Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

"However, your cultivation realm is currently your biggest weakness," he said after his previous remark.

"I understand," Gu Chen nodded, aware that his short cultivation time in the upper realm made it normal for his realm to be lacking.

But he was confident that before long, he would be able to catch up.

"Soon, the selection for the Ten Thousand Tribes competition of the 3,600 realms will begin. Due to special reasons, this time it will be unprecedentedly bustling, so despite your strength, you must still be cautious and vigilant," the dean of Qingyun Academy warned Gu Chen.

"Is it because of the top ten prodigies and the descendants of the indomitable great powers?" Gu Chen asked.

He was very curious about these individuals who had great fame throughout the upper realm, or rather, were at the pinnacle of the pyramid. He wanted to know how much of his true power would be forced out in a battle against them.

"Not exactly," the dean of Qingyun Academy shook his head, causing a look of surprise on Gu Chen's face.

"As long as you can keep up with your cultivation realm, those people are strong, but you will still have a good chance of winning against them," the dean of Qingyun Academy stated, standing with his hands behind his back, his eyes profound.

"If that's the case, what is the dean worried about?" Gu Chen didn't understand.

He had also noticed that though the dean of Qingyun Academy was a very powerful being, he was down-to-earth and straightforward.

The dean's expression grew solemn as he said, "Why do they say that this Ten Thousand Tribes competition will be extraordinarily bustling? It's because once it starts, not only will the geniuses of the current era participate, but many prodigies from the past era will also appear to join the fray!"

"So that's how it is!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Chen felt a shock in his heart. Knowing that prodigies from the last era were going to emerge explained why the competition was touted to be exceptionally splendid.

But he was also startled; why would such a situation occur?

The last era was so distant from this one; how did those young geniuses and prodigies survive all that time to exist in the present?

It is known that the Ten Thousand Tribes competition of the 3,600 realms is solely for the younger generation to contend in; the older generation is not allowed, nor are they able to participate.

Thereupon, Gu Chen directly voiced the doubts in his mind.

The dean of Qingyun Academy, Situ Yin, looked at him and sighed softly, "It is because the supreme beings of the heavens personally intervened to seal them, delaying or, to put it another way, halting the passage of time upon them."

"I see," Gu Chen nodded. If that was the case, then it made sense.

One could only say that beings of the supreme heavens have truly boundless methods, capable of even achieving such a feat.

The dean of Qingyun Academy said, "Even the descendants of the immortal great powers, the prodigies of the top ten clans, and the hidden talent preserved by reclusive great powers of the upper realm would find it difficult to compete with those prodigies who have survived from the last era."

At this point, his expression couldn't help but show a trace of emotion, given that he, himself originated from Azure Cloud Sky, knew all too well the terror such a group of prodigies could unleash.

After all, they were once taught by the supreme beings of the heavens for a time. The reason they were preserved for this era, to emerge now, was for that vague and uncertain "hope" that lies in the unknown—that was the intent behind it.

It can be said that these prodigies are the "seeds" left by powers like the Ice Emperor from the last era, left to this era, to undergo the most intense trials, succeed in taking root and sprouting, to see if a different outcome from the last era can be achieved.

After all, the venue of the Ten Thousand Tribes competition this time will be extremely different, with significant distinctions from all past competitions.

It is for this reason indeed that these "seeds" have now emerged in this era.

Nowadays, even without further information from the dean of Qingyun Academy, Gu Chen could already foresee just how fierce the competition in this installment of the Ten Thousand Tribes competition would be.

"Prepare yourself mentally, as there is a chance that later on, successors of the great powers from the last era, and perhaps even descendants of fairy spirits, will emerge!" the dean of Qingyun Academy said, giving another staggering piece of news to Gu Chen.

"This..."

At this moment, even Gu Chen's state of mind couldn't help but be shaken to an almost indescribable extent, and he found himself at a loss for words.

Then, he seemed to remember something and asked, "That being said, doesn't our Azure Cloud Sky have any descendants left behind?"

The Dean of Qingyun Academy, with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, glanced at Gu Chen and said, "Isn't that person you?"

"Me..." Gu Chen was dumbfounded. What he meant was, whether there were any descendants of the Azur Cloud Sky's Sovereign that would appear.

But as it looked now, there weren't any.

"Therefore, for the honor of Azure Cloud Sky, I don't require you to take first place, but you must ensure a spot within the top thirty," he said.

"Top thirty?" Gu Chen raised an eyebrow. Although he had only revealed part of his strength to the Dean of Qingyun Academy, it was still extremely astonishing. He hadn't expected that after learning about it, the latter was only certain he could rank within the top thirty.

"What, do you think this ranking is too low, and you feel dissatisfied?" asked the Dean of Qingyun Academy with a laugh.

"No," Gu Chen shook his head. He didn't have any feelings of dissatisfaction. It's just that after hearing these messages, his anticipation for the so-called competition of the Ten Thousand Tribes was growing stronger.

Only by clashing with true powerhouses could one grow more rapidly.

Moreover, Gu Chen was never one to shy away from a battle.

Of course, the main reason was that since arriving in the upper realm, Gu Chen had rarely encountered peers who could compel him to fight with all his might.

Therefore, he actually hoped that this competition of the Ten Thousand Tribes would have some powerful rivals; that would make it more interesting.

At this time, the Dean of Qingyun Academy said, "The reason for setting such a ranking is because, although the Azure Cloud Sky of the past was powerful, it also made many enemies. Should you encounter the descendants of those powers, an inevitable great battle awaits. Top thirty is just the minimum expectation. My hope for you is to reach the top ten, and I believe you have that potential."

The Dean of Qingyun Academy actually had great faith in Gu Chen. It was only because his realm was too low that he gave such a ranking.

Not to mention that with the appearance of descendants personally taught by supremely powerful beings from the last great era, it would be even more difficult to contend.

For those supremely exalted beings, reaching such a realm where every word and action could almost bring forth law, their understanding of cultivation was beyond comparison. With such instruction, plus the extraordinary talents of those prodigies, who knows what heights their power had reached.

"Thankfully, no matter what, the highest realm allowed to participate in the competition of the Ten Thousand Tribes is the Unity Realm, which can be considered good news," said the Dean.

Of course, while the realm is capped at the Unity Realm, there's no telling what levels one's physical body, cultivation base, techniques, or even supernatural powers might reach.

Upon hearing this, Gu Chen's expression grew solemn, and a fighting spirit began to rise in his heart.

The only piece of good news was that these prodigies had been in a prolonged state of self-seclusion, never having emerged since the end of the last great era. After all, the life span of the Earth realm would not support such an extended period of existence.

"After all this, do you now understand how enormous and perilous the road ahead of you is?" the Dean of Qingyun Academy, clothed in a green robe, asked with a smile, looking at Gu Chen.

This was both a question about Gu Chen's confidence and an answer to the question he asked at the beginning.

If one couldn't even surmount the current hurdles, even if they knew what they would face in the future, what difference would it make?

Upon hearing this, Gu Chen's expression remained calm. As for his confidence, he had always had an abundance of it. Even with insufficient cultivation time, he was confident that he was not weaker than anyone!

"Now that you are already the heir of Azure Cloud Sky, then it's time to hand over the most important thing to you."

As the Dean of Qingyun Academy spoke, his palm turned over, and an object appeared in the center of his hand. It was a piece of jade that shimmered with a clear light, though it was missing a large portion, with only about one-fourth remaining.

"The second piece of the broken jade!" The moment he saw the jade, Gu Chen's eyes lit up, and a strong sense of joy surged in his heart.