Ninth In the World

A message had been sent to the communication pearl. Di Jiu immediately took it out and looked at it. As expected, the message had been sent by Gai Shitian. His fellow disciples had arrived at the Sky Route City and were ready to head to the Five Continent City.

Di Jiu put away all the array flags within the cave abode. There were still a few days left before the rent of the cave abode was up, yet Di Jiu was not concerned about such a small amount of Spirit Stones.

“Brother Di Jiu, this is Eldest Senior Brother Xiu Yu. I didn’t expect that he would come as well. My Eldest Senior Brother, who is at the seventh-stage Void Spirit Realm, is an expert who has reached the 60th level of the Five Continent Dao Pagoda. You could seek guidance from him if you have any problems with your cultivation,” said Gai Shitian excitedly as he pulled at Di Jiu. Their group had yet to reach the entrance of the Forgetful River Inn.

Di Jiu had already seen the three people standing with Gai Shitian. There were two guys and one girl. Eldest Senior Brother Xiu Yu, who Gai Shitian had just mentioned, had the tallest figure and coolest expression. He actually seemed displeased that he’d had to wait for Di Jiu for such a long time.

Di Jiu cupped his fists hurriedly and said, “Greetings, Senior Brother Xiu Yu.”

Xiu Yu nodded his head at Di Jiu but said nothing.

Gai Shitian, who felt slightly awkward, said quickly, “This is Senior Brother Ji Yulin and Junior Sister Zhu Yan from the Azure Sect.”

Ji Yulin, whose cultivation level was much higher than Gai Shitian’s, was at the first-stage Void Spirit Realm. However, his name did not match his appearance. His name represented the heavy continuous rain, yet he was bald and extremely sturdy in stature.

Zhu Yan, who was at the fourth-stage Essence Soul Realm, had the weakest cultivation. She also had a small figure and her hair was slightly yellow.

In comparison to Xiu Yu’s coolness, Ji Yulin and Zhu Yan were evidently warmer. Both of them approached and greeted Di Jiu energetically.

Ji Yulin was more forthright, so as soon as he greeted Di Jiu, he laughed and said, “Your invisibility cultivation technique is not bad, Daoist Di. I actually can’t sense your cultivation level.”

Xiu Yu glanced at Di Jiu coolly and said, “Without strength, everything is meaningless. One should always be an honest person.”

Di Jiu finally understood why Xiu Yu had been treating him so coolly. Xiu Yu thought that Di Jiu was insincerely pretending to be mysterious. Everyone was showing their true strength, so Di Jiu was the only one hiding his cultivation level.

Di Jiu was speechless. Unlike the average cultivator, his cultivation technique only used the starry sky meridian and the galaxy. Thus, no one could sense his cultivation level based on his aura fluctuations.

“Let’s go. It will take us a few days to reach the Five Continent City,” said Zhu Yan, who was very considerate.

Xiu Yu nodded his head and led the way. Gai Shitian slapped Di Jiu on the shoulder, indicating that Di Jiu should not take this to heart.

Di Jiu naturally would not. He could see that Gai Shitian’s fellow disciples were good people after all.

…

The distance between the Five Continent City and the Sky Route City was quite big. Plus, there was no Teleportation Array between the two cities. When everyone took out their flying Dharma treasures, Di Jiu discovered that the grade of his flying boat was the lowest.

Even Zhu Yan’s flying Dharma treasure was a low-grade Spirit Weapon. However, Di Jiu was still using a high-grade Dharma weapon.

“Your living standards must have been very poor if you still have a high-grade Dharma weapon, Brother Di Jiu. Could the precious saber you are carrying also be a high-grade Dharma weapon?” Ji Yulin was more forthright than Gai Shitian. When he saw Di Jiu take out a high-grade Dharma weapon, he said exactly what he was thinking.

“No, my saber is a supreme-grade Dharma weapon.” Di Jiu had been cultivating for a short time. Although he might possess some quality items, his heritage was too poor. He had obtained some Spirit Weapons when he had been in the Qi Family’s Commercial Building, but nothing else had caught his eye.

If he was given some time, he could even refine a Spirit Weapon himself eventually.

“Enough, let’s increase our traveling speed.” Xiu Yu, who could also sense Di Jiu’s poverty, changed the topic.

Di Jiu discovered that, although Eldest Senior Brother Xiu Yu appeared cold, he was actually quite a warm person. He might look cool, but he was not that bad.

Due to Di Jiu’s high-grade Dharma weapon, their traveling speed had evidently become slower. Five days later, the group arrived outside the Five Continent City.

The Five Continent City and the Sky Route City were both protected by a Level-Nine Defense Array. However, Di Jiu was able to tell that the Defense Array of the Five Continent City was superior compared to that of the Sky Route City.

Despite the presence of the Defense Array, Di Jiu could still see an indistinct shape on top of a tower in the Five Continent City. It went without saying that this was the Five Continent Dao Pagoda. The Defense Array was obviously unable to completely obscure the Five Continent Dao Pagoda.

Unlike the Sky Route City, one would need to pay 10 high-grade Spirit Stones to enter the Five Continent City. Although this was not a lot, Di Jiu could guess how many Spirit Stones the Five Continent City earned every day simply by looking at the massive crowds.

“Killing is prohibited in the Five Continent City, Brother Di Jiu. However, fighting is allowed. You will not be so safe alone. Why don’t you follow us back to the Azure Sect?” Gai Shitian invited Di Jiu to the Azure Sect as soon as they entered the Five Continent City.

Di Jiu thought that his cultivation technique direction was fixed. Plus, his primary goal was to return to the Ji Nation and take revenge. He did not have any time to enter any sects. Hence, he said, “Thanks, but I want to go take a look at the Five Continent Dao Pagoda. If I wish to enter a sect in the future, I will ask you to recommend me to the Azure Sect.”

Di Jiu bid the group farewell, joined the crowd swiftly and disappeared.

As he started at Di Jiu’s disappearing figure, Xiu Yu said, “Shitian, is this man really not from the Small Central World?”

“I’m sure he’s not,” Gai Shitian said with certainty. “When he left the Teleportation Array, he knew nothing about this place. I just thought that he deserved a friend, so I kept him company.”

Xiu Yu nodded his head. “We will head back to the sect garrison first. You guys must buck up for the Five Continent Dao Pagoda ascension this time. Otherwise, our sect will not benefit much.”

The rest of them agreed in unison. They all wanted to do their best to complete a higher level of the Five Continent Dao Pagoda.

…

The Five Continent City was simply too big. Although the streets were more than 30-meters wide, they were all filled with people.

Di Jiu had finally visited a true cultivation city. There were a lot of people with cultivation levels higher than his, while his Spiritual Force would also frequently sense the aura of an expert.

Considering the huge size of the crowd, Di Jiu knew that it would be difficult to find an inn. As expected, after asking at several inns, he discovered that none of them had an empty room.

Fortunately, the Five Continent Dao Pagoda Square was quite easy to find. By the time Di Jiu reached the square, it was already filled with cultivators.

If it had not been for the sheer size of the place, the square might not have been able to fit so many people.

At the center of the Five Continent Square was a towering white-jade stone pillar densely engraved with names. After a casual sweep of his Spiritual Force, Di Jiu discovered that there were 10,000 names on it.

At first place was Yan Tashan, who had climbed to the 94th level of the Five Continent Dao Pagoda. Second was Mu Qisha, who had climbed to the 91st level. Di Jiu paid more attention to the third runner-up, who was called Di Feixue. This person, who had the same surname with him, had climbed to the 90th level.

Di Jiu’s Spiritual Force moved downwards. After some effort, he found Xiu Yu’s name at the bottom half of the pillar. There were many people who had climbed to the 60th level, so Xiu Yu ranked slightly below those cultivators.

There were still four days left before the opening of the Five Continent Dao Pagoda. Di Jiu had been unable to find an empty room at an inn, so he decided to search for an empty space to sit. Four days would pass by in a flash while he meditated.

The crowd on the square was big, yet time passed very fast as Di Jiu sat in the square and tempered his Spiritual Force. The inns in the Five Continent City were limited, so a big number of cultivators were sitting in the square just like Di Jiu.

Four days flashed by quickly. When Di Jiu opened his eyes, the appearance of the Five Continent Square had changed completely. The identification banners of the various sects had already been erected. Di Jiu found the banner of the Azure Sect, which was at a slightly remote location. Behind the Azure Sect, Di Jiu saw a six-star banner.

Di Jiu looked at the banners of the sects that were located at prominent places. Several of these sects had a nine-star banner.

He immediately understood that the Azure Sect was a six-star sect. Six-star sects were overlords in the Polar Night Continent. However, in the Small Central World, they did not amount to much. Di Jiu had already seen dozens of seven-star sects, more than 10 eight-star sects, and five nine-star sects.

There were approximately more than 100 six-star sects like the Azure Sect.

“I’m certain that Young Master Yan of the Mirage Sword Sect will place first at this Five Continent Dao Convention as well…”

“You can’t be certain of that. I know that Young Master Yan ranks first on the Sea Roll, has ascended to the 94th level of the Five Continent Dao Convention, and clinched the first place in the previous convention. However, this happened 10 years ago. The Young Master of the Purple Thunder Sect is a potential candidate for the Five Continent Dao Convention this time. I watched him kill a fifth-stage Ekayāna Tripod Realm Expert personally.”

“Young Master Mu is only at the ninth-stage Pioneer Sea Realm, yet he was able to kill a fifth-stage Ekayāna Tripod Realm Expert. Do you think that he would not be able to beat Young Master Yan? Plus, 10 years ago, Young Master Mu ranked fourth on the Sea Roll. Ever since, he has climbed to the 91st level and reached the second place on the Five Continent Dao Pagoda. It would be no surprise if he seized the first place at this Five Continent Dao Convention.”

“That’s right. I also think that Young Master Mu will place first this time. I watched that battle as well. The deadly Five Thunder blow of Young Master Mu was as scary as a Thunder Tribulation…”

“Di Feixue from the Di Family was not bad either. She was the youngest, yet her cultivation must have certainly improved significantly over the past 10 years…”

“The Five Young Masters of the Sea Roll all have the opportunity to seize the first place this time. It will all boil down to how much each of them has improved in the meantime.”

After hearing the discussions of the surrounding cultivators, Di Jiu discovered that the 10,000 names he had seen on the white-jade pillar had disappeared. The pillar was currently a blank slate.

Thanks to the discussions he had overheard, Di Jiu understood that the five Young Masters of the Sea Roll occupied the first five places. The ranking battle of the Five Continent Dao Pagoda was also known as the Five Continent Dao Convention. Everyone believed that the first place at this convention would be occupied by one of the Five Young Masters of the Sea Roll.

Di Jiu did not doubt this. After all, he had personally witnessed the battle between Hong Kui, who ranked 93rd on the Sea Roll, and Dong Youjian, who ranked 104th. Their strength had been shocking. Plus, Di Jiu knew that Hong Kui had ranked 321st and Dong Youjian had ranked 439th on the Dao Pagoda in the past.

The top five existences on the Sea Roll were obviously very formidable. Actually, if Di Jiu did not attain the Pioneer Sea Realm, he would not qualify to say anything about this matter. Master Qian Fenghua had been telling the truth. There were indeed many experts in the vast, boundless universe.