Divine Emperor of Death

"Idiot," The long crimson-haired man suppressed his voice, speaking in a hushed tone, "What do you know about the Aurora Cloud Gate? It is said that their power is immeasurable, and even our heavenly geniuses are affiliated with it. Our Fire Phoenix Race could offend anyone except the Aurora Cloud Gate."

The female immortal became shocked. She blinked at him thrice as she shook her head.

"You… you're exaggerating! I don't believe you!"

The man shrugged, "I don't believe myself either, but that's what our City Lord said when that Blue Luan bitch killed one of our City Lords and walked away, saying that this matter will be dealt with diplomatically instead of enforcing our laws upon her."

"…"

The crimson-haired woman appeared quite dumbfounded.

She never thought that their Fire Phoenix Race, which had warred and won in many battles without even retreating in the face of death, would be this wary of the Aurora Cloud Gate. Just what kind of power was that?

As though answering her questions, the suave immortal neared them and opened his mouth.

"This is something that I just heard from hearsay recently but to join the Aurora Cloud Gate as an ordinary disciple, a person must at least have an Earth Immortal Vessel. In other words, one must possess a prowess that's two levels higher, and this applies to all races."

"What? You're kidding. Two levels higher for an ordinary disciple?"

This time, even the crimson-haired man was shocked. As for the woman, her shapely eyes twitched.

"When did such beings start growing like leaves on a tree?"

"Of course not." The suave immortal shook his head, "That's why they're so powerful. Instead of widening their pool and concentrating their resources on individuals who would most likely lead the power in the future, they lower the pool and allow for a competitive environment where even a beggar could become an emperor, but the starting point is so high, and their members are made to side with them no matter the issue, making it so that they do not have much loss while their gains remain enormous."

"Besides, they own a Domain all to themselves, which makes this kind of distribution all the more possible."

"…" The female immortal's expression became deadpan.

"On top of it, the competition is ruthless. Just having a prowess that's two levels higher won't allow you entry into the Aurora Cloud Gate, and even if you enter it after passing the competitive trial, you would be kicked out if you don't pass certain standards within a time limit."

"Just like that?" The long-haired immortal's brows twitched.

"Yes, kicked out until they could no longer see your ass in their domain."

"Ah? That ruthless?" The long-haired man shook his head, "I'm glad I'm in my Fire Phoenix Race where I could still live off of my income as a First Tier City's Royal Guard."

"Right?" The suave man smiled, "We take care of our power and younglings while they are just power-crazed bastards who don't know gratitude. The two cannot be spoken off in the same length."

The female immortal couldn't help but also nod as she agreed. It was unknown how hard she worked to get to this level, but it still wasn't enough for someone like her to apply for the Aurora Cloud Gate that houses geniuses like they housed chickens in a chicken pen.

She was left saddened and demotivated by the world that had just become big for her, having her horizons broadened.

Hearing this, the others also had their hearts sink as they came to know that their power wasn't almighty felt a bit of unease in their hearts before they relaxed.

However, the golden-armored immortal's lips curved into a wry smile. Although he didn't open his mouth, he knew that they were just consoling themselves.

After all, for as long as he lived, he didn't see a single interaction or dispute where the Aurora Cloud Gate came on the losing end, even against the Dragon Race! And that could only mean one thing, that they were an extremely strong power not to be messed with!

Otherwise, the way his Fire Phoenix Race tried to deal with it diplomatically didn't make any sense to him, as even he was angered over this move.

If the City Lord was at fault and involved in shady things, it was up to their Fire Phoenix Race to deal with it and not some character from the Blue Luan Race, the race that they had defeated and gloriously claimed victory in a war millions of years ago.

However, that Blue Luan belonged to the Aurora Cloud Gate, essentially forming a protective barrier for her. Otherwise, would any random immortal try to make trouble with them?

Moreover, the Aurora Cloud Gate's reputation… the golden immortal couldn't help but shoot a momentary glance at the female immortal of his corps and shake his head as he knew that the people of the Aurora Cloud Gate mostly never ventured out of their domain. They were practically unknown and portrayed themselves to be mysterious, making it so that there were occasionally some people who didn't know about the difference between heaven and earth and inevitably offended them, causing a blood bath to follow.

It was the case of a person using an egg to shatter a boulder, making him think that if this was intentionally planned out by the Aurora Cloud Gate to be known as an apex power once in a while.

The golden-armored immortal's brows subconsciously frowned.

The Aurora Cloud Gate was quiet for hundreds and thousands of years, but it seems as though they were now slowly emerging, revealing themselves to the world! He didn't know what that had in store for them but vaguely knew that the First Haven World would undergo a considerable change after the disappearance of the dark hole in the skies.

==========

Unaware of such major undercurrents, Davis and Evelynn exited the cave.

Only then did they realize that they had accidentally reached a good place to make a breakthrough involving heavenly tribulation. Therefore, they didn't waste any time but decided to do it here.

Along with Nadia and Eldia, they surveyed the land for half a day to ensure nothing of danger or alarm was present.

Two figures stood in the valley's center as their lips embraced, leaving behind a soft lingering feeling and a doze of affection that reeled in their hearts.

"Nadia, you're ready, right?"

Davis's expression became solemn while Nadia also equally returned a sober yet sharp gaze.

"Yes~"

Davis nodded and gave her space while the others did the same.

However, Nadia's gaze was still on Davis while he also didn't take his gaze off of her.

Only the two of them knew what she would go through in her heavenly tribulation, and there was a valid reason why they didn't share the information with others; it was an unnecessary and additional karmic burden.

Nadia's existence was more special than Davis thought, and it was likely why Myria hadn't said a thing about Nadia. Or perhaps, she simply didn't know of it at all.

In any case, he watched Nadia with a bit of worry as she began her breakthrough, her purplish-golden eyes flickering with a ghastly motion while her aura surged, leaving behind a deathly air that instantly caused the skies to rumble, provoking a heavenly tribulation to descend as dark clouds began to gather.