Nuclear-powered Sword Immortal
Chapter 541 - 537 Heavenly Master Hall

Chapter 541: Chapter 537 Heavenly Master Hall

Imperial Capital.

It simply bore the name "Imperial Capital," this city located at the heart of the Holy Dynasty.

This city was surrounded by six satellite cities, spread out in six directions like a hexagram star, guarding the center and forming a large metropolitan ring with a diameter of over a thousand miles.

As for those six cities...

In some ways, they represented the Six Great Cave Heavens behind the Holy Dynasty.

...

Gu Jinlai did not choose to make a conspicuous entrance by arriving at the Imperial Capital via flight.

After notifying Duanmu Chengyun, he landed thousands of miles away from the Imperial Capital.

Following the flow of people, he headed towards the center of the Holy Dynasty.

Along the way, whether it was the scale of the buildings or the attire of the pedestrians, everything was a significant step up from that of Wind and Rain City and Liuhuo City.

The presence of martial artists and cultivators was also exceedingly high.

Even figures like Refining God and military generals, prominent in the outer world, were not uncommon in the Imperial Capital.

As the political center of the Holy Dynasty, such a situation did not surprise Gu Jinlai.

In the Blue Star’s Central Earth Kingdom, some small counties and towns might not even have a single key university student, but in the most bustling cities, a job applicant is likely a graduate from a key university.

Not to mention, the Imperial Capital was the absolute central city of the Holy Dynasty.

"Wind and Rain City has a population of over a hundred million, with thirty to fifty thousand military generals definitely present, a ratio of five per ten thousand. This might seem much lower than the two percent admission rate of key universities in the Central Earth Kingdom, but Wind and Rain City is equivalent to a gathering of the elite remnants of the Holy Land; those who manage to make it there alive are hardly weak..."

Gu Jinlai observed the elegantly dressed and dignified pedestrians beside him.

These people actually had emerged through the competition in the Outer and Inner Rings and had managed to establish themselves in the Imperial Capital Circle.

"Without the replenishment of high-level experts from various places, even if Wind and Rain City had better Cultivation Techniques and resources than Qiantian, the ratio of military generals could at most increase to one or two per thousand. And if we don’t use the number of college entrance examination candidates as a standard but calculate from entering school to ultimately making it into key universities, in my cohort, out of fourteen million primary school entrants, six million took the college entrance exam, but only about a hundred thousand stood out in the end, a total ratio of eight per thousand."

This number, although still higher than Wind and Rain City’s military general rate, was greatly influenced by the relative peace in the Central Earth Kingdom.

If the Central Earth Kingdom also faced external threats and suffered from war and poverty, the ratio of key university attendees would absolutely slide further down.

"The power of the Holy Dynasty is not weak; although the number of Void Immortals and Saints is not outstanding, the main reason is that the teams of refugees from the turmoil targeted Saints and Void Immortals as the primary hunting objectives. When their sects were breached, they often could not escape."

Gu Jinlai calculated, "In the entire Holy Dynasty, there are probably less than a hundred Void Immortals and one or two thousand Saints, but the number of Devas definitely exceeds thirty thousand! If we add the massive group of Martial Kings numbering in the hundreds of thousands, the war potential of the Holy Dynasty is higher than I imagined."

A hundred thousand Martial Kings!

This force, if well utilized, could arguably defeat the devils.

After a moment, Gu Jinlai shook his head.

"Ultimately, it’s a world where countless mighty powers converge within the individual. It’s somewhat manageable before the Devas Realm; a few Divinity Transformation practitioners can kill a Primordial Spirit True Monarch if flying swords aren’t accounted for, and even more so, three or five Refining Gods can jointly kill a Divinity Transformation Great Cultivator. Even from Hugging Pill to Refining God, if ten or eight Hugging Pills join forces, they can still bring a Refining God to his demise. But from the Devas Realm onward, the gap in strength gradually widens..."

Gu Jinlai thought about the classifications of the Sanjiu Ascension List.

Why is it divided so complexly?

It’s because the gap between Devas, Saints, and Void Immortals is too vast.

Moving up one realm is sufficient to take on a hundred foes!

Even with the power of a Formation, ten or even several dozen Devas can only struggle slightly in front of a single Saint.

He alone faced fourteen Demon Emperors...

Among them, many were top-tier or even peak Demon Emperors, yet he still managed to rout these Demon Emperors in defeat.

So...

Ultimately, it depends on the top combat forces to determine the outcome.

"Top combat forces are difficult to cultivate, taking decades or even over a hundred years to develop, so I can only find an alternative way, starting with the Heavenly Master Path."

As Gu Jinlai pondered, he already found himself in front of a massive group of buildings.

This group of buildings lay between a satellite city and the Imperial Capital, covering an area stretching twenty to thirty miles, equivalent to a mid-sized city.

It was where the Heavenly Master Hall was located.

After Gu Jinlai arrived, he did not reveal himself immediately but instead activated his spiritual power to probe towards Heavenly Master Hall.

"It’s really limiting not being able to use methods available to True Spirits."

Gu Jinlai felt somewhat helpless.

Spiritual power clearly couldn’t compare to the marvelous applications of Divine Thought, although his Cultivation was comparable to a True Immortal, the defenses at Heavenly Master Hall were obviously very strict.

As he penetrated with his spirit, unknowingly activating some Spiritual Artifact, layers of radiant light continuously leaked out, vaguely forming a large Formation.

Considering the strength of this Formation, once activated, it was perhaps even slightly superior to the protective city arrays of Wind and Rain City, Liuhuo City, or Hai Feng City.

At the same time, three powerful auras soared into the sky, one strong and two weaker.

"A Void Immortal! Two Saints! The defenses are indeed strict!"

Seeing this, Gu Jinlai no longer concealed his aura, directly soared into the sky, and walked towards the Heavenly Master Hall.

The three powerful beings originally stationed at the Heavenly Master Hall were truly formidable, especially the Void Immortal, who immediately activated his own Dao, faintly drawing on the power of the Great Dao of heaven and earth to enhance his strength.

However, when he clearly saw the figure that had risen into the air, his expression slightly faltered.

The resonance with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth quickly weakened.

"Ancient ... Ancient True Immortal?"

This Void Immortal looked somewhat shocked.

"It is I."

Gu Jinlai looked at this Void Immortal.

Having specifically learned about the Void Immortals of the Six Great Cave Heavens in advance, he recognized him: "Dong Yuanzi."

"I was unaware it was the Ancient True Immortal in person; my previous actions were quite presumptuous. Please forgive me, Ancient True Immortal."

Dong Yuanzi of Taixuan Cave Heaven quickly reined in his aura and corrected his attitude, fearing he might cause some misunderstanding.

"Are the Vice Hall Masters of the Heavenly Master Hall present? I have urgent matters to seek."

Gu Jinlai directly said.

"Could it be that the Ancient True Immortal wishes to forge a Divine Weapon suitable for himself? Just say the word ..."

Dong Yuanzi said.

But he was cut off by Gu Jinlai before he could finish: "I wish to forge a weapon completely suited to my unique situation, so I’d like to consult the three Vice Hall Masters of the Heavenly Master Hall for help. Would Taixuan Cave Heaven and Wuji Cave Heaven give me this honor?"

"No problem, absolutely no problem."

Dong Yuanzi, sensing the forcefulness in Gu Jinlai’s attitude, immediately replied, "Ancient True Immortal, please come inside. We have already prepared ..."

"No need for formalities; Duanmu Chengyun should be arriving soon, let’s deal with one thing at a time."

Gu Jinlai said.

Dong Yuanzi promptly gave an order to a Saint standing beside him.

He then led Gu Jinlai into the Heavenly Master Hall.

Shortly after, the Saint came in with three others.

These three, two Heavenly Monarchs, and another ...

A woman appearing to be in her thirties, whose strength astonishingly had not yet cultivated a True Spirit.

"This must be Chao Jiuyin of the Heavenly Master Hall, the Vice Hall Master known as legendary, right?"

Gu Jinlai’s gaze fell on her immediately.

"Chao Jiuyin has seen Lord Li Yang."

Chao Jiuyin stepped forward and respectfully bowed.

Her attitude was quite deferential.

The people of the Heavenly Master Hall were merely gathered by the Holy Dynasty as a precaution.

Despite seemingly enjoying considerable benefits, their days were not easy.

At least, the presence of a Void Immortal and two Saints stationed here showed that they probably had no autonomy whatsoever.

"I have long heard of Palace Master Chao’s name, especially your talent in Artifact Refining. The ingenious designs and mystical functions of the various objects you have crafted are truly breathtaking,"

Gu Jinlai said with no sparing of praise: "Since I have taken a path slightly different from that of a True Immortal, I urgently need to forge a weapon that completely fits me, so I specifically came here to invite Palace Master Chao to be my guest."

"To be a guest?"

Chao Jiuyin was startled.

Upon hearing this, Dong Yuanzi hurriedly said, "Why doesn’t the Ancient True Immortal simply forge the artifact here in our Heavenly Master Hall? We have all the necessary facilities and materials, and can definitely forge a weapon that will satisfy you."

"I want to forge a weapon exclusive to me, a weapon that should not be lightly shown to others."

Gu Jinlai said, glancing at Dong Yuanzi: "Why, wasn’t it mentioned that I was to be appointed the Royal Grand Sacrificial Officer and granted the title of Prince Li Yang? Do I not even have this bit of authority?"

After saying this, he scoffed, "These so-called titles, aren’t they just like the honorary medals I got the last time I exterminated the Dragon Tears Demon Emperor and crushed that wave of demons—merely nice sounding words?"

"I ... I did not mean that ..."

Dong Yuanzi’s complexion changed.

"So, are you reluctant to see me forge the weapon that suits me? Do you regard me with envy, treating me as an enemy?"

Gu Jinlai’s expression gradually turned severe.

"The Ancient True Immortal is overthinking it; we absolutely do not intend to be your enemies."

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the far reaches of the sky.

Immediately after, Master Si Wuya of Wuji Cave Heaven, Master Dong Xuanzi of Taixuan Cave Heaven, and Master Taiao of Taiao Cave Heaven, three supreme Void Immortals arrived one after another.

"Master Duanmu, Master Dong Xuanzi, Master Si Wuya,"

Gu Jinlai’s gaze fell on the three of them.

Duanmu Chengyun then gave a slight smile, "The stronger the Ancient True Immortal becomes, the happier we will be; however, Devils have always regarded Heavenly Monarchs and Heavenly Masters as thorns in their eyes, obstacles in their flesh. Not to mention that Wind and Rain City is the border of the Holy Dynasty; even our Heavenly Master Hall itself, having gathered so many Heavenly Masters, is often attacked by Devils, as well as Out-of-Control individuals and Demonic Cultists covertly supported by them. We hope that the Ancient True Immortal can forge the weapon in our Heavenly Master Hall due to safety considerations for all Heavenly Masters,"

After finishing, he looked at Gu Jinlai, "Please rest assured, the Heavenly Master Hall has all kinds of materials, and the final product will definitely not disappoint the Ancient True Immortal."