Chapter 12 Ice Mirror Immortal: "Shouldn't rivals be especially hostile when they meet...?"
Originally, a preliminary round was to be held symbolically before going to the lower realm.
The purpose of having equally matched players compete is to showcase the strength of the ancient immortal race and to demonstrate their individual immortal attributes.
So that in subsequent competitions, the proctors can quickly track and locate the competitors, and if necessary provide assistance, correction, or even collect their remains and souls and temporarily place them in the underworld, so that they can be brought back to the heavenly realm for reward or punishment after the competition ends.
However, due to the changes in the competition rules, the competition is now fully open, and the competition in the lower realms is no longer a training ground opened by the ancient immortal clan for their own successors.
All immortals of the Nine Heavens, regardless of their rank, gender, or whether they hold an immortal position, are welcome to participate.
Although the high threshold of 100,000 faith power is there, it will not cause the Nine Heavens Palace to be empty nine out of ten rooms, thus affecting the normal operation of the Heavenly Realm.
However, those who were struggling to get promoted, those who had not yet received their celestial titles, those who were dissatisfied with their celestial titles, those who simply longed to go down to the mortal realm to join in the fun, and even those who were tired of living and wanted to hang themselves, still managed to gather tens of thousands of applicants in a short period of time.
Tens of thousands of people were divided into different immortal ranks to avoid injury in battle. Moreover, since it was a competition, a preliminary ranking had to be determined. As a result, the preliminary rounds alone would take three to five months to complete.
There aren't enough examiners that can be drawn from the celestial realm to supervise the examinations in the mortal realm.
The proctors accompanying the competition were divided into two parts: the celestial realm and the underworld.
Celestial Realm:
The Four Duty Officers are in charge of recording the merits and demerits of immortals.
The Thunder Department oversees the Five Thunder Kings and Five Thunder Emperors who are responsible for cheating and causing harm to the common people.
There are four guardian deities responsible for controlling the clouds and rain, maintaining the arena, and preventing the participants from affecting the climate of the four seasons.
Five guardian deities, representing the Big Dipper and the Southern Dipper, take turns guarding the celestial constellations, constantly screening and shooting down any abnormal celestial phenomena affected by the contestants.
Underworld:
The Six Records Officials are responsible for recording merits and unseen virtues in the mortal realm.
Judges of the Punishment and Investigation Divisions, responsible for judging crimes and punishing evil.
There are ten day-wandering gods and night-wandering gods responsible for collecting the wandering souls of the deceased contestants.
Aside from the referees who sit in the heavens to observe and judge the outcome of the matches, there are a total of only forty-one invigilators, including those in the heavens and those accompanying them on earth.
The tens of thousands of participants are all of the five elements of Yin and Yang, which are in accordance with the power of heaven and earth: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. In addition, there are wind, rain, thunder, lightning, and illusion derived from these five elements.
There are too many duplicate attributes, and the proctor simply can't record them all.
Therefore, the preliminary round was cancelled.
The accompanying examiners will then select ten Tai Sui gods from the sixty Jiazi gods of the Doubu (斗部) to suppress human fortune and misfortune; and ten Di Sha gods from the underworld to slay demons and monsters in the human world.
Tens of thousands of participants were led by fairy maidens and immortal lords, according to the Nine Immortal Clans, the Six Departments, the Palaces, and other individuals, to the top of the Heavenly Palace—the Six Imperial Platforms of the Double Heavens in front of the Yin-Yang Sundial.
Bitao and her few friends, who had agreed to help each other after descending to the mortal realm, belonged to... the category of idle people.
They followed the guiding immortal lord up the spiraling cloud ladder, crossing numerous obstacles to ensure that no one could bring any immortal artifacts into the lower realm to cheat the spirit-testing array.
They were among the last few groups to ascend the Six Imperial Platforms of the High Heavens.
After going on stage, Bitao looked around for a long time, but she couldn't find any trace of Mingguang, whom she had been longing to see for almost two months.
There were too many people, so she stood at the very end, while Mingguang, as the son of the Immortal Emperor, was definitely at the very front of the line.
When Bitao lifted her foot to look into the distance, she could only see the backs of the immortals' heads and their hair buns, each one higher than the last!
Something's wrong with her. Does wearing her hair in such a high bun count as being tall?
It's too leisurely. Look at those with celestial positions, they don't have so much hair to shoot into the sky!
Bitao couldn't see anyone and harbored deep resentment, but no matter how audacious she was, she didn't dare to stand out today and could only obediently stand at the end of the crowd.
Will he be happy?
Bitao couldn't help but guess, and was happy for him.
He rarely saw his mother, Kunyi, but he saw his father, Qingming, even less often.
We finally got to meet today.
Little did she know that the person Bitao was thinking of was not happy.
Mingguang didn't stand out today either. He took off the mask covering his face, stood at the front of the line in his neat robes, and indeed saw his father.
But all he felt was unfamiliarity.
Boundless unfamiliarity, oppression, panic, confusion, and...bitterness.
He arrived the earliest.
But from the moment he stood on the Six Imperial Platforms of the Heavenly Palace, his father did not look at him at all, not even once.
The Six Imperial Platforms of Chongxiao are the place where the Immortal Emperor Qingming guards year-round, a place shrouded in clouds and mist, a place of chaos and obscurity.
Today, all the immortals have gathered, and with a wave of the Immortal Emperor's sleeve, the mist and haze of ten thousand miles have dissipated.
The high platform stretched out to meet the sky, vast and boundless. A tiny sundial appeared before them, towering into the heavens, enormous and unparalleled.
"Wow, it's huge..."
Zhan Kui shook Bi Tao's arm wildly, "So big..."
Tens of thousands of immortals, capable of soaring through the heavens and escaping the earth, gathered here, yet compared to the celestial bodies and the yin-yang sundial, they were but a multitude of ants.
Zhan Kui felt his mind and spirit shaken, as if it were not a vast and boundless star track, but a giant beast that was silently watching everyone and could swallow them whole with a single bite.
But besides exclaiming "Wow, it's so big!", she could only shake the peach tree vigorously.
She practically removed Bitao's arms.
He managed to squeeze out a soft "Mmm..." from his throat, expressing his deep agreement.
In reality, he himself was so shocked by the manifested stardial that he could not breathe, and even his immortal spirit seemed to be frozen and motionless.
His whole body felt so heavy, as if he were bearing a thousand pounds, and he even felt an urge to bend over, collapse, and lie on the ground.
The people around him were either excited or solemn, or discussing among themselves, while others remained silent and stood solemnly.
The crowd surged and rolled like the ocean tide.
Bitao heard someone say, "Wow, is that the Starry Night Sundial?! Brother! Brother! It's so big!"
"It's huge."
"Wow, it's huge..."
"Big big big big big..."
Bitao didn't turn around, thinking to herself that this little girl must be from the ancient immortal clan, since unemployed people were placed on the sidelines, and those were the ancient immortal clan.
"Tsk, uncultured, but a shrewd copycat." Zhan Kui had obviously heard it too, and was still not satisfied. He turned around and snorted.
She quickly pinched Zhan Kui to stop her from speaking recklessly, reminding her that she was about to descend to the mortal realm and shouldn't offend the ancient immortals.
After all, although they were born from the womb, they still retained their memories when they descended to the mortal realm. They dared not act rashly in the celestial realm, but if they offended someone in the mortal realm, they might be retaliated against "within the rules of the competition".
Zhan Kui turned his head back angrily.
The ancient immortals are generally considered to be uncultured.
Of course, this excludes the Celestial Immortal of Bright Light.
However, the ancient immortals were ordained by Heaven, and their legacy is all about balancing the myriad realms, suppressing demons and evil spirits, and protecting all living beings.
There aren't many lower-realm civilizations in the inheritance, after all, each star is a realm, and the vast Milky Way contains more than ten thousand realms. The "cultures" that have arisen from them are incredibly diverse and varied. The immortals start doing things as soon as they can do anything, and once they take on an immortal position, they start doing things. There's simply not enough time to learn them all!
The immortals who hold the titles of Merit Immortals always secretly say that they are "donkeys" derived from the Heavenly Dao, and all they need to do is pull the millstone; they don't need any "culture" or "humanity."
Bitao felt that the position of Immortal of Merit was more considerate of the lower realm, but she did not think that the ancient immortal race was too bad. Although she took the initiative to act as the "trigger", she regarded the position of Immortal of Merit and the ancient immortal race as equal.
After all, we're all "human donkeys," so why should we differentiate who pulls the millstone more smoothly or who swings their hooves more freely?
Even before they were born, the ancient immortals had already decided what they would do for the rest of their lives.
Passed down through generations, following the rules and regulations, and adhering to the established path, those who make mistakes, die, or no longer wish to be immortals, except for those who are banished to the mortal realm to reincarnate in the underworld, are all cast into the celestial sphere to rotate through the yin and yang, returning to heaven to protect the smooth operation of all realms.
Their sacrifices were immense.
It's perfectly normal for generations to be like this, leading to xenophobia, authoritarianism, and even rigid adherence to outdated practices.
Bitao simply didn't know which clan she belonged to. The female immortal who had been shouting "Big Big Big" for quite a while had a beautiful voice, a lively personality, and was quite cute.
I reckon she was just as excited as Zhan Kui. Hearing her stomp her feet in excitement, Bi Tao probably wanted to tear her "brother's" shoulders off as well.
Bitao loves making friends, whether male or female, high or low rank. As long as Jiutian is willing to pay attention to this little fairy, she will go up and strike up a conversation.
But before Bitao could even turn around, she heard her brother, who might have also had his arm "shaken off," speak.
"That's right, this is the Starry Sky Rotating Yin-Yang Sundial."
Bitao's lips twitched, and her movement of turning around froze.
What a small world!
I've heard that voice countless times—angry, tearing, and sarcastic.
Behind them was actually the Thunder Clan, and to make matters worse, it was—Ice Wheel True Immortal!
But when she looked back earlier, she clearly remembered that there was a group of "idle people" behind her!
Shouldn't Raibu be at the very front?
Why did you end up at the back?
Bitao quickly turned her head back halfway and kissed Mingguang. Even if Mingguang didn't say anything, the people around her would notice something was off.
If Ice Wheel Immortal saw her now, he'd probably be furious.
But at this moment, Binglun Zhenxian's voice was quite serious, without any mockery or disdain. He maintained the demeanor of an "elder brother" and explained to his good sister: "The yin and yang sundial rotates through the Milky Way, connecting the three realms and nine heavens above, and the myriad worlds and stars below."
"The stars and constellations all revolve around the Milky Way and rely on the movement of the sundial."
"The rising and setting of the sun and moon in the celestial realm and all the myriad realms, the changing of the four seasons, the harmony of yin and yang, the mutual generation of the five elements, the arising and ceasing of causes and conditions, the cycle of life and death... all originate from the rotation of the Milky Way and the yin and yang of the sundial."
"Wow..." the pretty girl exclaimed again, praising, "Brother is so amazing!"
Binglun Zhenxian was pleased with the praise and coughed lightly. Bitao didn't turn around, but she could imagine his proud and arrogant appearance.
But after hearing this, Zhan Kui turned around fiercely, rolled his eyes, and said, "Tch, who doesn't know that?"
Her eyes were naturally large, and the whites of her eyes completely obscured the pupils.
Bitao quickly pulled Zhankui aside; she wasn't usually like this, she didn't know what was wrong with her today...
But when he turned around, he met the eyes of the Ice Wheel True Monarch, which were cold and gleaming with silver light. That silver light was clearly the silver spirit boiling within his body with nowhere to be released!
Bitao: "..."
She saw Binglun Zhenxian's "younger sister," who indeed had a voice that matched her appearance; she was slender, playful, and charmingly beautiful.
But she quickly turned back.
They manually brought Zhan Kui, who had started the trouble, back to his senses.
"What are you doing, treasure? Aren't you afraid of being punished in the mortal realm?" Bitao transmitted her voice secretly.
Zhan Kui: "I'll outdo her for you! That flashy-looking one is your rival in love!"
"You don't know that the little princess in the palm of Lei's hand is the Ice Mirror Immortal who is most likely to marry Mingguang Celestial Immortal in the future?"
Shouldn't rivals be extremely hostile towards each other?
"I'm just jealous for you!"
Bitao: "..."
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