All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 682 - 58 Heavenly Venerate

Chapter 682: Chapter 58 Heavenly Venerate

The gigantic machinery roared to life.

Encircled by an aura resembling a galaxy, the colossal Xuanye City, akin to towering mountain ranges, was enveloped in a glow of vermilion and purple, mixing with the dark ink-like mist. It was reminiscent of the dawn before the sun’s rise, and the dusk’s waning light at day’s end.

If Xuanye City were a nest, then the large-scale war space shuttles circling it were like schools of sardines, which soared into the sky and dispersed in all directions like a swarm of bees, carrying out the commands of the giant hive known as the group mission.

Even the Fiend Clouds were dispersed by the overly dense winds from the space shuttles’ takeoffs and landings, revealing the chaotic, frantically spinning stars behind them.

In such a sky, there hung a crystal-clear full moon, luminous and translucent, seemingly immaterial.

Bathed in the light of the surreally moving stars and the ghostly moonlight, An Jing and Chairman Chen returned to Xuanye City.

On the way, Mrs. Guang, Zhang Zhuo, and Xu Yue were taken away by other flying shuttles; they needed rest and also to be interrogated by related departments—of course, in An Jing’s view, what they needed most was to remember the officially prepared statements from the Xuanye City side.

The Steel Skeleton group could be kept directly in the Ancient Immortal Ruins; their words were taken as they were, but clearly, Zhang Zhuo and Xu Yue had their own backgrounds, so they needed to be briefed properly to ensure their cooperation.

Before entering the city, An Jing and Chairman Chen boarded a flying shuttle and received treatment befitting heroes.

Before this flying shuttle arrived in the secure airspace, it was escorted by twenty-four military shuttles positioned in front, behind, above, below, left, and right, forming a grand and formal escort, and there were also small skyships from Xuanye City taking off to meet them.

Along the way, many media shuttles tried to approach, but after ascertaining An Jing’s wishes, Chairman Chen rejected all these unnecessary interviews.

"Indeed, your identity needs to be concealed for some time, so even if you wanted to be interviewed, you could only accept one from ’Xuanye Daily’."

Chairman Chen explained, and An Jing was not surprised: "I am curious as to how they could get the news so quickly—and even if we refuse, those reporters will still try to pry into my identity, right?"

"That’s true indeed," Chairman Chen laughed: "That’s why our Principal He is fending off the disaster for you right now. You should thank Principal He, because if it weren’t for his insistence, I wouldn’t have decided to come rescue you immediately... and right now, he’s also trying to spin some rather unspinnable tales for you, dealing with those reporters and spies from other powers."

"Then I really must thank the principal for his efforts!"

An Jing’s heart suddenly filled with respect—if battling was something he didn’t fear at all, the very thought of dealing with reporters from the Tianyuan Realm’s media and independent journalists gave him a headache, a very big headache!

"Haha, after all, you’re our ’chief’." Chairman Chen stroked his beard and laughed heartily. He said frankly: "Actually, the suggestion to contact the Sky Surveillance Bureau and urgently notify the winter side was proposed by little He... I valued his decisiveness and courage to make decisions when I appointed him as principal, and now it’s proven that I have the Insight into People."

Indeed, Chairman Chen was quite proud of this: not to mention that Principal He had managed Third Middle School in an orderly manner for many years, ensuring the interests of all directors, yearly incremental improvements in educational resources and student intake, but to have geniuses like Nian Quan and An Xuan, one in a hundred years is considered an accomplishment.

And this time, although it was Chairman Chen who unilaterally appointed An Jing as the ’chief’, bypassing the board, he could guarantee one hundred percent that An Jing’s personal strength, resilience, and foundation were top-notch, and no one could question An Jing’s title as the chief.

Chief...

Seeing An Jing’s thoughtful expression, Principal Chen knew he was from the Wilderness, so he explained: "This is the term we use in the city. In the Wilderness, the so-called ’first seat’ has a similar meaning to ’True Transmission’."

"During the time of Ancient Dao Courts, Sects were roughly divided into [Immortal Sect],[Immortal]and [Countryside], referring to ’cultivators within the Sects’, ’people of cities and nations directly managed by the Sects’, and ’nations and their people not directly managed by the Sects’. Within the Immortal Sect, there were also divisions of Outer Sect, Inner Sect, and True Transmission."

"In today’s world, everyone can practice cultivation, the gap between Immortal Sects and Immortal people has narrowed, but the Countryside, that is, the Wilderness, remains distinct... Specifically, any citizen from safe areas and educated in Xuanye City could be considered ’Outer Sect’."

"Our Third Middle School is a type of academy that barely touches upon the edge of the Inner Sect, being part of the Outer Sect. Only those admitted to the Four Taoist Schools can be called ’Inner Sect’."

"And only the most outstanding disciples within the Inner Sect can be called True Transmission, also known as the academy’s ’first seat’."

"If that’s the case," An Jing asked as he listened, raising a question: "if our Third Middle School is essentially just a higher qualifying branch of the Outer Sect, what is this ’first seat’ all about?"

"It’s still related," Director Chen slightly shook his head: "The ’first seat’ of the Outer Sect essentially represents the promising seeds we see, those who are directly admitted into the Four Taoist Schools—although you will still have to participate in the Daoist Test, as long as you don’t fail outrageously, you’ll always be able to enter the academy."

——So it’s a guaranteed spot for enrollment.

An Jing understood, but obviously, the rights of the ’first seat’ didn’t stop there. Director Chen slowly said: "Once the ’first seat’ of our small-scale academy is selected, it means we have chosen someone to participate in the selection of the true ’first seat’ within the academy, which is the ’True Transmission’. In other words, from now on, you are a competitor to everyone wishing to become a True Transmission of the Daoist Academy within Xuanye City and Cave Heaven."

"Of course, if you’re not inclined towards this, there won’t be other troubles. But you already have the qualification."

"I don’t mind," An Jing replied.

Hearing ’Daoist Academy True Transmission,’ An Jing knew that he had ascended in one step, going from a Wilderness boy to a candidate who could compete for the real high ranks within Xuanye City.

Although the road ahead required his own effort, this unexpected turn in the ’Martial Test’ had indeed saved him many detours.

He just frowned and stated candidly: "But after all, I come from the Wilderness, I won’t feel secure in this position, nor will I receive much help, perhaps Nian Quan might be better suited."

"It’s all the same."

Director Chen said: "To be honest, to my wealthy relatives in Cave Heaven, there’s no difference between someone from the Wilderness and someone from the slums of the city; unless you’re born in Cave Heaven, it’s pretty much the same."

"The ’first seat’ of the academy is judged only by one’s strength."

"And your strength, needs no further discussion... An Xuan, do not doubt that your talent and strength are sufficient even for the academy’s ’first seat’, let alone our Third Middle School’s ’first seat’?"

"Under the rule of Luofu, there are endless Outer Sect disciples, and Inner Sect heirs are numerous as rivers and tides, yet those who truly deserve to be called True Transmission are very few. Over the past few hundred years, there have been thirty-seven ’first seat’ students from Jingwei Academy, of whom thirty-four achieved Purple Mansion, three attained True Lord, but none have reached the Dao Fetus Nascent Soul Realm."

"But even so, it has provided us with a direct channel to Cave Heaven, and even allows us to receive protection from the real master of Luofu Group, protection for our Xuanye City and consolation for the Tianyuan Realm Human Race under the protection of the Heavenly Venerate, [Venerable Zhiyang]—and his teachings!"