Chapter 221: Mount Meru Ding Ling’er’s eyes gleamed. “Exactly, Mount Meru!” She gave Yunxiao a meaningful look and said, “Since Young Master Yun knows about the Heaven Library Realm, you naturally know about this Mount Meru, right?” Yunxiao’s face flickered. He took a few sips of tea in a row and felt refreshed, before slowly speaking, “It is one of the five wonderlands in the Heavenly Martial Realm. Legend has it that it was produced by gathering the essence and the Spirit Qi of a world. It is a wonderland that all warriors dream of.” “Oh? So Young Master Yun also thinks Mount Meru was formed spontaneously?” Yunxiao gave her a look as he stood up and paced back and forth in the hall while saying, “I don’t believe it was created by people of ancient times. But, there are, in fact, many human traces inside. I suspect that the so-called five wonderlands are just five sects of the ancient times. It’s just that as time passed, they declined and eventually died, and then the five spaces drifted in the void until they gradually became stable and formed the so-called five wonderlands.” With an approving look, Ding Ling’er said softly, “Young Master Yun’s knowledge is indeed extraordinary. I’m afraid few in the entire South have the same view as you. However, a few years ago, I attended a high-level meeting of the Commerce Alliance with my father, and the result of their discussion about the five wonderlands turned out to be exactly the same as yours.” Yunxiao smiled and said nothing. It was already the common view of those superpowers on the Heavenly Martial Continent about the wonderlands. “Then, does Young Master Yun know that Mount Meru is about to open?” “What!” Yunxiao trembled, and his eyes burst with a gleam. It was hard to tell if he were excited or shocked. “Mount Meru is about to open? Is your information true?” he cried out. A feeling of triumph suddenly developed in Ding Ling’er’s heart. Since she knew this guy, she had never seen him surprised. This was the first time, and it gave her a sense of accomplishment. “No one can figure out the timing of the opening of the five wonderlands, but there will be certain signs before opening. In order not to miss each opening, the three empires of the South have each hired people to refine a Celestial Globe to monitor the activities of the southern space. According to the common monitoring results of the three empires, Mount Meru will descend and open in three months at the latest or one month at the earliest. And this time, it will most likely open in Firecrow Empire.” With an incredulous look, Yunxiao said, “I can’t believe Mount Meru is about to descend. I think the whole continent is about to shake, right?” Ding Ling’er nodded and said, “Yes. By now, the news has spread all over the continent. The superpowers of the other three regions are all trying to squeeze in and get a piece of the cake. Legend has it that in the five wonderlands are countless precious plants and minerals, almost corporeal Spirit Qi, and elite magic weapons and heaven-defying cultivation techniques passed down from the ancient times. Every time a wonderland opens, a group of peerless figures will be created. The present famous experts on the continent are all existences who had visited various wonderlands and obtained countless benefits.” Yunxiao could not agree more to that. It was in the Heaven Library Realm that he found his eye technique. If it weren’t for this fated chance, he would not have been able to rank third on the Heaven and Earth Power Chart later. “According to the iron rules of the Holy Realm, the powers of the other three regions are not allowed to interfere in the region where the wonderland descends. This is undoubtedly a great protection for the South. Otherwise, the sects in the South will not be able to get even a seat.” Ding Ling’er glanced at Yunxiao, who was dazed, and said, “What do you think of the news, Young Master Yun?” Her question woke Yunxiao from his daze. Gradually, his eyes flickered, and he said with a smile, “Since Mount Meru is about to open, of course, the people of the South have to take our share of the cake! I was wondering why those aristocratic families of Firecrow Empire tolerated my actions. So, it turns out that they want no trouble because Mount Meru is about to open. Haha! Had I known, I would have done more!” Ding Ling’er was speechless. “What more do you want to do, when you have already wiped out the whole Xingyang family? If you push it too far, those guys in the Temple of Revered Elders will kill you regardless of consequences.” Yunxiao seemed to be in a good mood. “Ling’er, you did not ask me to be here to just tell me this news, did you?” Ding Ling’er laughed. “This is only the premise. Young Master Yun, you should know every wonderland has different strange restrictions, and Mount Meru has a restriction on warriors’ ages. Those who are over fifty years old, even just one day, cannot enter. Therefore, among the five wonderlands, Mount Meru is the least attractive. Otherwise, even with the Holy Realm’s iron roles, those superpowers will still squeeze in by force, regardless of the price they have to pay.” Her eyes narrowed slightly as she said, “In other words, those who can enter Mount Meru are all young people. In the South, those so-called geniuses of various major sects who are below fifty years old have cultivated to Martial Kings or Martial Grandmasters at the most. The probability of seeing Martial Emperors is very low. My Tianyuan Trading Company can get two places, and I hope Young Master Yun will come with me.” It was incredible that a power that did not come from the South could get two places to enter Mount Meru. Astounded, Yunxiao said, “Places? Mount Meru only limits the age of those who enter and not the number of people, right?” Ding Ling’er paused and stared incredulously at Yunxiao. Looking at his astounded expression, she could not help but burst into laughter. “Young Master Yun, you are such a clever man, and you even know many secrets of the continent, and yet you know nothing about the rules of the South. This really makes me curious that…are you really from the South?” Yunxiao laughed. “I’m sure Miss Ling’er has looked into my background, and you know I’m a genuine member of the Li family in the state of Tianshui. Miss Ling’er, please explain the so-called quota.” Ding Ling’er chuckled, but she was puzzled in her heart. She had looked into Yunxiao’s background at least ten times, and she could be absolutely sure that there was no problem. But, no problem usually meant the biggest problem… Anyhow, she put aside her doubts and said, “Although Mount Meru does not restrict the number of people entering, there are various agreements between powers in the South. In order to prevent some powers from suddenly becoming too big with the resources of Mount Meru, they set rules on the number and proportion of people allowed to enter. This is also to maintain the stability of the current power structure.” Yunxiao smiled wryly and said, “No wonder the overall strength of the South is the weakest in the Heavenly Martial Realm. Instead of opening the resources to all, they hide it. If it weren’t for the iron rules of the Holy Realm, I think they would have lost this cake permanently.” Ding Ling’er sighed. “I thought the same. However, if we were the leaders of any southern power, we would not want to see other powers catch up either. Therefore, three groups of people, each representing an empire, had agreed on how many people could enter each time. The number must be equal for all three empires, and then it will be distributed within the three empires.” “Fair enough, but the competition within each empire will be extremely fierce. What is the quota for each empire this time?” “According to reliable sources, the number for each empire is 3,000. The empire where Mount Meru descends will get an additional 1,000. This was also stipulated in the early days. This time, the probability of Mount Meru descending in Firecrow Empire is very high, so Firecrow Empire should have 4,000 places.” While frowning, Yunxiao said, “A total of only ten thousand places? The South is so vast, and there are many powers and sects and families. The competition must be extremely fierce! How will the places be distributed within an empire then? It can’t be decided by the Jutian Sect alone, can it?” “Of course not! No one will be convinced. The distribution of places within an empire will be decided by all the Martial Emperors and above together. If a power has a Martial Emperor, it will be able to fight at least a few places back.” Yunxiao was taken aback. “Doesn’t that mean powers without Martial Emperors are hopeless?” Ding Ling’er smiled and said, “Not necessarily. But, those Martial Emperors will take away ninety percent of the quota, and five percent will be used to cultivate young people with potential in the empire. Firecrow Empire is about to hold a tournament, which will be divided into three categories according to age. Through this method, the young people with the greatest potential will be selected and then places will be given to them. The remaining five percent will go to auction.” “Auction?” Yunxiao found it a little difficult to understand. “Five percent is two hundred places, and they will go to auction. With Tianyuan Trading Company’s financial resources, it should not be a problem to buy more than a dozen places, should it?” Ding Ling’er shook her head with a wry smile and said, “There is a restriction on the sects who can participate in the tournament. Disciples from the sects who have been given places are not allowed to participate. But, there is no restriction on the auction—any powers, as long as they are from Firecrow Empire, can participate. The Primordial Stones from the auction will be used to open Mount Meru, and the balance will go into the coffers of Firecrow Empire’s imperial clan.” She paused and then went on in a faint voice, “Every time Mount Meru opens, the number of Primordial Stones needed is staggering. It is an astronomical figure, and no power can come out with it alone. Although there are two hundred places, I estimate the price for each place will not be lower than one million medial-grade Primordial Stones!” “What! One million medial-grade Primordial Stones?!” That gave Yunxiao a fright, and he said jokingly, “If that’s true, Miss Ling’er, I will sell the place you give me for some money.” Ding Ling’er laughed. “Don’t think I’m trying to frighten you by purposely exaggerating the number. You know the benefits of Mount Meru. In addition to those sects on the surface, there are many hermit sects in the South, and they will all show up during the auction. And for the sake of their heirs and descendants, the powers without Martial Emperors will fight for the spots at all costs. Don’t underestimate these powers. Also, sects of the other three regions will secretly send their best disciples here, and they will use a large number of resources to get the spots.” She sighed and said, “The auction of Mount Meru quota is definitely the most intense and expensive auction in the whole southern region!” Yunxiao believed that. He rubbed his forehead as he sighed and said, “After all, the number of spots is too less. If each empire opens up 100,000 places, there would be no need for such trouble.”