1407 Celestial Overlords' Headquarters
"I am bringing him to the Celestial Overlords' headquarters so that he can receive his reward for reaching the rank of General." Xu Jiaqi said to Senior Bai after calling him back.
Senior Bai nodded and remarked, "Perfect. In fact, I intended to seek your permission to bestow upon him a treasure from the treasury. If you approve, he'll get to acquire two treasures instead of one."
"I don't mind since it's coming from you, but I'm interested in your reason," she said.
"I lost a bet with him." Senior Bai said with a defeated smile on his face.
"Oh? I'd like to hear more details on this later. Anyways, if you want to give him an extra treasure, I'll allow it—not that you need my permission."
Senior Bai was already at the rank where he had the authority to give treasures to others without needing permission, but he still asked Xu Jiaqi out of his respect for her.
"Now then, let's move to the headquarters."
Senior Bai nodded and created a portal before them, its aura distinct from the usual ones.
Xu Jiaqi stepped into the portal first, with Yuan following suit, and Senior Bai entering last. Upon arriving on the other side, Yuan was greeted with the sight of a massive city before him.
"This is the headquarters? I was expecting a building, not an entire city!" Yuan muttered in a dazed voice.
Senior Bai smiled at his reaction and said, "Actually, this place is more like a Sect than a city."
Xu Jiaqi then said, "It's not just 'like' a Sect. It was a Sect. The founder of the Celestial Overlords used to be the Sect Leader of a small Sect, which he transformed into the Celestial Overlords."
"Is this place like Senior Bai's world?" Yuan asked.
"Yes, it exists outside out of the Nine Heavens if that's what you are asking."
"Follow me. I'll show you to the treasury." Xu Jiaqi said.
As they walked, Yuan inquired more information about the place, "How many people live here?"
"About twenty thousand people."
"Is that a lot for a faction?"
"No, it's actually on the smaller scale. The average faction has around 100,000 members while the larger ones have millions."
"We're a lot smaller than I thought," Yuan said.
"Our numbers may seem tiny in comparison to others, but we've risen to become one of the most powerful factions in the Nine Heavens with our modest population, all thanks to having only exceptionally talented members," Xu Jiaqi said, her voice resonating with pride.
"Just one of our top members can stand toe-to-toe with an entire faction," Xu Jiaqi added, emphasizing the extraordinary prowess of their elite members.
"Is there a ranking for factions?"
"Of course, and there are two separate rankings. The first is the Karma Ranking, where factions are ranked based on their accumulated karma. We're ranked 7th there. The other ranking would be the Power Ranking, based on our overall prowess. In this particular ranking, we are ranked 2nd."
"Wow, second? That's amazing." Yuan said.
"We used to be first, but that was when the founder was still around." Xu Jiaqi sighed.
As they traversed deeper into the Celestial Overlords' headquarters, Yuan noticed the atmosphere intensifying, with an increasing presence of experts boasting unfathomable cultivation bases.
At his current level, he could only clearly sense up to Divine Grandmaster without much effort. Anything above that would require more time and effort.
"Most of our members are immortal cultivators." Senior Bai suddenly said. "You have the record when it comes to having the lowest cultivation in our faction."
He continued, "While that's an amazing feat, it's also quite dangerous. After all, most people would not believe you are a member if they saw your cultivation base. Even if you showed them your symbol, it might not be good enough, especially now that you have reached the rank of General."
"He's right. You should avoid revealing the fact that you're a member until you have a higher cultivation base." Xu Jiaqi added.
They arrived at the treasury an hour later.
The treasury took the form of a pagoda with four floors. Standing at the sealed entrance were two guards, both with a cultivation that Yuan could not identify.
"We greet Celestial Overlord Xu and Overlord Bai!" The guards greeted them with bowed heads and arched bodies.
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Xu Jiaqi acknowledged them with a slight nod and said, "We'll be opening the treasury for a moment."She turned to look at Yuan and handed him two talismans and said, "The treasures inside are protected with a powerful formation that can only be deactivated with these talismans. Use these talismans on the treasures you want. Each talisman will deactivate one formation. Also, you are only permitted to look around the first floor. Even if you go to a higher floor, these talismans won't do anything there."
The guards' eyes widened with shock when they saw the scene of Xu Jiaqi handing two talismans to Yuan.
'Who the hell is that mortal kid?!'
'Why does he get to take two treasures from the vault?!'
They stared at Yuan with bewildered looks on their faces. However, they didn't dare to question Xu Jiaqi on her business.
"I understand." Yuan accepted the talismans.
"There are plenty of treasures on the first floor, but you don't need to rush picking a treasure. Take your time," she added.
"Okay," he nodded.
A moment later, Xu Jiaqi opened the treasury, and she silently watched Yuan's figure vanish into the pagoda.
After Yuan entered the treasury, Senior Bai communicated with Xu Jiaqi through divine sense, saying, 'There's something I need to make you aware of. It's related to Yuan and the Celestial Emperor.'
'The Celestial Emperor? What's Yuan got to do with him?' Xu Jiaqi turned to look at him with a deep frown on her face.
Senior Bai went on to reveal Yuan's predicament, disclosing the Celestial Emperor's actions of cursing Yuan to her.
Upon learning this information, an overwhelming pressure radiated from Xu Jiaqi's entire being, causing their surroundings to tremble and her face to contort with anger.
