Chapter 1317: Chapter 1316: Ancient God Temple
Qin Hao and his group walked out of the palace residence. Having been here before, Zhou Danqing was quite familiar with the Ancient God City.
She led Qin Hao and the others towards the temple of the Ancient God City.
"The temple enshrines several ancient human gods, who were among the leaders and top-tier powerhouses of the human race back then. The development of the human race to this point is inseparable from the efforts and sacrifices of these ancient ancestors," Zhou Danqing said as they walked.
The streets were bustling with people. In recent days, the Ancient God City had gathered people from various places, and large numbers were still pouring in.
However, the Ancient God City was large enough to accommodate billions of people living within it.
Because it is one of the oldest and largest cities of the human race.
For everyone coming to the Ancient God City, the first place to visit is this temple because it is where the human ancestors are revered by all.
The group chatted and laughed along the way, with Qin Hao introducing Su Xuanji, Ning Ziyuan, and others to each other, and now they were somewhat acquainted.
After a dozen minutes, Qin Hao and his group arrived outside the ancient temple. Rather than a temple, it was more like a grand complex of palaces, magnificent and splendid, yet not without dignity and solemnity.
The entrance to the ancient temple was crowded, mostly with young prodigies, and they were mostly in groups.
As Qin Hao and his group were about to enter, another group walked out coincidentally, and it was none other than Zhou Liuxing, Zhou Wanqing, and others.
Seeing Qin Hao, Zhou Danqing, and their group, Zhou Liuxing, Zhou Wanqing, Mao Yunlong, and Master Hui Zhen from Jialan Temple all looked stunned.
Qin Hao?
How is this possible? Wasn’t he already dead? How could he appear here? And with Zhou Danqing and the others?
Are we seeing things??
Qin Hao looked at Zhou Liuxing and the others with a faint smile and said, "It’s been a while, everyone."
Zhou Liuxing’s face darkened. He knew he wasn’t seeing things; Qin Hao wasn’t dead. He really wasn’t dead.
"So it’s Mr. Qin, long time no see!" said Mao Yunlong from the Green Cloud Sect, greeting him.
Mao Yunlong and Zhou Wanqing’s marriage had already been arranged, and they would soon be married as Taoist partners, so the relationship between the Green Cloud Sect and the Nan Zhou Dynasty was very close now.
"Mr. Mao, still the same sarcasm, huh? I have some advice for you, Mr. Mao: when choosing a Taoist partner, make sure you choose a suitable one. Don’t choose the wrong person and ruin your life."
Zhou Wanqing’s expression changed slightly: "Qin Hao, what do you mean by that?"
Qin Hao: "Nothing much, just having a heart-to-heart talk with Mr. Mao."
Mao Yunlong responded in a mild tone, "I’m aware of my own affairs, so you don’t need to worry, Qin." After speaking, he turned and left.
After those people left, Qin Hao and the others entered the ancient temple.
As they walked, Qin Hao asked, "Danqing, how many students from our academy are participating in the competition this time?"
"About four hundred people." Zhou Danqing felt a bit annoyed. It was one thing to be called his niece in private, but calling her niece in front of so many people wasn’t making things difficult for her on purpose.
"That many?"
Zhou Danqing explained in a flat tone, "Is that a lot? It’s actually the fewest we’ve had in years. In the past two sessions, there were too few talented students, with only a few dozen participating. Instead, there are many young talents in your session, and this is just the number of academy participants. At least tens of thousands of people from the Southern Continent have come here privately to participate in the competition."
"Can the competition be entered privately?" Qin Hao was a bit puzzled.
Zhou Danqing: "Of course, but you need to meet certain conditions to participate. Anyone who meets the conditions, regardless of their origins or factions, can participate. The number of participants this time is at least hundreds of thousands to a million, and each one is a renowned prodigy. The competition is intense; don’t take it lightly."
Qin Hao was taken aback: "So many people? When will the competition end?"
"It’ll take a few months, depending on the competition schedule."
Curiously, Qin Hao asked, "Didn’t you come to participate a thousand years ago? What was your ranking back then, Danqing?"
Lan Manshuang, Nangong Yuya, and others also looked at her curiously, wanting to know her ranking since Zhou Danqing was an extremely famous prodigy back then, and they could use her as a reference.
Zhou Danqing felt a bit embarrassed and rolled her eyes at Qin Hao: "I didn’t do very well back then, barely making it into the top ten thousand."
"Top ten thousand? Barely? Danqing, you were too weak," Qin Hao was speechless at her words.
Zhou Danqing retorted angrily, "You don’t understand. Once you really face those people, you’ll know, especially those prodigies from the Central Continent. They’re really strong."
Lan Manshuang and Nangong Yuya couldn’t quite believe it; Zhou Danqing barely made it into the top ten thousand back then? What about us?
Their hearts grew heavy. Although they knew their talents were high and their strength was strong, they admitted they weren’t much better than Zhou Danqing back then.
Feeling the heavy mood among Lan Manshuang and the others, Zhou Danqing glared at Qin Hao. It was all his fault for asking. If they carried such a mood into the competition, their results might be less ideal, and their Taoist hearts might collapse.
The consequences of a collapse of the Taoist heart are severe; at worst, one could go mad, losing their body and path, at best, one’s cultivation may never advance a step.
Zhou Danqing spoke, "Don’t put too much psychological pressure on yourselves. Keeping in a good state is most important."
Lan Manshuang and Nangong Yuya nodded; they understood but still felt a bit heavy-hearted.
"What’s the use of thinking so much? Don’t the top ten get to bring a few people? I’ll take you in then."
...
Oh my, isn’t that a bit too arrogant, straight-up claiming a top ten spot?
However, hearing this lightened Lan Manshuang and Nangong Yuya’s mood quite a bit: "Really? You can’t go back on your word; everyone heard it."
"When have I ever gone back on my word?" Qin Hao replied in a mild tone.
Zhou Danqing looked at him, wanting to say: Can you take me too? But in the end, she didn’t utter the words; it would make her seem too... something.
Qin Hao and his group soon arrived at the main hall of the ancient temple. The hall was still very large, with many people burning incense and praying for blessings.
The hall housed ten statues, lifelike as if they were real people, with expressions of stern dignity and an aura of supreme dominance emanating from them.
Gazing at the ten ancient god statues, the power of faith in Qin Hao’s mind suddenly stirred.
At the same time, a gentle glow emanated from the heads of these ten statues, resonating with the power of faith in Qin Hao’s mind.
This phenomenon was visible only to Qin Hao. He discovered massive amounts of power of faith in the heads of these ten statues, millions of times more than in his mind.
After all, these ten ancient god statues had stood for millions of years, worshipped by countless people, naturally gathering an enormous amount of power of faith.