Two streaks of light shot toward Ice Snow City at breakneck speed, landing outside the city gates and resolving into the figures of two young men — one broad and burly with a wide mouth and flared nostrils, the other handsome and dashing with an elegant bearing.
They looked up and both jumped in shock.
The burly youth let out a startled cry: "Zixiao, there are so many people here!"
The handsome youth called Zixiao replied, "Lord Voidkong returned not long ago with news from beyond the Universe, and this time he intends to take even more people with him. Of course everyone's flooded in — it's only been ten days and it's already this packed. You can see just how powerful Lord Voidkong's influence is. As time goes on, there'll only be more. Xiaowu, we need to put in our best effort this time. Whether we get to follow Lord Voidkong and make something of ourselves comes down to today!"
Xiaowu nodded with a solemn expression, clenching both fists. "We'll give it our all — we can do this!"
"Come on, let's get inside first!" Zixiao waved his hand and led his companion through the gates into the city.
From outside, Ice Snow City had seemed absolutely packed, teeming with people shoulder to shoulder. But once they stepped inside, they found the reality quite different — the interior was impossibly vast, and although there were enormous numbers of people, it was far from crowded. Instead, it felt spacious and open.
Both of them froze, baffled by how this could be.
While they stood there in a daze, a man walked over with a warm smile. "Are you two young brothers here to register?"
"Huh?" Xiaowu scratched his head, then quickly nodded. "Yes, yes, we're here to register. And you are…?"
The man smiled. "I'm a Disciple of the Lingxiao Palace. My surname is Xu — just call me Senior Brother Xu. I'm mainly responsible for guiding newcomers to the appropriate places for registration."
"Lingxiao Palace Disciple!" Both youths' eyes lit up instantly, their gazes fixed on Senior Brother Xu with burning reverence and envy.
Ever since Voidkong had comprehended the Dao, attained the rank of Great Emperor, and led the Star Boundary's armies to fight the Demon Race to a standstill — preserving the Star Boundary's last bastion of purity — the Lingxiao Palace had become famed throughout the world!
Countless people dreamed of joining the Lingxiao Palace. Countless longed to become part of it. But for all these years, the Lingxiao Palace had never recruited disciples from the outside, leaving the people of the Star Boundary with no way in.
The two youths had humble origins. Though they had long heard of the Lingxiao Palace's reputation, this was their first time setting foot in the Northern Domain and their first encounter with a Lingxiao Palace Disciple.
Senior Brother Xu truly seemed different from ordinary people — he radiated brilliance like a blazing sun, and from what they could sense, his cultivation was at least at the Dao Source Realm.
As expected of the Lingxiao Palace — even a Disciple assigned to guide newcomers had such impressive cultivation. The two youths were deeply shaken.
Zixiao was the more composed of the two. After a brief moment of astonishment, he cupped his fists. "Greetings, Senior Brother Xu. May I ask where two brothers of our cultivation level should go to register?"
Senior Brother Xu smiled. "If I'm not mistaken, both of you should be at the Void Returning Realm."
Zixiao flushed with embarrassment and scratched his head. "Senior Brother must find us laughable. We started our cultivation rather late." He lowered his voice. "Senior Brother Xu, with our level of cultivation… is there any chance we could follow Lord Voidkong? I've been watching the cultivators passing through, and every single one of them seems incredibly powerful."
The Void Returning Realm might count for something in the lower plane starfields, but in the Star Boundary it was practically nothing. The two brothers had agonized over whether to come to Ice Snow City at all. In the end, their desire had triumphed over their self-doubt, and they had stepped onto the teleportation array to reach the nearest city.
Senior Brother Xu laughed heartily. "Lord Voidkong isn't selecting people this time based solely on cultivation. Cultivation is certainly part of it, but if you have other special skills, you'll have a chance too."
"Special skills?" Zixiao raised an eyebrow.
"Pill refinement, artifact forging, formation arts — all sorts of things. As long as you have something impressive to show, you can present it."
The two brothers exchanged a glance and said in unison: "We can set up formations!"
Senior Brother Xu nodded. "Then it's simple. Come, I'll take you to the formation masters' registration area!" With that, he led the way forward.
Walking along the wide main street, the two brothers gawked like country boys who had stumbled into a great metropolis, marveling at everything they saw and pointing at things left and right.
Zixiao suddenly asked, "Senior Brother Xu, when we looked at the city from outside, it didn't seem this big. How is it so different inside?"
Senior Brother Xu chuckled. "You noticed that too? Good, good — sharp perception. Ice Snow City really isn't this large. It was originally built to hold a population of one million. But right now it's accommodating far more — easily over ten million — and it's still spacious enough to hold millions more without any problem. And all of this is Lord Voidkong's doing!"
"A universe within a pocket!" Zixiao's expression turned solemn, as if he had suddenly realized something.
Senior Brother Xu scratched his head. "I can't really explain the specifics, but our Lord Voidkong is a master of the Space Laws. I have no idea what techniques he used, but somehow Ice Snow City's interior is this spacious now."
"Lord Voidkong truly has heaven-defying abilities!" Zixiao's face was alight with fervent admiration.
Xiaowu burst out laughing. "One day, we brothers will be able to move mountains and rivers with a flip of our hands too!"
Senior Brother Xu said, "What lofty ambitions, you two. Well, the registration area is just up ahead — head on over yourselves. I still need to greet other newcomers, so I won't be able to accompany you."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Xu!" Both of them bowed gratefully.