Chapter 1277: The First Myriad-Races Citizen Cultivator

"The first citizen to ascend is about to appear…"

"Can she make it?"

Fire Leopard Three gazed at the white-jade skeleton in the starry sky, his mouth parched, his heart surging with emotion.

The hope of becoming a citizen was right before his eyes!

The radiant, boundless road to immortality was right before his eyes!

"Citizen of the Immortal Gate, citizen of the Immortal Gate…"

All around, countless cultivators—Dong Xue He Wang, Soul Transformation cultivators from many Minor Thousand Worlds, Nascent Soul cultivators—watched the sky with longing, envious eyes, their minds racing, wishing they were the one beneath that ascending tribulation cloud.

Among them were Stone-People, Fire Spirits, Fox Folk, Ox Folk…

They had long grown accustomed to being beneath others.

In the era of the Horned Demon Imperial Clan, during the rebellion, and even in ages far more distant, they had been slave races—souls, lifespans, flesh and blood all belonged to their masters.

In the era of the Immortal Gate, their lives had been transformed beyond recognition; no longer did they need to fear being struck down at any moment, their souls extracted and refined.

But everyone understood that they could never be equal to citizens of the Immortal Gate, and could never ascend above Soul Transformation—an icy boundary stood in the way.

And now, a sliver of hope had appeared!

Over four hundred years ago, the Great Sun Soul Transformation Strategy emerged, shocking the boundless starry skies of the realm. Across the entire star domain, no one knew how many people had their Thought and Virtue scores rise by a tier collectively, and cultivators of the myriad races took to the Thought and Virtue course with unprecedented enthusiasm.

Even so, doubts always lingered.

Now, a real, tangible example had appeared—a member of the Skeleton Blood Vine Demon race, Huateng, was facing the test of the ascension heavenly tribulation, about to survive the citizen's ascension heavenly tribulation!

Boom!

Rumble!

Under the gaze of countless eyes, under the tight watch of innumerable cultivators of the myriad races, the first bolt of Lei Gao Jie appeared, striking the slender skeleton beneath the starry sky and making its body shudder, bones snapping, its arms scorched black in the pattern of Lei Gao Jie.

Such was the very first bolt of Lei Gao Jie.

Everyone's heart gave a jolt.

"I will not fail!"

Huateng shouted in a low voice.

Clang!

A thousand white-bone flying swords spanned the sky, forming a white-bone sword array that surged toward the heavens, shattering bolt after bolt of Lei Gao Jie. But when the second heavenly tribulation descended, cracks appeared even in the thousand white-bone flying swords; the slender white-jade skeleton swayed on the brink of collapse, its aura beginning to wane.

How could the strength of a single cultivator compare to the might of the heavens?

Boom!

Boom!

Bolt after bolt of Lei Ting came crashing down; the slender skeleton's bones kept shattering, cracks spreading; the flying swords wailed as they fell one after another into the starry sky; the figure within the Lei Ting was nearly swallowed whole by the storm.

Within the Lei Ting dwelt an immense, majestic power, endless destruction—the Heavenly Dao was testing the human heart.

While enduring the heavenly tribula

tion, all manner of inner demons also arose within the cultivator's heart.

Huateng's eyes grew hazy for a moment.

In her daze, she had already survived the ascension heavenly tribulation and received a personal audience with Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun.

Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun affectionately called her a fellow traveler, no longer distant or politely courteous, warmly greeted her, and personally took her to the Civil Affairs Bureau of the Clear Wind District of Immortal Capital to register her identity card and household register.

Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun also introduced her to all manner of things about the Immortal Gate, recommending she sit for a university entrance exam, receive citizen education, and solidify her foundation.

He also taught her how to use the Immortal Gate's library to consult inheritances—those countless, incomparably precious inheritances all opened themselves to her; supreme inheritances that could plunge an entire star domain into turmoil and slaughter were hers to browse at will…

All of this convinced Huateng that she had arrived at Xian Gao Jie!

From then on, I would no longer be my former self!

And so Huateng grew within the Immortal Gate, fought, slaughtered, researched, made many contributions. After more than five thousand years, she obtained a Void Refining opportunity and ascended to Void Refining.

One day, a great enemy of the Immortal Gate came to attack; at the critical moment, Huateng, now a Void Refining True Lord, chose…

One day, a lowly mortal citizen cursed Void Refining True Lord Huateng to her face, and molested her; she flew into a rage…

……

Twenty-five thousand years later, Huateng ascended to Dao Merging, becoming the strongest being of the Immortal Gate, above all others; no one in the world was stronger than her, including the Great Sun Sword Lord, who was still only at mid Void Refining.

She wanted…

Ninety thousand years later, Huateng became an existence above Dao Merging. By this point, she had annihilated the Badaxian Sect, and even the Central Array Spirit Computer of the Immortal Gate could no longer check her.

Many of her Skeleton Blood Vine Demon descendants knelt before her; among them was her most beloved daughter—a daughter she had spent ten thousand years to bear, her dearest kin in this world, bound by blood thicker than water.

A look of longing appeared in her daughter's eyes, and she gazed at the surrounding Immortal Gate citizens with killing intent.

Huateng knew what she wanted, and a look of hesitation crossed her face…

……

All manner of things appeared in Huateng's inner demons. They also appeared in the minds of the nine great councilors of the Immortal Gate, transmitted for review by the Central Array Spirit Computer, asking them to make a decision.

Yuan, Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun, Divine Mechanism True Lord, Ten Thousand Mechanisms True Lord, and others—the nine—watched in silence.

"At the Void Refining stage, she was still steadfast."

"At the Dao Merging stage, she wavered."

"Above Dao Merging, her wavering intensified, and the Immortal Gate was plunged into danger because of it…"

Divine Mechanism True Lord sighed: "In this world, is there anyone who is pure and can be trusted completely?"

"If citizens were made to undergo such a test, how would they fare?"

No one around answered his words, not even Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun, who had proposed the Great Sun Soul Transformation Strategy.

"Members of the Council."

"Please cast your vote on the citizen ascension heavenly tribulation of Huateng, Soul Transformation cultivator of Mo Teng Xiao Gao Jie."

The voice of the Central Array Spirit Computer came through.

The votes of the members of the Council of State would directly decide Hua Teng's fate; even a Soul Transformation cultivator of astonishing brilliance would be no match for one who had merged with the Dao.

This was the first possible citizen of the Immortal Gate from among the myriad races; the power had not been delegated, and all of it was handed over to the Central Array Spirit Computer for control.

Jiang Ding cast his vote in favor.

He gently closed his eyes, and did not try to persuade the surrounding Refinement Void True Lords.

There was no need.

The Dao hearts of the Refinement Void True Lords were so firm that no one could convince them with words.

The Immortal Gate and Jiang Ding were one and the same; whatever the future held, they would walk forward together, step by step, and every citizen would bear full responsibility for the decisions they made.

Such a decision should not be made by an outsider.

"Ding!"

"Voting complete."

"Votes in favor: seven. Votes against: two."

"The resolution has been issued."

The Central Array Spirit Computer spoke and issued the corresponding administrative order: "Myriad Race cultivator Hua Teng, outstanding in military merit, outstanding in scientific research and creativity, ideological and moral score above one hundred and thirty, all conditions meet the Immortal Gate ascension immigration requirements; permission is granted to undergo the citizen ascension heavenly tribulation."

"Today, the number of citizens has increased by one."

……

Within the starry sky, the lightning gradually dispersed.

All the cultivators from beyond the realm held their breath.

In that shattered starry sky, the spiritual light gradually faded, revealing a broken skeleton.

Her body was covered in cracks, many places had even turned to powder, wounded by the destructive force of the lightning; the whole person was barely clinging to life, her aura utterly faint, nearly dead.

The next moment,

That destructive lightning transformed into pure vitality!

The broken bones healed, the severed arm mended; upon those Bai Yu-like bones, meridians grew one by one, then blood vessels, then flesh and blood, hair, eyes, a heart…

In an instant, a beautiful and graceful woman appeared before everyone.

Many whose divine senses were sharp revealed looks of horror.

In their divine senses, this was a human being—from the divine soul, to the flesh and blood, to the aura—utterly indistinguishable from a human.

That flesh and blood was entirely real, not an illusion.

"I'm… stronger, my aptitude is even better…"

Hua Teng murmured, as if in a dream.

Hum!

Hum hum!

In the void, countless spatial runes intertwined; golden lotuses surged from the earth, heavenly flowers rained down, celestial maidens danced in the air, golden boys and jade maidens led the way, dragons and phoenixes auspiciously appeared, spreading out a

path that pierced straight through the heavens.

At the end of the great path stood an unfathomably mysterious, hazy gateway.

The Immortal Gate!

This was the gateway leading to the Immortal Gate!

"Citizen Hua Teng, welcome home."

From within the gateway, a gentle voice came forth; Master Dinghai Zhenjun Tian Hua personally came out to greet her, his voice more gentle than ever before, welcoming the wanderer who had roamed abroad for so long back to his homeland.

(End of this chapter)