A hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones for a single night was still an astronomical price, but Joe Di felt that compared to the Ascension Lodge, it wasn’t that outrageous.
It wasn’t that the cave dwelling was rich in spiritual energy—after obtaining hundreds of supreme spirit veins, Joe Di no longer cared much about spiritual energy during cultivation. What mattered to him was whether the laws of heaven and earth at his cultivation site were clear.
The cave dwelling he stayed in was not only abundant in spiritual energy, but the cultivation laws were also far clearer than those in Little Central World. Joe Di didn’t know how vast the True Domain was, but since the laws here were clearer than in Little Central World, it meant the True Domain’s realm was slightly higher.
Joe Di had no interest in the True Domain itself—he had come here for only two reasons: to participate in the True Domain Prodigy Trials, and to take Joanna Brooks away. Since Joanna Brooks had been taken by Cynthia Winters, and by their agreement, Cynthia should bring her to Ascension City this time, Joe Di wouldn’t leave the Ascension Lodge until he received word. So he simply stayed at the lodge to cultivate.
......
The main powers in the True Domain aren’t sects, but the five great domains and the various ancient families. Sects have completely declined here.
The Brooks Family is definitely one of the top three domains in the True Domain. The family head, Laurence Brooks, is at Domain Stage Level Four and ranks among the top ten in the True Domain.
At this moment, in the Brooks Family’s main hall, at least a dozen elder-level powerhouses were seated. A young and beautiful woman sat at the upper right, her presence especially striking. If Joe Di were here, he would instantly recognize her as Joanna Brooks. Even when she wore a veil before, her elegance was impossible to hide.
"The True Domain Prodigy Trials are about to begin. This time, I’ll go with Joanna and Elder Artus. As soon as Joe Di arrives, Elder Artus will handle the matter—make it clean." Laurence Brooks spoke calmly, but there was an unmistakable killing intent in his tone.
Joanna Brooks, who had been sitting calmly, immediately stood up and bowed respectfully. "Please spare Joe Di this once, Patriarch. My brother Victor’s death had nothing to do with Joe Di—I’ve watched the footage many times. Victor tried to take the ring from Joe Di, and ended up perishing on Cultivator’s Mount. From start to finish, they never even made contact."
An elder seated at the upper left frowned and spoke with some displeasure, "Joanna, your brother clearly died because of Joe Di. If Joe Di comes to the True Domain and our Brooks Family pretends not to see him, won’t we become the laughingstock of the True Domain?"
"But my brother’s death truly had nothing to do with him," Joanna Brooks said, a little lost.
"Hmph!" The elder snorted again. "Nothing to do with him? If not for Joe Di, would Victor have gone to Cultivator’s Mount? And Joe Di was the only cultivator to survive there. He could have saved Victor, but chose instead to save a worthless woman. If our Brooks Family doesn’t avenge this, how can we stand among the True Domain’s families? Cynthia Winters even had the nerve to ask the Ji Family for help over such a worthless woman—what a waste of effort."
Joanna Brooks’ expression grew unpleasant. She stepped out from her seat and bowed to Laurence Brooks. "Patriarch, Joe Di saved my life. If not for him, I would have died long ago in the Desolate River Forbidden Zone. Though I don’t know how he escaped, I owe him my life, and now I’m supposed to kill him instead of repaying his kindness—I just can’t do it. If my brother truly died by his hand, I’d kill him myself and then take my own life to repay my debt. But my brother clearly didn’t die by his hand, and for our Brooks Family to harm him instead—I can’t accept that."
Laurence Brooks’ face darkened at Joanna’s words. Joe Di had to die, but he couldn’t ignore what Joanna said, either.
Joanna Brooks is at Transforming True Stage, Fourth Layer. Though the Brooks Family has dozens of participants in this True Domain Prodigy Trials, Joanna is the only one with a real chance at the top three.
Seeing Laurence Brooks remain silent with a gloomy face, another elder stood up. "If Young Lord Byron hadn’t been killed, his cultivation wouldn’t be any weaker than Joanna’s. Two prodigies in our Brooks Family—one killed by that man. How can we let him roam free in the True Domain?"
In the eyes of the Brooks Family, Joanna Brooks’ status was naturally inferior to her brother Victor Brooks. Even after Victor’s death, someone had to take the blame—and killing Joe Di wasn’t just about that.
Why did Victor Brooks perish on Cultivator’s Mount? Wasn’t it because Joe Di had hundreds of supreme spirit veins? Even the Brooks Family couldn’t compare to that kind of wealth.
"Patriarch, I’m afraid this isn’t for our Brooks Family to handle. One of Joe Di’s friends killed Byron Wu, a concubine’s son of the Starshatter Lord. The Starshatter Lord will never let him go. If our Brooks Family intervenes, we’ll clash with the Starshatter Lord. It’s a shame about the treasures he carries."
After the elder said this, everyone in the Brooks Family’s council hall fell silent.
Killing Joe Di would be easy, but if the Starshatter Lord was involved, things wouldn’t be so simple.
......
Joe Di was frantically absorbing the spiritual energy from the surrounding spirit stones. With the clear laws here, he even felt that he could break through to the Sixth Layer of the Transforming True Stage at any moment.
Just then, a sudden voice rang out from outside: "The True Domain Prodigy Trials will be held at Ascendant Square in one day. All qualified prodigies may enter the competition area using their Entry Tokens."
His breakthrough to the Sixth Layer was half interrupted, and Joe Di could only pause his attempt.
A day passed, and Joe Di met Sean Zell, noticing his aura had clearly improved. It seemed cultivation in this place was greatly beneficial for Sean Zell.
Sean Zell was only at the Fifth Layer of the Transforming True Stage, but that wasn’t because his talent was inferior to the prodigies of Little Central World or the True Domain. On the contrary, Sean Zell might be even more gifted than those so-called prodigies. It was just that he came from Aurora Continent—a place so lacking in spiritual energy that even Sea Opening cultivators couldn’t leave. For Sean Zell to reach the Transforming True Stage there showed how extraordinary his talent was.
Because of this, after Sean Zell arrived in Little Central World, even though he was always busy, his cultivation still advanced from the Third to the Fifth Layer of the Transforming True Stage.
"Joe Di, don’t worry about anything else—just focus on the competition. Even if you fail, it’s nothing to worry about." After half a month of cultivating here, Sean Zell suddenly felt that if he kept training in the True Domain, reaching the peak of the Domain Stage wouldn’t be impossible. Once he reached that, maybe he’d have other ways to enter the Immortal Realm.
"Senior Zell, don’t worry about me—I have plenty of ways to get into the top three." Joe Di smiled, clearly unconcerned about the competition.
"Joe Di, your strength should surpass mine. In the cultivation world, strength is everything—we’re not bound by sect ties or mentorship, so let’s just call each other brothers from now on. Or better yet, let’s make our bond even closer." Sean Zell patted Joe Di on the shoulder.
Joe Di still respected Sean Zell, but now that Sean suggested calling each other brothers, he didn’t mind. "In that case, I’ll call you big brother from now on."
Joe Di agreed—Sean Zell was different from Master Illusion. Master Illusion had helped him greatly, so when Sean suggested they become friends, Joe Di didn’t hesitate to accept.
......
Ascension City’s square was packed with people. At its center, a raised platform about three feet high stood above the ground. Joe Di swept his divine sense across it—the platform could hold at least four or five thousand people at once. A barrier separated the platform from the square, protected by formation arrays, with a dedicated passage leading straight to the stage.
Joe Di’s divine sense quickly found many familiar faces: Faye Dee, Jamie Redriver, Cynthia Winters... he even spotted Joanna Brooks.
"Big Brother Zell, wait here—I have something to take care of." Joe Di strode directly toward Cynthia Winters. He’d waited here precisely because he knew she would come; otherwise, he would have already headed for Frostfall Mountain.
"Stop right there." Just as Joe Di approached within a few feet of Cynthia Winters, someone blocked his way.
Joe Di called out to Cynthia Winters, "Fairy Winters, how is Sherry Jing?"
Cynthia Winters’ gaze avoided Joe Di when she saw him, making his heart sink. Before he could speak, a terrifying aura pressed down on him, and Joe Di felt a wave of icy coldness all around.
The Azure Veil Blade on Joe Di’s back trembled violently—he could barely contain his killing intent. If Cynthia Winters didn’t give him a definite answer, he wouldn’t hesitate to act right here.
The one pressuring him was a refined-looking man standing behind Cynthia Winters. In Joe Di’s eyes, his cultivation was about Domain Stage, Fifth Layer—still weaker than Lord Goldwin, yet he dared to use killing intent against Joe Di.
Cynthia Winters also sensed Joe Di’s killing intent. She even saw the red tassel of his blade fluttering with no wind, radiating a fierce aura. Joe Di had dared not to save Joanna Brooks before—she believed that if he lost control, he’d really act here.
She quickly said, "Daoist Di, don’t worry—Sherry Jing is fine. The Prodigy Trials are about to start; I’ll explain everything to you after the competition."
Almost as if to confirm her words, as soon as Cynthia finished speaking, a middle-aged man appeared at the center of the raised platform and announced in a loud voice, "All cultivators with Entry Tokens for the True Domain Prodigy Trials, please enter the competition area."