Gu Hao also flashed into the universe within his body, came before Guxuan Palace, and walked inside.
The interior of Guxuan Palace was resplendent in gold and jade, with a golden throne set upon a high hall. Gu Hao walked up the steps, turned around, and sat down.
The moment he sat down, he felt an influx of energy surging through his body, and a dragon robe and imperial crown manifested on him, radiating an aura of supreme majesty.
"I am the master of all under heaven; who dares to contend with me, who dares to make an enemy of me?"
He walked out to the steps outside the heavenly palace and looked out over the universe. Countless stars dotted the cosmos, and every single star was a world in its own right, though these stellar worlds were still in the process of growing.
Gu Hao was not only shocked, but also filled with boundless excitement.
He flashed out of his inner universe.
Lin Xiaotian and Tun Xiaotian pushed open the gates of the grand hall and walked in.
"Master, the one-year cultivation period is up, we should be heading out."
"Right, let's go."
As soon as Gu Hao finished speaking, the Heavenly God Palace trembled, directly transporting the three of them to the front of Tianlong Hall, before fading into the void and disappearing completely.
"This Heavenly God Palace is so mysterious."
"Indeed, it must be an immortal artifact."
Lin Xiaotian and Tun Xiaotian said, gazing into the void.
"Your horizons are still a bit too narrow. If I told you this Heavenly God Palace is a divine artifact, would you believe me?"
"A divine artifact?"
"This palace dares to call itself the Heavenly God Palace; taken literally, doesn't that make it a divine artifact?"
The two were so shocked they hardly knew what to say.
"Since your cultivation is finished, all of you come in."
The doors of Tianlong Hall opened automatically, and the three of them walked inside.
The seven Old Ancestors sat in the grand hall, watching them.
Old Ancestor Zhao Guimei nodded and said, "Not bad, much better than anticipated."
Gu Hao, Lin Xiaotian, and Tun Xiaotian bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, esteemed Old Ancestors."
"Rise."
"Hao'er, the three of you have completed your cultivation today, so you should leave the Tianlong Realm."
"You're really letting us leave?"
"What did you expect?"
"But I don't want to leave. I still want to stay by the Old Ancestors' side and continue cultivating properly."
"Enough, stop putting on a false front here. Haven't you always wanted to leave us?"
"I certainly haven't, Old Ancestors. You mustn't wrong me like that."
"Wronged or not, we'll set that aside for now. Hao'er, come here." said Old Ancestor Anlan.
Gu Hao walked over, and Old Ancestor Anlan produced a token and a black gold credit card.
"Hao'er, this is the token of the master of Tianyin Group, and this is the unlimited black gold credit card of the master of the Heavenly Realm Bank. From now on, you are the master of both the Heavenly Realm Bank and Tianyin Group."
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
Old Ancestor Gu Jian walked over and handed Gu Hao a dragon-shaped ring.
"Hao'er, this is the Tianlong Ring. From this moment on, you are the Palace Master of Tianlong Hall and the Heavenly Venerable of this world."
"Tianlong Hall?"
"Tianlong Hall is the most powerful organization in the entire universe. Anyone, from any world, upon seeing the Palace Master of Tianlong Hall, must kneel in submission and revere you as the Heavenly Venerable."
"That's insanely awesome." Gu Hao took the Tianlong Ring and slipped it onto his finger.
The Tianlong Ring flashed with a golden light, then merged into his finger and vanished without a trace.
Gu Hao could sense that with the items gifted by Old Ancestor Anlan and Old Ancestor Gu Jian, he was now truly invincible under heaven.
He looked at the other Old Ancestors and asked, "Respected Old Ancestors, I am leaving now. Aren't you going to give me anything else?"
Cao Yuanhai, Jiang Yu, Li Hongchen, Anran, and Zhao Guimei chuckled. "What a greedy fellow."
Old Ancestor Cao Yuanhai flipped his hand, and three cosmic spatial rings appeared in his palm.
"These three cosmic spatial rings are for the three of you. These rings can hold all things in the universe."
Gu Hao, Lin Xiaotian, and Tun Xiaotian took the rings and took a look. Oh my goodness, the space inside these rings was simply too vast—so vast that it seemed to stretch endlessly beyond the horizon, and moreover, they contained self-contained worlds within them. Not only could they store objects, but they could also house living beings.
The three of them thanked Old Ancestor Cao.
Old Ancestor Jiang Yu handed over a golden token.
"Hao'er, this is the master token of Guxuan Palace. From now on, you are the master of Guxuan Palace."
"What does Guxuan Palace do?"
"Guxuan Palace holds all the treasures of the world and refines true and pure spiritual pills and elixirs. It is the most powerful organization in the universe dealing in all the world's spiritual herbs, immortal trees, and divine springs."
"That's so awesome."
Old Ancestor Li Hongchen stepped forward.
"Hao'er, this is the master token of Tianhuo Hall. From now on, you are the master of Tianhuo Hall."
"Tianhuo Hall?"
"Tianhuo Hall can forge every divine weapon and sharp blade in the world."
"Oh, I understand now."
"Ancestor Anran, Ancestor Guimei, what are you two giving to your child?"
The two women smiled.
Old Ancestor Anran said, "I don't have much to give, so I'll just give each of you three a suit of armor."
With that, she waved her hand, and three streaks of golden light sank into the bodies of the three.
With a thought from their divine minds, a suit of golden armor emerged over each of their bodies. After surfacing, the armor gradually transformed into garments that fit impeccably and felt remarkably soft. The three of them could sense that this armor not only protected their physical bodies but also safeguarded their souls—truly astonishingly powerful.
"This armor is called Heavenly Armor. It seems very fitting for the three of you. I happen to have two hundred more sets of armor here; take them and give them to your Qilin Divine Guards and Swallowing Heaven Divine Guards. From now on, you must protect your master well."
Two spatial rings flew in front of Lin Xiaotian and Tun Xiaotian, and both caught them.
"Understood! We shall strictly obey the Old Ancestor's decree."
Zhao Guimei smiled and said to Gu Hao, "Hao'er, Ancestor Guimei doesn't have much to give you either, so I'll just gift you a few wives."
"What? Ancestor Guimei, you can even gift wives?"
Old Ancestor Zhao Guimei produced a stack of marriage contracts and handed them over. Gu Hao counted them, and there were actually five.
"Ancestor Guimei, this..."
"When you go out, these five great noble families will seek you out. These are marriages I've arranged for you in advance, so you mustn't let down my good intentions. These five noble families are top-tier families in the Milky Way, and their power is formidable."
"Ancestor Guimei, this isn't right, is it? I should decide my own affairs; I wouldn't want to trouble Ancestor Guimei with this."
"Audacious! If you don't fulfill these five marriage engagements, I'll break your legs, you hear me?"
"Oh, alright then."
Gu Hao tucked the marriage contracts away into his spatial ring.
"Respected Old Ancestors, since you've finished giving your gifts, this child will be taking his leave."
Gu Hao, Lin Xiaotian, and Tun Xiaotian bowed on their knees to the Old Ancestors.
After finishing the bows, they rose and walked toward the hall's exit.
"Can the three of you find your own way out?"
The three of them froze, turned their heads back to look at the seven Old Ancestors, and stared blankly.
Old Ancestor Gu Jian smiled and said, "I'll see you off."
With a wave of his hand, Gu Hao, Lin Xiaotian, and Tun Xiaotian were cast into the void, vanishing without a trace.
In an instant, they tumbled down onto the ground, utterly bewildered.
"Where is this?" said Lin Xiaotian.
The three of them scrambled up from the ground.
Gu Hao looked around. "This looks like Kunlun Mountain?"
"Kunlun Mountain? What kind of place is that?"
"My home. Come on, let's head forward."
Tun Xiaotian limped along as he walked. "Those old ancestors are too ruthless! Couldn't they have been a bit gentler?"
"Wait a minute," said Lin Xiaotian. "We fell straight down from the sky, but how come I can't sense the existence of the Tianlong Realm at all anymore?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Hao looked up at the sky. He couldn't sense the presence of the Tianlong Realm either, as if such a realm had never existed in this world in the first place.
"Those old ancestors really abandoned us; they literally threw us right out of the Tianlong Realm."
"By the way, can the two of you not sense your Qilin Realm and Swallowing Heaven Realm either?"
"Our little worlds have already been moved by the Heavenly God Palace into our inner universes."
"Then how were your Qilin Realm and Swallowing Heaven Realm connected to the Tianlong Realm in the first place?"
"That—that we don't know either. We fell into the Tianlong Realm when we were very little, and the Qilin Realm and Swallowing Heaven Realm were already there."
Gu Hao looked at the two of them with even deeper suspicion. "Then do you know where you came from?"
"Where we came from? No idea. We don't know where we came from either."
"Crap, could it be that we were too young when we arrived at the Tianlong Realm and had no memories at all? If we did have memories, they were probably tampered with by someone."
Tun Xiaotian said, "Why is it that I don't have any memories?"
"So that's how it is. But even if you were young, you should still have some memories. Do you really not have a single scrap of memory from before you fell into the Tianlong Realm? Could those old fellows have messed with your minds?"
"No, when we fell into the Tianlong Realm, they were already there. It must have been someone who harmed us before we fell, casting us down into the Tianlong Realm and wiping our memories. It's a good thing the Tianlong Realm had the Qilin Realm and Swallowing Heaven Realm, otherwise we don't even know if we would have survived. Back then, we were far too young to take care of ourselves; we really owe it to the Qilin Realm and Swallowing Heaven Realm, as well as the care of Ancestor Anran and Ancestor Guimei."
"I see."
"Master, what about your memories?"
"I'm fine, my memory is normal. I was born right here on Kunlun Mountain. My mother is Gu Lingyu, my elder sister is Gu Yan. When I was three years old, Old Ancestors Anlan and Gu Jian came and took me away, saying I was a prodigy at cultivation. Those seven Old Ancestors taught me martial arts, divine skills, and knowledge, and I've been cultivating in the Tianlong Realm ever since. It's been eighteen years, and I had never left the Tianlong Realm until now. Coming out this time, I only just realized that the Tianlong Realm is actually just a small world."
"Then can we ever go back to the Tianlong Realm in the future? I feel as though the Tianlong Realm has vanished from this world entirely," Lin Xiaotian said.
Tun Xiaotian asked Gu Hao, "What should we do now, then?"
"I think whether we can go back to the Tianlong Realm or not doesn't matter. Sooner or later, we will see the Old Ancestors again. Let's go, follow me home now to meet my mother and elder sister."
"Understood, Master."