The Unrivaled Tang Sect

The young man suddenly muttered in a melodic way, “Startling changes begin where the masterful hand lands. Carving strokes ripple through the masterpiece a hundred times. This ancient art shall outlast eternity. The raised knife, like a crescent moon, will illuminate the cold spring.” A Mayan bluish glow—the knife—revolved around the plate at a rate which made it hard for anyone to make out its shape. Even though it was hard to follow the movement of the knife, Huo Yuhao could make out the carvings on the cucumbers, which were made with every syllable the young man muttered. Green pieces of cucumber skin were ejected by the knife as they drifted and fell to the side. After the last syllable was uttered, a total of two hundred and sixty-one cuts had been delivered. A circle of cucumber skin fell neatly around the plate, forming a perfect circular pattern of black and green stripes. The size of the skin fragments were all exactly the same. But what was most astounding was the carving that lay above the circle of skin fragments.

Nine jade-like dragon carvings carved out of cucumber stood proudly at the center of the plate. The carvings were delicate, and possessed beautiful features like the horns, the whiskers and the pearls of a dragon.

The amount of skill required to pull this off was just… unbelievable!

Huo Yuhao couldn’t believe his eyes. It was the first time he had ever witnessed such remarkable knife-handling skills. This was beyond any mere carving act—this was the creation of a masterpiece. Huo Yuhao was extremely skilled at creating soul tools, and had spent plenty of time mastering the art of carving. However, all his work was done according to diagrams and instructions. What he had just witnessed was art infused with creativity, and that was simply breathtaking.

The young man with the golden hair stole a glance at Huo Yuhao, and revealed a smile. He extended his left hand and waved it. This act sent the huge plate into the air. There was a dense layer of cloud which appeared to be holding the plate in midair. The cloud gave off a cold aura which was not particularly intense.

As the young man swept his left hand horizontally, the plate began to spin at an unbelievable speed.

Whenever the bottoms of the cucumbers spun before his eyes, the Mayan bluish glow—the knife—would flicker. After three rounds or so, even though Huo Yuhao had long lost count of how many cuts the knife had made, the young man’s hand appeared to have only budged a bit. More green skin fragments fell to the bottoms of the cucumbers, forming the shape of nine clouds. They contrasted against the jade-green dragon tails which had just taken shape.

At that very instant, it looked as though the nine cucumbers on the plate had come to life. They looked like nine green dragons which were encircling the cloud-like support structure, which in turn was suspending the revolving plate. The dragons looked so real that they appeared to be playing with one another and chatting amongst themselves.

The young man with the golden hair made a tap with his left hand as a small, delicate ice ball formed at the tip of his finger. With a simple flick, the ice ball floated towards the plate and landed at the center of all nine dragon heads.

At that very instant, the nine cucumber dragons suddenly started to move. The nine green dragons leapt upwards to different heights and extended their bodies. That was when Huo Yuhao realized how the dragon bodies were merely connected by the thin fibers of the cucumber slices. Even though their connection appeared to be delicate and feeble, the dragons were never broken.

The nine jade dragons were competing against one another for the pearl-like ice ball as they leapt and ducked to fight for it. Under the cover of the icy cloud, it looked as though nine jade dragons had come to life. The plate had become their world as the nine dragons wove in and out of the clouds in an unpredictable way.

With a wave of his left hand, the plate which carried the nine dragons glided to the side of the kitchen. The young man turned around and smiled at the stupefied Huo Yuhao.

“That is today’s first dish. But I’m sorry. You won’t be able to try it.”

It was only now that Huo Yuhao finally regained his composure. He remarked, “Senior… Your knife-handling skills are out of this world. It’s unbelievable!” At this moment, he could not find any words to describe his feelings.

The young man merely smiled and asked, “Do you want to learn it? The intricacies of my Rain Dragon’s Dance Carving Technique have already been perfected and integrated by me over the years. It has now come to the stage where it transcends all skills and techniques.”

Huo Yuhao almost blurted out how much he wanted to learn it. But still, he managed to keep his wits about him as he hesitated. He asked, “Your carving technique is beyond mystical. There must be some conditions which I have to fulfill in order for you to teach me, right?”

The young man with the golden hair nodded and replied, “Not bad… You’re pretty bright. You’re right! There is no free lunch in this world! Take a look at my dish. Its name is Icy Clouds of the Nine Azure Dragons. It was my masterpiece when I first started to make a name for myself in the world of artistic carving.”

Huo Yuhao remained focused as he asked, “So what would you need me to do for you?”

The young man smiled, “Don’t worry about it. It can only be a good thing. My condition is simple. If you want to learn my carving technique, you must inherit my Godly Seat.”

“Godly Seat?” After hearing these two words, Huo Yuhao was shocked beyond belief. He had finally connected the dots.

The human before me—no, the god before me—is not human! No wonder he was able to abduct my soul and bring me to this paradise so easily! So, could this be the world of the gods? So, gods exist in this world?

At this very instant, Huo Yuhao felt like he was going through a mental breakdown. He had so many questions in his head, yet he was still suffering from the shock which he had just heard.

All this while, even though his aim was to attain a Godly Seat and help his Spirits move on to another world to live eternally, deep down inside, he was always doubtful about the existence of Gods.

He was unable to determine if Gods really existed. Even though he had some sort of sensation which hinted at the possibility of their existence, it was but a very minor sensation. But at this very instant, when an actual God was standing before him, he could not conceal the excitement and shock inside him. Everything is real! The God Realm exists! Gods do exist! I can’t believe it!

The young man with the golden hair revealed a smile, “Are you surprised? Actually, because of your cultivation and meditations, you have long come close to becoming a God. However, to truly transcend your mortality and become a God, you’ll still have to overcome plenty of challenges.”

“Please advise me.” Huo Yuhao politely asked the young man for advice. Huo Yuhao knew nothing about the God Realm, it. However, he really wanted to know everything and anything about it. Since he knew that the God before him was not malevolent, he decided to ask for more information.

The young man with the golden hair smiled. “Actually, what we term as the God Realm is but the classification of people who have elevated their abilities to a level of purity which is similar to that of the natural elements. As our cultivation level increases, our understanding of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth improves. This improved understanding allows us to enter this place. You can actually think of the God Realm as a realm formed from the purest energies. It is like a world beyond many worlds.”

“Any cultivating human would be able to enter the God Realm when they possess both a Godly Seat and abilities which are sufficiently powerful to receive approval from the God Realm. It doesn’t matter what their cultivation methods are.”

“Then how does a Godly Seat come into play?” Huo Yuhao asked.

The young man with the golden hair replied, “At the end of the day, there is limited space in the God Realm. There is only a set amount of humans it can hold. Hence, in order to enter the God Realm, one needs a place, or rather a seat, which belongs to him or her. Godly Seats have a very complex relationship with our understanding of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Any change in the ownership of a Godly Seat would often hint at an incoming change in the God Realm. Usually, there are a few possible scenarios or reasons why there would be a change in ownership of a Godly Seat. For example, if the owner happens to die in the pursuit of advancing his or her understanding of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, a successor is required to inherit his or her Godly Seat. Also, if an owner decides to leave the God Realm to seek knowledge and enlightenment which lies beyond the God Realm, he or she must give up his or her Godly Seat to an inheritor."

As he finished his sentence, he stared deeply at Huo Yuhao, as though he were suggesting something.

Huo Yuhao spoke, "So if you were to pass your Godly Seat to me, it would be for the latter reason? Then, how many Godly Seats are there in the God Realm?"

The young man with the golden hair shook his head and admitted, "I'm afraid I don't have the answer to your question. Our God Realm controls a hundred and eight different worlds.. Among the different worlds, some of them are known as the Gifted Worlds, and the Douluo Continent happens to be one of them. A Gifted World is a world where its people are more gifted, and are much more likely to attain God status. Even though I did not come from the same continent as you, I came from another Gifted World. The people who are truly in control of the number of Gods are those who preside over the God Realm Judicial Committee. The Committee consists of two Godkings and three judges.”

“If you can enter the God Realm in the future, you will naturally understand what I’m talking about. In the God Realm, other than the five people on the Committee, the strongest Gods are called the Core Gods. There are thirty-two Core Gods in the God Realm. Under them are the rest of the Gods. And because I happen to be one of the thirty-two Core Gods, I assure you it would not be an insult to you if you were to accept my Godly Seat.”

Huo Yuhao asked, “Then why are the soul beasts in my continent unable to become Gods?”

The young man with the golden hair smiled and shook his head. “Actually, it is extremely difficult for any beast to evolve into a God. The God Realm has never stopped them from joining us. It is simply down to their lack of understanding of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Most beasts—other than those from advanced species like the dragons—do not possess a high intelligence when they are born. Even dragons take a long time to develop fundamental mental capabilities. Hence, most of them are unable to absorb their Xiantian energy during their birth. This becomes a huge barrier for their future cultivation. Thus, even though humans do not live as long as beasts, our intelligence and absorption of our Xiantian energy allows us to possess incredible learning and cultivation ability compared to other species. The moment our intelligence becomes ours, our journey to becoming stronger will become a lot smoother compared to any other species.”

Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath as he tried to take everything in. “Then why would you pass your Godly Seat to me? This is a paradise which you cannot find in the worlds of mortals. And here, you have your family with you. Isn’t this good enough for you?”