From Cellar to Throne: Zen's Quest for Immortality

Chapter 28 The Imperial Capital (Part One)

After traversing towering mountains and rolling hills, hiking over plains, passing many cities and various

counties, Zen finally arrived in the Imperial Capital.

Standing in front of the high golden gate of the city, Zen was in awe. His mouth fell open in a silent

'wow'. Because he had thought that the C County was a large city. And he was surprised to see this

golden gate which was several hundred feet high.

Having read many books on the Imperial Capital, in which writers elaborated on the grandeur of the

capital, Zen was mentally prepared for the magnificence and luxury of the capital. However, he was still

profoundly shocked when he first stepped into the Imperial Capital and felt like a country bumpkin

visiting a city for the first time.

The books Zen had read were very detailed, and some had illustrations of the landscapes in the

Imperial Capital, including illustrations like the golden gate towering over Zen now. The name of the

gate was Heaven's Arch, which was four hundred feet high and one hundred feet wide.

Thirty years ago, the Princess Qi of Ogre was married to the Prince of the Burning Empire, and the

princess Qi brought the Heaven's Arch with her as her dowry.

Even though Zen had imagined how the Heaven's Arch would look many times in the past, seeing the

golden archway in person, he finally understood why this was the dowry Princess Qi brought with her.

The Heaven's Arch was made of gold, and gemstones were inlaid over it, making gleam shine in the

sun, with a rainbow of sparkling colors reflecting off it. Perhaps, Ogre wanted to make sure that the

people in the Eastern Region knew every time they walked through this expensive dowry how poor

they were.

After passing through the Heaven's Arch, Zen walked along the Imperial Capital's main street, enjoying

the local sights. As he walked, Zen even chanced to see the Incandescent Pavilion that stood

majestically over 1000 feet high. He saw the enormous Temple of Dragon and several chariots flying

by.

Though intrigued, Zen did not stop to enjoy these stunning spectacles. His interest was in finding the

Cloud Sect, and Zen wouldn't stop until he reached his destination.

Periodically stopping as he strolled down the street slowed Zen's trip. Because he asked anyone he

could about the Cloud Sect. Finally, he came to the Cloud Sect after searching for an entire day.

The tremendous Cloud Sect made up nearly a quarter of the Imperial Capital, which was several times

larger than the Imperial Palace. If the rolling Cloud Mountains that lay behind the Cloud Sect was

counted, the area of the Cloud Sect would be much larger.

Compared with the luxuriousness of the dazzling Heaven's Arch, the gate leading to the Cloud Sect

seemed plain. Aside from two words in large lettering at the top of the gate, there were no decorations.

Surrounding the entrance were large green trees that had green vines entwined. Each factor added to

the charm of the ancient building.

In front of the gate, two lines formed for sign-ups.

The one to the left had only no more than ten people, while the line on the right extended for miles. At a

glance, it was difficult to see where this group's line ended. Zen counted quickly in his head and

surmised that there were more than a thousand people waiting to the right.

He did not know the difference between these two lines, so, he went to the left first. There were not so

many people and soon, it was Zen's turn.

The receptionist in charge of enrolling the students glanced up at Zen, and extended his hand as he

demanded," Please, show me your noble clan certificate."

"Noble clan certificate?" echoed Zen in a surprised manner.

Seeing Zen's blank look, the receptionist pointed down at his table while he explained," This line is only

for applicants from noble clans. If you do not have a noble clan certificate, you need to be in that line."

As he spoke, the receptionist pointed to the long line to the right.

That cleared up any confusion Zen had about why there weren't many people standing in line here. It

was dedicated to serving those of noble clans.

The noble clan was a special class bestowed on families by the emperor.

Throughout the entire Empire, there were only a small number of powerful families which were deemed

noble clan, and most of those families were located in the Imperial Capital.

Since the Luo Clan of C County was not one of the noble clans, Zen could not show the noble clan

certificate to the receptionist.

Watching the scene unfolded, people standing in the long line burst into laughter with contemptuous

looks on their faces. Waiting in line like that was boring, aside from gossiping with each other to pass

the time, there was nothing to do. Zen's actions broke the monotony and were entertaining for the

people standing there waiting for their turns.

"Where did this bumpkin come from?"

"He didn't know what the noble clan certificate was. How dare he come to the Cloud Sect? Do you see

what kind of people come to the Cloud Sect these days? That's funny."

Ignoring the taunts, Zen didn't acknowledge the harassing opinions and gave the receptionist a nod

before walking to the end of the line on the right. Contemptuous glares from other hopeful applicants

followed Zen.

The past two years that Zen lived as a slave in the Luo Clan, and his harrowing escape from death had

numbed Zen to the sort of insignificant provocations and ridicules these strangers tossed at him. Right

now, nothing could annoy him.

The line was moving slowly, and since Zen didn't know anyone there, he decided to use the time to

refresh himself and closed his eyes.

"Is this your first time here to take the initial exam?" came a gentle voice unexpectedly from in front of

Zen.