Chapter 4676 The Temple of the Bitter Sea City in the Boundless Territory
The middle-aged man"s name was Xiao Zhen Nan, and the beautiful woman"s name was Hua Ruo. Both of them were level-eight Dao Establishment powerhouses in the Surging River Divine Kingdom. In terms of strength, they were both weaker than Hong Dong Chuan.
After briefly exchanging greetings with Duan Ling Tian, the duo would occasionally steal glances at him. They had naturally heard of Duan Ling Tian, the G.o.d Defying Sword, and knew that he had defeated Hong Dong Chuan before. They were cultivating in seclusion at that time so they did not witness the battle. They heard all kinds of praises about Duan Ling Tian after that, but they were skeptical. Could Duan Ling Tian really defeat Hong Dong Chuan?
The duo was aware of Hong Dong Chuan"s extraordinary strength. After all, he was stronger than then and was acknowledged as the third most powerful person in the Surging River Divine Kingdom.
Before Duan Ling Tian appeared, the five strongest powerhouses in the Surging River Diving Kingdom were the level-nine Dao Establishment powerhouse from the royal family, Jiang Hai Shan; the level-eight Dao Establishment powerhouse from the royal family, Hong Dong Chuan, Hua Ruo, and Xiao Zhen Nan.
Both Hua Ruo and Xiao Zhen Nan also represented the Surging River Divine Kingdom in competing for the Dao Merging tablet with the Temple of the Bitter Sea previously.
The group of people quickly left the River Province and the Surging River Divine Kingdom at the speed of a level-seven Dao Establishment powerhouse. The Temple of the Bitter Sea was located west of the Surging River Divine Kingdom, and they entered the territory of the Temple of the Bitter Sea as soon as they left the Surging River Divine Kingdom.
After entering the territory of the Temple of the Bitter Sea, Hong Dong Chuan took the initiative to explain, "The Temple of the Bitter Sea is not as vast as our Surging River Divine Kingdom. It"s about half the size of our kingdom. You can think of it as a kingdom as well. All the cities in the Temple of the Bitter Sea are protected by the temple and are required to pay taxes to the temple."
"Unlike our kingdom, the temple doesn"t have an emperor or a royal family. They naturally have leaders who are just like an emperor. In general, they are less formal. They place a lot of importance on equality there. Commoners don"t have to pay respects to the divine monks of the Temple of the Bitter Sea. This would be a sign of great disrespect in our kingdom if we acted in such a manner to the royal family."
Duan Ling Tian gained a better understanding of the Temple of the Bitter Sea after listening to Hong Dong Chuan"s explanation. The temple was similar to countries on Earth that practiced equality and freedom of speech. Similarly, despite the equality and freedom, taxes still had to be paid.
In comparison, the Surging River Divine Kingdom was more like a feudal kingdom in ancient times. It was similar to the Saint Province Realm.
"The core territory of the Temple of the Bitter Sea is called the Boundless Territory, named after the boundless Bitter Sea. The main temple of the Temple of the Bitter Sea is located in the Boundless Territory. The Boundless Territory is surrounded by other territories, like the moon that"s surrounded by stars. It"s similar to our River Province in the Surging River Divine Kingdom where the capital is located."
Duan Ling Tian nodded in understanding. The Temple of the Bitter Sea was essentially similar to some of the countries on Earth.
The Temple of the Bitter Sea placed an emphasis on equality, but in Duan Ling Tian"s opinion, the equality was a lie. If the lives of the divine monks and ten thousand commoners in the Temple of the Bitter Sea were at stake, and the temple could only choose to save one or the other, he had no doubt that the result would be the deaths of the ten thousand commoners, not the divine monk. In the end, it was still a place where the strong were revered.
…
When they arrived at the Boundless Territory, the core territory of the Temple of the Bitter Sea, they quickly made their way to the city near the main temple of the Temple of the Bitter Sea. Unlike the royal palace of the Surging River Divine Kingdom that was located in the capital city of the kingdom, the main temple of the Temple of the Bitter Sea stood independently among the mountains just outside the city. The city was the largest and most prosperous city in the Temple of the Bitter Sea, and it was called the Temple of the Bitter Sea City. It was not inferior to the capital of the Surging River Divine Kingdom at all.
Duan Ling Tian and the others were welcomed by the people of the Temple of the Bitter Sea, and the temple also provided them with accommodations. They were all given a private courtyard.
"The Dao Establishment Compet.i.tion will take place in three days. It"ll be a private event."
The Dao Establishment Compet.i.tion between the Surging River Divine Kingdom and the Temple of the Bitter Sea had always been private. Not many people knew about it. If the royal family of the Surging River Divine Kingdom did not invite Duan Ling Tian to partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion, he would not have heard about the compet.i.tion as well even though he had been in the Surging River Divine Kingdom for quite some time. It did not matter if he was famous or if his status had risen, he would have remained oblivious to the Dao Establishment Compet.i.tion if it was not for the royal family.
Duan Ling Tian did not stay long in his courtyard before he grew bored. In the end, he decided to go out and explore the Temple of the Bitter Sea City.
It did not take long for him to notice that everything in the city carried a touch of Buddhism. Many people on the streets were dressed in monks" robes. There were also many monks in the city, kneeling and kowtowing as they made their way to the main temple of the Temple of the Bitter Sea.
When they arrived at the city, Hong Dong Chuan had explained to Duan Ling Tian that these ascetic monks would kneel and kowtow all the way to the main temple of the Temple of the Bitter Sea to show their devotion to Buddha.
As Duan Ling Tian strolled on the streets, the most common sound he heard was the sound of Buddha"s teachings and chants. Perhaps it was due to these sounds that he let his mind wander. He was very relaxed, and it had been a long time since he last felt this way.
When he was in the Myriad Worlds and the Outer Boundary, Duan Ling Tian thought he could retire and enjoy life after becoming a level-seven supreme powerhouse. After all, at that time, he and Feng Qing Yang were the only level-seven supreme powerhouses in the world. Unexpectedly, the heavenly texts appeared, and heaven paved the way for the other Saints and World supreme powerhouses to become level-seven supreme powerhouses as well. As more and more level-seven supreme powerhouses appeared, his hope of retiring and enjoying life was naturally dashed. He knew he could not afford to slack off, and in the end, he became the first level-eight supreme powerhouses in the Myriad Worlds and the Outer Boundary. At that time, he thought that as long as he kept cultivating, he would continue to stand at the peak of all living beings. Unexpectedly, he was transported to the Divine Land.
A level-eight supreme powerhouse was similar to a level-eight Dao Establishment powerhouse in the Divine Land. Although they were considered powerful, there was still a realm above the Dao Establishment realm, which was the Dao Merging Realm.
Needless to say, Duan Ling Tian"s new goal was to enter the Dao Merging realm. Now that he had reached the peak of the Dao Establishment realm, the next step was for him to break through to the Dao Merging Realm. At that time, his strength would be on par with "heaven" that governed the Myriad Worlds and the Outer Boundary.