The Sacred Leaves Family's Wishes for Peace

Seven Kings City was a hegemonic power within the Tianyuan Realm, possessing a saint-grade spirit vein—its concentration of spiritual energy surpassed imagination.

This was something Fang Luo and the others felt clearly as soon as they entered the city.

The sensation became even more distinct as they moved from the outer city into the inner city.

However, their immediate priority was to find a place to live. Having decided to establish a base of operations in Seven Kings City, they naturally sought out the best possible residence.

As they walked, Fang Luo explained:

"Seven Kings City is divided into an inner city and an outer city. The biggest difference between them is the richness of the spiritual energy—everything else is secondary."

"The inner city was specifically built with one hundred twenty Blessed Grotto-Heavens, divided into three grades: Heaven, Earth, and Human. There are twelve Heaven-grade sanctuaries, reserved for those at the Emperor Realm. The thirty-six Earth-grade ones are for Saint Kings. The seventy-two Human-grade ones are for Great Saints."

"If you don't meet the realm requirements, no matter how many spirit stones you offer, Seven Kings City won't rent to you. Of course, you can always try negotiating with the owner to stay temporarily."

Fang Chen asked, "Are there any requirements besides one's cultivation realm?"

Seven Kings City, as a top-tier power in the Tianyuan Realm and a city of chaos, attracted Saint-level cultivators not just from East Continent and nearby regions, but from all corners of the realm.

This meant the city teemed with hidden dragons and crouching tigers—powerful cultivators in abundance. The few grotto-heavens available simply weren't enough to house everyone.

Fang Luo replied, "Naturally, the capable ones get to live there. If you've got your eye on a grotto-heaven, just challenge the current owner. If you win, you take their place."

Fang Chen and the others exchanged looks and laughed in understanding.

"That's about as direct and brutal as it gets."

The more chaotic the place, the clearer the law of the strong becomes. There weren't many rules here—your strength was your right.

Fang Luo added, "If we were only staying for a short time, it would be best to find an Earth-grade grotto-heaven owner and offer some compensation to live there temporarily."

"But since we'll be staying in Seven Kings City for a long while, it's much more convenient to have one of our own."

Fang Chen and the others nodded in agreement.

They weren't the only ones who thought this way. Many powerhouses in the city operated similarly. After all, if each one had their own grotto-heaven, the one hundred twenty wouldn't be nearly enough—people would be dueling daily for space.

Some cultivators even willingly entered grotto-heavens as servants without asking for compensation, just to experience the top-tier cultivation environment.

You see, Seven Kings City possessed a saint-grade spirit vein, and only inside the grotto-heavens could one fully absorb its power.

However, the best Heaven-grade grotto-heavens—reserved for Emperor Realm cultivators—weren't accessible even to groveling Saint-levels who wanted to enter as servants. Those emperors could summon countless followers with a wave of their hand; they had no shortage of applicants.

Fang Luo and his companions went straight into the inner city and found a broker responsible for managing the grotto-heavens. After stating their intent, the broker began to explain the rules.

"Staying short-term or long-term? If it's short-term, I suggest finding an Earth-grade sanctuary to rent."

Earth-grade sanctuaries had better environments and more abundant spiritual energy. The rent was high—most Saint Kings couldn't afford the cost over long periods. So many would lease out parts of their sanctuaries to split the cost with others.

Fang Luo replied, "Long-term."

"Heaven, Earth, or Human—what's your choice?" the broker asked.

They were at the Great Saint level, so they were only eligible to challenge for Human-grade sanctuaries.

Fang Luo answered, "Human."

If they were just ordinary Seventh Stage Great Saints, they wouldn't even dare challenge, given how many strong Great Saints lived in the city. Those occupying the seventy-two Human-grade sanctuaries were all top-tier among their rank.

To challenge one of those owners, you'd need at least Eighth Stage Great Saint cultivation.

The broker nodded.

"There are seventy-two Human-grade Blessed Grotto-Heavens in the inner city. Their locations and environments vary slightly."

"Each person only has one challenge opportunity every five years. Win or lose, you can't challenge again within that time."

"Each grotto-heaven owner can reject a challenge once per year. After rejecting, they get a three-month cooldown. Once that's used up, they must accept any challenge. If they don't show up within a day of the challenge, it's considered a loss. After a battle, they get one month of rest."

As the broker spoke, he took out a jade slip.

"This contains basic information on the seventy-two Human-grade grotto-heaven owners."

Fang Luo accepted the jade slip, and the three of them examined it together.

The information was minimal—mainly their cultivation and battle records—intended to help challengers make informed decisions and avoid wasting time.

Naturally, the strongest ranked at the top. These were the pinnacle of Great Saint cultivators in the city, just one step shy of the Saint King realm.

If no Saint Kings stepped up, they were the strongest. In fact, some low-tier Saint Kings might not even be able to beat them.

Fang Luo and the others, who had only recently broken through to Seventh Stage Great Saints, couldn't yet handle these veteran Ninth Stage giants. So they needed to keep looking.

They weren't picky—as long as it was a Human-grade grotto-heaven, it would suffice.

After a while, Fang Chen pointed at a name near the bottom and sent a voice transmission:

"This guy—Li Han, the master of Yellow Maple Valley—is still on the bounty board. If we take him out during the challenge, we can also claim a bounty."

Li Han was near the bottom among the seventy-two owners. He had Eighth Stage Great Saint cultivation and had defeated six challengers. Compared to others, more people had tried him—likely for the same bounty-related reason.

Yet without exception, all had lost. This meant he wasn't just any ordinary Eighth Stage cultivator—he was likely an invincible force within his level.

Fang Luo pondered for a moment and affirmed, "Alright, him it is."

Once the decision was made, the broker said, "Li Han has already used his rejection for the year. He must appear within a day. Go wait at Arena Platform No. 3 near the Martial Field. The duel starts at the hour of the rooster."

There was a large Martial Arena nearby, designed for these kinds of challenges.

Seven Kings City even profited from these events by selling tickets and taking bets.

So even if Li Han showed up immediately, the match would still have to wait a bit—the city wanted time to advertise and draw in gamblers and spectators.

Fang Luo took out a portion of their spirit stones and prepared to place bets on themselves—may as well earn a little extra if they could.