Chapter 599 - The Seven-Floored Pagoda, The Dragon among Men[1]
The servants guided Qin Nan weaving through the palace.
As the Heaven-Worshipping Feast was around the corner, many of the paths were reconstructed, thus it took the time for an incense stick to burn to reach the House of Gold.
“This...is the House of Gold?”
Qin Nan was dumbfounded by the sight before him.
In his vision firmly stood a building that looked like a pagoda with seven floors. Its outside was covered in a layer of gold, which shone brightly under the sunlight.
Besides that, Qin Nan could tell that there was more to it than met the eye with the help of his left eye of the Divine God of Battle.
The entire House of Gold was encapsulated within an ancient mysterious aura, and an aged Weapon Spirit was deeply asleep within it.
The House of Gold was a mystical artifact, although it was nowhere as powerful as White Tiger City, its strength was beyond a Sacred Weapon.
The servant moved aside and said humbly, “Master Duan Qing, the House of Gold is split into seven floors, each guarded by a demonic martial beast. One would need a certain Martial Skill Talent to proceed to the higher floors.”
Qin Nan collected his thoughts. His eyes flickered with excitement as he asked, “Only Martial Skill Talent?”
“That’s right. Master Duan Qing, each floor of the House of Gold has some sort of fortunate encounters too, but actually finding them is dependent on your luck and capabilities. Crown Prince only managed to reach the third floor, but it was still extremely rewarding to him.” The servant explained.
“I see.”
Qin Nan nodded his head. He now had a clearer idea of the House of Gold’s structure in his mind.
Following this, the servant brought Qin Nan to the entrance.
An old man with white hair touching the ground sat close to the entrance. His eyes were tightly shut, as if he had fallen asleep, completely unaware of the two visitors.
The servant’s eyes flickered with astonishment, before he immediately transmitted his voice to Qin Nan, “Master Duan Qing, this is Elder Kong, a mysterious presence in the palace. No one knows his actual identity. Once you tell him your name and give him the badge, you will be allowed to enter the House of Gold.”
The servant did not expect to stumble into the legendary Elder Kong today.
Normally, Elder Kong would not even show himself for a year.
Qin Nan nodded his head slightly while his left eye was unleashed secretly as he scanned at Elder Kong. Following this, his eyes were filled with astoundment.
This Elder Kong had a mysterious aura like the ocean, unable to peek through.
It went without saying that those who he failed to peek through with his left eye of the Divine God of Battle were definitely someone extraordinary.
“That being said, his aura is kind of familiar. I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere…”
Qin Nan mumbled to himself and began to ponder. He then shook his head as he failed to recollect the scene, before approaching Elder Kong.
“Greetings Elder Kong, I’m Duan Qing. Here is my badge.”
Qin Nan said while bringing his fists together in a humble manner.
Shoosh!
Elder Kong’s eyes suddenly sprang open, which had an extremely deep look, as if they were able to peek through one’s soul.
Even Qin Nan could feel his hair standing on end.
“Such a powerful cultivation…”
Qin Nan was startled. On a side note, even the suppression from the two godly beasts that he had encountered had failed to startle him.
“Duan Qing? So you’re Duan Qing?” Elder Kong wore an expressionless face as he spoke with a hoarse voice, which felt like a rotting wooden door was being slowly opened.
As he spoke, the surroundings fell into a dead silence.
“That’s me.” Qin Nan was slightly astonished, as he did not expect Elder Kong to know his name.
“The House of Gold has seven floors—the first floor: a mere human; the second floor: ferocious as a tiger; the third floor: a fortunate encounter; the fourth floor: a prospective duke; the fifth floor: a chaos creator; the sixth floor: surely an authority; the seventh floor: dragon among men!” Elder Kong hastened his speech suddenly as he asked, “So which floor do you think you will end up on?”
“Is he trying to test me?”
The thought flashed across Qin Nan’s mind, who answered after a slight hesitation, “I might have a chance to enter the seventh floor.”
As a matter of fact, Qin Nan was utterly confident that he could enter the seventh floor.
He clearly knew how outstanding his Martial Skill Talent was, enough for the Reaper’s Platform to explode. Even though the requirement of the House of Gold was slightly higher than the Reaper’s Platform, it would not be a problem for him.
That being said, since Elder Kong was his senior, Qin Nan chose to be humble due to his identity as a junior.
“A chance to enter the seventh floor? Are you implying that you are extremely confident in entering the sixth floor?” Elder Kong suddenly let out a smile, which was filled with a hint of mockery.
Qin Nan frowned.
Before he could speak, Elder Kong snapped coldly, “Do you know how difficult the House of Gold is? The current top genius of the Sky-Scorching Ancient Kingdom, Di Fengyun, only managed to reach the fifth floor! Even the Sky-Scorching Emperor only managed to reach the sixth floor! Since the Sky-Scorching Ancient Kingdom was established, apart from the Deceased Emperor, no one has ever reached the seventh floor over thousands of years! Do you really think you’re able to achieve that?”
The words were fired like a succession of bullets.
Qin Nan was astounded.
Obviously, he did not expect that no one apart from the Deceased Emperor had managed to reach the seventh floor since the Sky-Scorching Ancient Kingdom was built.
This explained why Elder Kong’s attitude changed tremendously after hearing his words.
“Senior, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I can’t do it, everything is possible.” Qin Nan calmed his thoughts and spoke calmly.
“Everything is possible?” Elder Kong’s eyes flickered with disdain, “Is your Martial Spirit ninth-grade Di ranked?”
“Nope.”
“So what’s the rank of your Martial Spirit?” Elder Kong asked.
“Sixth-grade Di rank.” It went without saying that Qin Nan would not state the truth.
“Sixth-grade Di rank?” Elder Kong let out a hollow laugh, “No matter how outstanding your Martial Skill Talent is, you could at most reach the fourth floor! Duan Qing, being ignorant is not your fault, but don’t be too full of yourself! Fine, go ahead! You can only stay inside for a day, and select one item. Death will be the penalty if you choose not to obey the rules!”
The words were uttered with a terrifying murderous intent.
Qin Nan was quite speechless, as he did not expect this Elder Kong to react so fiercely. Despite that, he had no intention to chat with him any longer. Once he entered the House of Gold, he would prove his talent with the truth!
Qin Nan stepped forward and entered the House of Gold.
Following this, the hollow laugh on Elder Kong’s face vanished, as his expression became extremely calm.
A while later, Elder Kong let out a sigh.
“It’s been a few thousand years, and yet no one has been able to enter the seventh floor. I initially thought this Duan Qing would bring me a surprise, but who would have thought that he only possessed a sixth-grade Di ranked Martial Spirit. I guess that it couldn’t be helped, forget it…”
Elder Kong closed his eyes once again while his face began twisting, which transformed into a different imperious appearance.
The Third Prince would definitely be shocked if he were here.
The reason being that this mysterious Elder Kong was none other than the Sky-Scorching Emperor!
Translator: XephiZ
Editor: DOCuinn
[1] TL Note: This is not literally referring to a dragon. It’s a Chinese idiom that describes a person that has extraordinary or outstanding talents.