The Prodigies War

Chapter 3151 The Nine Departments of Alpha Origin

The middle-aged scholar's expression kept changing. It took him a long time to snap back to reality from the series of deaths just now. When he looked at Lin Xun and Xia Zhi again, the fear in his eyes was irrepressible.

Lin Xun smiled. “You said that you would give me answers as long as I lived.”

The middle-aged scholar let out a long sigh. “We were blind and overestimated ourselves... I'll tell you everything. We are all subordinates of the Heavenly Mandate Dao Lord of the Kun Department. We waited here because we were given orders to...”

Through his explanation, Lin Xun quickly grasped the full picture. In the All-Wonder Dominion, the Alpha Origin Master and the nine departments under their command were deservedly the number one force.

The so-called nine departments were the Qian, the Kun, the Li, the Zhen, the Gen, the Kan, the Dui, the Xun, and the Central Departments. Each of them was led by a Dao Lord of supreme capabilities.

The lower-ranked members in these departments were called Heavenly Mandate Apostles. The Dao Lords of the nine departments and their respective Heavenly Mandate Apostles all served the Alpha Origin Master.

However, ever since the Alpha Origin Master had gotten trapped in the Realm of All Mysteries a long time ago, their nine departments had been following orders from a woman who called herself ‘Black Crow.’

Black Crow was the number one dao servant of Alpha Origin and their most trusted confidante. Her cultivation depth was also unfathomable, said to have reached the peak Immeasurable Realm long ago. In the entire All-Wonder Dominion, she was a terrifying existence who could strike fear in any cultivators.

Some time ago, the middle-aged scholar and his fellow members had received an order from their direct superior, Heavenly Mandate Dao Lord Qing Yangzi. All of them, as Heavenly Mandate Apostles scattered around the Mortal Transformation Zone, had been asked to stake out the natural dao veins of the forty-nine kingdoms.

The target was Lin Xun!

Listening to this point, Lin Xun finally understood. The one who had taken action against him was the Alpha Origin Master, also known as the mastermind behind the epochal calamity!

Lin Xun asked, “How many Heavenly Mandate Apostles like you are there in the Mortal Transformation Zone?”

The middle-aged scholar replied, “Of the nine departments, only the Kun Department’s Heavenly Mandate Dao Lord is in charge of the matters in this zone. Here, there are around eight hundred Heavenly Mandate Apostles who truly serve in the Kun Department.”

At this part, he revealed a bitter look. “We Heavenly Mandate Apostles in the Mortal Transformation Zone seem to be numerous, but in fact, we're the most marginalized members in all nine departments.”

This piqued Lin Xun's interest. “Wanna explain?”

The middle-aged scholar said, “Since forever, almost everyone who has crossed Sea of Fate to get to this Mortal Transformation Zone would receive an invitation from the members of the Kun Department here. The deal is that by joining, they will receive protection from the Alpha Origin Master, and that all the available forces under the Alpha Origin Master will come to their aid should they encounter perils.

“As you already know, this All-Wonder Dominion is treacherous. We compete to get here to avoid the Great Silence Unlife Calamity and also to seek a Chaos Dao Fruit. If we act alone, we are easy prey and vulnerable to misfortune.”

Lin Xun said, “So, many of the fellow cultivators who entered the Mortal Transformation Zone chose to join the Alpha Origin Master?”

“That’s right.” The middle-aged scholar said, “But, since the Dao Competition tests the height of one's dao achievements, most Heavenly Mandate Apostles affiliated with the Kun Department like us barely have the chance to enter the heavenly gate and leave this Mortal Transformation Zone. That's why we have become the least valued group among the Alpha Origin Nine Departments.”

Lin Xun understood. There were nine sky zones in the Realm of All Spirits. Each zone had a gate, and behind each gate was an opportunity. The Mortal Transformation Zone was the first sky zone of the Realm of All Spirits. Not being able to enter its heavenly gate meant being stuck in the lowest level.

Unable to pass even the first level, it was only natural that the middle-aged scholar and the other Heavenly Mandate Apostles of the Kun Department were not held in high regard. This also meant that, in spite of their numbers, they were not much different from a plate of loose sand.

Lin Xun commented, “It's not a bad thing to act in a group, but if you choose the wrong camp, it will only come back to bite you.”

The middle-aged scholar said with a bleak face, “We cultivate for millennia, experience all the ups and downs, and undergo the honing of life and death. Only after all that do we manage to come to the All-Wonder Dominion, and not without a struggle. Who would have thought that this place is not the paradise we expected? But we only have our inadequate cultivation power to blame; this world has no place for us unless we band up with others.”

In his voice, there was nothing but despondency and sorrow. Not going to the All-Wonder Dominion meant having to live under the threat of the Great Silence Unlife Calamity, and whether it could still be called ‘living’ then would be a question.

However, the other option would be equally treacherous. If they had foreknowledge of this, then many of those in this Mortal Transformation Zone probably wouldn't have been so eager to compete for the All-Wonder Dominion back then.

“You are free to go.” Lin Xun waved his hand.

The middle-aged scholar was stunned. He had already prepared himself for death, but Lin Xun actually looked like he intended to show mercy and let him off this time.

After a long silence, the middle-aged man took a deep breath and cupped his fist. “Thank you very much.”

Only then did he turn and walk away, but his mind was still in a trance. In the last several centuries, he had heard many stories of Lin Xun's deeds, and all of those stories described him as cruel and bloodthirsty. His previous impression of Lin Xun was a ruthless demon god, but to think that...the demon god let him live!

“Why not kill him?” Even Xia Zhi was a little surprised.

“What’s the point of reaping such an unfortunate soul?” Lin Xun murmured.

Strictly speaking, a character like the middle-aged scholar couldn't be considered an enemy. He was at best an unappreciated pawn of the Alpha Origin Master.

Lin Xun had let him go not because he was merciful, but because he wanted him to spread word of today's events. If the Heavenly Mandate Apostles of the Kun Department here still insisted on dealing with him, then this would compel them to reconsider whether they could handle the consequences.

However, from what Lin Xun knew about this unappreciated group who lacked unity and cohesion, most of them probably would no longer be willing to risk their lives for the Alpha Origin Master like before. This was what he wanted to see.

“Strange, we've just killed so many opponents, which is sort of a dao competition, but why hasn't there been much change in the Jade Book of Merits?” Xia Zhi frowned as her attention had shifted to her Jade Book of Merits.

A stunned Lin Xun also checked his own jade book and found no significant change either. He mused, “It seems that there is some kind of bar to this competition. It is no good when the opponent is too weak, maybe?”

To pass the heavenly gate of the first sky zone, one needed to attract a Chaos Dao Fruit, and to attract a Chaos Dao Fruit, one needed to get their dao merits included in the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws. In the final analysis, the first step was to fight in the Dao Competition. Only through this did one have the chance to put their dao merits in the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws.

The powerful experts in the Mortal Transformation Zone alone, as shown in the Jade Book of Merits, amounted to ten thousand. If an ordinary fight between cultivators could get into the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws, then the middle-aged scholar as well as all these cultivators wouldn't have been stuck here to this day.

In the end, a strong cultivation prowess and also a strong enough opponent were needed to conduct a dao competition. Fortunately, there were two ways about it, and fighting other powerful cultivators was only one of them.

The other way was to compete with the dao merits, in the forms of dao manifestations, of those who had already ascended and left through the heavenly gate.

This also meant that, even if there was no other opponent left in this world, one could still compete with the dao manifestations. In short, there was always a chance no matter what.

In the capital of the Qing Kingdom, there were three dao manifestations: an imperial seal stored in a secret place of the palace, a bronze furnace in front of a Taoist temple, and an ancient tree right outside the eastern gate of the city.

“Let's go and take a look at the imperial seal in the Qing Palace.”

Lin Xun had an idea and decided to do it right away. Together with Xia Zhi, he teleported to a deep part of the palace.

For ordinary mortals, a royal palace was a most taboo place. It was the territory of the chosen dragon’s son from where he ruled the kingdom and dominated the eight wastelands. The royal power was their sky.

In the eyes of Lin Xun, however, it was worth next to nothing. Emperor or not, they ultimately did not escape the plight of old age, sickness, and death!

In a luxurious building deep in the palace grounds, Lin Xun saw the imperial seal that was a manifestation of dao merits.

Situated on a desk, this jade seal was square, the size of a fist, and entirely purple. Its surfaces were engraved with terrains on earth and the sun, moon, and stars in the sky. There was a thick, vast, and majestic aura about it. He instantly recognized that this aura and the aura covering the imperial city were of the same origin!

“Looks like that this dao manifestation was left by an unfathomable expert.” Lin Xun pondered.

Xia Zhi suddenly said, “Lin Xun, I have a feeling that once I defeat this seal, my dao merits will become a part of the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws, and I will attract a Chaos Dao Fruit and ascend to the heavenly gate.”

Lin Xun was stunned and hastily said, “Then don't act just yet.”

“Why not?” Xia Zhi was puzzled.

“What am I to do if you leave so suddenly?” Lin Xun was angry at how ‘heartless’ this girl was.

“Oh.” Xia Zhi instantly got it and frowned. “How can we leave together then?”

Lin Xun mused. “I'm afraid that’s not possible, but while we're here, we can discuss beforehand what to do after we get up there.”

The second sky zone of the Realm of All Spirits, after leaving the Mortal Transformation Zone, was the Calamitous Zone. They currently had no information on the situation of the Calamitous Zone, so they naturally needed to do some digging and make preparations first.

“What do you say we do next?” Xia Zhi asked.

“Let’s gather more information.” Lin Xun contemplated. “Given that those Heavenly Mandate Apostles of the Kun Department were able to receive orders from their leader Qing Yangzi, news from the other zones very likely can reach the Mortal Transformation Zone. Word of my appearance here should have spread by now, so I believe that in the following time, quite a few people will be coming to our door.”

Lin Xun couldn't help but think of the Lord of Fangchun Mountain, the golden cicada, Chen Linkong, as well as Xing Jianxia, Fu Nanli, and the other old relics who had arrived at the All-Wonder Dominion many years earlier. How could they be indifferent once they heard that he had gotten to the Mortal Transformation Zone?