"I've told you all this only so you understand that, wherever and whenever you are, you must always hold the Heavenly Court in awe. Otherwise, sooner or later, your body will perish and your Dao will dissipate."
Earth Granny's tone suddenly turned solemn.
Qian Renxue nodded earnestly.
"Thank you for your guidance, Granny. I will certainly hold the Heavenly Court in the highest regard!"
Qian Renxue had thoroughly learned to behave. The waters of this Primordial World were simply too deep.
On the Douluo Continent, the previous wave of shock from the revelation of the cultivation realms had yet to subside when the words "Heavenly Court" burst into countless minds.
The entire Douluo Continent fell silent. Across the continent, every intelligent life-form stood dumb as a wooden chicken.
Inside Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang's roar erupted.
"Manipulating divine positions at will and interfering with the natural development of worlds-this is another Spirit Hall!"
"No, this so-called Heavenly Court is even more evil than Spirit Hall! They even control whether people live or die, and they can distribute that precious merit at will. How pitiful that the people of the Primordial World live amid deep waters and scorching flames without even knowing it!"
How could such an outrageously powerful faction be allowed to exist?
Yu Xiaogang clenched his still-unfinished Ten Core Constraints on Divine Authority in the Primordial World.
With the Heavenly Court around, wouldn't his theory have no place to be put to use? How would he make a name for himself?
"Xiaogang, isn't it a good thing that someone keeps those gods in check?"
This time, even Flender, who had always believed in Yu Xiaogang without thinking, disagreed.
What had been revealed of the Heavenly Court so far was too terrifying-terrifying enough to restore quite a bit of Flender's intelligence.
There was even less need to mention the others, especially Ning Rongrong. She made no effort to hide the look she gave Yu Xiaogang: she was looking at a clown.
"You don't understand anything!"
Yu Xiaogang waved his notebook. "That Earth Granny said the gods are all invested by the Great Heavenly Venerable. That means the entire Heavenly Court operates according to this Great Heavenly Venerable's will."
"Who can guarantee that this Great Heavenly Venerable has no selfish desires?"
"Well..."
Flender was left speechless. How could anyone in this world have no selfish desires?
"Well? Nothing to say now, have you?"
Yu Xiaogang immediately grew animated. "In other words, an existence who can control cultivation resources and merit governs all the gods. If he has even a shred of selfishness, the consequences would be unthinkable."
"The people of this Primordial World really do know nothing but the pursuit of power..."
As he spoke, he stroked his flat-top and shook the notebook in his hand.
But no one saw how tightly he clenched the hand held behind his back.
Yu Xiaogang was not stupid. He was simply wicked.
From the time he left his sect until now, he knew perfectly well what he had done. From beginning to end, he had considered only his own interests.
He craved the power of the Primordial World. If he could make a name for himself there, the benefits would certainly be greater than those of becoming famous on the Douluo Continent.
But if someone governed the Primordial World, if it had a complete system in place, how would he ever rise above the crowd?
Yu Xiaogang looked at the people he had stunned into silence, inwardly pleased.
Back then, he had managed to throw the lofty Spirit Hall into such chaos that even its chickens and dogs knew no peace. He was confident he could do the same to the lofty Heavenly Court.
So what if he's the Great Heavenly Venerable? Surely the Heavenly Court has a princess?
Yu Xiaogang had already begun imagining how to replicate what he had done in Spirit Hall.
In the Heavenly Court, Thousand-Mile Eye and Wind-Following Ear, who had been monitoring the myriad realms all along, noticed Yu Xiaogang.
"This man is ignorant beyond measure. He actually dares insult the Great Heavenly Venerable like this! He's no ordinary living being anymore. We must strike him with a heavy fist!"
Wind-Following Ear seethed with anger.
Thousand-Mile Eye nodded slightly. "Although the Great Heavenly Venerable has said that where there is praise, there will also be criticism, this Yu Xiaogang cannot distinguish right from wrong. He insults purely for the sake of insulting. Someone of the Great Heavenly Venerable's standing may not care, but we cannot afford not to."
The two exchanged a glance, both sneering. "Hmph. Once he reaches the Primordial World, I'll send word to the great gods everywhere to give him a proper welcome."
"And include that disciple of his, too. Anyone who would take someone like him as a teacher can't be anything decent either."
At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi slammed the table and rose to his feet.
"Excellent! The Primordial World has major factions too. This Heavenly Court probably occupies a position equivalent to Spirit Hall's. Could the other factions be opposing the Heavenly Court as well?"
At that moment, Ning Fengzhi felt he had found a place to put his talents to use.
"We must win over the various factions of the Primordial World and form an alliance, joined like branches of the same tree!"
Ning Fengzhi applauded his own decision. Unfortunately, neither Bone Douluo nor Sword Douluo was there to share his joy.
Spirit Hall.
"This Heavenly Court is truly terrifying. It governs the Myriad Heavens and Realms and can even invest gods. Xiao Xue truly made the right move."
What Qian Daoliu saw was that Qian Renxue had boarded the great ship that was the Heavenly Court.
What Bibi Dong saw, however, was what lay behind it.
"Cultivation in the Primordial World is probably no easy task. If you can attach yourself to the Heavenly Court, secure even a minor official post, and work hard to climb upward, resources will be no problem."
Especially those three divine items that Earth Granny had mentioned, which aided cultivation, and even pills that could make someone an immortal on the spot.
Bibi Dong could not imagine what faction besides the Heavenly Court could possess such formidable resources.
"Once we reach the Primordial World, the Heavenly Court will be the best choice."
Bibi Dong had already made her plans. "Xiao Xue did well."
In the Primordial World, Earth Granny was still explaining things to Qian Renxue.
"Don't even think about things like Ginseng Fruit and Peaches of Immortality that raise your cultivation realm. Just treat hearing about them as a chance to broaden your horizons."
A trace of bitterness touched the corners of Qian Renxue's mouth, but she accepted reality.
"Don't worry, Granny. I'll keep my feet firmly on the ground."
"You're a teachable child."
Earth Granny praised her, then took out the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud again and toyed with it in her hand.
"Next, I'll tell you about the grades of weapons, so you don't lose your life through carelessness someday."
"In the Primordial World, weapons have only four grades. The lowest is the magical artifact. This is the grade used by the many mortal cultivators."
"Above that is the spirit artifact, which is already quite something. Immortals without much backing all use this grade."
"Then come magic treasures. Immortals of considerable means, and even mighty Golden Immortals, use this grade."
"Finally, there are numinous treasures. These are further divided into innate spirit treasures and post-heaven spirit treasures."
"The power of numinous treasures far exceeds your imagination. Apart from disciples of the great sects of Sages, almost no one possesses one."
Qian Renxue's understanding was shaken once again. Fortunately, compared to the previous two times, the impact of numinous treasures was not as great. Earth Granny had not elaborated on their might, so Qian Renxue still had little concept of it.
Still, she committed two terms to memory.
Numinous treasures and Sages. Is Sage the realm beyond Daluo Golden Immortal?
Qian Renxue did not ask. She had already learned enough for one day.
Earth Granny was very pleased with Qian Renxue's sense of when to advance and when to retreat.
"Now, let's discuss the cultivation method I'm going to give you."
"I am a Heavenly Court Official Deity, and I have the official deity cultivation method issued by the Heavenly Court. That method cannot be passed on to outsiders, so I can only teach you a cultivation art I obtained through a chance encounter several decades ago."
"This cultivation art can only take you to the second realm, Qi Refinement and Spirit Transformation."
At this, Qian Renxue bowed deeply. "Granny, I earnestly beg you to impart the method to me."
Before you continue