"Oh? The late-stages of the Heaven Ascension realm?"A strange glint flashed in Yi Yun's eyes. A person at the late-stages of the Heaven Ascension realm was an entire realm above him!If this was the Tian Yuan world, an opponent one entire realm above him was nothing. For example, the Sovereign of the Eventide, Yi Yun could have easily killed him without using his avatar or the Demon God puppet.But here in the Ten Thousand Fey Empyrean Heaven, what would be the outcome if he fought a person at the late-stages of the Heaven Ascension realm, one full realm above him?Yi Yun had no idea. Although he was confident in his strength, he was not one to put on a supercilious act. The strength of the Ten Thousand Fey Empyrean Heaven's geniuses was still an unknown to him. It was impossible to know without any probing attempts.At that moment, Yang Zishan had already entered the Fire Spirit Palace, and it was Yi Yun and company's turn to register.Seeing Yang Zishan leave, Man Dao said in a straightforward manner, "Junior Brother Yi, sorry about that. I made a fool of myself in front of you."It was naturally an inglorious matter having lost a gambling fight with Yang Zishan. Of course, this had to do with Man Dao's cultivation level being lower than Yang Zishan’s.Man Dao was a person with a fiery temper to begin with. When he previously had a conflict with Yang Zishan, he was provoked, and having lost his reason, he made a bet that cost him three World Stones.This made Man Dao feel the pinch in his heart for a long period of time."Victory and defeat are both common in battle. Losing once is nothing. However, Senior Brother Man Dao, you mentioned that our master, Fairy Black Bamboo, and Elder Heaven Scorpio are at odds with each other?""Yes," Man Dao said with a nod. "Our master is only a few thousand years old. She became an Earth Fire Hall Elder in the past one hundred years, allowing her to preside over the Earth Fire Hall’s examinations. Our master's examinations are strict and tough, so the disciples that come out of it naturally aren't bad. The only thing is that not much time has passed since she began taking in disciples, so not only are there few disciples in number, but the amount of time for them to cultivate is also not much either. So in the Earth Fire Hall, we are considerably weak.""In fact, this has all to do with factionalism… ""Factionalism?" Yi Yun was surprised."That's right. Actually, it has nothing to do with trivial figures like us. It has to do with the power-struggle amongst the Luo clan's royal family. You probably didn't know, but in the past hundred years, the Luo clan fought a huge war. The stage of war even went all the way to the royal capital and the Luo clan was nearly wiped out. Although the Luo clan eventually won, His Majesty, the Luo Emperor suffered serious injuries in the war, so there are plans for succession.""The few royal offspring that were designated for succession were evacuated during the war, but they were summoned back when the war was near its end. And the two most eligible people to inherit the throne are Prince Crimson Firmament and Princess Purple Spirit. They have each established their own factions.""Our master is subordinate to Prince Pingnan, and Prince Pingnan is a close associate of Princess Purple Spirit. And since Elder Heaven Scorpio is a subordinate to Prince Crimson Firmament, they are naturally at odds."A power-struggle between the royal offspring for the succession to the Luo empyrean throne?Yi Yun was surprised to hear this as he asked, "Senior Brother Man Dao, you mentioned that the royal offspring, who were designated for succession, had been evacuated during the war. How many people were evacuated during the war?""How many could they evacuate? Just two." Man Dao answered matter-of-factly. "Choosing a route of retreat isn't easy. Furthermore, evacuating the successors to ensure the continuation of the bloodline is reasonable. However, if the entire royal family was evacuated, then how can they count on the Luo clan's army to continue fighting the war?"What Man Dao said was very reasonable.Typically during the fall of a dynasty in the mortal world, only the princes were evacuated under the escort of loyal subjects. Many emperors would remain in the royal capital to be martyred.If the emperor along with the entire royal family were to escape, how could they expect their subordinates to fight for them?"In that case, could Princess Purple Spirit be Luo Huo'er?"No wonder Fairy Black Bamboo had said that the royal capital was like a deep pool of water. After entering the royal capital, he would be swept up in the storm, and with his own cultivation level, it was easy for him to capsize.So it had to do with the power struggles over the royal throne!The throne of the Luo clan was extremely revered. It meant being a true overlord; what’s more, an overlord of the Ten Thousand Fey Empyrean Heaven. It was completely incomparable to the lower realms!Ignoring the Ten Thousand Fey Empyrean Heaven, even for a family clan in the Tian Yuan world, the succession of power was usually preceded by bloody storm-like tests. The throne of the Luo clan could only be more so.As low-level disciples, they were automatically placed in a faction according to their masters’ allegiance. This was similar to mortal countries in which an examination candidate would automatically become a protégé of the examiner."Then what is the current situation regarding the struggle over the royal throne? Who has the upper hand?" Yi Yun asked using a voice transmission.He wanted to know what situation Luo Huo'er was facing during this power-struggle.Man Dao laughed and said, "I have no idea either. It's a matter regarding the royal offspring, something we aren't qualified to concern ourselves with. It's better if we enter Fire Spirit Palace."Yi Yun gave up, seeing that he could not get anymore new information. It sure was a coincidence. After coming to the Ten Thousand Fey Empyrean Heaven, he had taken Fairy Black Bamboo's examination, resulting in him becoming related to Luo Huo'er once again.However, Luo Huo'er was now a successor to the Luo clan's royal throne, while he was just a new disciple in the Earth Fire Hall. One of them was in the Luo clan royal capital, while the other was in the Earth Fire Hall's Fire Spirit Palace. The distance that separated them was huge."Lord Mu Ao." Yun Qiao'er shouted with a clear voice while kneeling down.Yi Yun turned his gaze towards the Spirit Mastiff and he could not help but feel curious.This Spirit Mastiff did not seem like a living thing. He could not sense any breathing from its body, but its long silver fur and massive body made people feel a sense of trepidation.Yang Zishan and Yun Qiao'er had both addressed this Spirit Mastiff as ‘Lord’, but it was unknown if this Spirit Mastiff was a desolate beast or a Fey race.The moment Yun Qiao'er finished her sentence, Yi Yun felt a cold aura sweep across his body. In a trance, he felt as though he saw the Spirit Mastiff open its eyes that revealed a pair of pupils. Not only did they appear as though they had experienced the eternal passage of time, but they were also looking at him. However, on closer inspection, the Spirit Mastiff was still motionless. Its eyelids did not even move, let alone open its eyes.This cold feeling also disappeared when he snapped out of the trance, but Yi Yun still felt like there was an eye staring at him from above.He could only vaguely sense the penetrating gaze, but he could also sense that it was observing him."Alright, the registration is done. Let us go in." Yun Qiao'er and company were clearly experiencing the same feelings as Yi Yun. However, since they had been to the palace thrice already, they were already used to it. Yun Qiao'er looked forward to the mining of the fire, so she eagerly went ahead of them."Junior Brother Yi Yun, you have to be careful!" Yun Qiao'er's pleasant lark-like voice came from the front.By the time Yi Yun passed through the Fire Spirit Palace's door, he understood why Yun Qiao'er warned him to be careful.From the outside, the Fire Spirit Palace looked no different from any other palace. However, upon passing through the door, there was only a ladder that reached down far beyond what the eyes could see. The two sides of the ladder had two bean-sized flames that stretched deep down into the deepest depths of darkness.Yun Qiao'er's figure flashed in front before she quickly disappeared in the darkness."The Spirit of the Earth Fire is at the bottom of the main peak." Man Dao said while he was standing the side.