Chapter 12: The Eternal Scripture, Twelve Volumes

"Four." Ji Ning looked at the four before him. "According to my master, the four of you will follow me from now on?"

"Yes." The four all nodded.

"May I ask about your strength?" Ji Ning inquired.

"The four of us are roughly at the peak of the Three-Step Daolord stage. Of course, the Swordsman's sword arts are slightly superior to ours, and his strength is also a notch higher." The golden-robed emperor said.

Ji Ning was shocked.

All four were puppets at the peak of the Three-Step Daolord stage?

This was what his master had left for him? A master like this—truly, the more the merrier.

"Puppets comparable to the Hegemon realm are extremely precious. Lord Emperor originally had one such puppet, but he sold it and exchanged it for forty puppets at the peak of the Three-Step Daolord stage, leaving them for you direct disciples." The golden-robed emperor continued.

Ji Ning was speechless.

Well, he had praised his master too soon. But Ji Ning also understood that puppets comparable to the Hegemon realm were very expensive and extremely difficult to refine. After all, true Hegemon-level experts possessed formidable divine power, divine energy, high realms, and powerful treasures. It was exceedingly difficult for a puppet to match them. Wan Shen Daolord was exceptionally skilled in refinement, yet after a lifetime of hard work, he only had that one Hegemon-level puppet.

In the Sword Palace, accumulated over endless years, there were only nine Hegemon-level puppets, named Sword One through Sword Nine.

Although the Daolord Cloud Realm had many puppets, they were all relatively weak. The strongest were probably at the level of the four before Ji Ning.

"Since you are to follow me, should I first refine you?" Ji Ning asked. He was too weak to forcibly refine them.

"That won't do."

"According to Lord Emperor's instructions, before you defeat us, each of us can only help you once. Only when you can defeat us can we allow you to refine us and follow you forever." The emperor, swordsman, fisherman, and assassin all refused sternly.

Ji Ning was speechless.

Alright.

Perhaps his master, 'Snowscissor Lord Emperor', feared that he would rely too much on the puppets, so he only allowed him to use them once each, likely to prevent his disciple from losing his life in desperate situations while still weak.

"Each can be used once, which gives me a chance to survive." Ji Ning was still quite pleased.

"The divine ability my master taught me, when used with my Half-Step Daolord divine body, can match a One-Step Daolord. But unfortunately, with the support of my Blueflower Mist power, I can also match a One-Step Daolord. And the Blueflower Mist power is almost inexhaustible." Ji Ning shook his head. The divine ability was of little use to him.

Using that divine ability would likely deplete his divine power after a short battle. How could it compare to the endurance of the Blueflower Mist power?

"The most precious thing is still the memory fragments my master passed on to me." Ji Ning couldn't help but feel excited. Although he had received inheritances on Star Island, those were merely transmissions of information that every cultivator could learn. Those inheritances were passed down endlessly on Star Island and were not particularly valuable.

Snowscissor Lord Emperor's memory fragment inheritance, however, could only be passed down once and required the consumption of an Eternal Emperor's divine thought.

...

Mangya Kingdom, Imperial Palace.

"Buzz buzz buzz."

The flame beast stood in the void. The distant towering giant beast watched from afar as beams of golden light shot from its eyes, enveloping the flame beast.

The golden light enveloped it, continuously transmitting various mysteries.

"Roar." The flame beast trembled in pain, sometimes threatening to turn into flames, sometimes solidifying again.

Finally, the golden light dissipated.

"Sovereign." The flame beast showed joy and looked respectfully at the distant towering giant beast.

"I have imparted it in twelve sessions, and you have fully memorized the 'Eternal Scripture, Twelve Volumes.' Our race is scarce, and suitable inheritances are rare. Long, long ago, our race was forcibly enslaved by the ancient cultivators... The ancient cultivators had talents comparable to ours, but they had many inheritances. By chance, I obtained the 'Eternal Scripture, Ten Volumes' left by an elder of our race, which allowed me to cultivate step by step to my current level, and I further perfected this inheritance, supplementing it to the 'Eternal Scripture, Twelve Volumes.'"

"Now, the ancient cultivators and our race are equal in status, all because of this 'Eternal Scripture, Twelve Volumes.'"

"These twelve volumes encompass everything. No matter which path you take, it will help you."

"I will impart it to every member of our race."

"Child..."

"Our race currently has only me who has broken through to the Eternal Emperor realm. I hope you can become the second in the future." The towering giant beast said.

"Yes, Sovereign." The flame beast was extremely excited. In recent days at the palace, he had learned much of his race's history and naturally felt a sense of belonging! This 'Eternal Scripture, Twelve Volumes' was indeed an incredible inheritance, encompassing almost everything, which made him admire the great Sovereign even more.

"Choose a royal name." The towering giant beast commanded.

"Since gaining consciousness, I have given myself a name: Skyfire God. Now I shall call myself Skyfire Mangya." The flame beast said.

A hint of amusement appeared in the towering giant beast's eyes. Skyfire God?

His kin were all born by chance in the endless chaos. Their numbers were too few. If he hadn't deliberately sought them out, many would have spent long, lonely ages. The names they gave themselves were often strange and varied. 'Skyfire God' was indeed a rather amusing name.

"Study the 'Eternal Scripture, Twelve Volumes' well. I will give you a thousand years. After a thousand years, I will send you to a different universe, your first training ground." The towering giant beast said.

"Yes, Sovereign." The flame beast was very excited. He indeed needed time to learn the 'Eternal Scripture, Twelve Volumes.' With this precious method, even if he wandered outside, he could continuously improve his strength.

...

The rules of the Mangya Kingdom were thus: those powerful World-level cultivators who, after screening, were admitted into the Twelve Palaces would receive the inheritances and secret arts of the Twelve Palaces.

The same applied to the royal clan.

Newly joined royal clan members also underwent training, after which they were taught the 'Eternal Scripture, Twelve Volumes.'

...

Imperial Palace, Thirteen Void Thrones.

The white-bearded old man in a snow-white robe with six curved horns spoke: "After a thousand years, I will select the four strongest, along with our clan's 'Skyfire Mangya,' and send them to a different universe. Whatever gains they make will depend on themselves."

"A thousand years?"

"Still a thousand years."

The twelve golden-armored experts, knowing the exact time limit, also began to look forward.

...

As time passed, those who had been acknowledged by the ancient tower and were adventuring in dangerous places within the Mangya Kingdom were summoned and returned one by one.

"Senior Brother Yan Kuang, according to the message from Palace Master Muhua, there's a great opportunity?"

"Yes, those acknowledged by the ancient tower might obtain it. But in the end, only the four strongest from the Twelve Palaces can get it."

"Only four?"

In the Sword Palace.

Two walked side by side: one was the red-haired senior brother Yan Kuang, the other was a cold-faced child holding a short spear.

"We don't have much time left, just over nine hundred years." Senior Brother Yan Kuang reminded.

"For these nine hundred years, I plan to stay in the Sword Pagoda Forest." The cold-faced child said.

"I also plan to stay in the Sword Pagoda Forest and study well." Senior Brother Yan Kuang agreed. The Sword Pagoda Forest was the foremost sacred land of the Sword Palace, containing a vast number of sword arts, each personally left by ancient experts. Choosing sword arts from several experts whose paths were similar to one's own and studying them together was very helpful.

The cold-faced child glanced around and saw a thatched hut in the distance, where the white-robed Ji Ning sat.

"Who is that?" The cold-faced child asked in confusion.

"His name is Beiming, a new junior brother." Senior Brother Yan Kuang said.

"Why is he using a time treasure? Is he also acknowledged by the ancient tower and trying to seize time to cultivate?" The cold-faced child inquired.

"No." Senior Brother Yan Kuang shook his head. "He's new. He was already using a time treasure when he first arrived. Probably in a hurry for some reason."

The cold-faced child nodded.

In ordinary cultivation, they wouldn't deliberately use time treasures too much, as the significance wasn't great. The more critical the cultivation, the more important sudden enlightenment was. Time treasures were generally used only when there was a special need to rush.

"Our opponents are all others acknowledged by the ancient tower. Senior Brother Yan Kuang, in this great opportunity, you are also my opponent." The cold-faced child looked at Senior Brother Yan Kuang.

"I won't go easy on you." Senior Brother Yan Kuang smiled.

They didn't pay any attention to Ji Ning. At this moment, all the World-level prodigies from the Twelve Palaces who had been acknowledged by the ancient tower were trying every means to improve their strength as much as possible.

...

Ji Ning, however, was unaware of these things. He remained immersed in cultivation.

With the detailed guidance from his master 'Snowscissor Lord Emperor's' memory fragments, where sword arts were explained thoroughly, Ji Ning studied the numerous sword arts in the Sword Pagoda Forest. His sword art realm continuously improved, much faster than when he cultivated without the Lord Emperor's inheritance. Ji Ning himself enjoyed it and was deeply absorbed.

In the blink of an eye...

Ji Ning cultivated quietly like this, and eight hundred years had already passed.

...