T/N Note: I now have some time as my office timing has now changed and I no longer have to suffer late at night. It means I have more time for this, unless something comes up. Now, the writing style has been changed a bit, not direct MTL as I am putting some effort. PS: this is my fun project, not serious thing, I just want people to have more stuff to read here.
@Vanix_, thanks for finding my previous mistake, I corrected them, but your comments get deleted due to the same. Let me know more about the writing flow.
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Within the Jinwu Courtyard of the Ancient Martial Mystic Court, nestled deep inside the Zhuxia Divine Land, Liang Jianqiu and Lu Yixian sat opposite one another. They sipped their tea in a heavy, charged silence, waiting for the Council of Elders to finish their deliberations.
"Senior, do you truly believe the Heavenly Abyss is on the verge of descending again?" After wrestling with his thoughts for a long time, Lu Yixian finally broke the silence.
The descent of the Heavenly Abyss was a cataclysmic event. If it happened, it wouldn't just be the Human Race scrambling; even the Demon Race would be thrown into a panic. As for the Devil Race? Those monsters didn't care whether you were a Human or a Yao beast—everyone was on the menu.
Liang Jianqiu's expression remained perfectly stoic. "Nothing is set in stone yet, but we must fix the roof before the rain starts. Precaution is our only shield."
He stared into his teacup, his voice dropping an octave. "The last time the Heavenly Abyss descended, it caught the world completely off guard, rendering our Divine Land a desolate wasteland. Countless commoners and martial artists were slaughtered. We cannot allow history to repeat itself."
"Back then, how many of our seniors charged into the fray one after another, sacrificing their lives without a second thought just to barely repel the Abyss? If it truly returns, it will be time for our generation to inherit their mantle and dedicate our lives to the cause!"
Liang Jianqiu spoke with unwavering, righteous determination.
Before Lu Yixian could respond, the crisp sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the courtyard. A moment later, Elder Yue Zhi materialized before them.
Both men immediately stood and bowed. "Elder."
Yue Zhi nodded grimly. "The Council has reached a decision. We are dispatching multiple martial artist strike teams to investigate the Northern Region. All existing operations are temporarily suspended. Investigating the Devil Race takes absolute priority."
"The Recall Order has officially been issued," the Elder continued, his eyes sharp. "All Imperial Court Envoys of the Ancient Martial Mystic Court must return to base the moment they receive the notice. Each team will consist of five members, led by an Imperial Court Envoy, with the remaining slots filled by Grade A through D disciples. Furthermore, this isn't just us—the Taiyi Dao Sect and the Wenyuan Pavilion are also mobilizing. We are going to turn the entire Northern Region upside down."
Lu Yixian's jaw tightened. A full Recall Order... and a joint operation by the Three Great Top Factions of the Divine Land? This wasn't just a mission; this was a prelude to war. He stole a glance at Liang Jianqiu, but the senior's face remained an unreadable mask.
"Jianqiu, assemble your team immediately," Yue Zhi commanded. "We deploy at a moment's notice."
"Understood, Elder," Liang Jianqiu replied, cupping his hands.
After a few more stern warnings from the Elder, Liang Jianqiu and Lu Yixian departed the Jinwu Courtyard and made a direct line for the two Disciple Mountains.
"Senior, I'm coming with you on this one," Lu Yixian volunteered as they walked.
Liang Jianqiu nodded. "Any recommendations for the remaining three slots? Should we bring your disciple along?"
Lu Yixian hesitated for a moment before sighing. "Let's bring him. It's time he sees how vast the world really is. Besides, the kid has been completely depressed lately, moping around like his dog died."
Liang Jianqiu glanced at him, amused. "Oh? What's wrong with him? Hit a bottleneck in his cultivation?"
"Not exactly. Long Hui's talent is actually quite formidable. After returning from the last mission, he successfully broke through from the Third Layer of the Qian Realm to the Fourth Layer of the Heaven Realm."
Liang Jianqiu raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a massive leap? Why is he walking around with a cloud over his head?"
Lu Yixian let out a thoroughly defeated, wry smile. "Senior, remember Li Xuanxiao? That kid who was only at the Fifth Layer of the Heaven Realm when I asked you to do my disciple a favor?"
Liang Jianqiu racked his brain for a second. "I have some memory of him. But wasn't he already at the Seventh Layer of the Heaven Realm when I saw him?"
Lu Yixian blinked in surprise. Li Xuanxiao was already at the Seventh Layer back then?
Recalling his conversation with Long Hui back at the Immortal Cave, his disciple had mentioned that Li Xuanxiao had achieved a sudden enlightenment during their last mission. To skip from the Fifth Layer straight to the Seventh Layer of the Heaven Realm... yes, that must have been the result of an incredibly rare epiphany.
"So, what does Long Hui's depression have to do with Li Xuanxiao?" Liang Jianqiu asked, losing patience with the backstory.
Lu Yixian cleared his throat and laid out Li Xuanxiao's absurd timeline: Fifth Layer of the Heaven Realm... a mere two months... a sudden epiphany... boom, Seventh Layer.
Liang Jianqiu literally stopped dead in mid-air, turning to stare at Lu Yixian with a face full of utter bewilderment.
[Insert Confused Nick Young Question Mark Meme.gif]
He understood every single word coming out of Lu Yixian's mouth individually, but put together, they sounded like absolute madness.
"A martial artist achieving an enlightenment in the Dao?" Liang Jianqiu frowned. "While Daoist techniques don't inherently clash with the Martial Path the way Buddhist Dharma does, the Dao is notoriously exclusive. Everyone knows that a Dual Cultivation of Dao and Martial Arts is practically a myth."
Lu Yixian could only offer a bitter, helpless chuckle. "I know it sounds like a fairy tale, Senior, but it's the cold, hard truth."
Recovering his composure, Liang Jianqiu let out a soft laugh. "Hah! What a terrifyingly capable brat. And here I thought he was just a genius who started at the Seventh Layer. So, Long Hui saw this epiphany and lost all his confidence?"
Lu Yixian nodded, then immediately shook his head. "Yes, but also... no. That's not the main reason he's traumatized."
Frustrated by the suspense, Liang Jianqiu playfully kicked Lu Yixian mid-air. "You brat, are you playing riddles with me? Spit it out all at once!"
Lu Yixian took a deep breath, his expression turning deadly serious. "Senior, you need to brace yourself for what I'm about to say next."
Liang Jianqiu snorted, rolling his eyes. "Just say it! Get on with it!"
Lu Yixian swallowed hard. "Li Xuanxiao... he stepped into the Void Realm a few days ago."
Liang Jianqiu froze, his breath catching squarely in his throat.
"The Void Realm?!"
[Brain.exe is not responding]
Meanwhile, during the two weeks following his paradigm-shifting breakthrough to the Void Realm, Li Xuanxiao had been living the good life. He had successfully upgraded to a brand-new, luxurious Immortal Cave and received his sleek, elite martial artist robes adorned with three-striped dark gold.
True to his shameless, safety-first nature, he didn't sign up for a single dangerous mission.
Instead, following his master plan of 'fake it till you make it,' he showed up at the Ancient Martial Mystic Court's lecture halls every single day like clockwork to aggressively cram basic knowledge.
The exact hierarchy of the Martial Realms, the political map of the Central Continent, the bloody history between the Human and Demon Races... he devoured it all. After half a month of high-intensity academic grinding, Li Xuanxiao was finally no longer a clueless bumpkin.
His knowledge base had officially leveled up. No longer would he have to awkwardly interrogate Long Hui or Wu Jiangming like a toddler asking why the sky is blue.
From what he gathered, the sequence of power ran from the bottom up: Heavy Realm, Extreme Realm, Xuan Realm, Mystic Realm, Source Realm, Heaven Realm, Void Realm, Tai Realm, and the legendary Saint Realm.
As for the mythical Tenth Realm? Even within the deepest archives of the Ancient Martial Mystic Court, there wasn't a single shred of data.
"Is it possible that across the entire vast Zhuxia Divine Land, not a single soul has ever forced open the gates to that Tenth Martial Realm?" Li Xuanxiao mused, a map of the Central Continent's power dynamics flashing across his mind.
Thanks to his studying, he now had a solid grasp on the heavyweight factions of the Demon Race:
The Lingxi Grotto-Heaven (ruled by the Qilin Clan), dominating the Eastern Region.
The Dream Illusion Domain (ruled by the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan), holding court in the Western Region.
The Crimson Sun Heavenly Peak (ruled by the Golden Crow Clan), occupying the Northern Region.
The Cuiwei Spirit Realm (ruled by the Bai Ze Clan), anchoring the Southern Region.
"The Nine-Tailed Fox Clan..."
Li Xuanxiao's eyes narrowed as a specific memory clicked into place. The unique tracking signature he had picked up from his Gu worm a while back... wasn't it pointing directly toward the borders of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan's territory?
That clan was a terrifying powerhouse, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Qilin Clan. Even though he had just swaggered into the Void Realm, poking a nest of giant, mythical foxes was a fast track to an early grave. Those ancient Demon Races possessed a terrifying arsenal of esoteric arts—sealing techniques, soul-poisoning, and god knows what else. Without absolute, crushing power, a person wouldn't even know how they died.
"Yeah, nope. I'll think about paying them a visit only after I hit the Late Stage of the Void Realm," Li Xuanxiao decided instantly, nodding to himself.