Yu Gensheng and Zhao Ziyuan were both well advanced in years with sparse hair, usually sporting smiling faces. But once they grew solemn, an imposing aura radiated from them.
Zhao Ziyuan said, "Cheng Rui, from now on you will follow Minghui and study in the archives."
"Ah?" The yellow-robed girl was stunned. What was going on?
Quickly, she nodded like a chick pecking grain. With two venerable seniors giving the instruction, there was no way she could disobey.
"Hurry and thank the seniors!" Xin Youdao reminded her. That was a wonderful place to be sent.
Yu Gensheng spoke: "Qian Chuan, Tang Jun, you two head to the misty lands in the back mountains."
The two were instantly dumbfounded. That was by no means a benign place; academy instructors often warned students never to barge into that territory lest accidents happen.
Yu Gensheng said, "A few old fellows live there. Qian Chuan will be responsible for watching the gate, and Tang Jun will deliver their meals. Whether you can win their favor depends entirely on your own abilities."
"Thank you, Senior!" Hearing this, both beamed with delight, understanding that this was a rare opportunity.
After a brief consideration, Yu Gensheng and Zhao Ziyuan had realized the gravity of the matter. The emergence of a disciple possessing patriarch-grade natural talent on the Newborn path was no small affair.
To be safe, they personally made these "arrangements."
Otherwise, relying solely on Zhao Minghui's warning for them to keep their mouths shut wouldn't amount to much.
"Young Xin, you walk the Newborn path as well. If you have questions in the future that you do not understand, come find me directly," Yu Gensheng said.
"Yes, Teacher!" Xin Youdao bowed deeply at once.
Zhao Ziyuan said, "Ling Yu, your senior sister brought you to Kunjun mainly for the auspicious beast's blood, enrolling you nominally in Shanhe Academy. For now, stay by my side."
"Understood, Senior!" Ling Yu hurried forward to pay his respects as well.
The youths had yet to realize the underlying reasons, simply thinking that the elder seniors held them in high regard, and they were thrilled.
Tang Jin understood: this was done for fear that the youths' temperaments were fickle and they might go around blabbing.
"Minghui, take the three of them and leave first," Zhao Ziyuan said, gesturing toward Qian Chuan, Cheng Rui, and Tang Jun.
"Understood!" Zhao Minghui led the three away.
Yu Gensheng spoke: "Now for proper business. Recently, on the plateau outside the Third Peril, some special 'blessed lands' are about to open. They can be called secret realms."
He looked at Qin Ming, Wu Yaozu, Ling Yu, and Xin Youdao, solemnly informing them to prepare themselves over the next few days, as the four of them were qualified to enter. Yu Gensheng added, "Alright, further details will be explained later."
He had called them all over, only to give such brief words.
Soon, Tang Jin noticed the two elders looking at her.
Yu Gensheng smiled and said, "Miss Tang, I hear you have another junior brother who possesses true patriarch-grade talent?"
Tang Jin's pupils contracted. How did he know?
Qin Ming's heart stirred. This lineage truly did have an even stronger disciple!
Evidently, Ling Yu knew of this and was not kept in the dark; he wasn't some so-called body double.
Back at Black-White Mountain, Tang Jin had said: *The one I chose is like a blazing sun waiting to break through the dark mist, yet must not be exposed too early, lest heaven itself grow envious.*
The speech sparrow had overheard that faintly.
And not long ago, when Ling Yu lost to Qin Ming, he had also mentioned that to his knowledge, within the first realm, Qin Ming was likely among the top one or two, possessing legendary patriarch-grade talent.
All of this confirmed that this lineage harbored a hidden disciple!
Zhao Ziyuan said, "During a duel against a disciple from the immortal land, that junior brother of yours used your lineage's sect-defining scripture, drawing suspicion."
This so-called hidden disciple had not been pampered in a mountain sect. This lineage understood well how to raise disciples with untamed fierceness. That youth was currently undergoing the baptism of high-intensity battles, verifying a "new method" that fused two paths.
"His identity was discovered?" Tang Jin frowned.
Zhao Ziyuan chuckled. "The matter was suppressed. Only a few people were present to witness it, much like our situation here now. One of my descendants happened to be there at the time."
"Senior, you mean..." Tang Jin looked at him. Everyone else had just been given arrangements; was he worried that she too would leak Qin Ming's true potential?
Yu Gensheng said, "Back then, with great difficulty, an Overlord finally emerged, only to meet such a tragic end. We do not want history to repeat itself."
A future new patriarch cut down prematurely—the thought brought heartache to many elders. Alas, no one could do anything against Cao Qianqiu, who was in the prime of his life and power.
A warm current flowed through Qin Ming's heart, filling him with emotion. The two elders had arranged for all those people and spoken so much simply out of concern that his patriarch-grade talent might be exposed.
Tang Jin shook her head and spoke with earnest sincerity. "Seniors, you worry too much. Although we have close ties to the outer realm, we are also people of the Newborn path. We would never act so dishonorably!"
The purple-eyed crow also chimed in, "I can vouch for that. We're all on the same side. Besides, the Grandmaster would be glad to see a youth with patriarch-grade talent appear on the Newborn path to help him test the new method."
"Mm!" Both elders nodded.
"How did that battle end?" Master Wu asked.
"It concluded in a draw," Zhao Ziyuan answered.
"My junior brother has patriarch-grade talent, walks dual paths concurrently, and has reached perfection in both within the first realm, yet it could only end in a draw?" Tang Jin was clearly dissatisfied with this outcome.
Zhao Ziyuan said, "That disciple from the immortal land is extraordinarily formidable. His cultivation is simply not yet high enough. Once he steps into the middle or late stages of the Yellow Court realm, he will inevitably become a near-immortal seed."
In the outer realms, with a few rare exceptions, immortal seeds were generally confirmed only upon reaching the Yellow Court realm.
Qin Ming was astonished. Were near-immortal seeds truly so formidable? He could not help asking about the person's exact cultivation.
"Also at the peak perfection of the first realm," Yu Gensheng answered with a smile.
Qin Ming understood. He was currently on his eighth Newborn rebirth, with one more opportunity for rebirth still ahead of him!
Little Wu patted his chest and sighed, "Scared me to death just now. I thought he was only in the middle stage of the first realm."
At once, the two elders looked at him with strange expressions.
Tang Jin knit her delicate brows in speculation. "It seems the immortal land has expanded its path once more and taught it in advance to their future immortal seed. Otherwise, my junior brother wouldn't have been forced to resort to the trump-card ultimate art taught by our teacher!"
Zhao Ziyuan sighed. "This is the best of times, yet also the cruelest, bloodiest era of competition. None of the paths are perfected; all are being expanded and pioneered. Those of supreme brilliance may very well approach immortality or become patriarchs in the future."
Every path was still in its pioneering stage. Whether it was figures already standing in the clouds like Sun Taichu and Cao Qianqiu, or the younger newcomers, everyone had a chance!
Yu Gensheng said, "Since everything is out in the open, there are no more issues."
In the end, only the two old men, Qin Ming, and Wu Yaozu remained.
Soon, Little Wu also gained their recognition, which thoroughly surprised Yu Gensheng and Zhao Ziyuan. What was going on this year? To suddenly encounter such pleasant surprises one after another!
Little Wu had firmly determined his path: he would bitterly temper his physical body and never abandon his mortal vessel in the future!
The two elders began to argue over Qin Ming.
Yu Gensheng wanted to nurture Qin Ming in secret, giving him whatever he asked for! But Zhao Ziyuan objected, considering such an approach unwise.
He worried that forced nurturing would only yield misshapen fruit, effectively amounting to "raising pigs."
Hearing this, Little Wu nearly burst his lungs laughing.
Qin Ming glared at him, itching to punch him twice.
Zhao Ziyuan said, "Even the contemporary Rulai lets his disciples run wild; if they want resources, they must fight tooth and nail for them. And that hidden disciple from earlier wasn't raised in a greenhouse either. How can the two of us compare to patriarch-level figures? We aren't qualified to instruct him!"
He believed that a wild-grown Qin Ming was the best Qin Ming, having reached this height relying on himself. They should not disrupt Qin Ming's natural trajectory!
In the end, Yu Gensheng was persuaded. "If the Cui clan reaches out their hands, or if other old fogies try to snuff him out, we certainly won't sit idly by. Otherwise, we won't interfere."
Even so, the two still walked over and handed him a copy of the *Immortal Butterfly Scripture*.
Qin Ming felt as if in a dream. Since embarking on the Newborn path, this was his most "affluent" day—obtaining two extraordinary arts in a single day!
"Child, we cannot compare to patriarch-level figures, nor do we possess the capability to blaze new trails..."
The two believed that Qin Ming was currently advancing very steadily, resembling the patriarchs of history—relying on his own drive and forging ahead with untamed ferocity and sharpness.
They feared that improper "feeding" would ruin him!
They felt they shouldn't intervene, avoiding steering him off his original course. Qin Ming initially wanted to say something, but ultimately merely nodded.
"Sigh!" Yu Gensheng sighed and spoke of the secret realm.
That territory was jointly administered by Kunjun's academies, the outer realm, esoteric sects, and several other factions. Over the years, because practitioners of the Newborn path performed poorly, their quota of entrants had been steadily slashed.
Zhao Ziyuan said, "We can't blame others. After losing out year after year, the Newborn path's spots have dwindled, creating a vicious cycle. We can only blame our own lack of achievement."
By now, Newborns could only enter by being hired or as "companions."
"What is a companion?" Little Wu could not help asking.
"You must team up with others and do grunt work, such as scouting ahead and dealing with unforeseen emergencies."
Qin Ming and Little Wu stared, dumbfounded. That was nothing but filthy, grueling labor!
Yu Gensheng said, "I think entering won't be much of a problem for the two of you. If things really don't work out, you can leave the party; you can survive on your own and seize your rightful benefits."
The catch was, to enter the secret realm, one had to either be hired or partner up with others.
"How utterly miserable!" Little Wu could not resist blurting out.
This struck a nerve with Yu Gensheng and Zhao Ziyuan, but reality was just that cruel.
"How did things fall this low?" Little Wu continued asking, twisting the knife.
Zhao Ziyuan said, "Over the years, the Yuqing Sect sealed its mountain, the Six Imperials Patriarch is on the verge of death, and Qingtian doesn't have much time left either. Several major ancestral courts have kept low profiles, sending no core disciples here. Relying solely on the Newborns of Kunjun alone, we simply cannot compete."
The secret realm was exceptionally mysterious.
The fact that it could draw near-immortal seeds from the outer realm's immortal lands, pure lands, and yang lands spoke volumes. More often than not, divine seeds from esoteric sects would also arrive.
Thus, the Newborns of this region truly could not compete.
Furthermore, the demons and monsters on the plateau outside the Third Peril might also enter, as the secret realm had originally been wrested from them.
Hearing this, Qin Ming and Little Wu instantly perked up. A place coveted by every faction surely held no shortage of benefits.
Over the next two days, Qin Ming studied the *Dragon Snake Scripture* earnestly and practiced it repeatedly. He sensed its extraordinary nature: this cultivation art could alter one's skeletal constitution, transforming snake to dragon, a feat of immense difficulty.
In a trance, he seemed to see a great serpent blasted into mangled flesh by lightning on a rainy night, snapping inch by inch. It was the grueling hardship of an ordinary creature attempting to ascend to heaven—as though barred by an insurmountable chasm.
"This scripture is anything but simple. Mastering even a portion during the Newborn stage would already be remarkable. This is the difference between mortal and immortal, demanding a qualitative transformation. Though the path is fraught with obstacles, this is how a mortal vessel becomes divine."
Qin Ming pondered. This scripture was exceedingly difficult to cultivate!
Little Wu came to call for him: "Brother, stop practicing! The two seniors are calling us. It seems we're about to partner up for the first time."
They arrived at neighboring Feixian Academy, only to watch Xin Youdao and Ling Yu being tugged away by others, wildly popular. Both of them were somewhat dumbfounded.
They had thought that, if push came to shove, they could team up with those two.
In truth, those two had already been cautioned to avoid drawing too much attention and not form a four-person team with Qin Ming and Little Wu.
"Pick the two of them!" Xin Youdao immediately said to the people around him.
However, that person shook his head, saying their team was already full.
"Fairy Zhao, I believe those two possess extraordinary strength," Ling Yu also recommended to an acquaintance, only to be told that the team's roster had long been decided.
Qin Ming and Little Wu looked at each other in dismay. Were the two of them actually being shunned?
Chapter 201