Junior Uncle is too cunning.

"Halt!"

A solemn and dignified voice resounded through the sky. The flower petals slowly stopped and called out to the illusory gate, "Is this General Zhang, a disciple of the Heavenly King of Growth? I am Venus, and this is Li Shundao from the lower realm. He has been granted a celestial register and an official title, and he has come to assume his duties."

As soon as Hua Jian finished shouting at the gate, the illusory gate slowly began to solidify. There stood the Southern Heavenly Gate, made of deep blue glass and adorned with bright, precious jade. On both sides stood dozens of Heavenly Marshals, each a pillar of strength, holding halberds and banners; below them were more than a dozen golden-armored deities, each wielding halberds, whips, swords, and knives.

One of the generals slowly walked out, glanced at Hua Jian, nodded, and then stared intently at Li Shundao, as if interrogating a criminal.

Li Shundao looked at the newcomer and saw that he was only at the late stage of the Xuanxian realm. He thought to himself, "This must be General Zhang." He glanced at him indifferently and remained silent, his enthusiasm with Hua Jian gone.

Hua Jian glanced at Li Shundao out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help but nod inwardly, "As expected of someone who can be the Jade Emperor's disciple, he got into the zone so quickly, neither sad nor happy, which is quite suitable for the current situation."

Turning to look at General Zhang, the guardian of Tianmen, Hua Jian's expression was very unpleasant. He glared at General Zhang fiercely. The reason he was able to take on the task of leading Li Shundao in his duties was twofold: firstly, he was considered to be on the Jade Emperor's side and had some seniority; and secondly, and very importantly, he had a fairly good relationship with Li Shundao.

Unexpectedly, before even entering the Heavenly Court, he was given a rude awakening. Although it was directed at Li Shundao, it was also a slap in the face to him, the guiding celestial official.

Although this General Zhang is only at the late stage of the Xuanxian realm, he must have a powerful backer and some real skills to be able to serve as a guard general at the South Heavenly Gate.

Although Li Shundao was at the Golden Immortal realm and had been granted the position of a third-rank Heavenly Lord, he had not yet performed the duties and was not considered a member of the Heavenly Court.

At this point, he remained neither humble nor arrogant, thus maintaining his own dignity without provoking the entire Nantianmen system.

General Zhang was glanced at by Li Shundao, and he quickly looked away, a tear glistening in his eye, a hint of fear creeping into his heart.

In fact, when he saw Venus today, he guessed Li Shundao's identity. After all, the hottest topic in the Heavenly Court recently was that the long-vacant position of Thunder God was actually granted to an outsider who had never entered the Heavenly Court. Several popular immortals were rejected, which almost made the immortals of the Heavenly Court lose their eyes.

General Zhang had some connections with one of the candidates, and this was an attempt to give Li Shundao a hard time.

Unfortunately, he ran into a brick wall this time. In fact, General Zhang was also in despair at this moment. The divine eye he had stretched out was not an ordinary detection, but his innate divine power "insight". As long as the person being shone was not more than one major realm in cultivation, he would see through them and leave a shadow in their heart.

It was precisely because of this supernatural power that he was able to become the guardian of the South Heavenly Gate at the late stage of the Profound Immortal realm.

The gaze he had just sensed on Li Shundao had not only failed to have any effect, but Li Shundao had also glanced back at him, causing him to suffer some internal injuries.

This can only mean one thing: Li Shundao is at least a Golden Immortal, and a Golden Immortal who is about to take office as the Thunder Department Heavenly Lord. Most importantly, he has not only offended the other party, but also Taibai Jinxing.

"I see. Please come in, Star Lord. It is my duty, and I hope you will forgive me," General Zhang's steely face softened instantly, and he said with a hint of flattery, while making way for Li Shundao and his companion.

Hua Jian still wore a gentle smile, "Not at all, General, you're just doing your job for the Heavenly Court!"

After saying that, he led Li Shundao across the light curtain and into the South Heavenly Gate.

As soon as Li Shundao stepped into the South Heavenly Gate and entered the Heavenly Court, he saw several large pillars in the inner chamber, with golden-scaled, sun-drenched, red-bearded dragons wrapped around them; there were also several long bridges, with colorful-feathered, red-crowned phoenixes circling on them.

Truly: Golden rays roll like a thousand red rainbows, auspicious clouds spray like a thousand purple mists. Bright clouds shimmer and reflect the sky, while azure mists shroud the mouth of the Big Dipper.

Looking up, one could see celestial palaces floating on the clouds. I counted about thirty or forty of them. As Hua Jian explained, they were called the Cloud Palace, the Vaisha Palace, the Five Bright Palace, the Sun Palace, the Huale Palace, and so on. Each palace had a golden beast perched on its ridge.

There are also seventy-two magnificent halls, including the Chaohui Hall, Lingxu Hall, Baoguang Hall, Tianwang Hall, Lingguan Hall, etc. Each hall has jade unicorns on its pillars.

General Zhang watched the two go inside, his face turning somewhat regretful. He followed them in, but suddenly seemed to hear something and flew alone towards the nearest main hall to the South Heavenly Gate.

Before long, they entered a grand hall. The hall was very impressive, but it seemed rather empty except for one person sitting at the head of the hall.

General Zhang entered the hall and respectfully bowed to the person above, saying, "Your subject greets the Heavenly King."

It turns out that this person was none other than the Heavenly King of Growth mentioned by Venus, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Heaven. He was the supreme commander of the South Heavenly Gate, one of the four gates of Heaven, and was responsible for guarding the South Heavenly Gate. He commanded a million heavenly soldiers near the South Heaven and held a high position of power.

The Heavenly King of Growth was dressed in battle robes, with a full beard, and looked somewhat murderous. He only glanced at General Zhang, but he was so frightened that he couldn't lift his head.

"Zhang Biao, considering your usual hard work, I will be lenient with you today. After your shift ends, go and receive your punishment. You will no longer be the guard of Nantianmen. Go down!"

"Your Majesty, I..." Upon hearing that he would not only be punished but also stripped of his position as a garrison commander, Zhang Biao panicked and began to explain himself.

"Go down," the Heavenly King of Growth said, his voice now sounding even more stern.

Zhang Biao's body trembled slightly, his head slowly lowered, and he retreated from the Heavenly King Hall, looking somewhat forlorn.

As the Heavenly King of Growth watched Zhang Biao leave, he sighed softly and muttered "idiot" under his breath.

Although he was a powerful celestial king with a mighty army, he was ultimately just a third-rank divine official with a cultivation level of only late-stage Golden Immortal, comparable to Venus.

Everyone in Heaven knows that Venus is the Jade Emperor's confidant. Since Li Shundao was able to be personally appointed as the Heavenly Emperor by the Jade Emperor, and even had his confidant Venus personally escort him, it is clear that Li Shundao holds a high position in the Jade Emperor's heart.

This time, Zhang Biao not only embarrassed Li Shundao, the newly rich, but also slapped Taibai Jinxing hard in the face.

He didn't know how powerful Li Shundao was, but Taibai Jinxing was also a ruthless person. He was able to climb to the third-rank god position as a rogue cultivator and firmly hold the position of the Jade Emperor's most trusted confidant for tens of thousands of years. Such a person, let alone him, even the Five Elders and Eight Heavenly Venerables of the Heavenly Court would give him some face.

Today, Zhang Biao actually dared to stop people at the door. Although it wasn't my idea, he is my subordinate. If I don't give Li Shundao and Taibai Jinxing an explanation, I will have truly offended the Jade Emperor's lineage.

As for taking away Zhang Biao's position as garrison commander, he considered that too lenient. If it weren't for his past relationship with Zhang Biao, it probably wouldn't have been such a simple matter.

Li Shundao followed Hua Jian as they flew through the sky, occasionally detouring around palaces. Three days later, they finally arrived at a magnificent blue palace, the eaves of which appeared somewhat translucent.

Above the main hall's entrance, directly in the center, hangs a plaque with gold trim. The plaque bears the five large characters "Shenxiao Yuqing Mansion," exuding an air of solemnity and impartiality, and creating a sense of oppression.

At this moment, several immortals dressed in official robes were already standing in front of the main hall. The leader was also a mid-stage Golden Immortal. When he saw Hua Jian and Li Shundao, he slowly came forward to greet them.