AGM 210 - Beyond Heavenly Dipper
In the Mo Residence, upon hearing that her granddad wished to engage a teacher for her, Mo Qingcheng couldn’t help but to interject in a low voice, “Granddad, I wish to roam the world.”
Mo Qingcheng’s original plan was, after the storm in Chu blew over, she would roam the Grand Xia Empire together with Qin Wentian.
“You don’t know what’s good for you,” Old Mo berated, causing Mo Qingcheng to lower her head, not daring to meet his eyes. Old man Mo had an extremely high status in the Mo Clan. Not even her father Mo Tianlin would dare to show any hints of reluctance when it came to the wishes of Old Mo.
Usually, he wouldn’t interfere with the daily operations and matters pertaining to the clan. But once he made a decision, no one could change his mind.
“Roam the world? You are merely at the initial Yuanfu Realm, and blessed with such a countenance. Do you know how dangerous it would be for you to roam the world? You don’t have sufficient strength to protect yourself. Not only that, even I, myself, would have to be extremely careful when travelling in that world out there. If not, I would have died long ago, buried in an unknown location far away from home.” Old Mo continued his tirade. “Young Master Hua is kind enough to introduce a teacher for you, what more could you wish for? In the future, after you enter into a powerful sect, isn’t it better to temper yourselves alongside your Senior and Junior Martial Brothers, rather than roaming around the world?”
“But…” Mo Qingcheng obstinately continued.
“Qingcheng,” Mo Tianlin interjected, with bitterness in his heart. He knew how his daughter felt. Qin Wentian was indeed outstanding, and if he could really resolve the storm that was brewing in the Royal Capital, he wouldn’t object to them being together. But since Old man Mo now wanted to find a good teacher for Qingcheng’s future, matters of the heart were naturally less important and could be temporarily set aside first.
Old man Mo swept his gaze over to Qin Wentian. Obviously, he had already deduced the reason for his granddaughter’s out of the norm behaviour.
“Lass, you have never been to the world out there, so it’s natural that you wouldn’t know how high the heavens are and how vast the earth is. The Chu Country, in the perspective of the Grand Xia Empire, is nothing but an ant. Just any random Heavenly Dipper Sovereign from the Grand Xia Empire would be able to lay waste to Chu, not to mention the other supreme experts from the transcendent powers.”
Old Mo had always doted on his granddaughter, and so his tone softened as he continued. “In Chu, your talent can be considered extremely outstanding. That’s why granddad doesn’t want to stifle your talent. In any case, do you know what are the Mandates of Martial Daos?”
“I’ve heard granddad speak of it before. Mandates of Martial Daos are comprehended based on insights and an understanding of the myriad of Astral Souls. Each mandate possesses tremendous might and is of great benefit to cultivators at the Yuanfu Realm, allowing them to break through to the later levels of Yuanfu,” Mo Qingcheng replied in a low voice.
“You are right, the myriad of mandates are as boundless as the different types of Astral Souls. For example, there’s the Mandate of Wind, Mandate of Lightning, Mandate of Fire, Mandate of Blood, etc. Every level of insight gained will result in variations of the primary Mandate. Not only that, there are a total of four Boundaries per level of insight when it comes to comprehending Mandates. The four Boundaries are namely; Initial Boundary, Advanced Boundary, Transformation Boundary, and lastly, Perfection Boundary.”
“For the Mandate of Force, the first level of insight is Strength. In the Initial Boundary, the power of your attack would be enhanced by a factor of two; Advanced Boundary, the power of your attack would be enhanced by a factor of four; Transformation Boundary, eight times; Perfection Boundary, over ten times. Think about it, for some cultivators that comprehend all the way to the Perfection Boundary of the first level of insight, your attack power would be enhanced by over ten times! Would any opponent even be able to defend against a single one of your strikes?”
Old man Mo explained, as Qin Wentian listened seriously. Mandates of Martial Daos, the Mandate of Force, that should be the insight he comprehended earlier.
“After Stellar Martial Cultivators break through to Yuanfu, the path of cultivation would be even tougher onwards, especially from Yuanfu to Heavenly Dipper, that is a huge watershed. Furthermore, breaking through to the Heavenly Dipper Realm not only requires astronomical amounts of cultivation resources, even comprehending the first level of insight to the Perfection Boundary would be insufficient. The cultivator must comprehend the second level of insights of their respective Mandates before they can break through to Heavenly Dipper.”
“Father, what do you mean when you say second level insights?” Mo Tianlin was also entranced by what he heard. Previously, Old man Mo hadn’t shared this with him since he himself hadn’t comprehended any insights.
“First level insight, in regards to Mandates of any Martial Daos, would be the base, eternal and unchangeable. Upon comprehending second level insights, the Mandate will undergo variation specific to the cultivator. For example, even if two cultivators comprehend the first level of insight of the Mandate of Force, Strength, upon comprehending second level insights, their Mandates would be slightly different. Not only that, I heard that beyond second level insights, are the third level insights. Third level insights of Mandates would enable the cultivator to be able to manifest the heavenly constellations. These legendary cultivators are an entire realm above Heavenly Dipper Sovereigns, and are known as Celestial Phenomenon Ascendants.”
Old man Mo’s gaze was filled with admiration and hope. He truly wished to be able to step into the ranks of the fabled Ascendants one day.
The Celestial Phenomenon realm is the realm after Heavenly Dipper. Despite his many years of roaming the world, he had yet to have a chance to witness the boundaries of power a Celestial Phenomenon Ascendant could manifest.
If a powerhouse who was exceedingly proficient with the Mandate of Blood, manifested his Celestial Constellations, millions upon millions of people would probably be transformed into pools of blood. That level of power, was too terrifying in scale and scope, to the point where it was utterly incomprehensible.
“Celestial Phenomenon Realm…” Qin Wentian whispered. Qin Wentian thought back to the statue he had seen in the Dark Forest, as well as the supreme experts that crowded around the Qin Heavenly Divine Sect. They must all be Celestial Phenomenon Ascendants. Yet… they were so easily slaughtered by his father, that damn old fogey. What realm of power had that old fogey already reached back then?
Was he at the peak of Celestial Phenomenon? Or a realm even above that?
Manifesting the heavenly celestial constellations with but a thought. How inconceivable was that?
“Father, which Boundary of the first insight has your Mandate reached?” Mo Tianlin asked.
“Regretfully, even after so many years, I only stepped into the Transformation Boundary of the first level insight. Out of my three Astral Souls, I’ve only comprehended a single Mandate at the first level. And yet, that was already sufficient for me to be termed as the strongest cultivator under Heavenly Dipper, and easily able to lord over Chu.” A hint of pride could be heard in the tone of Old man Mo. After which, he shifted his glance to Mo Qingcheng as he added, “Qingcheng, you should understand what I meant after my explanation. This world is truly immense, you should widen your perspective. Joining an established sect is the best way forward, and with guidance, it would save you a lot of time. It would give you a straight path to walk compared to just exploring on your own, only to learn that your selected paths were erroneous.”
Mo Tianlin had an expression of astonishment on his face. His father’s Mandate had already reached the transformation Boundary of the first level. It was no wonder that everyone feared him in Chu.
It seemed like roaming the world really did have its benefits.
“Senior, it doesn’t mean that one definitely has to join an established sect before they can comprehend the Martial Mandate,” Qin Wentian stated in a low voice. To him, other than having a teacher, one’s accomplishment in comprehending insights was also hugely dependent on one’s innate talent. Naturally, luck was also an important factor. A good example was him encountering the statue in the Dark Forest, which enabled him to comprehend the first level of the Mandate of Force, Strength.
Old man Mo furrowed his brows as he replied somewhat unhappily, “What do you know? How many Yuanfu Cultivators have comprehended Mandates in Chu? Back then, because of a lucky chance, I comprehended my Mandate only when I was at the 6th level of Yuanfu. Only after tens of years did I manage to enter the transformation Boundary. Do you know how incredibly difficult it is for cultivators to comprehend a Mandate?”
“Meanwhile, Young Master Hua has already comprehended his Mandate when he stepped into the 4th level of Yuanfu from more than a year ago. This is the difference between backgrounds and having guidance or not,” Old man Mo icily remarked, “Truly, the ignorant speak the loudest.”
Upon seeing the harsh attitude of Old man Mo, Qin Wentian understood that his earlier words had infuriated him. Hence, he chose to remain silent. If he were to demonstrate his Mandate right now, it would undoubtedly be akin to a smack on Old man Mo’s face. It would leave him no way to step down the stage and would even create more misunderstandings between him and Old man Mo. This was something Qin Wentian wanted to avoid.
“Senior is wise.” Qin Wentian bitterly smiled in his heart as he stated the words. However, the lecture he heard earlier was extremely beneficial. Now he knew that comprehending Mandates not only allowed one to be more powerful, it was also the pathway for stepping into Heavenly Dipper. No wonder Gongyang Hong told him to focus on understanding his Astral Souls back then.
Currently, he had only comprehended the Mandate of Force from his Heavenly Hammer Astral Soul. The constellations that he condensed his second and third Astral Soul from wasn’t a whit inferior to the Heavenly Hammer Constellation. He could still grow stronger if he could comprehend more insights from the both of them.
“It’s always good to be more humble, young man. You can leave for now.” Old man Mo waved his hands, his intentions were as clear as water.
Qin Wentian was stunned for a second, but he swiftly recovered as he bowed, “Junior shall leave first.”
“I will send him out then.” After speaking, Mo Qingcheng ignored Old man Mo’s objection and directly left with Qin Wentian. Her actions caused Old man Mo to be so angry that his eyeballs almost popped out, his complexion turning green. After which, he glanced at Hua Xiaoyun as he mumbled, “Apologies, that lass has been spoilt by me.”
“No worries, if her talent is like what you described, I will introduce a Heavenly Dipper Sovereign to become her teacher, and even give her a chance to join one of the transcendent powers within the Nine Continents.” Hua Yunxiao had an unperturbed expression on his face as he replied with a hint of nonchalance.
“Haha, this Old man will have to thank you then,” Old man Mo replied. Look at how magnanimous Hua Xiaoyun was. He was miles away compared to that ignorant Qin Wentian. This, was the difference.
In reality, in his heart, he had already judged both Hua Xiaoyun and Qin Wentian. Obviously, he favoured Hua Xiaoyun more, since the appearance of Qin Wentian was undoubtedly the reason for Mo Qingcheng’s behaviour, thus impeding his plans for her. So regardless of how humble Qin Wentian acted, his perception was already fixed. To Old man Mo, Qin Wentian would always be an ‘ignorant’ youth.
Mo Qingcheng and Qin Wentian were walking in the grounds of the Mo Clan. Mo Qingcheng leaned against Qin Wentian, as she abruptly held his hands before whispering in a low voice, “Wentian, that’s how my granddad usually behaves, don’t mind him okay...?”
“I understand, there’s no need to explain to me.” Qin Wentian smiled. As the strongest Yuanfu Cultivator in Chu, it was understandable that he was a proud man. Not to mention, after all his experiences and perspectives from roaming around the Grand Xia Empire, he couldn’t possibly hold anyone from Chu in high regards.
“You are not allowed to feel angry then.” Mo Qingcheng mischievously smiled as she stuck out her tongue.
“Fine.” Qin Wentian smiled back. He wasn’t that small-minded.
“Oi oi oi, stop flirting in public.” Nolan who was behind them, teased. Mo Qingcheng rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything as a rebuttal. After all, Mo Qingcheng had already regarded Qin Wentian as her other half, and wouldn’t be bothered by what others thought about them.
“Pfft, if you are capable, go find one for yourself,” Mo Qingcheng remarked.
“How can I be comparable to the number one beauty of Chu? After all, I don’t have endless lines of suitors wooing me.” Nolan grinned.
As the three of them exited the Mo Clan, they saw a person standing outside, appearing to be waiting for someone. Upon seeing him, Qin Wentian couldn’t help but be startled, as a smile appeared on his face.
“Long time no see.” Immortal Drunken Wine laughed. Just like before, an ever-present wine gourd was in Immortal Drunken Wine’s hands.
“You are looking for me?” Qin Wentian felt a little bewildered.
“Yes, why are you so surprised? In Chu, everyone knows that you are in the Mo Clan. What are you doing here? Are you here to propose a marriage?” Immortal Drunken Wine winked at Mo Qingcheng who was standing beside Qin Wentian, causing her face to blush with an adorable redness.
“Not that fast.” Qin Wentian shrugged as he laughed. Didn’t his answer indirectly mean that he would propose marriage in the future? Upon hearing his answer, a smile of breathtaking radiance lit up Mo Qingcheng’s face.
“Haha, are you free to accompany me to drink a cup of two? There’s someone who wishes to meet you.” Immortal Drunken Wine went straight to the point of his visit.
“Sure.” Qin Wentian straight-forwardly accepted. Who had the ability and prestige to make Immortal Drunken Wine willing to act as a runner? He couldn’t help but be extremely curious over this mysterious ‘someone’ who wished to meet him!