Mu Zhiqiu had just entered the Noble Plane. She was only at the lowest level, but when she released her power, she was still couldn't be compared to that day at the Zhaixing House.
She was extremely talented. Because of luck, she was able to borrow Sage Will. Her combat ability was even stronger and regular Noble figures weren't her match. Some of the people that she'd crushed were Grade-8 Nobles who were stronger than her, but they still fell from one hit. After all, she could enter the Holy Zhi Palace directly. Her talent was recognized by the seniors there, so one could imagine how powerful she was. Thus, Yu Sheng said her combat was aggressive and hoped Ye Futian could make her a maid.
Right now, starry light flowed. The air turned into a world of stars. This was her Celestial Dharma. There were also stars in her deep eyes that had now become Noble Will. It pressed down against Ye Futian's mind. He suddenly felt like he couldn't move. He knew his mind was being restricted by the Noble Will.
The Noble Will that he'd comprehended before bloomed to resist this weight. Blinding light flowed into the Polearm of Divine Destruction. It trembled slightly and a huge boom sounded. The surrounding mountain exploded. Spiritual Qi transformed into meteorites and spun around Ye Futian like a horrible storm. It contained lightning too, making the air extremely tense.
They'd both comprehended the Celestial Way so their abilities were similar. The two starry storms soon collided in the vast space, clashing continuously with horrible sounds.
Yu Sheng and the others retreated into the distance, but neither Mu Zhiqiu nor Ye Futian acted. They kept standing there. Mu Zhiqiu was dressed in light-colored clothing and her long hair flew in the wind. Ye Futian's white robe fluttered. He gripped the Polearm tightly and transformed it into a long staff that he stood on the ground. The starry storm around him was terrifying.
The Celestial Way seemed to appear in Ye Futian's mind. Meteorites crashed down wildly. But in that illusory scene, Ye Futian gripped his Polearm and sacred light shone. The meteorites exploded under the Polearm's attacks, unable to hurt his mind.
In the outside world, stones and boulders exploded. The ground underfoot cracked and crumbled. The two hovered in the air, still staring at each other. The mountain crumbled wildly and joined the stone windstorm. Around them, a horrible scene appeared. Everything had turned into dust and smoke.
Yu Sheng's group retreated once again. Looking at that chaotic space from a distance, it seemed to have been swallowed up. They could barely see it.
At that time, they saw a staff's shadow appear in the chaotic space. It had transformed to thousands of meters long and crashed against the starry space. Stars shattered. When the staff fell down, the stars were destroyed, but the space was still chaotic. Dust and dirt flew.
A long while later, when everything subsided, the Polearm disappeared. The two were still standing in place as if they hadn't budged. However, blood trickled from Mu Zhiqiu's lips. Paired with her features, it looked chillingly beautiful.
Mu Zhiqiu stared hard at Ye Futian. Then she stepped forward and landed before Ye Futian. Seeing those features, Ye Futian had the urge to wipe her blood away. "Seeing someone and finding them loveable" was probably describing this scene.
"What are you looking at?" Ye Futian asked.
"Your plane is enough for you to comprehend your own Noble Will. After that, your plane will rise. Then with your Polearm, barely anyone on the Holy Road can be your match," Mu Zhiqiu said softly. Ye Futian had comprehended many Noble Wills before, but they weren't very deep or collected. They couldn't be fused with his abilities and had to use outside help.
He was strong with the Polearm, but his Noble Will was weaker. If he comprehended it, his combat ability could increase. If he tried for the Noble Plane in the future, he would have no obstacles.
"I'm in Grade-7 Arcana Plane now. Will there be a problem?" Ye Futian asked. He naturally understood that his Noble Will now wasn't true Noble Will, just like how Mu Zhiqiu had used Sage Will earlier. Noble Will could only be used by Nobles.
"The talented ones can comprehend it earlier so there won't be any problems," Mu Zhuqiu said. "Many prides can comprehend it in the Arcana Plane. Then there aren't any obstacles when they break into the Noble Plane. Your talent is more extraordinary. Even if you're in Grade-8 or Grade-7, it's still possible. After all, you've inherited the Divine Path."
"So you admit it?" Ye Futian smiled.
"I keep my words. I will listen to you on the Holy Road." Mu Zhiqiu went behind Ye Futian and stood there quietly. She didn't ask for the Polearm, but after the Holy Road, she would continue cultivating. She would definitely defeat this youth.
Her grandfather had said that she was talented, but she could still meet even more talented people while cultivating. In that case, she should use them as targets and work to surpass them.
Ye Futian chuckled. This girl was quite cute. If Mu Zhiqiu knew his impression of her, she might be mortified.
"Your brother is from the Holy Zhi Palace. Is there any way to raise in cultivation plane on the Holy Road?" Ye Futian asked Mu Zhiqiu. He wasn't worried about passing the Holy Road. Only those in or below the Noble Plane were here so it couldn't restrict him. Plus, he'd only come to challenge himself. He didn't have to go cultivate in the Holy Zhi Palace.
Everything was for cultivation.
Mu Zhiqiu looked at Ye Futian. She indeed knew a hidden secret that only those who entered the Holy Zhi Palace would know. Of course, this secret was useless for her. She was talented, but she was only in the lowest grade of the Noble Plane. There were also those in Grade-8 or Grade-7. She couldn't do it when there were so many powerful people here.
"What do you know?" Ye Futian asked after seeing her eyes.
Mu Zhiqiu took out a holy badge. Light flowed across it as if it contained some strange power.
"He once said that there are many cultivation places on the Holy Road. This may help with cultivation, but that's for regular people. You're the inheritor of the Divine Path. Looking for cultivation relics won't help you much," Mu Zhiqiu whispered. "But this holy badge contains a secret. It's the special item of the Holy Zhi Palace. After you exit, you have to return it to them. It's rumored that if you have many holy badges, you can exchange it for something good. That's true, but that's not the biggest secret. Instead, it lies with the badge itself."
"The badge itself?" Ye Futian took out his badge with a strange expression.
"It's a key. You can't see anything when you only have one, but when you have enough holy badges, they will change and you'll understand the mystery of the Holy Road. You can even open a secret area hidden by the Holy Zhi Palace on the road," Mu Zhiqiu said. "There's one on each of the nine roads. In fact, they're within the city on the road. Nine is the critical number. There are nine cities on each road. This means that there are 81 treasures on the Holy Road."
Ye Futian thought of how the Nantian House had closed the city and required holy badges to enter. Qin Yin also said that all top figures would do this to enter the Holy Road. Was it because of this?
"How many do you need?" Ye Futian asked.
"I don't know the specifics, but it's a terrifying number. This is a secret, but most top figures know about it. Even so, it's still difficult to do. It's useless for regular people even if they find out," Mu Zhiqiu answered softly. Ye Futian understood, obviously. Even if regular people knew that robbing holy badges could open up a huge secret field, they had no way of robbing them. It would be suicide.
"So the Holy Road is prepared just to challenge those at the top," Ye Futian said, sighing. If they needed a lot of holy badges, how many times would they have to fight? This wasn't realistic. It was difficult even for top figures, which was why they thought to take over cities.
"Why did the Holy Zhi Palace open the Holy Road?" Mu Zhiqiu asked.
Ye Futian froze and then understood what she meant. This was how the cultivation world was. Every force that admitted disciples was like this, not just the Holy Zhi Palace. Most people were only there to complement the top. All strong cultivators in the Barren State were in action this time, but the regular prides were only to add to the number.
Geniuses depended on the context too. For example, many of the talents from the Divine Sky City didn't seem very brilliant here.
"When the Holy Road opens, the Barren State moves. Many think this is a chance for them, but that's only what they think. In reality, they're stepping stones for the others." Mu Zhiqiu's words were straightforward. Many would find this cruel, but Ye Futian knew it was the truth.
"You're right. It's would be uninteresting to just complement the others on this path," Ye Futian said, chuckling. Mu Zhiqiu looked at him, but Ye Futian stepped forward and continued saying, "Since I'm here, I must leave my footprints on the Holy Road."
Looking at Ye Futian's back, Mu Zhiqiu realized that Ye Futian wasn't satisfied with being lonely. He was so talented. She guessed that if he had the Polearm, he could battle with Grade-8 Noble talents. Even then, he still wasn't the cream of the crop here, unless he entered the Noble Plane.
Mu Zhiqiu caught up to Ye Futian. Yu Sheng and the others also followed.
"What do you want to do?" Mu Zhiqiu asked.
"I want a city," Ye Futian replied. Those top figures all ruled over cities like kings. He also wanted one. That would be his goal for the Holy Road!