Nine Venoms Sect Founder

The Shrouded Primeval's words echoed like a thunderclap, stirring the blood and rousing the spirits of the gathered Gods. Their task complete, the three Primevals turned into streaks of light and vanished through the spatial crack—it closed behind them.

"I can become the emperor…" For a second, regardless of their strength or background, those five words sprouted in many of the officials' minds. But even as their blood boiled, their dilated pupils gave them the looks of mortals trapped in irresistible fantasies. Then, as if bound in one mind, they burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, Harun maintained a poised exterior. But in his heart, he couldn't stop cursing the Primevals.

"You gotta be kidding me. This is not funny. Please tell me there's no way for them to realize I have that token," Harun asked the system.

"Well, actually, there is one person who will soon be able to sense the tokens' location. We call them the Hunter. Whoever controls the Hunter can track all other token holders. This is the kind of top-notch intel you can only get by having me. Impressed yet?" The system replied in a complacent tone. If it possessed a body, it'd probably be sticking its chest out, hands on either side of its waist.

Alas, Harun had no time to feel proud and elated. The Life and Death Revolution Stele shrank to become a palm-sized stone, and without a word, Harun picked it up, storing it in his cosmic pouch. He then closed his eyes to study the pages of mnemonics he got from the stele with his Divine Sense.

Lost in their surging emotions, the deities paid Harun no attention. Only the Golden Crow Ancestor saw the move, but again, he didn't seem to care. And while the officials planned their next moves, Golden Crow's voice thundered.

"Harun Erdevan made the stele resonate, successfully completing the Trial of Wisdom. He will now be granted the title of Recognized Scholar, absolved of all crimes, and welcomed into the Imperial Dao Pavilion as a core disciple," Golden Crow declared, turned into a ball of golden flames, and left the scene. His words reminded all officials that an unparalleled cultivation resource lay beneath their noses. But though frustrated by Harun's success, they weren't too concerned.

"It might be better this way. Once he returns to the wild, we can hunt him in the shadows and snatch his pupils before the others can," the Imperial Chancellor, current leader of the Great Roc clan, told his clansmen through a mental message, and left alongside them.

"From now on, we outwardly maintain a courteous relationship with the imperial clan but plan their downfall. If we can force the Empyreans and Golden Crows into an all-out clash, with our Phoenix clan's resources, victory is within sight," the Grand Preceptor told his subordinates, bowed toward Dilnaz, and left the scene.

Ignoring them, Dilnaz narrowed her eyes at Harun. The Golden Crow made his stance clear. Unless she was willing to draw swords, she could only let Harun escape.

The Imperial Dao Pavilion was an academy founded by the second emperor to groom talents for the imperial clan. Empyreans aside, many promising youths from houses loyal to the imperial clan received the Imperial Dao Pavilion's nurturing.

While as God-Empress, Dilnaz wielded great authority in the pavilion, in the absence of a sitting emperor, the Minister of the Imperial Clan, Agiri's youngest brother, was its true master. Worse, once they awoke from torpor, the old fossils would elect a new clan master behind whom they could unite the clan—robbing Dilnaz of her current authority.

Divided by internal and external problems, step by step, the Empyreans headed toward a colossal disaster. Dilnaz didn't trust any of her clan's men to set the situation right. If they could, they wouldn't be here to begin with. All were worthless. She could only trust herself.

Dilnaz's eyes relaxed, and she sent the imperial guards a mental message, "Release Jiyan and send the Commandant a message to return early and meet me in my palace." She ordered and teleported back to her quarters. Leader of the Divine Armament clan, the Commandant of the Imperial Guard was a living tool of massacre who, until a new clan master was appointed, only obeyed Dilnaz's orders. By joining their strength, they could accomplish much in a short time.

But while officials and gods left to prepare their forces for the upcoming war, a bellicose voice broke the false peace.

"Harun Erdevan, congratulations on making the stele resonate—achieving what even God-Emperors couldn't. Through this feat you proved the 33 Heavens' disdain for the mortal-born celestials contemptible. Perhaps all along, our bias buried a myriad of talents.

Awed by your accomplishment, and eager to test the truth, the juniors of my Golden Crow clan ask for a competition between mortal-born and heaven-born of the Celestial Kin Realm. You have one week to pick your team. Win and we shall grant you 500,000 Divine Jades and a cultivation method of your choice. Lose, and you must reject the Imperial Dao Pavilion to join my Eternal Sun Sect.

Harun Erdevan, do you dare accept?" Rajan's overbearing voice reverberated across the Highest Heaven, alarming all regardless of where they stood. Even Dilnaz had not expected that Rajan would resort to such a move—as if from the get go, he had full confidence in Harun's success and was only waiting for this instant. Now Dilnaz couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't Rajan that told Harun about the Trial of Wisdom.

But as all deities of the Highest Heaven cursed the Golden Crow clan and wondered what Harun's reaction would be, his eyes opened wide, and his lips curled into an angelic grin.

"Unnecessary. Two years in the 33 Heavens was more than enough for me to realize that this land's junior generation...is a huge pile of trash. Bitches that walk with a stick the size of a pagoda stuck in their asses. I do not have the time to smack them one after the other, and can't bear forcing my fellow mortal-born to deal with such junk, so I give you all an open challenge!

In one week, within the Imperial Dao Pavilion, I, Harun Erdevan, will accept the challenges of all celestials below the age of 200 and pledge on my Dao to willingly give up my eyes to whoever can defeat me!

Feel free to come, the more the merrier. But if you happen to lose your life, please don't blame me!

33 Heavens, do you dare accept?" Harun bellowed, instantly throwing Heaven into a frenzy.