The Wandering Dao Pavilion
Lin's fingers, though tired, moved with purpose as he turned the page. The weight of the previous revelations still pressed upon his mind the Flower Sovereign's impossible talent, the staggering power of Dual Sovereigns, the ancient legacy of his own sect. But the hunger for knowledge was insatiable, a flame that refused to be extinguished by fatigue.
The heading on the next page was written in a flowing, almost wandering script fitting, given its subject:
[EASTERN REGION]
[MAJOR POWER: THE WANDERING DAO PAVILION]
Lin leaned forward, his eyes scanning the text with renewed intensity.
The Wandering Dao Pavilion is built on the plain lands of the eastern region a vast, flat expanse that stretches as far as the eye can see. It is the largest structure in human history, spanning 100,000 kilometers on each side.
Lin's mind stumbled over the number.
100,000 kilometers.
He tried to visualize it. In his past life, the largest structures had been cities that spanned a few dozen kilometers at most. The Great Wall had been long, but it was thin a ribbon of stone across a landscape. But this... this was a building that covered an area larger than entire countries.
A structure that spans 100,000 kilometers on each side, he repeated, his thoughts struggling to grasp the scale. That's... that's almost the size of a small continent.
And it's a single building.
One structure. One pavilion.
Housing an entire population.
He read on, his fascination growing with each word.
The Wandering Dao Pavilion has nineteen floors each floor serving a distinct purpose. The first floor is the reception area, where visitors are welcomed and directed to their destinations. The second floor houses the disciples, their living quarters and training grounds. The third floor is a market, where goods and services are exchanged. The fourth floor contains housing for the general population.
And so on, up to the nineteenth floor whose purpose is known only to the highest members of the pavilion.
Lin paused, letting the information settle.
Nineteen floors, he thought. Each floor the size of a small country. Each floor with its own function, its own population, its own ecosystem.
The entire eastern population lives within this single structure.
He imagined it: billions of people, all living within the walls of a single building. A society contained within a single structure, its inhabitants never needing to venture outside. A world within a world.but why was it named wandering pavallion lin thought.
To the dwarves, the book added, the masters of crafting and construction, the Wandering Dao Pavilion is considered a great wonder a feat of engineering so grand that even they, with all their expertise, could not replicate it without centuries of effort.
Lin shook his head slowly.
The dwarves, he thought. The race that has built wonders beyond imagination. And even they are impressed by this.
He thought about the implications. If even the dwarves the masters of crafting, the creators of artifacts that could change the weather, the richest race in the world considered the Wandering Dao Pavilion a wonder, then the structure was truly beyond comprehension.
What kind of beings built this? he wondered. What kind of civilization could create something so vast, so organized, so... perfect?
The book did not provide an answer. It simply stated the facts, as if the very existence of the Wandering Dao Pavilion was explanation enough.
The Wandering Dao Pavilion has four Sovereigns, the book continued. [NO DATA]
Lin sighed. Another force with hidden Sovereigns. Another mystery that the Nine Jade Peak Sect had not been able to penetrate.
It makes sense, he thought. If I were leading a major force, I would also hide my strongest members. I would keep my trump cards secret, waiting for the moment when they would be most effective.
He filed the information away in his mind not as a complete picture, but as a placeholder. A gap that would be filled someday, when he had the opportunity to learn more.
His eyes burned. His body ached with fatigue. But there was one more page to read. One more force to learn about.
He turned the page.
The Primordial Genesis Hall
The heading was written in bold, authoritative letters:
[WESTERN REGION]
[MAJOR POWER: THE PRIMORDIAL GENESIS HALL]
Lin blinked, momentarily confused.
Western region . the Wandering Dao Pavilion was in the east. And the Nine Jade Peak Sect is in the north. And the Gate of Dao Temple is in the south.
That leaves the west for the remaining force the Primordial Genesis Hall.
Four forces. Four directions. North, south, east, west.
He read on, his curiosity piqued.
The Primordial Genesis Hall is a floating structure a grand hall spanning 10,000 kilometers on each side, suspended in the sky through the use of powerful artifacts.
Lin's eyes widened.
A floating hall.
Not a building built on the ground, but a structure that hung in the sky. A structure that defied gravity, that floated above the world like a monument to the power of its creators.
10,000 kilometers on each side, he noted. Smaller than the Wandering Dao Pavilion, but still incomprehensibly vast.
And it floats.
It floats in the sky, suspended by artifacts.
He thought about the technological and cultivation expertise required to achieve such a feat. The dwarves, with their mastery of crafting, would certainly be involved. But the Primordial Genesis Hall was a human force. Which meant that humans had developed artifacts powerful enough to hold a 10,000-kilometer structure in the sky.
Or, Lin thought, they acquired the artifacts from the dwarves. Or they developed their own. Either way, the implication is the same: the Primordial Genesis Hall has resources and expertise that few other forces can match.
The book described the hall in more detail.
The Primordial Genesis Hall is considered the most beautiful of the four major forces a magnificent structure that hangs in the sky like a jewel, its surfaces gleaming with a soft, ethereal light. It is a beautiful of a design, but its simplicity is part of its elegance.
Lin imagined it: a massive, floating palace, its walls gleaming with an inner light, its silhouette stark against the clouds. A structure so beautiful that it was considered the jewel of the human continent.
And from this hall, the entire western region is monitored and controlled, the book added. The Primordial Genesis Hall is not just a residence it is a seat of power, a center of governance, a symbol of the force's dominance over its territory.
Lin nodded slowly.
Simple design, he thought. But immense power. The Primordial Genesis Hall doesn't need to be elaborate it just needs to exist. Its very presence is a statement.
The book continued:
The Primordial Genesis Hall has four Sovereigns. [NO DATA]
Lin sighed again.
Another hidden force, he thought. Another set of Sovereigns whose identities are kept secret.
He understood the logic—but it was still frustrating. He wanted to know everything, to understand every detail of the world he had been reborn into. But the world did not give up its secrets easily.
Perhaps, he thought, I will learn more in time. Perhaps, as I rise through the ranks of the Nine Jade Peak Sect, I will gain access to information that is currently hidden from me.
Or perhaps I will have to discover it myself.
He closed the book slowly, his fingers lingering on the cover.
The night was deep. The cave was dark. The stream murmured its eternal song, and the moonlight filtered through the cracks in the ceiling, painting silver patterns on the stone floor.
Lin lay back on his carpet, the books stacked beside him like silent witnesses to his journey.
Four forces, he thought. Each controlling a region of the human continent. Each with its own strengths, its own weaknesses, its own secrets.
The Nine Jade Peak Sect in the north, with its ancient traditions and martial might.
The Gate of Dao Temple in the south, with its alchemical power and talismanic wonders.
The Wandering Dao Pavilion in the east, with its impossibly vast structure and hidden Sovereigns.
The Primordial Genesis Hall in the west, with its floating palace and beautiful design.
And beneath them, countless smaller sects and groups, each vying for power, each seeking to rise above its station.
Lin closed his eyes, the image of the world burning in his mind.
This is the stage upon which I will perform, he thought. This is the world I must understand.
And I will understand it.
Every corner. Every secret. Every power.
I will climb to the top and then I will see what lies beyond.
He smiled in the darkness, a small, confident expression that no one could see.
But the world would see it soon enough.
Lin's eyes grew heavy. The hunger for knowledge was still there—a burning flame that would not be extinguished but his body had reached its limit. The hours of reading, the weight of the revelations, the sheer volume of information he had absorbed... all of it pressed down on him like a physical weight.
He reached out and touched the books, one by one.
The Five Continents.
Martial Sovereigns.
Human Continent and Its Major Sects.
Peace Continent: Once a Land of Blood.
Four books. Four windows into the world he had been reborn into. Four steps on the path to understanding.
He had read three of them all. He had absorbed their contents, filed away their secrets, added them to the growing map of the world in his mind.
But he knew, with the certainty of someone who had been hungry before, that this was just the beginning.
There were deeper secrets. Hidden histories. Powers that even the books did not mention. Forces that operated in the shadows, beyond the knowledge of ordinary cultivators.
I will learn them all, he thought. In time. With patience. With understanding.
One step at a time.
He let his eyes close, the darkness of the cave embracing him like an old friend.
The stream murmured its eternal song. The moonlight painted silver patterns on the stone. The books rested beside him, silent witnesses to his journey.
And Lin Xuan, a cultivator of twelve years who had seen death and rebirth, who had climbed cliffs and trained his body to steel, who had stood before elders and refused to kneel... drifted into the sleep of the hungry.
Not a sleep of contentment—he was too ambitious for that.
But a sleep of preparation.
For tomorrow, he would continue his journey.
Tomorrow, he would learn more.
Tomorrow, he would take another step on the path that would lead him to the peak.
And someday—someday—he would stand among the Sovereigns.
One day, he thought, as darkness claimed him.
To be continued...