Eternal Heavenly Emperor

"Ordinary students!" an elder declared, and, of course, such a task of screening candidates couldn't possibly fall to the War God himself but was instead carried out simultaneously by dozens of War Venerates. He announced the results loudly, resonating throughout the entire academy.

This War God Academy really takes the cake—calling the first tier merely "ordinary students." Would it really hurt to label them as prodigies or exceptional students or something of the sort?

Chu Hao then looked towards Fat Cat and asked, "Above the War God, what's there?"

"Don't worry about that just yet, focus on taking this step first!" Fat Cat didn't answer directly.

The young talents of the Nine States were all dumbfounded by the achievement of the Dragon Crown Prince; although each had pride in their skills, they paled in comparison to him. Of course, realm does not necessarily equate to combat power, but with the Dragon Crown Prince already stepping into the War Emperor realm, he could suppress them with a mere flick of his finger due to the overwhelming gap between their major realms.

From the Upper Three Realms onwards, fighting above one's level had become incredibly difficult—just look at the academy's selection criteria. To be able to fight three minor realms above oneself was to be considered an ordinary student, which shows the sheer difficulty of the task.

Therefore, the War Emperor's status was akin to that of an emperor, someone to look up to.

"Feng Piaoling, aged twenty-five, has entered the realm of War Venerate," announced a woman from the Alien Race, stepping forward. She had a seven-colored aura fluttering behind her and, though her presence seemed slightly less than that of the Dragon Crown Prince, she was still like an unrivaled empress, exuding an oppressive force.

Her beauty was almost unmatched, barely less so than Su Wanyue and Gu Qingcheng. However, with the added attraction of her War Emperor cultivation, she was no less alluring than the two ladies.

—A powerful cultivation can indeed add considerable allure to a woman, as from a man's perspective, conquering a more powerful woman brings a stronger sense of achievement.

Her martial talent might not match the Dragon Crown Prince's, but it was still astonishingly impressive, making all warriors of the Nine States seem dull in comparison.

"Xiang Wushuang!"

"Jing Tianhai!"

"Sha Tongtian!"

"Peng Lingjue!"

"Xiong Bao!"

The remaining five Alien Race War Emperors came forward one after another, reporting their names. All were under thirty years old when they had stepped into the War Venerate realm. This wasn't too surprising, as among the Nine States' talents, there were those who had accomplished the same feat. Still, the revelation that these five were War Emperors put enormous pressure on the young geniuses of the Nine States.

Starting from War Venerate, advancing a minor realm every few years was considered rapid progress; coupled with the barrier of a major realm, it would already be remarkable for anyone from the Nine States to break through to War Emperor within thirty years.

But this meant that the Nine States would be subjugated by the Alien Race for thirty whole years. Moreover, even if someone from the Nine States became a War Emperor, the Alien Race already had seven! And with the freakish talent of the Dragon Crown Prince, he might very well be a War God by that time.

However, geniuses like Chu Hao shared a common trait: they all possessed unwavering wills and soaring fighting spirits.

The stronger their opponent, the more eager they were to engage in battle.

For individuals like Yuan Tiangang and Guan Feng, who were once considered the strongest, Chu Hao was no longer the target they aimed to surpass; their new goal had shifted to the Dragon Crown Prince.

After the seven great War Emperors of the Alien Race, the rest weren't as impressive, with most being classified as lower grade students, while a few were demoted to inferior students. This classification wasn't fixed, however, as an extensive martial arts competition took place at the end of each year, allowing the strong to rise and the weak to fall, which kept everyone from becoming complacent.

Following the Alien Race, the geniuses of the Nine States also began to report their strengths, but the gap was immediately clear. The majority fell into the category of inferior students, fewer into the lower grade, and no ordinary-level students had appeared at all so far.

This was also due to the fact that individuals like Chu Hao and Gu Fei had not yet taken the stage.

That Lin Shuwen had gone up early; with an Earth Level lower grade physique, he was only qualified to join the ranks of inferior students. Cultivation may improve over time, but physique is innate, resulting in him still being quite self-satisfied, believing he would never lose to anyone else in the future.

It must be said, the lower one's strength, the easier it is to become self-satisfied, as they see only a small world.

"Ordinary student!" Finally, someone from the Nine States was acknowledged as an ordinary student. This person's name was Zhou Shusheng, who astonishingly could fight across eight levels despite having just stepped into the realm of War King.

"Huh, this name sounds familiar," Chu Hao scratched his head.

"You've forgotten, when we just joined the Copper Valley tribe, took down Red Flame Ridge, and went to pick Spiritual Medicine? We obtained the Black Soul Flower, and another extraordinary Spiritual Medicine ended up in the hands of Zhou Shusheng. At the time, he seemed to be just a Warrior or at the Martial Sect level," Gu Qingcheng reminded him.

Fat Cat glanced over and couldn't help exclaiming, "This guy is a heaven-favored child, his Qi Luck is astonishing, like someone who has treasures delivered to his doorstep whenever he steps out. No wonder his cultivation improved so fast."

Chu Hao had also once benefited from Qi Luck in the ancient ruins, gaining a plethora of treasures, but that was restricted to the ruins. Yet Zhou Shusheng was born with astonishing luck, thriving in the grand world, sparking envy.

Gu Fei, Yuan Tiangang, and others took their turns on stage, each having stepped into the War Venerate realm before the age of thirty, hence qualifying as ordinary students.

In fact, individuals like Yuan Tiangang, who possessed a Spatial Physique, were on par with Chu Hao and certainly qualified as Heaven Level high-grade; however, he did not reveal such abilities. After all, they were about to begin competing with one another, and none were willing to show their full hand to others.

Gu Qingcheng stepped on stage; her cultivation did not make the cut, and her ability to fight above her level... she was already doing well to manifest her own realm's full strength! However, she had another ace up her sleeve—her physique!

Once her Nine Charm Profound Body was revealed, she could even slightly affect the War Venerates, who were supposed to have their Divine Senses and wills as strong as iron. The fact that she could influence them highlighted her physique's immense strength.

Therefore, with her Heaven Level high-grade physique rating, she smoothly categorized herself among the ordinary students.

This result shocked Lin Shuwen to the core. He had only his physique to boast about, but Gu Qingcheng had utterly outshone him in that aspect. No matter how good he felt about himself, he now felt a sense of shame and no longer dared to harbor any improper thoughts about Gu Qingcheng.

Su Wanyue, the Barbaric Girl, also passed by relying on their Cultivation Realm, but everyone paled in comparison under the brilliance of the Dragon Crown Prince.

A nineteen-year-old War Venerate, truly unprecedented, at least in today's Martial Arts World.

"Psh, what's so great about being a War Venerate at nineteen? Back in my day, there were those born as War Gods, and mentioning it could scare these little brats to death," Fat Cat grumbled discontentedly on the side.

Seeing that everyone was almost done, Chu Hao stepped forward and announced, "Chu Hao, choosing to challenge beyond my tier."

"How many tiers do you wish to surpass?" a War Venerate teacher asked.

After thinking for a moment, Chu Hao said, "Five tiers!"

He could fight on par with Gu Fei by surpassing three tiers, and Gu Fei himself could also overcome one or two tiers; therefore, his actual Combat Power should allow him to surpass four to five tiers.

Hiss!

There was a collective gasp of amazement from around, even the arrogant talents from the Alien Race couldn't help but show surprise, with some full of doubt.

Five tiers? You must be bluffing!

The recruiting teacher looked at Chu Hao and said solemnly, "In a tier-challenging battle, you mustn't use Treasure Artifacts, take Pills, or employ forbidden arts. Do you understand?"

Otherwise, it wouldn't be called a challenge beyond one's tier but rather a fight to the death.

Chu Hao nodded and replied, "I understand." He summoned the Purple Crystal Sword, which was merely a Third Rank weapon and had not been forged into a Treasure Artifact.

An alien War Venerate stepped forward and declared, "I am a fifth-tier War Venerate, and after using a Heavenly Level Martial Art, my Combat Power can match that of a Sixth Tier."

Chu Hao nodded and said, "Please enlighten me!"

Both figures rose into the air.

The alien War Venerate was nearly as tall as two men stacked together but was extremely thin, like a bamboo pole. He shook both hands, each clutching a Treasured Sword, but then his body shook again, and to his surprise, he grew two more sets of arms, each holding a sword as well.

Six Arms, Six Swords!

"Six Swords Soaring Cloud!" The alien War Venerate shouted, charging towards Chu Hao. With a flurry of six swords, slash after slash, a dense barrage of sword shadows, shimmering intensely, formed a Rune, brilliantly shining, and its might immediately escalated.

This was the Combat Power of a Sixth Tier War Venerate!

At a glance, Chu Hao saw that his opponent's strike was genuinely limited in power.

Lacking the Intent Realm!

However, a fifth-tier War Venerate deploying a Heavenly Level Martial Art, even without mastering the Intent Realm, should not be underestimated, so naturally, Chu Hao did not take it lightly. The Purple Crystal Sword quivered, and lightning flickered; the second stance of the Mad Thunder Sword Technique, the Heavenly Thunder Strike, was already poised to strike.

This sword technique was very special. Before mastering the Intent Realm, it could only be considered an Earth Level Martial Technique, but once integrated with the Thunder Intent Realm, it could ascend to the Heavenly Level.

With one strike, a purple bolt of lightning suddenly descended from the sky, turning into a hundred-yard-long electric dragon, crashing towards the alien War Venerate.

Offense as defense.

The alien War Venerate was alarmed and hurriedly danced his six arms, striking at the sky with his swords to neutralize the attack first.

Crackle, crackle, crackle, the purple lightning was wildly intense, incorporating the Thunder Intent Realm. This stance, when unleashed, invoked the Thunder Elements within a ten-mile radius to converge on this single strike, borrowing the power of heaven and earth, vastly amplifying its potency!

Everyone sensed the imbalance of the Spiritual Energy in the environment as the Thunder Elements were drawn away to form energy, causing distant Thunder Elements to replenish the imbalance, resulting in severe fluctuations of Spiritual Energy.

"Such a powerful attack."

"This kid is no simpleton!"

"No wonder he dares to challenge across five tiers."

"Forming an Intent Realm within the realm of War Venerates, quite interesting!"

The various powerhouses were abuzz with discussion, and even the alien War God took an extra glance at Chu Hao, though no one could see the expression on his face.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Chu Hao kept attacking with his sword; the advantage of the Heavenly Thunder Strike was the invocation of the Thunder Elements for long-range attacks, striking later but arriving sooner, enabling him to continuously take the initiative. As long as the opponent's strength was not greater than his, then before he was exhausted, it would only be his turn to attack.

Regrettably, he had not devoted much effort to the Mad Thunder Sword Technique since his advancement to War Venerate, resulting in limited understanding. Furthermore, a Heavenly Level Martial Art could form a corresponding "Rune" in the Sea of Consciousness and could be unleashed without a weapon.

However, he had now reached the pinnacle of the first-tier War Venerate and needed time to solidify his realm; it was not suitable to elevate his Cultivation further. Instead, he could revisit and enhance several Martial Techniques. (To be continued. If you like this novel, you are welcome to vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)