Family Gathering

Yulan Calendar, 5610.

Life Castle was bustling with activity.

All the members of the imperial family had gathered at Life Castle for the banquet.

The entire castle was festooned with lanterns and decorations, and even the imperial palace chefs had been brought over specially.

Imperial family members had come from far and wide.

After all, a gathering of the imperial family like this might not happen even once in a hundred years.

After more than six hundred years of development, even though each generation had relatively few children, the family had still grown through twenty generations. There were quite a lot of them now.

On an occasion like this, only the imperial family members' principal wives were qualified to accompany them.

Beneath the Tree of Life stood several tables. Only members of the first five generations, or the occasional exceptional talent from a family, could sit there.

Even the current emperor and empress had no right to be there.

Kolan beamed. His descendants had certainly flourished by now; the family had more than five hundred men.

He had noticed that, as the generations went on, it became easier for the family to have children.

By the nineteenth generation, some people had seven or eight children.

Even now, he had only Leo and Hannah.

Leo had dozens of beauties in his harem, but only three children. Hannah also had only three.

"Father, Necropolis of the Gods is about to open. Do you think I can go in and explore it?" Leo's eyes brimmed with anticipation.

"That's right, Father. I'm a Saint Magus now, and at the peak of the Saint Realm!" Hannah was eager to give it a try, too.

As Kolan's children, they naturally knew about Necropolis of the Gods.

After all, even among those in the Saint Realm, only a handful of the strongest knew its secrets.

"You two have the nerve to call yourselves peak Saint Realm experts when you've only grasped the barest hint of a law." Kolan sneered. "With your strength, you'd only be throwing your lives away in Necropolis of the Gods."

"Wait until you reach the second level of the Saint Realm before going in to explore!" Kolan refused without hesitation.

Though Leo and Hannah had entered the Saint Realm, their strength only barely qualified them as peak experts of its third level. They still had a long way to go.

At their level, going into Necropolis of the Gods would be little more than a death sentence.

Kolan had been there himself and knew what level of strength one needed to protect oneself inside.

"Father, how are we supposed to get any experience or go on adventures if you keep saying that? We have divine artifacts and Water of Life. Does that mean we don't have even the slightest chance of surviving in Necropolis of the Gods!?" Hannah stamped her foot.

Kolan paused, a thoughtful look crossing his face.

He had to admit that, under his protection, his children hadn't had many chances to take risks.

The truth was, he bore some responsibility for them being so weak even now.

Letting them enter Necropolis of the Gods might actually prove a valuable experience for them.

"Fine, fine. If you want to go in, then go!" Kolan relented.

He had fifty slots, and only a few had been claimed so far.

Leo and Hannah were overjoyed.

Then three more people received permission to enter.

"Kolan, look at this young fellow. His name is Riddle, and he's a genius who practices Necromancy." Isabelle pointed to a boy.

"Great-grandfather." The boy stood up, looking rather nervous, but his eyes burned with excitement.

Being brought here had fulfilled his heartfelt wish to meet the hero he idolized.

"Oh? A necromancer? That's a rare sight!" Kolan looked interested. "Not bad, not bad. You've reached level five at only sixteen. Keep training hard and strive to reach the Saint Realm someday."

"Mm!" The boy nodded firmly.

Soon, Isabelle introduced some of Kolan's younger descendants whom he didn't know.

There was no denying that all the younger descendants brought here were talented. Some were gifted mages, some exceptional warriors, and some had already become skilled stone sculptors at a young age.

The imperial family didn't necessarily train everyone to cultivate.

After all, not everyone had a strong aptitude for magic or combat. Some had little talent and no future in cultivation, so they were trained as officials or in the arts instead.

Of course, with so many different people in the family, there were bound to be some spoiled wastrels.

Those wastrels would never be allowed anywhere near Kolan.

In the blink of an eye, ten years passed.

At the Gate of Life and Death, a bonfire now blazed atop the mountain.

Thirty Saint Realm experts had gathered there. Several tables and chairs stood in the clearing, where the powerful figures drank heartily and chatted together. Some, caught up in the excitement, even sparred in midair.

"Tulilei, come spar with me!" Leo was eager to give it a try.

"Leo, let's forget the sparring. You're no match for me, and if I hurt you, I'll never hear the end of it." Tulilei sounded rather blunt.

Only a fool would spar with Leo.

Leo was Kolan's son. Injuring him would be asking for trouble.

"We'll spar fairly. If I lose, that's on me. My father wouldn't blame you." Leo said it, but even he wasn't entirely sure.

No one there seemed willing to spar with him.

"All right, Leo, don't make things difficult for Tulilei." Desri smiled.

Of all the Saint Realm experts present, he was the one who knew Leo best, since he had been the first to pledge himself to Kolan.

Several centuries of secluded cultivation had greatly increased Desri's strength. He was probably the strongest person there.

"I'm already surprised that Lord Kolan allowed you to go to Necropolis of the Gods this time," Desri said.

"Desri, what's that supposed to mean? Are you looking down on my brother and me? Do you think we aren't strong enough to enter Necropolis of the Gods!?" Hannah planted her hands on her hips, clearly displeased.

"Uh... That's not what I meant, that's not what I meant!" Desri hurriedly explained.

He could afford to offend the others, but not these two.

"Too bad the Four Ultimate Warriors all went to Hell. I wanted to see them for myself," Leo said.

"Leo, the Four Ultimate Warriors went to Hell?" Tulilei asked in surprise.

Several decades ago, the Four Ultimate Warriors had seemed to vanish into thin air. There had been no news of them since.

Only those who hadn't yet reached the Saint Realm remained in the four families. All those who had reached the Saint Realm were gone.

"Of course. My father told me himself. There's no way it could be false," Leo said matter-of-factly.

Tulilei sighed.

He had once challenged Hazard Baruch, only to be defeated by Hazard after he transformed into a dragon.

Tulilei had felt his strength improve and wanted to challenge Hazard again, but he hadn't expected Hazard to be gone already.

He hadn't known Hazard had gone to Hell.

It seemed he would never get the chance to even the score.

The others looked conflicted.

With their strength, even Hodan had come to see them. They knew about the Seven Divine Planes and the Four Supreme Planes, and some of them even had friends who had gone to Divine Planes or Supreme Planes.

But they all had ties keeping them here, and didn't want to venture into the Divine Planes or Supreme Planes just yet.

And now, the Four Ultimate Warriors had all gone to Hell.