“Grrraaa” Jin Long was coiled around Chen Huang’s leg and refused to get off. “I’ll be back soon, it’s only for a few days.” Chen Huang bent down to reassure his affectionate brother. Jin Long looked up at him with his big eyes glistening. 

 

“Come on, let go.” Chen Huang caressed his head until Jin Long finally reluctantly detached himself from his leg. 

 

“I’ll bring you back some delicious meat” Chen Huang yelled out while walking away and waving at Jin Long. 

 

Jin Long only watched for a few seconds, though, and then proceeded to run back into the palace. Chen Huang was naturally surprised by that reaction and as he climbed onto the ship he couldn’t help but wonder about what had caused his brother to act in such a manner. 

 

He looked up at the ship he was climbing aboard. This ship was typically called a flying ship. Flying ships are spiritual treasures in the standard form of a ship which come in various shapes and sizes; they are powered by multiple spirit gems, crystallized forms of spiritual energy.  

 

Through the implementation of various array formations, the energy produced by the gems is manipulated to cast continuous spells on the ship and its inhabitants. The essential functions of the flying ships are, as their names suggest, to act as a means of transport through flight and because of certain spells the passengers will not feel any discomfort no matter the speed at which the ship moves. 

 

His master’s ship was customised so that it displayed the symbol of their peak embedded onto its sails: the image of a grand green mountain encircled by lines of runic text. 

 

They boarded the ship but as he looked back at the palace, Chen Huang couldn’t help but have the urge to ask Lei Huang a question that had been on his mind for a while. “Master, why can’t we take Jin Long with us.” 

 

Chen Huang asked as he was confused by his master’s order. A short time ago, his master informed him and Jin Long that Jin Long would not come with them to the banquet and would instead stay here in the care of some trusted palace servants. 

 

Lei Huang spoke without looking at his disciple, “You’re underestimating the value and strength of a pure-blooded golden dragon.” Chen Huang was confused by that statement, “But Master, in the books I had previously read it said that some spiritual beasts are naturally born at higher cultivation levels. When Jin Long was born, he had no cultivation.” 

 

“That’s a unique trait recognized in all dragons, they’re born weak however their exponential growth as they age more than makes up for it.” Chen Huang listened attentively to his master’s words as he continued talking about dragons. “The color of a dragon can usually tell you their element as well as the key parts of their personality. For example, blue dragons typically control water or ice and are typically very calm and carefree.” By now, the two had already reached the ship and Lei Huang turned to look at Chen Huang. 

 

“Golden dragons are special in dragon culture and are justifiably said to be the strongest and most talented dragons. Any golden dragon is regarded as a holy child by their fellow kin. It’s also for this reason that we must keep Jin Long’s existence a secret until you both become strong enough to handle the dragons.” 

 

Chen Huang nodded as his view on Jin Long was amplified once more, causing him to feel some insecurity in his own power and talent. Chen Huang’s head dropped down because of this. 

 

Seemingly sensing his disciple’s feelings, Lei Huang reassured in a tone with slight hints of paternal affection, unusual for him. “Dragons are talented in both spirit and body cultivation so a human cultivator with higher talent in body cultivation is no small feat. And you shouldn’t use Jin Long as a reference, he’s simply abnormal.” 

 

Realizing his master’s kind intentions, Chen Huang’s heart warmed, and he respectfully bowed. 

 

“Now go, the journey to the Starry Sky peak is a long one for a mortal” Lei Huang instructed the boy. 

 

Chen Huang then proceeded to leave his master’s side and took the stairs in the center of the ship to get to his room. Chen Huang was astonished to find his room in the ship was strikingly similar to the one in the palace. In fact, if one were to compare this room to the palace room, they would find that the only difference was the scenery outside the window of the room. Even the size of the room was the same. 

 

Curious, Chen Huang peeked his head into a few other rooms and was surprised to discover a training room with inactive spiritual golems, a large kitchen with many exotic and fragrant ingredients as well as a room that was a vast forest with an open sky. 

 

Seeing this, Chen Huang was able to somewhat understand that there must be spatial spells or arrays set up within the ship since it was, from the outside: four meters high, five meters wide and twenty meters long. 

 

“Detaching from cliff!!!” Chen Huang heard the captain shout and felt the ship move away from the mountainside as the ramp was retracted into its hull. 

 

Returning to his room, he proceeded to look out of his window and, for the first time, saw Jade Earth peak in its entirety. The mountain was truly massive, and Chen Huang would’ve been unable to estimate its actual height even if the clouds weren’t blocking part of it. 

 

What Chen Huang was able to see from the mountain was the shimmering green palace at the top of the peak. Strangely, the palace was actually embedded into the side of the mountain making it appear like a shining gem hidden in a mound of dirt and rock. 

 

From his time in the palace, Chen Huang was able to visualise the Grand Tower at the back of the palace as well as the various hallways and rooms that most likely filled all of the top of the mountain. Chen Huang shifted his fascinated gaze downwards where he caught sight of three structures jutting out of the majestic mountain. 

 

The three specific structures were also green, albeit a slightly lighter color, and were in the familiar shape of an extravagant mansion. Chen Huang’s initial thought was ‘How have those mansions not slid off the side of the mountain already’ before he instantly reminded himself that they were most likely firmly stuck to the mountain through some form of spell or array, just like the flying ship he was currently on. 

 

Properly enhancing his eyes with the Sacred Eternal Heart’s power, Chen Huang was able to identify numerous people that appeared to be servants running around doing chores within the mansions. Chen Huang wondered for a second as to why there seemed to be more servants there than in his master’s palace despite his master clearly being of a superior status. However, he did not think for too long before dismissing the thought. 

 

He was unable to see anymore due to the clouds that obstructed his vision. Even with the Sacred Eternal Heart’s power, he was only able to scarcely make out vague shapes of what appeared to be rows of buildings and towers yet he could not be certain. Clearly these clouds were, just like everything in this world, not normal. 

 

Chen Huang moved away from the window before sitting down in a lotus position on the floor of his room. He wanted to use this time to advance in his cultivation.

....

“Uhhh” Chen Huang cried out as he lay on the deck of the ship, attracting some attention from the few servants present. Nevertheless, they hastily looked elsewhere when they saw who it was. 

 

They had been travelling for three days and yet they had still not seen any sign of the Starry Sky peak. He had asked his master why he couldn’t fly him to the peak but his master only responded with something along the lines of ‘We don’t fly so that we can show respect to the Ancestors and Founders.’ 

 

Chen Huang lifted his hand so that he could see it. Circulating his spiritual energy, a faint glow could be seen surrounding his hand. Chen Huang let his hand drop back down as the glow dissipated. ‘Well, at least I’ve managed to advance.’ 

 

Throughout these three days, Chen Huang had diligently cultivated and practiced martial arts. Due to his physique, Chen Huang did not even have to train his body as it would naturally improve with time. 

 

The same, however, could not be said for his spirit cultivation which was lagging far behind his body cultivation. Thankfully, Chen Huang had achieved some progress and just recently entered the fourth stage of the Energy Gathering Realm. 

 

To advance in the Energy Gathering realm, one had to collect surrounding spiritual energy and condense it at twelve points within the body. Chen Huang had successfully condensed four points of spiritual energy and could now more easily manipulate and perceive the spiritual energy in his body. Now, he no longer would need to rely solely on his physique if he wanted to perform an attack. 

 

“We’re here,” his master’s voice echoed within his mind causing him to jump up in shock. Turning around, he saw Lei Huang walk out from the inside of the ship. His pristine green robes displayed images of vast mountain ranges sewn into them. At present, lines of incomprehensible and sturdy green runic lines flowed on the surface of his robes. Staring at him would give one the feeling that they were confronting an incredibly ancient mountain. 

 

Chen Huang quickly got up to bow and show his master respect. Lei Huang gradually walked over to the side of the boat where Chen Huang was currently bowing. However, he did not look at them and instead stared into the distance. Eventually, Chen Huang followed their master’s line of sight but all he saw were the same rolling clouds that had been present throughout their journey. 

 

After an unknown amount of time, Lei Huang took out a small ornament from his robe. The small ornament was a gleaming white key. Despite not emitting any light, Chen Huang felt like the surroundings became a bit brighter when the key was brought out. 

 

His master lifted the key into the air with the tip pointing at the spot where he was previously looking. In one graceful move, Lei Huang let go of the key and, like an arrow that had been shot, the key shot forward into the expanse of clouds thereby disappearing from view. 

 

Time passed and yet nothing happened. Chen Huang confusingly looked at his master to see if there was any indication of something having gone wrong yet he still assumed his emotionless mask. 

 

“Um… mas-” just as he was about to speak up, the surrounding clouds and fog were blown away as if an invisible giant had sent a mighty breath to dissipate them.

 

“Incredible”

 

His sight now no longer obstructed, Chen Huang finally saw the Starry Sky peak. Just like Jade Earth peak, it was also a large, towering mountain except that instead of a green palace encrusted in the mountain there was a pearly white dome on the top of the mountain. 

 

Attached to the dome were eight stone-brick pathways leading to the inside of the dome. Further down the mountain were six ‘smaller’ blue orbs with specks of white moving on their surface that looked to be the size of a football field if not bigger. 

 

Chen Huang continued to traverse down the mountain with his eyes as he excitedly saw that this peak, unlike Jade Earth, did not have the bizarre clouds which hindered him from looking further. This allowed Chen Huang to see the bottom part of the mountain. There seemed to be three distinct levels or layers on the lower half of the mountain. 

 

The first layer, also the one closest to the blue orbs, consisted of many houses yet the houses were well-maintained and noble-looking. The people who walked around also wore blue robes and had more of a dignified air to them than the servants. 

 

The second layer was crowded with tall and wide buildings to the point that you could barely see the mountain floor. The buildings and everything in the second layer were very simple and although their robes were light blue, even from up here Chen Huang could see that they were far less valuable than the clothes from the first section. 

 

Finally, the third layer was the worst off and also had the most people. In the third area, there weren’t any houses and there were only structures similar to those in the second layer save for the fact that these ones were a lot bigger but looked a lot cheaper and run-down. The third layer accommodated an innumerable number of people in cheap pale blue robes and they could be seen scampering about everywhere in a hurry. Many would step on these strange big metal pads which would quickly glow dark blue causing the people standing on them to disappear.

 

“Landing!” Chen Huang’s observation was cut short by the yell of the captain forewarning them of the ship’s landing in the near future. Chen Huang took another look at the lower half of the mountain and made a mental note to travel to the one on his peak, if there was one.

 

The flying ship landed on a circular stone platform on one of the dome’s outer walkways. Chen Huang descended from the ship and was met with two lines of soldiers in dark blue uniforms. The uniforms, in addition to being dark blue, closely resembled the armor of medieval knights from Earth.

 

Upon seeing Chen Huang and his master appear from the ship, the soldiers each drawed a sword from their side and hoisted it into the air until it met the opposing soldiers’s sword. Lei Huang walked forward, paying these actions no heed, and Chen Huang followed him through the bladed archway. 

 

He stayed close to his master and they soon arrived at the large gated doorway. The large 5 meter double doors were of a dark blue color. The color reminded Chen Huang of his vision from before and caused him to involuntarily shudder. 

 

Chen Huang watched as his master outstretched his hand and materialized a mighty hand of green spiritual energy. The hand pushed against the doors, opening them.

 

Creeeeeaaak!

 

The doors let out an unwilling cry at the action but Lei Huang did not mind and opened them in one go.

 

Chen Huang then peered, for the first time, into the spacious palace to see a long hallway reminiscent of the green palace from Jade Earth peak. 

 

A grey-haired old man was standing at the right side of the hall, seemingly waiting for them. He wore a dark blue traditional butler uniform, pure white gloves and a pair of dark sunglasses that seemed out of place. 

 

“Welcome Lord Lei Huang and Young Master Chen Huang” The man bowed to the two guests. 

 

“Pleasure seeing you again Luo Ming” Lei Huang nodded before facing Chen Huang and gesturing towards Luo Ming. “This is Luo Ming, the head butler of the Azure Dome on Starry Sky peak.” 

 

Chen Huang nodded and bowed towards the butler. “Young Master is too kind, I am merely a butler so there is no need to bow.” Luo Ming smiled while waving his hand in front of his face in a dismissing motion. Chen Huang promptly stopped bowing and stood upright. 

 

“Right this way to the banquet” Luo Ming softly spoke before walking onward through the hallway. Chen Huang and his master followed behind the butler. As he walked, Chen Huang looked around the grandiose hallway at the various items on display. 

 

Although the hallway did bear a large resemblance to the hallway in the green palace, the differences were the dark blue color instead of green and the addition of multiple objects on the sides of the hallway that were put on display. 

 

Chen Huang saw a silver shield with the symbol of three interlocking circles on the front, a blue mirror with a wooden edge, a fist sized dark blue orb and many others. 

 

Along the way, though, Chen Huang was forcefully stopped as he discovered an entrancing painting of a seemingly middle aged man encircled by numerous bleeding corpses with crows flying overhead through the gloomy clouds. 

 

The man wore a red trench coat with golden buttons, a white lapel and collar and a black belt loop. The man possessed a sickle with a pitch black handle and a blade that gleamed with danger. His face was concealed by a red hood so all that you could see was his wide creepy smile. 

 

All in all, the painting emitted an ominous aura like it was a hungry demon ready to swallow the soul of any who come near it. “Who is this?” Chen Huang couldn’t help but ask as the painting was so realistic and alluring. 

 

“That would be the Mad Slaughterer, a crazed cultivator who ruthlessly slaughtered every living being in sight; a true incarnation of death” Luo Ming was the one who answered as he explained the history of the tableau. “This painting in particular is one of very few in existence as it was made by one of the sole people to have met the Mad Slaughterer and survived.” 

 

Chen Huang continued to stare at the painting as he was impressed by the history and power behind the painting. 

 

“Come on, we’re late enough as it is.” The one who broke the incredible atmosphere was Lei Huang who pushed Chen Huang forward. Very soon, the two of them were delivered by Luo Ming to a door made of an unknown blue metal. 

 

Luo Ming opened the doors before standing to the side and gestured for Lei Huang and his disciple to enter the room. Lei Huang entered first and then Chen Huang. 

 

As soon as Chen Huang passed through the door, he didn’t even have time to gaze at the room as he suddenly felt several different powers charge towards and forcibly suppress him causing his vision to blur and shake. Chen Huang felt like he had the weight of a hundred mountains on his shoulders as multiple pairs of glowing fierce eyes directly stared at him.