Hua Lidian walked over to Sikong Jing’s side, placing both hands on the ship’s railing.
"Yes, we’re half a day away from East Plain Minglong Village, which lies in the central region of the Minglong Mountain Range. A strong expert in the Holy Martial Stage once set up a great formation in Minglong Village, so powerful demon beasts won’t come close."
"Holy Martial Stage, is it an expert from Overlord Commerce?" Sikong Jing immediately inquired.
As it currently stands, Overlord Commerce controls the four regions of the East Plain, so does that mean the Minglong Mountain Range is their territory?
Those who besieged Grandpa Su were all experts in the Emperor Martial Stage. Does that mean these forces also have Holy Martial Stage experts?
If so, why didn’t a Holy Martial Stage expert come to deal with Grandpa Su?
Sikong Jing still had many unanswered questions about the Central Plains.
In response, Hua Lidian began to explain to Sikong Jing, "No, Overlord Commerce has never had an expert at the Holy Martial Stage."
"In the Central Plains, any force that has had a Holy Martial Stage expert will have the word ’Holy’ affixed to their name."
"Like Heavenly Dao Sacred Land, Wunian Saint Sect, Willow Leaf Saint Manor, and so on."
"But Overlord Commerce has never had one; otherwise, it would be called the Overlord Sacred Union."
With Hua Lidian’s words, Sikong Jing began to understand.
Similarly, places like Imperial Dragon Mountain have never had Holy Martial Stage experts; otherwise, they would be called Imperial Dragon Holy Mountain.
Having or not having the word ’Holy’ signifies the depth of a force’s heritage.
Thinking of this, Sikong Jing asked again, "So if no Holy Martial Stage experts exist today, does that mean places like Wunian Saint Sect only had such experts in history, and they don’t currently have any?"
To this question, Hua Lidian affirmatively replied, yes, that’s how it is.
"Experts of the Holy Martial Stage are extremely fearsome, even in the Central Plains, they’re a rare existence. For example, Elder Su broke through to the Holy Martial Stage and formed a Holy-level Sword Formation, making it a forbidden land."
"Because even in the Central Plains, few forces can break through a Holy-level Sword Formation."
"For instance, Willow Leaf Saint Manor is said to have had a Holy Martial Stage expert three thousand years ago, who was then slain by Qianyuan War Emperor, and since then, there have been no more Holy Martial Stage experts."
Sikong Jing was inwardly apprehensive; it seems Holy Martial Stage is a mythical terror in the Central Plains, seldom appearing before people.
He also thought of his parents. They were both Holy Martial Stage experts, so are they from the Central Plains? Then he remembered what Grandpa Su said, that the Central Plains is not the entirety of this world...
Simultaneously, the terrifying demon beast that oppressed Grandpa Su didn’t seem to originate from the Central Plains either.
In response, Sikong Jing’s eyes shone brightly, filled with curiosity and awe for this world.
But Sikong Jing wasn’t too surprised, because when the Fierce Beast Divine Beasts from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sky Prison heard the term Holy Martial Stage, they all showed disdain, clearly having surpassed that stage.
In short, Sikong Jing is currently focused on establishing himself in the Central Plains. Looking at Hua Lidian, Sikong Jing softly said, "Mr. Hua, does this mean I don’t need to consider the existence of Holy Martial Stage in the Central Plains?"
Hua Lidian twitched at his lips, wanting to say, why are you concerned with the Holy Martial Stage now?
He didn’t know how much this mattered to Sikong Jing... because Su Yuexi was at Willow Leaf Saint Manor, and his sister was at Wunian Saint Sect.
Moreover, he had slain the Blood Refining Ancestor, which might be discovered by Imperial Dragon Mountain. Plus, there’s the frightening Qianyuan Soldier Killing Map, so the deterrent force of the Holy Martial Stage must be considered.
Seeing Sikong Jing’s earnest gaze, Hua Lidian eventually explained.
"Yes, it’s said that nowadays, Holy Martial Stage experts in the Central Plains are exceedingly rare. Thanks to Elder Su’s rampage decades ago, where he killed many talented experts and even slew one at the Holy Martial Stage, the Central Plains has been weakened for decades."
Hearing this, Sikong Jing understood.
Those who originally had the talent to reach the Holy Martial Stage were all wiped out by Grandpa Su decades ago.
"Isn’t the great formation in Minglong Village placed by Overlord Commerce? How does Overlord Commerce control Minglong Village then?" Sikong Jing returned to the previous question, still a bit confused.
Hua Lidian’s subsequent explanation made Sikong Jing realize...
It turns out, East Plain Minglong Village isn’t entirely under the control of Overlord Commerce; there are other major forces within Minglong Village.
Overlord Commerce is just one of the major forces.
The reason the four regions of the East Plain are under Overlord Commerce’s control is because other great forces aren’t interested.
"To put it bluntly, Overlord Commerce’s development has always been about controlling small domains and lands that others are uninterested in, to recruit talented individuals and see if they can discover anyone of prize-grade importance."
"As for Minglong Village, it’s a mixed bag of various forces."
"Most of them come to the Minglong Mountain Range for adventure, so when you arrive at Minglong Village, you mustn’t act recklessly."
With this, Sikong Jing completely understood.
Minglong Village is simply a base and supply point for adventurers in the Minglong Mountain Range, nothing more.
While Sikong Jing and Hua Lidian were chatting, Elder Mo also gathered everyone on the deck, announcing that they would arrive at Minglong Village in half a day, also explaining the situation in Minglong Village to all the geniuses.
At the same time, a team from the Overlord Commerce had already arrived within East Plain Minglong Village, it was precisely the group from East Plain West Land.
In a certain courtyard of the Overlord Commerce Manor in Minglong Village...
The highest decision maker of East Plain West Land, Ju Dan, was addressing 18 geniuses when suddenly... two figures hurriedly pushed open the gates of the large courtyard. They were none other than Elder Feng and Elder Le, the two decision-makers from West Land who had previously headed to East Plain Northern Land.
Upon seeing them, the courtyard immediately fell silent, and Ju Dan’s eyes lit up, coldly sneering, "Finally, you’re here. Where are those two bastards, Sikong Jing and Hua Lidian? Bring them to me; I want to strip off their skins."
The last sentence was filled with murderous intent!
However, the faces of Elder Feng and Elder Le turned slightly dark. They had come over from East Plain Northern Land for the reunion, and during that time, they didn’t know how to report what had happened there to Ju Dan, so they didn’t send a message...
At this moment, they found it even harder to speak.
Seeing their expressions, Ju Dan’s expression froze, and then asked coldly, "What happened?"
With that one sentence, the entire courtyard seemed to be covered in frost. Everyone from decision makers to deacons and even the eighteen geniuses of the West Land shivered violently, while Elder Feng and Elder Le fell to their knees with a thud.
Elder Feng stuttered, "Elder Ju, here’s what happened."
He finally recounted the events that took place in East Plain Northern Land in full, naturally mentioning Hua Meixi’s protection and Sikong Jing eventually unleashing the Blood Refining Soldier Killing Formation, and so on...
When his words concluded, the cold wind in the courtyard intensified, and Ju Dan’s entire body emitted terrifying True Qi.
She was raging with fury.
Unlike Elder Mo in Northern Land, Ju Dan’s intimidating power in the West Land reached its peak, especially after making significant achievements, making her like a deity in East Plain West Land. Even fellow decision-makers Elder Feng and Elder Le had to kneel to her.
After a while, Ju Dan’s hoarse and terrifying voice echoed, "So, you were forced to retreat by Sikong Jing using the Soldier Killing Array?"