The Mysterious Realm of the Heavenly Book, Part 4

After all thirty-eight factions, large and small, had injected their fortune into the Book of Heaven, Su Qing felt the ground beneath her feet vibrate, as if a gigantic wave had surged from below, or as if a huge book had lightly turned a page.

She was like an ant standing on a page, carried along by the page into a new chapter.

The secret realm thus began.

The feeling before entering the secret realm was mysterious, as if the game was loading, and she was forced into a waiting page.

The people around her were still close at hand, yet Su Qing felt everyone was far away from her.

Someone seemed to be saying something, but she couldn’t hear clearly, so she had to watch with her eyes.

She saw the sect leaders or elders of the various sects in the front row.

Their expressions were tense and solemn, as if observing some colossal entity.

Standing at the very front was Wang Quan, the Sect Leader of the Sword School of the World.

He was no longer smiling, his expression calm as he gazed at the Book of Heaven above the clouds, and at the Sword School students being drawn into the book.

To be honest, although Su Qing had interacted with him many times, if asked, she still couldn’t figure out what kind of person he truly was.

He seemed to be laughing and joking every day, living a very happy life, without any airs of a Sect Leader.

He was utterly worldly, his mind completely fixated on money.

For money, let alone bending over, kneeling was a small matter.

This was what people outside said, and many within the Sword School deeply felt the same.

Studying at the Sword School, who could escape being fleeced by Old Dog Wang?

But Su Qing always felt that within his slender body lay a hard, sharp bone, supporting his frame, making his back thin, causing his entire skin to stand firm there.

He could kneel, he could bow low, but he would not fall.

Normally, it was fine.

Interacting with him always required much mental effort.

Now, under the blessing of this Book of Heaven Secret Realm, Su Qing found him to be like a vividly colored, simply drawn portrait, not so difficult to read.

But it was she who was drawn into the Book of Heaven Secret Realm, not anyone else. Su Qing suddenly realized that perhaps she was the one who had turned into a portrait.

She had transmigrated into a book again.

The book turned a page—

In an instant, the tens of thousands of cultivators standing at the foot of the mountain all vanished within a single breath. In their place, lines of characters began to appear on the pages of the giant book above the clouds.

[On the fifteenth day of the ninth month of the new era, the Sword School of the World convened thirty-seven factions to re-open the Book of Heaven Secret Realm at the foot of Mount Zhu, to allocate fortune and contend for destiny. Twenty thousand eighty-three cultivators participated, their names being: Xu Moqing, Ye Xiao, Xiao Wuya, Li Fengxuan, Qin Zhao, Su Chanyi…]

The remaining thousands of lines were the names of various cultivators, and these names varied in color and depth. There were a total of thirty-eight colors, representing the thirty-eight factions they belonged to. The varying depths, however, represented the profoundness of their fortune.

Those with shallow fortune had names that almost merged with the white pages of the book, so much so that even sharp-eyed cultivators had to look carefully to recognize them.

Those with medium-to-low fortune had names that were neither light nor dark, belonging to non-key content in a textbook. A glance would not leave any trace on the cerebral cortex, even if it briefly lingered.

Those with medium-to-high fortune had names that appeared to be bolded, belonging to the first line and first sentence that were likely to appear on an exam, requiring careful attention.

If one’s fortune was even higher, cherished by heaven and deeply blessed, their name would be like a chapter title, large and obvious, instantly noticeable.

Unfortunately, most people in the world are born mediocre, not favored by heaven.

Cultivators who can enter the Dao and cultivate immortality are already much luckier than mortals.

Therefore, these people, on the Book of Heaven, all had names; they were not obscure individuals.

However, nine out of ten possessed medium-to-low fortune.

Only one in a hundred possessed medium-to-high fortune.

One in ten thousand possessed high fortune. Only one in a million was favored by destiny, imbued with purple qi, and uniquely blessed, becoming a Child of Fortune.

The names of these individuals were carved deep into the pages, clearly discernible at a glance.

Only three individuals received such honor.

Qi Tianyu of the Sword School of the World, Tang Yueling of the Sword School of the World, and Li Weiyang of the Yan Yi Sect.

These three names were the most prominent, their characters deeply etched into the pages, three fen deep, clearly indicating they were individuals of great fortune.

Qi Tianyu was Daozi of the Qi family’s true name.

His appearance here was only natural. Li Weiyang, having reached Golden Core before sixty, and being the senior brother of the Yan Yi Sect, was also logically a deeply blessed individual. However, for him to stand shoulder to shoulder with Qi Tianyu was somewhat ineffable.

After all, though Li Weiyang’s background was not bad, his origin was merely from a medium-sized cultivation family near the outskirts of the Divine Capital.

His main family didn’t even have the ability to support their children in the Divine Capital Academy, which was why he was sent all the way to the Yan Yi Sect, choosing to be a “chicken head rather than a phoenix tail.”

Wang Quan chuckled lightly, fanning himself. He had already sensed something fishy.

The Yan Yi Sect Elder Li Zhoudu’s expression was as expected, but Wang Quan, seeing his raised left eyebrow and taut lips, knew that the old man was secretly immensely pleased, probably overjoyed, his ears perked up, just waiting for others’ praises.

Other sect elders, eager to curry favor, seeing this scene, all stepped forward, shamelessly, and enthusiastically complimented, “True Immortal Hengjiang, to tell you the truth, this old one had long ago discovered this child’s heaven-sent talent and dragon-phoenix countenance!”

“This child is an unparalleled genius, look at the depth of his fortune. It’s possible he’ll ascend to immortality someday. Truly, it is you, True Immortal, who has discerning eyes. That the Yan Yi Sect could gain such an excellent disciple is truly the will of heaven!”

“We have traveled this world for many years, and this is the first time we’ve seen such a marvel. This child is surely a qilin child; he will undoubtedly achieve great renown in the future.”

The compliments were like a bouquet of flowers, countless. Li Zhoudu still wore that aloof, indifferent expression, only coldly muttering a few “overrated.” This infuriated everyone, who, though smiling outwardly, inwardly cursed him for being ungrateful and for the heavens’ unfairness in bestowing such good fortune upon him.

Even though two students from the same sect had made it onto the Book of Heaven, no one came to congratulate Wang Quan, which showed that those present who had reached this stage were not lacking in intelligence.

And this Sword School Sect Leader had other thoughts: ‘It seems the Tang family, though not at the center of power, has not been idle either…’

It seemed there were other reasons for Commander Chiyan’s death, perhaps he had discovered some secret.

Others might not know, but with Wang Quan’s understanding of the Book of Heaven, among the tens of thousands of names, a few were slightly distorted and not entirely real. He surmised that someone must have used a magical artifact to conceal themselves.

Possessing a high-tier magical artifact capable of deceiving the Book of Heaven, and specifically coming here to take risks—the identities of these people were too easy to guess.

His eyes flickered. ‘Never mind, a little chaos is good. Chaos means there are profits to be made.’

Wang Quan took in all the names of the first-year students and memorized their fortunes.

He knew every student in the Sword School. Although he couldn’t claim to fully understand them, he knew very well how to manipulate each person.

Not long after, he found Su Qing’s name among them. Her name was simple, its characters neither dark nor light, blending into the tens of thousands of names, appearing remarkably ordinary.

But she shouldn’t have been like this.

Not to mention that she was a transmigrator, just her gains in the Sword School and the reputation she left in the Eternal Night Forest shouldn’t have resulted in this.

After the beast tide riot ended, Yinlan City regained its usual calm. But from somewhere, a legend about the Daughter of the Sun slowly spread, even being compiled into a nursery rhyme, sung by children.

The legend tells of a woman, an incarnation of the Golden Crow, who came from the sun.

She possessed a pure Yang body, her soul like fire, clear and ardent.

Neither darkness nor gloom could approach her, nor could they enter her body. She entered the Eternal Night, saving the people of the world, and was known as the Yang Maiden.

Wang Quan’s expression was unreadable. He let out a faint laugh, and a trace of nostalgia surfaced on his face.

‘Such extreme protection, it’s almost doting, isn’t it, Teacher?’
…

After Su Qing entered the Book of Heaven Secret Realm, she found herself in a small boat.

The small boat moved on an boundless expanse of water, appearing exceptionally tranquil. But when she looked down at the reflection on the water, she realized it wasn’t a boat at all, but her name.

Her name, Su Qing—two simple ink characters—formed a small boat sailing on a snow-white page, carrying her forward.
Around her, many ink boats of varying shades also sped out, carrying people.

The calm water immediately churned with thousands of wakes, and from time to time, someone brushed past her.

Su Qing saw a familiar face from the Sword School and stood up, intending to greet them.

But she found that the other party completely ignored her, passing by as if she weren’t there.

There was even an ink boat that headed straight for her, about to collide. The person on the boat calmly peered forward, seemingly oblivious to anything amiss.

Her heart skipped a beat. She wanted to steer the small boat to avoid it, as she was a master helmsman.

However, this boat followed its predetermined course and would not obey her commands.

Su Qing could only watch helplessly as she was about to collide with the person opposite.

She frowned.

Nothing happened. The anticipated pain did not come.

She simply passed through the phantom of the boat opposite her, feeling no obstruction whatsoever.

Su Qing immediately understood. “So we’re not on the same layer.”

Tens of thousands of people entered the secret realm. She had thought that with so many people entering, there would likely be constant disputes, grabs, and conflicts, requiring constant vigilance.

Now that she thought about it, everyone being on different layers meant that each person probably had their own opportunities.

This was good too; it prevented too many people from vying for too few resources.

Was there a basis for this layer distribution? Could it be based on fortune, as the Orchid Bamboo Gathering’s information suggested?

As she pondered, a thick fog suddenly rose, obscuring her vision.

The small boat, however, followed its predetermined course, plunging headfirst into the depths of the dense fog.