At that moment, the communication pearl transmitted a message. Joe Di took it out to check, and sure enough, it was from Gai Tenfield. His fellow disciples had already arrived in Heaven's Way City and were preparing to head for Fivefold City.
Joe Di tidied up the array flags in his cave dwelling. Although there were still a few days left before his lease expired, he no longer cared about a few spirit stones.
"Brother Joe Di, this is my senior brother Hugh Feather. I didn't expect him to come this time. My senior brother is at the seventh layer of the Void Spirit Stage and is a powerhouse who reached the sixtieth floor of the Fivefold Dao Tower. If you have any cultivation questions, you can consult him." Before Joe Di even reached the entrance of the Wangchuan Rest Lodge, Gai Tenfield excitedly pulled him aside and said.
Joe Di had already noticed that there were three people standing with Gai Tenfield—two men and one woman. The senior brother Hugh Feather, whom Gai Tenfield mentioned, was the tallest and had the coldest expression, seeming somewhat displeased about waiting for Joe Di for so long.
Joe Di quickly clasped his fists and said, "Greetings, Senior Brother Hugh Feather."
Hugh Feather nodded to Joe Di but did not speak.
Gai Tenfield looked a little embarrassed and quickly added, "These two are my fellow disciples from Green Sect, Senior Brother Ray Kee and Junior Sister Ann Crane."
Ray Kee's cultivation was much higher than Gai Tenfield's, at the first layer of the Void Spirit Stage. However, his name and appearance didn't quite match—despite the gentle-sounding name, he was extremely robust and bald.
Ann Crane had the weakest cultivation, at the fourth layer of the Nascent Soul Stage. She was petite, with slightly yellowish hair.
Compared to Hugh Feather's coldness, Ray Kee and Ann Crane were obviously much more enthusiastic. Both greeted Joe Di proactively.
Ray Kee was straightforward by nature. After greeting Joe Di, he laughed and said, "Daoist Joe, your concealment technique is quite impressive—I can't even discern your cultivation level."
Hugh Feather glanced at Joe Di and said indifferently, "Without true strength, everything else is just illusion. It's better to be sincere."
Only then did Joe Di understand why Hugh Feather was somewhat cold toward him—it was because he felt Joe Di was being mysterious, and perhaps not genuine enough. Everyone else showed their true strength, but Joe Di had concealed his cultivation.
Joe Di felt a bit speechless. The techniques he cultivated, Starstream Veins and Star River, were not like those of ordinary cultivators; his cultivation level couldn't be discerned by the usual fluctuations of spiritual energy.
"Let's go. It'll take several days to get to Fivefold City from here," Ann Crane said considerately.
Hugh Feather nodded and took the lead. Gai Tenfield patted Joe Di on the shoulder, signaling him not to take it to heart.
Naturally, Joe Di didn't let such things bother him. He could tell that Gai Tenfield's fellow disciples were all decent people.
...
Fivefold City was quite far from Heaven's Way City, and there was no teleportation array between the two. After everyone summoned their flying artifacts, Joe Di realized that his high-grade flying ship was the lowest quality among them.
Even Ann Crane's flying artifact was a low-grade spirit tool, while he was still using a high-grade magic tool.
"Brother Joe Di, you're really not doing well. Still using a high-grade magic tool? And that treasured blade you're carrying—is it also just a high-grade magic tool?" Ray Kee, even more direct than Gai Tenfield, voiced his thoughts as soon as he saw Joe Di summon his high-grade artifact.
"No, my blade is a supreme-grade magic tool." Joe Di knew his cultivation time was short. Although he'd acquired some good items, his foundation was still thin. He had picked up a few spirit tools at the Di Family Trading House, but none suited him.
Given a little more time, he might be able to forge a spirit tool himself.
"Alright, let's hurry up and get moving." Hugh Feather also noticed Joe Di's lack of resources and changed the subject.
Joe Di realized that this senior brother Hugh Feather was truly cold on the outside but warm on the inside. He seemed indifferent, but was actually quite decent.
Because of Joe Di's high-grade magic tool, the group's speed was noticeably slower. Five days later, they arrived outside Fivefold City.
Both Fivefold City and Heaven's Way City were protected by ninth-tier arrays, but Joe Di could immediately tell that Fivefold City's array was several levels more sophisticated than Heaven's Way City's.
Despite the protective array, Joe Di could still faintly see the tip of a tower within Fivefold City. He didn't need to ask to know it was the Fivefold Dao Tower—the array clearly couldn't fully conceal it.
Unlike Heaven's Way City, entering Fivefold City required paying ten high-grade spirit stones. Though the amount wasn't much, seeing the dense crowds, Joe Di realized just how many spirit stones the city collected each day.
"Brother Joe Di, Fivefold City forbids killing, but not fighting. It's not safe for you to be alone—why not come with us to Green Sect?" Upon entering the city, Gai Tenfield invited Joe Di to join them at Green Sect.
Joe Di remembered that his cultivation method was already set, and his main task now was to return to Jade Nation for revenge. He didn't have time to join a sect, so he replied, "Thank you, but I want to go see the Fivefold Dao Tower first. If I ever want to join a sect, I'll ask you to introduce me to Green Sect."
After saying this, Joe Di greeted Hugh Feather and the others, then quickly blended into the crowd and disappeared.
Hugh Feather watched Joe Di's disappearing figure and said, "Tenfield, is he really not from the Minor Central World?"
Gai Tenfield replied confidently, "Definitely not. When he first came out of the teleportation array, he knew nothing about this place. I just felt he was worth befriending, so I joined him."
Hugh Feather nodded, "Let's head to the sect's headquarters first. This time, when you climb the Fivefold Dao Tower, make sure to push past the forty-ninth floor. Otherwise, it won't help the sect at all."
The group answered in unison, all determined to reach higher floors of the Fivefold Dao Tower.
...
Fivefold City was truly enormous. Every street was dozens of meters wide, and yet they were packed with people.
Here, Joe Di finally saw what a true cultivation city was like. There were countless cultivators stronger than him, and he could sense powerful presences everywhere with his spiritual awareness.
With so many people coming and going, Joe Di knew it would be hard to find a rest lodge. Sure enough, after asking at several inns, he found that none had any vacant rooms.
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Fortunately, Fivefold Plaza was easy to find. When Joe Di arrived, the place was packed, filled with cultivators everywhere.
If Fivefold Plaza weren't so large, it wouldn't have been able to hold so many people.
At the very center of Fivefold Plaza stood a towering White Jade Stele, inscribed with countless names. Joe Di swept his spiritual sense over it—there were at least ten thousand names.
Ranked first was Yan Tashan, who had reached the ninety-fourth floor of the Fivefold Dao Tower. Second was Mu Qisha, who reached the ninety-first floor. The third name caught Joe Di's attention—Di Feixue, sharing his surname, had reached the ninetieth floor.
Joe Di scanned further down and finally found Hugh Feather's name in the latter half. Although many had reached the sixtieth floor, Hugh Feather was still ranked lower among them.
There were still four days until the Fivefold Dao Tower opened. Unable to find a rest lodge, Joe Di simply found an empty spot and sat down. Four days would pass quickly in meditation.
Despite the crowds, Joe Di sat in the plaza refining his spiritual sense, and time passed swiftly. Since there were few inns in Fivefold City, many cultivators, like Joe Di, chose to sit in the plaza.
Four days passed in a flash. When Joe Di opened his eyes, the plaza had changed. Banners of various sects were raised everywhere. He found Green Sect's banner in a relatively remote spot. Behind it, he saw six star emblems.
Joe Di looked at the banners in prominent positions—several sects had nine-star emblems.
Joe Di immediately understood: Green Sect was a six-star sect. In the Evernight Continent, a six-star sect would dominate everything, but in the Minor Central World, it was nothing special. Here, he saw dozens of seven-star sects, more than ten eight-star sects, and five nine-star sects.
There were probably over a hundred six-star sects like Green Sect.
"I'm sure the champion of this Fivefold Dao Gathering will still be Young Master Yan from Swordcloud Sect..."
"Not necessarily. Although Young Master Yan is ranked first on the Sea List and reached the ninety-fourth floor to win last time, that was ten years ago. Young Master Mu from Violet Thunder Sect is the strongest contender this time. I saw him personally defeat a Cauldron Ascendant Stage cultivator."
Young Master Mu is only at the ninth layer of the Seabreaker Stage, yet he can defeat a cultivator at the fifth layer of the Cauldron Ascendant Stage. Do you think he'll lose to Young Master Yan? Besides, ten years ago Young Master Mu was fourth on the Sea List, and reached the ninety-first floor, ranking second on the White Jade Stele. It's no surprise if he wins this time."
"Right, I also think Young Master Mu will be the champion this time. I saw that battle too. His Fivefold Lightning Strike was as terrifying as a lightning tribulation..."
"Di Feixue from the Di Family isn't simple either. She's the youngest, and after ten years, she's sure to have advanced a whole level..."
"All five young masters on the Sea List have a chance to win this time. It depends on everyone's progress over the past ten years."
Hearing the cultivators' discussions, Joe Di realized that the names on the White Jade Stele had disappeared, leaving it blank.
From their conversations, Joe Di understood that the Sea List had five young masters, ranked first to fifth. The competition for the Fivefold Dao Tower's ranking was called the Fivefold Dao Gathering. According to their speculation, the champion this time would likely come from the five young masters.
Joe Di had no doubts. He'd seen Red Quay, ranked ninety-third on the Sea List, and Don Rightblade, ranked one hundred and fourth, battle before. Both were incredibly strong. He'd also seen their rankings on the White Jade Stele—Red Quay was three hundred and twenty-first, Don Rightblade was four hundred and thirty-ninth.
This showed just how formidable the top five on the Sea List were. If he didn't reach the Seabreaker Stage, he really had no right to speak. As his master Qian Fenghua said, in the vast cosmos, there were truly countless strong cultivators.
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