Chapter 397 Ascension Pool
"Lord Tian, please don't call me that, you are the head of one of the divisions in the Celestial Master Institute, I can't bear such deference," Xiao Liuzi waved his hands repeatedly.
"Then calling you Mr. An 6 should be fine, right?" Lin Shen said with a smile. "Mr. An 6. what exactly is the Celestial Master Institute, and why did the Heavenly Emperor appoint me as its head?"
"Since you called me Mr. An 6, I'll boast a bit. Little brother, you're in luck. The Celestial Master Institute is a specialized department close to the heart of the Lord Heavenly Emperor. You'll have to look after me more in the future." Mr. An 6 lowered his voice and said to Lin Shen.
"Rest assured, Mr. An 6. From now on, we are brothers, sharing fortunes and facing difficulties together," Lin Shen said, patting his chest.
"Little brother, you really know how to conduct yourself," Mr. An 6 laughed heartily.
Lin Shen wanted to inquire more about what exactly the Celestial Master Institute did when he saw Wei Wufu and Ouyang Yudu had also finished absorbing the Heavenly Liquid and stood up.
"Alright, it's getting late. Don't delay any longer inside the Imperial Palace. I'll take you out now," Mr. An 6 led them back the way they came and left the Imperial Palace.
Mr. An 6 escorted them all the way to the gates of the Imperial Palace. Before leaving, he urged Lin Shen to take up his position at the Celestial Master Institute as soon as possible.
Lin Shen stopped him and asked one more question, whether Wei Wufu and Ouyang Yudu were given any positions. Mr. An 6 shook his head and whispered in Lin Shen's ear, "Little brother, the imperial favor of the Heavenly Emperor is not something everyone is qualified to bear.
Grasp your opportunity well, don't meddle in affairs that don't concern you, and just focus on serving the Lord Heavenly Emperor."
"Mr. An 6, I'll take your advice," Lin Shen could only take Wei Wufu and Ouyang Yudu back with him.
Tian Xun and Tian Xin had been waiting for them to return to the hotel. Upon seeing Wei Wufu and Lin Shen return, they anxiously asked how it went.
Lin Shen recounted the meeting with Emperor Tianshu in detail, and Tian Xun finally felt relieved, "Heavenly liquid can purify the body. It's the Heavenly Emperor's exclusive beverage that others seldom have the chance to drink. It will also benefit your future Nirvana. We'll have to thank the Heavenly Consort for her help later."
"Oh, the Heavenly Emperor also appointed me the head of the Celestial Master Institute. What exactly does this Celestial Master Institute do?" Lin Shen handed the card to Tian Xun.
Tian Xun's face suddenly changed, and he snatched the card away, confirming its authenticity before his expression turned exceedingly complex.
"What's the matter? Is there something wrong with being the head of the Celestial Master Institute?" Lin Shen immediately sensed that there was something amiss.
Tian Xun shook his head and said, "There's not exactly a problem, but the Celestial Master Institute is a department established by the Heavenly Emperor that takes orders directly from him. Any action of the Celestial Master Institute doesn't need to go through the Celestial Court; they only need to answer to the Heavenly Emperor himself."
"Sounds like it has a lot of power," Lin Shen said, feeling that there was nothing wrong with this.
Tian Xin laughed, "To put it nicely, it only answers to the Heavenly Emperor. To put it bluntly, it's like the Heavenly Emperor's dog, tasked with biting people.
Whether it's choosing beauties from other races, killing people who disobey and gossip about the Heavenly Emperor, or going out to gather exotic treasures for the Heavenly Emperor and amusing him, all these tasks fall to the Celestial Master Institute."
"That's not bad at all, isn't that just like being the Heavenly Emperor's personal guard?" Lin Shen felt that this place seemed quite good, a department with some perks.
"Not bad? If there were no Celestial Court, this department would indeed be not bad. Unfortunately for us, the Celestial Race has a Celestial Court, and a Dean of the Celestial Court at that. The previous Head of the Celestial Master Institute was executed by the hands of the Dean of the Celestial Court himself because he committed offenses," Tian Xin said with a smile.
"Doesn't the Heavenly Emperor care?" Lin Shen asked, slightly startled.
"A dead dog can be replaced by ten, a hundred others. The Dean of the Celestial Court is the pillar that props up our race. The Heavenly Emperor has been able to enjoy thousands of years of peace because he has this Lord Dean to support him from the front. If you were the Heavenly Emperor, would you bother with this matter?"
With a smile that wasn't quite a smile, Tian Xin looked at Lin Shen and said, "The Heavenly Emperor needs to indulge. The dirty and exhausting tasks must be done by the Celestial Master Institute. Doing well is expected; doing poorly invites the Heavenly Emperor's thunderous wrath, which you cannot withstand.
The Celestial Master Institute, after handling these dirty and exhausting tasks, offends the august Dean of the Celestial Court, will inevitably have to deal with you. Being the Head of the Celestial Master Institute is a thankless job where one misstep could cost you your life."
The more Lin Shen listened, the more he felt that being a Dean was not a good thing, yet he didn't even have the power to refuse.
"I'm just an insignificant human Ascender, and it's my first time on Sky Pinnacle Star, why would the Heavenly Emperor want me to be the Head of the Celestial Master Institute?" Lin Shen felt extremely frustrated.
"I think your inherent cheap aura has been discovered. You were born for these dirty and exhausting tasks, which is why the Heavenly Emperor has taken a fancy to you. Otherwise, why wouldn't he bestow any position onto Wei or Ouyang Yudu?" Tian Xin said, reveling in his misfortune.
"It's not entirely without benefits. After all, the Head of the Celestial Master Institute is a close advisor to the Heavenly Emperor, one of the few who can often come into contact with the Heavenly Emperor, and indeed wields no small amount of power," Tian Xun could only comfort Lin Shen in this way.
"Fortunately, the Heavenly Emperor didn't specify when I should take office. Let's first go to the Ascension Pool and increase my reincarnation turns before discussing anything else." Lin Shen didn't have any better idea; he just wanted to take advantage of the benefits first.
Tian Xun led Lin Shen, Wei Wufu, and Tian Xin to the Ascension Pool. Tian Xin herself had the qualifications to enter the Ascension Pool and didn't need to fight to the death like Lin Shen and the others.
Lin Shen initially thought the Ascension Pool was just a pool, perhaps like Ring Mountain, containing a special liquid in which one could soak to increase their reincarnation turns.
The Base Mutation Pool that Lin Shen had soaked in before was like this.
Since the Base Mutation Pool was created in imitation of the Ascension Pool, he thought the Ascension Pool should be similar.
However, when Lin Shen actually saw the Ascension Pool, he realized how ignorant his thoughts had been.
The Ascension Pool was not merely a pool at all, but an expanse of continuous mountains. Among these mountains, there was a towering peak that almost reached the clouds, so high that its summit was nearly invisible.
A waterfall-like liquid poured down from the top of the mountain, as if a river of stars was falling from the void, plunging into the vast pool at the mountain's base.
The water flowed from the pool down the mountain, winding around the mountains like a white giant serpent coiling between them.
Strangely, the streams eventually flowed back toward the towering mountain, disappearing at its base as if plunging into an abyss.
"That is the Ascension Pool. We must swim upstream; the farther and higher we go, the more benefits we obtain. If one can swim against the waterfall and reach the mountain top, achieving the Tenth Turn is possible," Tian Xin said.
Lin Shen and Wei Wufu looked at each other, as this posed a dilemma. When it came to fighting, they could reluctantly step up, but swimming was not their strength.