1592 The Nine Realms

Ye Futian turned his gaze to Xia Qingyuan and asked, "Princess, have you been doing well these past few years?"

During the battle at Celestial Gate of Vast Heaven, the teleportation grand matrix had sent everyone away to different places. Ye Futian was very happy that he was able to meet Xia Qingyuan again.

Xia Qingyuan glanced at Ye Futian but ignored him.

Ye Futian was confused.

When had he offended this little princess again?

"Qingyuan was sent to the Lower Worlds," Emperor Xia said with a smile. "After I took her home, she kept saying that she wanted to find out where you were. When she was in the Heavenly Mandate Realm, she heard that you were in the Higher Heavens Realm. After that, the bell sounded in the Nine Realms, so Qingyuan guessed that you would come here. As expected, we found you here. A grown girl can't be kept at home. As her father, I have never experienced this treatment before."

Emperor Xia was puzzled. What was this girl thinking? Didn't she notice the people who were now with Ye Futian? Even as the Lord of a Realm, Emperor Xia could only shudder before these mighty figures. His girl was concerned about Ye Futian, yet she acted cold when they finally met.

Women, tsk!

If she was unable to let go of her ego, she would suffer a great loss sooner or later.

Upon hearing his words, Xia Qingyuan stared at Emperor Xia with an innocent face.

Huh?

What kind of father was this?

He ratted her out so decisively.

"I have also been worrying about Princess these past few years," Ye Futian replied with a smile. "Now that I have seen you with His Highness, I can put my worries to rest."

"I believe you," Xia Qingyuan said to Ye Futian. Her eyes locked on him. Upon studying her gaze, Ye Futian felt uncomfortable. What was with her gaze?

Would he lie to her?

"When I had my trial in Divine Palace, I obtained many items. These are for you." Ye Futian took out a few fruits of the Way, which emanated the rich will of Way of Life, and handed them over to Xia Qingyuan. Sensing the dense will from the fruits, Xia Qingyuan was momentarily stunned. She slightly raised her head to look at him. Her gaze had turned much gentler.

Xia Qingyuan extended her hands and received the fruits without any hesitation. She quickly put them away. Her heart was warmed.

Emperor Xia, who was standing beside them, felt somewhat helpless as he watched his daughter's antics. Even though she had a high plane of cultivation, her temperament was still that of a teenage girl. There was wisdom to the old saying that women were all fools when it came to certain aspects.

"I still have some of these fruits with me, however, Your Highness has no use for them," Ye Futian said. "If Swordmaster is here, he can benefit from the fruits. I will go and check whether or not Swordmaster is in the City of the Ruins."

"How will you check?" Emperor Xia asked.

"I will ask for Lord Taixuan's help," Ye Futian replied. "He can do a quick sweep with his will and scan through the entire City of the Ruins."

Emperor Xia revealed an embarrassed expression.

This...

Emperor Xia's will could also cover a large area. However, there were now countless extremely powerful figures in the City of the Ruins. He didn't dare use his will to casually scan around their surroundings Even though he was at the Renhuang Plane, he was a lower level Renhuang at the third tier. If he used his will to scan those mighty cultivators, it might annoy them. If they attacked him with their will, could he stand against such attacks?

Ye Futian made it sound simple.

"That is a good idea." Emperor Xia solemnly nodded his head. He felt slightly embarrassed.

Ye Futian knew nothing about Emperor Xia's emotions. After all, Ye Futian was used to using that method of locating other people. However, Emperor Xia was Lord of a Realm. He had been pampered in the Emperor Xia's Realm, where his word was law. Although he was keenly aware that there were many people in the Three Thousand Realms of the Great Path who were stronger than he was, he still needed time to adjust after seeing so many of them gathered together.

"Then, let's head over there." As he spoke, Ye Futian turned and headed in the direction of Lord Taixuan's location. He said, "Lord Taixuan, I would like to request your help in finding someone and seeing whether he is in the City of the Ruins."

Grandmaster Sky River Great Elder was at a lower cultivation plane than Lord Taixuan. Hence, it was more suitable for Lord Taixuan to carry out a sweep search. Even if his will swept past other top figures, such a meager incident couldn't cause any trouble. After all, both of them were top existences.

However, it was different for a lower level Renhuang like Emperor Xia. If one was scanned by another person of the same level or a higher level, one could pretend that nothing had happened. How could one let a person who was at a lower level scan them as they pleased?

If Emperor Xia scanned over a cultivator who was ill-tempered, they could immediately attack him from a distance. For such powerful figures, such a distance was insignificant. They were able to attack anywhere their will covered.

Hence, ordinary Renhuang did not dare to simply scan around. Even upper-level Renhuang needed to think twice before doing so, such as how Sky River Great Elder had before.

"Very well. Show me his appearance, " Lord Taixuan said. Ye Futian's will emanated from his glabella and entered into Lord Taixuan's eyes.

"That will suffice." Lord Taixuan nodded. His powerful will instantly expanded outward and enveloped the entire City of the Ruins within itself.

Soon, he found the person Ye Futian was looking for in a corner of the City of the Ruins. The person had indeed arrived in the city.

...

Among the Three Thousand Realms of the Great Path, the Nine Supreme Imperial Realms were situated at the center of the Three Thousand Realms.

Eight of the Nine Supreme Imperial Realms revolved around the Central Emperor Realm.

They were the Heavenly Mandate Realm, Higher Heavens Realm, Emperor Star Realm, Mountain Realm, Myriad Realm, Solar Realm, Shadow Realm, and Hidden Land Realm.

The Nine Realms were the absolute center of the Three Thousand Realms of the Great Path. Each Realm had top forces.

To be considered one of the top forces of the Three Thousand Realms of the Great Path, a Realm needed to have at least a powerful upper-level Renhuang at the seventh tier of the Divine Wheel to hold the fort. In reality, just having an upper-level Renhuang at the seventh tier of the Divine Wheel was insufficient to rank among the top forces. A Realm needed at least an upper-level Renhuang at the eighth tier of the Divine Wheel as the lead and another upper-level Renhuang at the seventh tier of the Divine Wheel to act as support.

Most top forces had a powerful figure at the ninth tier of the Divine Wheel as the lead, along with another at the seventh or eighth tier of the Divine Wheel as support.

Back then, Yi Tianyu from the Heavenly Mandate Realm, the Heavenly Mandate Dynasty's Dynastic Overlord, and Lord Taixuan were all above the ninth tier of the Divine Wheel.

Renhuangs were divided into three levels: upper level, middle level, and lower level. Each level was divided according to strength. For instance, even cultivators that were both from the Nirvana Plane had different levels of ability. At the Renhuang Plane, such differences were huge depending on the cultivator's depth of cultivation. Thus, each level was further divided into three smaller tiers according to the strength of the cultivator's Divine Wheel of the Great Path.

Upper-level Renhuangs were categorized into the seventh, eighth, and ninth tier of the Divine Wheel, with the ninth tier of the Divine Wheel being the strongest.

The Myriad Realm also had many top forces.

There was one extremely powerful force known as Heavenly Sword Hall.

Heavenly Sword Hall was a legendary Myriad Realm swordsmanship force. The most powerful swordsmen from the Myriad Realm were mostly from Heavenly Sword Hall.

Heavenly Sword Hall was even heralded in the Myriad Realm as the top swordsmanship force among the Three Thousand Realms of the Great Path.

Heavenly Sword Hall had a unique cultivation method, which was different from many other swordsmanship forces. Those who wished to become the disciples of Heavenly Sword Hall had to fulfill one requirement. They had to possess a Sword Spirit. People with only Life Spirits were not destined to practice swordsmanship. Even those who had practiced swordsmanship before were not accepted into Heavenly Sword Hall.

Their cultivation method focused on cultivating their Sword Spirits. They focused less on sword techniques. Their goal was to refine their Sword Spirits until they reached their utmost limit, converting their Sword Spirits into their natal implements. Thus, they strived to master the ultimate swordsmanship.

Besides that, there was another benefit to this cultivation method. The cultivators had more advantages when they broke through to the Sword Emperor Plane.

Their Sword Spirits were better at merging with the Great Path of All Things. Moreover, Sword Spirits that had been cultivated for years nurtured the physical bodies of their owners.

In Heavenly Sword Hall, the members prioritized the practice of Sword Spirits. In comparison, sword techniques and sword mudra were not as important.

Heavenly Sword Hall's cultivation method was extremely harsh and difficult. The threshold was very high. Many people had trained their Sword Spirits to the point of crippling their Sword Spirits. However, they also managed to cultivate a group of powerful swordsmen.

God's relic was opening soon, so Heavenly Sword Hall would not miss the opportunity.

In the domain where the cultivators from the Myriad Realm were gathered, many cultivators from Heavenly Sword Hall had arrived. Combat had also erupted in this domain.

In a huge empty space in the City of the Ruins, Heavenly Sword Hall constructed a tall platform. Many cultivators stood on the platform and looked upon the battles.

Before them, there was a battle between swordsmen.

Around them, many cultivators had gathered to spectate. Many of them were members of other forces from the Myriad Realm.

They knew that many people had come to the City of the Ruins wanting to gain the qualification to enter God's relic by going through the top forces. However, most of the top forces were not lacking in numbers.

Similarly, many swordsmen had come seeking Heavenly Sword Hall. Unlike other forces, Heavenly Sword Hall did not directly reject these people. Instead, they offered them an opportunity. Those who sought them out would battle against the swordsmen of Heavenly Sword Hall. As long as the other swordsmen won, Heavenly Sword Hall would take them into God's relic. The swordsmen were even able to join Heavenly Sword Hall to practice swordsmanship.

Many people understood that this was just a form of training for the disciples of Heavenly Sword Hall before entering God's relic. They used these swordsmen to train their disciples' swordsmanship, slightly improving their abilities before entering into God's relic.

Those who accepted the battles understood that fact but still wanted to give it a go. To this end, many paid with their lives. The battles between swordsmen were perilous. The swordsmen of Heavenly Sword Hall had exceptionally powerful attacks. Once they sent out a killing blow, they could not retract it.

Even so, there were still people who wanted to try. Swordmaster of Lihen was one of them.

Out of the two swordsmen who were currently exchanging blows on the battlefield, one of them was Swordmaster of Lihen from Emperor Xia's Realm.

In the battlefield, endless Sword Will surrounded Swordmaster of Lihen. Countless sword flashes crisscrossed in mid-air, attempting to tear the space apart. However, the swords were suppressed by the opponent's swords, which were hanging in mid-air with their tips pointing down. Each of the opponent's swords was broader than normal swords, and they were engraved with runes of thunder. The swords emanated terrifying lightning.

The lightning was blinding. Swordmaster of Lihen raised his head to stare at the myriad of Swords of Blitzing Thunder. Runes of thunder lit up on every sword. The gigantic Sword of Blitzing Thunder in the middle spanned across the sky. Its tip pointed down as it frenziedly absorbed Way of Thunder from the surrounding. Its might was unfathomable.

Sensing the domineering sword might, Swordmaster of Lihen was well-aware that this attack might take his life. However, his gaze remained calm. He had traveled through many Realms years ago. His swordsmanship had reached a plateau in Emperor Xia's Realm. No one in Emperor Li's Realm was a threat to him. Finally, he decided to venture out to explore the Three Thousand Realms of the Great Path and the legendary Central Emperor Realm.

As expected, he still had a long way to go.

He was revered by all in Emperor Xia's Realm as Swordmaster of Lihen. However, he was unable to defeat a disciple from Heavenly Sword Hall. His opponent's Sword Spirit was far more powerful than his Sword Spirit. His opponent's Sword Spirit was forged over countless battles with the power of the Great Path.

Swordmaster of Lihen felt a pang of regret. He should have ventured out into the Realms when he was much younger. Back then, his potential was greater. He would have had a lot more room for improvement, even though it was more dangerous.

Actually, Swordmaster of Lihen had misunderstood. The disciples who were chosen by Heavenly Sword Hall to enter God's relic were all very outstanding. Even though Swordmaster of Lihen was from Emperor Xia's Realm, he had exceptional comprehension in swordsmanship since he had immersed himself in cultivating the art for years. For him to be qualified to fight with a swordsman of Heavenly Sword Hall was already an achievement.