31 Chapter 31: Immortal Dragon Sect

Soren watched as the clouds above began to form into a dark funnel that began shooting down towards him, as an ominous red tinge begin to glow up in the clouds, while flashing red lightning began to swarm about, before the first strike hit Soren in the face, as he was struck into the ground as a bunch of smoke rose into the air, but as the smoke cleared, Soren appeared to get up and dust himself off with no sign of being affected by that strike.

[Well that wasn't nice… And here I thought you were gonna take it easy on me]: soren

Soren spoke, even though it wasn't directed towards anyone in particular, but right after Soren spoke, another strike pursued, as Soren was struck again, and then again, and soon, Soren had been struck by 10 bolts of red lightning, before Soren had noticed people began surrounding him as they watched on with interest as the lightning struck. Soren could see that most of the people who came to watch stayed hidden within the void, as everyone who came were of the Divine Immortal state or higher, while even a single Immortal King appeared, and with how young he looked, Soren could assume that it was the man known as Jiang Chen, as he wore clothes that appeared to be for royalty, while his cultivation was the highest among the ones currently gathered to watch Soren ascend.

'Who is this man?... I have never seen, nor have I heard about this man from any sects, and here he is, surpassing both myself, and father who should be the only Immortal Emperor in the entire realm… And even if there were another Immortal Emperor out there, why would he be ascending on this planet?... I should go inform father about this… Maybe he can achieve a state of enlightenment and ascend as well': jiang chen

The man who everyone knew as Jiang Chen quickly left to go inform his father about Soren's appearance, along with the fact that he was currently in the process of ascending, while everyone else stayed put, while waiting to see if Soren would die in this tribulation, as if he did pass, they would be able to ransack his body for anything valuable, while the more skilled opponents could forcefully open his pocket space, while Soren was still alive. Soren didn't bother with anyone watching, as they didn't seem to hold any plan on interrupting him from his ascension, and he wasn't worried about being attacked when his guard was down by someone who might harbor the intent to attack him. Soren then held out as if it were nothing as the next set of 10 red lightning bolts had struck him down, but none seemed to have affected him in the slightest, and even his clothing was fine, as Soren protected it with his profound energy.

'This is boring… Ava, how many more strikes have to come before I pass the tribulation?': soren

<{It is an undetermined number, Soren… The tribulation is not only a test given to those who wish to ascend, but it a tool used to strengthen the body of the one undergoing the tribulation, and each realm has a limit to the power it can dish out in an attack, meaning, each person experiences different levels of power in the tribulation, and if anyone were to try and interrupt a tribulation and get hit, it may vaporise them, or give them a severe wound… Each tribulation also comes in a variety of how many times it can and will strike you, as it bases its power on how weak you are… For example, if an average Immortal Emperor undergoes a tribulation to ascend, they might only get struck 10 times, as that's what the world will decide that they had to withstand before ascending, while a stronger Immortal Emperor might be required to go through 30 tribulation lightnings… So you might experience 100 strikes, or even 1,000… And each strike someone survives, will ultimately bring great benefits in the next realm, but you surpass the power gap from this realm to the next, so you would naturally receive nothing from this}>

'I see… Kinda boring if you ask me': soren

<{This is what you wished for, Soren… I can only guide you, and give you better options for power as you increase your points}>

Soren didn't like how it seemed that Ava was mocking him, as she was right, he was complaining about everything being boring, yet this was what he wished for in the end, so it was only his fault, but this also made Soren thankful that he didn't wish to be equally as strong as the Creator of Everything. Soren then endured another 20 strikes, as more and more cultivators began to gather, but this time, they were cultivators or lower state, such as Heavenly Immortals, Peak Immortals, and Sky Immortals, while very few Earth Immortals, and Tribulation Immortals had appeared to watch the show, while some of the cowardly Tribulation and Earth Immortals ran back to where they came from after seeing existences such as Peak and Heavenly Immortals. While Soren was ignoring everyone present, some of the immortals seemed to have begun discussing amongst themselves as they began counting exactly how many strikes Soren had undergone, while those who were there since the beginning couldn't believe it themselves.

[What!?... He had undergone 40 strikes!?... I ascended from the lower realm after surviving only 10 strikes, and I was on death's door, while I almost died after being flung into the ground after ascending… This guy must be a monster!... I wonder if that's what our next tribulation would be like]: random earth Immortal

[Shhhh!... Another strike is coming! He's gotta be about dead, only a monster could survive all this… Hell, I think even a monster would have been blown to smithereens after the first 20 strikes]: random peak immortal

Talk began to flood through the crowd, as some cultivators began to place bets with their spirit stones, while some of the young masters of prominent families began to weasel their way to the front as they began to take a closer look, and one of them decided to get too close, and a stray lightning strike had strayed from Soren's path, and obliterated the arrogant young master, not even leaving behind dust to send home to his family.

'Hehe… Dumbass, not even thinking about the repercussions of getting too close… He deserved it': soren

Soren then turned his attention back to the dark sky, but soon a grand sight appeared, as 2 men came flying over through the skies, one was familiar as Soren recognised this man from the crowd earlier, and thought that due to his cultivation he must be Jiang Chen, while the other one is much stronger, and Soren could only guess this was the rumored Immortal Emperor.

[There he is, dad… He seems to be going through the tribulation, but why had it taken this long… I for sure thought he would have either died, or ascended by now, but he's still being struck]: jiang chen

[Ohohoho… My son… You have done a great job today, and I feel that I could gain some insight from this man, and possibly ascend to the next realm]: immortal emperor

Upon watching from a distance, everyone began to notice the appearance of their ruler and his son who was the current acting ruler, and then murmurs began to be heard among the gathered crowd, as Soren listened to them.

[Look!... It's Immortal Emperor Chen!]: random cultivator

[Oh!... Emperor Chen!... I love him so much!]: random cultivator 2

[Damn, It's Emperor Chen!... That bastard slept with my wife!]: random cultivator 3

[Shhhh!... Are you asking for death!?... Shut up!... Immortal Emperor Chen has slept with many peoples wives!... Just deal with it!]: random cultivator 4

Soren couldn't help but laugh a bit as some of the comments, while Emperor Chen and his son were also laughing from above, as they heard the murmurs as well. Even though Emperor Chen was the strongest among the entire realm, besides from Soren, he was never truly arrogant. Yes, he would kill those who opposed him in his path to the top, but he would never go out of his way to kill those who think badly of him, as he felt it was unbecoming of a person of his stature, so instead of being an arrogant prick like most young masters who slaughter the weak at the drop of a hat, and this was why Emperor Chen was respected by so many people, yet some still thought that Emperor Chen may act out if he was mocked or felt he lost any face, but it was all wrong.

'198… 199… 200!... I've survived 200 strikes, yet the world will seems to still want to attack me… I hope this is over soon': soren

Soren then looked around while still board out of his mind, and noticed that many cultivators began to sit down and cultivate with happy smiles on their face, and when Soren scanned the area around him, he noticed that the area around him seemed to be leaking quite a potent amount of Spiritual Energy, making Soren think that the tribulation was opening up the portal to the next realm, as it began leaking out a stronger energy than what was currently in this realm.

'Yes!... Seems like the realm has opened!... Fucking finally!': soren

Soren then felt as if he were being raised off the ground as a portal opened up and began sucking Soren inside before spitting him out into the next realm, leaving thousands of cultivators in awe at how Soren departed from their realm, while in the new realm, Soren was quickly met with quite the few cultivators waiting for him to ascend, as it had been such a long time since someone had last ascended. Soren began to feel a sense of deja vu in the scene of being surrounded by a bunch of cultivators, as he pulled himself out from the small crater that he made upon landing in the next realm.

[Ahh… Can I help you?]: soren

Soren got up and began patting his clothes off, while looking towards one of the cultivators, and upon seeing himself being called out by Soren, he stood forwards and spoke.

[No… We were all just curious as to who could be ascending… It's been over 10 million years since the last time someone had ascended, and I was there to see them with my own eyes, but sadly, they died not too long after ascending… I would like to give you a helpful tip so that you don't end up like your predecessor]: ???

[Oh?... And what would this tip be?]: soren

Soren didn't have an arrogant tone, as he was quite interested in what the person had to say, so upon seeing Soren's interest in his advice, the man spoke.

[Up here, we have frequent wars between sects, so anyone who is not registered in a sect seem to be hunted down, as loose cultivators always seem to be problematic among the order we have created over the past few billions of years… So another reason why we are gathered here is to recruit you, or kill you if you refuse to join a sect… Sorry if I have offended you little one, but this is how it has been for billions of years]: ???

Soren seemed a little sour over this fact, and wanted to prove his strength and kill everyone here, but he seemed a bit curious as to what happens within a sect, so he spoke.

[So how do I join a sect?... Do I just pick one, and then I'm in?]: soren

[No… Most who wish to cultivate are under order of a sect and are given materials to progress, and then every 10 years a Disciple Selection event is held, where all who wish to join as a Disciple are taken to a sacred ground where they compete, and after collecting a certain amount of sect merit will you be selected as a member… While those who choose to withdraw from a Disciple Selection will continue growing their cultivation within the sect borders]: ???

[So in this realm, sects act as kingdoms in which they hold the power over land they govern… Seems kinda simple… But what lets one know if they are a loose cultivator?]: soren

[It is quite simple, little one… If you are not a member of a sect, you are confined to the land in which you were born, or live, and you can only leave that land once you become a Disciple, but to leave your land, you must be sent out on a mission, or be an inner core Disciple like all of us here… Do you have any other questions?]: ???

[Yeah… Just one… Since I am an Ascender, how am I registered on what land I am bound to, since I was not born here?]: soren

[Ohhoho… That's quite simple… We that have gathered here will give you offers, then you can choose where you want to be stationed… Simple right?... And now that we're getting to that topic… My name is Long Laolong… I am a descendant from the Dragon Clan, and I am a member of the Immortal Dragon Sect… Usually we only accept Dragon Kin into our sect, but I can sense that your body is quite strong, and could possibly match mine in strength]: laolong

After seeing Laolong make his offer to Soren, other sects began making offers, while sects who kept quite began making offers upon seeing their rival sects make offers, and soon, Soren was getting a bit annoyed through all the shouting, and saw Laolong with a wryly smile on his face, and then spoke, making all the cultivators go silent.

[I choose to go with brother Laolong, here... Thank you for all your offers, but I made my decision]: soren

Everyone felt a little angry that Soren chose Laolong rather than their sects, but nothing they could say or do would change his mind, and he made that obvious, and upon seeing Soren accept his offer, Laolong smiled towards him before extending his hand towards Soren while gesturing for Soren to grab it, so Soren did exactly that, and in the next second, Soren and Laolong appeared above the skies of what one would assume was the territory of the Immortal Dragon Sect, and Soren looked down over all the hard working people who tended the vast farmlands, while off in the distance, there were people working in the mines, and scattered all over the place were cultivators sitting in lotus position while they had emblems attached to their waists representing the Immortal Dragon Sect territory.

[So how do you like it?... My sect along with its ancestors had spent trillions of years fighting in wars to win over this much land, and we are by far the biggest landowners in this realm]: laolong

[It's quite beautiful… So, how do I become a member of your sect so that I may have free roam of the plains?]: soren

[Hehehe… You will start like everyone else, and will take the exam, but don't worry, as it is coming up in a week, so you have time to prepare, but not much… And as for your thoughts about free roam, you must work your way to that, and become an inner core disciple… But that shouldn't take you too long, maybe a few hundred thousand years… Anyway, take this, as it will signify to any patrolling disciples that you belong to these lands… Good luck, and cya later little one]: laolong

Laolong then disappeared off into the distance, while Soren could still sense him, and found that he had gone back to the sect to inform the higher ups of his claim over the new ascender, leaving Soren to begin exploring the Immortal Dragon Sect's territory for the next week, making him happy that he told Gine that he would let her train for a few months, while he went to explore, so exploring he did.

[I wonder what these sacred grounds look like… Guess I'll find out]: soren