“Patriarch? Won’t you reconsider? We can’t have an outsider like this come to our sect and challenge our elders, there are procedures that we need to follow.”

“Faction Leader Zhong, you are forgetting yourself.”

“I… I understand Patriarch.”

To everyone's surprise, Tao Guan took Zhang Dong up on the offer. Then out of nowhere he finally glared at Zhong that was throwing his weight around. The man had no right to call out the Patriarch on his decision; that was something he could decide on. The two guardians that were his protectors only answered to him and him alone. They would follow his orders just as they were taught to do.

Zhang Dong looked at these two men with identical stature and matching clothes. The only difference was that one was wearing a black robe while the other was donning a white one. They were no simple opponents and this he knew, they were endgame characters that would probably pose a threat to the generals of the opposing force. However, when pitting them against an Emperor level there was probably a gap that he wanted to show to these people.

It seemed that these people were having a misconception about the power levels existing in this world. The Great Circle level of the Nascent Soul realm was considered to be the pinnacle of power. Most people that achieved this goal were considered true grandmasters of similar power. With only the immortal stage existing above and no one being able to even grasp it to become a half-step expert, this was all they knew.

By this logic, even the Azure Emperor that was considered to be the world's strongest could be defeated by numbers. This sect had quite a number of nascent soul masters and was convinced that with enough of them any master could be taken down. It was just a matter of numbers as there was a limit to everyone's true power and potential.

He on the other hand knew that this wasn’t quite true. With the system and his world-traveling expedition, he had enhanced his soul. This was to the point of it being over the limit of what was possible in this world. Coupled with various other enhancements as his queer cultivation seed within, he was able to exert a power that was over the great circle of the nascent soul level.

The existence of stages between the immortal realm and the great circle was known to him. This growing seed inside of him was close to something like those but not quite. This created world rejected the conventional methods that allowed people to achieve one of those realms between the immortal one.

His own theory was that if a person was capable of grasping one Dao fully then they should be able to take the next step. In Zhang Dong’s mind, there were at least three steps the cultivator could take. The first one started from the Qi Condensation stage and ended at the Great Circle of the Nascent Soul realm. The second step started after that and ended right before the immortal stage which was then the third step and perhaps the final one.

It was impossible for the people to skip the middle step. The path was blocked by a mountain that no one besides a system holder could cross. Even those people like him needed to gather a massive amount of spirit points through the thousand or so years that they were allowed to live in this world. Then they would forcefully advance to a higher realm or at least that is what the speculation was.

No one really knew anymore what happened after a person reached the immortal stage. Even those with talent could barely grasp one greeted Dao in their entire life but even with multiple ones, it was still impossible to progress. He already knew it as he had a grasp on three greater Daos and his seed was still not opening up.

With each realm, some of the secrets of the world became more apparent. When achieving the nascent soul level a person became more aware of the spiritual energy around them. Probably the first step required a person to grasp one of the lesser Daos to advance. Then mastering a greater Dao to go further and finally perhaps multiple ones along with something else before achieving the Immortal stage. This he felt slightly after defeating Wang Long but the moment was too fleeting for him to fully grasp it.

Nevertheless, he considered himself on a level slightly above what a great circle nascent soul master should be. This was the same for the demi-human emperor that he face and also for Wang Long that was defeated. It wouldn’t be strange if the Fish Empress in the north or the Emerald Bird Emperor were above them.

This all depended on how this game-like world worked. Usually, there were two possibilities, one of them that whatever the order he beat the last bosses their power would not change. Then there was the second type that was more concerning where the emperors could become more powerful depending on how many of them were already dead. This would balance things out slightly for the enemy side slightly but he didn’t expect the emperors to get too out of hand.

Would this scaling process exist for the people that lived in this empire? Probably not. While the enemies grew in power the sects that he wanted to protect would remain stagnant. They already started at a lower point. Old records showed that if a system holder wasn't there to aid in the battles the lands would be overrun. Then the Long Clan would use their flying city to stem the tide and emerge after the enemies had retreated into their own lands.

“You are very confident in yourself Golden Dragon but you must understand our position, we can’t have the Emperor’s brother be injured in our sect thus…”

“Do you want a written contract? Don’t worry my brother won’t seek vengeance even if I fall here, your guardians can come at me what all they have.”

“If you are going to this extent then I will not stop you but let it be known that we from the Heavenly Crane Sect have warned you.”

Zhang Dong smirked a bit while producing a legally binding document along with a recording of this bout. Tao Guan didn’t seem to be convinced of his power but instead was worried that the Azure Emperor would seek trouble with them if something happened.

‘Not bad, he insulted me and my sect without even mentioning them.’

It didn’t seem that the Patriarch was concerned about the United Element Sect and any of their masters. No one was mentioned explicitly, it was as if they wouldn’t be able to seek revenge even if they wanted after he vanished. People did somewhat accept his strength but not much was known about people like Huo Qiang or Zhang Zhi that were only now showing their expertise. He could not really do much about it for now but perhaps after a joint mission with this Heavenly Crane Sect, even his people would finally be accepted as some of the all-time greats.

“A decision has been made then, let us depart to the holy testing ground!”

“The holy testing ground?”

“Yes, Leader Shen, will you please guide our honorable guest there.”

“As you wish, Patriarch.”

Zhang Dong repeated what the Patriarch said after the contract was signed. Tao Guan took the piece of jade with Zhang Dong’s spiritual signature as proof. Then instead of answering the question, he shoved that onto Sun Shen. He didn’t sound particularly mad about being called out but Zhang Dong felt that this man was working from some kind of angle. This angle was discussed previously between Sun Shen and him before this meeting.

“It seems that you were right, Leader Shen. I didn’t think that he would actually agree to something like this, this fast.”

“The Patriarch is a smart man, he knows that we need to move but is being held back by the traditions.”

“His arms are tied eh? Well I guess I’ll have to untangle those bonds”

“Honorable Golden Dragon, be careful the left and right guardians can’t be taken lightly not even the Patriarch could face them alone…”

“Don’t worry, I never take anyone lightly.”

Tao Guan, the current leader, could not force a move without straining his own position. This didn’t mean that he didn’t want to do something about it. The way he went about things didn’t really sit well with Zhang Dong though. Even if he was going to lose some of his power base in the sect or anger some elders, he should have prioritized his people and survival. The more they spend on bureaucracy the more lands were getting taken.

However, he understood that it was hard for anyone to forsake the old traditions. After a sect had existed for a while people would start to adhere to traditions. It was a safe road paved by their predecessors that had lasted them for millennia. It was a tried and true process that never failed them so there was no reason to not stick with it. Unless something really drastic happened there was no use in changing what was already working well.

‘I need to really show them the difference between the pinnacle experts…’

His main goal was to beat into these people that they should fear the Emerald Phoenix Emperor and his forces. This he could only do by totally eviscerating their top experts. He could not leave any doubt in their minds, the victory didn’t need to be swift but it had to leave a long-lasting stigma in their hearts.

“So, what is this secret trial ground?”

“It’s a secret spot that our elders use to settle disagreements, there you won’t have to worry about causing destruction to the surrounding.”

“Sounds good but I’ll hold you to that…”

“Hm?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Zhang Dong whispered while placing his hands behind his back and whistling. Soon enough all of the elders that were gathered here started flying away toward a certain location. This was a large mountain at the end of this valley that had been hidden from view by a grand illusory formation.

‘Not bad, even I had a hard time noticing it…’

It was quite well hidden and only when he got within a few hundred meters of the secret spot did he notice that something was there. This was truly an end-level zone that he would not have been able to discover on any other occasion. Inside was the battleground where he needed to deliver a swift beating to two people he didn’t know.

‘Well then, let’s see what these guardians are made off.’