Martial Peak
chapter-5462

The two of them, who came from the same Great Territory, had only just joined Void Land in the past century. At present, they were both in the Emperor Realm and had yet to condense their Dao Seals.

It was very common in Void Land for talented individuals like them to enter the Sect as disciples; after all, Void Land’s current philosophy was to accept everybody from all walks of life. That was because a huge foundation was necessary for them to select better and more outstanding disciples.

The current philosophy was not Void Land’s initial intent, but the result of many discussions with the Cave Heavens and Paradises.

After the Star Boundary became famous, everybody came to know about the Open Heaven Realm Cradle. It was a place where they could obtain the feedback of the World Tree if they cultivated there. The younger they were and the lower their cultivation, the greater the benefits of this nourishment.

With such tempting incentives, who would not want to send their descendants to the Star Boundary and share in the glory of the World Tree clone? Be that as it may, the Star Boundary was only so big. If everybody were to send their descendants over, then the Star Boundary would not be able to accommodate them all.

Not to mention, the Cave Heavens and Paradises had also established their respective Dao Temples in the Star Boundary. By dividing some of the territories to become independent and autonomous zones, they were given the rights to bring in excellent disciples to cultivate in their respective Dao Temples.

Just the Cave Heavens and Paradises alone had already taken up around 30% of the territory in the Star Boundary. If the Second Class great forces were to also send their own descendants there, then it was only a matter of time before the Star Boundary became overcrowded; however, the benefits of the Star Boundary were coveted by all so it was bound to arouse public outrage if they rejected all of them.

In the end, the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary discussed the issue with the Masters of the Cave Heavens and Paradises and decided that it was better to regulate entry to the Star Boundary than to block it off completely.

Therefore, they gave a chance to the great forces that wanted to send their descendants to the Star Boundary. These descendants had to join Void Land first, after which Void Land would select the best candidates from among them. Only the selected candidates could go to the Star Boundary for cultivation.

It was because of this decision that Void Land currently had as many as 300,000 disciples. Not to mention, this number was the result of a rigorous and careful selection process. It could be said that Void Land’s disciples were the accumulation of the most elite talents from great forces across hundreds of Great Territories.

Senior Brother Liu and Junior Sister Chen were no exception. They were both outstanding cultivators who demonstrated rare talent in their respective families from a young age.

After looking at the sky for some time, Senior Brother Liu laughed, “There are so many people in Void Land, so what’s so strange about somebody undergoing their advancement? In any case, how can they compare to me? This Senior Brother is a genius that only appears once every 100 years. You will not find many who are more talented than me in Void Land, Junior Sister.”

Junior Sister Chen retorted, “That’s because the more outstanding ones have already been sent to the Star Boundary!”

Those words felt like needles stabbing directly into his heart, so he immediately countered angrily, “Junior Sister, don’t you dare look down on this Senior Brother! This Senior Brother will definitely go to the Star Boundary one day!”

Generally, those chosen to be sent to the Star Boundary were those who had yet to condense their Dao Seals. It would be too late for them if they went to the Star Boundary after they had done so. The reason was that the future path of a cultivator was basically set in stone once they formed their Dao Seal.

That was why it was better to head to the Star Boundary as soon as possible. Unfortunately, such matters were not up to the disciples to decide as the decision was completely based on the assessment of the Elders in Void Land.

Both Senior Brother Liu and Junior Sister Chen would have no trouble condensing a Fifth-Order Dao Seal; in fact, Senior Brother Liu was aiming to condense a Sixth-Order Dao Seal. He believed that he could advance directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future.

If he could refine various Sixth-Order cultivation materials into his Dao Seal, then he would be considered extraordinary indeed. In the past, that would have been enough for him to be considered a Core Disciple even among the Cave Heavens and Paradises. For example, Core Disciples like Gu Pan and the others who became acquainted with Yang Kai in the past had all condensed the Sixth-Order Dao Seals.

Even among the Cave Heavens and Paradises, people like him only appeared once every few hundred to 1,000 years. There were only a few such candidates in each generation. Hence, he definitely had reason to be proud of himself.

Senior Brother Liu coveted Junior Sister Chen’s beauty and it was because he wanted to obtain her hand in marriage as soon as possible that he followed behind her and chattered away endlessly.

On the contrary, Junior Sister Chen had other intentions. Although she had been sent to Void Land, her goal was actually not the Star Boundary. Be it her or the Elders of the Chen Family, they all knew that she would never obtain the qualification to enter the Star Boundary with her aptitude. Her true goal was the talented disciples of Void Land!

If she could secure an outstanding and talented cultivator as her future husband, then he could help to protect the Chen Family in the future. The Chen Family had not been prosperous in recent years. They not only suffered various difficulties in life, but the talents their family produced had also withered away. It could be said that she was the greatest hope for the salvation of the entire Chen Family.

It was precisely because of such considerations that she was so standoffish towards her Senior Brother’s courtship, neither accepting or rejecting him. If he could really condense a Sixth-Order Dao Seal and advance directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, then accepting him would not be a problem. It was just that nobody would know whether he truly was capable of such a feat until the results were out. How could she dare to gamble on him so easily?

He studied the side profile of the beautiful woman in front of him. The sight of her fair and slender neck made him swallow hard, and he forced himself to look away, “Don’t bother, Junior Sister. Even if someone is breaking through to the Open Heaven Realm, those who currently remain in Void Land will only reach the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm at best. What is there to see? This Senior Brother obtained a new artifact a few days ago. It’s very interesting. Why don’t I show it to you?”

The better his understanding of her intentions, the more he wanted to become intimate with her.

As soon as the words left his mouth though, a loud howl came from the depths of the void. It was immediately followed by a powerful aura emanating from that direction.

Senior Brother Liu’s expression changed, “How could it end so quickly?”

Likewise, Junior Sister Chen was also very astonished.

Although advancing into the Open Heaven Realm was said to come naturally to those who were prepared, the process still took some time. The process might last anywhere from days to months. In some cases, it might even take longer.

However, not much time had passed since they felt the first signs of someone breaking through. A generous estimation indicated that only a cup of tea’s time had passed. How could a breakthrough finish so quickly? They had never heard of anybody who managed to advance to the Open Heaven Realm at such speed.

How could they know that the people of Void Dao Temple had been painfully suppressing their cultivation for so many years? Living inside of Yang Kai’s Small Universe, they were limited by the Principles of that World; hence, they could not take the last step in their advancement. It could be said that most of the 5,000 people were only short of that final step! Now that they were released from Yang Kai’s Small Universe, it was only natural that their breakthrough took place extremely quickly.

“This aura…” Junior Sister Chen’s eyes abruptly brightened, “Senior Brother, this belongs to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, right!?”

She was only in the Emperor Realm, so her perception towards auras in the Open Heaven Realm was not very clear. For that reason, she was not certain whether that person had advanced into the Sixth Order or not.

Although Senior Brother Liu also had a vague feeling that this person had reached the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he stubbornly denied, “Impossible! Those who can advance directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm have all been sent to the Star Boundary. They would not have remained in Void Land. That’s definitely just the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm!”

1,000 years ago, advancing directly into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm was a great blessing to any of the Second Class great forces. Those disciples would be nurtured and trained as successor candidates. Moreover, the cultivation resources in the Sect would be generously supplied to them.

Be that as it may, his words ‘just’ indicated that advancing into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm was nothing special in his opinion. After coming to Void Land and learning more about the wider world, his horizons had naturally been broadened.

Even though she had the feeling that it was the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Junior Sister Chen also felt that his reasoning made sense. All the candidates who could advance directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm had indeed been sent to the Star Boundary. None of them would have remained in Void Land.

Nevertheless, she couldn’t shake the doubts in her mind. She had once felt the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm aura coming from Elder Lu Xue and Elder Chen Tian Fei, who had remained to oversee Void Land. Their auras had felt very similar to the aura just now.

During their conversation, another powerful aura erupted outward somewhere in the void.

Senior Brother Liu was dumbfounded, unable to figure out what was happening today. [Did something happen to the World Principles that made advancing into the Open Heaven Realm become easier?]

Meanwhile, Junior Sister Chen became more and more excited, “Senior Brother Liu, this must belong to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, right?”

Naturally, he continued to be stubborn and refute, “No. It’s the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm!”

“I see!” She nodded.

Just then, another aura spread out, one that was obviously much stronger compared to the previous two.

Junior Sister Chen’s eyes shone brightly, “What about this one?”

Senior Brother Liu now looked livid.

“What about this one?”

“And this one?”

Her questions flowed out endlessly, and his expression became increasingly ugly. He wished he could rush over and butcher those people who had just advanced into the Open Heaven Realm.

[If these people have such great aptitude, then why didn’t they leave for the Star Boundary? Why did they remain in Void Land and advance to the Open Heaven Realm in such a showy manner!?] Seeing his coveted Junior Sister’s eyes grow brighter and brighter, Senior Brother Liu felt his chances of marriage with her swiftly disappearing. A huge sense of sorrow engulfed his heart, and he turned to leave.

Junior Sister Liu was just about to repeat her question when she turned to the side and discovered that Senior Brother Liu was no longer standing beside her. Seeing his figure in the distance, she shouted after him, “Where are you going, Senior Brother?”

To which he responded angrily, “To enter retreat!”

The shock had hit him hard today. Those with better aptitude than him were generally sent to the Star Boundary, allowing him to stand out in the crowd in Void Land. His aptitude was certainly among the best of the disciples here, but be that as it may, he was nothing compared to the people who were currently undergoing their advancement in the sky.

Having experienced such a huge shock, Senior Brother Liu felt deeply saddened. At the same time, he came to a sudden realization. As a cultivator, strength was his foundation. Lust was simply a stumbling block on the Martial Dao!

[When I come out of retreat one day, I will definitely make my lovely Junior Sister kneel at my feet in awe!]

Junior Sister Chen ignored the departing Senior Brother Liu. Her eyes gleamed brightly as she stared intently at the sky as though she could penetrate the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array and see the heroic figures of the people undergoing breakthroughs in the void.

On the mountain peak where Old Man Bi Xi resided, Mo Mei, Lu Xue, and Chen Tian Fei were completely dumbfounded by the sight in front of them. Even Old Man Bi Xi’s long eyebrows twitched incessantly as he could not hide the astonishment in his heart.

Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm…

Senior Brother Liu and Junior Sister Chen were too weak to carefully discern the cultivation of these people who had just advanced into the Open Heaven Realm, but that was not the case for Mo Mei and the others.

In their perception, all the people who had just advanced into the Open Heaven Realm were either in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm or the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. There was not a single person who was in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.

Naturally, they were shocked to their core.

Yang Kai had not said much when he left these 5,000 people here. He only told them that these people were about to advance into the Open Heaven Realm. Although they had been surprised to receive such a large number of talents into Void Land all at once, few things could truly surprise them again after they witnessed the prosperity of the Martial Dao in the Star Boundary.

But that was only up until this moment!

The cultivators undergoing advancement here were consecutively breaking through to the Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Essentially one out of every 10 people would advance directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. In other words, it was a ratio of 1:10.

In addition, these were not ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Having advanced directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, they were cultivators with hope of one day reaching the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm!

Those who advanced directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm were considered Core Disciples among the Cave Heavens and Paradises. As for those who advanced directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, they were ranked as Legacy Disciples.

In the past, all the Cave Heavens and Paradises combined would at best produce one such talent every 1,000 years or so.