917 Allegiance
Elder Zhelan proudly smiled as he introduced the grand city. "This will be your new home, the Great Marvel City. Within the entire Soul Core Region, we are counted as the fourth most powerful city under the Central God City." "I see." Cain calmly said. There was no reason to show any other reactions as the trio weren't all that impressed with everything they experienced so far. "Alright. The first thing we need to do is get you acquainted with the other Supreme Elders and our other Saint Heros. Most should be here by now. Let's get going." Elder Zhelan waved his hand and then took a step into the void space. They teleported through a massive distance once again. When Cain, Kali, and Luo Na blinked their eyes open, their vision came to a luxurious grand chamber, and their divine senses were filled with various intense Dao auras residing over the Heavens. The chamber they ended up in was decorated with sparkling Dao runes all exuding principles lower divine beings could never understand. A row of throne chairs stayed at the back of the chamber. On six of these chairs were various supreme Heavenly Venerates all exuding momentum to control the nine heavens and split open the earth. These supreme Heavenly Venerates were top tier Perfection powerhouses, all of them rippling an extreme breath on the same level as Elder Zhelan. These supreme elders all had intent, curious gazes as they thoroughly studied Cain's group. When looking around, the trio noticed five young supreme geniuses, all in the Heavenly Venerate realm standing on the sides. These young supreme geniuses obviously had less intense Dao auras, but their presence was akin to immortal rulers of the Heavens, young gods that could make even ancient figures kneel down. Cain, Kali, and Luo Na stayed completely calm upon their appearance. The others around the meeting chambers couldn't keep their calm. The young Saint Heroes began to whisper among themselves. "This is it? They're who the Lord Spirit has chosen?" "Aren't they extremely young? Their skeletal age barely goes over 28 years old! That's too greenhouse for anything." "Even as their cultivation speed is certainly in genius territory and their auras are extremely profound and dense, I can't particularly see why they get to directly jump into our ranks without undergoing everything else..." The young Saint Heroes were continually scratching their heads. Without the trio unleashing their true auras, there was bound to be puzzlement. Nobody can refuse their Lord Spirit's orders, but it does not mean they can't wonder why he made such a decision. Elder Zhelan walked up to the six supreme elders, everyone giving him deep nods of respect as he approached close. He wasn't that high up of a supreme elder but certainly stood at the very top among the supreme elders. Elder Zhelan got close to the other elders, turned around, and was about to speak. However, right at that moment, one of the particularly bold and daring young Saint Hero couldn't contain his thoughts. A dashing young prince of the heavens took a daring step forward, the attention gathering on him as he said, "Supreme Elders, I don't intend to be disrespectful, but I can't quite understand this situation. I never heard of a talented Holy King being able to face any peak normal grandmaster genius, much less a King Grandmaster. And an Early Stage Primal Sovereign cultivation just seems a bit..." "That's enough." Elder Zhelan's cold tone shut down the whispers from the young Saint Heros. His domineering pressure, the terrifying cold gaze booming from his eyes made it seem like the entire world was revolving around him. "The Lord Spirit has spoken and our young special Heros are to be granted unique privileges no matter what." The dashing Saint Hero faintly trembled from the sheer aura disparity, taking a direct step back without another word. Elder Zhelan then turned his gaze back on Cain's group, his expression turning softer as a faint smile curled his lips. "As for you three, all of our Hero geniuses are required to pledge allegiance to one of our factions that aligns with your view on the Dao and the world. We do this to help your mental cultivation, allowing you to have no distracting thoughts when developing your Grand Dao and possibly one day go on the path to create a True Dao Heart."
Cain, Kali, and Luo Na stayed silent for a moment. The option truly didn't sound too terrible, following a supreme Perfect Heavenly Venerate elder faction came par for the course for any genius wanting to advance their deep cultivation. However, the problem came with what they saw from Great Marvel City's cultivators and their so-called Duke Palace. Everyone here was evidently on the righteous path or on the lighter side of the orthodox path. These were types the trio seen numerous times in the path. Those who advocate for their own way of serenity and peace. And typically, it's either coming around to their ways or suffering under their hands. Neither Cain, Kali, nor Luo Na cared about the righteous view ways of the Dao and the world. All of them already had their own view of the Dao that would not break in under any circumstances. Them joining one of these supreme elders would place a shackle on their cultivation rather than helping them more than anything. Truthfully, the trio would be just fine with their own space and let everyone else do their things. Kali may disdain those on the righteous path for being too soft-hearted, but she only spends her time on powerful people deserving of being crushed beneath her feet. The trio only needed a second to come to their conclusion. Cain gave an unwavering stare at Elder Zhelan, directly asking, "Elder Zhelan, we don't mean to be presumptuous, but must we pledge allegiance to a faction? Our view of the Dao and the world is unbreakable. None of us can simply accept changing anything if we go under a specific faction." "You!" The young Saint Heros narrowed their eyes, ripples of cold air leaking from their bodies by what they deemed outrageous. Not only is Cain daring to talk back to a supreme elder, but he also has the audacity to imply that their divine wills are equal, possibly greater than that of powerful Heavenly Venerates! The same existences who can directly comprehend large portions of the entire universe, legendary people with divine minds far beyond anyone of their comprehension. Not a single young Saint Hero would ever dare to claim they can make their own faction even with their powerful divine wills. Compared to the young Saint Heros, the supreme elders were a bit calmer. Not all liked Cain's words, though many were curious about where this could ahead.
Elder Zhelan lightly smiled as he said, "If you truly wish to not join a faction, then you can create your own faction. However, to do so, you already need to be immensely proficient with the Great Dao to the point where you can create a suitable Divine Cultivation Art or Martial Skill that can be useful for even geniuses in the Holy King realm. That way, we all can see your divine wills and Dao comprehension are at a Heavenly Venerate realm despite not necessarily being a Heavenly Venerate. Before warned, the number of geniuses who actually managed to complete this step has only been one time throughout our entire history." The young Saint Heros faintly smirked at the trio. Creating a Divine Cultivation Art or Martial Skill practically sounded impossible to even them. Even if this masked trio truly does have some kind of heaven-defying talent, none of them believed that they were on this unfathomable level of genius hood. All of them are aware that even the top-tier geniuses within the central region fail to reach Art and Skill creation before crossing their Dao Tribulation. For a brief moment, Cain, Kali, and Luo Na traded glances. Zero hesitation was in their minds. They all knew the best option to go on. It would be an option they can tell that will propel their cultivation forward more than ever before. "Then, we accept that option." Cain's calm voice slithered into everyone's minds.
"They really did it?!" The young Saint Heros couldn't contain their shocks, eyes widening to an extreme as they blurted out loud. All of them felt an indescribable surge of frustration swell through them at this outrageous trio. Mere Holy Kings and a mere Primal Sovereign daring to achieve feats even they could not achieve did not sit right with their souls. The same dashing prince from before instantly shouted, "Isn't this too audacious! Our most powerful and talented senior brother attempted this challenge and failed to get anywhere in the two-year time limit! And he was an Early Stage Heavenly Venerate with Peak Early Stage combat prowess at that time. What makes you think that any of you have better talent than him?"