Divine Path

On the international stage, as the nine great families of Xiayu, led by the Su family, gradually began taking control of Chixing's industries while the Snow Dragon Federation adopted a hands-off approach, other nations finally realized that the relationship between Xiayu—headed by Yaoguang—and the Snow Dragon Federation was not the master-subordinate dynamic they had previously assumed. Between the two... They were genuinely equal allies. In fact, despite clearly having the power to swallow Chixing whole and achieve total global unification, the Snow Dragon Federation had refrained from doing so. Instead, they stood by and watched the Xiayu nation, spearheaded by Su Yaoguang, rapidly grow in might. This led many to believe that even "equal allies" was insufficient to describe their relationship. As time passed and the situation developed, rumors that Yaoguang might be a Heavenly Being leaked out, sending shockwaves across the globe. A Heavenly Being. A twenty-year-old Heavenly Being! What did that signify?! If the Lü and Jiang families could deduce it, how could the royal families of other nations—who possessed an even deeper understanding of the Artifact Sect—fail to make the connection? All at once, nations worldwide dispatched diplomatic delegations toward the capital of Xiayu, eager to secure an audience with Yaoguang. Some even hoped to submit their entire nations, seeking to seize the moment while Xiayu was in dire need of capable hands to secure pivotal positions and ultimately evolve into founding grand nobility akin to the Shangguan family. Among them were top-tier clans on par with the Liao family. Seeing this unfold, families like the Lüs and the Jiangs grew anxious. To prevent their status from being threatened, they scrambled to shower him with gifts and flatter him, desperate to express their fidelity. To demonstrate their unwavering loyalty to Yaoguang, they even sent the most gifted and promising youths of their clans to Mount Yuhuang Villa. Though framed as an earnest desire to apprentice under him, on another level, it was tantamount to offering them as hostages. Witnessing the actions of the Lü and Jiang families, other nations quickly followed suit. Princes and princesses from various countries set off in droves, arriving at Mount Yuhuang Villa laden with lavish gifts under the pretext of seeking discipleship. Succeeding in becoming his disciple would naturally be the best outcome. To become the disciple of the world's sole living Heavenly Being—one merely twenty years of age, who was bound to rule the world for decades to come—meant their homelands could rest easy and worry-free for generations. Even if apprenticeship failed... Serving as hostages would still demonstrate their absolute devotion to Xiayu. In just one month, the population of Mount Yuhuang Villa, which had originally housed only several dozen people including servants, exploded. Even though most princes and princesses brought only one or two servants or subordinates to avoid disturbing Yaoguang, the villa's resident count still surged into four digits. Fortunately, the resort villa built by the Liao family was vast enough; otherwise, it could never have accommodated so many people. Yet with other royal houses and prominent clans continuing to send people over, letting things continue this way was no solution. At the same time, it was inconvenient for Yaoguang to simply drive everyone away. Doing so would plunge countless royal houses into panic and dread. Nor could he predict how many factions in those countries might assume their monarchs had failed to earn his favor and subsequently launch rebellions against their governments. Considering the maintenance and stability of peace across the continents, Yaoguang simply laid down a rule: Anyone under the age of thirty who could pass a trial he devised would become his named disciple. Those who failed would be sent back wherever they came from. When the news broke, it naturally set everyone abuzz with excitement. Let alone other nations, even the Snow Dragon Federation dispatched several imperial princes and princesses to participate in the trial, including the Eldest Princess, Xie Yier. Possessing a deeper understanding of Yaoguang, they were well aware of his prospects... A seventh-order Heavenly Being was nowhere near his limit. Even reaching the ninth layer of body refining would hardly pose a challenge to him. He might even transcend the ninth layer of body refining and become a Star Lord on par with an Artifact Sect elder. Although his suspected identity as a member of the Moon Demon Empire remained a hidden concern, his conduct so far did not resemble that of a creature from the Moon Demon Empire. Furthermore... The situation in the Cangwu Realm remained uncertain. What if it truly fell to the Moon Demon Empire? Securing a place under Yaoguang's tutelage in advance would provide the Xie family with an escape route. Under these circumstances, the princes and princesses sent by the Snow Dragon Federation were essentially their most core and outstanding prodigies. The stance taken by the Snow Dragon Federation served as an undeniable bellwether for the future global order, driving the remaining nations into an even greater frenzy. When the day of the assessment arrived two months later, Mount Yuhuang was packed with an ocean of people. After a grueling fortnight of trials, a total of sixty-six candidates passed and became Yaoguang's named disciples. Recognizing that the status of "named disciple" could serve as a valuable link for Xiayu to govern the nations, Yaoguang subsequently announced that similar assessments would be held once every three years. Those who failed could return home, train diligently, and try again in three years as long as they remained under the age limit. This sect-like system, reminiscent of the Artifact Sect's disciple examinations, received unanimous acclaim from all the royal houses and noble families. Gradually, the area centered around Mount Yuhuang Villa, along with the sprawling architectural complex under construction on Mount Yuhuang, came to be revered across the world as a sacred ground of martial arts and cultivation. And Yaoguang, as the master of this cultivation sanctuary... Was universally revered as Holy Lord Yaoguang. *** Mount Yuhuang. Longyou Stream. Although drawing upon the momentum of mountains and earth-veins was no longer crucial to his cultivation, Yaoguang still relocated his residence to this area. For one, Mount Yuhuang Villa had become overly crowded, making entering and leaving inconvenient. On the other hand... As the Su family's stabilizing pillar, he needed to maintain a certain distance from foreigners and his youthful named disciples to preserve an aura of mystery. At that moment, inside a newly built villa nestled against the hills and overlooking the water, Lei Yun and Su Yaoxue watched with curiosity as Su Yaoguang stood motionless outside. They knew he was cultivating. Yet because the disparity in realm was too vast, they had no idea what he was cultivating. Naturally, they could not fathom that Yaoguang was currently at an exceptionally critical juncture on his path of cultivation. Standing outside the villa, he could distinctly sense that his physical body had suddenly grown remarkably agile and active. The entire world seemed to rejoice over this dynamic state. Amid this resonance, the circulation of qi and blood within him appeared to establish a brand-new cycle, coursing through him repeatedly and carrying an even vaster, more torrential energy. As this energy flowed into every corner of his being, his continuously metamorphosing body reached its ultimate threshold at this very moment, fusing inside and out into an undivided whole. *Crack!* The stone paver beneath Yaoguang's feet fractured. The faint sound pulled him from his absorbed state. "The Heavenly Being body." He quietly appraised himself. Four months after Dayu changed its dynastic title to Xiayu, the Heavenly Being body was finally completed. Only at this very instant had he truly stepped into the realm of a Heavenly Being. For other Heavenly Beings, the next step would be transforming the Heaven and Earth Furnace into a Heaven and Earth Domain, while reaching toward the astral force field. Yet for Yaoguang, there was only one thing left to do. Tempering! To continue tempering the Heavenly Being body, advancing it to minor mastery, major mastery, and ultimately peak perfection. And after that... Integrating the astral force field, drawing upon astral power to empower himself, and advancing into the Star Lord realm. "The process of forging the Heavenly Being body was slower than I anticipated. The primary reason wasn't my physical endurance, but... insufficient nutrition." Yaoguang assessed his body. Indeed, nutrition. While the Heavenly Being body was incomparably powerful, the energy consumed by its every movement was vastly higher than that of a mortal frame. In truth, once a practitioner broke through human limits, their appetite increased dramatically. However, relying on hearty meals of meat and nourishing medicinal tonics could still keep up without anything appearing amiss. Yet the Heavenly Being body was leagues beyond the body of a Martial Saint who had merely broken human limits; its expenditure was exponentially more staggering. Moreover, he had a premonition that as his cultivation advanced, the sustenance required to maintain everyday activity would grow even larger. By the time he reached the ninth layer of body refining, ordinary meat and medicinal fare would likely be wholly inadequate, necessitating top-grade spirit herbs to sustain him. "To think that even after cultivating immortality, I still have to abide by the law of conservation of energy," Yaoguang could not help muttering in self-mockery. Still... The moment his Heavenly Being body condensed, he had shattered the stone pavers because his weight had already surpassed a thousand jin. One could only imagine the immense amount of energy a thousand-jin organism required each day just to sustain intense physical activity. Naturally, one could also deduce the astounding density of Yaoguang's body, given that his height had yet to exceed one meter eighty despite weighing over a thousand jin. "No wonder a Heavenly Being can withstand a machine-gun barrage without wearing a combat suit," Yaoguang mused to himself. Merely reading about something in data fell far short of experiencing it firsthand. "Now that the Heavenly Being body is forged, my cultivation has reached an entirely new stage. A new branch ought to have sprouted..." Yaoguang focused his mind onto the ancient tree within his mental realm. Sure enough... A fresh branch had sprouted from the main trunk, swaying gently among the two large and two small branches. "I spent quite a bit of time browsing books on [Alchemy] lately, so presumably..." Yaoguang focused his senses upon it, but in mere moments... His expectations were dashed. "It's not." The newly grown branch did not represent the [Alchemy] vocation he had longed for. Instead, it was... [Divine Path] The discipline of spirit refining and spirit cultivation. "How could it be the [Divine Path]?!" Yaoguang frowned. This was utterly absurd. He had clearly poured far more effort into reading about [Alchemy] than into the ways of spirit refining, so why... "Wait, could this be Leng Tianfeng's fault?" Lately, hadn't the time he spent communicating with that entity from the Moon Demon Empire far exceeded the perfunctory time he spent skimming [Alchemy] texts? After a long while, Yaoguang reined in his stray thoughts and looked back toward the [Divine Path] branch. What was done was done; complaining would change nothing. The [Divine Path] branch was not a bad outcome either. It was one of the major mainstream systems in the current world. Compared to [Demon Hunting] and [Merchant], its enhancement to combat prowess would be far more pronounced. As for the [Alchemy] branch he desired... Once his cultivation broke through into the Star Lord realm, there would surely be another chance.