Chen Zhou bit his tongue, feeling a sudden urge to tell Zhaoye that he wasn't actually that old.
But the words died in his throat.
The two of them weren't that well-acquainted yet. Would a sudden humble-brag cause him to lose favor?
Although he wasn't sure what specific purpose the favor of the Five Direction Ghost Emperors served, it was clear from the Zhaoye Ghost Emperor's demeanor that he viewed Chen Zhou as a promising junior who, though young, had great potential.
If Zhaoye were to find out that this "junior" had actually only been a god for a little over a year...
Chen Zhou thought about it and decided it was better to keep quiet.
He offered a small smile and swallowed the words he had been about to say.
“Thank you for the guidance, Senior.”
“I will go and attempt the trial at the Xuandu Ghost Emperor Mansion.”
The Zhaoye Ghost Emperor nodded.
“Go then.”
“Remember my words. On the divine path, one either advances or falls behind.”
“You are good, but not yet good enough.”
“Keep moving forward. Do not stop.”
Chen Zhou gave a solemn bow, then turned and walked out of the Zhaoye Ghost Emperor Mansion.
The massive doors slowly groaned shut behind him.
The Zhaoye Ghost Emperor sat on his high platform, watching Chen Zhou’s figure disappear behind the doors. He sat in a daze for a while, intending to return to his meditation, but found himself unable to enter the right state of mind.
The hall was so silent that the only sound was the faint flickering of the lamps.
Ghostly shadows flickered in his eyes as if he were deep in thought.
After a long while, he suddenly spoke.
“Xuandu, are you there?”
There was no response.
The Zhaoye Ghost Emperor called out again.
“Are you there? Are you there? Xuandu? Are you still meditating?”
A cold, aloof voice echoed from the void.
“Spit it out.”
Zhaoye chuckled, unbothered by the other’s frosty attitude.
“Let me tell you, just now, the Great Emperor's Palace actually let another successor of the divine path in. You know as well as I do that we haven't seen a soul here for tens of thousands of years.”
Xuandu: “...”
Xuandu remained silent, waiting for Zhaoye to get to the point.
The Zhaoye Ghost Emperor continued, “I was astonished at first. How long has our Great Emperor's Palace been silent? Ever since the Great Emperor fell and the Six Paths fell into disorder, the Wanchuan River dried up until only a few small ponds remained, and the Great Emperor's Palace sank into the depths of the dreamscape.”
“It has been far too quiet these past tens of thousands of years.”
“I had almost forgotten the last time a divine path successor came in.”
Listening to Zhaoye’s long-winded rambling, Xuandu began to grow impatient. “The point.”
The Zhaoye Ghost Emperor choked on his words for a second but didn't get angry. “Oh, right. Let's talk about that new god from just now.”
“He seems quite young, but his cultivation is far too poor. He hasn't even reached the eighth-stage. He had to use a divine technique to temporarily boost himself up.”
“When he first arrived, I wondered if the Great Emperor's Palace had been damaged after all this time, letting in a junior who seemed weak and lacking in every aspect.”
“You know how it used to be. Every genius who came to the ghost mansions for the trials was at least at the ninth or even tenth-stage.”
“Those at the peak of the eighth-stage were considered the bottom of the barrel.”
“And yet, this fellow was only at the seventh-stage, fifth symbiosis contract—and that eighth-stage was only temporary.”
“At the time, I thought, forget it, I'll just go through the motions and send him back.”
Xuandu said coldly, “If you don't get to the point, I'm cutting the connection.”
“Wait, wait, wait!” the Zhaoye Ghost Emperor shouted hurriedly. “That kid looked unremarkable, and I didn't think much of him at first.”
“But guess what happened?”
“I'm not guessing.”
“You're no fun,” Zhaoye grumbled, but he quickly continued with renewed excitement. “His merit and faith trials were completed in less than the time it takes for two sticks of incense to burn—and he exceeded the requirements.”
“Seven zhang of merit, eight chi of faith.”
“Out of over seventy million believers, he actually has over a million devout believers.”
“Xuandu, you should know what that kind of ratio implies.”
The void fell silent. Zhaoye even heard a sharp intake of breath, followed by a series of clatters and bangs, as if something had been smashed.
Xuandu didn't reply for a long time. The Zhaoye Ghost Emperor didn't rush him either, simply waiting with a grin.
He knew Xuandu was processing the information.
Over a million devout believers and seven zhang of merit.
When those two figures were put together, even a stiff and pedantic fellow like Xuandu couldn't remain indifferent.
Sure enough.
After a long silence, Xuandu’s voice finally came through the void.
“...Truly impressive.”
Only two words.
But the Zhaoye Ghost Emperor was already satisfied.
Getting Xuandu to say those words was already an incredibly high evaluation.
He chuckled and added, “I gave him the Zhaoye Ghost Decree.”
“?”
Xuandu didn't quite understand. The Zhaoye Ghost Decree was the core legacy of the Zhaoye Ghost Emperor Mansion.
Not everyone who passed the trial was granted one.
The ghost decrees were unique and precious. Each of the Five Direction Ghost Emperors held a decree once bestowed by the Great Emperor himself.
Giving away the decree was equivalent to inviting the other party to become a half-master of the ghost mansion. If someone were to obtain all five ghost decrees, they would effectively take command of the Great Emperor's Palace and become its new master.
A newly born god might be impressive by Zhaoye's standards, but he was still just that—impressive.
It wasn't like they hadn't seen geniuses before. Why give away the ghost decree so easily?
Xuandu remained silent, and the Zhaoye Ghost Emperor felt the need to explain.
He felt that Chen Zhou carried a shadow of how the Great Emperor used to do things. Furthermore, the boy possessed a merit of saving the world that Zhaoye couldn't identify, as well as a certain presence that even he couldn't see through.
But after a moment of thought, Zhaoye decided to say nothing more.
There was no point in explaining it all now.
He would let Xuandu experience the shock for himself when the time came.
However...
Thinking about Xuandu’s stiff and pedantic personality, the Zhaoye Ghost Emperor was still a bit worried.
Xuandu was a good man, but he was too obsessed with rules. He was meticulous and never showed favoritism.
If Chen Zhou couldn't pass the trial of the Xuandu Ghost Emperor Mansion, Xuandu certainly wouldn't go easy on him.
If the boy ended up seriously injured...
The Zhaoye Ghost Emperor said seriously, “Xuandu, this person is extraordinary.”
“The fact that he could enter the Great Emperor's Palace with a seventh-stage cultivation shows that the palace itself favors him.”
“It's just that he hasn't been a god for long. He is still young and lacks sufficient accumulation.”
“I just recommended him to your mansion. If he fails to pass your trial...”
He paused, weighing his words carefully.
“Xuandu, for my sake, could you perhaps be a little less strict?”
“At the very least... don't let him get too badly hurt.”
The void was quiet for a heartbeat.
Then, a cold snort echoed.
Immediately after, the connection was severed.
The Zhaoye Ghost Emperor blinked in surprise, then jumped up in frustration.
“Hey! You!”
“At least give me an answer!”
“What's with hanging up on me?”
“After all these years of friendship, you won't even give me this much face?”
“Xuandu! Xuandu!”
There was no response.
Rate on N.U.
