Chapter 109: Ancient Nine Ranks, Ten-Thousand-Li Lei Chi! A Gathering of Geniuses!

"The Earthfire Plains are just ahead." Zhao Xing activated his Bright Eyes technique and looked into the distance; he could see some green vegetation appearing up ahead.

"I've cast the Rending Earth technique three times. This path across the Earthfire Plains should hold up those behind us for quite a while—no one's going to catch up anytime soon."

Zhao Xing also breathed a sigh of relief. After running out of the Earthfire Plains, he immediately found a shady spot to rest.

He didn't ride the clouds, mainly because the Three Suns Overhead had now reached the time of its greatest power.

Even the Yellow Calendar issued a minor ill omen: 【The Three Suns return to their proper place; clouds cannot gather, rain cannot fall.】

"At this hour, forget summoning rain—even gathering clouds is hard."

Although Zhao Xing practiced the Cloud-Swallowing Art and could absorb water-element force to the greatest extent, at this moment the water-element force was not manifest. No matter how well he could absorb, having none to absorb was Bai Da.

"I wonder if there's anyone ahead of me."

When entering through the Dahu entrance, the angle of piercing the boundary wall could be slightly off, which might cause the actual landing point to differ greatly.

Zhao Xing made a judgment: his own route from the Earthfire Plains to the Agricultural Monitoring Office was relatively close, but there might well be someone even closer.

"Forget it, no point overthinking. It's only ten thousand points—better not get hurt." Zhao Xing was somewhat tempted to push forward under the Three Suns Overhead, but he still had to repay the Dao he borrowed from True Lord Lihuo.

If he got injured—for instance, broke a leg—that would be real trouble.

"Repaying the Dao within a month is best. Within three months, there's an impact. Beyond half a year, it becomes torment—constantly targeted by the fire-element force between heaven and earth, as if standing inside a furnace."

Unless absolutely necessary, in a rush to travel, truly no one would choose to borrow True Lord Lihuo's Dao.

If a year passes without repaying the Dao, you'd simply drop dead on the spot!

As for other Dao Academies, they have similar methods, with even greater costs.

If it really came to that, unless an Academy Head-level figure was willing to step in and take one as a true disciple, which could temporarily delay the repayment, one would still have to go repay the Dao afterward to clear it.

Or one might possess a supreme treasure, or receive an imperial edict from the Son of Heaven.

The Son of Heaven is an invincible existence under the Qi-Dynasty model; a sacred edict could of course exempt one from repaying the Dao.

Still, these methods are just talk—obtaining them is harder than repaying the Dao itself.

After resting a while, his vitality slowly recovered.

Gathering Yuan to absorb the world's Yuan qi generally involves inhaling and exhaling gentle Yuan qi.

Now the world's Yuan qi was mixed with scorching fire-element force, making it somewhat difficult to absorb through Gathering Yuan.

Fortunately, he had taken the Giant Whale Pill, and his physique had grown much stronger.

His Life Soul had also reached Ninth Rank, middle period. The Life Soul determines the endurance capacity of the Seven Spirits.

Thus Zhao Xing could also slowly recover in this harsh environment.

"According to the ancient cultivation system: Ninth Rank Gathering Yuan, Eighth Rank Spirit Bridge, Seventh Rank Earth Sha, Sixth Rank Heaven Gang, Fifth Rank Pure Yuan, Fourth Rank Yuan Spirit, Third Rank Yuan Soul, Second Rank Heaven Fortune, First Rank Fate Palace."

"Reaching the Spirit Bridge realm, one builds a bridge between body and heaven and earth; Yuan qi absorption speed greatly increases, and the efficiency of purifying Yuan qi is also greatly enhanced."

"After that, one can borrow earth veins to train Sha, borrow stars to train Gang, further strengthening the physique. Reaching Fifth Rank, the Yuan qi absorbed within can be called Pure Yuan, and the body will also display miraculous qualities."

"Fourth Rank Yuan Spirit—nurturing the Seven Spirits with Pure Yuan qi. Third Rank Yuan Soul—the Seven Spirits are nurtured, and the Life Soul grows accordingly, able to frequently commune with the Heaven Soul and Earth Soul, and begin to perceive one's own fate."

"Second Rank Heaven Fortune—one begins to find ways to strengthen one's fortune, seeking places of spiritual excellence between heaven and earth for quiet cultivation to enhance it. Cultivators at this realm all begin searching for grotto-heavens and blessed lands for quiet cultivation."

"First Rank Fate Palace—one begins to cultivate fate, knows how long one can live, and thus begins to build a Fate Palace to protect all Three Souls, attempting to change one's destiny."

While recovering his vitality, Zhao Xing also sorted through familiar information in his mind: "The difference between the ancient system and the Qi-Dynasty system is that the Qi Dynasty wedged itself in, wanting to 'act on Heaven's behalf.'"

"Whether it's Gathering Yuan, Spirit Bridge, Earth Sha, Heaven Gang, or Pure Yuan, the dynasty's Qi can easily help one complete this process. Reaching Pure Yuan isn't hard, but after that one must cooperate with external objects—the court bestows grotto-heavens and blessed lands upon officials for cultivation, and finally helps forge the Fate Palace."

"If the Fate Palace is formed, one can live eight hundred years. But most officials cannot live eight hundred—the Qi Dynasty doesn't cultivate officials for nothing. It cultivates people, but also uses them. Those who reach First Rank Fate Palace have earned it through life-and-death struggles, and this process itself causes some loss of lifespan."

Zhao Xing's demands under Emperor Jing's court weren't high—being able to muddle along to Fifth Rank Pure Yuan would be enough. Emperor Jing was too stingy; under him, climbing above Fifth Rank was harder than in any other period.

He was greatly influenced by Zhou Gong of the Taizu era. Zhou Gong's "Do not force the hundred officials, nor force the common people" was understood by Emperor Jing as "Make things hard for both officials and noble families."

For a prestigious local clan like the Zong family, to obtain even a minor Ninth Rank official post, going through connections and pulling strings would cost half their family fortune.

"Buzz~"

Just then, the Yellow Calendar in Zhao Xing's arms trembled lightly.

It showed that one of the suns in the Three Suns Overhead had begun to deviate from its proper position.

"I can continue on my way."

Zhao Xing took out his map and began carefully comparing directions.

"From the Earthfire Plains to the Agricultural Monitoring Office, there are three routes."

"First is crossing the 【Gang Wind Mountain Range】. As the name suggests, the Gang Wind Mountain Range has fierce Gang winds blocking the way. Setting this route also serves as a test of the reserve Agricultural officials' mastery of wind techniques."

"Second is passing through 【Lei Chi】. A ten-thousand-li thunder region with terrifying thunderclouds that never disperse year-round. Only at the level of Seven Suns Overhead do they thin and fade; only at Ten Suns Overhead do they completely dissipate."

"Third is following the 【Heavenly Fire Path】. The Heavenly Fire Path is a stretch of craters formed by meteorite impacts, arranged with extreme regularity—the meteorite craters spread across the land like linked rings."

"Of the three routes, Lei Chi and the Gang Wind Mountain Range are closest; the Heavenly Fire Path is a bit farther. Of course, I could also follow the Earthfire Plains for another half day and take a detour via another route, but the total distance would be over three times longer."

Zhao Xing, carrying his bamboo-text case on his back, walked forward. He still didn't know his exact position on the Earthfire Plains—he'd have to walk a bit and see.

"If my Bright Eyes technique sees mountains in the distance, that proves I'm closer to the Gang Wind Mountain Range."

"If I see thunderclouds first, that proves I'm closer to Lei Chi."

"Best to go through Lei Chi—after all, I practice the Cloud-Swallowing Art. As for the Gang Wind Mountain Range, I only know mid-level Yin Wind; I haven't had time to learn Yang Wind yet—I'm only at initial-stage perfection."

Since he needed to observe the terrain, and the Three Suns Overhead's power was still present, using techniques to aid travel consumed too much. It was better to simply run forward on his own physical strength. And so Zhao Xing ran with his bamboo-text case on his back.

With every step, Zhao Xing could feel the Lihuo Dao wrapped around him weaken a little—though every li he walked reminded him of it.

After walking ten li, the rate at which the Lihuo Dao weakened was twice as fast as expected.

"Traveling under load can speed up repaying the Dao—True Lord Lihuo isn't inflexible after all." Zhao Xing smiled lightly. The original intent of this rule was to make people feel weary, so they wouldn't lightly disturb the Lihuo Dao Academy by borrowing the divine altar's fire pit. Running with a load doubles the weariness, so naturally the Dao-repayment speed increases accordingly.

Just as Zhao Xing was running forward, looking for the next zone.

Behind him, at the second Earthfire isolation belt on the Earthfire Plains, over a hundred people had already gathered.

"Hot! Hot as hell!"

"Who the hell cast a technique here? It's downright insane!"

"Don't let me find out who it was, or I'll have to beat the hell out of him!"

"Infuriating! Is the current level of fury in the Earthfire Plain even normal anymore? My damn eyebrows are gone!"

"Buddy, you're lucky you only lost your eyebrows. Over there are a dozen or so bald men and scabby ones."

"..."

"Water, water... which brother brought water, could you spare me a sip? Good people are blessed with a lifetime of peace." Ouyang Song weakly threaded through the crowd, begging for a drink of water.

His lips were now cracked, his hall of impression flushed red, his eyes bloodshot—he had already been invaded by fire-qi internally. It could no longer be called simply heavy fire-qi; it had reached the point of fire poison forming within his body.

"Sorry, I don't have water."

"Get lost! You want to drink, I want to drink too!"

"Hmph, disgraceful—the Army Agronomist is short of water?"

"Without that kind of strength, why come to the Earthfire Plain?"

"Big brother, if you scrounge up some water, share a bit with me too."

"..."

Ouyang Song was so exhausted he lay flat on the ground, completely unwilling to speak.

He gazed at the three suns hanging in the sky; the pride he'd felt upon first entering had utterly vanished.

Back at Wupan Mountain, wherever he went he was held in high regard, and everyone he met greeted him with a smiling face.

From his youth, he had performed outstandingly. After joining the Wupan Army, the highest praise he heard was "genius."

Especially after being selected by the Zhenhai Army, he was full of pride and ambition. Before departure, his family held a banquet for seven days to celebrate—because he was only twenty-six this year and had already obtained such an opportunity. What glory was that?

But now, Ouyang Song had not a shred of pride left.

There were several hundred geniuses like him here, and most were stronger than him.

Though everyone was being scorched by the three suns overhead, at least half the people here could still stand without succumbing to fire poison.

"What kind of damn genius am I..." Ouyang Song muttered to himself on the ground. Right now he desperately longed for a cup of water placed before him.

"Gulp~" Ouyang Song's throat swallowed, his gaze gradually focusing, because he had actually gotten a cup of water.

Though it was little, it was enough to restore some of his senses.

"Th-thank you." Ouyang Song looked at a young man before him and rose to bow.

"No need for courtesy. I'm Wei Chen, also selected by the Zhenhai Army to participate in the training."

"Many thanks, Brother Wei. I'm Ouyang Song."

"You already said that." Wei Chen helped Ouyang Song up and gave him another big mouthful of water. "I just got here—do you know what's going on?"

The clear water entered his body, and Ouyang Song seized the chance to suppress the fire-qi. His voice gained some strength: "I don't know who went ahead, but whoever it was, not only did they go, they also cast a spell at a weak point of the Earthfire Plain to destroy it. I can't tell what spell that person used."

"It should be the Five-Element Earth-Splitting Art." Wei Chen scanned ahead. "A single fire-element earth-splitting couldn't possibly cause this much destruction, unless that person's fire-element earth-splitting art is perfected, or even broken through its shackles to advance further."

"How can you tell?" Ouyang Song was taken aback.

"Because fire-element is already excessive here." Wei Chen explained, "When it reaches the extreme, adding even a bit more fire-element force after casting a spell couldn't possibly trigger the ley lines to erupt again."

"So under these circumstances, the Five-Element Earth-Splitting Art is even more powerful—it plundered the scarce remaining four elements from the ley lines as fuel to feed the ley line's fire, which is how it achieved this oil-on-fire effect."

"I see." Ouyang Song put on a look of sudden understanding, though he hadn't fully grasped it. Because he had never practiced the Earth-Splitting Art, nor was he from the Dili Sect. Of the Dili Sect's arts, he had only cultivated the Ley Line Comprehensive Origin and King Di Zang's Return to Origin.

But he knew one thing—this Wei Chen was likely far stronger than him.

Even stronger than that Zhuo Li he'd encountered before.

"Brother Wei is truly a genius. You're certain to secure a post in the Zhenhai Army."

Wei Chen shook his head: "Brother Ouyang, you flatter me. As for passing this training, I do have some confidence, but the name of genius truly cannot be borne—those stronger than me are many."

"How many?" Ouyang Song, being the simple-minded sort, just asked straight out.

Wei Chen thought and said: "As far as I know, those stronger than me number at least twenty or thirty, mostly geniuses selected by the Tiger Flood Dragon Army."

"Next come the Blazing Sun Army and the Mystic Armor Army."

"I was selected from the Night Owl Army of the Pacify-Barbarians Corps. When the Tiger Flood Dragon Army was picking people everywhere, they also came to my area. I saw the geniuses they had selected from other places—their selection method was rather unusual."

"How unusual?" Ouyang Song asked.

"They began screening during the selection phase. At each stop, they had the already-chosen geniuses fight the local army's geniuses. Winners entered the training roster; losers were eliminated and sent back."

Wei Chen sighed: "Don't laugh at me, brother. At the time, the Commandant of the Tiger Flood Dragon Army was kind enough to give us face, letting me pick any four opponents freely—as long as I drew even one match, I could enter. My opponents were all Ninth Rank like me, and I lost all four bouts."

"What?!" Ouyang Song was shocked. He felt Wei Chen was already very strong—after all, an Army Agronomist's breadth of knowledge could reveal certain things, yet Wei Chen had arrived here completely fine and could even chat casually with him.

He hadn't expected Wei Chen to say there were those of the same rank stronger than him.

"Brother Wei, do you know..."

"Enough talk, Brother Ouyang. The three suns have shifted from their zenith—the timing is rare. I must go! Farewell!" Wei Chen stepped on rising clouds, wind arts clearing the path, actually suppressing the pillars of erupting earth-fire, and leaped nearly a hundred meters in a single bound, landing on the far side.

Once again the words were left unfinished, but Ouyang Song was not annoyed. He merely stared blankly at Wei Chen's departing figure and cupped his hands in salute: "Many thanks."

"Boom-crack!"

Thunder sounds carried on the wind. Zhao Xing stood on a hillock and gazed into the distance.

He saw a black line suspended at the horizon, stretching endlessly, with virtually no end in sight.

"That's the Ten-Thousand-Li Lei Chi. Fortunately it's only ten thousand li horizontally; lengthwise I only need to cross about ten li." Zhao Xing gazed at the terrifying thunder clouds.

At this moment the three suns were gradually shifting from their zenith—the timing was rare. Zhao Xing immediately deployed wind arts, stepped on rising clouds, and charged toward the thunder clouds.

The sky gradually darkened. Just as he was about to enter the thunder cloud zone, he noticed seven or eight figures on either side also rushing toward the thunder cloud zone.

"So many experts—there's actually this many people who've already reached the Ten-Thousand-Li Lei Chi, and they're all racing for the timing and terrain."

"Clearly they know the three suns shifting from their zenith will affect the Lei Chi. Second, they've discovered that the thunder clouds in this section are thinner." Zhao Xing glanced sideways at his surroundings. He could see that all these people's target was the valley ahead.

Zhao Xing knew contention was unavoidable and immediately increased his wind force; the clouds beneath his feet grew denser.

But the moment he sped up, the people on either side seemed to hear a starting gun and began racing madly as well.

Some had even deployed cloud-travel ahead of time—their targets were crystal clear: to seize control.

"My mid-tier wind art is Yin Wind, which is only at the beginner level of Rising Wind when used for travel, so I'll be slower than them—I'm afraid they'll catch up to me quickly." Zhao Xing immediately assessed the situation; this was also why he had chosen to take the Ten Thousand Li Lei Chi route. Of the mid-tier wind arts, Yin Wind and Yang Wind, he had only learned Yin Wind and hadn't had time to learn the Yang Wind method.

"First strike wins!" Zhao Xing watched as the fifteen people to his left and right began veering toward him. Even if he went all-out, he couldn't shake them off, so he immediately chose to strike first.