I tricked you into thinking you had the makings of an emperor, but you actually did it?

At this moment, Nangong Tian felt that everything was preordained, and that it was all within the Dean's arrangement.

The Eternal Academy is the lineage left behind by the Eternal Emperor. Each of the four halls has a different inheritance, suitable for different cultivation paths.

However, the Eternal Emperor left behind not only the four palaces, but also the fifth palace!

Eternal Palace!

The Eternal Academy and the Eternal Palace—anyone who hears these names will think of the orthodox academy.

However, over the years, no one has ever mastered the Eternal Palace's legacy.

To open the Eternal Palace, one must cultivate the Eternal Dharma Body; to cultivate the Eternal Dharma Body, one must enter the Eternal Palace.

Initially, the academy's predecessors believed this was a test left by the Great Emperor, and they were full of fighting spirit, wanting to prove themselves.

The results were all fruitless, with no way to find the right approach, and a waste of time and years.

Gradually, the academy's higher-ups realized that this might be a mistake left behind due to an oversight in the Great Emperor's design of the orthodox tradition.

However, no one dared to point it out, as that would be a great disrespect to the Emperor.

Generation after generation, everyone has maintained a tacit understanding.

Unfortunately, every so often, the Eternal Stele would assign new disciples to the Eternal Hall.

These disciples were all exceptionally talented and had promising futures, but they were all held back by the Eternal Palace and became just ordinary people.

The academy had no choice; once the Eternal Stone Tablet assigned disciples to their affiliations, no changes could be made. This was a rule left behind by the very beginning of the lineage.

Shen Ming's talent was so high that he was assigned to the Eternal Palace, but this would prevent him from making further progress. It has to be said that fate is cruel.

The light in Nangong Qian's eyes dimmed, revealing a deep disappointment.

For Nangong Tian, ​​who knew about the dean's plan, it seemed very reasonable, as it wouldn't be a waste of a promising talent.

Shen Ming was completely unaware of this. He had just been thinking about his innate sacred body and Dao embryo, which would be tested to the maximum extent possible, regardless of the testing method.

And so, the Eternal Stele shone brightly.

After confirming the completion, he lowered his hand, and the five patterns on the Eternal Stele continued to glow.

Ok?

Shen Ming keenly sensed that something was amiss.

“I suddenly realized that the Spirit Jade was a gift from someone else. It would be impolite of me to give it away. Can you return it to me?” Nangong Qian stepped forward, no longer even calling him ‘Junior Brother’.

"Huh?" Shen Ming was confused, but he still returned the spirit jade.

"Nonsense! Once something is given away, it's never meant to be returned."

Nangong Tian rushed up and shouted at him.

Nangong Qian stuck out her tongue, grabbed the Spirit Jade, and ran off in a flash.

Only when she was far away did she turn to look at Shen Ming, her mind filled with only two words: "What a pity."

The academy still has living disciples and elders from the Eternal Hall, but they are all listless and hopeless.

"Palace Master, what's going on?" Shen Ming asked, puzzled.

"Come on, let's leave here first."

Nangong Tian took a step forward with him, and Shen Ming only felt a blur before his eyes. The ground beneath his feet seemed to rush backward like a torrent of water.

The wind whistled past my ears, making my clothes flutter loudly.

Shrink to an inch!

This is different from breaking the barrier, which is a point-to-point movement over a distance.

This is a supernatural ability; it allows the user to move continuously, each step seemingly lightly touching the surface of waves, creating ripples.

Mountains, rivers, forests—everything is flying by at an incredible speed.

Finally, the two stopped on a deserted mountaintop.

"Shen Ming, you truly deserve to be called the Emperor's son, having earned the recognition of the Eternal Palace."

Once he was sure no one was around, Nangong Tian began to speak against his conscience.

There's nothing we can do; if Shen Ming knew the truth, he might just leave.

Their academy naturally forced him to stay, but the academy also wanted Shen Ming to use his status as the emperor's son to take the fall.

"The Hall of Eternity?"

For some reason, the mysterious demeanor of the Palace Master Nangong reminded Shen Ming of the Transmission Elder of the Xuantian Sect.

"Yes, you saw my and the Great Western King's phantoms in Xuanhuang City before. That was the Dharma Body technique, a symbol of the transformation of the fourth level of the Sovereign Realm."

"The Heavenly Palace cultivates the Haotian Dharma Body, while the Eternal Palace cultivates the Eternal Dharma Body. What do you understand from these names?" Nangong Tian said.

Eternal Academy, Eternal Hall, Eternal Dharma Body!

Shen Ming's breath hitched. The academy wanted him to be the dean? That was too kind of them!

call!

Seeing his reaction, Nangong Tian's expression softened, and he said, "In the Eternal Palace, there is a sleeping immortal spirit. When the destined person appears, the immortal spirit will awaken and impart the Eternal Body. Before that, there were several disciples in the Eternal Palace, but unfortunately, none of them were able to awaken the immortal spirit."

But you are different. You are the Emperor's son, and you happen to have gained the Eternal Palace's approval at this time. It was all destined.

After saying that, Nangong Tian realized that everything he had said was true, and not a single word of it was false.

Even though Shen Ming knew that there were many failures in the Eternal Palace, upon learning of the existence of the Eternal Dharma Body, he felt that he was different from others.

This is human nature!

They only realize their mistake after suffering serious setbacks.

By then, the time and effort invested will not be recovered.

"Let's go, I'll take you to the Eternal Palace."

The Hall of Eternity is located at the deepest part of the academy, a complex of buildings that seems to have been forgotten by time.

It was so quiet it seemed like it was in a secluded place, with ancient houses arranged in a pleasing, staggered pattern, and the steps covered with thick moss.

Nangong Tian couldn't remember when he last came here. He carefully observed Shen Ming's reaction, waiting for an explanation.

Shen Ming's attention, however, was focused on a unique palace, the Eternal Palace.

The Temple of Eternity has an ancient and solemn appearance, shimmering with a deep light under the sun.

"Are there any immortals inside?" Shen Ming asked.

"Yes, every time the Eternal Divine Stone selects a disciple, there will be fluctuations in the Eternal Palace, which is a sign of the immortal spirit's brief awakening."

Nangong Tian added in his mind: He only woke up for a short while before falling asleep again.

The immortal spirit of the Eternal Palace was confirmed by a powerful figure from the Academy at a great cost. Legend has it that the immortal spirit once followed the Eternal Emperor.

“As a disciple of the Eternal Palace, you will integrate into it, and the Immortal Spirits will observe you from the shadows,” Nangong Tian said.

How long should we observe them?

“I don’t know, because no one has ever done it before, but you are different; you are the Eternal Emperor’s Son,” Nangong Tian said.

"Makes sense."

Shen Ming nodded in agreement and then walked toward the Hall of Eternity.

"The door can't be opened, we can't get in."

Nangong Tian chuckled, but his smile quickly froze on his face.

Shen Ming walked to the entrance of the Eternal Palace and knocked on the door.

This is... a direct knock on the door?!

Nangong Tian never expected to do this, and around the Eternal Palace, figures emerged one by one, all of them elders of the Eternal Palace.

Their expressions were intriguing, as if to say that if knocking would have been effective, they wouldn't have waited until now.

There was no response, so Shen Ming knocked again, saying, "Don't sleep."