Inside the meeting place of the Heaven Mystery Pavilion, only the sound of the swaying wind could be heard. The room started to heat up due to the vapor of untouched hot tea slowly evaporating inside the small courtyard.
Pavilion Master Zhu Tai rapidly swallowed his cold tea with trembling hands, then proceeded to take many deep and long breaths.
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
He asked. "Master, did you calculate the reason? And what should our next step of action be?"
"Supreme Elder, we did not offend the Dao Opening Sect and had no enmity with them. Why did they want to destroy us?"
"I did not manage to calculate their reason for taking action against us," said Old Chu. "As for our plan of action, we only have two variable options. First is to ask help from our allies and see if they are willing to help or at least put pressure on the Dao Opening Sect."
"The second option is when the time arrives, try to be as submissive as possible. The Dao Opening Sect must want something from our Pavilion. As long as we give it to them, we might have a chance to survive."
"Master, how long do we have to prepare?"
"About 2-3 years at the very least."
"So, until after the Spirit Road Trial."
A few days passed on quickly. The delegates of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty have long settled into their accommodation and the talks over the "origin source mine" have officially begun.
Wang Wei never showed up in front of the people of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty. A fact which was very upsetting to Crown Prince Ji Song as he kept subtly reminding the people around him of the lack of etiquette on the side of the Dao Opening Sect.
Of course, Wang Wei was aware of his presence. With the special power of his eyes, he could easily notice the Qi Luck Dragon of Crown Prince Ji Song. Although his Qi Dragon was only Purple like himself, it exuded a special or unique aura that was easily noticeable.
Soon, Crown Prince Ji Song had things to do since he was notified that he will take part in the First Trial of The Polishing Dao Heart Pagoda.
He took a few days to prepare. He was the kind of person that never backed down from a challenge, and he took it seriously--or so he thought.
On the day of the challenge, many disciples and Elders of the sect accompanied the delegates of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty to watch the trial.
The disciples were the most excited. They wanted to know how they stack up against the Heaven Chosen of other factions. This was the perfect opportunity to compete and compare.
Ji Song stood in front of the Pagoda, ready to enter at any moment. The Visual Formations were turned on so that everybody can watch what happens inside. On top of the Pagoda, there was a list of the top records in each trial.
Ji Song looked at Wang Wei's number 1 spot and said with disdain: "Only 13 days, how weak can you be."
After saying that, he strode into the Pagoda with great confidence.
However, his words did provoke a lot of people outside. How can they allow this stranger to look down on their Young Sect Master?
However, the disciples did not do or say anything--especially the ones who have participated in the Trial. They know more than everyone else how difficult this Trial is.
In a platform not far from the Pagoda, the higher ups of both factions sat cross-legged on futons made of silk, served with fresh hot tea.
Sect Master Wang Tian said nonchalantly: "Confident I see. This is good quality."
Prime Minister Zhao Yan responded: "Thank you. The Crown Prince has never lacked anything--especially confidence."
Sect Master Wang Tian and the other Great Elders smiled with a playful look on their faces. However, they did not say anything else.
Ji Su was able to catch on the meaning behind these smiles. As such, he had a feeling that things might not be as simple as it seemed.
However, he soon calmed himself down. He had a great deal of confidence in his younger brother's Heavy Axe Physique.
Meanwhile, Ji Song was having a hard time in this test.
Upon entering the Trial, the first thing he noticed was the fact that his proud Heavy Axe Physique was gone--or to be precise, ineffective.
All of his Innate Divine Strength that he was proud of are all gone. He frowned, but still continued on with the Trial. He walks in this endless desert supported by his will only.
Ji Song lasted four days before he gave up and exited out the Pagoda. His record was much higher than Han Li on his first trial. But it was way worse than Li Jun's whopping eight days, or Wang Wei's 13 days.
The challenge was actually quite lackluster. The record of the crown prince did not come even close to Li Jun, let alone the Young Sect Master. And many people or disciples of the sect were actually quite disappointed. They left afterward and sneered at Ji Song's previous comment.
The people most disappointed by this result were actually the people of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty. This was a massive failure on their part.
While Ji Song was recuperating, a secret meeting was taking place between Prime Minister Zhao Yan, His Royal Highness Ji Su, Retired Prince Ji Xiang, and a few advisors that were secretly mixed into the servants and guards.
"Su'er" asked Retired Prince Ji Xiang. "You have been frowning for quite some time. What are you thinking about?"
"Uncle Ji Xiang, I'm thinking about the previous Trial."
"Are you worrying about Song'er, you do not need to be too worried. it is just a failure. Give him enough time and he will soon recover."
"No uncle, the situation is more severe that we thought."
"Retired Prince, His royal highness is right. The situation is truly drastic."
"Oh, prime minister, what makes you say that?"
"Well, let his royal highness Ji Su express his opinions first."
Everyone in the room then fixed their eyes on Ji Su, who then began to express his thought process.
"Just like my uncle said, failure is not a major problem for my younger brother. However, the problem lies with the Young Sect Master of the Dao Opening Sect."
"The purpose of this Pagoda was to polish the Dao Heart of the participants. Now, compare the result of the younger brother with the Dao Sect's young master."
"Can you imagine how powerful the Dao Heart of the Young Sect Master is?"
Following this statement, a few people in the room gasped aloud. This is indeed quite a scary thing. The person most affected was in fact Retired Prince Ji Xiang.
As the person with the highest cultivating level here, he knew more secrets than most people in the room. For most cultivators, the concept of Dao Heart might be an illusory idea or thing to them, but Ji Xiang knew the importance of Dao Heart.
Without the proper Dao Heart, it is impossible for a person to reach the Supreme Realm, let alone bear Heaven Mandate and prove the Dao.
In fact, even Great Emperors have to have a strong enough Dao Heart. Do not think that as long as you acquire the Heaven Mandate, then you automatically can become a Great Emperor.
No, if you wear the crown, then you must bear the weight. The same concept applies to the Heaven Mandate.
Ji Xiang knew those cultivators who acquired the Heaven Mandate, but did not have the necessary Dao Heart to bear it are referred to as Pseudo-Emperors.
However, these people are still unimaginably powerful compared to the Supreme Realm True Monarch that people still called them Great Emperor.
Of course, these knowledge are considered the highest secrets of this world. Only when someone reached a certain cultivation level that they might be privy to said information.
While everybody was still processing this news, Prime Minister Zhao Yao reminded them. "Do not also forget that this Pagoda Trial has at least nine layers. We can only imagine how powerful or effective the other trials are."
"Prime Minister Zhao Yan, you should notify His Majesty of the situation here."
A few days passed after the secret meeting.
Prime Minister Zhao Yan was standing in front of a formation, while seemingly talking to somebody else on the other side.
"Your majesty, the Dao Opening Sect refused to let us participate in the Pagoda Trial again, let alone witnessing the other 8 Trials."
"I figure things would not be so simple. In that case, we will offer that material to them as bargain chips."
"Are you sure of this, your majesty? This material is very rare and precious."
"Compared to the possibility of a future Great Emperor, what is the worth of a rare material."
"As you wish, your majesty."
"The Dao Opening Sect will probably not allow Song'er to participate in all Nine trials, try to negotiate as much as possible. But, my bottom-line is at least 3 Trials. One last thing, tell Song'er that if he could not achieve a satisfactory result, then I'm taking away his status as Crown Prince."
Prime Minister Zhao Yan was visibly surprised. As the person who knew his majesty the best, he could tell that he was serious about this announcement.
However, he could also realize the reason for it. This trip to the Dao Opening Sect was an eye opener for the high level of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty.
During the past ten years, everyone in the Dynasty has been marveling at the fact the Crown Prince was born with the Heavy Axe Physique; they all believed that the future Fourth Emperor of the Empire will be born this generation.
However, the catastrophic result of the last trial was a major wake up call for all of them. There is a Brilliant and Grand Time coming, nothing is set in stone. Any wrong step could lead to forever being left behind.