Chapter 3221: Grassroots Prodigies

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Palm Fire Zen Sect’s Wang Ye stepped aside to watch the show as soon as he finished speaking. He made it clear he would not interfere.

The Palm Fire Zen Sect’s Liu Tong followed suit and stepped to the side as well. The corners of his mouth could not stop twitching the entire time.

The Ganges Profund Sect’s elder, Qin He Dao, looked at Duan Ling Tian coldly and asked in a low voice, “Boy, did you kill our Ganges Profound Sect’s Elder Sun Yu?”

“That’s right.” Duan Ling Tian nodded nonchalantly.

“Why did you kill Elder Sun Yu?”

The other three men from the Ganges Profound Sect were also staring at Duan Ling Tian coldly at this moment.

“He tried to attack me after I harvested a Celestial Fruit. Why? Should I stand still and wait for him to kill me instead?” Duan Ling Tian said lightly as he swept his gaze across the men from the Ganges Profound Sect.

“Boy, since you dare kill an elder of the Ganges Profound Sect, you can just stay here forever!” the only middle-aged man among the group of people from the Ganges Profound Sect said coldly. His eyes flashed with killing intent when he looked at Duan Ling Tian.

Meanwhile, the other three old men, including Qin He Dao, stared at Duan Ling Tian, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

“Are all of you going to attack me?” Duan Ling Tian smiled faintly as he said, “Make sure you’ve thought this through.”

“Boy, today will be your death anniversary! This is for killing an elder from the Ganges Profound Sect!” the middle-aged man cried out.

When the fight was about to begin, Liu Tong could not help but ask Wang Ye through Voice Transmission, “Elder Wang, should we give them a heads up? Based on the situation, it’s unlikely that these young ones will show mercy like they did earlier.”

“Elder Liu, you’re an elder of the Palm Fire Zen Sect. Why do you care if those from the Ganges Profound Sect die?” Wang Ye replied indifferently through Voice Transmission.

At this moment, the four men from the Ganges Profound Sect had begun to attack Duan Ling Tian. Since they had heard from Qin He Dao that the purple-clad young man in front of them had comprehended the law of space’s Teleportation Profundity to the initial stage, they intended to kill him with one move to prevent him from escaping.

Wang Ye was clearly delighted as he watched the scene before him. Soon after, as he had expected, the four men from the Ganges Profound Sect were all killed without any exception. However, he was surprised that it was not the purple-clad young man who had made a move. Instead, it was the beautiful white-clad woman who made a move. Most shockingly, the woman took less than one breath to kill the four Celestial Lords from the Ganges Profound Sect!

Wang Ye and Liu Tong’s jaws slackened, and their eyes looked as though they were going to pop out of their sockets as they stared at Huan’er.

“W-was that a soul attack?”

When Wang Ye and Liu Tong recalled the expressions on the faces of the four men from the Ganges Profound Sect before they died, they felt chills running up their spines. Fear lingered in their hearts when they regained their senses, and their expressions turned solemn immediately.

The Palm Fire Zen Sect’s Liu Tong thought to himself, ‘Fortunately, she didn’t use this move when we were fighting earlier. Otherwise, I would’ve died!’

Earlier, Duan Ling Tian had faced Wang Ye while Huan’er faced Liu Tong. Therefore, after Liu Tong witnessed her killing the men from the Ganges Profound Sect, he was keenly aware that Huan’er had held back significantly when they fought earlier.

After retrieving the Spatial Rings and the Celestial Weapons of the group from the Ganges Profound Sect, Duan Ling Tian asked Wang Ye, “Did you think you could borrow our hands to kill those people?”

Duan Ling Tian, naturally, knew Wang Ye had intentionally withheld information from those people from the Ganges Profound Sect.

Indeed. Wang Ye did not warn the people from the Ganges Profound Sect because he knew they would underestimate Duan Ling Tian and suffer the consequences as a result.

“My lord, that wasn’t my intention… I just thought we shouldn’t be the ones to suffer a loss. I just wanted to see them lose their Celestial Fruits and herbs as well,” Wang Ye hastily explained as his expression changed, “After all, if they didn’t strike first, you won’t have a valid reason to seize their Celestial Fruits and herbs, right?”

“So you’re saying you’re doing it to help me?” Duan Ling Tian asked with a smile.

“Of course.” Wang Ye nodded with a righteous expression on his face even though it was clear he was blatantly lying.

Even Liu Tong who was standing next to Wang Ye could not bear to watch this.

Duan Ling Tian no longer teased Wang Ye. He called out, “Huan’er, let’s go!”

There was not much time left before the grade-three medicinal herb paradise closed so Duan Ling Tian wanted to use whatever time they had left to search for more Celestial Fruits and herbs in places that were hidden by Illusory Formations.

After the duo left, Wang Ye and Liu Tong heaved a sigh of relief.

Wang Ye smiled bitterly as he said, “Who knew a Ten Direction Celestial King and a One Basic Celestial Lord could be so powerful? I feel like I’ve lived my life in vain…”

“You aren’t the only one… It’s truly demoralizing when I look at them.” Liu Tong replied with a wry smile.

…

Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er’s trip to the grade-three medicinal herb paradise was truly fruitful. The Celestial Fruits they obtained made Duan Ling Tian feel confident that he would be able to break through and become a One Basic Celestial Lord within the next thirty years.

After Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er left the grade-three medicinal herb paradise, they returned to the Snow Horizon Celestial Sect’s estate instead of Glacier Valley. This was because the advantages of cultivating in Glacier Valley could not compare to the benefits from the Celestial Fruits they obtained. Moreover, Huan’er liked staying in the sect’s estate more than staying in Glacier Valley.

…

Spring came and left. Time flew by quickly; twenty years passed by in just a blink of an eye.

At this moment, Huan’er had become a Three Talents Celestial Lord.

On the other hand, Duan Ling Tian had yet to become a One Basic Celestial Lord. Apart from that, he did not make any further progress in comprehending the law of space as well.

‘Apart from the Space Elemental Profundity that can’t be improved, I have comprehended all profundities from the law of space to the initial stage. Something seems to be lacking… I can’t seem to comprehend the profundities to the mastery stage,’ Duan Ling Tian thought to himself. He had tried to comprehend the law of space’s profundities to the mastery stage many times but failed in the end.

Duan Ling Tian was already frustrated about the lack of progress in his cultivation base. Needless to say, he was doubly frustrated when there was no progress in his comprehension of the law of space as well.

The Chaos Divine Flame was aware of Duan Ling Tian’s vexations so it explained, “It’s impossible for someone who’s below the stage of a Celestial Lord to comprehend a profundity to the mastery stage. You’ll have to be a One Basic Celestial Lord at least to comprehend a profundity to the mastery stage.”

Duan Ling Tian was enlightened by the Chaos Divine Flame’s words, but these words did not ease his frustrations.

“There are only ten years left before the Genius Secret Realm opens… I can only hope to have a breakthrough within these ten years…”

At this point, despite the lack of progress, Duan Ling Tian was just a hair’s breadth away from a breakthrough and becoming a One Basic Celestial Lord. His situation was similar to Huan’er’s situation when they left the Spirit Overarching Heaven. As time passed, her cultivation base finally improved.

With this thought in mind, he thought to himself bitterly, ‘So does this mean the only thing I can do is wait?’

In the end, Duan Ling Tian decided to leave the Snow Horizon Celestial Sect again to travel. He thought, perhaps, he would have an enlightenment while traveling that would enable him to break through.

Alas, year after year went by, but Duan Ling Tian’s breakthrough was nowhere to be found.

…

“The Nan Dou Territory’s Genius Secret Realm that opens once every 1,000 years will finally be open next year… I only have a year left…”

As the day of the opening of the Genius Secret Realm drew closer and closer, Duan Ling Tian felt the pressure mounting as well. His entrance to the Genius Secret Realm hinged on him breaking through and becoming a Celestial Lord.

…

The opening of the Genius Secret Realm was a big event in the Nan Dou Territory. Many forces in the Nan Dou Territory would send their young geniuses into the secret realm.

With a year left until the opening of the Genius Secret Realm, it was already buzzing everywhere in the Nan Dou Territory.

“It has been a long time since we saw a grassrootss prodigy rise above young geniuses from grade-one forces in the Genius Secret Realm… Over the past 10,000 years, the young geniuses from the grade-one forces had taken the spotlight in the secret realm. Although there were a few outstanding grassroots prodigies, they can’t compare to those from grade-one forces…”

“That’s not surprising. Those young geniuses were carefully raised by the forces they belong to, and they’re given superior cultivating resources. How can grassroots prodigies compare to them?”

“It’s good enough for these grassroots prodigies to be recruited by grade-one forces if they perform well in the Genius Secret Realm.”

“Well, apart from being a place for young geniuses from grade-one forces to showcase their strength and search for treasures, the Genius Secret Realm is also a place for grassroots prodigies to prove themselves.”

“That’s right. Outstanding grassroots prodigies will be invited to join grade-one forces. However, in the past 10,000 years, only two sectless cultivators were invited to join the three most powerful grade-one forces in the Nan Dou Territory. They joined the Ancient Phoenix Clan and the Baili Clan respectively. As for the Thousand Tribulations Sword Sect, it has been more than 10,000 years since they extended an invitation to a grassroots prodigy…”

The Ancient Phoenix Clan, the Baili Clan, and the Thousand Tribulations Sword Sect were the three most powerful grade-one forces in the Nan Dou Territory. It was said that the absence of a ruling titled Celestial Emperor in the Nan Dou Territory was due to these three grade-one forces. There were suspicions that three sects had Celestial Emperors comparable to titled Celestial Emperors; rumor had it that these Celestial Emperors did not bother to claim their titles in the Title Temple. Due to the delicate balance between the three forces, there was not one force among the three that solely dominated the Nan Dou Territory.

…

Only Celestial Lords under the age of 1,000 could enter the Genius Secret Realm. Those who were capable of becoming Celestial Lords before the age of 1,000 were undoubtedly geniuses.

Apart from the young geniuses from various grade-one forces, sectless cultivators and cultivators from forces below grade one were collectively known as grassroots prodigies.

Most young geniuses from grade-one forces entered the Genius Secret Realm to seek treasures and fortuitous encounters while grassroots prodigies, apart from seeking treasures and fortuitous encounters, usually entered the secret realm to display their strength in hopes of being invited to join a grade-one force.

Although there were other grade-one forces, most grassroots prodigies, naturally, hoped to join the three most powerful grade-one forces in the Nan Dou Territory; the Ancient Phoenix Clan, the Baili Clan, and the Thousand Tribulations Sword Sect.

Most grade-one forces would recruit disciples after the opening of the Genius Secret Realm. However, in the past 10,000 years, among the three strongest grade-one forces in the Nan Dou Territory, the Ancient Phoenix Clan and the Baili Clan only accepted a grassroots prodigy each.