Chapter 331: The Theory of Super-Rank

The Imperial Palace Hall.

Just as Lord Kong had said, the moment Lin Chen stepped into the hall, he felt three gazes fall upon him.

On the left and right sides of the hall sat three old men.

In an instant, Lin Chen felt a weight of ten thousand jun pressing down on his whole body. The three gazes were like tangible mountains, making his breathing uncontrollably rapid.

The Qi and blood that had been circulating smoothly in his body suddenly stagnated, as if a river frozen by mysterious ice. Even from the depths of his bone marrow came a fine, stinging pain. In just an instant, cold sweat seeped from Lin Chen's forehead, and the fabric of his clothes on his back was instantly soaked.

"Break!"

Lin Chen roared in his heart. The small figure in his dantian spun frantically, golden luster seeped from his pores, and his Martial Will supported him in resisting this terrifying pressure, keeping his posture straight so he wouldn't be crushed.

"That's enough from the three of you!"

Kong Qifeng's voice entered Lin Chen's ears. The next moment, Lin Chen discovered that the pressure on his body had suddenly disappeared, and the gazes of the three old men at the front had returned to gentleness.

"Lin Lin Shixiong Kong, don't be angry. Although Lin Chen is a disciple of the Wuzheng Force, he is also a citizen of our Daliang. In terms of love and care, the three of us are not behind you, Lin Lin Shixiong Kong."

The old man on the left said with a smile. The next moment, a jade box appeared in his hand, and with a flick of his finger, the jade box floated toward him.

"Lin Chen, this is an apology from me. Don't blame me in your heart."

Lin Chen took it and hurriedly said: "This disciple wouldn't dare."

"Not daring to blame him, that means you dare to blame the two of us."

Another old man on the side also said with a smile. Without waiting for Lin Chen to answer, he also flicked a jade box over.

When the third old man also threw over a jade box, Lin Chen couldn't help but mutter in his heart that he wouldn't be dissatisfied with such probing; he wished it would happen more often.

However, he also understood that this was the three lords using the act of probing to give him a welcoming gift in the form of an apology.

"That's more like it."

Kong Qifeng stroked his beard and introduced them to Lin Chen: "Those two on the left and right are the Left and Right Prime Ministers of the current dynasty, and the one in the middle is the Minister of the Military Department."

After hearing Lord Kong's introduction, Lin Chen felt emotional in his heart. These three were the top bigwigs of the entire Daliang, existences who would make Daliang tremble if they stomped their feet.

"This disciple greets the three lords."

Lin Chen bowed, and the three old men all stroked their beards and smiled. The military bigwig smiled and said: "Lin Chen, with your current strength, staying in the Canglan Wu Yuan will probably not improve your strength much. Would you be willing to come to my Military Department?"

Lin Chen was silent and did not answer.

"Lin Lin Shixiong Zhao, you are being too impatient, poaching people right in front of Lord Kong." The Left Prime Minister said with a smile: "Lin Chen, the Military Department is full of rough men. If you leave the Canglan Wu Yuan, you can come to our Daliang Martial Arts Academy. The Martial Arts Academy is the central hall of our Daliang's martial arts, containing tens of thousands of martial arts techniques of our Daliang. Others who want to enter the Martial Arts Academy can only do so through the martial arts examination, and only the top twenty in the martial arts examination are qualified to enter. For you, I can make an exception and recruit you."

"The Martial Arts Academy is full of people studying martial arts; how can theory compare to actual combat? The Military Department is more suitable for Lin Chen."

Hearing the two bigwigs arguing over him, Lin Chen could only choose to remain silent, his gaze looking toward Lord Kong.

"Don't pay attention to them; just go see His Majesty."

Kong Qifeng patted Lin Chen on the shoulder and ordered the guards at the hall gate: "Take Lin Chen to see His Majesty."

"Young Master Lin, please follow me."

The guard at the gate agreed and looked at Lin Chen curiously. This was the first time they had seen several lords actively competing for one person, but thinking of the records he had set, they didn't feel shocked.

Lin Chen walked out of the hall, his figure disappearing into the corridor. The smiles on the faces of the three old men vanished, and they all became serious.

"Spies from the Han Kingdom have sent news that the Han Kingdom's army has already begun to assemble at the border."

The Left Prime Minister said, and Kong Qifeng's old eyes narrowed slightly: "What about the Zheng Kingdom and the Xiang Kingdom?"

"The Zheng Kingdom is also beginning to assemble, especially the demon races within the Zheng Kingdom. Conversely, there has been no movement from the Xiang Kingdom so far."

Daliang had spies in other countries, and other countries had them in Daliang as well. The mobilization of a country's army certainly couldn't be hidden.

"The Zheng Kingdom follows the lead of the Han Kingdom, which is understandable. But why is the Xiang Kingdom not following the Han Kingdom's pace this time?"

"The Xiang Kingdom was never of one mind with the Han Kingdom. The reason they followed the Han Kingdom to target our Daliang in the past was only because there was profit to be made. But this time, the stunning performance of Pei Qingming and Lin Chen has made the Xiang Kingdom hesitate."

The Right Prime Minister snorted. The Xiang Kingdom was a weathercock, only doing things that were profitable.

"We still have to guard against the Xiang Kingdom; we cannot take it lightly."

The inner court of the Imperial Palace.

Led by the guards, Lin Chen passed through several palaces in the front and finally arrived at the Imperial Garden.

"Young Master Lin, His Majesty is inside. We will not go in."

"Very well."

Lin Chen nodded, stepped into the Imperial Garden, and soon saw a middle-aged man wearing a bright yellow dragon robe sitting in a pavilion in the Imperial Garden. "Disciple Lin Chen greets His Majesty." Walking to the pavilion, Lin Chen bowed.

"A young genius, a model for the commoners, no need for formalities. Come in and sit."

Emperor Liang Jing turned to look at Lin Chen: "The reason I had you come to the capital this time is that I wanted to see the number one genius of our Daliang."

"Your Majesty is too kind."

"No need to be humble; you deserve this title."

Emperor Liang Jing waved his hand and continued: "Last time, I sent Xun'er to the Canglan Wu Yuan to tell you some secrets about the Martial Dao Mountain. What is your current ranking on the Martial Dao Mountain?"

"This disciple has just entered the top 80,000." Lin Chen answered truthfully.

"At your age, being able to enter the top 80,000 on the Yan Yan Yan Huang Chao's Martial Dao Mountain is already extremely rare. Even in the Yan Yan Yan Huang Chao, you can be called a genius."

"Your Majesty, do you know about the Yan Yan Yan Huang Chao?"

Lin Chen couldn't help but ask the doubt in his heart. The Taizu Emperor came from the Yan Yan Yan Huang Chao; this was what Liang Xun had said himself. And Liang Xun had also said that the secrets of the Imperial Family were known only to His Majesty himself.

"The Yan Yan Yan Huang Chao has many regions, each region being several times the size of the Nine Kingdoms, and there are many overseas islands, countless martial arts sects... However, I know that these are not what you are curious about."

Emperor Liang Jing smiled slightly, as if he could see through Lin Chen's true thoughts, and continued: "In terms of martial arts realms, the First Rank is indeed not the end. Above the First Rank, there is the Super-Rank, which is an existence that transcends the First Rank."

"How should the Super-Rank realm be distinguished?"

Since His Majesty had seen through his thoughts, Lin Chen asked directly.

"Xiantian and Tianxiang."

"Xiantian is divided into six realms, and Tianxiang is an existence that is an overlord even in the Yan Yan Yan Huang Chao."

"The first realm of the Xiantian six realms is the Zhengang Realm. As for the following five realms, the Taizu Emperor did not mention them."

Lin Chen knew that the "Taizu Emperor" His Majesty referred to was the founding emperor. Daliang had existed for three hundred years, and the current Emperor was the fourth generation.

"Your Majesty, why can't our Nine Kingdoms region produce Xiantian powerhouses?"

Lin Chen asked the second question he cared about. Even if the number of martial arts geniuses in the Nine Kingdoms was not as high as in the Yan Yan Yan Huang Chao, there was no reason why there wasn't a single Xiantian powerhouse.

"Because we lack the resources to condense Xiantian energy."

Emperor Liang Jing gave a bitter smile: "It's not that there are no brilliant talents among the martial artists of the Nine Kingdoms, but to break through to the First Rank, one needs to gather the five elements of Xiantian energy, and it is difficult to gather Xiantian energy in the Nine Kingdoms region."

"Xiantian energy?"

Lin Chen thought of the Lingxiao energy and the Canglan energy. Did these two count as Xiantian energy?

"The Lingxiao energy of Lingxiao City is indeed Xiantian energy, and the Canglan energy of Canglan Mountain also counts, but these two energies are only one of the five elements of Xiantian energy."

Emperor Liang Jing looked at Lin Chen: "Only when the five different Xiantian energies of the five elements are gathered in one body can one step into the Xiantian realm. In fact, there is quite a lot of Xiantian energy in the entire Nine Kingdoms region, but it is precisely the water-attribute Xiantian energy that is missing."

"The Cloud Tripod Mother Tree of the Zhao Kingdom is a wood-attribute Xiantian energy, the Han Kingdom also has three types, and our Daliang also has one. Adding them all up, the Nine Kingdoms have the four attributes of metal, wood, fire, and earth, but only water is missing. This is the true reason that shackles the martial artists of the Nine Kingdoms from stepping into the Xiantian realm."

Lin Chen suddenly realized. No wonder the Nine Kingdoms had no Xiantian powerhouses beyond the First Rank.

A clever woman cannot cook without rice.

No matter how brilliant a genius is, they cannot conjure water-attribute Xiantian energy out of thin air.

"The reason I asked about your ranking on the Martial Dao Mountain earlier is that, according to the Taizu Emperor, entering the top 10,000 on the Martial Dao Mountain allows one to exchange for Xiantian energy. It's just... it is too difficult to break into the top 10,000 before the age of twenty."

Emperor Liang Jing gave a bitter smile. Even if Lin Chen had shown the potential of the number one genius of the Nine Kingdoms, he didn't believe Lin Chen could break into the top 10,000 of the Martial Dao Mountain in the next two years.

According to the notes left by the Taizu Emperor, almost everyone in the top 10,000 of the Yan Yan Yan Huang Chao's Martial Dao Mountain was at the Fourth-Rank realm, and there was no lack of Upper-Rank martial artists.

This was the gap.

However, Emperor Liang Jing didn't intend to tell Lin Chen these things, so as not to discourage Lin Chen's heart for cultivation.

However, after hearing Emperor Liang Jing's words, Lin Chen felt a bit excited. Breaking into the top 10,000 of the Martial Dao Mountain was indeed very difficult, but he wasn't without a chance. With the help of the panel, his breakthrough at the Ninth-Rank realm wouldn't be slow. As long as he entered the top 10,000, he could use his points to exchange for water-attribute Xiantian energy.

"Do you have any other questions?" Emperor Liang Jing asked Lin Chen like an elder.

"Your Majesty, regarding the origin of the Taizu Emperor..."

"Do not ask about this matter."

Emperor Liang Jing directly interrupted Lin Chen. Seeing Lin Chen's puzzled expression, he hesitated for a long while, but finally added: "The Taizu Emperor had enemies in the Yan Yan Yan Huang Chao. This is a grievance of our Liang family. The Taizu Emperor once said: do not involve the Liang Kingdom."

Hearing this, Lin Chen's pupils contracted slightly. The Taizu Emperor leaving these words could only mean one thing.

The Taizu Emperor's enemies in the Yan Yan Yan Huang Chao were very powerful. The Taizu Emperor could be certain that the other party definitely still existed, and he was worried that if the Nine Kingdoms established contact with the Yan Yan Yan Huang Chao, the enemies would come knocking.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 332 =====