The moment Valeria left the room, Gloria immediately rushed towards Rocky's side and flirtatiously
said, "You actually want to act alone so that you can be with me, right?"
"How did you even get that idea? Besides, have you already forgotten what I said before? Once you
are inside the Holy Heaven Palace, you must complete your task without fail. It will depend on you
whether this plan will be successful," Rocky sternly reminded.
"I know, I know! Don't worry about it. You'll see that I will accomplish that task marvelously. I won't let
you down," Gloria said confidently, winking at Rocky.
"All right. In fact, if you can really complete the task, I will reward you handsomely." Rocky enticed her
even more. After all, the mission that he entrusted Gloria was very crucial. Hence, he was willing to
compromise just so his plan could work flawlessly.
"Reward? What kind of reward are we talking about?" When she heard Rocky's words, Gloria's eyes
instantly lit up and her eyebrows also raised.
"What else? I'll give you the thing that you want most!" Rocky let out a sly smile and deliberately
tantalized her. He let her mind run wild by not telling what it exactly was.
"D-deal!" Gloria was so excited that she even stammered. Although she had some doubts that Rocky
would be willing to give in to her wishes, she still decided to work hard in hopes that she could
eventually control him. When that happened, no one would be able to go against her in the end.
The following day, the fourth round of the Spiritual Emperor Contest was about to ensue.
The entrance to the Holy Heaven Palace was located in the Holy Heaven Valley, which was hundreds
of meters away from the west side of the Boundless Manor. Since it was already part of the forbidden
area of the Di Clan, many low-grade Spiritual Emperors from the Di Clan were scattered outside to
protect the palace.
Moreover, the main entrance of the Holy Heaven Palace was being guarded by an elder of the Di Clan.
He was a Spiritual Emperor at the peak state, who had already experienced the leadership of three
chiefs of the Di Clan. Therefore, from the day that the Holy Heaven Palace was established and
became known to the outside world, no sect or person ever dared to trespass into this place. It could
be said that the Holy Heaven Palace was such an extremely mysterious existence in this world.
However, in order to continue promoting the friendship between the human race and the spiritual race,
the Di Clan made an exception this time and opened the Holy Heaven Palace as a venue for the
Spiritual Emperor Contest. By this action, the Di Clan was able to convey how serious and sincere they
were in maintaining the peace between the two races.
One of the main reasons why the Di Clan opened the Holy Heaven Palace was that they wanted to
give the opportunity to the Spiritual Emperors of both races to improve their strength as much as
possible. This was so they could cope up with each other once the Shura Race waged a war against
either the human race or the spiritual race.
Of course, the Di Clan was not aware that the Godly Geniuses of the Shura Race would infiltrate the
Spiritual Emperor Contest while disguising themselves as members of either the human race or the
spiritual race when they came up with this plan. If they knew this in the first place, there was no way
that they would let the participants use the Holy Heaven Palace. After all, once the Godly Geniuses
entered it, they would be able to obtain unimaginable improvements too. It was like they intentionally
helped the destruction of the human race and the spiritual race.
However, because the overall procedure of the Spiritual Emperor Contest had already been discussed
and agreed upon by the Di Clan and the representatives of the spiritual race beforehand, there would
be a huge commotion once they suddenly decided to go back on their word.
Therefore, even though Colton later found out that the Godly Geniuses had invaded the contest, he
had no choice but to proceed with the original agreement.
At this time, the Spiritual Emperors, who would participate in the fourth round had already gathered at
the entrance of the Holy Heaven Palace. Colton and several elders of the Di Clan were also there,
standing in front of the entrance and exuding such an oppressive and domineering aura.
"Now that all the participants for the fourth round are here, I shall take you inside the Holy Heaven
Palace. But before that, I just want to reiterate these things. Listen carefully because these can help
you protect your lives from danger!" Colton said loud and clear.
Upon hearing Colton's warning, every Spiritual Emperor present fell silent and looked at him intently.
Although none of them had entered the palace before, they knew how dreadful it was. They could only
imagine that it was filled with unthinkable dangers, so they did not dare to be careless and rash.
Moreover, they knew that this might be the only chance they had to enter the Holy Heaven Palace, so
they wanted to make the most out of it and improve their strength to the fullest. Thus, they were willing
to accept any help or advice in order to make this opportunity worthwhile.
"First of all, you are not allowed to make a sound as soon as you enter the Holy Heaven Palace. Be
sure to follow me closely. There are countless areas inside and each one can be accessed in different
ways. Some require spells or some other specific conditions, while others will allow you to enter
directly. They are actually quite easy to get into. However, if you can't find your way out, you are going
to be trapped there until you die," Colton warned.
After they heard this ominous warning, most of the participants started to panic. They knew that the
place was dangerous, but they did not imagine that it would be this terrifying.
"The second thing that you need to remember is that there is only a designated area inside the Holy
Heaven Palace where the trial will take place. This the Spiritual Divine Land, the only area inside that
the Di Clan has fully explored. Therefore, no one among you should leave the Spiritual Divine Land
without permission. Even if you have the strength, I strongly discourage you from exploring the other
areas. After all, even if you could come back from the other areas, your performance will not be
counted and you will be disqualified in the fourth round," Colton added.
"As for the third one, this is actually the most important. You are not allowed to kill each other just to
gain better performances and benefits. You have to know that in this trial, the Di Clan has arranged for
several people to monitor your every movement. In other words, you cannot escape our eyes.
Therefore, I suggest that you refrain from any despicable tricks...
Lastly, you are allowed to give up in the midst of the test if you happened to be trapped in some
situations that will make you unable to proceed. If ever you decided to give up, just stay where you are
and burn the teleportation rune that we will give you later. The moment you burn it, you can directly
leave the Spiritual Divine Land. So, do not lose it. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir!" the Spiritual Emperors responded in unison.
"Good. Now, come up here and get your teleportation runes," Colton instructed.
Immediately after, the participating Spiritual Emperors stepped forward and claimed a teleportation
rune from the elders of the Di Clan.
After everyone had acquired one, Colton signaled the two elders behind him to remove the enchanted
barrier at the entrance of the Holy Heaven Palace.
Then, the very moment that the enchanted barrier was removed, all of the Spiritual Emperors present
felt a surging spiritual power towards them. It was so sudden and overbearing that they could not help
but be petrified to where they were standing. Even before they could enter, some of the weaker
Spiritual Emperors were already retreating backward, frightened by the vicious vibe that was coming
from the entrance of the palace. In fact, even the powerful middle-grade and high-grade Spiritual
Emperors also had a hard time resisting it.
"The legendary Holy Heaven Palace lives up to its reputation! This is going to be more exciting than I
expected," Rocky murmured to himself as he let out a devious smile.
Everyone also felt complex emotions about the trial. Although they were nervous and a bit scared of
the place, they also felt amazed by it.
Then, Colton turned around and entered the Holy Heaven Palace first. At the same time, the
candidates followed closely behind him and were guided by three elders.
As they entered, everyone noticed a long and narrow mountain road, which was a little too crowded for
all of them. Therefore, the candidates began shuttling side by side through the mountain road that
looked like a curling body of a dragon.
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