Chapter 518 - 300: Holy Land

Chapter 518: Chapter 300: Holy Land

The massive city lay like a slumbering giant dragon, its endless walls stretching as far as the eye could see.

Ahead, mist rolled over countless mountains and valleys. Numerous manors nestled among the peaks. Giant beasts roared intermittently, and occasionally, Exotic Beasts and fierce birds carrying riders soared into the sky.

An abundant rush of Spiritual Qi hit their faces, bringing everyone a wave of profound comfort—like fish returning to water after being stranded on the shore for far too long.

"Cultivating in a place like this, even without using Spirit Medicine and just absorbing Spiritual Qi from heaven and earth, would be at least twice as fast as back at the Purple Sun Sect."

Everyone was deeply shaken. No wonder any family with a modicum of power in Fufeng County sent their geniuses away. The cultivation environment here was utterly incomparable to Fufeng County. The title of Martial Arts Holy Land was not just an empty boast; it truly lived up to its name.

They had to stay here. No matter what, they had to stay!

Even if they failed to enter the Celestial Strategy Academy, merely living here would be better than returning to Fufeng County.

This thought bloomed in everyone’s mind. There was even a rather absurd feeling that they would rather be beggars here than return home.

As the group continued forward, the immense scale of the megacity became even more apparent. The dark city walls stood dozens of feet tall, exuding a daunting, heart-palpitating aura.

Countless waterways crisscrossed the area, teeming with a dense fleet of ships transporting various goods in and out of the city.

Streams of people converging from all directions packed the wide official roads. Some rode Divine Steeds like them, while others outright rode Exotic Beasts.

Xu Yang and the others even spotted a fierce tiger with an aura at the Celestial Essence Realm being ridden as a mount. Wherever it passed, pedestrians hurriedly made way.

"A Celestial Essence Beast as a mount?" Zhang Hanzhou gasped.

In a place like Cyan Yang City, an Exotic Beast of this caliber would be enshrined as a clan’s guardian divine beast. Yet here, it was reduced to a mere mount.

Take Lu Tianchen’s giant eagle back at the Purple Sun Sect, for instance—it was practically the ancestor of the entire Beast King Peak. Typically, at least four or five disciples had to serve it in shifts day and night.

The rider on the giant tiger seemed to have heard Zhang Hanzhou. A cold, indifferent gaze immediately swept over them.

Instantly, everyone nearby felt a terrifying pressure. Cold sweat broke out on Zhang Hanzhou’s forehead. Fortunately, the rider didn’t make an issue of it and quickly withdrew his gaze.

"This is Yunzhou City. Experts emerge in droves, and the strong are everywhere. Watch your mouths and don’t blindly judge others," Yue Zhong snorted coldly.

"Put away your pride. In Fufeng County, Celestial Essence Cultivation allows you to walk unhindered, but not here.

"This is the center of the entire Yun Province, a Martial Arts Holy Land. It has gathered the most stunning geniuses and the most powerful clans of the province from the past several centuries. The waters here are unfathomably deep. Various factions intertwine in the open and in the shadows, and old monsters are countless.

"If you want to survive here, you must tread carefully with every step."

Zhang Hanzhou’s expression changed drastically. The geniuses and prodigies born in Yun Province over hundreds of years were all here. Heaven knew how many terrifying experts roamed these streets.

A Spirit Bone Celestial Pride who had cultivated for hundreds of years... just the thought of it made one shudder. Moreover, there were probably quite a few people like that.

Xu Yang wore a grave expression. He would have to be even more careful here.

Following the crowd, the group soon arrived beneath the city walls. The dark surface was carved with dense, mysterious runes. Xu Yang sensed them carefully and discovered they were emitting strange fluctuations, drawing upon faint traces of the Power of Heaven and Earth.

Upon entering Yunzhou City, their vision abruptly opened up. The streets were wide enough to accommodate seven or eight carriages side by side. Various buildings featured carved beams, painted rafters, flying eaves, bracket sets, and brilliant, vivid colors.

Most of the people walking on the streets had cultivation. They were either Qi Gathering or Gang Qi Martial Artists, and Celestial Essence Martial Artists were not in the minority either. Ordinary people no longer dominated the demographics; it felt as if they had entered a world exclusive to Martial Artists.

Various peddlers’ cries rose from all sides. Riders on Exotic Beasts were even more common here. Compared to Qingyuan County, where he had grown up, this was simply a different world. Assorted ferocious, never-before-seen Exotic Beasts frequently walked past, causing their group to stare like a bunch of country bumpkins.

Most of the shops lining the streets were related to Martial Artists—either medicine shops, weapons stores, or Martial Arts Halls. Xu Yang even spotted a bookstore selling Cultivation Techniques.

One had to know that in a place like Fufeng County, a Cultivation Technique—even just a Qi Gathering one—could only be bought at auctions.

In Cyan Yang City, a single Cultivation Technique was a family heirloom capable of establishing an entire Martial Arts Clan; it wouldn’t be traded for ten thousand gold pieces. But here, you could buy one as long as you had the money.

He also saw shops specifically selling Exotic Beast mounts. Even the avian mounts he had been longing for were sold in several of them. It seemed that as long as you had the coin, you could buy absolutely anything here.

"It is getting late today. We will head to Dragon Ascending Street first and register at the Celestial Strategy Academy tomorrow." After Yue Zhong and Huang You discussed it, they decided to put off the Academy until the next day.

Yunzhou City was terrifyingly massive. Unable to gallop on their horses, the group walked for several hours from one end to the other before finally arriving at the so-called Dragon Ascending Street.

This place was actually the residential area for disciples of various sects whenever the Dragon Ascension occurred. Countless courtyards of varying sizes flanked the street, with each sect owning its own property.

When Xu Yang and the others arrived, they frequently saw young Celestial Essence Martial Artists like themselves on the street, each possessing profound auras and the sturdy builds of bulls.

The Purple Sun Sect’s courtyard was not large—in fact, it was on the smaller side among the many properties—but accommodating fifteen to twenty people was still no problem.

Usually, Purple Sun Sect disciples were stationed here to maintain the courtyard. Strictly speaking, it was actually the sect’s office in Yunzhou City.

By the time rooms were assigned and dinner was eaten, the moon was already hanging over the tree branches. Having traveled for consecutive days while still finding time to cultivate, Xu Yang felt rather fatigued. He went to bed and immediately fell asleep.

[Arrived at Yunzhou City, Points +10]

[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 1413]

The next day, Xu Yang woke up and casually dismissed his panel after a brief glance. His journey to Yun Province had been judged by the panel as beneficial to his Martial Arts Longevity, rewarding him with ten points every day recently.

After washing up, the well-rested group, led by Bai Shaoling and Yue Zhong, met up with the people from Yellow Maple Valley. Together, they exited Dragon Ascending Street and hurried toward the Celestial Strategy Academy.

The Celestial Strategy Academy was located outside Yunzhou City, close to Dragon Ascending Street.

Once out of the city, the group quickened their pace. In just fifteen minutes, they saw the grand and imposing mountain gate of the Celestial Strategy Academy.

The entire gate was forged from an unknown material, carved with runes similar to those on the city walls, and exuded a faint Spirituality.

As the group arrived at the foot of the gate, a majestic pressure washed over them, involuntarily giving rise to a sense of awe. The four vigorous and powerful characters for "Celestial Strategy Academy" were written with sweeping, bold strokes, sharp as sword blades.

Perhaps due to the large number of applicants, there were no guards stationed at the mountain gate, allowing free entry and exit.

Entering the gate, the group found a staircase entirely paved with white jade leading straight to the mountain peak.

Both sides of the stairs were overgrown with bizarre pines, ancient trees, and various exotic flowers and rare herbs.

Everyone was moved. As expected of the Celestial Strategy Academy, the value of this staircase alone was indescribable.

Ascending the stairs, a massive plaza, also paved with white jade, soon came into view. Enormous palaces stood directly ahead, as well as on the left and right.

Stepping into the plaza, Xu Yang noticed that the Spiritual Qi here was even richer than inside Yunzhou City.

Looking up past the palaces, one could see Exotic Beasts, fierce birds, and Celestial Essence Martial Artists occasionally flying through the sky. A long queue had already formed in front of the main palace straight ahead.

"You all go line up. Lu Ren, come with me!" Yue Zhong separated from the crowd, leading Lu Ren into the palace on the right until they disappeared from sight.

Xu Yang and the others quickly stepped forward and took their places at the back of the line.

Since they had arrived somewhat late, they ended up standing there for several hours. It wasn’t until the afternoon that it was finally their turn to enter the main hall to register.

Zhang Hanzhou was the first from the Purple Sun Sect to step forward. He took out his Purple Sun Sect disciple Waist Token and walked in. "Fufeng County’s Purple Sun Sect disciple Zhang Hanzhou greets Senior."

The person in charge of registration at the Celestial Strategy Academy didn’t even look up. He simply took Zhang Hanzhou’s token to record his basic information. After asking about his age, cultivation, origin, and the age at which he began practicing martial arts, the man pointed to an iron pillar covered in runes on the table. "Input a wisp of Gang Yuan."

Zhang Hanzhou nodded, placed his hand on the pillar, and channeled a wisp of Gang Yuan into it.

Xu Yang watched as a row of marks on the iron pillar lit up with the influx of Gang Yuan. It was exactly twenty-seven marks—neither more nor less—perfectly matching Zhang Hanzhou’s age.

"So this is the method for testing bone age," Xu Yang thought.

The Academy staff member glanced at the marks, reached into a nearby box, and handed Zhang Hanzhou a jade plaque. "This is your credential for participating in the selection. Do not lose it. Losing it means disqualification."

"Understood!"

Zhang Hanzhou solemnly tucked the jade plaque away and stepped back. Ye Qiuling walked in, following the same procedure.

However, Xu Yang noticed that when Ye Qiuling channeled her Gang Yuan into the bone age-testing iron pillar, the light that flared was different from Zhang Hanzhou’s.

The third was Qi Xuancheng. When he input his Gang Yuan, the light was very similar to Ye Qiuling’s.

The fourth to enter was Li Chuyang. He clearly knew the examiner; upon entering, he cupped his hands and called out, "Uncle An."

Then, Xu Yang and the others watched as this man surnamed An asked Li Chuyang no questions whatsoever, nor did he make him test his bone age with Gang Yuan. He simply tossed a plaque to Li Chuyang, and it was done.

Next were Sun Tao and Jiang Fan, and finally, Xu Yang.

Xu Yang stepped forward. Handing over his Waist Token, he cupped his hands and said, "Purple Sun Sect disciple Xu Yang greets Senior."

The man ignored his greeting, taking the Waist Token to inspect it without looking up, then briskly scribbling Xu Yang’s name in the registry.

"Origin?"

"Qingyuan County!"

"Age you started martial arts?"

"Eighteen!"

"Cultivation level?"

"Celestial Essence First Layer!"

"Current age?"

"Twenty-six!"

As if hearing something utterly inconceivable, the man finally lifted his head. He looked Xu Yang up and down in astonishment before chuckling. "You’ve trained your appearance-retaining techniques quite well, kid."