Tower of Heaven

[Great Sage, Heaven's Equal wonders why he even popped his head in.]

[Great Sage, Heaven's Equal asks when you will start doing fun things again.]

Atlas looked at the messages as he arrived on the precipice of the Vermillion Bird Clan's territory.

"One more month, and I will fight the Hell Guardian. I am assuming that it will be perilous from there, but I doubt you will be able to observe me while I am in the underworld."

[Great Sage, Heaven's Equal says that it may be impossible for some of these other peons, but he is not going to miss the show just because of a few barriers.]

"If you can find a way to watch, then watch away. I do not plan on falling to anything I encounter."

[Great Sage, Heaven's Equal laughs, saying this confidence is why he likes you.]

Atlas had been conversing with the Gods who watched him more and more as these few weeks went by, but those conversations still didn't happen often.

As indicated by the messages, most of the Gods that regularly followed him had left. They were waiting until he fought the Hell Guardian and looking for entertainment elsewhere in the meantime.

[Treacherous Phoenix], who had been with him from the start, occasionally checked up on him. Every once in a while, he would receive messages from [Huntress of the Night], who usually followed Artemia, and a few others that had been regularly interacting with him.

However, for the most part, it was silent. Even the Gods that were constantly watching him did not send messages, so he could only understand their presence through the subtle weight of their gazes that he felt.

'I have to wonder if they are aware of the Xuanying Treasure Pagoda. None of them have mentioned it or recognized my entering and leaving it.'

He wanted to know if they could see it, but he knew he couldn't ask.

After all, if it turned out that it was hidden from them by the Tower's mechanisms, then asking them if they could sense it was the same as revealing its presence.

'A Supreme Heavenly Treasure is great enough that even Gods will chase after it. The Xuanying Treasure Pagoda is unique in that they have lost the ability to see its full potential because they have already reached the peak. It is illogical for them to want it, however…'

Was logic enough to stop people from wanting to acquire one of only ten entities in existence that were granted the title of "Supreme Heavenly Treasure?"

Atlas shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

'At the very least, it has avoided most of their gazes.'

At the very least, he only had to worry about the three gazes he always felt on his body. He knew that one of them was [Treacherous Phoenix]. They had an Ancestral Pact together, so there was a basis for trust.

The other two…

He didn't even know their identities. Once again, it was best for him not to concern himself about it whatsoever.

'The Tatsuya Clan has a great reach and the people who follow it live spread out all across that territory. On the other hand, here, it seems that the entire population is concentrated in places like this.'

Atlas was on the outskirts of a city named Genvera. It ended directly on the borders of the Vermillion Palace, a massive estate that was triple the size of the city itself.

Like the Tatsuya Clan, the Feng Clan had a very small number of members. True Phoenixes were born from the Flames of Rebirth, after all. They could not be fathered or brought forth through the hands of a living being. Nature itself promoted their growth, and fully grown True Phoenixes facilitated it.

'Every time a new True Phoenix is born inside of the Tower, it is said that the Feng Clan is immediately aware. Before anyone can seize the newborn phoenix and abuse it for their own personal desires, they take it in and nurture it so it can achieve its potential.'

They were a completely united group of women. Perhaps there wasn't one stronger than them in the Tower. Discover stories with empire

To enter the city, there was a guard checkpoint that needed to be passed.

Phoenixes were beings respected and revered across the Tower. They were also highly desired beings for a… variety of purposes by those who were not of their race. Many attempted to enter this city with nefarious intentions, and all of them were expressly turned away before they could even get close.

When Atlas first arrived at the checkpoint, he didn't see a single person actually receive permission to enter, whether it be men or women of any race or species.

He wondered what the requirements were, thinking that the women guarding the city had already declared him as an unfit person before he had even opened his mouth, but he didn't think too deeply about it.

'At the end of the day, this perception of people is based on how they have been treated by the world. Perhaps only other members of Divine Sanctuary can receive a different kind of treatment.'

"State your name and purpose."

As the gate guards scanned him up and down, they firmly asked for his identity. Atlas responded amicably, of course.

"I am called Atlas. I have come to meet with your clan and see if I can learn from you."

The guards raised their brows as if they didn't believe a word that was coming out of his mouth.

"You? Want to learn from us? Are you secretly a woman?"

"Pfft…!"

As the second guard held back her laughter, Atlas shook his head wryly.

The techniques used by the Vermillion Bird Clan were meant for only women and suited for their gender. If one even wanted to learn their techniques, one had to either be a woman or feminine enough to be mistaken for one.

It was a matter of their body and the way qi circulated through it, as well as the distribution and affinity towards both yin and yang. A complicated mess of factors compiled together into a simple explanation of "a Phoenix's techniques can only be used by women."

However, they weren't only known for their techniques.

"I am a practitioner of the Dao of Fire. Though I cannot use my qi in the same way that you can, there is more than enough for me to learn through the techniques you use."

It was a good enough reason, but it was also a reason that anyone could give. As the cherry on top, Atlas took out a token that Alaric had given him.

According to him, if he was at the Feng Clan's gates, this token would gain him guaranteed entry. Atlas had no reason not to trust him.

After all, these were technically also people from the same influence. They and the Tatsuya Clan were in good standing with each other.

And it was true that the expression on the guards' faces changed when they saw it.

'That old bastard…'

Their expressions twisted as they looked back at his face.

"So you were associated with that pig."

From one sentence alone, Atlas could tell that his dear master had betrayed him.

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