Myriad Dragon Divine Sovereign

The elder looked down at the crowd, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes as his voice boomed like thunder in their ears. ”I am Qin Wuya, a Third Generation Disciple and the director of the Celestial Profound Hall on Celestial Profound Mountain. You are all elite disciples from your respective nations. It has been a month since you arrived at the Celestial Profound Sect, so you should be quite familiar with the environment here by now.”

”I know some of you are unwilling to remain Registered Disciples. Therefore, starting this month, the distribution of cultivation resources you receive will be adjusted. Each of you will have a wooden token that represents your temporary rank among the Registered Disciples. You can challenge those ranked above you. If you succeed, you will take their token.”

Qin Wuya paused, his eyes suddenly turning sharp as he scanned the crowd. ”Starting next month, cultivation resources will be distributed according to the token rankings. I expect you to continue striving. Furthermore, if a Registered Disciple successfully challenges a Core Disciple, they will be promoted to a Core Disciple.”

The moment he finished speaking, the surrounding crowd erupted into a flurry of discussion.

”So that’s it! Defeat a Core Disciple, and you can become a Core Disciple!”

”If you become a Core Disciple of the Celestial Profound Sect, you could travel through the hundred nations under its command and have anything you could ever want!”

”A Core Disciple... a Core Disciple of the Celestial Profound Sect!”

No one could contain their astonishment, and some even had a fanatical gleam in their eyes.

Seeing the crowd’s reaction, Qin Wuya couldn’t help but smile before saying, ”Aside from this, I have another major announcement for you all. In five months, the Great Wilderness Ancient Stele will appear in the Glazed Ancient Country.”

An uproar!

It was as if Qin Wuya’s words had set the entire Celestial Profound Mountain ablaze. The place erupted like a volcano, the resulting clamor shaking the very heavens.

In five months, the Great Wilderness Ancient Stele!?

The crowd fell into disarray, everyone whispering to their neighbors with varying expressions.

Qin Wuya held up his hands, signaling for silence.

”The Great Wilderness Ancient Stele. I imagine many of you have heard of it, but many have not, so allow me to explain. Throughout millennia, the Celestial Dao occasionally leaves behind great opportunities, and this Great Wilderness Ancient Stele is one of them.” Qin Wuya paused here, then continued gravely, ”On this Ancient Stele are supreme Martial Arts and Secret Techniques that can defy creation itself. It only appears once every few decades, or even centuries. Moreover, the Great Wilderness Ancient Stele emits a supreme pressure from the Celestial Dao. Anyone at or above the Destruction Realm who is subjected to this pressure will be instantly annihilated, body and soul.”

Qin Wuya’s voice was exceedingly resonant as he infused it with Primordial Qi to continue, ”Therefore, every time it appears, it causes a massive stir throughout the entire Eastern Profound Domain. The outstanding members of the younger generation, aside from those in the most remote Sects, will almost all travel to the Great Wilderness Ancient Stele to seek their own fortune. This is an immense opportunity for all of you. When the time comes, it won’t just be you; experts from the Taiyi Pavilion, the Daoist School of Non-action, Baoling Temple, and various other major sects will all be there.”

When Wen Qingye heard the name ”Taiyi Pavilion,” his heart stirred and he tightened his grip on his sword. ’People from the Taiyi Pavilion are going too?’

”Alright. Now, come forward and receive this month’s cultivation resources.”

Everyone then formed a long line to receive their cultivation resources, but they continued to discuss what they had just heard. They were all incredibly excited, a fervent glint in their eyes.

”The Great Wilderness Ancient Stele... This is our chance! A massive one!”

”I heard it’s not that simple to get a chance at the Great Wilderness Ancient Stele. You don’t just have to compete for it; you need to have the strength to back it up.”

”Either way, it would be good just to go and see it for ourselves.”

”Is that someone from the Celestial Star Ancient Country? What a rare sight. The people from the Celestial Star Ancient Country are known to be the most mysterious.”

”That’s Qiu Ming. I heard his talent is more than enough to become a Core Disciple, but he apparently offended some powerful noble from the Dayan Dynasty, so he was barred from entering their ranks.”

”That’s right. As the largest of the Ancient Countries within the Celestial Profound Sect, the Dayan Dynasty carries a lot of weight. Otherwise, with Qiu Ming’s cultivation, he would’ve had a good shot at becoming a Core Disciple.”

Hearing the discussion, Wen Qingye subconsciously glanced ahead. At that exact moment, Qiu Ming happened to look over, and their eyes met.

For an instant, their gazes locked, and then both looked away at the same time.

’This person’s cultivation is profound!’ Wen Qingye thought.

Soon, it was Wen Qingye’s turn.

”Here you go, Junior Brother. Take good care of it,” Du Qianqian said with a smile as she tossed a leather pouch to Wen Qingye.

Wen Qingye gave a slight nod, then turned and left.

In truth, with his nine Profound Pearls, Wen Qingye didn’t place much importance on the cultivation resources the Celestial Profound Sect provided.

Du Qianqian watched Wen Qingye’s departing figure and shook her head, thinking, ’He has a decent temperament—calm and mature—but his cultivation is just too low. His aptitude must be poor. What a shame.’

With that thought, Du Qianqian went back to distributing cultivation resources to the Registered Disciples.

The Four Great Ancient Countries were the Dayan Dynasty, the Jinfeng Ancient Country, the Luocheng Ancient Country, and the most mysterious of all, the Celestial Star Ancient Country.

These Four Great Ancient Countries were situated on the periphery of the Celestial Profound Mountain Domain, one in each of the four cardinal directions. Hundreds of smaller nations were nestled between them, all gathered around the Celestial Profound Mountain Domain like stars revolving around the moon.

Unlike the smaller nations, which were in a state of constant friction, these four Ancient Countries never broke out into open conflict or war. Although they had their own underlying feuds, the Celestial Profound Sect loomed above them all.

So, on the whole, as long as the Celestial Profound Sect was present, the vast surrounding territory for tens of thousands of miles remained at peace.

Wen Qingye returned to his room and casually took out the cultivation resources from the Celestial Profound Sect.

”Three Low-Level King Grade Pills, a bottle of Nine-grade Yuan Condensing Pills, and several dozen Top-grade Primordial Stones. The benefits here at the Celestial Profound Sect aren’t half bad,” Wen Qingye remarked with a soft laugh.

But just then, Wen Qingye noticed there was also a bamboo scroll inside the pouch.

Wen Qingye slowly unrolled the bamboo scroll and examined it closely.

’Contribution Point exchange? Heavenly and Earthly Treasures? Magical Artifact Materials? Martial Arts Secret Techniques? I see!’ After reading it, Wen Qingye nodded in sudden understanding.

The scroll detailed the ranking system among Registered Disciples and the Sect Contribution Points. In addition to cultivation resources, Sect Contribution Points were also distributed in tiers based on rank. With enough Contribution Points, a disciple could exchange them for desired items at the Sect’s Contribution Hall.

Wen Qingye had no shortage of Martial Arts Secret Techniques, but he was in great need of Heavenly and Earthly Treasures and materials for refining Magical Artifacts.

For instance, his One Thought Sword required special ores to upgrade its grade, and cultivating the Five Elements Body Refining Technique required Five Elements Heavenly and Earthly Treasures. Even the Xuanji Grass and Celestial Melody Leaf that his Ice Python needed could be exchanged for here using Sect Contribution Points.

’I’ll start tomorrow, then.’ Wen Qingye glanced at the bamboo scroll in his hand again and let out a soft chuckle.

「The next day, at dusk.」

In the western part of the Celestial Profound Villa, Luo Zhiyuan, a genius from the Xiyu Country, was heading back to his residence with a brisk step. His cultivation was at the peak of the Refining Spirit Ninth Layer Heaven, and he had become a Registered Disciple of the Celestial Profound Sect a month ago. He had just finished a mission to repair a Spirit Array.

But just then, a Registered Disciple in white robes suddenly appeared before him, seemingly blocking his path.

Luo Zhiyuan frowned. When he saw that the newcomer’s cultivation was only at the Refining Spirit Eighth Layer Heaven, he asked in a cold voice, ”What do you want?”

Wen Qingye looked at Luo Zhiyuan and said with a faint smile, ”I’m challenging you.”

Luo Zhiyuan was taken aback for a moment, then let out a soft laugh. ”Challenge me? A mere Refining Spirit Eighth Layer Heaven cultivator like you?”

”Let’s get this over with,” Wen Qingye said, shaking his head, unconcerned by Luo Zhiyuan’s taunt.

Luo Zhiyuan’s expression turned cold. ”This is the Celestial Profound Sect, a gathering place for geniuses. How arrogant of you to challenge someone above your rank. I’ll teach you to know the immensity of heaven and earth!”

With that, Luo Zhiyuan abruptly drew the sword from his back and slashed at Wen Qingye with both hands.

SIZZLE!

A purple light flared as arcs of electricity writhed along Luo Zhiyuan’s blade.

Suddenly, Luo Zhiyuan’s vision blurred as a fierce gale slammed into him, almost knocking him off his feet.

CLANG!

Before Luo Zhiyuan could even react, a tremendous shock traveled up his blade, and the sword was knocked from his grasp. He was sent stumbling backward at high speed.

One strike!

Luo Zhiyuan was defeated.

After a moment, Luo Zhiyuan steadied himself and looked up at Wen Qingye, only to see that he had already sheathed his sword. ”You can hand over your token now,” Wen Qingye said calmly.

Hearing Wen Qingye’s words, Luo Zhiyuan couldn’t help but shake his head with a wry smile. He took out his token, upon which the number one thousand nine hundred thirty-seven was engraved.

Wen Qingye accepted the token, tossed his own to Luo Zhiyuan, and then walked off into the distance at a leisurely pace.

Luo Zhiyuan watched Wen Qingye’s departing figure and muttered, ”The Celestial Profound Sect is truly full of geniuses, but this man is something else entirely... To challenge someone above his rank and defeat me in a single strike...”

Luo Zhiyuan stared at the token in his hand, standing frozen in a daze for a long while.