“I thought the first five of the 13 Gangsters are at Mortal Shedding Stage Mastery Stage!” Duan Ling Tian gasped.
“Could Ling Yun have just made a breakthrough recently?” In the end, Duan Ling Tian could only come up with such a conclusion.
He also realized that the moment Ling Yun appeared, other than the friendly Jin Yuan Bao, all the others including Xiong Hu, who ranked second among the 13 Gangsters, had dread in their eyes when they looked at him.
“Good. All of you are here now.” A voice echoed in the assembly hall, taking everyone including Duan Ling Tian by surprise.
Ling Yun was the only person standing right there unwavering like a mountain as though he was a statue.
“Ling Yun is so steady that it’s absolutely bloodcurdling,” Duan Ling Tian thought to himself.
Just at the second when the voice echoed in the air, a green figure also appeared in the main seat in the assembly hall. It was a middle-aged man clad in green.
The moment the man appeared, a gush of powerful aura swept out from him and caused the surroundings to dim in color.
“Lord Heavenly Leader Guardian!” At once, everybody including Ling Yu bowed towards him.
Duan Ling Tian and Guo Li bowed as well.
Had it been only the two of them, they would not have been able to recognize this person at all.
“Is he the Heavenly Leader Guardian? One of the 36 Guardians under the command of the Governor of Mound Hill City?” Duan Ling Tian was taken aback secretly. After he raised his head, he began to study the middle-aged man. Before him stood the Heavenly Leader Guardian who was also the leader of the 36 Guardians.
“I asked all of you to come because I want to announce something,” the Heavenly Leader Guardian did not beat around the bush as he announced, “In three months, Lord City Governor will come out of his closed-door cultivation and by that time, he will pick two to three disciples among the thirteen of you.”
Was Lord City Governor going to pick his disciples?
The moment these words left the Heavenly Leader Guardian’s mouth, other than Duan Ling Tian, everyone’s eyes lit up right away.
The City Governor of Mound Hill City was a powerful person who was at the Saint Rudiment Stage. He was the strongest person in the area encompassing Mound Hill City!
If one became his disciple, one would definitely be able to rise directly to a high position without fail.
Other than that, it would also be equivalent to obtaining powerful protection. Being the disciple of the Governor of Mound Hill City, one would definitely be able to roam free around the city.
Deep breaths filled the entire assembly hall at once.
Other than Duan Ling Tian who maintained his calm, only Ling Yun among everyone else appeared to be more collected. However, desire could be seen pooling in his eyes as well.
As for Duan Ling Tian, it seemed like he did not give a damn at all.
He was not putting a facade on. Instead, he really did not give a damn at all.
Duan Ling Tian’s field of vision was completely different from the group of young geniuses there. In the opinions of these young geniuses, the Governor of Mount Hill City who was on the Saint Rudiment Stage was someone they needed to look up to and fear.
On the contrary, in Duan Ling Tian’s opinion, the Governor of Mound Hill City was merely an ordinary Saint Rudiment Stage Martial Cultivator.
Heavenly Leader Guardian did not miss Duan Ling Tian’s composure and he could not help but praise in his heart, “This little guy from the Mortal Continent that Ninth Brother has found isn’t bad… He’s yet to see the world, but he can still be this calm even after he heard that Lord City Governor is looking to recruit disciples.”
One could easily imagine that if Duan Ling Tian knew what the Heavenly Leader Guardian was thinking right now, he would most likely itch to take his Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda out and blow it up in size before slamming it violently on his head.
Did he actually think that he had never seen the world before?
“Lord Heavenly Leader Guardian, may I ask how will Lord City Governor choose his direct disciple later on?” Zhang Ji Long asked in excitement.
“Three months later, Lord City Governor will come out of his closed-door cultivation and will run a test on each of you. Of course, I have no idea what the test is going to be either,” the Heavenly Leader Guardian replied, “The reason I asked all of you to come is to remind you that within these three months, work as hard as you can so that you can build your strength as much as possible. Three months later, whoever is eliminated from the 13 Gangsters will have no chance to become the City Governor’s disciple.”
After the Heavenly Leader Guardian had finished, he waved his hand and said, “Alright, go back now.”
Right away, the remaining eleven people including Duan Ling Tian and Ling Yun immediately disappeared from the assembly hall in just a flash, heading back towards the Latent Dragon Camp. They were rushing back to cultivate.
After Ling Yun cast a peculiar glance Duan Ling Tian, he flew out as well.
“Guo Li is also another one… Even if you really want to elevate your strength, there’s no need to be in such a mad rush, is there?” Duan Ling Tian smiled wryly before walking out of the assembly hall leisurely. He was not interested in becoming the disciple of the Governor of Mound Hill City. Therefore, he was in no hurry to go back to cultivate.
“Wait a minute!” Just as Duan Ling Tian was about to cross the threshold of the assembly hall, a voice echoed from behind him. It was none other than Heavenly Leader Guardian’s voice.
“Lord Heavenly Leader Guardian, did you call for me?” Looking at the Heavenly Leader Guardian, Duan Ling Tian asked.
To be honest, he was the most curious about the Heavenly Leader Guardian, this leader of the 36 Guardians under the command of the Governor of Mound Hill City. Just now, he had actually attempted to use his Divine Eye to probe the Heavenly Leader Guardian.
However, the moment he remembered that Senior Lin, who was ranked ninth among the 36 Guardians, was already at the Mortal Shedding Stage Paramount Stage, he quickly dismissed his idea again.
Duan Ling Tian even suspected that this leader of the 36 Guardians was actually at the Saint Rudiment Stage just like the City Governor of the Mound Hill City.
Of course, this was all his own speculation.
“I heard that you came from the Mortal Continent. Is that true?” Looking at Duan Ling Tian, the Heavenly Leader Guardian asked.
“Yes.” Duan Ling Tian was not surprised that he knew about his origins. After all, he had reported his background before to Senior Lin, telling him that he was from the Mortal Continent.
“Which Mortal Continent are you from? As far as I know, there are three Mortal Continents outside of Dao Martial Saint Land but only two of them have Martial Cultivators.”
“I came from the Mortal Continent that only houses Martial Cultivators,” Duan Ling Tian replied honestly.
“I heard of that Mortal Continent before… It’s called the Cloud Continent.” The Heavenly Leader Guardian nodded his head wisely. “It looks like you’re not from the same Mortal Continent as the City Governor’s disciple. If you two were from the same Mortal Continent, you two would definitely know each other.”
“The City Governor’s disciple?” Duan Ling Tian was taken aback. “Is he from the Mortal Continent too?”
“That’s right.” The Heavenly Leader Guardian nodded as he smiled. “Not only is he from the Mortal Continent, but he also possesses a remarkable one-of-a-kind talent. You’ll definitely have the opportunity to come across him in the future.”
“Alright.” Duan Ling Tian nodded.
“Lord Heavenly Leader Guardian!” Suddenly, Duan Ling Tian was reminded about something. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Do you know whether there’s a Han Clan among the five-rated forces in the Dao Martial Saint Land?” Duan Ling Tian asked.
Five-rated force!
The moment Duan Ling Tian’s words left his mouth, the Heavenly Leader Guardian’s expression had already turned glum… A five-rated force! To him, that was a presence that he could only watch from far away.
“Lord Heavenly Leader Guardian, what’s wrong?” Duan Ling Tian could see that there seemed to be something wrong with the Heavenly Leader Guardian, so he was perplexed. He did not understand why the Heavenly Leader Guardian would change to become sullen so suddenly. Was there anything wrong?
It was actually because the Saint Stones that Xue Nai had given him were mostly made up of Fifth Grade Saint Stones and a small part of them were Fourth Grade Saint Stones. Because of this, he suspected that the force behind her must be a fifth-rated force in Dao Martial Saint Land.
Of course, the reason he made such a speculation was also because of Guo Li’s words.
According to Guo Li, her Guo Clan that she was in from Fuyu town was a ninth-rated force and they owned a Ninth Grade Saint Stone Reserve. The City Governer’s Estate of Mound Hill City, on the other hand, was an eighth-rated force and they owned an Eighth Grade Saint Stone Reserve.
The Ninth Grade Saint Stone Reserve could produce some eighth grade Saint Stones.
On the other hand, the Eighth Grade Saint Stone Reserve could produce some seventh grade Saint Stones.
It was exactly by this deduction that he felt that the force that Xue Nai was in must be a fifth-rated force in Dao Martial Saint Land.
“Duan Ling Tian, why did you ask this?” Taking a deep breath, the Heavenly Leader Guardian finally eased his turmoiled feelings and asked.
“When I was in the Mortal Continent, I heard my grandfather tell me that when he was still young, he came across a man before. That man had the surname ‘Han’ and he claimed that he came from a fifth-rated force from Dao Martial Saint Land,” Duan Ling Tian randomly fabricated a story. He did not dare to reveal that he knew someone with the surname Han and who most likely came from a fifth-rated force from Dao Martial Saint Land.
He did not want to bring too much complications for himself.
On top of that, if he said that he knew somebody from the fifth-rated force, he would be doomed if it elicited greediness from somebody else who felt that he had obtained some goodies from that particular somebody from the fifth-rated force.
After going through two reincarnations, along with the two reincarnations’ memory of the Rebirth Martial Emperor, Duan Ling Tian could be said as a person who had been through four reincarnations. Of course, he would take everything into account.
“Oh, I see.” Upon hearing that, the Heavenly Leader Guardian breathed a sigh of relief, “Last time, many people went to the Mortal Continent for a trip. However, they said that the conditions there are very poor and many people found it difficult to stay there for long.”
Duan Ling Tian smiled wryly.
Compared to Dao Martial Saint Land, of course, the conditions of the Mortal Continent was much worse.
Casting aside all the others, the cultivation environment and resources in just the Guo Clan that Guo Li was in alone, which was the ninth-rated force of Fuyu Town in Dao Martial Saint Land, already far surpassed all of the places in the Cloud Continent.
“As for the fifth-rated force, I don’t really know either. Even our City Governor’s Estate of our Mound Hill City is also only an eighth-rated force. Even that huge sect above our Mound Hill City is also only a seventh-rated force,” the Heavenly Leader Guardian replied, “The fifth-rated force is just too far away from us… However, one thing I’m sure of is that there are many strong powerhouses in a fifth-rated force. There are at least a hundred over Saint Stage powerhouses in it.”
The moment the Heavenly Leader Guardian mentioned the Saint Stage powerhouse, respect sparked on his face; it was respect that rose from the bottom of his heart.
“Alright.” Duan Ling Tian nodded. At the same time, he could not help but be taken aback. “Wow, is the force that Xue Nai is in actually this strong? There are more than a hundred over Saint Stage powerhouses in it! Isn’t this a little too far-fetched?” Duan Ling Tian was completely consumed by bafflement.
In the next instant, Duan Ling Tian bade farewell to the Heavenly Leader Guardian and proceeded to leave the assembly hall.
“What a rare genius! He’s been cultivating all this while in the Mortal Continent, and he’s able to enter the Mortal Shedding Stage Intermediate Stage by 35 years old! If that disciple of Lord City Governor hadn’t come here to Dao Martial Saint Land together with Lord City Governor earlier, he wouldn’t have been able to even measure up to him,” the Heavenly Leader Guardian thought to himself.
In the City Governor’s Estate of Mound Hill City, of course, he as the most trusted leader of the 36 Guardians, would understand about Lord City Governor the most.