Chen Wei walked half a step behind Taibai Jinxing, climbing the White Jade Stairway that led to Lingxiao Palace, one step at a time.
The stairway was extraordinarily long, as though it had no end.
Golden Armored Heavenly Gods stood on either side, clad in armor and bearing weapons, their faces still as water, their eyes fixed straight ahead.
This was Chen Wei's second time walking this path.
The first had been shortly after he ascended to the Heavenly Court. He had been an obscure junior clerk in Tongming Hall, and because a senior immortal was short-handed, he had received special permission to deliver a routine document outside Lingxiao Palace.
Back then, Chen Wei had held the document as he walked up the white jade steps, wondering why they had built them so high.
So high that he felt uneasy from the bottom of his heart.
When he reached the palace entrance, he was not even qualified to cross the threshold. He could only hand the document to an Immortal Official and, through a crack in the doors, catch a distant glimpse of an immense divine manifestation seated high upon a throne, shrouded in golden light.
Chen Wei's only thought then had been: How many tens of thousands of years would a Loose Immortal without connections have to cultivate, how many rungs of patronage would he have to climb, before he could one day cross that threshold with his head held high and attend court inside Lingxiao Palace?
The answer was: almost impossible.
There were far, far too many Loose Immortals in the Heavenly Court. Those who wanted to climb higher were as countless as carp crossing a river!
Just then, Taibai Jinxing suddenly stopped and turned back with a genial smile. "Qingquan, what are you thinking about?"
"Star Lord,"