Eternal Heavenly Emperor

"Chu Hao!" Madam Yun looked at him, "Draw your sword and strike at me with all your might."

What?

Chu Hao appeared somewhat hesitant. Even for someone at the Tenth Tier of the Vajra Realm, whose cells were enhanced to the utmost limit and whose defensive power had skyrocketed, facing the Divine Weapon like the Red Shadow Sword usually meant being cleaved into two!

After all, he was already at the Third Tier of the Vajra Realm, and the power of one sword strike was immensely formidable!

"Don't worry, I'm asking you to strike because I'm confident," Madam Yun said with a smile.

Chu Hao thought for a moment, then drew the Red Shadow Sword, still somewhat hesitant.

"Come on!" urged Madam Yun.

"Lady Yun, be careful!" Chu Hao made up his mind, and his aura instantly became as fierce as a Sharp Sword drawn from its sheath.

Madam Yun remained calm and collected, simply extending her hand and casually hooking it.

"Watch the sword!" Chu Hao sprang forward and swung his sword in a strike.

However, this sword strike was three parts released and seven parts held back. With his control ability, he could absolutely stop the sword at the moment it was about to hit Madam Yun.

But Madam Yun reached out directly for the blade of the Red Shadow Sword.

Tang Xin immediately exclaimed in alarm. The brash young man had always had a bit of a crush on the mature Madam Yun, and he almost leaped out in his excitement. Whereas Fu Xue's eyes sparkled with light, she certainly didn't believe Madam Yun would do something foolish!

Could it actually be possible to counter a Divine Weapon with bare hands as white and delicate as jade?

She found it very intriguing!

Madam Yun's action was too fast. So fast that Chu Hao didn't even have the chance to pull back. Only a flash of white shadow was seen, and the sword blade had already chopped down on her delicate wrist!

It was unstoppable!

A sword chopped down!

Whoom!

Chu Hao only felt a heaviness in his hand, a powerful force rebounding back that made his palm go numb, and he could no longer hold the hilt. The Red Shadow Sword immediately flew out of his grip.

What!

Chu Hao and the others stared at Madam Yun's slender hand, which did not even have a red mark on her jade-like wrist!

How was that possible!

It was absolutely impossible, even for someone at the Tenth Tier of the Vajra Realm!

"In the martial arts journey, there are several realms beyond the Vajra Realm!" Madam Yun said softly.

She had just demonstrated her superb defensive capabilities, immediately making her words hugely persuasive, causing Chu Hao and the others to nod involuntarily. However, in comparison, Tang Xin seemed somewhat confused, while Chu Hao and Fu Xue both showed burning fighting spirits, revealing their immense confidence.

"May I ask, Lady, how many realms are there above the Vajra Realm?" Chu Hao was the first to speak. He had known there were stronger realms above the Vajra Realm but didn't know how many levels there were exactly.

Instead of directly answering, Madam Yun said, "In our place, we divide the martial arts into ten realms!"

Chu Hao and the others exchanged glances, their faces full of shock!

Ten realms in martial arts!

The strongest in Eastern Cloud City, in Madam Yun's view, could only rank as the fourth realm, not even the first half! No wonder any latecomer like Chi Dao could so arrogantly command the City Lord's Mansion!

And the City Lord's Mansion... must also be people from Madam Yun's place, thus they could keep all the noble families from acting out of line!

There was no helping it, strength ruled!

Fortunately, they had all entered the Vajra Realm, standing on the fourth rung. Only six more rungs left to climb.

"In our place, we collectively refer to the Lesser Mahayana realm, Middle Mahayana realm, Great Mahayana realm, and Vajra Realm as a Martial Disciple!" Madam Yun continued.

Puh!

Now even Chu Hao and Fu Xue couldn't keep calm!

By Madam Yun's meaning, was the Vajra Realm not actually the fourth realm but just the first? So, even though Chu Hao was at the Third Tier of the Vajra Realm, was he really just three-tenths of the way through the first stage?

How weak was that?

Madam Yun, ignoring their shock, continued, "Above a Martial Disciple is a martial master, above a martial master is a Martial Sect, known as the Three Minor Realms. Above the Three Minor Realms are a Warrior, War General, and War King, these are the Middle Three Realms. Above the Middle Three Realms are the War Venerate, War Emperor, and War God, these constitute the Upper Three Realms!

Eventually, at the peak, stands the War God, invincible in the entire world!"

"Each major realm can be divided into various minor realms, for instance, in our place, a Martial Disciple is divided into ten tiers, corresponding to the ten tiers of the Vajra Realm you have here! And for a martial master, there are only eight tiers."

She paused slightly, giving Chu Hao and the others time to digest.

After a while, Chu Hao spoke, "Lady, do you intend to take us to your place?"

"Correct!" Madam Yun nodded, signaling to Uncle Yuan who immediately passed her a sphere, which, upon closer inspection, was made out of flour and about the size of a human head.

"The place where we reside is called Sky Martial Star!" Madam Yun pointed at the sphere, indicating that it represented the Sky Martial Star.

"Round?" Tang Xin immediately asked in surprise.

"Round!" Madam Yun nodded.

"Then how come the people below haven't fallen off?" Tang Xin appeared very puzzled.

"Because this sphere possesses a strong gravitational force that firmly attracts us to the ground! This is also why, even if you leap up high, you will eventually fall back to the ground!" Chu Hao interjected, a principle of gravity that was well-known on Earth.

Madam Yun looked at Chu Hao with admiration. She herself had been puzzled when she first learned their world was spherical, and it had taken her a long time to accept this notion.

But Chu Hao? Not only was he not surprised, he even knew why!

This young man truly was remarkable!

—If Madam Yun were to go to Earth, she would be even more astonished, as this was something even elementary students knew!

Fu Xue and Tang Xin still wore puzzled expressions. Their place was round? It didn't seem so, as the ground was perfectly flat. If it were round, shouldn't it be hilly like a mound?

Madam Yun didn't dwell much on the issue of the sphere, knowing they would eventually understand. She sliced off a small piece from the bottom of the sphere, "Over six thousand years ago, something happened... how should I put it, some say it was a battle between two mighty beings, others say it was the emergence of a precious terrestrial treasure.

In any case, a continent was torn away from Sky Martial Star, yet it didn't completely detach and remained drawn by the gravitational pull of Sky Martial Star, becoming an 'island'!"

Fu Xue's expression changed, saying, "We are that island!"

"Correct!" nodded Madam Yun, "We refer to this detached continent as the Lower World!"

This was how the name 'Lower World' came to be! However, in the cosmos, up, down, left, and right are actually meaningless. Lower World could also be called Upper World, but a name is merely a label. As long as it carries no disrespect, what does it matter what it's called.

"At Sky Martial Star, everything is determined by strength! Whether it is a sect or a family, they are classified from the First to the Ninth Grade, with First Grade being the highest and Ninth Grade the lowest! The criterion is the level of the strongest member in the sect or family!"

"The War King belongs to the Fourth Grade families and Fourth Grade sects, the War Emperor belongs to the First Grade families and First Grade sects!"

"Our Ling Family, is a Sixth Rank Family!"

Sixth Rank Family!

It couldn't be said that they were insignificant, but on Sky Martial Star, they couldn't even count as middle tier, whereas in the Lower World, they could dominate!

The Chi Family not yielding to the Ling Family indicated that the Chi Family was probably also a Sixth Rank Family! Yet, that allowed Chi Dao to do as he pleased in Eastern Cloud City, disregarding rules and logic!

It shows how minuscule the Lower World is, and how low its martial arts levels are!

"I came to the Lower World partly to earn some money for my family, and to gather some materials that aren't available in our region, and secondly, to scout for talents!" Madam Yun looked at the three of them, a sincere smile spreading across her face, "You three are the talents I am most optimistic about. I have been here for three years now, and after the New Year, I will return.

I would like to invite you to come with me and join the Yunliu Sect!"

"The Yunliu Sect is a Sixth Grade sect, on par with our Ling Family! However, the family focuses on expanding territories and gathering resources, hence, family members are sent to the sect for cultivation, which is a common practice for most families on Sky Martial Star."

"Sects and families depend on each other, intertwined through countless years, already sharing weal and woe! In fact, a sect is like a union of many families! When a sect is destroyed, inevitably many families perish along with it!"

"Before you make your decision, I must tell you that in our place, the competition will be fiercer, and killing will be more common! Between sects and families, it's filled with competition!"

"And the consequence of failure might just be death!"

Madam Yun paused for a moment, saying, "I'll give you three days to decide. After three days, I will depart to go back. If you are willing to come with me, come to me on that day. If not... consider me a friend you will never see again!"

"Such an exciting place, of course I want to experience it!" No sooner had Madam Yun finished speaking than Chu Hao immediately responded, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

He had thought that his cultivation had almost reached its limit, making him fear losing his goal and having to live an ordinary life. But unexpectedly, the outside world was so fascinating!

If he didn't go, he knew he would regret it!

"How could you go without me!" Fu Xue also immediately said, her face filled with a combative expression.

She and Chu Hao were entirely different types of people; Chu Hao sought adventure, driven by a strong curiosity for the unknown, while she was a natural-born fighter, eager to defeat all challenges!

But to some extent, they were alike!

Fearless forever! Never shrinking back!

Tang Xin, however, appeared somewhat hesitant. After a while, he said, "I need to discuss this with Grandpa!"

"Little brat!" Fu Xue immediately scoffed.

Tang Xin's face turned red, but upon glancing at the dazzling and captivating Madam Yun, he clenched his teeth and said, "I will definitely convince Grandpa!"

The power of love is strong! Although it is blind and merely the impulsiveness of youth.

Chu Hao and Fu Xue couldn't help but smile. If they followed Madam Yun to the Yunliu Sect, they would truly be leaving their homeland, but having another companion could at least mitigate the loneliness a bit.

Madam Yun was also very pleased; at least two of the talents who had received the Golden Blood Wolf Order were set to leave with her. If Tang Xin also went, that would be just the icing on the cake.

"Now, let me tell you about some cultivation matters!"