Sun Luyuan took the list, looked down at it, and was utterly shocked.
In addition to the exceptionally gifted scions of the prominent clans within the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, it listed numerous cultivators serving in vital positions across the Alliance. Some names were quite familiar to Sun Luyuan, while others held covert concurrent posts that even he had known nothing about.
"Turn as many of the people on this list as you can."
"No need to exert yourself too much, either. Just find an excuse, trick them into..."
"Just bring them over. Once they behold our Sacred Dynasty's towering, magnificent majesty, they will be just like you, seeing the error of their ways in an instant!"
"Don't be in a rush, either. Proceed steadily and deliberately, lest you give yourself away," Ou Shangtian said.
"Every success will count toward your merits. The treasury of our Sacred Dynasty holds no shortage of fine treasures. That Ten-Thousand-Year Icebound Sword of yours isn't even considered top tier."
Ou Shangtian's words made Sun Luyuan's heart race.
Although the Heavenly Profound Mirror claimed that anything could be redeemed, anyone with discerning eyes knew that true treasures could never be obtained with mere contribution points. Either the merit rank requirement was astronomically high, or there were all kinds of stringent conditions attached. A divine sword like the one in his grasp, capable of easily endangering an entire province, would strictly belong to the core figures of institutions like the Martial Practice Hall or the Garrison Court back in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
"Work hard." Ou Shangtian patted Sun Luyuan on the shoulder with an air of seniority.
"Don't go embarrassing me in front of Master," he added meaningfully.
Sun Luyuan nodded repeatedly.
He was not permitted to linger long in the Sacred Dynasty and was promptly sent away.
By the time he returned to the Xuanhuang Realm, Sun Luyuan felt as if he had awoken from a bizarre dream. Only the bone-chilling sword resting within his dantian reminded him that none of it was an illusion.
"Brother, you're back so soon? How did it go?"
In the Sun clan's secret chamber, his younger brother, Sun Luyao, asked impatiently.
Sun Luyuan did not mention how disheveled and humiliated he had been, simply bringing out the Ten-Thousand-Year Icebound Sword.
"The foundation of the Great Qi Sacred Dynasty is even more formidable than we imagined. They actually have a Longevity-realm cultivator presiding. And that Sacred Emperor's cultivation is unfathomable—I couldn't read him at all."
"A treasure like this, bestowed just like that."
"In comparison, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals is truly nothing."
...
As Sun Luyao listened to his brother, the voice of the shadowy senior echoed in his ears.
"What did I say? Heh."
"Brother, whatever decision you make, I will always support you," Sun Luyao said with a conflicted expression, declaring his stance.
Believing his younger brother was merely worried about an uncertain future, Sun Luyuan offered him a thorough round of comfort.
Once Sun Luyuan left the secret chamber, Sun Luyao finally could not resist asking, "Senior, how much do you know about this Great Qi Sacred Dynasty?"
The mysterious phantom had accurately predicted the outcome of Sun Luyuan's journey to the Sacred Dynasty. Clearly, he understood the truth behind Great Qi.
Li Fan's divine sense put on a show of deep contemplation, pausing for a moment.
Then he spoke in a solemn tone: "Your Sun clan's choice was a wise one. That Great Qi Sacred Emperor's strength is not inferior to mine."
"As long as Chuanfa of the Xuanhuang Realm does not emerge, he is invincible."
The implications of those words set Sun Luyao's heart pounding wildly.
Even though he had long harbored guesses about the mysterious phantom's strength, having it confirmed firsthand still left him immensely shaken.
"Did you know that the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao, much like cultivators, possesses its own desires?"
"This Sacred Emperor is very likely an incarnation of benevolence born of the Xuanhuang Realm, meant to set right the world that was altered by Chuanfa."
Sun Luyao's heart shuddered once more at those words.
An avatar of the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao?
Such origins were utterly astonishing.
His mind plunged into momentary confusion. A short while later, as though suddenly realizing something, Sun Luyao asked, "An incarnation of benevolence? Does Senior mean that the Xuanhuang Realm also has an incarnation of malice?"
Li Fan's divine sense remained silent, offering no response.
...
Across the distant expanse of the starry sea.
Deep within the continuous Sea of Relics, aboard the Xuanshang Vessel.
Relying on the Spirit-Soul Harmonious Union Technique, Zhao Xian's cultivation had surged forward at a staggering pace, already shattering the shackles of the Foundation Establishment stage.
He had successfully condensed a Golden Core.
The commotion caused by his breakthrough to the Golden Core realm finally disturbed Zhao Xian's master, Zhao Wuji.
Upon discovering Zhao Xian's terrifying rate of progress, Zhao Wuji was alarmed rather than pleased.
"Master, why?" Zhao Xian asked, filled with indignation.
Zhao Wuji had not reported Zhao Xian's successful breakthrough to the academy, actively suppressing and concealing it instead.
Naturally, this left Zhao Xian thoroughly discontented. In a brief fit of impulse, he had even considered laying bare everything he had witnessed in his dreams. Yet having experienced so much in those dreams, he knew that this master of his was worthy of trust.
Taking a deep breath to stifle the anger in his chest, he pressed in a deep voice.
"Too fast. Xian'er, you are cultivating far too fast. If it were merely the late Foundation Establishment stage, it would be fine, but you skipped straight to the Golden Core realm..." Zhao Wuji's face was etched with worry.
Under Zhao Xian's repeated questioning, Zhao Wuji finally revealed the truth.
"True geniuses like you have appeared in our academy before, though they were exceedingly rare in the past. In my younger days, I had a senior martial sister."
"She too possessed truly transcendent talent. In fact, she cultivated even faster than you, bypassing the long process of gradual accumulation. In just three short years, she went straight from Qi Condensation to Golden Core completion."
"Naturally, it caused a sensation throughout the academy. And then..."
Hearing this, Zhao Xian's expression turned grave.
He had never once heard that such a figure had ever existed within the academy.
"Senior Sister was conscripted. From then on, there was never another word of her, and no one knows whether she is alive or dead," Zhao Wuji sighed deeply.
"Conscripted? Conscripted to where?" Zhao Xian froze slightly.
The immortal boat had not seen real warfare for a very long time.
He could not fathom his master's use of the word 'conscripted.'
Zhao Wuji hesitated, words caught in his throat.
In the end, pressed by Zhao Xian's burning gaze, he first laid down several restrictions to seal off the chamber.
Only then did he transmit via divine sense: "Xian'er, do you know why our Dao Confirmation Academy holds such a transcendent status that even the Immortal Pivot Court dares not overly cross us?"
Following what he had learned previously, Zhao Xian answered, "Naturally, it is because our Dao Confirmation Academy is the origin of the immortal boat's dao techniques."
"Then why, exactly, is the academy called the origin of dao techniques?"
Zhao Wuji's question stumped Zhao Xian.
"Because our academy provided the most vital theoretical foundation for the immortal boat's survival after the great calamity descended," Zhao Wuji said gravely.
"Back then, the True Immortal power that caused that boundless catastrophe was something ordinary cultivators could never begin to comprehend without absolute talent. Our academy..."
"Possesses the most extraordinarily gifted scholars in the entire immortal boat."
"Talent is also an extremely vital resource on the immortal boat. Regardless of whether these geniuses are willing or not, the moment it is revealed, they are placed under tight control."
"Or it is even stripped away, no longer belonging to them."
Zhao Wuji's words sent a chill through Zhao Xian's heart.
Chapter 1225