Heavenly Court, South Heaven Gate.
As the most vital crossroads between Heavenly Court and the four seas, and the transport hub linking the Three Realms to All Heavens and Myriad Worlds, South Heaven Gate had stood in the southern heavens since the Three Realms were established.
Three thousand years were enough to erase many things from memory. South Heaven Gate, for instance, had not originally been built as a transport hub, but as a strategic platform for deploying armies.
Many had forgotten that. Heavenly Court had not. It had stationed Battle God Machines—the pinnacle of its current celestial engineering—at South Heaven Gate. Eight Azure-Purple Edict divine lords of the Integration Realm also served there in shifts, ensuring four were always on duty.
Those eight divine lords shared one heavenly charge: Heaven-Edicted Southern Heaven Guardian Divine Lord. Their individual titles varied—Mighty Dignity Divine Lord, Mighty Glory Divine Lord, Mighty Brilliance Divine Lord—but their central duty was the same: guard South Heaven Gate.
On duty today were Mighty Renown Divine Lord, Mighty Dignity Divine Lord, Mighty Virtue Divine Lord, and Mighty Glory Divine Lord.
Four Integration Realm divine lords, eight Battle God Machines, and hundreds of thousands of heavenly soldiers: that was South Heaven Gate's standing force.
Those four divine lords also controlled the transport power at the heart of the gate's strategic deployment platform.
As usual, two guarded the gate while two stood watch inside. A sudden urgent message came through Mighty Glory Divine Lord's communication jade. He had been enjoying tea in a quiet moment, but hurriedly picked it up. "Heavenly Monarch?"
"Yes, yes. We'll prepare it at once. Rest assured, Heavenly Monarch—we won't delay a moment!"
With that, Mighty Glory Divine Lord turned to Mighty Virtue Divine Lord beside him. "Prepare a teleportation array large enough for five hundred