Could the true form of the old Celestial Master be a dragon?
Gao Jing was shaken.
This was deeply contrary to common knowledge. The old Celestial Master was a being of the current era, but the dragon race had vanished from the world long before.
The current era, as generally understood, spanned from Year 1 of the Dao Calendar to the present Year 3918.
That meant dragons had not appeared in human eyes for nearly four thousand years — or even longer.
If the old Celestial Master's true form was a dragon, he would have been discovered long ago.
Was his subsequent disappearance related to this secret?
Gao Jing suppressed his thoughts. Now was not the time to probe historical mysteries, and those details didn't matter. What mattered was that if this place bore the name "Celestial Dragon Palace," the opportunity of the Inner Palace divine skill was very likely within.
He didn't know whether he was the first to discover that the path lay underwater.
Had anyone arrived before him? Or did each person see their own Celestial Dragon Palace?
Following the long corridor forward, Gao Jing stopped.
Behind the red jade archway, he saw a figure.
That timid boy from the Zhang clan with the Cycle-realm cultivation... Zhang Yong, was it?
"You're alone here? Where are the others?" Gao Jing's attitude toward him had shifted. Now that everyone was inside the Realm, the slot was spent — expelling him would serve no purpose.
But his tone was still far from polite.
The Jinghai Gao, as Qi's "new power," had always resented the ancient houses they viewed as fossils, clinging to outdated traditions and destined for history's discard bin. That was why he had resented Zhang Yong's weak cultivation and his reliance on ancestral privilege to secure a slot.
Zhang Yong seemed entirely unbothered by what had happened at the Full Moon Pool. He jerked his thumb behind him and said casually: "They're all inside the Dragon Palace. There are five Dragon Palaces under the water, and each contains only one opportunity for a divine skill seed."
Gao Jing was about to rush into the palace, but stopped himself: "How do you know?"
"There." Zhang Yong pursed his lips toward the back of the archway.
Gao Jing looked. Sure enough, the back of the red jade archway bore simple rules carved into its surface.
Five Dragon Palaces beneath the water. Each had a maximum capacity of ten. Each held exactly one opportunity.
Behind this particular archway was carved the character "Two" — marking it as the second of the five Dragon Palaces.
Most people, captivated by the Celestial Dragon Palace itself, would never think to check the back.
"How many did you see go in?" Gao Jing asked.
"Five."
Gao Jing nodded and moved toward the palace entrance.
Zhang Yong added: "Oh, and the other person from your Gao clan went in too. But I heard his screams earlier — seems like someone killed him."
Gao Jing's expression darkened. Entering the Celestial Secret Realm, one accepted the possibility of death. He only regretted losing an ally.
After a moment, he said: "Don't think that because you told me that, I'll go soft on you. You'd do well to stay hidden here. But if you dare enter and compete for the opportunity, I won't hold back."
"It's fine." Zhang Yong finally shifted his gaze from the archway and looked at Gao Jing, smiling.
"I just wanted you to die understanding why."
...
The interior of the Celestial Dragon Palace was equally lavish — anyone with an eye for quality would be dazzled beyond reason.
Jiang Chen, on the other hand, was perfectly calm.
He couldn't identify any of the materials. Pearls, rare woods — to him they were just pretty things.
Before entering the palace, he had checked the back of the archway and understood that the Dragon Palace was where the real competition would happen. He still didn't know what form the Inner Palace divine skill opportunity would take.
This Dragon Palace was numbered Four.
Jiang Chen estimated he was in the fourth group to discover the underwater path — he had lost considerable time on the riverbank.
But it was also possible the order of entry was scrambled. Nothing was certain.
He had been searching the main hall for only a short while when footsteps sounded behind him.
Jiang Chen spun around.
Since entering the Celestial Secret Realm, he had maintained combat readiness at all times. Especially inside the Dragon Palace — this was the last place to let your guard down.
The archway's rules had specified a maximum occupancy per palace, but no minimum.
That meant one could kill everyone else and search the palace at leisure — without waiting for the opportunity to appear and competing against a crowd.
Jiang Chen himself had no intention of doing this. But he couldn't guarantee others felt the same.
"Don't harm others" was not a maxim everyone believed in. But "never drop your guard" was universal truth.
The newcomer radiated obvious wealth and breeding, moving with the ease of someone accustomed to privilege.
"A friend of the Chong Xuan clan?" He smiled before speaking. "I saw you with Chong Xuan Sheng outside. I'm Tian Yong."
"Jiang Chen." Jiang Chen maintained a careful distance.
Tian Yong didn't linger in conversation. After a brief survey of the hall, he said: "I'll take the left wing. Brother Jiang, the right. We each try our luck?"
"Fine." Having found nothing in the main hall, Jiang Chen turned toward the right wing.
He didn't relish killing, but neither did he believe it was the optimal strategy — especially now, when the opportunity hadn't yet appeared and there was nothing to fight over.
Tian Yong's willingness to avoid early conflict was welcome. But if the man harbored any notion of a sneak attack, Jiang Chen's hand had not left his sword hilt.
The Dragon Palace was a distant concept for Jiang Chen — dragons were creatures of myth.
In many legends, the Dragon Palace represented the pinnacle of opulence, and what he now saw confirmed that.
The right wing was silent, with only his own footsteps echoing.
Long-burning lamps lit the halls, their flames apparently flickering since time immemorial.
He had not encountered another living creature since entering the Celestial Secret Realm. Perhaps the only living beings inside were the cultivators themselves.
This Dragon Palace was no different.
He had agreed to explore the right wing because Remembrance indicated Chong Xuan Sheng was in this direction.
But there were no signs of passage in the palace.
"Is the Celestial Secret Realm a place where truth and illusion intermingle? Half real, half false?"
Jiang Chen searched methodically, leaving nothing unexamined.
No one knew what form the opportunity would take or how it would appear.
After searching several side chambers without result, time dragged on, and Jiang Chen's patience began to fray.
Then — a scream!
It was Tian Yong's voice.
From the main hall behind him.
Jiang Chen spun and moved like lightning, crossing halls and doorways in under ten breaths, arriving back at the Dragon Palace's main hall.
Five people stood scattered across the space.
More precisely, four of them had surrounded a man in a wealthy merchant's hat.
They appeared to be cultivators who had entered the Dragon Palace after Jiang Chen and Tian Yong had split up.
At the richly hatted man's feet, Tian Yong lay stiff, his face dark and ashen, his life force utterly gone.