Age of Evolution#

Chapter 770: Chapter 773: The Rules of the Fifth Young Master

“Everyone, please look up. This mountain is the second highest peak on Star-Picking Island, and going from the foot of the mountain up, you will find the locations of the eight different classes.”

“At the bottom is the Huang Class area, followed by the Hong Class, and at the very top is the Heaven Class. Since the existence of Falling Star Lake Holy Land, there have always been people here. Those of you with good eyesight might be able to see the people below the stone monument.”

Lin Zhen looked up and indeed saw a group of people under the huge stone monument of the Huang Class, though the distance was too far for him to see clearly.

“I’ll accompany you all until here. Beyond this point, it is forbidden for ordinary workers to enter. The Fifth Young Master, Jin Nuo, will personally come down to take you all up. You’re really quite fortunate; in previous years, the Fifth Young Master wouldn’t have bothered with such trivial matters.”

Having said that, the worker turned around and left. Above them, the Fifth Young Master, Jin Nuo, clad in a white robe, was slowly descending.

“Greetings, Fifth Senior Brother!” cried the group in unison. People from outside the Holy Land referred to Jin Nuo as the Fifth Young Master, while those within the Holy Land addressed him as the Fifth Senior Brother.

“You are all here now, follow me up.”

The group lined up behind Jin Nuo, marveling at the endless scenery that surrounded them, as if their eyes could not take it all in.

Gazing down from the mountain, the sky was like a vast expanse, and the lake water swirled. This ancient land exuded an aura of age and mystery everywhere.

In the distance, a surge of waves shot up into the sky and into the dark clouds. A massive white dragon in the sea let out a resounding roar, before disappearing into the clouds, bringing a sudden storm from afar.

As they reached the location of the first stone monument, Jin Nuo halted.

There were about a dozen stone monuments here, each nearly a hundred meters in size. Some bore written words, some depicted images, and others were merely abstract, indecipherable objects.

Jin Nuo stepped in front of the crowd and spoke loudly: “Most of the stone monuments in Falling Star Lake Holy Land have been left behind by our predecessors. For example, these Huang Class monuments were carved by the ancestors of this class. Each monument records their lifelong learning and achievements: a set of martial arts techniques, a sword skill, or possibly a different martial skill. However, they all have one thing in common: the contents of the monuments are extremely profound.”

As he spoke, Jin Nuo approached a stone monument.

The individuals studying the monument in front of him stood up to greet the Fifth Senior Brother and then made way for him.

“Take this stone monument, for example, named the Flaming Sword Skill, written by the first generation of Huang Class students.”

At this moment, a Huang Class student asked, “If I want to leave my own martial technique behind, can I choose a monument and carve it on there?”

Jin Nuo smiled faintly: “Of course, as long as you have the ability.”

He pointed at some of the blank stone monuments behind him: “There are still plenty of empty ones here. I would be more than happy to see any of you carve something on them, but I fear you may not be capable.”

The martial artist who asked the question appeared unconvinced. After all, it was just a stone monument. His fingers could shatter mountains, so why would he care about a stone monument?

Perhaps wanting to prove himself in front of others, the martial artist strode towards a monument.

The older Huang Class students revealed a hint of mockery in their eyes, but none of them spoke up.

The martial artist arrived in front of the monument, raised his hand, thought about what he wanted to carve, and then swiftly moved his fingers!

“Ahhhhhhh~~!!”

“Pupupupupu~~~!!”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Stone fragments flew about as the martial artist’s Star Power circulated through his body, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

In a short while, he had carved quite a few words from top to bottom on the relatively small monument. However, he still couldn’t manage it in one go, needing to pause and catch his breath before continuing.

After stepping down, he expected to see envious gazes all around him – but instead, he found looks of pity and mockery.

Sensing that something was wrong, he suddenly looked back.

Behind him, the words he had carved were sparse and, as the wind blew, they were quickly dissipating!

Jin Nuo spoke indifferently: “What you thought you engraved with such effort was merely scratching through the dust on the surface of the stone monument. Apart from the dust, you have no ability to leave even a trace on the monument!”

“I can’t believe… I can only carve through the dust,” the martial artist’s face turned ashen, evidently deeply distressed.

Jin Nuo smiled: “There’s no need to be upset about it. Among those present, no one but myself has the ability to carve on the monuments.”

He pointed at Mitchell: “He can’t.”

He pointed at Dongfang Yu and Sun Yidao, as well as several other Heaven Class students: “Neither can they.”

And then his finger pointed at Lin Zhen: “Even he can’t, for now.”

Lin Zhen was stunned; Jin Nuo mentioned the Heaven Class students, which was understandable, but there were eight Earth Class students, and he only singled Lin Zhen out as being currently unable. This implied that Lin Zhen would be able to do so in the future.

Seeing the jealousy in the eyes of Huang Zun and the others, Lin Zhen knew that Jin Nuo had deliberately set him against them. Lin Zhen did not know Jin Nuo’s intentions and could only remain silent.

Regardless, Jin Nuo seemed oblivious to the inappropriateness of his actions and continued: “I believe I told you yesterday that, upon arriving at the Holy Land, you are all nothing. Over countless years, only so many monuments have been erected in the Holy Land. Just think about the extraordinary people who could have carved on them. It’s disappointing to see someone overestimating their abilities right after arriving.”

The martial artist looked incredibly upset, his pride long shattered. He hung his head, not daring to make a sound.

The people around didn’t dare to speak either. Although Jin Nuo appeared gentle, he was still the one currently in charge of the Holy Land, and his strength was unfathomable. No one dared to say anything at this moment.

As the atmosphere became overly solemn, Lin Zhen suddenly asked a question.

“Fifth Senior Brother, how powerful must one be to inscribe on the monument here?”

Jin Nuo glanced at him, and seeing that it was Lin Zhen, his face relaxed.

“Good question, I was going to tell you about this. Inscribing on the Holy Land Monument is not that easy. If you want to inscribe on the monument, you have to go and challenge the Thirty-Three Heavens Tower first.”

Everyone looked at him, as this Thirty-Three Heavens Tower seemed to be very important.

“Here is the second highest peak on Star-Picking Island. Above the clouds at the highest peak, there is a treasure tower called the Thirty-Three Heavens Tower. On every floor, there is a guardian. When you defeat the guardian, you can continue to climb up. To inscribe on the monument, you have to pass the twentieth floor. Those who fail to pass the twentieth floor will not be able to leave their mark on the Monument.”

Everyone became interested upon hearing this and could not wait to go and test how many floors they could reach in the Thirty-Three Heavens Tower with their current strength.

Seeing everyone’s eager expressions, Jin Nuo smiled: “Are you trying to overestimate your abilities again? Let me make it clear: among the more than a thousand of you, there will definitely be no more than ten who can pass the first floor in one go!”

No one dared to question Jin Nuo’s words, but they were still amazed.

So, to what extent must one reach to pass the highest floor of the Thirty-Three Heavens Tower?

However, Jin Nuo didn’t explain much: “Alright, you can slowly learn about the Thirty-Three Heavens Tower later, but what is more important now is cultivation. The Huang Class students should stay here to cultivate. But remember, you cannot cross the archway above; beyond the archway is the practicing area for Hong Class. Those above can come down to gain insight though.”

“All Huang Class students, stay behind. If there are disputes about the specific order for gaining insight from the stone tablets, you can resolve them through arena battles, but only in the Dimensional Arena. Those who fight each other privately will be punished by the Holy Land.”

After finishing, over half of the thousand people stayed and the remaining five hundred or so followed Jin Nuo to continue forward.

After passing through a moonlit archway, there were more than twenty stone tablets standing here.

“The inscriptions on these stone tablets were left by Hong Class students in the past. On average, there might not even be one person out of ten thousand generations who can inscribe on these tablets. Since the founding of the Holy Land, countless generations have passed, but only so few Hong Class students left inscriptions. How much you can gain from these inscriptions depends on your own luck.”

“Fifth Senior Brother, why are there more tablets here than in the Huang Class?” A Hong Class student asked.

“It’s simple. It’s because the quality of Hong Class students is better than Huang Class students, so the number of strong people is larger, and so there are more tablets.”

People nodded in agreement.

The Hong Class students stopped at this location and couldn’t continue to follow Jin Nuo forward.

At first, some people felt regretful, but they quickly entered an obsessed state because the stone tablets here were just too appealing.

Everyone found a suitable technique for themselves, each stopping to practice immediately.

Most people focused on gaining insight from behind, not daring to challenge the seniors ahead. Those who thought their strength was not bad challenged the older students, but without exception, all of them suffered terrible defeats.

After settling the Hong Class students, Jin Nuo continued on with the remaining two hundred plus people.

Passing another archway, there were about thirty more stone tablets here.

“This is the domain of the Universe Class, there’s no difference from the previous rules. For these tablets or those beneath in Hong Class and Huang Class, you can gain insights freely, but you cannot go up.”

Jin Nuo said goodbye to the Universe Class students and continued upwards, then he sent away the Earth Class, Yellow Class, and the Xuan Class students.

When they reached the Earth Class, there were only sixteen people left around him.

However, the Earth Class had fifty or sixty tablets. Although there were fewer people, the quantity of strong people here was greater.

Dozens of people were practicing in the distance, seemingly unaware of Lin Zhen and the others’ arrival.

“You all stay here. The Heaven Class and Earth Class students can add me to their Dimensional Universe. If you have any questions, you can ask me, but I advise you not to bother me about trivial matters.”

Everyone showed delight as adding the unfathomable Fifth Senior Brother as a friend was also an honorable thing.

“I won’t talk about the rules anymore, just cultivate. Remember, without significant accomplishments, don’t challenge the Thirty-Three Heavens Tower easily, lest your confidence gets shattered.”

After that, the Heaven Class students continued to go up while Jin Nuo stayed behind and suddenly appeared in front of Lin Zhen again.

He handed a flower to Lin Zhen.

“You are the only World King in this generation, and you are noticeable. However, I hope you will continue to strive. Although the road ahead is full of thorns, as long as you hold on, you will eventually bloom a beautiful flower, just like this Thorns Flower, I give it to.”

Lin Zhen accepted the flower, and Jin Nuo turned and left.

He lowered his head, looking at the flower in his hand, and felt a surge of emotions in his heart.

“Thorns Flower… This is clearly a rose! I need to stay calm. This is just a difference in customs and traditions, absolutely no other meaning!”