The Prodigies War

Heavy rain was pouring down from rolling black clouds. Occasionally, a bolt of lightning cut through the darkness, illuminating the terrains and casting a dubious show of light and shadows on Nie Ting's expression.

Lin Xun hadn’t expected that the other party would actually know of him. “How did you hear about my name?”

Nie Ting calmed his mind and answered, “In the recent centuries, many contenders who came to the Mortal Transformation Zone would, without fail, mention you and the stories about you. Currently, a great number of our kind scattered all over this zone already know about your deeds in the Sea of Fate, Fellow Daoist Lin.”

Speaking of this, there was a faint but noticeable odd look on his face. He clearly hadn't expected to meet Lin Xun, a young man who had ‘killed his way to notoriety’ here.

“I see.” Lin Xun took out an old jug of wine and pointed to a distant shelter. “Want to accompany me for a drink as you tell me more about this Mortal Transformation Zone?”

Nie Ting hesitated slightly, but he eventually nodded. “I guess, yes.”

Soon, the two of them got down on the floor and began talking over wine. Xia Zhi stayed next to Lin Xun as she stared blankly into the dark rainy night.

Four hours later, Nie Ting got up and excused himself. Lin Xun didn't keep him as he had already learned many things about the Mortal Transformation Zone from the latter.

“Xia Zhi, let’s head to the Qing Kingdom when this rain stops,” said Lin Xun.

There were forty-nine kingdoms in the Mortal Transformation Zone, and the Kingdom of Qing was one of them. They could get there in less than three days setting out from this primitive wilderness.

It was a mortal country with an emperor, ministers, and nobles. Home to billions of people, it had an extremely vast territory.

“Sounds good.” Xia Zhi nodded.

Lin Xun smiled. Staring into the rain, he fell into deep thought.

According to Nie Ting, all the forty-nine kingdoms possessed natural dao veins. These veins were invisible to mortals, but cultivators could use them to spy into the power of the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws.

The so-called Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws were the law powers that maintained the order of the mortal world.

Since time immemorial, the laws mastered by cultivators who had successfully passed the heavenly gate would become included in the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws. When the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws operated in the Mortal Transformation Zone, these cultivators’ laws would reach the countless mortals in the forty-nine kingdoms, thus having the effect of ‘educating the living beings.’

The more beings who followed a dao law, the greater the influence of that dao law. To make an analogy, they were like believers of religions where some followed Buddhism, some followed Confucianism, and some followed Taoism.

It was an established way of living for the mortals here. The difference was that they only recognized a certain principle as an iron law and acted in accordance with it, rather than being actual devout believers.

From ancient times to the present day, all experts who had arrived at the Mortal Transformation Zone naturally wished for their own dao to be included in the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws.

In this way, they would be able to influence the living beings and thus obtain the mysterious fortune unique to here called the Chaos Dao Fruit. It would be the ticket to the heavenly gate through which one could enter the second zone of the Realm of All Spirits.

In order to realize all of that, one must first engage in a great dao contest, also known as Dao Competition.

Naturally, this was not something Lin Xun was afraid of. The reason why he decided to go to the Kingdom of Qing was due to its natural dao vein, for only through it could he condense his own Jade Book of Merits.

The so-called Jade Book of Merits was an item similar to a proof, and it was made from the power of the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws in a natural dao vein.

Possessing this item was the only way one gained the qualifications to partake in the Dao Competition. First of all, one would be able to sense the locations of other competitors in the Mortal Transformation Zone.

Furthermore, if one's dao merits got included in the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws during the competition, then by virtue of this jade book, one would be able to attract a Chaos Dao Fruit!

There were two types of Dao Competitions: One was to compete with the other great experts in this world, and the other was to compete with the dao merits already included in the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws.

The temple in the mountain not far away, for instance, was created from a principle listed in the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws. It represented the dao merits of a powerful expert who had stepped through the heavenly gate.

This expert was known as King Qiyu and had left the Mortal Transformation Zone a long time ago. By defeating the achievement that he had left in the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws, one would take his place. Of course, it would not have any effect on King Qiyu. This expert had departed so long ago after all.

However, this type of challenge was not without risk, for it was extremely easy to be battered or even die when fighting a Heavenly Cycle Dao Law.

From Nie Ting, Lin Xun had learned that this guy had spent several ten thousand years in this vast region and had challenged the dao of King Qiyu several hundred times. Sadly, he had not succeeded even once.

It was worth noting that Nie Ting was an old monster who had crossed six Great Silence Unlife Calamities and arrived at this Mortal Transformation Zone from the competition of the last epoch. Despite that, he hadn't managed to obtain a Chaos Dao Fruit after these countless years!

The difficulty of this competition could be imagined.

Late into the night, the dark clouds finally dispersed, and the downpour became pattering until it completely stopped.

Lin Xun got up and flew toward the vast lands with Xia Zhi. A long time after they disappeared, Nie Ting returned and arrived before that small temple in the depths of the mountain.

“Even though the Alpha Origin Master is trapped in the Realm of All Mysteries, his subordinates are known as the number one force in this All-Wonder Dominion as a gathering of uncountable monsters with unimaginable abilities. Just those nine Heavenly Mandate Dao Lords each have a group of Heavenly Mandate Apostles under their command.”

He gazed into the distant sky, murmuring, “They also said a long time ago that when the sole lotus appears, it shall all be destroyed.”

......

Three days later.

From afar, Lin Xun finally saw a huge city shrouded in the churning aura of red dust, with the breaths of various living beings entangled within.

Yunzhou City was a huge border city in the Qing Kingdom. As a cultivator, Lin Xun not only saw the red dust aura rising up in the sky but also sensed the seven kinds of law power covering different areas of the city.

One law power was light and clear, one was strict, one was as thick and heavy as a mountain... Each had its own characteristics and wonders.

“Those invisible forces are probably the power of the dao merits in the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws. Their distribution in this city should mean the citizens there are influenced by their teachings.” Lin Xun observed in contemplation.

Although he had learned many things, he still had some questions left. This was the All-Wonder Dominion, but the Mortal Transformation Zone had forty-nine mortal kingdoms with billions and billions of beings without cultivation power.

However, any cultivators who came here, in order to obtain a Chaos Dao Fruit and step into the heavenly gate, first needed to enlighten the living beings with their dao. Why was it so? Could there be more to this?

The whole thing was just odd, like there was something fishy but one couldn't put their finger on it. Very quickly, though, Lin Xun shook his head and stopped thinking about it. He flew into Yunzhou City with Xia Zhi.

The city streets and alleys crisscrossed with heavy traffic. The pedestrians were all ordinary people with zero cultivation base. When Lin Xun and Xia Zhi entered, no one detected them.

The two weren't concealing themselves at all, but due to a strange law power, the mortals in this world were completely isolated from cultivators like them. While both sides seemed to be in the same city, Lin Xun and Xia Zhi could see the citizens but the latter were not aware of their presence.

Lin Xun conducted a test. When a carriage came his way, he did not move, but the carriage passed right through him—completely unhindered! When he tried touching the lantern hanging in front of a store, his hand went right through while the lantern showed no signs of being touched. It was as if his hand was air or something nonexistent.

“Oh, could it be that everything about this city is false?” Xia Zhi revealed a curious look.

“No, all of it is real.” Lin Xun chuckled. “I see. In this mortal kingdom, we cultivators are the dao. Since the dao is originally nameless, formless, and colorless, they naturally cannot see or touch it.”

After a pause, he contained, “Likewise, we cannot interfere with everything in this mundane world. The only way to influence them is through the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws.”

Lin Xun gazed at a place not far away, where the sounds of studying rang out. It was a study center, a school of sorts, where many children were reciting books. In the air above the study center, a law power was manifesting.

“To teach all beings, reading is undoubtedly a superior way.” Lin Xun mused.

Next, he and Xia Zhi walked through the city. The affairs of mortal life were displayed in full, but it was different from what he had seen in the past.

Everyone seemed to be going through their own lives, but their every move was shrouded by invisible law power. As such, their thoughts, values, mentality, and conducts were all under the influence of the dao.

However, this influence was not manipulation, but instead a silent and natural integration. Seeing this, a ripple of emotion ran through Lin Xun's heart. If this was the reality of the living beings in this world, then could it be the same for the mortals of the Ziyao Empire?

What about the Ancient Wasteland Domain, the Ancient Nebula Road, the Great Thousand Worlds, and the Eternal True Realm? Were the countless beings in those infinite worlds in the infinite cosmos also affected by the power of different laws?

The more Lin Xun thought about it, the more indescribably peculiar he felt. The living beings, born and raised in this world, were imperceptibly affected by various powers. Where did those forces come from?

They came from the Heavenly Cycle Dao Laws! Which was to say, the Heavenly Principles in the eyes of cultivators.

At this moment, in Yunzhou City, it suddenly dawned upon Lin Xun: dao competitors like him were fighting for the power to replace the Heavenly Principles! It was not about acting in the place of Heaven. It was about transforming oneself into the dao, and then transforming the dao into Heaven!

That's right, only cultivators perceive the great dao and embark on the path of cultivation, thus having the ability to control the laws and override them. Immortal laws or Eternal laws, in the end, they are all a part of the almighty dao...

As Lin Xun pondered, he vaguely understood the wonders of the Mortal Transformation Zone. Cultivators could sense the great dao and walk along it. Mortals, too, lived under the laws of the heavenly dao.

The Dao Competition that Immeasurable Eternals like him participated in was the process of competing to replace the Heavenly Principles!