Chapter 342: Secrets of the Realms, A Boring Competition

This was a steep cliff, its rock face covered in dense rows of runes.

These runes were all traces left behind by generations of Academy experts who had comprehended the Dao here.

Zhou Chen stood at the edge of the cliff, looking at the runes before him, a flash of shock in his eyes.

Every single rune contained the aura of a Great Dao.

Some were the Dao of the Sword, some the Dao of the Blade, some were Formations, others were Alchemy…

Countless types of Daos intertwined here, forming a magnificent scroll.

"You've come?"

An aged voice suddenly rang out.

Zhou Chen turned his head and saw a white-haired old man who had appeared behind him at some unknown time.

The old man wore a gray long robe and had a kind face, but his eyes flickered with a profound light.

Just by standing there, he gave off an unfathomable feeling.

"Junior Zhou Chen greets the Grand Elder," Zhou Chen hurriedly bowed.

The old man waved his hand. "No need for such formalities."

"You wish to hear me preach the Dao?"

Zhou Chen nodded. "Junior indeed has such a thought."

The old man smiled. "Very well, it has been a long time since I last preached."

"I will take this opportunity today to first tell you about the secrets of the Realms."

As he spoke, the old man sat cross-legged at the edge of the cliff.

Zhou Chen also hurriedly sat down, assuming a listening posture.

The old man was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "You are currently at the Fourth Layer of the Emperor Realm, correct?"

Zhou Chen nodded.

"Then do you know what Realm lies after the Emperor Realm?" the old man asked.

Zhou Chen said, "Junior has read an ancient book in the Scripture Pavilion, which recorded that after the Emperor Realm is the Venerable Realm, and further up are the Quasi-Immortal Realm and the True Immortal Realm."

The old man nodded. "Not bad, it seems you've done your homework."

"Then I shall explain it to you in detail."

"The Emperor Realm involves condensing an imperial dao imprint and manifesting one's words as Law. This Realm mainly focuses on tempering the Physical Body and Divine Soul, allowing one's power to reach its limit."

"The strength of the imperial dao imprint determines the upper limit of an Emperor Realm Cultivator. A Prodigy like you, who possesses a hundred-thousand-zhang imperial dao imprint, will find it much easier than others when breaking through to the Venerable Realm in the future."

Zhou Chen listened intently, nodding from time to time.

The old man continued, "In the Venerable Realm, the Dao principles unite and Dao patterns manifest. This Realm requires one to fully comprehend at least three types of Great Daos."

"The so-called Great Daos are the fundamental Laws of heaven and earth. For example, Life and Death, Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, Time, Space, and so on."

"Every single Great Dao is broad and profound. To fully comprehend one requires an immense amount of time and energy."

"A Venerable Realm Cultivator needs to achieve the Fusion of at least three Great Daos to form their own unique Dao pattern."

"The stronger the Dao pattern, the stronger the strength of the Venerable Realm Cultivator."

Zhou Chen said thoughtfully, "Then what about the Quasi-Immortal Realm?"

A flash of emotion crossed the old man's eyes. "The Quasi-Immortal Realm is the true threshold of the Immortal Dao."

"This Realm requires undergoing the Tribulation of Immortality and Mortality, shedding the mortal body to achieve an immortalized Physical Body."

"The Tribulation of Immortality and Mortality is extremely dangerous. Among ten Venerable Realm Cultivators, if even one can cross it, that is already quite good."

"A Cultivator who passes the Tribulation of Immortality and Mortality will undergo a qualitative change in their Physical Body, and their lifespan will be significantly extended."

"As for the True Immortal Realm…" The old man shook his head, "That is a Domain that even I have not touched."

"The Tianxuan Continent has not seen a True Immortal for a million years."

Zhou Chen was silent for a moment before asking, "Grand Elder, then what is your current Realm?"

The old man smiled. "Me? You're certainly not shy, kid."

"I am but one step away from the Quasi-Immortal Realm."

"Unfortunately, I do not know how much longer I must walk for this one step."

Hearing this, Zhou Chen was shocked.

Tenth Layer of the Venerable Realm, only one step away from being a Quasi-Immortal—this level must already be the ceiling of the Tianxuan Continent.

And such a powerhouse was actually just a Grand Elder in the Jixia Academy.

This showed just how deep the Foundation of the Jixia Academy truly was.

The old man looked at Zhou Chen and said slowly, "Your talent is very strong, and your future achievements will be limitless."

"But remember, in the path of Cultivation, the most taboo thing is to be eager for quick success."

"If your Foundation is unstable, no matter how fast you walk, it will only be a castle in the air."

Zhou Chen nodded solemnly. "Junior will keep this in mind."

The old man nodded with satisfaction and stood up.

"Alright, I've said all that needs to be said."

"In ten days, it will be the Academy Competition. Perform well and strive to be promoted to a Core Disciple."

"At that time, you will be able to obtain more resources, and your Cultivation speed will be even faster."

After saying this, the old man's figure slowly vanished, as if he had never appeared.

Zhou Chen stood at the edge of the cliff, looking at the runes before him, lost in thought.

These words from the Grand Elder had benefited him greatly.

Not only did he learn the secrets of the higher Realms, but he also understood the true essence of Cultivation.

"If your Foundation is unstable, no matter how fast you walk, it will only be a castle in the air."

Zhou Chen silently repeated this sentence, and as he recalled his past experiences, a look of determination gradually flashed in his eyes.

—

Jixia Academy, Martial Arts Field.

Today was the day of the Academy Competition.

The entire Martial Arts Field was a sea of people, with tens of thousands of Academy Disciples gathered.

In the center of the Martial Arts Field, a massive arena stage had been built.

The arena stage was a hundred zhang across and made of special Materials. It was incredibly hard; even if an Emperor Realm expert attacked with full force, it would be difficult to leave a mark on it.

Seated around the arena stage were several Elders and Core Disciples of the Academy.

Leading them was none other than the Vice Palace Master, Bai Chongming.

Bai Chongming scanned the surroundings and spoke slowly, "Everyone, today is our Jixia Academy's triennial Academy Competition."

"This competition will select the ten most outstanding Elite Disciples to be promoted to Core Disciples."

"The rules are simple: all Elite Disciples can step onto the stage to challenge."

"The person on the stage, as long as they can win ten consecutive matches, will automatically be promoted to a Core Disciple."

"If no one can win ten consecutive matches, then the promotion will be based on the points ranking, with the top ten being promoted."

"Now, let the competition officially begin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a young man in a blue robe jumped onto the arena stage.

"I am Liu Qingyun, ranked eighth among the Elite Disciples, with a Cultivation at the Second Layer of the Emperor Realm. I ask for guidance from my fellow brothers!"

Liu Qingyun stood on the stage, cupping his fists to signal to those around him.

Soon, someone went up to challenge him.

The two clashed, and in less than ten moves, Liu Qingyun was knocked off the stage.

The challenger stood proudly on the stage, waiting for the next opponent.

But he only won three matches before being defeated.

Next, people went up to challenge one after another.

Some were eliminated after winning a few matches, while others didn't even win a single one.

The entire Martial Arts Field was filled with intense fighting and shouting.

Zhou Chen stood in the crowd, quietly watching the battles on the stage.

The strength of these Elite Disciples was indeed not weak.

Most were between the First Layer and Third Layer of the Emperor Realm, and each of them possessed impressive secret techniques and battle skills.

But in Zhou Chen's eyes, the strength of these people was still too weak.

Let alone comparing them to himself, they were even a far cry from the previous Jiang Beichen.

"Boring."

Zhou Chen shook his head. Not a single person could pique his interest, though the opportunity panels of a few Disciples were quite good.