ISWI Chapter 1267-1268 (Patreon)

Chapter 1267: I Have a Master Now!

"Stop! Before the gates of the War God Academy, no disturbance is permitted!"

The battlefield fell silent.

He Guangyan's heart seethed with shock and humiliation, yet he could not grasp Ye Chen's background. For the moment, he said nothing, only staring at Ye Chen with a dark expression.

Ye Chen, newly arrived, had not wished to strike too hard and so had delivered only a light slap rather than a killing blow. Since enmity had already been formed, the other party would surely come seeking trouble of his own accord later.

He had been waiting for threats, for the man to invoke his background and report the origin of his strength, when an elder spoke from the mountain gate. A Saint Immortal arrived with a boom, landing squarely between the two and suppressing their auras.

"No disturbance is allowed at the mountain gate. Whatever grievances you hold, withdraw at once!" the gate elder declared coldly.

At those words, He Guangyan, who had been standing stiff-necked in place, found his way out. He swept Ye Chen with a venomous glance and slowly retreated. Yet when his eyes fell upon his brand-new chariot, reduced to a fraction of its former self, the corner of his mouth twitched and hatred surged like a flood. He would make Ye Chen pay the price without fail.

Ye Chen, for his part, secretly curled his lip. Only after the fight was over did someone appear. Belated justice, was it? The myriad heavens and realms were all the same in the end.

The gate elder looked Ye Chen up and down and spoke with a measure of courtesy. "You are not a disciple of our War God Academy?"

In full public view, Ye Chen no longer feared a repeat of the token being seized. He immediately produced the core disciple token. "I have come precisely to join."

The gate elder raised a hand, took the token, and raised an eyebrow. "You actually come from the Nineteenth Realm?"

The revelation caught the elder somewhat by surprise. The surrounding onlookers who had still been curious were equally astonished.

The Nineteenth Realm?

Though the Other Domain formed a single fused greater world, they were not simply pieced together side by side. They were arranged in layers. The First Realm, the initial world, stood at the highest position. The rest descended layer by layer beneath it.

Over the past seven hundred thousand years, several great calamities had erupted with fierce slaughter. The positions of the various realms had shifted more than once; some had risen, others had fallen.

Yet the weakest had always remained the Nineteenth Realm. The lower a realm's position, the poorer the resources and benefits it received, the weaker the support it obtained, and the more barren it became overall.

Under such circumstances, the fact that Ye Chen hailed from the Nineteenth Realm naturally drew surprise. By rights, they ought to have shown contempt. Yet the talent and combat strength Ye Chen had displayed filled them with awe, so none dared speak.

He Guangyan, who had kept silent until now, suddenly laughed. "So it is a mud-legged peasant from the Nineteenth Realm. Just you wait. Today, you ruined my war chariot while I was not paying attention. You will pay the price for it."

The War God Academy had its own rules, so He Guangyan offered no further threats. Yet his entire demeanor was utterly composed, his gaze darker than ever and devoid of the slightest wariness.

Ye Chen heard him and immediately smiled. Being called a mud-legged peasant did not bother him in the least. He was not even from the Nineteenth Realm. Besides, He Guangyan's talent was decent, roughly on par with He Ziling. He made for a fine source of origin essence.

Ye Chen therefore looked toward the gate elder and asked calmly, "May I enter the War God Academy now?"

The gate elder nodded at once. "Since you have come bearing a token, of course you may."

The War God Academy had never paid much attention to these core tokens issued as benefits. Most who arrived with them were merely connected individuals, the majority of little promise. It made no difference who came. Even if someone killed the rightful holder, seized the token, and entered under a false name, the academy would not care.

The gate elder glanced at Ye Chen and sighed at the youth's good fortune before speaking. "There would normally still be some formalities to complete. But your luck is excellent. Immortal King Tuoba witnessed your earlier strike and has taken considerable interest in you. He says he will grant you the chance to become his nominal disciple. Therefore, come with me at once to pay your respects to Immortal King Tuoba."

The moment the gate elder's words fell, everyone present, Ye Chen included, was stunned. He had been noticed by an Immortal King so directly?

He Guangyan's face turned ugly. If Ye Chen had caught an Immortal King's eye, did that not mean he himself had become nothing more than a backdrop, a stepping stone? For someone as proud as him, the thought was intolerable. His gaze upon Ye Chen grew even darker. Even if Ye Chen became an Immortal King's nominal disciple, he felt no fear.

Every thousand years, the War God Academy assigned twenty Immortal Kings to stand guard and oversee it. Immortal King Tuoba was unremarkable among them and hailed from the Tenth Realm. Among Immortal Kings, he was merely ordinary stock.

Behind the He Family stood three giant Immortal Kings. Setting aside the Peerless Ancestor, any one of the remaining two could crush Immortal King Tuoba with ease. Under such circumstances, He Guangyan had no reason to fear Ye Chen's background.

The onlookers, meanwhile, felt only envy. The War God Academy offered opportunities to listen to Immortal Kings' lectures, yet those who truly drew an Immortal King's attention were extremely few. Even becoming a nominal disciple was rare. That Ye Chen had been noticed by an Immortal King before even entering the academy was truly enviable.

Ye Chen himself was somewhat dazed. How had he suddenly caught an Immortal King's eye? Yet he already had a master. He had come this time precisely to cling to a powerful thigh. For a moment, he felt confused, wondering whether he had been too ostentatious earlier. Perhaps that slap should have been even lighter.

He knew, however, that this was no time to refuse. A nominal disciple amounted to little more than a bit of extra attention, a world of difference from a true personal disciple. Thus, Ye Chen cupped his hands lightly. "In that case, I thank Senior Immortal King Tuoba for his generous regard."

The gate elder said no more. With a wave of his hand, he led Ye Chen flying into the War God Academy under countless watching eyes. Only after their figures vanished did the crowd begin to discuss among themselves, all marveling at Ye Chen's good fortune. There were far too many prodigies in the Other Domain, yet not every one could rise. Luck, too, formed an especially important part of the equation.

He Guangyan gave a cold, dark laugh. He no longer had any mood for drinking. Collecting his nearly ruined new chariot, he flew into the War God Academy with a frigid expression. Ahead, golden silhouettes flickered, and power of uncertain brilliance seethed.

Ye Chen quickly set aside the many unexpected turns. He felt no particular tension at the prospect of meeting an Immortal King. After all, the Heavenly Emperor himself had said the man's secrets could not be seen through, and Ye Chen did not believe some random Immortal King of the Other Domain could pierce his own. Since he had come, he would make the best of it.

After entering the War God Academy and passing through the immortal mists, it was as though they had stepped into another magnificent world. Every plant was an immortal herb streaming endless immortal radiance. Ancient trees soared skyward, some already possessing spiritual intelligence and radiating the aura of True Immortals.

Immortal medicines filled the air with an extraordinary fragrance. Immortal beasts and spirit birds soared about. Divine springs flowed among the surrounding immortal peaks, and the concentration of immortal energy was more than a hundred times denser than outside. That alone surpassed any force of the Immortal Realm.

No sooner had Ye Chen entered the War God Academy than the system's notifications began sounding with far greater frequency. He was forced to raise the prompt multiplier to two hundred thousand times before the noise became somewhat bearable, yet the alerts still rang out from time to time. In that moment, Ye Chen felt a deep sense of belonging toward the War God Academy.

Chapter 1268: The Other Domain Is Too Competitive!

Because Ye Chen had drawn an Immortal King's attention and might one day become that king's personal disciple, the gate elder treated him with marked friendliness and began explaining the inner workings of the War God Academy.

"As you know, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths never lack prodigies. Even the academy's core disciples are often overflowing. Core disciples are divided into sequences according to their cultivation realm. Since you are currently at the Golden Immortal stage, you belong to the Golden Immortal sequence.

"Only by breaking through to the Great Luo realm before the age of two thousand can you retain your core disciple status. For those at the Great Luo stage, they must reach the Ancestral Immortal realm within three thousand years. There are further requirements after that. Fall behind, and you are demoted to an inner-sect disciple or simply leave the academy and return home.

"With so many prodigies, resources cannot be shared by all. Rankings and background decide everything. Two years from now a secret realm will open containing ten Multiverse Great Luo Dao Fruits. Only a thousand people may enter at a time, and both Golden Immortal and Great Luo core disciples covet the places.

"The quotas are nowhere near enough. Aside from the few held by Immortal Kings, the rest must be contested through tournament rankings, special contributions, and the like. Competition inside the War God Academy is therefore extremely fierce. Stand still, and you fall behind.

"To be honest, the competition grows fiercer year after year. Looking back on my own Golden Immortal days, entering a secret realm was not nearly so difficult. There are simply more and more prodigies now. Your talent is exceptional, yet even if you become an Immortal King's disciple, you must still strive hard."

The gate elder laid out the academy's internal ecosystem in detail. Ye Chen listened and raised an eyebrow. So the Other Domain had even more prodigies and had simply gone full involution? They were outstanding, yet still this competitive. No wonder the Immortal Realm could not match them.

This was already the second time Ye Chen had heard the term Multiverse Great Luo Dao Fruit. He could not help asking, "I know what a Great Luo Dao Fruit is, but what exactly is a Multiverse Great Luo Dao Fruit?"

The moment the words left his mouth, the gate elder's expression turned to surprise, his eyes carrying a probing look.

Ye Chen raised a brow. Had he asked something so basic that the man now suspected him?

The next instant, the elder seemed to understand. "I forgot you come from the Nineteenth Realm. Coming from a place like that, it is only natural you would not know. No one can blame you. Once you become an Immortal King's disciple, you will no longer be like this."

Ye Chen noticed the pity still lingering in the elder's gaze and felt the corner of his mouth twitch. What exactly was wrong with the Nineteenth Realm? The discriminatory attitude was far too obvious. If he were to say he had come from the Immortal Realm, would the man not immediately spray disinfectant into the air?

Fortunately, the gate elder continued. "As you know, our Nine Heavens and Ten Earths are the fusion of many worlds. The Great Luo laws of different worlds are not entirely the same. An ordinary Great Luo Dao Fruit contains only the Great Luo laws of a single realm.

"A Multiverse Great Luo Dao Fruit, however, is a special product of our Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, something newly deduced through the combined efforts of many great experts. Cultivated within special secret realms, it gathers the Great Luo laws of the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, along with those that were shattered and merged into the origin.

"In the end, it produces a Dao Fruit containing the same type of Great Luo law from multiple realms. The quantity is unstable. Some contain more than seventy strands; others only three or five. Yet producing ten every thousand years is already astonishing. That is the Multiverse Great Luo Dao Fruit.

"Moreover, I have heard that once the campaign against the Immortal Realm ends, the academy plans to use the world origin of the Immortal Realm and have the Immortal Kings who guard the academy open another secret realm for cultivating Multiverse Great Luo Dao Fruits. After several great calamities, the dead are many, resources have become more concentrated, and our days grow better and better."

Toward the end, the gate elder seemed to recall something and stopped speaking. For the Other Domain as a whole, the great calamities had been a process of discarding the weak and refining the strong, concentrating resources, reducing waste, and producing more geniuses.

The problem was that the lower the realm, the greater the death toll. Rumor held that after several great calamities, the Nineteenth Realm had been left with only one percent of its original population, a slaughter of the most extreme degree. Since Ye Chen came from the Nineteenth Realm, people close to him had most likely died. It was better not to mention the matter.

Ye Chen had no idea what the gate elder was privately imagining. Listening to the introduction, he revealed a smile of genuine interest. So that was what "multiverse" meant. Its efficacy was certainly superior to an ordinary Great Luo Dao Fruit, yet it could not begin to compare with his own Mixed Origin Great Luo Dao Fruits.

Still, a full ten of them made his eyes light up. If he obtained them all and offered them, he would soar in a single leap. At the very least, it would be enough to gather the three thousand Mixed Origin Great Luo Dao Fruits he needed.

At that thought, Ye Chen's mood improved. As for the secret-realm quotas supposedly being fiercely contested, it was no great problem. With his strength and talent, and resources if necessary, securing a single place would certainly not be difficult. He asked nothing further.

Although he was not from the Nineteenth Realm, the gate elder's faintly discriminatory manner, which the man clearly believed he was concealing well, made it hard for Ye Chen to keep a straight face. Speaking too much with someone like that only invited sensitivity. Better to figure things out slowly on his own later.

The two of them flew onward, crossing successive immortal mountains and formations.

The gate elder pointed to either side of the peaks and explained, "The interior of the War God Academy is simply too vast, so miniature short-range teleportation arrays have been set up all around. They can send you wherever you wish to go. They are more stable, faster, and respond more quickly. This counts as new technology from a hundred thousand years ago and has probably not yet reached your Nineteenth Realm. It is only natural that you would not know how to use it. I will teach you later."

Ye Chen's face darkened.

Thanks a lot, old man. Could you just stop talking?

Amid the gate elder's endless chatter, they finally arrived before an immortal mountain. The elder looked up toward the heavens with reverence in his eyes. "This is where Immortal King Tuoba's dharma body resides. Immortal King Tuoba has an excellent temper. When he occasionally offers guidance to disciples, he holds nothing back.

"Unfortunately, the several personal disciples he previously accespted all failed to go far and were eliminated in the competition. As a result, Immortal King Tuoba's ranking among the guardian Immortal Kings has declined, and the resources he can mobilize grow fewer and fewer.

"It is said that even the portion of resources the academy can allocate to an Immortal King carries enormous significance for them, touching upon the Great Dao itself. You must work hard and seize this opportunity."

Ye Chen was speechless. Even Immortal Kings had their work performance evaluated? They even had rankings? The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths truly were competitive from top to bottom. Compared with them, the Immortal Kings of the Immortal Realm were far too idle.