye-catching group that was led by a skinny old lady who was dressed in a loose gray robe. Although her skinny frame made her look fragile, the keenness in her eyes made one felt as though she could see through one’s thoughts. At this moment, she swept her eyes across the crowd gathered outside of the Heavenly Pool Palace’s estate and introduced herself, “I’m Lei Ying, the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Pool Palace’s Sword Trial Pavilion.”

Upon hearing these words, the crowd furtively whispered among themselves.

“She’s the Pavilion Master of the Sword Trial Pavilion?”

“The Heavenly Pool Palace’s Sword Trial Pavilion is responsible for the selection of disciples and inner disciples. However, the pavilion master rarely oversees the selection of disciples in the past. I wonder why she’s making an appearance this time.”

“Lei Ying? She’s known as the Merciless Celestial Emperor, right?”

“That’s right! She’s one of the titled Celestial Emperors in the Heavenly Pool Palace. The title she was given was ‘Merciless’. Not only is she Pavilion Master of the Sword Trial Pavilion, but she’s also the Vice Palace Master of the Heavenly Pool Palace!”

“Rumor has it that she’s really strong and that she has killed five titled Celestial Emperors…”

“I heard that the Merciless Celestial Emperor is one of the five strongest powerhouses in the Heavenly Pool Palace.”

There were many people who wore a bitter smile on their faces when they saw Lei Ying would be personally overseeing the selection of disciples.

“Heavens! Her title is rather apt. I heard she’s notoriously ruthless. It seems like this time she’ll be personally overseeing the selection of disciples. There’s no doubt the tests would be much more stringent compared to the past.”

“She oversaw the selection of disciples once 10,000 years ago. Apparently, the disciples that were accepted were not even 20% of the usual number.”

“Why are we so unfortunate?”

Meanwhile, Duan Ling Tian who was standing among the crowd narrowed his eyes when he heard Lei Ying’s introductions. “Lei Ying the Merciless Celestial Emperor, the Pavilion Master of the Sword Trial Pavilion?”

12 years ago, when Duan Ling Tian had just arrived in the Boundless Heaven, he had gathered and studied information about the Heavenly Pool Palace. Therefore, he was rather familiar with all the titled Celestial Emperors in the Heavenly Pool Palace. Lei Ying was one of the nine titled Celestial Emperors in the Heaven Pool Palace. In regard to strength, her strength was ranked in the top five among the nine titled Celestial Emperors in the Heavenly Pool Palace.

Following that, Duan Ling Tian said to Huan’er who was standing next to him, “Huan’er, we’re in luck! The Pavilion Master of the Sword Trial Pavilion rarely oversees the selection of disciples. If we perform brilliantly, we’ll definitely catch her attention. If she accepts us as her disciples, with her status, it won’t be difficult for us to find more information about your parents.”

Today, Huan’er did not wear a bamboo hat. However, she still wore a veil to conceal her face to avoid unwanted attention and trouble. Alas, due to her overwhelming beauty, the veil did very little to conceal her beauty.

At this time, Lei Ying said again, “I’ll be setting up an Age Detection Formation that covers a three-mile radius soon. At that time, those who are above 1,000 years old who have yet to leave would be instantly killed!” A terrifying killing intent flashed in her eyes when she finished speaking.

As soon as Lei Ying finished speaking, those elders who had accompanied their juniors here hastily left the range of the Formation. In just a blink of an eye, the 10,000-strong crowd was reduced to only 6,000 people.

6,000 participants were considered little. After all, those who were not confident would not waste their time participating in the disciple selection of the Heavenly Pool Palace. Usually, out of 6,000 people, only 600 people would be selected. However, since Lei Ying was personally overseeing the selection this time, it would be considered good if 100 people managed to join the Heavenly Pool Palace.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

At this moment, Lei Ying brought a Formation compass out. In just an instant, energy shrouded the 6,000 people within a three-mile radius. As the Formation scanned the ages of the people within its range, it did not sound any alarm at all. Therefore, she did not waste any more time and put the Formation compass away.

Subsequently, she looked at the 6,000 participants and said, “Now, you’ll be divided according to your age. Those who are under the age of 100, head to that side. Those between the ages of 100 to 200, that side! 300 to 400 years old, move to that side…”

In the end, Lei Ying divided the 6,000 people into ten groups.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The 6,000 participants moved swiftly to the groups they belonged to.

Meanwhile, Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er moved to the 200 to 300 years old age group.

The number of people in each group varies. The largest group was those under the age of 100 while the smallest group was those between the ages of 900 and 1,000.

‘It seems like there are many young people who want to join the Heavenly Pool Palace.’ Duan Ling Tian was not surprised. After all, the younger one joined the Heavenly Pool Palace, the longer one would be able to enjoy the cultivation resources of the Heavenly Pool Palace.