Chen Fan bumped into Jian Qi as he returned to the Peerless Peak.
“Junior Brother, are your matters settled?”
Chen Fan nodded and said, “All resolved.”
“Good,” Jian Qi said with a confident smile. “The True Martial Assembly is in seven days. It’s time for Peerless Peak to make its mark again.”
Chen Fan asked, “Seventh Senior Brother, is the True Martial Assembly only a competition between the disciples of the various peaks?”
“Not exactly.” Jian Qi shook his head and said, “It used to be an internal competition between the disciples, but over time, other superpowers joined in. Although it’s still called the True Martial Assembly, it’s open to all forces on the eastern continent.”
Chen Fan nodded, taking in the information.
Di Chen approached them with a smile. “Don’t underestimate the participants from other forces. They might not be as strong as us and with fewer geniuses in their ranks, they concentrate resources on a select few. This focus produces some outstanding figures who can challenge us. In fact, disciples from other forces have claimed first place in previous assemblies.”
Seeing Di Chen, Chen Fan and Jian Qi greeted him. “Second Senior Brother.”
Jian Qi asked, “Second Senior Brother, which forces have the most remarkable figures this time?”
Though the True Martial Academy recruited about seventy to eighty percent of the eastern continent's geniuses, it only did so once every century. Naturally, during that hundred-year gap, other talents emerged.
Unlike the True Martial Academy, which had such a long recruitment interval, many forces welcomed new disciples every year, eager to catch any talent that slipped through the net.
“The ones to watch out for are from major superpowers like the Demon Advocate Sect, Thousand Autumns Temple, Myriad Transformation Fairy Palace, Suspended Sovereign Palace Hall, and Nirvana Palace. While they may not be as strong as our True Martial Academy overall, they shouldn't be underestimated,” Di Chen warned.
“For example, the Demon Advocate Sect’s Qin Cang, Thousand Autumns Temple’s Wanxin, Myriad Transformation Fairy Palace’s Xia Qingyuan, Suspended Sovereign Palace Hall’s Li Hanxing, Nirvana Palace’s Bai Ze, and the others are all top figures of the Heavenly Star realm.”
Jian Qi’s expression turned serious, and he said, “I have also heard of them. They’re well known across the eastern continent. They are all geniuses nurtured by these few superpowers and are potential sect leaders.”
Di Chen nodded with a smile and said, “Although our Peerless Peak is acknowledged as peerless throughout the eastern continent, remember that there will always be someone stronger. At the same cultivation level, you might be a hundred or even a thousand times better than them. However, their cultivation levels exceed yours, giving them a significant advantage. They have earned their reputations and remain formidable threats to you.”
The explanation gave Chen Fan a rough understanding of the situation in the eastern continent.
Although the True Martial Academy was the overlord of the eastern continent, superpowers like the Demon Advocate Sect and Thousand Autumns Temple were nearly as powerful, each backed by multiple Legendary realm powerhouses.
The geniuses these factions nurtured were certainly not inferior to those of the True Martial Academy.
In addition to these superpowers, there were also highly influential cults.
Each poured tremendous effort into cultivating a single successor, creating figures who could match, or even surpass, the Academy’s best in strength and foundation.
After all, the True Martial Academy had too many disciples.
Despite gathering geniuses from across the continent, these talents in the True Martial Academy varied widely in skill and potential, sorted into distinct tiers.
Within such a massive pool, those who weren’t exceptionally outstanding often blended into obscurity, receiving minimal resources.
For some eastern continent talents who understood this reality, joining a superpower like the Demon Advocate Sect—where they’d receive dedicated Discover more novels on NovelHub - your gateway to endless stories.
This sentiment reflected the age-old saying: it was better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.
Talents with only upper-class potential could excel at the Academy, but reaching the top was far from guaranteed.
However, in superpowers like the Demon Advocate Sect, they would be the crème de la crème, nurtured like successors. Large amounts of resources would be poured onto them, making them just as strong as the chief disciples of the True Martial Academy’s halls.
“Second Senior Brother, Teacher will probably show up for the True Martial Assembly this time, right?” Jian Qi asked.
Di Chen shrugged and said, “Only one thing can be said for certain about Master: nothing. If he wants to appear, he will show up. Otherwise, no one will find him even if the entire sect searched for him.”
“That’s true.” Jian Qi nodded in deep agreement.
Though Chen Fan had been in the sect for years and met his seven seniors, he had never once seen his teacher, Zhang Daoling. Curiosity about this elusive figure grew in his heart.
“Second Senior Brother, what kind of person is Teacher?” Chen Fan asked.
Di Chen chuckled and said, “It’s hard to say, but one thing’s certain—Teacher is an extraordinary figure.”
“Extraordinary?” Chen Fan was puzzled.
Jian Qi smiled and said, “Junior Brother, Teacher’s abilities and techniques are almost otherworldly. He’s widely respected as one of the Academy’s greatest figures. Across the entire Tianwu Continent, few can rival his strength.”
Chen Fan’s gaze shrank fiercely, and he asked, “What exactly is Teacher’s cultivation level?”
As one of the nine overlord-class forces, the academy had many Legendary realm peak experts. For Zhang Daoling to stand among the very top figures was astounding.
Di Chen said, “Ah, I guess it is time for that exposition The path of martial arts begins with the Qigong realm, then advances through stages: condensing the primeval vessel, forming the golden core, birthing the divine nascent, ascending to the heavenly star, achieving manifestation, and finally becoming a legend.
“Remember, I told you that the world of cultivation is vast? Our Tianwu Continent is but a speck of dust in the universe. Above us is the Heavenly Domains, the abode of immortals.
“From the Legendary realm to the realm of immortals, there exists a transitory realm—the Void Immortal realm. A so-called Void Immortal, as opposed to a True Immortal, surpasses the Legendary realm but has yet to become a True Immortal, and is thus called void.”
Chen Fan shook fiercely and said in horror, “You mean, Teacher is... a Void Immortal?!”
Di Chen smiled and nodded. “That’s right!”