Chapter 337: Chapter 336: Golden Scroll

With the end of the martial arts match-making competition, the Human Ranking was finalized, and the grand event of Jiuyang Villa finally concluded.

The gents, both young and old, who came from all over, returned home.

Du Gang thought that Ying Feiyu and Sun Wukong might come looking for him, but they didn’t even show up later on. According to Jiang Tianxin, they went straight home and began closed-door cultivation.

Only then did Du Gang realize that, although these two were also arranged by their clans to follow him, they were still unconvinced and wanted to continue surpassing him.

Good riddance, Du Gang thought. He was short on money, and if two more people were to join him, it would be hard to keep up.

Thankfully, Jiang Tianxin was considerate. Not only did he not ask Du Gang for money, he even took the initiative to have his subordinates find ways to make money.

This wasn’t because Du Gang was broke, but due to the fact that since he got people to follow him, he couldn’t just ask the Jiang Family for money. If he did, other members of the Jiang Family might be unhappy, and it would create trouble.

In the Southern Wilderness near the west side of a mountain peak, Kou Yingwu lay on a deck chair, leisurely reading the detailed account of the battle between the strong fighters of Jiuyang Villa’s Human Ranking, newly released by Tianji Pavilion.

“Hmm, is Jiuyang Villa’s match-making event for that Zhang Xinyi? She looks good, but I wonder who the lucky bastard will be…”

Shaking his head, he continued reading. Soon, he came across the details of the martial arts match-making competition.

“On the third day, ten contestants advanced; seven voluntarily withdrew due to despair, leaving only Jiang Tianxin, Huang Yu, and Du Gang to compete…”

“Du Gang?!?!”

Kou Yingwu sat up straight, “Did that guy go there?!”

He quickly remembered that at the time, Zhang Xinyi wanted to exchange a Green Qinyin Stone for her life; Du Gang probably went there to collect his debt.

“To collect a debt and snag a wife while he’s at it? That guy is really interesting!”

However, he didn’t mean to mock. It’s in a man’s nature to lust after women, and if he were in Du Gang’s position, he would definitely try his luck. Who knows, he might hit the jackpot.

“But essentially, he’s just making an appearance. Forget about Jiang Tianxin, even Huang Yu who ranks over two hundred in the Human Ranking, is not someone he can handle.”

Kou Yingwu chuckled; he could already picture the outcome. Surely, Du Gang would be defeated, leaving Jiang Tianxin and Huang Yu to compete for the final victory.

But as he continued reading, he froze.

“Huang Yu reached a combat power of 242,000. Du Gang’s power was slightly better, peaking at 244,000 or so, defeating Huang Yu…”

“Impossible!!!”

Kou Yingwu’s mouth was wide open in disbelief. Rubbing his eyes, he wondered if he was seeing things.

After adjusting his vision, he took another look, but there was no change at all.

“Did Du Gang really defeat Huang Yu? His strength…”

This time, he was truly in shock.

The first time he met Du Gang half a year ago, Du Gang was only at the third tribulation God Spirit Level. Though he could exhibit the power of nine tribulations, he was nonetheless weak; he wasn’t even eligible to be on the Human Ranking, let alone threaten the peak powers.

Who would’ve thought that in such a short amount of time, just over twenty days since they completed a mission together, this low-key guy would completely overtake a competitor who ranked more than two hundred within the Human Ranking?!!

It took a while for Kou Yingwu to gradually accept Du Gang’s strength.

“But, that should be it, right? He definitely can’t take down Jiang Tianxin, can he?”

Saying this, he continued reading, only to feel his heart race again.

“Holy shit, he defeated Jiang Tianxin, and even made Jiang Tianxin follow him?!”

“Slap!”

Kou Yingwu slapped his own face, suspecting himself of daydreaming!

But the sharp pain made him realize that all of this was real unless Tianji Pavilion was making stuff up.

But that’s impossible. Tianji Pavilion has been known for its integrity and neutrality for millions of years. If they were to fabricate information for one person, wouldn’t they ruin their reputation?

Northern Plains.

Purple Mist Sword Sect.

At this moment, Tao Xuanzhu was also reading a book from Tianji Pavilion.

When she read about Du Gang, her face was also filled with astonishment, her beautiful eyes flickering incessantly.

“When did he become so powerful?!”

“Did he possess this kind of strength all along and just hid it?”

At that, she soon shook her head.

“No!”

She started to recall the first interaction she had with Du Gang, and imitated his thought process, then began to analyze.

“In the first meeting, his cultivation was real, definitely at the Third Tribulation God Spirit Level…”

“Later, when Kou Yingwu proposed to form a team, Du Gang agreed, if he really has the strength he has now, he would not value Kou Yingwu’s strength…”

“So, most likely, he was really only at the Third Tribulation at that time, and his current strength was developed in the half of a year!”

Tao Xuanzhu was shocked, she never expected to deduce such a conclusion.

“Although the conclusion is surprising, the process of analysis is without fault, no matter how absurd, this is the truth, thus Du Gang did really do what others could not do in a lifetime within half a year!”

“Impressive…”

She was a bit wistful, being reincarnators, who would have known Du Gang has advanced so much faster than them.

“With his current strength, he will be undergoing the assessment task this time, right?!”

After pondering over and over, she finally decided, “To participate in the assessment task, to stay in sync with Du Gang, this is the only way for everyone to form a team in the end!”

Being with someone like this, her growth would quicken, hence, she was willing to change her plan, to apply for the assessment earlier.

After peace was restored in Jiuyang Villa, Du Gang privately found Zhang Youwei to discuss matters.

“I applied for the assessment task before I came out last time, next time I go in it will be a solo assessment, the time after that will be a promotion task…”

Zhang Youwei understood his meaning, nodded, and said: “I know, for these two tasks, Yi’er will not be with you, I will have her also partake in the assessment, and when the day of promotion arrives, you can bring her along!”

Du Gang curiously asked: “Can we team up for the promotion task?”

Zhang Youwei nodded, “Although I have never been to the Heavenly Court, I have collected a lot of information, for the promotion task, often a minimum of one hundred people are involved at the same time, only a few people can get promoted, teaming up is allowed!”

As he spoke, he took out a scroll, and handed it to Du Gang: “This is a golden team scroll, you can directly establish a fixed team…”

Du Gang smiled: “I also have two companions in the Heavenly Court, they already have a team…”

“Hehe!”

Zhang Youwei gave a faint smile, raised two fingers: “Firstly, you cannot guarantee that they will definitely invite Yi’er, if they don’t, she dies, you die!”

“Secondly, you probably don’t understand the ranking of teams formation, what I gave you is a golden team scroll, and theirs, at most, is a bronze scroll, the treatment of the two teams, cannot be mentioned in the same breath…”

Indeed!

Du Gang frowned, although he was perceptive at judging people and felt that Kou Yingwu was not that kind of person, but what if, if someone who bears a grudge against him learns about his relationship with Zhang Xinyi, and then knows about Kou Yingwu’s relationship with him, and ends up putting Kou Yingwu in danger?!

This is the Primordial Continent, where even the Law of Cause and Effect exists, let alone finding out about his relationships?!

Therefore, from this perspective, forming a team and being the team leader is the wisest decision.

As for the second point…

He turned his head to look at Zhang Youwei, asking: “What’s the difference between these team rankings?!”

Zhang Youwei laughed heartily, saying: “That you don’t know!”

“When forming a team in the Heavenly Court, one has to pay a certain price to get the team formation scroll!”

“Scrolls are usually divided into bronze, silver, and gold!”

“Using different grade scrolls, a team of the equivalent rank can be formed.”

“Teams like yours, at most can use the bronze scroll, the number of people is limited to five, and every time a person is added, some merit points must be paid, the privileges are very limited, it is usually regarded as a temporary team formation!”

Du Gang was surprised, he didn’t know that to add people a merit point had to be paid, Kou Yingwu didn’t say anything.

This guy, always so righteous, not only did he find the scroll himself, but he also paid the cost out of his own pocket every need, indeed worthy of being an outcast bandit.

“Silver scroll, after use, a silver team can be formed, the number of people is limited to ten, and each time a person is added, no cost is needed, it’s considered a standard team, but there are almost no permanent privileges!”

Zhang Youwei laughed and said: “But the golden scroll is different!”

“Golden scroll, after use, a golden team can be directly formed, the number of people is limited to 20, not only is there no cost in teaming up, but all members, upon entering the Heavenly Court, will be gathered in the same space, and even after the task is completed, they will reconvene together, making coordination convenient!”

“Is there such a thing?!”

Du Gang surprised, by this comparison, the golden team is incredibly good, every time after a task was finished, he had words he wanted to tell the others but there was no chance, but now, he could.

Zhang Youwei laughed: “The scrolls used to form teams only go up to gold, so I could only get you a golden scroll!”

“However, the ranks of the teams are not limited to gold!”

Upon hearing this Du Gang looked over quickly.

“For battle team levels, I understand there are Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond five levels…”

“The upper limit cultivation level for Bronze, Silver, and Gold battle teams is God Spirit Level. This means, if you all remain at God Spirit Level, you won’t be able to continue upgrading. You need to increase your strength to True God Level before you can upgrade the battle team level!”

“This implies that all members of a Platinum battle team must be at True God Level, and similarly, all members of a Diamond battle team must be at Celestial God Level!”

“However, this does not mean all teams at the Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels are ones with God Spirit Level. In fact, there could be various levels of cultivation within such teams since many individuals lack avenues for interaction with others during the God Spirit Level phase, so there aren’t many who form teams…”

Du Gang, quick-witted, read between the lines, “Father-in-law, are you suggesting that all reincarnates can communicate once they’ve reached beyond True God Level?”

“Correct!”

Zhang Youwei laughed, “I learned that beyond True God Level, one can spend more time in the Heavenly Court and gain access to a public space for all True Gods to communicate and conduct transactions!”

“Not only at True God Level, but even upon reaching Celestial God Level, you’ll also have access to a public space, although it will be separate from the one for True Gods!”

Du Gang nodded. It would be unreasonable to expect Celestial Gods to lead True Gods in instance dungeons, wouldn’t it?!

Zhang Youwei continued, “Furthermore, once you pass the evaluation and become True Gods, you can be considered as immortal!”

“What?”

Du Gang was startled, not understanding his meaning.

Zhang Youwei chuckled, “The Heavenly Court, before the mythical era, was the master of all realms, ruling for countless ages, accumulating an infinite amount of treasures…”

“The Heavenly Court is not just a name, it’s an unparalleled treasure born from the fate of Heaven and Earth!”

“Normally, our divine tools have grades. Whether it’s True God Level or the highest Supreme category, none of them can escape from the category of divine tools!

“However, the Heavenly Court transcends all of this as the Heavenly Dao Treasure that suppresses all realms. In our world, there is only one such treasure. Now you understand, the Heavenly Court is not manually forged but naturally evolved from the Great Dao. It was only ruled by humans then!”

Du Gang frowned, “So, what is our current Heavenly Court?”

Zhang Youwei paused, initially not wanting to reveal, but considering Du Gang’s peculiarity, he began, “The Heavenly Dao is battling outside forces. Most of its strength has been drawn out, reducing the Heavenly Court treasure’s power to one-tenth, one of the reasons leading to the end of the Heavenly Court era!”

Du Gang was shocked. So that’s how it is!

It turns out that external enemies had already appeared during the Heavenly Court era!

Zhang Youwei continued, “Now, some old members of the Heavenly Court used the Court to reshape the current reincarnation mode…”

“Do you know why I am so confident? Although the Heavenly Court has been reshaped, the one managing the whole Heavenly Court is a spirit split from the Heavenly Court treasure. It doesn’t have any preferences or feelings—everything runs according to procedures!”

“Thus, even those old Heavenly Court members cannot truly control the Heavenly Court!”

Zhang Youwei laughed, “What I told you before is true. Once you become a True God in the Heavenly Court, you become immortal!”

“Because, once you become a True God, some part of your True Spirit will reside in the Deity Ranking, a list spanning across the Heavenly Court, recording all the gods within!”

“Anyone who resides on the Deity Ranking, no matter how they die in the outside world, even if they are killed by a Supreme, will be reborn in the Deity Ranking…”

“In essence, those in the Deity Ranking are defenders of the Heavenly Court, and also defenders of the Heavenly Dao—they are enforcers of Heaven’s will!”

“So that’s how it is!”

Du Gang suddenly realized, he finally understood why they had said before that the Heavenly Court only recruited exceptional prodigies and ordinary people couldn’t get in. How could someone with strong fate or talent not be chosen to be a defender of the Heavenly Dao?

However, he quickly furrowed his brows, “Are you implying that a large portion of the people on the Human Ranking could potentially be from the Heavenly Court?!”

“Pretty much!”

“Instead of saying they are from the Heavenly Court, it would be more accurate to say that they become strong contenders of the Human Ranking because they are from the Heavenly Court!”

Du Gang finally realized, “So, the Heavenly Court is closely connected to the mainland?!”

“Correct!”

“In the Heavenly Court era, the Heavenly Court held a dominant role governing all realms. But in modern times, it serves as a medium connecting all realms. Virtually every powerful faction has a large number of people in the Heavenly Court.

Not only that, even in some small worlds, if there are notably outstanding individuals, they may be selected by the Heavenly Court. By now, the Heavenly Court has essentially become a genuinely neutral organization, not affiliated with any entities, but represents, in a certain sense, the organization of the Heavenly Dao!”

Only then did Du Gang understand why the Heavenly Court possesses countless Supreme Techniques and Nine Mysteries. It’s the consequence of successive generations of prodigies exchanging their techniques with the Heavenly Court!

That’s why their descendants couldn’t exchange techniques for merit anymore— their ancestors had already fleeced those merits!

Zhang Youwei chuckled, “The reason why nobody discusses the Heavenly Court routinely is because each entry and exit point of the Heavenly Court fluctuates. But if your enemies find out you’re from the Heavenly Court and you’re marked, they can lay in wait around the area. Therefore, the entire mainland has intentionally downplayed the Heavenly Court…”

“Do you know why one should call a True God, a True God?”

Du Gang shook his head, he only knew that True Gods can use the True Word and borrow the power of the Heavenly Dao.

Zhang Youwei chuckled, “That’s because, to become a True God, one has to traverse their own Great Dao and entrust their Great Dao to the Heavenly Dao!”

“Only by entrusting it to the Heavenly Dao, can one become a True God. Essentially, one is entrusting their life to the Heavenly Dao, since if the Heavenly Dao collapses, all the people that have entrusted their Great Dao to it will die…”

“So, to be frank, our world is born around the Heavenly Dao. If the Heavenly Dao perishes, so do we!”

He looked at Du Gang filled with envy, “You lucky guy, you’re getting quite a bargain. For us normal God Spirits, trying to break through to True God Level is near impossible—even more difficult than ascending to heaven—we must march down our own Great Dao, which is no easy feat!”

“And you guys, all you need to do is pass the examination, with even two or three amongst a hundred advancing, you can directly become True Gods, which is incredibly easy!”

Du Gang frowned, “What happens to those who fail to advance?”

“They die!”

Zhang Youwei smiled faintly, “The world is fair. If a God Spirit Level does not pursue True Godhood, they can live a carefree life, coexisting or perishing with the Heavenly Dao, eternally…”

“But if they enter the Heavenly Court and pursue True Godhood, they must emerge victorious. Only two or three out of a hundred will survive. That’s the survival rate. If they can survive, a smooth path lies ahead. If not, they’ll be completely annihilated!”

“So, if the Heavenly Dao perishes, those below the True God level may not necessarily perish?”

Zhang Youwei shook his head, “I don’t know. The Heavenly Dao has never died before, so no one knows what would happen if it does. But, someone speculated that if the Heavenly Dao dies, those below the True God level won’t perish with it…”

“This is one reason why many at God Spirit Level don’t want to advance to True God Level…”

“Similarly, above the True God level, they pretty much crush those at the God Spirit level. There is absolutely no chance to turn the tables. There is also no opportunity for a God Spirit Level to overthrow a True God Level!”

So that’s how it is!

Du Gang nodded and asked, “So, the True Word attack at the True God level actually relies on the power of the Heavenly Dao?!”

“Correct!”

Zhang Youwei nodded, “Above the True God level, they actually rely on the power of the Heavenly Dao; the difference lies only in how much is borrowed and how it’s borrowed!”

“For True God Level, it is not accurate to say that they ‘borrow’; they ‘invoke’, they invoke the scattered power of the Heavenly Dao to attack their opponents!”

“Only at the Celestial God Level do they actually borrow, and their methods are no longer limited to True Word attacks. Of course, we’ll talk about the Celestial God Stage when you get there!”

Du Gang frowned, “What about the cultivation methods?”

At the God Spirit Level stage, practicing different cultivation methods affect their combat power. Different cultivation methods lead to different combat power. But for True Gods, since they are all invoking the power of the Heavenly Dao, what use are the cultivation methods?

Zhang Youwei laughed, “It is the same for cultivation methods. The Supreme Technique is the Supreme Cultivation Method, the Heavenly Level Cultivation Method. However, the creator of this method is not necessarily Supreme!”

“The so-called Supreme Technique is actually a method of borrowing the Heavenly Dao, a way of utilising the power of the Heavenly Dao!”

“All cultivation methods, although they differ in appearances, with some involving swords, spears, knives, etc., in reality, they all borrow the power of the Heavenly Dao!”

“The so-called progress of the cultivation method is actually invoking the power of the Heavenly Dao. It’s just that the Supremes, who have gone through the process, have condensed their understanding of the Heavenly Dao into these cultivation methods for future generations to understand!”

After Zhang Youwei’s explanation, Du Gang finally understood a bit about the True Gods, and this also provided him with clearer enlightenment on the state of the world.

He understood that everyone, regardless of their level of cultivation, actually survives by relying on the Heavenly Dao.

“Having explained True Godhood, let me tell you about the Heavenly Court!”

It was clear that Zhang Youwei had put in the effort and obtained a lot of secrets about the Heavenly Court. This was also related to his cultivation at the God King level. For such beings, getting True Gods or Celestial Gods to answer some questions is as easy as pie. Moreover, what he asked were just ordinary matters that anyone in the Heavenly Court would know.

“During your God Spirit Level stage, the mission worlds you encounter, including the missions, are all basic versions. The purpose is to let you adapt to this place. The rewards and difficulty levels are not too great!”

“But when you reach the True God stage, it will be different!”

Zhang Youwei said solemnly, “Once you reach the True God stage, the worlds you go to will no longer be fixed. You could possibly go to worlds with God Kings, or you might go to worlds where the strongest beings are only True Gods. In any case, by that time, the dangers you encounter will increase exponentially.”

Du Gang was taken aback, then laughed, “Didn’t you say that True Spirits who stay in the Heavenly Court are immortal? If you can’t respawn after death, it’s no big deal!”

“Hehe!”

Zhang Youwei offered a faint smile.

Du Gang’s smile faded, and he asked with furrowed brows, “Do you mean that resurrection has side effects?”

“Of course, or else everyone would fearlessly court death, the world would have descended into chaos long ago!”

Zhang Youwei explained, “Resurrecting on the Deity Ranking is not without cost. If you die at Rank One of True Godhood, your power and cultivation level after resurrection will be fixed at Rank One of True Godhood, with no possibility of progression.”

“Besides, you will completely lose your human rights…”

He laughed, “The Heavenly Dao is the fairest. You take the Heavenly Dao as a collaborator and it sees you as a person no matter what. However, once you die and become a True Spirit, all bets are off. You are not a person, but a tool. It doesn’t care about your thoughts or your life and death. It will use or kill you at will, without any courtesy!”

Du Gang was speechless, he had never expected the Heavenly Dao to have such a cruel side, but it also seemed normal.

Zhang Youwei continued, “Also, resurrection has a cost. Each death takes about a million years to naturally resurrect on the Deity Ranking. If you want to resurrect earlier, you need others to supply resources to shorten the revival time!”

“Now, do you still dare to die?”

Du Gang shivered and shook his head, “Death equals selling oneself and cutting off all opportunities. Although one is still alive, they are merely surviving, with no dignity left!”

Zhang Youwei fretted he might not understand and rashly court death, ending up stuck at the True God Level.

If Du Gang becomes a servant of the Heavenly Court, that’s fine, but if there’s nobody to take care of his daughter, that’s an issue.

Even the servants in the Heavenly Court are categorised. From what he knows, the lives of the God King Level servants seem quite comfortable. Even he had been somewhat tempted to consider it before, but of course, he was only mulling over the idea…

Du Gang nodded, “I understand, in short, after achieving True Godhood, avoid death if possible. If you die, you become a slave!”