1961 Sky Palace
Han Sen had to go to Sky Palace, so he told Xie Qing King and the others. They were to take care of Planet Eclipse for him in the meantime, and they discussed plans for the future.
Han Sen was not worried about how Planet Eclipse would fare, nor Xie Qing King. As long as Han Sen’s ident.i.ty was not exposed, Yisha would also be there to safeguard the planet. No harm should come to Xie Qing King and the others while he was gone.
Han Sen was scared of people recognizing him in Sky Palace. If he was found out, all sorts of trouble could come.
The next morning, Xie Qing King called for a s.h.i.+p and had Han Sen shuttled off to Sky Palace in secret.
Sky Palace had many requirements for entry, so only proper students were allowed to enter the place. Han Sen was allowed in only because of his a.s.sociation with Yisha. None of his companions were, however.
On the way there, Han Sen found himself stricken with boredom. He watched Bubble jump up and down for a while.
The creature was an optimistic thing, and it never appeared worried.
Aside from Bubble, Han Sen even had to leave behind Little Invisible. Without explicit permission, you were not allowed to bring anything else. If he was found out to have smuggled something in, he’d be a dead man.
With a deified elite there, Han Sen wouldn’t make the smallest move out of line.
Sky Palace was far away from Narrow Moon. It took him an entire month to reach his destination, despite taking multiple hypers.p.a.ce jumps.
Sky Palace was a ma.s.sive xenogeneic s.p.a.ce. The s.h.i.+p Yisha sent had no permission to land, so it came to a stop at a planet nearby. After they confirmed Han Sen’s ident.i.ty, they sent another s.h.i.+p for Han Sen to travel in on.
When Han Sen entered Sky Palace, he found many islands floating in the air. It was just sky everywhere he looked. The islands went on and on, both above and below him. How many there were in total, he could not guess.
Sky Palace must have been notified of his arrival. When Han Sen entered, a man rode towards him atop a big white bird.
“Are you Han Sen?” the man asked, bowing. He was very clean, and he looked like someone in their early twenties. The image, however, was marred by a wound on his forehead.
Or at least, Han Sen thought it was a small wound. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a third eye.
“My name is Han Sen; what is your name?” Han Sen replied with a bow.
“My name is Thousand Feather Crane, and I am a student of one of the elders here. I have been sent here by my master to guide you along the Sky Road.”
“Sky Road? I thought we were going to Sky Palace,” Han Sen asked, confused.
Thousand Feather Crane did not appear to be in a rush, and so he said, “The first master made a rule. Any non-student that comes here must traverse the Sky Road alone. If you cannot travel through it, then that means you are not the heir of a deified. In that case, you will be shut out. Please forgive me.”
“I see. Please lead the way, then.” Han Sen was happy.
Han Sen did not want to enter Sky Palace. If there was a rule like this, in which he had to traverse the Sky Road, he could deliberately fail the test. Then he could go home.
“Please.” Thousand Feather Crane performed a gesture, and the white bird lowered its head.
Han Sen climbed on its back, and then Thousand Feather Crane commanded that it fly. It rose towards the closest floating isle they could see. As the bird took them there, Han Sen asked Thousand Feather Crane for more information concerning the Sky Road.
Sky Palace had many floating islands, and not even a student such as himself could guess the sheer number of them. The most famous one wasn’t the one where the leaders resided, though. It was actually the one beginners visited. It was called Sky Door Island.
Sky Door Island was not very big. It was only a kilometer in length, and about a dozen meters wide. There were only a door and a stone path.
Anyone who came to this xenogeneic s.p.a.ce—deified elites included—had to go to that island. They had to take the stone steps, unless they wished to be treated as an enemy.
Sky Door Island did not have anything special. The door and the stairs were ordinary. It was something that possessed a meaning under-the-hood, more than anything.
But when you walked past all the stairs, you would reach the Sky Road.
The Sky Door Island’s steps were right across the main island. Between the two islands, there was a giant gourd vine which made up the road.
If you wanted to enter Sky Palace, you had to go past the vine and reach the island. If you fell, it meant you weren’t qualified.
“Brother Thousand Feathers, what is so special about this gourd vine?” Han Sen asked with curiosity when he saw Sky Door Island.
Thousand Feather Crane smiled and said, “Don’t worry. The Sky Road is not dependent on your strength. If it is your destiny to do so, an ordinary person or creature that has not yet generated a geno armor can reach that island. You are a student of Knife Queen, so you must have some sort of destiny. You must be able to reach the main island.”
Han Sen wished to ask more, but the bird was directly in front of Sky Door Island now. It landed in front of a door that had been built from stone.
“Brother Han, please.” Thousand Feather Crane gestured towards the door.
Han Sen got off the bird and went atop the stone platform. When he looked up, there were a thousand steps trailing off into the sky. At the end of the stairs was the green vines looked like a dragon perched amidst the clouds.
Many green gourds were hanging on the vine. Some were as big as buildings, whereas others were as small as a fingertip. They were all green.
After Han Sen said his thanks to Thousand Feather Crane, he went through the door and began his ascent of the steps. He was headed for the gourd vine.
And just as he was told, the stone stairs presented nothing special. It wasn’t much later when Han Sen reached the end. The big gourd vine was in front of him. It was wide enough to allow a carriage to go along it.
“How can you fall off of this vine? There must be some other force at work here, but whatever it is, Thousand Feather Crane didn’t think to tell me,” Han Sen thought to himself.
Han Sen used his Dongxuan Aura to take a look. The gourd vine had the constancy of a machine. It somehow seemed more substantial than Clear Sea King, who was a King.
Han Sen was shocked. “Is this gourd, that’s scarier than a real dragon, greater than a King cla.s.s elite?”
“Who cares? I’m not making it all the way across, anyway. If something goes wrong, I’ll just jump down.” Han Sen went towards the gourd vine, planning to lose the contest.