Master of Strange Dao

"Whether it's true or false, let's not talk about it now. You'll know once you see it with your own eyes."

"What impression do you have of this Cui Changping?"

"Has he ever been to Langya Institute to study?"

"He has never been to Langya Institute.

I only heard about this Cui Changping after he advanced to the Ninth Tier."

"I heard he is a rare genius in the Infinite Sect, the likes of which haven't been seen for nearly a thousand years.

Since the beginning of his cultivation, the Infinite Sect placed great expectations on him, and ultimately, he did not disappoint, truly advancing to the Ninth Tier."

"That's all I know."

"I have something I want to ask you."

"Go ahead."

"Don't you think more and more Ninth Tier cultivators are getting involved now?

If it really is this Cui Changping, he is a great Sect Master; why would he personally get involved in some matters?

Why bother?

Also, those two people from the East Sea, I asked about them."

Two islands in the East Sea were destroyed, and their Sect Master is said to have fallen.

The rumor is that those two discovered some treasure in the East Sea and perished together after fighting over it."

This has led to an increase in people going to the East Sea lately in search of the so-called treasure.

With their status, do they really need to handle things personally?

Like capturing you, was it necessary for two Ninth Tiers to personally intervene?

Think about it, what did Wu ask you while he was capturing you?"

Yang fell into deep thought, and after a moment, he said,

"He just wanted to know the many details about the Sealing, asked me a lot about Dadui.

But nothing too critical, it seems, which also puzzled me."

"Since you don't know, then think about it, what situation would require the involvement of so many powerful individuals."

No sooner had these words fallen than Yu Ziqing's expression shifted, and he continued,

"The only common interest I can think of is their tribulation and their cultivation. What about you?"

"The same, only such matters could unite a bunch of disagreeable folks to work together for one cause."

"I think tribulation is unlikely.

A Qi Refining cultivator in the Third Tribulation Realm faces three tribulations, each of which is hard to foresee before it arrives.

Pure Refining God and Body Cultivation cultivators might not face any tribulations or just one."

"Then it must be related to cultivation, and in this area, you definitely know more than I do."

Yang was deep in thought for a long while without speaking, and Yu Ziqing continued,

"Also, ever since I came back from the Sealing, I've thought of another thing."

"During the Jiazi Era of Dadui, even a Prefectural Governor had a chance to advance to the Tenth Tier."

Why now, after so long, I seem to have never heard of anyone advancing to the Tenth Tier or any power having a Tenth Tier powerhouse.

Even the cultivators of the Third Tribulation are extremely rare."

The closest I know to the Tenth Tier was the Old Emperor Zhen back then.

But he met a tragic fate, dismembered and then suppressed for over two thousand years."

Plus, lately I've been feeling like Ninth Tiers are everywhere, yet I haven't seen or heard of a single Tenth Tier."

I've been thinking about this for days, wondering why?"

"And this time, the new Chief Venerate didn't hesitate to betray his teammate."

"I'm even more certain that they are only in it for their interests, coming together despite their hearts and faces not aligning."

"Suddenly, I had a thought about what kind of interest could make them work together."

"After thinking it over, I came up with a possibility."

"Go on," said Yang, his expression complex, having guessed it too.

"First tell me, how many years has it been since a Tenth Tier Strong appeared?"

"As far as I know, it's been several tens of thousands of years, with the closest indeed being Old Emperor Zhen."

"I'm just guessing, see if this is possible.

For these tens of thousands of years, there might be an unknown restriction suppressing everyone, preventing anyone from advancing to the Tenth Tier.

Even if there were such a person, ready to step into the Tenth Tier, various reasons would emerge to stop him."

"And this restriction might be related to the vanished Dadui.

All strong individuals, whether from the first or the Third Tribulation, would want to break this restriction.

The only reason I can think of that would get those willing to casually betray each other to collectively act would be this mutual benefit."

"Therefore, these individuals, who I see as unrelated to Dadui, are actually thinking about the return of Dadui."

Without any interest, no one would bother."

Yang's expression was complex; he found what was normal for others was never so for Yu Ziqing.

He thought that many things today were stronger than in ancient times, yet he couldn't deny that the powerhouses of today weren't as strong as those in ancient times.

At least, in ancient times, Tenth Tiers weren't so rare that none could be found."

Yang had not read An History Book, but Yu Ziqing had.

In the Jiazi Era, several disasters were related to the Tenth Tier.

The Yichou Era also had one or two, but by the Bingyin Era, there were none.

And by the final Dingmao Era, even Seventh Tiers were holding positions like Prefectural Governors."

A clear path of decline."

Yang thought it over and couldn't find any other common great interest that could bring so many Ninth Tiers together.

But he also didn't understand why Second and Third Tribulation cultivators, who were understandably anxious, were involved.

What business did a Ninth Tier of the first tribulation have joining this commotion? Even though high-tier cultivators plan many years in advance for many things, it wouldn't be so early."

After opening this line of thought, Yang thought even more."

He was almost certain that Yu Ziqing's conjecture was probably true; while some minor details were off, it didn't change the overall picture."