Chapter 1063: The Immortal Gate's Tribute System

The Great Sun Heavenly Pool traveled through the starry sky, flying past one Minor Thousand World after another.

Along the way, they occasionally encountered Soul Transformation Tianjuns of the Badaxian Sect, who had come to the Immortal Gate to travel or to purchase suitable heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and who saw the radiance of the Great Sun Heavenly Pool from afar.

Just as many years ago, when the Sword Son of the Great Sun Sword Pavilion was patrolling the Star River.

This time, no Soul Transformation Tianjuns of Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong whispered among themselves or harbored all sorts of dark, inscrutable thoughts.

The Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong Tianjuns they met along the way all bowed respectfully, regardless of whether the Great Sun Heavenly Pool stopped or whether the people inside the Heavenly Pool were watching them.

The Great Sun Sword Son had returned to his historical position; the vast majority of Soul Transformation Tianjuns no longer had the qualification to oppose him.

Dong Xue He Wang had seen countless Soul Transformation Tianjuns along the way, the vast majority of whom were stronger than him, but all the Soul Transformation cultivators appeared courteous and polite before the Great Sun Sword Son, without a trace of arrogance, whether they were of the same sect, friendly, or hostile. In his heart, he gained another measure of understanding of the status of this ancient Emperor Son of the human Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong.

Yes, ancient Emperor Son.

What a shrewd man Dong Xue He was; in a short time, he had grasped the general situation of the Nine Spirit Domain.

However, that did not mean he had the ability to do anything about it.

Any living being from Jiao Jiao Mingyu who came to the Nine Spirit Domain had a soul restriction jointly imposed by the Jiudaxian Sect upon their divine soul. Normally it showed nothing, but the moment ill intentions arose, they would be reduced to ash in an instant.

The Great Sun Heavenly Pool traversed the starry sky for several years and finally came to a stop in a Minor Thousand World that was entirely fiery red.

Fire Spirit World.

This Minor Thousand World, famous for its abundant output of fire-attribute heavenly materials and earthly treasures, originally belonged to Brother Brother Xuanwu's Heavenly Palace. It was recovered by the Immortal Gate during the last Domain War, and nearly a thousand years had passed since then.

The cultivators within this Minor Thousand World had gone through several generations of life and death; the successive rebellions were long history. Now it was a model among the Immortal Gate's Minor Thousand Worlds, having repeatedly received the Outstanding Minor Thousand World designation.

Therefore, Jiang Ding designated Fire Spirit World as the pilot region for the Great Sun Soul Transformation Plan.

"You two may go on your own."

Jiang Ding gave a slight nod: "In the Fire Spirit Academy, there is my avatar. From now on, you will study with him. If you do not wish to study, simply cultivate normally. The Fire Spirit Academy has a fifth-grade superior spirit vein and all manner of pills; the cultivation conditions are passable."

"As long as you do not break the law, no one will harm you within a thousand years."

"Yes, Emperor Son!"

Dong Xue He Wang and Hua Teng bowed deeply with great respect, thanked him repeatedly, then flew out of the Great Sun Heavenly Pool toward the barrier of Fire Spirit World.

Hum!

The Immortal Gate's Fire Spirit World boundary array erupted with terrifying pressure, sending out a beam of light that scanned the two stiff-bodied individuals again and again. After confirming their authorization, it projected a guiding beam to receive them.

The Great Sun Heavenly

Pool did not pause in the slightest, continuing to fly toward the direction of the Immortal Gate's mother star.

Jiang Ding could not possibly stay here to teach them in person.

The Immortal Gate was his foundation. No matter the disagreements, he and the Immortal Gate were one entity; his true body must always stand on the Immortal Gate's side and could not send out any incorrect political signals.

……

Within the Fire Spirit Academy.

Dong Xue He Wang saw another Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong ancient Emperor Son who looked exactly the same, still in the appearance of a sixteen-year-old youth, though his temperament was far gentler and more approachable, full of a scholarly air, lacking the true body's edge-on-display sharpness and the deep, oppressive pressure that kept those around him in constant fear.

"Greetings, Emperor Son!"

Dong Xue He Wang and Hua Teng once again bowed deeply in great ceremony.

"Fellow Daoists, there is no need for such formality,"

The youth, brimming with refined elegance, smiled warmly: "From now on, just call me Fellow Daoist Jiang. The title of Emperor Son is too distant — it runs completely counter to the Immortal Gate's ideological and moral requirements."

"This is a course requirement."

Seeing their hesitation, Jiang Ding said with a stern face.

"Yes… Fellow Daoist Jiang."

Hua Teng and Dong Xue He Wang hesitated again and again, but still said.

"Hahaha,"

"This is much better."

Jiang Ding laughed heartily: "People can change, can be shaped and molded after birth. Take Fellow Daoist Dong Xue He as an example — in the past, struggling to survive in a foreign realm, he developed a Dao heart of arrogance, ruthlessness, and heartlessness. That is normal. We will slowly experience the hardships of mortals, slowly learn the history of the Immortal Gate, understand how we rose, and why we were able to rise so quickly…"

"This is the Immortal Gate system, the correctness of the Immortal Gate."

"We cultivators, in the end, seek only to attain the Dao and become immortals. Since facts have already proven this path to be more correct, why not devote oneself to it?"

"In fact, given Fellow Daoist Dong Xue He's longing for the Emperor Realm and the Immortal Dao, no matter how difficult the road ahead, he would do it."

"Am I right?"

Jiang Ding asked.

"Emper… Fellow Daoist Jiang speaks the absolute truth."

Dong Xue He Wang bowed deeply in sincere admiration.

If he could advance to the Emperor Realm, he didn't care whether it was human or alien, Immortal Gate or Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong — if it was useful, he would absolutely do it.

"The transformation of thought lies precisely here."

Jiang Ding gave a slight nod: "From a factual standpoint, Fellow Daoist Dong Xue He, your greatest hope of advancing to the Emperor Realm is to be accepted by the Immortal Gate and become a citizen. That way, the difficulty of obtaining the Great Emperor Scriptures, all manner of supplementary pills, and Emperor Realm opportunities will instantly drop dramatically — you will no longer be a lone wolf."

"This is an indisputable fact."

"What you need to do is recognize the importance of the Immortal Gate's path, sincerely endorse it, raise your ideological and moral grades to a score of one hundred and twenty or above — good or better — and have it confirmed by the Central Array Spirit Computer."

【continuation of 53】 "Central Array Spirit Computer."

"Endorse the Immortal Gate's path, affirm the Immortal Gate's path, and protect your own interests while safeguarding the Immortal Gate."

"This is my experience; Fellow Daoist Dong Xue He may take it as reference."

"And Fellow Daoist Hua Teng,"

Jiang Ding looked at the Skeletal Blood Vine Yao: "Your historical baggage is lighter. You are relatively young, and your worldview is not yet fully formed. I suggest you begin by aligning with the Immortal Gate's path and your own Dao journey, and affirm the Immortal Gate's system…"

His tone was gentle as he patiently guided the two foreign-realm human and alien-race prodigies.

Outside this classroom, there was also a children's class of sixty students, aged between fifteen and twenty, from twenty-six of the Immortal Gate's Minor Thousand Worlds. The worst aptitude was a Heavenly Spirit Root, and the best was a youth possessing a Fire Spirit Dao Body, from Fire Spirit World.

They would receive even better cultivation conditions, especially in the ideological and moral education courses.

After they advance to Nascent Soul, render significant meritorious service, demonstrate outstanding aptitude for research, and maintain good personal character, they could become citizens of the Immortal Gate — provided the Great Sun Soul Transformation Strategy proceeds smoothly.

If two or three of this batch survive the culling, that would already be a fine result.

The strong cultivators produced from the remainder are not without use in the plan either; they would become the backbone of vassal sects of various ranks under the Immortal Gate, managing a cluster of vassal sects on its behalf, carrying the Immortal Gate's will into every Minor Thousand World, or they would form the main manpower of the Immortal Gate's second- and third-tier corps, piloting fleets several generations behind the times to suppress unimportant regions, and tackling complex but low-value research projects.

Full acceptance is, of course, impossible.

Accepting that small handful of elites who are the most outstanding, of good character, and have rendered significant meritorious service — that is both possible and necessary.

What if there is recidivism, if cultivators of the Minor Thousand Worlds grow discontent and rebel?

Then they can only be suppressed.

Historical experience has proven that any attempt to unite everyone will inevitably fail, and even what one already has will be lost.