Against the Gods

Chapter 947 – Making Things Difficult

With her status as an Ice Phoenix Palace disciple in addition to Palace Master Bingyun’s name, Mu Xiaolan brought Yun Che to the Freezing Snow Main Hall unhindered.

Even though it was a great hall, it was a completely different concept than the “great halls” Yun Che recognized. Once he came in, it was as though he had stepped into a vast, different world. The hall was three kilometers tall and its boundary couldn’t be seen with a mere glance. Different from the silent Freezing Snow City, this place was brimming with innumerable strong auras. At a glance, neatly arranged waves of people were everywhere within the great hall, spreading all the way until the end of one’s line of sight.

The auras of each and every person here were incomparably strong—definitely auras that surpassed the Sovereign Profound Realm, without a single exception! Though there were so many people here, the great hall was still particularly quiet and solemn. Those lower realm powerhouses who could cover their worlds with one hand all wore nervous and serious expressions. They were arranged in teams, every one of their expressions and movements extremely cautious. They didn’t even dare to whisper to one another.

Each team had around ten thousand members and it was impossible for Yun Che to see how many teams were present.

“So many?” Yun Che was amazed.

“These few days just happen to be Freezing Snow Hall’s new disciple recruitment examination days.” Mu Xiaolan pursed her lips and explained, “This kind of assessment happens once every year and it lasts for around seven days. Today should be the last day. Yes, look, they split everyone in groups of ten thousand and they go through one hundred and eight groups every day, which perfectly fits Freezing Snow Hall’s one hundred and eight halls. Each group would be evaluated by a Freezing Snow Hall’s Vice Hall Master or disciple and sometimes the Hall Master might even personally come to participate.

Aside from successors of the Ice Phoenix bloodline, disciples that come from the outside, especially those from the lower realm, have to be evaluated before they are allowed to join Freezing Snow Hall. The base requirement for being able to participate in the exam is to have reached the Divine Origin Realm. If they fail the examination, they have to wait five more years to take part in it again. As for you…” Mu Xiaolan rolled her eyes. “You are someone Master has brought over, so you do not need to go through all this. However, since you’re so weak, if you’re bullied once you enter Freezing Snow Hall, I’m not running after you.”

“Oh.” Yun Che shrugged. In all honestly, getting in using the back door… was something he felt disclined doing.

A team of ten thousand people, one hundred and eight teams, with the Divine Origin Realm being merely the threshold… In other words, these people who were carefully participating in the examination might not even pass. There were over a million people here and they were all at the Divine Origin Realm!

And this was only one of the many examination days.

Yun Che sucked in a breath of cold air… The divine way Xuanyuan Wentian calculated and risked his entire life for was basically free cabbage here.

When Mu Xiaolan and Yun Che entered, they immediately attracted the notice of a few profound practitioners waiting to be evaluated. When they sensed Yun Che’s profound aura, all of them revealed looks of contempt. But once they saw Mu Xiaolan, who sported the engraved jade which signified her status as a disciple of Ice Phoenix Palace next to him, their pupils contracted as their gazes changed to one of envy and yearning. They also subconsciously lowered their heads, not daring to look a second time.

“Senior Sister Xiaolan.” A few disciples that were on guard welcomed over and said rather respectfully, “May we ask what you’re here for?”

“On behalf of my Master, I am here to get him a Freezing Snow Engraved Jade.” Mu Xiaolan hinted at Yun Che with her gaze.

The guarding disciples looked at Yun Che and then revealed expressions of shock. However, how could they dare question the order of an Ice Phoenix Palace Master? One promptly answered, “Please come over here. However, since it is an examination day, the attendant of general affairs is not at the Phoenix Jade Palace but here, supervising the examination with our Main Hall Master. I will bring you to them.”

“Main Hall Master?” Mu Xiaolan’s brows twitched, as though she had some issue with this “Main Hall Master.” She waved a hand and said, “No need, I’ve already found his aura. Go take care of your own mission. Yun Che, let’s go.”

Mu Xiaolan said rather majestically before bringing Yun Che directly toward the inner part of the main hall.

It was extremely obvious that the hierarchy within the disciples of Divine Ice Phoenix Sect were quite evident. In front of an Ice Phoenix Palace disciple, Freezing Snow Hall disciples were all as deferential as servants.

After walking for a long while through the solemn great hall, they finally stopped near a group of profound practitioners who were waiting to be evaluated. Mu Xiaolan walked toward a middle aged man in a long, dark blue robe. The moment she came near, that blue robed middle aged man instantly sensed her, turned around and smiled. “Oh? Isn’t this Xiaolan? Why are you here?”

Mu Xiaolan answered respectfully, “Xiaolan greets Senior Su Shan. I am here on behalf of my Master to get Yun Che a Freezing Snow Hall engraved jade… Yun Che, this is Freezing Snow Hall’s attendant of general affairs, Senior Sushan. Hurry up and go greet him.”

Yun Che walked forward and copied Mu Xiaolan’s salutation. “Junior Yun Che greets Senior Sushan.”

“Oh? Your Master’s order?” As Mu Sushan sized Yun Che up with a glance, deep astonishment flashed through the depths of his eyes. He then asked, “It seems that Palace aster Bingyun has not been in the sect for a period of time. Could it be that Palace Master Bingyn has brought this child over from a different star realm?”

“Yes,” Mu Xiaolan answered honestly, “Master brought him from a lower realm called the Blue Pole Star.”

“Lower realm?” Mu Sushan was even more shocked. He had never heard of the“Blue Pole Star” before but` he did not inquire any further. He only nodded slowly, “If I recall correctly, Palace Master Bingyun had never brought back a lower realm’s profound practitioner yet she made a surprising exception this time. Although this child’s profound strength is on the low side, he must have some quality that exceeds others. Hoho, follow me. Oh right, how is Palace Master’s health faring lately?”

Just as Mu Xiaolan was about to answer him, a shrill female voice came from behind. “Hmph, isn’t this Thirty-six Palace’s Mu Xiaolan? Today is Freezing Snow Hall’s great recruitment day, what are you here for?”

Yun Che saw Mu Xiaolan’s body suddenly stiffen beneath this voice and even her expression had become a bit unsightly. She paused for a little while before finally turning around. She lowered her head and said, “Xiaolan greets Hall Master Fengshu… I am here on my Master’s orders.”

Yun Che also turned around. The approaching female was dressed in blue, her long hair was tied, her phoenix eyes were slightly slanted. Within her beautiful eyes was a cold intent that made one not dare to look straight at her… and this cold intent seemed to be targeted at Mu Xiaolan.

And based on Mu Xiaolan’s appearance, she was clearly afraid and also seemed to not like this person.

“Mu Bingyun?” When she said the name Mu Bingyun, the corner of Mu Fengshu’s lips clearly sneered with a trace of hostility. “What does she want you to do?”

“Hoho, a small matter,” Mu Sushan said with a smile. He looked at Yun Che. “This junior is a profound practitioner Palace Master Bingyun has brought over from a lower realm. Palace Master Bingyun wishes for him to enter Freezing Snow Hall. I was just about to take him with me to obtain an Ice Phoenix Engraved Jade. As for which hall he’ll join, since Palace Master Bingyun has not specified that in her request, how about I leave that for Main Hall Master to decide?”

Main Hall Master?

This form of address instantly shocked Yun Che.

Mu Fengshu—Freezing Snow Hall’s Main Hall Master, leader of one hundred and eight Freezing Snow Halls, several hundred hall masters and vice hall masters and more than two million Freezing Snow Hall disciples!

This was a considerably high person of standing in the entire Divine Ice Phoenix Sect!

“Lower realm? Him? Join Freezing Snow Hall?” Mu Fengshu had noticed Yun Che from the very beginning but she had only given him a single glance because he didn’t have an aura that touched even the fringes of the divine way. He was not qualified for her to give him a second glance.

Mu Fengshu suddenly extended a hand and pointed at Yun Che. “You’re letting a lower realm trash like him, who hasn’t even stepped into the divine way, join my Freezing Snow Hall? Hmph, simply a gargantuan joke! What kind of a place do you take my Freezing Snow Hall for!?”

Mu Fengshu’s voice was extremely high and nearly spread through a great majority of the main hall. All of the nearby profound practitioners waiting for evaluation raised their brows and countless gazes of contempt immediately fell on Yun Che.

“Only at the fifth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm? Shit, that kind of trash wants to join Freezing Snow Hall?”

“When I was at the fifth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, I couldn’t even enter Snowfall Palace. He actually wants to enter Freezing Snow Hall? He took the wrong medicine!”

“Shh, don’t speak nonsense. He probably has a backer. Didn’t you see that he was brought in by an Ice Phoenix Palace disciple… but from what Main Hall Master said, he seems to have come from a lower realm?”

“Tsk, trash like this that come through the backdoor really are everywhere.” A profound practitioner who had come from a lower realm said in envy mixed disdain.

Yun Che’s brows instantly furrowed but he immediately kept his cool and didn’t say a single word. Mu Xiaolan’s face, however, had changed quite a few times. She slightly bit her lip and said, “This… is Master’s intention.”

“So what?” Mu Fengshu’s voice suddenly pitched even higher. “Our Divine Ice Phoenix Sect is the number one holy ground of the Snow Song Realm. The reason why we have reached this day is because of our strict ranking and impartial system! First-rate disciples are our sect’s future but trash who wish to receive preferential treatment should go where trash ought to go! No one is allowed to selfishly overstep their bounds and waste our resources on this trash! As a Palace Master, she should serve as a model and be strict on herself!

“But what!?” Just as Mu Xiaolan was about to say something, she was stopped by Mu Fengshu’s stern voice. Her phoenix eyes slightly sunk as she sharply enunciated every word, “If I allow trash at the middle stage of the Sovereign Profound Realm who has never even touched the doorstep of the divine way join Freezing Snow Hall just like that, where would the dignity of my Freezing Snow Hall be?”

She pointed at the profound practitioners that had always been waiting in line to be evaluated. “And where would I put these profound practitioners who experiences innumerable hardships to finally be able to stand here? If we can’t execute even the most basic impartialness and brazenly operate due to selfishness, what face and dignity would we have in front of them!?”

Mu Fengshu’s tone was powerful and resounding. Her words were also righteous, striking the bottom of those profound practitioner’s hearts. A great expanse of agreement instantly echoed forth as more and more people raised their heads, causing the sound of agreement to become louder and even more impassioned… Their emotions drowned Yun Che and Mu Xiaolan in a clamor filled world.

“That’s right! On what basis can trash that doesn’t even have the qualifications for Snowfall Palace enter Freezing Snow Hall!?”

“Main Hall Master is just and brilliant!”

“We’ve cultivated for so many years to finally enter Snowfall Palace, then we bitterly cultivated for several tens of years in Snowfall Palace to finally qualify for this examination, What basis does he have!?”

“Get the hell out, trash! Stop making a fool of yourself here! No matter how great your backer is, you’re still trash… As expected of the Main Hall Master, even though she is strict, she is still just and impartial.”

However, there were also a few who knew a bit of the inside story whispering within the crowd.

“The situation seems to be a bit strange though? I seem to have heard the name ‘Mu Bingyun’… That’s the name of Ice Phoenix Palace’s Thirty-six Palace Master! The status of an Ice Phoenix Palace Master is one rank higher than a hall master… moreover, Mu Bingyun is also the Great Realm King’s younger sister… T-t-this… Isn’t Main Hall Master pretty much attacking Palace Master Bingyun!?”

“I once heard that Palace Master Bingyun had been infected by poison from the Flame God Realm a long time ago and was doomed for certain death. If she died, the one that’s most qualified to succeed as the Thirty-six Palace’s palace master is the Main Hall Master. However, Palace Master Bingyun is still the Great Realm King’s biological sister so even though she was doomed for death, the Great Realm King still did not hesitate to waste countless first-rate profound crystals and medicines to prolong Palace Master Bingyun’s life… She did not die for more than one thousand years, which caused the Main Hall Master to never ascend in rank…”

“Furthermore, several hundred years ago, some medicine the Main Hall Master was going to use to assist her in her breakthrough was forcibly snatched away by the Great Realm King to save Palace Master Bingyun, causing the Main Hall Master to not be able to break through to this day… So she…”

“Oh! So that’s the case…”

“Sigh, a woman’s thoughts are truly terrifying.”

The explosion of resentment that surrounded her scared her out of her wits. She was a little girl who was nervous to the point where she trembled even when she had kidnapped someone, so how could she ever have encountered such “public outrage” before? She was immediately scared pale. Mu Fengshu wasn’t even done yet as she hollered in a deep voice, “Mingcheng, come over here!”

Beneath her yell, a lone person quickly walked out of the profound practitioners waiting to be evaluated. After arriving before Mu Fengshu, he asked respectfully, “At your command, Main Hall Master.”

“He is Li Mingcheng,” Mu Fengshu raised her phoenix brows, “my biological nephew!”

Once those words came out, low shouts immediately rang out from the surroundings and the eyes of the profound practitioners who had been standing alongside him widened to become circular. Li Mingcheng smiled, perfectly concealing his satisfaction while not forgetting to contemptuously sweep his gaze at Yun Che.

“His innate talent is impressive. His profound strength is currently now at the third level of the Divine Origin Realm and there is only a thin line between him breaking through to the fourth level. In this group, he can be considered unequal! However, he is still going to honestly receive this evaluation and can only enter once he passes! As Freezing Snow Hall’s Main Hall Master, I was still not swayed into selfishness because he is my nephew, nor did I allow him to be exempt from the examination because of his innate talent… What qualifications does pure trash like him have!?”

“Go back and ask your master, she is brazenly trampling all over our Divine Ice Phoenix Sect’s dignity and even deliberately humiliating of my Freezing Snow Hall!”

Mu Fengshu’s sharp shout and sudden name shaming frightened Mu Xiaolan so bad that she took two steps back. The different gazes around her also caused her mind great turmoil. She stammered, “I… I…. Master she… she’s… not…”

“Sigh.” As the atmosphere became even worse, Mu Sushan, who had been standing to the side all this time sighed. In fact, hall masters and palace masters arranging for people to directly enter Snowfall Palace, Freezing Snow Hall and even Ice Phoenix Palace was a common occurrence and wasn’t really considered a big deal. However, he was fully aware of the grievances between Mu Fengshu and Mu Bingyun. What Mu Fengshu was targeting was not today’s matter but Mu Bingyun.

She had a thousand years of accumulated resentment toward Mu Bingyun.

He spoke up to resolve the dispute, “Xiaolan, go leave for now and ask your master about her intentions. Main Hall Master, this is after all, Palace Master Bingyun’s intentions. It is not good to let this get too out of hand, how about…”