189: Chapter 188 Promotion to Heavenly Disciple, Heading to the Second Heaven

"Mu Qing, what was that thing just now?"

After that mirror-like object vanished, Xia Jin withdrew his gaze and looked at Mu Qing, who was beside him, with confusion.

Mu Qing took a deep breath, and the playful expression on his face completely vanished: "Brother Xia, that mirror just now is the Magic Treasure of our Temple Fifth Hall Master, the 'Heaven-Peering Mirror'."

"Heaven-Peering Mirror?" Jian Wuhen frowned and asked with curiosity, "Brother Mu, quickly tell us what is so special about this mirror?"

Mu Qing nodded, his tone filled with a trace of awe: "Besides possessing powerful combat strength, the primary function of this mirror is to examine a person's bone structure and measure their talent. Anyone illuminated by the Heaven-Peering Mirror will have their bone Aptitude and Cultivate talent clearly exposed."

He paused for a moment, looking in the direction where the Heaven-Peering Mirror had disappeared, and muttered: "The sudden appearance of the Heaven-Peering Mirror this time is likely... for the selection of Heaven-Class Disciples."

"Heaven-Class Disciples?!"

Jian Wuhen and Venerable Miaodi exchanged glances, a trace of surprise flashing in both their eyes. This was the first time the two of them had heard the title of Heaven-Class Disciple.

But soon, Mu Qing wore a puzzled expression and whispered to himself:

"Strange, that's not right... If it really was for selecting Heaven-Class Disciples, why haven't we seen this Heaven-Peering Mirror appear during the previous Lightning Tribulation pool assessments, yet it suddenly appeared this time?"

"Could it be that someone appeared in this assessment whose talent and strength were powerful enough to attract the attention of the Fifth Hall Master?" Mu Qing involuntarily turned his gaze toward Xia Jin, who was beside him.

While Mu Qing was puzzled, Jian Wuhen and the others also looked at each other, but they were more concerned about the Fifth Hall Master of the Temple that Mu Qing had mentioned.

The Fifth Hall Master... The Temple's Fifth Hall Master... This existence is one of the true Dominators of this Temple.

Swish! A golden light suddenly flew down from above the clouds and landed on the token hanging at Xia Jin's waist.

Xia Jin frowned and looked down at his token.

Jian Wuhen and the others also cast their gazes over in unison, their eyes filled with curiosity.

Only Mu Qing, the moment he saw that golden light, had a thought flash through his mind and hurriedly said:

"Brother Xia! Quickly check your token! See if the number on it has changed?!"

"Number?" Upon hearing this, a sharp light flashed in Xia Jin's eyes. He immediately took the token from his waist and flipped it to the back.

The next moment, his eyes shifted slightly. He saw that the number on the back of the token had changed from the original "earth-37" to "Heaven-23".

A number starting with the Heaven character! What this represented was self-evident.

"This..." Mu Qing leaned over to look, his eyes widening instantly as he sucked in a cold breath: "Brother Xia, I guessed correctly! You... you were likely favored by that Fifth Hall Master! You've been promoted directly to a Heaven-Class Disciple!!"

As a veteran among the Temple Disciples, he knew too well the difficulty of becoming a Heaven-Class Disciple.

Becoming first in the Lightning Tribulation pool assessment was just one of the conditions! But if one were valued by a Temple Hall Master, one could ascend to the heavens in a single step.

"It seems that before long, you will probably be leaving this First Heaven of the Temple." Mu Qing swallowed, his tone full of envy.

Jian Wuhen and Venerable Miaodi also leaned over. Looking at the four characters "Heaven-23" on the token, a complex look flashed in their eyes. There was surprise, there was envy, but there was not a hint of jealousy.

"Brother Xia, you..." Jian Wuhen opened his mouth, then finally shook his head with a bitter smile, "Forget it, forget it. Indeed, sometimes when comparing people, the gap is even greater than that between a mouse and an elephant!"

Venerable Miaodi was quite open-minded and smiled slightly at Xia Jin: "Amitabha, congratulations, Benefactor Xia. With your talent, Benefactor Xia, promoting to a Heaven-Class Disciple is only to be expected."

Meanwhile, the veteran Temple Disciples who had originally planned to disperse now turned their gazes toward Xia Jin after hearing Mu Qing's exclamation. When they heard the "Heaven-23" on the token, everyone's expression changed.

Originally it was just curiosity, but now there was a trace of awe. Because they knew very well that in this Temple, those who could become Heaven-Class Disciples absolutely could not rely on luck. Only talent! Only strength! Without these two things, even with a great background, one could never hope to step across the threshold of the Heaven Grade.

For a time, the gazes directed at Xia Jin were filled with wariness and awe.

It was on the second day after Xia Jin became a Heaven-Class Disciple that his courtyard door was gently knocked upon.

Xia Jin, who was in the courtyard refining the small snake formed by the Fusion of over a hundred drops of thunder tribulation liquid, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes. It's her?

"Come in!" Xia Jin stopped refining and said indifferently.

The woman wearing a white veil pushed open the courtyard gate and walked in, her gaze fixed intently on Xia Jin.

After a long while, she slowly spoke: "How long has it been since you entered the Temple? You have certainly given me a big surprise."

Xia Jin smiled faintly: "Just luck."

"Luck?" The woman snorted softly, a trace of disbelief flashing in her eyes, but she did not dwell on this topic and stated her purpose directly: "Come with me. All Heaven-Class Disciples will Cultivate in the Second Heaven of the Temple. This place... is no longer suitable for you."

Second Heaven. Xia Jin pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Give this Prince a quarter of an hour. After a quarter of an hour, this Prince will leave here with you!"

"Good!" The woman didn't ask for the reason and sat directly on a stone bench beside Xia Jin.

Instead, Xia Jin returned to his room, retrieved some unknown items, and left his small courtyard.

A quarter of an hour later, Xia Jin's figure returned to this place. He looked at the white-veiled woman, a hint of a smile on his face. "Alright, this Prince's business is done, let's go!"

"Follow me!!" The woman waved her sleeve, taking Xia Jin as they transformed into a stream of light and disappeared above the small courtyard.

I do not know how much time passed, but the two landed in front of a flight of stone steps. The stone steps were extremely long, with no end in sight, as if they led straight to the sky.

"Let's go. To reach the Second Heaven, one must first ascend these stone steps." The white-veiled woman stepped onto the stone steps first, and Xia Jin followed closely behind.

One step, two steps, three steps... Every time he climbed a step, Xia Jin felt the pressure on him seem to increase by a fraction.

I do not know how long they walked, but the stone steps reached their end, and finally, a high platform appeared in front of them.

"Stand in the center." The white-veiled woman pointed to the array pattern in the middle, signaling Xia Jin to stand on it.

Xia Jin frowned but still walked over.

The next moment, a bright light emitted from the center of the woman's eyebrows and shot directly into the center of the array pattern. Immediately after, a soft white light slowly lit up from within the array, enveloping Xia Jin completely.

Xia Jin only felt his body lighten, as if he had lost all weight, and he began to rise uncontrollably toward the sky.

Below, the figure of the white-veiled woman became smaller and smaller, and soon disappeared into the clouds and mist.

Xia Jin raised his head, allowing that soft force to carry him upward continuously. Continuing upward.

Passing through the clouds, his view suddenly broadened. He saw the full picture of the entire Temple First Heaven, which was a vast and boundless land, with the great hall in full view. And the small courtyard where he had been was already as small as dust.

Continuing to rise. He saw the outline of this world; it was a huge circular world, covered by an invisible barrier. Outside the barrier was endless Chaos and void. So, this was the full picture of this world.

Xia Jin was shocked in his heart, unable to speak for a long time.

I do not know how much time passed, Hum! His body trembled slightly, and the feeling of rising finally stopped.

Xia Jin looked up. Before his eyes was a group of huge islands floating above the sky. Islands of various sizes were distributed in an orderly manner.

This is... the Second Heaven of the Temple?

Just as Xia Jin was staring in fascination, an old voice suddenly came from the side.

"Kid, stop looking. When you've seen it more often in the future, you won't have this sense of novelty anymore."

"Hm?" Xia Jin looked in the direction of the voice and saw an old man with white hair and beard sitting on a bluestone not far away.

The old man held a fishing rod, the fishing line dangling into the sea of clouds, though it was unknown what he was fishing for. At this moment, he turned his head and looked toward him with a smile.