Chapter 2, The Phoenix and the Heavenly Sovereign

The old man with white hair chuckled again as he led us towards the grand hall, explaining: "That is the statue of the Holy Monarch of the Celestial Realm. To be honest, every year, the young men and women who come here to see the statue of the Holy Monarch are left spellbound. You should take him as your role model. The Holy Monarch is not yet two hundred years old, yet he has already attained supreme divine powers. Throughout the Celestial Realm, he is one of the most powerful and esteemed celestial lords. The reason a statue of him was erected in the City of Tiandu is that fifty years ago, the Holy Monarch defeated all the masters of the City of Tiandu right here. You should take him as your role model. The Holy Monarch is not yet two hundred years old, yet he has already attained supreme divine powers. Throughout the Celestial Realm, he is one of the most powerful and esteemed celestial lords. The reason a statue of him was erected in the City of Tiandu is that fifty years ago, the Holy Monarch defeated all the masters of the City of Tiandu right here. Not only in the City of Tiandu, but more than half of the one hundred and eight cities in the Upper Realm have statues of the Holy Monarch. Young men, if there comes a day when you can also defeat all the masters here, then a statue will similarly be erected for you beside the Holy Monarch."

I, along with the other youths, followed her hand to look.

She is the fourth young lady of the Wei Prime Minister's residence, and also possesses dual spiritual roots. It can be said that with the presence of these two, the path of seeking immortality in the Wei Kingdom of this realm is already a source of pride.

In fact, not only we young girls, but even the boys around us were also captivated and lost in thought at that moment

Looking at us, the old man said with a kind expression: "The phoenix is a legendary divine creature, born alongside heaven and earth. Although people have often heard of it, no one has ever seen it. Now that the divine phoenix has appeared in the world, we old men are quite gratified. How about this, you may follow me into the Heavenly Capital and test your root bones once more"

I clearly heard, within the State of Wei, that renowned young gentleman known for his aloof elegance, uttering words of rapture and delirium

The old man with white hair did not find it offensive, "That is to be expected; this child is known as the most handsome man in the three realms, so it is only natural for him to look good"

I was still in a daze as I welcomed her, when that sorrowful voice of Liang Shao gently floated over, "Why does her gaze seem so desolate?"

The time for reflection has passed

This is unbelievable; it happened in an instant

Occupying the entire mirrored void is a colorful and radiant phoenix.

At that moment, the stunning beauty in the void looked down at us

I also held my breath, gazing at the void without blinking.

Under the enormous shadow of the phoenix, the figure of a beautiful woman gradually took shape

As early as last year, the third young lady of the Wei Prime Minister's residence had someone assess her root constitution. It is said that her root constitution is an extremely rare heavenly spiritual root, pure and robust, and can be considered unique to the Wei state

At that moment, the armored man suddenly exclaimed, standing upright uncontrollably, and bowed towards the void.

Everyone raised their heads in unison

Just now in the void, as the divine phoenix and the stunning beauty transformed from the phoenix appeared, the discerning eyes of the onlookers were completely obliterated. This old man clearly could not distinguish who was the true form of the phoenix, so he wanted us all to measure our innate qualities after all, the phoenix is so extraordinary, its innate qualities should also be remarkable

At this moment, the mirror light shifted slightly.

Perhaps it was due to the attention of the noble residence, as the golden-armored giant displayed an unusual patience and slowness when he turned to our side. Thus, I glanced at the cloud chariot and then at the void, where I saw familiar youthful faces appearing with white hair in the emptiness.

In the void, dozens of beams of light intertwined, and then swiftly, the bright light dissipated, revealing one by one the aged faces of commoners.

Wei Hong also saw her future self a hundred years later, appearing very lonely, tears welling up in her eyes. As she wept, the aged Wei Hong in the void, with a face covered in wrinkles, also shed a tear.

Miss Wei Si refers to the void before us, where in the boundless and vast sky, a young man dressed in a long robe of dark color with golden edges stands in mid-air on a heavenly steed, strikingly handsome and exuding an air of noble dignity. It seems as if someone is calling him from behind, and he narrowly reins in the horse, turning his head to look back.

Amidst the rising and falling sounds of sighs, several celestial beings flew in at the Yunhua Gate, and a man in golden armor hurried to greet them. Before long, an old man with white hair and wide sleeves swept his arm, and the dozens of us young individuals who had been evaluated alongside the phoenix were drawn before him by the sweep of his sleeve

He said, "Truly beautiful"

The small-framed old man with a dark face, who had been silent, snorted and said irritably: "Enough of this nonsense! The dignity of the Holy Monarch lies in his being a son of the emperor, the future Heavenly Emperor. How can he subdue so many heroes purely by force?" In the blink of an eye, he impatiently shouted: "Alright, enough of that. Now you will enter the hall one by one to begin the assessment of your bone structure."

Upon entering the Yunhua Gate, the old man with white hair waved his sleeve again, and as my vision blurred, when I regained my composure, I found myself in a vast square

The white light surged forth like an ocean, enveloping the entire world in an instant

At that moment, sighs arose from all around, as the stunning beauty in the void, along with the enormous phoenix behind her, simultaneously transformed into boundless flowing light, vanishing in an instant

At last, a dazzling light shone before me; the mirror I had awaited for sixteen years finally reflected my presence.

In the gaze of the crowd, they appeared proud, and I longed for this pride to be mine as well

I could not help but cry out

Countless voices of "so beautiful" and "too beautiful" resounded, amidst the alternating obsession and admiration, the stunningly beautiful woman, crowned and noble beyond compare, even tilted her head playfully and furrowed her brows.

Of course, I did not quite catch that sentence. I gazed at the stunning beauty in the void, feeling as though she was looking at me without blinking for a moment, and I couldn't help but tilt my head slightly and furrow my brows.

The armored giant was still examining the remaining youths, while our group stepped into the Yunhua Gate under the envious gazes of the crowd

In the void, it remains very bright; this is true brightness, a brilliance that radiates in all directions

And around me, there was no longer a single sound of breath.

Just as I was tensing up all over with anxiety, a rustling sound gradually arose around us, and the mirror slowly turned towards our side

Because the photo was taken of the young lady from the Xiang residence, and because in this world, only this mirror can see a hundred years into the future, one must understand that even possessing the most extraordinary lineage does not guarantee that it will not decline within this century. Therefore, at this moment, even the third young lady of the Xiang residence is holding her breath.

Before I had the chance to survey my surroundings, Miss Wei Si's exclamation had already sounded, "Who is that?"

Just with a turn of the head and a glance, not to mention myself, even Miss Wei San, who holds herself in such high regard as a beauty, gasped in surprise. She stared blankly at the young man, her beautiful face turning crimson in an instant

At this moment, a clamor arose.

This is a true phoenix, standing at a height of over ten zhang, occupying the entire sky. Every inch of its feathers radiates a luxurious array of colors, and as it gently flutters its tail feathers, the crowd is further dazzled by the overwhelming brilliance, leaving them weak in the knees.

Silence enveloped the surroundings

At that moment, a sudden uproar erupted all around.

Upon entering the Cloud Gate, one steps into the Heavenly Capital. This is my first time in the Heavenly Capital, and it is unlike the outside world. The ground is solid and mirror-like, with streets lined with towering buildings everywhere. At first glance, it bears some resemblance to Wei Capital; however, what sets it apart is the sight of figures flying through the air, with celestial steeds and chariots passing overhead.

Miss Wei Si listened, entranced, and could not help but murmur: "Your Majesty, you are truly handsome..."

The crowd erupted in exclamations, and the golden-armored man also widened his eyes in disbelief.

It is unclear how much time has passed when someone called out, "What are we to do? We have all looked into the mirror, but aside from that phoenix, the reflections of everyone else have been obliterated!"

Of course, with the cloud of cars so densely packed, a single glance through the mirror reveals a vast expanse.

Everyone held their breath, staring intently into the void.

The armored giant could no longer restrain himself; he trembled as he took out a talisman and shouted urgently: "Quick, quick, a miracle has appeared! You all come here quickly!"

Why?

Whenever the topic of measuring the root bones was mentioned, everyone became tense, except for Miss Wei San, who frequently turned to glance at the noble emperor in the void. With each glance, a deeper flush appeared on her beautiful face.

I was taken aback

Because, as the mirror was deliberately directed towards us, the faces of the people from a hundred years later did not immediately appear in the void; instead, a strong white light suddenly shot out, extending for dozens of miles

As soon as the roar of the golden-armored giant subsided, everyone in the void finally saw the reflection in the void clearly

Perhaps considering that one among us is a phoenix that all beings must look up to, the old man with white hair stroked his long beard and patiently explained while gazing at the beautiful man in the void: "He is not a real person, just a statue, so of course he will not move."

She was a woman of extraordinary beauty, her allure transcending the mundane, beyond the capacity of words to describe. As we looked up, all we could see was a sky filled with radiant light

But his gaze is quite imposing

Her pair of eyes, dreamlike and ethereal, as clear and beautiful as pure crystal water, is beyond description in words

With this turn, it enveloped both me and several young ladies from the Xiang residence at the same time

Miss Wei Si gazed at the handsome man's eyes, feeling her legs weaken slightly. She stared blankly for quite a while before suddenly saying: "Esteemed elder, I, I can't help but feel that he hasn't moved at all"

"Under the divine light, how can ordinary people be allowed?" The one who coldly shouted this was a man in golden armor, who impatiently declared: "If anyone is unconvinced, go and test your own potential."

What? Is this a statue?

In the void, the indifferent, noble, and lofty eyes of the phoenix casually glance down at the multitude below

Quickly, like water, the white light spread across dozens of miles of sky.

I, who had been standing in the corner, at that moment, like everyone else, looked towards the beautiful Fourth Miss of the Xiang residence, as well as the Third Miss of the Xiang residence, who was even more beautiful by a factor of two

I eagerly tilted my head back, staring blankly into the void

Everyone held their breath, gazing into the void while watching the two young ladies of the Xiang residence, anticipating their grace a hundred years later

This is them a hundred years later. I gazed at Wei Hong, who had become so old that she was hunched over, and couldn't help but steal a glance at her.