Chapter 208 | Arrival at Sky-Pillar City

Chapter 208: 208 | Arrival at Sky-Pillar City

Sunlight poured across the patched hull of the Flying Spiritual Ship, Down on the representative deck, disciples who had spent the last two days in tense silence hurried to the rails.

Ahead of them, rising out of a vast mountain plateau, stood Sky-Pillar City.

Nine colossal stone pillars, each carved with coiling dragon reliefs and dark metal veins, stood around the city’s perimeter like ancient spears driven into the earth. Massive chains of spiritual iron stretched from the pillars to a series of floating docking harbors suspended hundreds of feet above the outer walls.

Already, more than a dozen sect vessels of different shapes and colors were anchored along the Cloud-Docking Spire.

"We finally made it..." a representative murmured, his hands gripping the rail.

"Look at the size of that black iron ship on the third berth. That’s the Black-Sun Sect’s vessel."

"And the white jade boat across from it belongs to Frost-Moon Valley."

Lin Tian stood a few paces back from the crowd, the wrapped Profound Void-Yang Blade resting quietly across his shoulders.

Yet wherever he stood, a three-pace circle remained naturally clear around him.

Even Core Disciple Gao Chen, standing further down the rail with his arms crossed, offered Lin Tian a brief, respectful nod when their eyes met. On this ship, internal rankings no longer meant anything compared to the memory of the Core Formation demonic commander burning to ash.

A deep bronze bell rang from the upper deck.

"Approaching Berth Six of the Cloud-Docking Spire!" a steward shouted across the lower platform. "All representatives, form ranks by order! Instructor Qing is descending!"

The disciples quickly pulled away from the rails and formed two straight lines near the central gangway.

Instructor Qing walked down from the upper stair platform in a fresh crimson martial uniform, her long hair tied high and tight. Her stride was steady and authoritative, completely free of the pale exhaustion that had plagued her two days ago. The suppression of her Lethal Fire-Poison had restored the sharp, vigorous edge to her Divine Valkyrie Body.

Only when her gaze swept over the representative line and briefly met Lin Tian’s calm golden eyes did her fingers tighten for half a breath around her sword hilt.

The phantom heat of his bare hands against her lower stomach still lingered beneath her uniform, a secret memory that made her look away a fraction faster than usual.

Above them, the upper barriers opened.

Elder Liu and Elder Bai stepped onto the forward landing platform together, flanked by their respective attendants. Elder Liu wore her formal emerald robes embroidered with golden flames, her complexion radiant and her Middle Stage Core Formation aura deeper and more stable than when they had first departed the sect. Beside her, Elder Bai remained calm and detached in her emerald-blue robes, her eyes quietly taking in the docking harbor ahead.

With a low, resonant hum, the Flying Spiritual Ship glided into Berth Six and locked its docking anchors into the floating stone pier.

The main gangway lowered.

Across the wide stone expanse of the Cloud-Docking Spire, several groups from neighboring sects had paused to watch the late arrival.

Nearest to Berth Six stood a delegation dressed in heavy black robes stitched with dark-crimson sun patterns—the Black-Sun Sect.

At their head stood an elderly man with a hooked nose and sunken, calculating eyes, radiating the dense pressure of a Middle Stage Core Formation alchemist. Beside him stood a tall, broad-shouldered youth with a heavy crimson saber strapped to his waist—Mo Yan, the first-ranked Core Disciple of the Black-Sun Sect, his Peak Foundation aura rolling off him without restraint.

When the Black-Sun Elder’s gaze landed on the scorched, patched left hull of the Crimson Nimbus vessel, a flicker of shock passed through his sunken eyes.

He quickly hid it behind a thin, mocking smile.

"Elder Liu, Elder Bai," the old man called out, his voice carrying across the stone pier as the Crimson Nimbus delegation stepped off the gangway. "Seeing the state of your ship’s left barrier, Elder Mo here almost thought Crimson Nimbus Sect wouldn’t make it through the northern clouds this year. Did a pack of stray sky-bandits give you that much trouble?"

A few Black-Sun disciples behind Mo Yan let out low, arrogant chuckles.

On the other side of the pier, a group of female cultivators in pale-blue silk robes from Frost-Moon Valley also turned their heads to watch. Their leading disciple—a cold-faced young woman named Su Ling, carrying a frost-wrapped longsword—glanced indifferently at the damaged ship before her eyes paused on the representatives stepping off the ramp.

Elder Liu stopped at the foot of the gangway.

She did not even spare Elder Mo a full turn of her head.

"Just a few blind dogs who thought their teeth were sharp enough for our hull," Elder Liu said, her voice cool, clear, and effortlessly dismissive. "Our disciples needed a bit of light exercise before the tournament, so we let them sweep the deck clean. The ashes are probably still floating somewhere over the northern ridge."

Elder Mo’s smile stiffened at the corner of his mouth.

Ashes?

He knew very well what kind of ruthless Core Formation blood-cultivator had been sent to intercept Crimson Nimbus Sect’s vessel along the northern route. Yet not only were Elder Liu and Elder Bai standing here completely unharmed, Elder Liu’s Core aura felt noticeably stronger than it had three years ago!

Beside him, Mo Yan frowned, his sharp gaze sweeping aggressively over the Crimson Nimbus representatives until it stopped on Gao Chen, and then on Lin Tian standing quietly behind the three female leaders.

"Exercise?" Mo Yan sneered, resting a hand on his crimson saber. "I hope your people still have that much breath left when they step into the Heavenly Colosseum."

Lin Tian did not even look at him.

His gaze brushed past the heavy crimson saber at Mo Yan’s waist—a High-Grade Tier-2 weapon with a rushed fire-inlay that leaked heat at the guard—before he dismissed both the weapon and its owner as unremarkable.

"Move out," Elder Bai said flatly, cutting off any further harbor talk as a host city steward approached to guide them.

Leaving Elder Mo staring darkly at their backs, the Crimson Nimbus delegation left the Cloud-Docking Spire and descended the wide stone causeway into the heart of Sky-Pillar City.

The streets of Sky-Pillar City were wide enough for four spirit-carriages to pass abreast, paved with grey mountain slate and lined with towering pill houses, weapon pavilions, and formation towers. Cultivators from dozens of regional sects filled the avenues, their tokens and banners marking the colors of every major power within ten thousand miles.

At the center of the city rose the colossal stone walls of the Heavenly Colosseum, where the Regional Tournament would open in two days.

Directly east of the Colosseum lay the Myriad Clouds Estate—a sprawling sanctuary of walled compounds, artificial lakes, and multi-story spirit-wood halls reserved exclusively for the participating sects.

"Crimson Nimbus Sect is assigned to the Southern Maple Compound," the host city steward announced, bowing respectfully as he unlocked the array gate of a large, secluded residence near the edge of the lake. "The three upper private pavilions are prepared for your Elders and Chief Instructor. The eastern hall houses the disciples, and the western wing is set for your alchemy and support teams."

Elder Liu accepted the master compound token with a slight nod.

"Dismissed," she told the city steward.

Once the outer gates closed and the compound’s privacy barrier rose, the noise of Sky-Pillar City faded into a quiet rustle of maple leaves and flowing water.

"All representatives and support disciples, settle into your quarters and do not wander the city after dusk without permission," Instructor Qing ordered from the center of the stone courtyard. "The Black-Sun Sect and Iron-Peak Sect are in the neighboring compounds. Anyone who gets baited into a street brawl before the opening ceremony will answer to me personally."

"Yes, Instructor Qing!" the disciples answered in unison before dispersing toward the eastern and western wings.

Lin Tian turned to follow the other representatives toward the eastern hall, adjusting the strap of the Profound Void-Yang Blade on his shoulder.

"Lin Tian."

Elder Liu’s calm voice stopped him.

Several nearby disciples paused and glanced back.

Standing on the stone steps leading up to the three private elder pavilions, Elder Liu looked at him with the distant, unreadable composure of a Peak Master.

"The eastern hall is too noisy for someone who expended that much strength holding the ship’s breach," Elder Liu said evenly, loud enough for the deacons to hear. "Take the secluded side chamber adjacent to the upper courtyard path. Over the next two days, I will also require you to assist in verifying the tournament pill containers against outside tampering."

Beside her, Instructor Qing’s posture stiffened slightly, though she said nothing to object—knowing full well that the secluded side chamber sat directly along the stone path between Elder Liu’s eastern pavilion and her own western residence.

Elder Bai merely glanced at the quiet walkway connecting the three upper pavilions and gave a faint, indifferent nod before turning toward the central courtyard.

Gao Chen and the other three representatives—including fourth-ranked Zhou Kai—did not even blink at the special arrangement. After watching Lin Tian slaughter a Core Formation commander on the ship, giving him a quiet side chamber near the elders felt less like favoritism and more like basic respect for the strongest fighter on the team.

"Thank you, Elder Liu," Lin Tian said, bowing his head politely.

He walked up the stone path past the red maple trees toward the secluded side chamber, well aware that the tight, watchful corridors of the ship were now behind them—and in this quiet compound, the doors between his room and the upper pavilions stood wide open.