Initially, some people were unsure of Ye Chen's true strength, and eager to impress the princess, they wagered heavily, hoping for a swift defeat of Ye Chen. As a result, after just a few bouts, Ye Chen pocketed over ten Divine Points. By the time everyone recognized Ye Chen's might, they were already lamenting their losses; far from daring to bet heavily, many were already contemplating withdrawing from the challenges entirely.
However, once a challenge was issued, it could not be rescinded; doing so would incur a minimum penalty of one Divine Point!
Consequently, most of the subsequent challengers approached the matches with the intention of accumulating combat experience, rushing toward Ye Chen in succession, only to be swiftly annihilated.
148 Divine Points—enough to gaze upon the Heavenly Dao Stele fourteen times!
Ye Chen’s spirit soared. After the battles concluded, he didn't immediately head to the Heavenly Dao Stele. Instead, he slowly absorbed the insights gained during the fights, while simultaneously leveraging his privileges as a Second Grade Genius Hall member to peruse the data files on the other great civilizations.
The complete profile data for all 3,000 civilizations was instantaneously transmitted directly into Ye Chen's mind by the virtual system; there was no need to read anything, much like the knowledge spire of the Atlantis Civilization, which had been directly imprinted onto his memory cells.
“The Nine Major Branch Civilizations possess unparalleled might and exhibit the most distinct innate talents—their mastery over their respective elements far surpasses ordinary beings, and they can effortlessly master any secret art related to their primary element.”
“For instance, the Blazing God Secret Codex cannot be learned by anyone not belonging to the Fire Civilization, as their bodies lack the requisite energy.”
“Some secret arts impose racial requirements on the learner; for example, the secret arts of the Heaven Civilization are utterly useless and unlearnable in the hands of someone from the Hell Civilization.”
“My ability to learn them must stem from the Fire Inheritance I received from Teacher Bai Ya in the past, inheriting the Will of Fire! Considering this, could it be that I now possess the potential of both the Spirit Civilization and the Fire Civilization?”
Ye Chen speculated this was most likely the case, and continued to examine the innate abilities of the other civilizations. The more he read, the more astonished he became. Among these 3,000 civilizations, while the Nine Major Branch Civilizations represented the universe's origin source, the rest—the Ten Heavens and Ten Earths Civilizations—were not to be underestimated; they were powerful enough to form their own cosmic domains!
The Ten Heavens Civilizations included the Heaven Civilization, Blue Sky Civilization, Azure Sky Civilization, Green Sky Civilization, Yellow Heaven Civilization, Heavenly Dao Civilization, Angel Civilization, and so forth.
The Ten Earths Civilizations included the Hell Civilization, Earth Surface Civilization, Earth Core Civilization, Earth Beast Civilization, Earth Civilization, and others.
Each of these twenty civilizations possessed potent, unique innate talents specific to their lineage. Take the Angel Civilization, for example: its angels can undergo Nirvana Rebirth, granting them a second life; as long as their core remains intact, they are virtually immortal!
Or the Earth Surface Civilization, whose members claim that as long as their feet touch the ground, they can never be defeated!
Beyond these Twenty Civilizations, there were the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Civilizations, such as the Love Civilization, Demon Civilization, Evil Desire Civilization, Heavenly Fragrance Civilization, Law Civilization, and others that fall under this umbrella.
Each civilization possessed distinct characteristics. The Law Civilization, for instance, found natural reproduction exceedingly difficult, resulting in a sparse population. Despite enduring countless epochs, the entire civilization numbered fewer than one hundred million souls. However, every member of the Law Civilization was a genius; their speed of comprehending the Laws of Heaven and Earth far exceeded the norm, meaning almost everyone reached the level of a Godly expert upon reaching adulthood!
In other words, this civilization boasted not merely one hundred million but perhaps thirty or forty million Godly experts!
Furthermore, there were the Epic Civilization, Heavenly Scroll Civilization, Rite and Trust Civilization, Instrument Civilization, Ancient Qin Civilization, War Chess Civilization, and many others.
These were all incredibly potent civilizations. Outside this grouping existed the Buddhist Realm Civilization, Immortal Realm Civilization, God Realm Civilization, Demon Realm Civilization, Fiend Realm Civilization, Beast Realm Civilization, Human Realm Civilization, Dragon Realm Civilization, Insect Realm Civilization, and so on…
It was also among these numerous civilizations that Ye Chen discovered the Spirit Civilization!
The file description for the Spirit Civilization read: Spirit Civilization: Headquarters located in the Asura Domain. Population vast, with a history spanning 9,204 epochs. Its people comprise numerous races, such as the Huaxia Race, the Holy See Race, the Ancient Style Race, the White Blood Race, the Sea Race…
Members of the Spirit Civilization possess the talent of Emotional Amplitude. Once this talent is awakened, they can adjust their combat power via their emotions! For example, anger can amplify combat strength, increasing destructive power; joy can halve incoming damage; sorrow can weaken the enemy's fighting will and reduce their strength…
After reading this entry, Ye Chen was profoundly shaken. “The Spirit Civilization truly journeyed to the Ancient Continent in ancient times; to have a legacy spanning 9,204 epochs—Good Heavens, how many Solar Epochs ago did they arrive on this continent?”
“Could it be that we are merely descendants of the Spirit Civilization remnants left on Earth?”
“Asura Domain…”
Ye Chen quietly noted this location and performed a quick search, only to be startled to find that the Asura Domain lay far to the north of the Ancient Continent—an immense distance. Even utilizing continuous spatial jumps would require a thousand years to reach it, and traveling at the speed of light via spaceship would take an indeterminate number of eons…
Ye Chen shook his head, not dwelling on it, and returned to reviewing the data on other civilizations while simultaneously meditating on the gains from his recent battles. Approximately twenty-one hours later, he finally finished digesting all the combat experience, recorded his insights, and had also finished viewing the data for all 3,000 civilizations.
“The Ancient Continent…”
“It truly deserves to be called the gathering place of countless civilizations. The 3,000 civilizations, each possessing unique and excellent innate talents, complement one another. Among this multitude, our Spirit Civilization is considered relatively powerful, offering significant value in group combat!”
Ye Chen felt a wave of emotion wash over him. Having witnessed the vastness of the world, he understood his own insignificance.
He clenched his fists, a fierce light blazing in his eyes. Only through relentless striving to become stronger could he stand at the pinnacle of myriad civilizations, occupying the highest ground!
After a brief rest, Ye Chen wasted no time, entering the Genius Hall district to proceed to the Heavenly Dao Stele.
“Observe!”
Ye Chen submitted his request to the system, and in a flash, he was instantly teleported.
The towering Heavenly Dao Stele stood not far before him. Ye Chen focused intently, and his eyes seemed to perceive countless mysterious energies—things intangible—disrupting his vision, drawing his consciousness into a cryptic realm.
A vast expanse of white mist obscured his sight. Deep within this haze, a single point of starlight appeared, dazzling and brilliant, shaking his very soul. Countless streams of light seemed to orbit this star, demonstrating the mechanics of the universe. Soon after, a second stellar point gradually materialized.
The moment this second point appeared, Ye Chen’s entire being felt a profound shock. The scene, though seemingly simple—two stars revolving around each other in an octagram-like pattern—felt like the entirety of existence to Ye Chen’s eyes.
That profound, ineffable sensation dragged his entire train of thought into another timeframe.
Ye Chen vaguely felt he grasped something significant, but the sensation vanished as quickly as it came, impossible to seize. He knitted his brows, only snapping back to awareness when the system notification chimed by his ear, discovering he had already been teleported away from the Heavenly Dao Stele.
Ye Chen did not view the steles consecutively. Instead, he returned to his quarters to carefully meditate on his recent gains. Through this contemplation, he discovered that his mental cultivation, which had previously peaked at the late stage of the seventh level of the Sage realm, had advanced further, reaching a point where a breakthrough felt imminent, though a thin membrane still remained.
While meticulously savoring these insights, Ye Chen exited the virtual world and began cultivating the Blazing God Secret Codex. Currently, the first layer of the Blazing God Hammer had reached its second stage!
The secret patterns of this second stage were far more intricate and difficult to inscribe. Even with his current mental cultivation, Ye Chen was utterly exhausted after engraving only six patterns consecutively.
Time flowed by quietly…
In the blink of an eye, nearly a full month had passed since Ye Chen entered the Second Grade Genius Hall. Over the course of fifteen days, Ye Chen utilized six of his fourteen opportunities to observe the Heavenly Dao Stele, and his mental cultivation finally broke through to the early eighth level of the Sage realm. Regarding the Blazing God Hammer, he had inscribed 236 of the required patterns in the second stage!
Ye Chen knew that once the cultivation of the Blazing God Hammer was complete, mastering the first layer of the Nether Flame Shield would become significantly easier; with the initial path cleared, subsequent progression would naturally accelerate.
As the end of the month approached, Ye Chen received a mission notification from above.
Every Genius Hall member received one mission per month issued by the higher authorities, completion of which guaranteed a massive reward in Divine Points!
Upon receiving the alert, Ye Chen’s eyes lit up, and he hastily clicked to open it.
“Mission Alert: Destroy one Dark Tribe!”
“Enter the Great Dark World via the Dark Space Sealing Point and annihilate one level-nine tribe within; mission complete! Time limit: One Year!”
“Mission Reward: 50 Divine Points!”
Seeing this mission, Ye Chen’s eyes gleamed. “Destroying one tribe of the dark beings yields 50 Divine Points!”
He looked closely and noticed an additional set of instructions below the main mission.
“Bonus Reward Rules are as follows:”
“Upon mission completion, an extra reward of 25 Divine Points for destroying an additional level-nine Dark Tribe!”
“An extra reward of 50 Divine Points for destroying an additional level-eight Dark Tribe!”
“An extra reward of 100 Divine Points for destroying an additional level-seven Dark Tribe!”
“An extra reward of 200 Divine Points for destroying an additional level-six Dark Tribe!”
“An extra reward for destroying an additional…”
Reading this, Ye Chen’s heart swelled with joy. “Such incredibly generous rewards! Destroying a single Dark Tribe yields such a bounty of Divine Points!!”
Ye Chen could feel the blood surging in his chest. The more Divine Points he accumulated, the more chances he had to contemplate the Heavenly Dao Stele. Each viewing had yielded enormous benefits; thus far, he had observed it eight times, taking eight steps outward from the 1,000-zhang boundary of the Stele!
If he could advance into the 900-zhang range of the Heavenly Dao Stele, his mental state would be comparable to that of a Godly being, allowing him to grasp true Laws!
Ye Chen moved instantly, swiftly returning to his quarters to submit a request to the virtual system for data regarding the "Dark Tribes."