Under the pitch-black night sky, a fighter jet soared ten thousand meters above ground. Inside, Qingqiu Minghui briefed Chen Chu on the details of the mission.
"The Tianque Mountains, discovered three years ago, are rich in energy crystal deposits. That’s why the Seventh Legion established mining operations there.
"The chief of the mine is a man at the peak of the Seventh Heavenly Realm, while the deputy chief is at the late stage of the Seventh Heavenly Realm. Both are veteran cultivators over fifty years old.
"These seniors have spent many years in the mythical world, and while they have extensive experience, they no longer have the drive they once did. So now, many of these men choose tasks that involve guarding resource points. The expansion team that discovered the energy crystal mine a few years ago has since started earning lots of merit points each month."
Liang Ge's eyes filled with envy. "If only we were lucky enough to discover a resource vein ourselves. Then we’d have a constant stream of merit points without needing to venture deep into the mythical world all the time."
Wen Jiayuan chuckled. "My standards aren’t that high. I’d be happy just to find a god-level resource point that can regenerate."
Liang Ge flipped a middle finger at Wen Jiayuan. "Fuck you. You're even greedier than me."
However, they weren’t entirely joking. After all, this was the mythical world—a place brimming with resources. Perhaps the next time they ventured deep into the mythical world, they would make a big discovery, like finding a divine artifact that could help them break through to a higher realm.
Over the years, many cultivators with average talent, who otherwise would have never broken through to the Eighth or Ninth Heavenly Realms, managed to defy the odds by finding a divine artifact.
Additionally, the Federation offered rewards for discovering relics, bringing back information on alien civilizations, or expanding new map areas.
The rewards included—but were not limited to—discovering resource points and transcendent energy mines. This was what made the Expansion Division so attractive that it drew many advanced cultivators with adventurous spirits into venturing onward and paving the way for the future.
After all, finding resources not only benefited humanity but also themselves.
Everyone was fully armed now. Qingqiu Minghui was clad in a silverish-white, ornate battle armor, while Chen Chu was in black and red armor. He had subdued the red flames on his armor.
Suddenly, a subtle fragrance drifted over, and Lan Caiwei, who exuded the charm of a mature woman, suddenly leaned in. She looked at Chen Chu’s handsome profile with curiosity. "Little Brother Chu, can you tell me how you managed to break through to the Eighth Heavenly Realm at just eighteen years old?"
Apart from Qingqiu Minghui, everyone turned and waited for Chen Chu to reply.
Seeing this, Chen Chu thought for a moment before answering, "Actually, my cultivation ability was quite average at first. It took me half a month just to complete the Foundation Building stage, and I was only cultivating low-level art."
Wen Jiayuan was somewhat stunned. "What? You started out cultivating low-level art?"
Chen Chu nodded. "Yes, but later, when I began practicing the true martial art during Foundation Building, I felt my cultivation speed started to pick up. Before I knew it, I managed to break through to the Eighth Heavenly Realm."
Lan Caiwei’s eyes sparkled with amazement. "I can’t believe that you started out with a low-level art.”
"That's amazing," said Meng Shishi, the petite woman who rarely spoke.
They all assumed that Chen Chu, who had managed to break through to the Eighth Heavenly Realm before he was eighteen, had extraordinary talent and received extensive resources from the start, like prodigies who had support from the Federation.
They hadn’t expected that he actually started by cultivating low-level arts.
They were aware of the current cultivation system in the Federation’s schools: the higher one’s talent, the more resources they received upon enrollment.
For someone like Chen Chu, who took half a month to complete the Foundation Building stage, only low-level arts would have been available, and he would have had very limited resources, starting far behind the top-level geniuses.
Yet, under these circumstances, he managed to cultivate the Eighth Heavenly Realm before graduation. It was truly an unimaginable story of defying the odds step by step.
While Lan Caiwei and the other three looked on in admiration and shock, Qingqiu Minghui felt a strange sense of déjà vu. After all, this was the man who once fought him to a standstill in the Baihu nation, and over dinner that night, he said something similar.
While everyone was in shock, Chen Chu humbly said, "Breaking through to the Eighth Heavenly Realm at eighteen isn’t as extraordinary as you think. Ji Wuji from the Military Secret Martial Arts Academy broke through to the Eighth Heavenly Realm a week ago.
"There’s also an Innate Awakener on the northern battlefield who’s only a second-year high school student but is already in the middle stage of the Seventh Heavenly Realm. Due to special reasons, he’d likely break through to the Eighth Realm in two months.
"Another is Bardas from North Lin. When I saw him last month, he was already close to the peak of the Seventh Heavenly Realm, so he’ll likely break through to the Eighth Heavenly Realm soon too."
Actually, there was also Bredos, a mysterious and low-profile individual who was on the path of heavenly kings. He made significant gains from ruins and should be breaking through to the Eighth Heavenly Realm soon.
However, Chen Chu didn’t mention Bredos due to the latter’s unique identity. Moreover, after the ruins expedition, Heavenly King Youming altered everyone’s memories. Erasing all information about him.
Wen Jiayuan and the others were once again shocked and bewildered.
What was going on? Had they, the older generation, fallen behind? Was breaking through to the Eighth Heavenly Realm before graduation the norm now?
If not, then where did all these freaks come from?
As everyone remained in shock, the fighter jet passed through several dangerous areas. After flying for almost two hours, the group entered a mountain range rich in transcendent energy.
The jet flew over the towering trees and crossed several ten-thousand-meter mountain peaks before making a sudden dive, piercing through an invisible barrier and revealing a brightly lit valley.
Amidst the rumbling noise, over a dozen massive machines that looked like grinders, each dozens of meters tall, continuously broke apart mountains with its drills. Most of the mountain range had been reduced to flat land, with smoke and dust billowing.
In a nearby mineral-processing factory, many workers were busy separating and collecting energy-rich crystals from the ore.
Additionally, many defensive structures had been built within a ten-kilometer radius around the valley, including thick black cannon barrels, missile launchers, and fortified bunkers.
Special forces exuding Fifth and Sixth Heavenly Realm auras patrolled the perimeter, armed and ready to fend off potential mutated creatures.
They carried cold, heavy weapons on their backs and held black cannons several meters long. Each one had a barrel as wide as twenty centimeters and was engraved with glowing runes.
Loaded with specialized armor-piercing rounds and incendiary bullets, their firearms were even more powerful in the energy-rich mythical world. They could instantly kill level 5 or 6 mutated beasts.
After all, no matter how powerful transcendent strength was, it had its limits. As long as the caliber was large enough and the firepower sufficient, technological weapons could still inflict damage or even kill mutated beasts.
However, energy weapons weren’t suitable for widespread use due to the massive energy consumption per shot.