Connecting Heaven to the Primordial Continent

The group set out at first light and reached the summit by noon.

They were far faster than when Li Shun had climbed alone.

Part of it was that the mountain path they had chosen this time was quicker, though steeper.

But Zhao Cheng and Chang Yan had also used secret arts to spur everyone onward.

Wind seemed to rise beneath their feet, and they felt not the slightest weariness.

Instead, as they climbed, their bodies and spirits seemed to undergo a tempering. By the time they reached the summit, they were in peak condition. In the small space atop the mountain, the Hundred Schools took their separate places.

An old man with snow-white hair stood at the center. Li Shun sensed no aura from him at all.

Yet judging by the way everyone treated him, his cultivation must have been extraordinary.

At least, that was what Li Shun had thought.

Then Zhao Cheng's next words overturned that assumption.

"His name is Jin Yutang. He has no cultivation."

"To open the Primordial Illusion Realm through their secret art, the Hundred Schools need a completely blank vessel."

"The Jin Family has presided over the gathering for generations. Each time the realm is opened, one of them must be sacrificed."

"Their contributions are immense. That is why we all hold them in such respect."

"And the Hundred Schools agreed to look after the Jin Family as best we could. But..."

Zhao Cheng shook his head with a sigh. "The Jin Family is stubborn, too. They never use this to ask for favors. Otherwise, with the debt we owe them, becoming one of Great Qian's foremost aristocratic clans would be effortless."

Chang Yan sighed as well. "Strictly speaking, we all owe the Jin Family. I only wonder when we'll ever repay that debt."