Soaring the Heavens

Miao Yi and the others separated themselves into two lines, based on their rankings in the Subjugation Crusade. They followed behind the woman in the elegant robes who read them the Overlord's decree. Soon, they made their way to the massive, open gates of the tower.

The woman walked up to the gates and stood to the side, extending her arm towards the tower in a beckoning gesture for Miao Yi and the others to enter.

As the six of them entered, they immediately noticed the majesty of the inner halls of the tower. It was as though the whole place could naturally inspire people with a sense of awe. Five people stood on either side of the hall. There were men and women, and they were all either middle-aged or an elder. These ten people were the Palace Lords of the Fifth Earthly Branch.

Situated high within the hall was a shimmering golden throne, and seated above it was a plain-looking, middle-aged man dressed in thin, peach-colored robes. The man had a calm expression, and despite not moving a single muscle, his overbearing dominance could be clearly felt by everyone in the room. As one could imagine, the only person able to sit on this very seat, was none other than the Fifth Earthly Branch Overlord—Yue Tianbo!

Next to Yue Tianbo were two astonishingly beautiful women, and one step below them stood two men, followed by two other men another step further down. Between the pair standing on the third step was a familiar face to Miao Yi; it was the Governor of the Martial Manor—Lan Hou. The four men stood along the staircase in an eight ('八') formation.

The most powerful people within the entire Fifth Earthly Branch were gathered here today, and they were all staring at the six Subjugation Crusade returnees. Even though Miao Yi and the others had already conquered the Subjugation Crusade, they still couldn't help feeling nervous before the powerful aura these people exuded. The pressure that came from them was many times stronger than what Miao Yi and the others felt when they faced Yun Guang and the others back in the Western Constellations Palace.

One could say that they were two entirely different feelings. The pressure that came from Yun Guang and the others was that of someone with a noble status, whereas the awe that these people commanded was an oppressive one that the strong possessed; it was an aura that was naturally born through the taking of countless lives.

One type of pressure was that of an undefiable authority; whereas the other was that of an indomitable killing intent. It was evident that the latter was the more terrifying of the two!

Miao Yi and the other returnees didn't know why they felt such pressure from these people. They had no idea that the people before them also had to step on countless corpses before they could reach their current statuses and positions. On the other hand, Yun Guang and the others were people who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Given their background, there weren't many people who would dare lay a hand on them, and thus, they naturally lacked the oppressiveness that this group had.

For Miao Yi and the others to be able to meet these people with their current cultivation levels—it was indeed a great honor. Naturally, they wouldn't let such an opportunity go to waste, and every one of them etched the faces of these top cultivators within the Fifth Earthly Branch into their heads.

When Miao Yi noticed the alluring woman in the thin garments standing in between the ten Palace Lords, his mouth nearly fell open with shock… It was Xiao Xiao! The one he met back on Jade Lake!

He confirmed again that his eyes didn't deceive him. Xiao Xiao's looks and attire were simply too easy to recognize, and even now, she clearly stood out among the rest. Not to mention, she even secretly casted him a playful wink. This was even greater proof that Miao Yi was not mistaken!

To think the woman that bastard Huo Lingxiao was fooling around with was actually one of the ten Palace Lords of the Fifth Earthly Branch… Dear god! Huo Lingxiao sure has some balls!

Miao Yi finally understood why Wu Menglan held such contempt for Huo Lingxiao back then. It seemed she suspected that miserly big brother of his was sponging off of a woman! It also finally made sense to Miao Yi why Wu Menglan was so hesitant to bring up Xiao Xiao; she was definitely not someone Wu Menglan should trifle with.

The six returnees walked up to a suitable distance and stopped. They then bowed and said in unison, "We respectfully greet the Overlord!"

High on his throne, Yue Tianbo replied with a simple "Mm", then said in a calm voice, "The six of you have returned after enduring much hardship, your names shaking the entire Sea of Constellations. And more importantly, you've showcased the might of our Fifth Earthly Branch. As a sign of my appreciation, I have called for all those who are Palace Lords and above to welcome you!"

The six returnees immediately replied with the response they previously agreed on, once again bowing in unison as they said, "We thank the Overlord for this prestigious honor!"

Yue Tianbo then called out, "Feng Ze!"

As his name was called out, the man standing next to Lan Hou turned towards Yue Tianbo and gave a light bow, then turned back to Miao Yi and the others and said, "It is by the Overlord's benevolent grace that you will all be rewarded according to your merits! Of the one thousand Manors under the command of the ten Palace Lords of the Fifth Earthly Branch, the six of you are free to take your pick from any one of them!"

The six returnees bowed once again and said, "We thank the Overlord for his benevolent grace!"

Feng Ze continued, "The privilege of choosing first shall go in tandem with your respective rankings in the Subjugation Crusade. Gu Sanzheng!"

Gu Sanzheng immediately cupped his fists and answered, "Present!"

Feng Ze said, "You are free to take your pick from a thousand Manors. The Overlord shall grant to you whichever place you decide to go!"

"I thank the Overlord for his benevolent grace!" Gu Sanzheng clearly had his sights set on a certain place right from the start, or it could be said that the Sword Deviate Sect had already decided one for him right from the beginning. Without any hesitation, he answered, "On behalf of the Overlord, this subordinate is willing to oversee the Traversing Heavens Palace's Bright Pearl Manor!"

As its name implied, Bright Pearl Manor was the pearl of the Fifth Earthly Branch, and the absolute best place that these returnees could choose. It was to no one's surprise that the first one to choose, Gu Sanzheng, would set his sights on this place.

Feng Ze then asked, "Does the Traversing Heavens Palace Lord have any objections?"

The stout man standing at the front of the line to the left cupped his fists towards Yue Tianbo and replied, "As the Overlord commands!" He then proceeded to take out a jade archive and personally wrote down a decree of appointment for a Manor Head's position, then tossed it over to Gu Sanzheng.

After making sure that there was no error in the jade archive, Gu Sanzheng bowed thankfully to Overlord, then paid his greetings to his new Palace Lord.

After him, Tan Lao and Ye Xin pretty much followed the same sequence as well. Needless to say, the places they picked were only second to Gu Sanzheng's.

Fourth in line was Miao Yi. In a well-rehearsed manner, Feng Ze called out, "Miao Yi! You are free to take your pick from a thousand Manors. The Overlord shall grant to you whichever place you decide to go!"

This was obviously just a figure of speech. The best places were already taken by those before him. Even if Miao Yi were to choose the place that Gu Sanzheng had picked, the Overlord would not grant him that request. Naturally, Miao Yi wouldn't be so bored that he would make things difficult for the Overlord. Not unless he was tired of living, that is.

"I thank the Overlord for his benevolent grace!" Miao Yi cupped his fists and answered calmly, "On behalf of the Overlord, this subordinate is willing to oversee the Traversing Water Palace's Raincloud Manor!"

The entire hall immediately fell silent.

The Traversing Water Palace Lord was the old woman holding onto a golden dragon-head cane, Tao Yulin. Within the cultivation realm, she was more commonly known as Grandma Tao, and at the moment, the weary eyes on her wrinkly face had widened, a clear indicator of the surprise she felt inside.

She looked around, wondering if in her old age she had misheard what Miao Yi just said. She even transmitted her voice over to one of the Palace Lords to confirm her doubts. Consequently, the Palace Lord shook his head to confirm that she was not mistaken. Grandma Tao was utterly speechless, and she looked at Miao Yi in confusion.

Even though there was some distance between her vassal Manors and her own Palace, she had been the Palace Lord of Traversing Water Palace for quite some time after all—she was fully aware what kind of place Raincloud Manor was. There was nothing but a fisherman's village over there. Besides its somewhat fresher seafood, all it had was a slightly more exotic scenery. Grandma Tao recalled that there didn't seem to be many lucrative opportunities there. While its local seafood was indeed a delicacy, she didn't think that would be a relevant factor to cultivators at all. Not even mortals would think of eating seafood three meals a day for the rest of their lives, yes?

Overlord Yue Tianbo quickly examined Miao Yi. He had been overseeing the entire Fifth Earthly Branch for over ten thousand years. Even if he were a lazy person through and through, he couldn't possibly be ignorant of the circumstances relating to the one thousand Manors under his jurisdiction. As such, he couldn't help feeling a bit surprised by Miao Yi's choice as well.

All the Palace Lords were equally confused for this very reason. In their long years governing their respective territories, even if they weren't all that familiar with every single Manor in the Fifth Earthly Branch, they could still make out which places were better than others. What was so good about this Raincloud Manor?

The seductive and provocatively-dressed Traversing Moon Palace Lord's lips twitched as she glared at Miao Yi. It seemed she was a little resentful for this sudden slap to her face.

Meanwhile, standing in front of Miao Yi, the Gu Sanzheng trio seemed to have figured something out. There was a wistfulness in their eyes as they all disregarded the absolute authority of their surroundings just to turn around and look at Miao Yi; their emotions were in utter turmoil.

Standing at the furthermost end of the line, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei exchanged glances with one another. Their expressions seemed to say that Miao Yi's choice was within their expectations.

Even Feng Ze, who was in charge of the entire procession, was taken aback. He stared at Miao Yi for a bit, wondering if his own ears had heard wrongly. To avoid making a fool of himself, he transmitted his voice over to the person standing next to him, "Lan Hou, did I mishear what he just said?"

"I heard him mention the Traversing Water Palace's Raincloud Manor," Lan Hou replied in kind. How could he possibly know what Feng Ze heard? Nonetheless, it seemed even Lan Hou didn't dare assume whether Feng Ze had heard wrongly or not, so he simply told the latter what he heard for him to confirm his own doubts himself.

After receiving Lan Hou's answer and confirming that he didn't mishear, Feng Ze asked, "Does the Traversing Water Palace Lord have any objections?"

Grandma Tao's lips curled into a smile as she replied, "It's up to him to decide where to go. What objections can I possibly have? This old one will simply do as the Overlord commands!" She then wrote down a decree of appointment on the spot and tossed the jade archive over to Miao Yi.

As Miao Yi received the jade archive, he confirmed that there were no issues with it. After which, he bowed in thanks to the Overlord, then cupped his fists towards Grandma Tao and said, "This subordinate respectfully greets the Palace Lord!"

Grandma Tao casually waved her hand to signal for Miao Yi to be at ease. However, there was still a sense of curiosity in her eyes as she looked at the latter.

Seeing that Miao Yi was actually choosing that place, Feng Ze didn't dally on and continued to call out, "Zhao Fei! You are free to take your pick from a thousand Manors. The Overlord shall grant to you whichever place you decide to go!"

Zhao Fei cupped his fists and replied, "On behalf of the Overlord, this subordinate is willing to oversee the Traversing Water Palace's Thousand Lake Manor!"

When Zhao Fei's words came out, Miao Yi abruptly turned to look at him, a little hesitant to speak.

The other Palace Lords all exchanged glances with one another, and Grandma Tao was even more dumbfounded. However, given how Miao Yi had already given them quite the shock before this, it didn't take too long for them to regain their composure the second time around.

And because of this, Feng Ze no longer doubted his own ears, and simply asked Grandma Tao, "Does the Traversing Water Palace Lord have any objections?"

"Stop teasing an old woman like me already!" Grandma Tao sighed, then continued, "This old one will do as the Overlord commands!" She then wrote down another decree of appointment and tossed it over to Zhao Fei.

Zhao Fei made the necessary confirmations, thanked the Overlord, then paid his respects to Grandma Tao.

Feng Ze called out again, "Sikong Wuwei! You are free to take your pick from a thousand Manors. The Overlord shall grant to you whichever place you decide to go!"

Sikong Wuwei cupped his fists and answered, "On behalf of the Overlord, this subordinate is willing to oversee the Traversing Water Palace's Mulberry Cloud Manor!"

Again! All the Palace Lords were confused. Three out of the six returnees had chosen Grandma Tao's territory. What was going on here? Today's events within the golden halls of the Overlord's palace were quite puzzling indeed.

Miao Yi pursed his lips as he stood in place.

Meanwhile, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin turned back to look at the other three once again. There were looks of sheepishness on their faces as they finally confirmed the reason Miao Yi and the other two had chosen such a place.

Back in Skyfire Mountain, when Miao Yi acted as bait to lure away the enemy, Gu Sanzheng and the others had managed to escape in one piece. At the time, they weren't sure if Miao Yi would be able to survive, so after finding a suitable hiding spot, the group discussed if Miao Yi had any unfinished business left to resolve. When they mentioned taking revenge for a certain someone, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao and Ye Xin had promised that they would help Miao Yi fulfill this wish of his. But right now, only Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were standing alongside Miao Yi. The Gu Sanzheng trio wasn't given much choice from their sects, so they had to go back on their words, and thus, they felt immensely remorseful deep down!

Feng Ze asked again, "Does the Traversing Water Palace Lord have any objections?"

"As the Overlord commands! Aii! Youngsters nowadays sure have some spunk. How can this old one not respect that? That said, I do have a couple of good spots in my territory, but these youngsters just had to go and take their picks so recklessly. I don't understand at all what they're trying to do! I just hope that they're not trying to pull a prank on me!" Grandma Tao shook her head helplessly, then tossed out another jade archive. The other Palace Lords couldn't help chuckling at her comical attitude.