Preparing For The Profound God Convention

Aerion woke up before Izanami and swiftly got to business. The Divine Justice Sect had settled down and the most talented disciplines were preparing for the Profound God Convention. Some elders were kind enough to donate their cultivation strength to the younger generation which Aerion did appreciate since he didn't wish to force such things. Soon enough, the Divine Justice Sect started to gather quite a late Divine Tribulation Realm disciples who would, no doubt, reach the Divine Spirit Realm in the coming Profound God Convention. After all, they had a whole ten months which is plenty of time (thanks to the Heaven Absorbing Silver Claw).

It was about two weeks since his Divine Tribulation Lightning had destroyed the Sky Piercing Realm and almost the entire Primal Chaos Dimension (if he had not absorbed it, of course). Still, the memory of the Divine Tribulation Lightning remained fresh in everyone's mind. In fact, it won't ever be forgotten. Something so shocking had never happened before. There was only a single time where a genius had to endure six rounds and that genius perished... but this time it was eleven rounds! Even more so, it had shaken the entire Primal Chaos Dimension and even posed a threat to its existence.

Of course, many people thought that the heavenly genius who had to endure eleven rounds perished since not even a peak Divine Master would be able to endure such powerful lightning. The best thing about this situation was that very few people would even suspect Aerion to be this genius so he was free from unnecessary attention.

Aerion felt conflicted on whether to not he should return to the Snow Song Realm but, after some thinking, he decided to return. After all, he didn't want to make his Master worry for too long. He was missing her cold presence as well... which he never thought was possible.

This should be an interesting experience.

Aerion left the Darkya Realm's atmosphere and cut through into space. Now at his normal Purgatory state, which he could maintain indefinitely, Aerion's battle power was around the 4th stage of the Divine Sovereign Realm so he was more than capable of safely traversing space which required the power of a Divine Sovereign.

Aerion took out one huge map of the Eastern Divine Region and located the Snow Song Realm. It looked like crossing to the Snow Song Realm wouldn't be too difficult since the two star realms were relatively close. After he memorised the path, Aerion put the map into a storage ring. Since there were no other Divine Sovereign Realm existences in the Darkya Realm, he was the lone person floating above the Darkya Realm.

It'll be farewell, for now.

Aerion started to make his way to the Snow Song Realm. It took him three whole days of navigating space to get there. Since he didn't encounter any obstacles, the journey itself was rather bland. Spending three days in an empty void isn't exactly exciting. But the view of the other star realms was pleasant since each world was unique in its own way. He made sure to take note of the star realms which were closest to the Darkya Realm because they were potential candidates for conquest in the near future.

Aerion switched to his Ice Phoenix Snow Robes and flew straight down to what he recognised as the Divine Ice Phoenix Sect. It hadn't changed much apart from a few visible holes in the ground here and there. Aerion felt slightly nervous as he sneaked into the Sacred Hall. Now, his concealment was perfect as he had managed to suppress his aura completely in addition to being invisible. Only a late (and focused) Divine Master would be able to sniff him out in this state.

How do I get this conversation flowing?

Aerion wondered as he looked at the back of his Master.

"You returned earlier than expected."

Looks like that won't be necessary... I'm not surprised that she was able to sense my presence. After all, her cultivation far surpasses my own and she is a rather sharp lady as well.

"Well, I planned to be away until the God Convention but things didn't quite go as I expected."

"Like your Divine Tribulation Lightning?"

Aerion nodded. "Precisely. I wanted to trigger it in the Snow Song Realm... originally, of course. But I'm glad I avoided doing so. Otherwise, Master and the rest of the Snow Song Realm wouldn't exist anymore."

"So it was your lightning that trembled the Primal Chaos Dimension, after all... hmph, I expected no less. It seems that you profited greatly from the experience as well since you broke through to the Divine King Realm. Still... how did you survive it?"

"In reality, I died in the tenth round and was born anew right after. The round following that was an absolute breeze in my reborn state. I managed to absorb the Divine Tribulation Lightning and make it into my own strength... but, unfortunately, the Sky Piercing Realm had to pay the price for my breakthrough." Aerion sighed. "I never expected it to be so potent..."

"That last round should have ended all life on the Primal Chaos Dimension but, instead, only a single star realm was destroyed. You did the best you could, I'm sure of it." Mu Xuanyin turned around and faced him.

"Only one was destroyed while the other 45,000 star realms were saved."

"I was the cause of it all anyway," Aerion replied.

"Then would you rather stay in the Divine Tribulation Realm forever?"

"No, I suppose not..."

"It is the Heavens who should bear the blame for being so envious, not you. Is there another reason why you came here other than the Divine Tribulation Lightning?"

"Well, I was starting to miss my cold Master."

"Hmph, it has only been a month... but I suppose this isn't a bad thing." Mu Xuanyin walked closer. "Your hair has grown noticeably longer."

"It is quite troublesome... I've never had it this long."

"It suits you well, you look better this way."

"Does it... really?" Aerion thought about it.

Jasmine did say I'd look better if I had long hair but I've avoided doing so since I feared the possibility of being mistaken for a female...

"With your masculine features, it is impossible for you to be mistaken for a woman," Rotias stated.

That is true.

"However, it remains as wild and unrefined as ever." Mu Xuanyin's tone warmed, only slightly. "Since you truly miss your Master, then you shouldn't mind staying in the Snow Song Realm for a while longer..."

Aerion nodded. "I would not mind."

"Good... I should first assess your battle strength since you have broken through to the Divine King Realm."

~

As expected, Aerion was able to match a peak Divine Sovereign's power in his peak Silver Calamity (Phase 4) state. He could open the Dragon Emperor gate and hold it for a few seconds which would push his battle power past the Divine Sovereign Realm and into the early stages of the Divine Master Realm. However, opening the fifth gate would result in severe consequences so he avoided using it.

Naturally, being his Master, Mu Xuanyin was proud of her disciple. The Profound God Convention was nine months away and he already held the power of a Middle-Rank Star Realm King... for a mere disciple of a Middle-Rank Star Realm, this was obviously unprecedented.

Their master-disciple bond didn't seem to have been affected by the Flame God Realm accident, at least on the surface. Though Aerion couldn't help but notice the possibility that Mu Xuanyin, perhaps, saw him as something more than a disciple. There were a few clues here and there but nothing concrete had emerged yet...

After thirteen days in the Snow Song Realm, Aerion used the World Teleportation Portal to teleport himself to the Forbidden Land of Samsara. He wore the disguise of Justice, of course, since anything could happen.

"This King has made his return," Aerion announced before walking to the garden where He Lin should be.

"Master... is it really you?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Senior Shen Xi said that you might be dead..."

Aerion shook his head. "You mean the Divine Tribulation Lightning? The Heavens were truly envious of my heaven-defying talents... but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle." Aerion replied confidently.

"I was scared for a moment but you managed to come back in two months... I'm glad you didn't forget."

"I would never forget about you, He Lin. I found the best place to cultivate herbs while I was away... it's a thousand times better than this place, in fact."

"Really?"

"Everything made by me is of unparalleled quality." Aerion smiled as he took out the Seventh Heaven Pearl. It glistened a myriad of colours as light shined upon it.

"That is... so beautiful. But how will I grow anything with this?"

Aerion opened the Seventh Heaven Pearl and He Lin was drawn into it. Then Aerion closed it. "A Heavenly Treasure made by your's truly."

Aerion walked forward and collected everything which He Lin had grown in the two month period.

"Forgive me, Shen Xi, but this visit will be short as I need to make preparations for the Profound God Convention. I'm sure you can understand... I'll return after the tournament is over, however."

Just like that, Aerion was gone as quickly as he had come.

~9 months later~

"Lord Justice, the disciples have already left for the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm... will you not be attending?"

"Hmph, such a trivial event is not worth my attention. I will be away on a journey of far more importance."

"Then I will be leaving to oversee the disciples at once." The Divine King, now named Cang Lin, bowed and left the hall.

Aerion now sat alone in the main hall. He left his throne to meet with Izanami and Robb. Then they left for the Snow Song Realm with the use of the World Teleportation Portal. They joined with the Snow Song Realm's group after that.

"We have been waiting for quite some time, Senior Brother." Mu Hanyi stated.

"I'm sure you could have waited for a while longer." Aerion smiled. "After all, I am the direct disciple of the Realm King and by far the strongest disciple in the sect."

Mu Hanyi managed to keep his composure. "Who are those two behind you?"

"Disciples of my thirty-sixth palace." Mu Bingyun replied.

"Oh, I see."

"Senior Brother, you look more charming with this style of hair." Mu Feixue commented.

Aerion wanted to sigh. "Thank you for the compliment, Junior Sister."

You're hitting at the wrong person...

That was when Izanami wrapped her hands around his right arm. "You should know that he's mine already, hmph."

That was uncalled for... but it may be useful.

"I see." Mu Feixue replied.

Robb laughed. "My Lord, we shouldn't wait for too long."

"You're right." Aerion nodded. "Let's proceed onwards, towards the Profound God Convention!"