True Martial World - Chapter 162: Heaven, Earth, Man Rolls of Honor

Yi Yun and company waited for about fifteen minutes before a door opened and about a dozen people walked out.

A thin youth led them. This youth wore a simple and loose training suit, with a saber behind his back.

Each step the thin youth made was exactly four feet as if they were measured by a ruler.

The thin youth gave people the impression of being an unsheathed saber with an oppressing blade.

The moment the thin youth appeared, many eyes focused on him.

Yi Yun only felt his eyes contract as his eyebrows felt a chill. The pressure from the youth was too great.

Not far away, Zhou Kui was alarmed at this youth.

This thin youth's aura was greater than Yang Qian!

Yang Qian stood up and they exchanged glances that sparked.

"Broken through?" Yang Qian looked at the thin youth as his pupils contracted almost to that of a needle.

"A lucky breakthrough and I obtained some glory points. I can now do some things…" The thin youth said indifferently.

"Some glory points… Heh! A great result, congratulations!" Yang Qian's eyebrows moved as his eyes flashed strangely. Although he was congratulating him, everyone could tell the competitiveness between the two.

Yang Qian and the thin youth were rivals!

This was not surprising. In the Tai Ah Divine City, all the young warriors were in a competitive relationship.

Just like Yi Yun who had formed competitive relationships with others. There were many things that no one else could obtain if you took it.

In such circumstances, how could there be amiable relationships?

Eventually, the thin youth walked past Yang Qian and left. Just as he was about to step out, he turned around and said to Yang Qian, "I'm waiting for your challenge!"

This words made all the rookies to the Tai Ah Divine City look at each other. Who was this thin youth? Why was he so arrogant as to wait for Yang Qian's challenge?

Seeing Yang Qian's reaction, it was clear that Yang Qian had secretly admitted that the thin youth's strength was greater than his!

Heavens! Yang Qian was already so powerful. He was a fifteen-year-old Viscount, yet there was someone suppressing him!

Many people paused and swallowed a mouthful of saliva before saying, "This place is indeed filled with experts…"

After the youth with the saber left, many could not help but ask, "Who's that thin swordsman? What's his cultivation level?"

The leader, Baldy Qin answered, "His name is Yao Dao (Demon Saber). It is his nickname and also his name. He has been in the Tai Ah Divine City for three years. He is fifteen years old this year."

"He and Yang Qian has been the best out of the batch from three years ago. They are each other's greatest rival. But Yao Dao has always been surpassing Yang Qian!"

"As for his cultivation level, he is the same as Yang Qian. They are both above the peak of the Purple Blood realm—the early stages of the Yuan Foundation realm!"

Yuan Foundation realm!

Everyone drew a cold breath.

"Yuan" had the meaning of beginning. "Yuan year" was the first year. "Yuan general" was the highest commander in the military, "Yuan Scholar" was the person who scored first in the exams.

Yuan Foundation was a warrior's beginning and the original root.

After a warrior reached the peak of the Purple Blood realm, their body's essence would converge after being nourished. It resulted in a qualitative change. The Qi and blood would condense into an energy fountain, and once the energy fountain was solidified, it became a solid foundation!

That was the Yuan Foundation!

If one were to call Purple Blood the beginning steps of martial arts, then the Yuan Foundation realm was the first step for a warrior to attain divinity.

Yuan Foundation realm warriors were very prestigious in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

Besides, Yao Dao and Yang Qian were only fifteen!

It turned out that hey had already entered the Yuan Foundation realm!

Many rookies turned speechless. They were all at the Purple Blood realm, but someone else was already at the Yuan Foundation realm. Yang Qian was already impressive, but in reality, Yang Qian was suppressed by Yao Dao.

No matter how strong you are, there is always someone stronger!

"Your path ahead is still long. They have already been in the Tai Ah Divine City for three years. You have just arrived, what's the rush?" The bald man said upon seeing the rookies' downed spirits.

"Alright, it's our turn to enter now." As he said that, the bald man led them through the hall's door.

The hall was dimly lit and the most prominent thing in it was the three statues in the middle of the hall.

Each statue was carved into the shape of a big and tall man.

They were the most famous divine emperors in the history of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

The middle was the founding divine emperor. The divine emperors on the side had previously extended the territory. They were wise rulers, exceptional both in politics and martial arts.

These three wise rulers left behind a great name for themselves and obtained the admiration of people.

But Yi Yun was no longer paying attention to the three sculptures.

He saw that in front of the sculptures, there were three metal tablets. Each tablet had names engraved on it.

These were the three rolls of honor!

"These are the Heaven, Earth and Man rolls of honor!" The bald man said.

Each list's top ten people had their names written in bigger font, almost to the point of a foot. Hence, it was very striking!

Yi Yun noticed that the names at the top of the Heaven and the Earth lists were the same, Qin Haotian.

As for the Man list's top person, that was another person, Luo Huo'er.

"Oh? Luo Huo'er? A girl?"

Yi Yun quickly found Yao Dao and Yang Qian's names. Yao Dao's name appeared both on the Heaven and Earth list at fifty-two.

Yang Qian also appeared on the Heaven and Earth list at sixty-eight.

Both of them did not enter the Man list.

"See this? This is the roll of honor. If you were to leave the Tai Ah Divine City after six years and are able to enter the top 1000 of any of the lists, then you have performed well."

"I know all of you are very proud. To be able to come here proves your excellence. But your excellence is only compared to the areas you came from. No one who came here is any worse than you! As for those who have been training in the Tai Ah Divine City for three to four years, it is normal for them to be stronger than you!"

"If anyone of you were to enter the top 1000 of any of those lists within one year, and not when you leave the Tai Ah Divine City, then you will attract the attention of all the large factions in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. They will scramble to attract you!"

The bald man's words were very provocative.

To enter the top 1000 in a year! Winning the attraction of all the large factions in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom!

This was very exciting!

Zhou Kui grabbed his wrists as his eyes lit up with fighting spirit. As a man, he had to accomplish this. This was Zhou Kui's dream, and also the dreams of many of the young warriors present.

Yi Yun quietly memorized the names on the list. On the Heaven, Earth, Man rolls of honor, even an early stage Yuan Foundation elite was ranked in the top hundred.

Then for those that ranked in the top ten or top three, what were their cultivation levels?

Middle of the Yuan Foundation realm? Or perhaps even the late stages of the Yuan Foundation realm?

It was hard to imagine!

This Tai Ah Divine City was indeed the place where all the elites of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom gathered.

Even the Jin Long Wei was nothing when compared with the many large family clans, the royal family, the four military regiments, the Qing Luan Wei, the Royal Guards and other elite groups formed from the various factions. Furthermore, the Jing state's Divine Capital's Jin Long Wei branch was just one of the hundred Jin Long Wei branches in the entire Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

This roll of honor was indeed a great challenge!

Yi Yun felt a surge of hot blood.

"I wonder what the current me would rank? It's impossible for me to be in the top 1000. I heard that there are 12,000 cultivators in the Tai Ah Divine City. Every year there would be about 2000 rookies. And the rookies tend to be ranked last. Song Zijun who came with me is definitely beyond 10,000!"

"Among the rookies, my strength should be pretty good. That Zhou Kui, even if I didn't attack him by surprise, I could still beat him! But… there are about 2000 people in this batch. Zhou Kui can at most be considered above average in the 2000 rookies. What would my rank be? In this 2000 rookies, are there many who are stronger than me?"

Yi Yun did not undervalue himself, but he knew that his Purple Blood realm strength was just the beginning.

In the entire Jing state, Yi Yun was considered among the best.

But there were 107 other states, and there was the biggest Zhong state—the imperial city!

It would be no surprise that there were others stronger than him among the rookies.

If he were to count the older warriors from the Tai Ah Divine City, Yi Yun estimated his overall ranking to be somewhere above 10,000. Was it 8000? 9000? Or could he be way beyond 10,000, he had no idea…

Entering the top 1000 in one year's time was considered exceptional. And it would attract the attention of various large factions in the country, then what about me? How far would I go in a year?

Yi Yun was looking forward to it. Thinking it through, he had come from the vast wilderness. Be it his cultivation techniques or resources, he could not be compared to the youths from the royal family or the powerful family clans. Although he had led two lives, with high perceptivity and a heaven-defying Purple Crystal's help, his contact with martial arts was short. To be able to enter the top 10,000 among the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's young warriors was already pretty good.

"Alright, there's no point saying all this nonsense. Now, you have to begin cultivating! See those stone doors?" The bald man pointed to somewhere nearby. There were six huge stone doors erected in front of them. The stone doors were engraved with primordial desolate beasts and they looked ancient and mysterious.

The bald man said, "The six stone doors in front of you is the heart of the Wilderness Divine Hall! The Wilderness Divine Hall is a cultivation place. As rookies, all of you will get two hours of free cultivation time. Now, you can all enter! As for which door, choose freely! Each door only lets in 18 people!"

"Oh? 'Free' cultivation time?" Yi Yun paused, it seemed like entering this place in the future would require payment with dragon scale runes.

At that moment, the bald man stood by the side with his hands crossed across his chest. Beside him was a large hourglass. The bald man had just flipped the hourglass and the sand quietly flowed down. When it finished, two hours would have passed.

This was the first time all the young warriors present were in the Tai Ah Divine City. They did not know that many rules, but they could tell that the time in the Wilderness Divine Hall was extremely valuable. Naturally, it was not something to be wasted.

True Martial World - Chapter 161: Wilderness Divine Hall

Yi Yun walked to the stone table and saw a new set of clothes and a book placed on top of it.

The clothes were made of linen cloth, rough to the touch but different from the linen clothes worn by commoners. These linen clothes were made with silver threads. It was invulnerable and resistant to the elements and it could even be used as a soft armor. If it were ordinary linen clothes, from the intensity of training a Tai Ah Divine City warrior underwent, it would turn into rags in just a few days time.

As for the book, it was the thickness of a fingernail. Its pages were thin and it was written "Divine Wilderness" on the cover.

Flipping through the book, Yi Yun noticed that the book had another world within it. Each page was blank with no written text. But upon injecting one's spiritual energy into it, one could read the vast amount of information within.

Actually, every page was like a book itself that introduced a particular aspect of the Divine Wilderness.

Yi Yun flipped through the first dozen pages, and within, it introduced:

"Tai Ah Divine City!"

"Divine Wilderness region!"

"Ancient desolate beasts!"

"Treasures!"

"Rumors of mystical realms!"

…

The "Divine Wilderness" book had about ninety pages. Each page was an eye-opener for Yi Yun!

The first page introduced the Tai Ah Divine City. It began with its history and then the warrior training rules within the Tai Ah Divine City.

The Tai Ah Divine City had many cultivation resources. And more than 90% of them could be exchanged for with dragon scale runes.

The last 10% of cultivation resources not only needed dragon scale runes, but they also needed glory points.

For example, breaking a previous record was a great honor. But, that was too difficult.

The book broadened Yi Yun's horizons as he engrossed himself in reading while he flipped through page after page. After the Tai Ah Divine City was introduced in the beginning, the later parts introduced the desolate beasts within the Divine Wilderness and the herbs within the Divine Wilderness. It was a survival guide to the Divine Wilderness.

This knowledge was very important.

It had to be known that there were many elite desolate beasts in the Divine Wilderness that looked normal, or even harmless. If one could not recognize them, and treated them as normal beasts, provoking them would be courting death.

There were also poisonous weeds that looked like precious herbs. If one picked it carelessly and used it, they would experience an unjust death. If a hero of a generation, that could become a lord within the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, were to die from eating some herbs, would there be anything more humiliating?

The book not only indicated the dangers of the Divine Wilderness, it also indicated the great values that those desolate beasts had.

Especially those desolate beasts with a small amount of primordial blood within them, even if they were inferior to the primordial strain. they were still a hundred times more valuable than a normal desolate beast!

As for the real primordial strain, their value was immeasurable!

Of course, even if 10,000 Yi Yun’s were sent against these kinds of desolate beasts, they would all be killed. Only people like the Divine City's Elders could fight one!

The primordial strains were natural darlings of the world. They had an affinity with the Heaven Earth Yuan Qi that was beyond human comparison.

If a primordial strain desolate beast could be killed, a desolate bone relic made from its bones would definitely set off a bloody storm!

Eating a relic from a primordial strain would not only give great energy, it would also give small insights into the world's natural laws. This was something even human peerless warriors would envy!

Yi Yun read the "Divine Wilderness" book late into the night. Just before dawn, Yi Yun meditated for about two hours. For a warrior at Yi Yun's level, as long as there wasn't a great depletion of power, two hours of meditation was sufficient to restore one back to one's optimal state.

"Gather!" Just after dawn, someone shouted outside of the residential area.

Yi Yun quickly washed up and dressed up before leaving his room.

On the empty grounds outside of the houses, there were already a few dozen people gathered. They had woken up like Yi Yun, and that naturally included Zhou Kui.

Zhou Kui was still carrying his signature battle blade and cranium crusher behind his back, giving off an aggressive feeling.

Zhou Kui looked at Yi Yun and Yi Yun returned the stare, but they did not speak.

Baldy Qin stroked his chin and smiled playfully. The young warriors, who had come to the Tai Ah Divine City, were all competing against each other. With limited resources, they had to grab it from each other, so it was normal for them to have some animosity.

It was inevitable.

"Today, I'll bring you to the Wilderness Divine Hall! Let's go!" The bald man was terse with his words, and led them into the Divine City's center.

The Wilderness Divine Temple Hall was a grand hall right in front of the central divine tower. It was enormous, making it the biggest building in the Tai Ah Divine City after the central divine tower. Upon reaching it, many young warriors felt like tiny ants crawling into an emperor's grand hall.

All the columns by the hall's entrance were meticulously polished. They were a few hundred feet tall and thick to the point of needing ten people to wrap around it. It was a fascinating sight!

The rocks used to build the temple were extremely heavy and in large pieces. They were like pieces of rock shaved off a small mountain and then pieced together. Molten iron was injected within the gaps and under the light, the iron gave off a cold metallic sparkle.

The hall was significantly spacious. With a glance, Yi Yun saw that there were many people gathered in it.

There were both men and women. Women accounted for about a third. The Jin Long Wei were all men, but there was no shortage of female cultivators in the Tai Ah Divine City. These females mostly came from family clans or the royal family. Some even came from counterparts of the Jin Long Wei; for example, the Qing Luan Wei was the female regiment.

The people within the hall were mostly dressed in style. Some of them were in their noble clothes. Besides flying fish robes, there were even python robes!

Python robes were worn by Barons!

The noble titles of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom were not inheritable and was not a title held for life. If a warrior were to lose his strength for some reason, his title and treatment would be reduced. Of course, being wounded because of fighting for the country was not included.

Yi Yun looked at the youth wearing the python robe. He was about fourteen-years-old. For him to be made a Baron at such an age meant that he had superior talent!

"A fourteen-year-old Baron…I wonder how strong is he?" Yi Yun muttered to himself. Suddenly he contracted his pupils and looked in another direction.

There was a youth in embroidered clothing wearing a Qiuniu robe and sitting gallantly on a chair.

A Qiuniu robe meant a Viscount!

A sixteen-year-old youth had been made a Viscount?

What was a Viscount? Even the Divine Capital's Jin Long Wei's general Yan Menglong was only a Viscount.

A youth had the same Viscount title as a general!

Yi Yun was really surprised.

He realized that many people in the hall avoided the youth in embroidered clothes.

About 99% of the people present stood. Yet, this youth sat there indifferently as if he were a king.

The youth's eyes glanced everywhere with the corner of his eyes. He had a purple long sword in his hand and a red ring on his finger.

"Interspatial ring…" Yi Yun recognized the ring. This interspatial ring's price was extremely high. Yi Yun still did not have an interspatial ring. He carried an animal hide bag, half the size of a person, on his journey to the Divine Wilderness.

"Do you know him?" Yi Yun asked Song Zijun who was beside him. Yi Yun only used his eyes to point out the youth, but Yi Yun did not expect that just this gesture was noticed by the other party!

The youth swept his gaze towards Yi Yun and Song Zijun. After a very short time, he ignored Yi Yun and looked elsewhere.

But in that instant, it made Song Zijun gasp.

"Sword Intent! His eyes have already learned how to use Sword Intent to form…"

When the youth had looked over, Song Zijun had felt as if a sword had reached in between his brows. That cold touch made his pores contract.

A swordsman could train their arms, palms, and legs into swords. A palm strike was similar to a strike from a sword. At the final stages, even a glance could be made into a sword, killing people with a glance!

This youth had not reached the stage of making his glance like a sword, but he had already managed to form it.

"Who is he?" Yi Yun asked once again.

But Song Zijun shook his head, "No idea…"

Song Zijun was from the Song family in the Jing state's Nanjun province. And the Nanjun province of the Jing state was just a small place and nothing against the vast Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. Hence, Song Zijun did not know many outstanding people.

At that moment, a person beside Song Zijun said, "His name is Yang Qian, and he is from the Tai Ah royal family. He entered the Tai Ah Divine City at twelve and he has been training here for three years. Now, Yang Qian has broken within the top hundred of the Heaven and Earth rolls. This year, he might even enter the top ten!"

"Tai Ah royal family!" Yi Yun took a deep breath. In the entire Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, there were influential clans and family clans, but none of them could compare with the royal family!

As for the Jing state's various provincial family clans, they were like ants in front of the royal family.

Ever since the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom was established, the royal family's bloodline had lasted for tens of million years.

In these tens of millions of years, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's royal family had strict rules for marriage. Every member of the royal house had their marriage decided by elders. There were no private marriages or they would have to give up their royal status.

The marriage choice of the royal family were powerful family clans with deep heritages or some superior bloodline from some ancient mystical tribes. If not, they had to have individual talents that overshadowed many.

In short, every talented, elite and proud child of heaven was absorbed by the royal family. The reason was to ensure that their offspring's bloodline would grow stronger. Only then was a genius more likely to be born.

It was this unreasonable system that ensured that the Tai Ah royal family was to prosper and ensure their power.

The royal family's heritage was impossibly deep. In the royal family, there was no shortage of treasures. But it did not mean that one could enjoy all these resources by being of royal descent. There were too many people of royalty, hence only the exceptional ones within the royalty were eligible for the nurturing by the royal family.

Under such circumstances, it was not surprising that Yang Qian had obtained the title of Viscount at the age of fifteen.

True Martial World - Chapter 160: Thousand Army Saber’s First Battle

Yi Yun knitted his eyebrows as the youth said, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Zhou Kui from the Xuanwu (Black Turtle) Army!"

The entire Tai Ah Divine Kingdom did not only have the Jin Long Wei as its only military division. The Xuanwu Army was one of the other best military divisions of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

A normal Xuanwu Army soldier was on average, inferior to a normal Jin Long Wei warrior. But the size of the Xuanwu Army was ten times that of the Jin Long Wei.

Besides that, the Xuanwu Army also specially nurtured an elite corps. The people from this elite corps were not weaker than the Jin Long Wei elites.

The Xuanwu Army was stationed in the north of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom and there were branches in the Jing state. Hence, accompanying Yi Yun and Song Zijun were a large number of Xuanwu Army personnel.

When Yi Yun was stopped by Zhou Kui, the other Jin Long Wei personnel came over.

The military was a cohesive entity. Whenever there was a conflict, people of similar backgrounds would help one another unanimously against external threats. If a fight was to occur, it was a fight to fight together!

"Brother Yi, what's the matter?!" Xu Zheng, who Yi Yun had gotten to know, came over. He too was from the Jin Long Wei.

Yi Yun sent a signal with his eyes and the people immediately understood what was going on. "Hehe, with five rooms, we should allocate them accordingly, but the Xuanwu Army wants them all?"

"That's too high-handed! Who do you think you are!?" said someone behind Yi Yun.

Immediately, all the Xuanwu Army personnel stood behind Zhou Kui.

The soldiers' bodies from the Xuanwu Army were generally bigger than the Jin Long Wei members.

In contrast, the Jin Long Wei soldiers only numbered a dozen, a lot less.

A dozen against three dozen.

Yi Yun took a look at the stout Zhou Kui. He knew the intentions of the Tai Ah Divine City. By arranging there to be a few middle-class rooms mixed in with the lower-class rooms, without any allocation, it was to put the warriors who came into the Tai Ah Divine City into a competitive state from the very beginning.

Competition, battling, elimination. This was the purpose of the Divine Wilderness campground's deadly goalpost!

A simple competition for residence spots reflected this.

Zhou Kui clearly understood the rules too. He said without fear, "In the Tai Ah Divine City, strength is king. The five middle-class rooms placed here are obviously for us to compete over! Hehe, I like to compete! The Jin Long Wei wants to take a spot for themselves? Sure! We can have a competition here today. Whoever wins gets to stay in it!"

The Xuanwu Army had a daunting presence, and they had the advantage in numbers. As Yan Menglong said, none of the young heroes who could stand here were weaklings. The Jin Long Wei's dozen people against the Xuanwu Army's three dozen people had a predictable outcome.

Even Yi Yun, who was confident in his own strength, could not fight one against many.

"I know Zhou Kui. His cultivation level is in the middle stages of Purple Blood, nearly entering the late stages!" Xu Zheng said beside Yi Yun.

The situation meant that they would definitely suffer if they went to battle. But if they did not fight, the Jin Long Wei would be disgruntled to just hand over all the middle-class rooms.

The Xuanwu Army had encircled the rooms. Zhou Kui laughed as he cracked his knuckles, giving off a provocative feeling.

His muscles tightened up and became similar to granite. It was hard to imagine that he was actually a fourteen-year-old teenager.

"Today, I'll stand here and represent the Xuanwu Army. Who wants to come up and fight me? If you beat me, you will have the right to take one room."

Zhou Kui knew that with such an arrangement by the Tai Ah Divine City, it was alright to have private matches as long as the opponent was not maimed.

Yi Yun looked at Zhou Kui. Zhou Kui had two weapons, a war blade and a warhammer. They were both hanging along his back.

It was rare to see a hammer as a weapon. Only people with great strength used hammers as their attack speed was slow, and they were incomparable to swords and sabers.

As for the war blade Zhou Kui had, it was an extremely heavy war blade with a thick handle. It was completely different from Yi Yun's Thousand Army Saber.

The Thousand Army Saber's blade was long and narrow and had a tiny curvature, making it look more like a sword.

Compared to Zhou Kui's war blade, they were two completely different weapons.

Yi Yun muttered slightly as his eyes flashed strangely.

The Tai Ah Divine City was a place with cut-throat competition. Since he was here, Yi Yun decided to accept the rule that the weak were the prey of the strong. There were too many geniuses in the Tai Ah Divine City; if you did not suppress others, others would suppress you.

In fact, not only in the Tai Ah Divine City, on the long martial path, if one wanted to carry walking down that path, one would continuously face competition. To mature and become stronger meant one had to fight for what belonged to them!

Yi Yun did not say a word and slowly unbuttoned his collar buttons. He took out a light chiffon and handed it casually to Xu Zheng.

"Help me hold it," Yi Yun said. He had handed Xu Zheng his Flowing Mercury Gown.

Xu Zheng paused because he could not tell what Yi Yun had handed him.

Zhou Kui did not react either. His arms were still held by his chest as he stood there boldly waiting for a challenger. His eyes swept the surroundings without much care. Even Yi Yun's action of taking off the Flowing Mercury Gown was not given much attention. It was at most a short glance. His attention was not on Yi Yun specifically as he did not think Yi Yun was anyone special amongst the dozen Jin Long Wei people.

At that moment, Yi Yun moved! Without any warning or words, his body shot out like lightning.

His speed was extremely fast!

"Cha!"

The Thousand Army Saber was unsheathed!

Ever since he grasped at the threshold of the large success stage of Minute Subtlety, his speed could only be described as terrifying.

"Twang!"

The Thousand Army Saber slashed through the air generating a sharp sound. But this sound could not follow the Thousand Army Saber's speed!

"Huh!?" Zhou Kui's pupils constricted. His reaction was extremely fast as he retreated quickly. At the same time, he released the arms across his chest and was about to take out the war blade and war hammer from his back.

But just as he touched the blade's and hammer's handle and retreated three steps, Yi Yun's Thousand Army Saber blade had reached Zhou Kui's throat!

The cold blade had a murderous chill!

Zhou Kui's neck started to bleed. If Yi Yun had not withdrawn the Thousand Army Saber in that hundredth of a second, Zhou Kui's neck would have been sliced apart!

This long saber was not any ordinary short saber. Just the blade was almost the same height as Yi Yun. When held by Yi Yun, he had an awesome aura!

Zhou Kui stood motionless as his forehead was sweating. In that moment, he had sensed death.

The people standing around were silent as they looked at this scene with appalled looks.

"You… attacked sneakily!!!" Zhou Kui's eyes stared at Yi Yun's blade. He said it while holding his breath. If he breathed too vigorously, he could not guarantee that the blade would not cut through his throat.

Zhou Kui was nursing a grievance. He had been crossing his hands in front of chest, with his blade behind him. He had just announced the match, and Yi Yun had suddenly attacked him!

He had not even revealed any of his abilities and had nearly been instantly killed by a kid half a head shorter than him!

After hunting hawks for his entire life, to be pecked in the eye by a sparrow was a great humiliation.

"On the battlefield, will an enemy ask you if you are ready before killing you?" Yi Yun did not withdraw his saber. The blade tip was still against Zhou Kui's neck, making it difficult for him to speak.

Zhou Kui shut his mouth because the ultra-long battle saber in Yi Yun's hand gave him too much pressure.

At that moment, the Xuanwu Army exploded. They were disgruntled and began shouting, "Too despicable. It was a sneak attack, and yet he made it sound so high and mighty."

"If you have any ability, withdraw your saber and fight a decent match with Brother Kui!"

Zhou Kui's strength was one of the highest among them. Due to his exceptional strength, when Zhou Kui used the war blade and the war hammer, there was no one who could face him.

As for Zhou Kui's speed, it was relatively weaker.

But Yi Yun was noted for his speed. Together with his sneak attack, it made Zhou Kui not even have the chance to pull out his blade, hence putting him in a situation where he lost in a single strike.

But Yi Yun could not be bothered with their words.

If anything was to blame, it was on Zhou Kui's arrogance. His hands were still crossed around his chest when he announced the match.

"If this was a battlefield, you would already be dead," Yi Yun said lightly.

Zhou Kui's face turned red. He was resentful, but, he knew that what Yi Yun said was the truth.

He was someone flexible. Whether it was Yi Yun's sneak attack or not, or whether his strength was greater than Yi Yun, the truth of the matter was that he had lost to Yi Yun.

"You sure are ruthless!" Zhou Kui gnashed his teeth saying. "One of the middle-class rooms is yours!"

Zhou Kui conceded and Yi Yun sheathed his saber.

Zhou Kui looked angrily at Yi Yun, "What's your name?"

"Yi Yun."

"Yi Yun? Good! I was defeated by you today, but I'll remember you. I will take back the pride you took today. I will let you know the taste of my Ghost King Blade and the Cranium Crusher!"

Yi Yun did not take Zhou Kui's word of resentment to heart. He carried his Thousand Army Saber and walked into his room.

The five rooms would definitely not all fall in the hands of the Jin Long Wei. Similarly, the Xuanwu Army had no way of taking them all. It all depended on who had the ability and the strength.

Yi Yun could not help the weak.

Yi Yun sized up the room. It was a plain stone house with extremely simple furnishings.

A beam made from desolate bones, a stone bed, a stone desk, a chair and a spirit gathering array.

The desolate bones were nothing special; and with age, there was extremely limited energy left within it.

As for the stone bed, it did not even have any bedding. It was empty and hard. This bed would cause a normal person's body to hurt after a night's sleep. The reason why there was no bedding in the Tai Ah Divine City's rooms was to tell the warriors coming here to train that they should replace sleep with meditation.

Coming to the Tai Ah Divine City was not to enjoy life. If they wanted to enjoy life, they should stay in their fiefs. In their six years in the Tai Ah Divine City, one had to train hard and strive to move forward!

True Martial World - Chapter 159: Sage Avenue

The street went straight into the heart of the city. This was Tai Ah Divine City's main road that went from the southern gate to the city's center. Whoever entered from the southern entrance had to pass by this road. Hence, to place the sculptures here meant immense glory!

The bald man said, "This road is known as Sage Avenue! Whenever a warrior in the Divine Wilderness campground breaks a record in the divine city, his name will be left here on Sage Avenue. A master sculptor will carve a sculpture to be placed on the Sage platforms!"

"To be able to have your bust and name left in the divine city is a great honor. There is no lack of people dreaming of this!"

"But, it's too hard. In the past 200 years, there have been no new names or busts. If anyone has the ability, they would have that tiny chance to become a human Sage!"

"And because of this, this road is known as Sage Avenue."

"To become a Sage!?" Hearing these words, the young heroes were extremely excited. A human Sage was a person who could summon the rain with a flick of his hand!

Back then, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's founding emperor was a Sage! Of course, among the Sages in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, he was one of the best.

They did not need to be one of the best amongst the Sages. Even the lowest Sage rank was an extreme figure. No matter where they went, they would be given the utmost respect. Even the ancient family clans would be respectful!

How could any one of the youths that came to the Divine Wilderness campground not want to become a top warrior? Sage Avenue had stirred their excitement.

Many people stopped moving forward as they began reading the words written on the metal platforms.

The bald man did not stop them and permitted them to carry on looking. After all, these busts were placed here to honor the ancient heroes and to inspire the future generations. It was a good thing to let these young people peruse them.

"Oh? Qingfeng Year 634. Zhou Tianping entered the top 1000 spots within the three rolls of honor simultaneously. He had broken the records of the ancestors. This record is to encourage future generations!"

"Divine Emperor Qingfeng… That's a divine emperor from 100,000 years ago. And he entered the top 1000 spots within the three rolls of honor? What're the three rolls of honor?

The Tai Ah Divine City had always been mysterious. Even the youths from some smaller family clans did not know the rules of the Tai Ah Divine City.

"The three rolls of honor are the Heaven, Earth and Man rolls! These three rolls are extremely important in the Tai Ah Divine City. You will see it in the future!" The bald man said before proceeding forward.

The hundred young warriors walked along the street with their eyes focused on the metal platforms that lined both sides of the street.

The outstanding figures that had their names engraved on the metal platforms filled them with sincere admiration.

"Oh? Jing state's Overlord Li Xiao. Isn't he one of the four presiding army commanders! Back then General Li had come to the Divine Wilderness campground for training, and even left his name on the Sage platform." A youth discovered it and immediately attracted a lot of attention from the others.

The Jing state's Overlord Li Xiao was an idol of many young warriors. To see their idol's name here excited them greatly.

If… they could leave their name here, it would be great.

These were the thoughts of many people. Of course, they knew that it was an incredibly difficult achievement.

The bald man eventually led them into a rustic building in the rear of the city and gave everyone a token.

"Mark an imprint within the token with your spiritual energy. In the next six years, this token will be your symbol of identity!"

Yi Yun took a token and it felt heavy in the hand. The token was palm-sized and it weighed about a few dozen pounds.

The front of the token was filled with inscriptions and on the back were the words "Divine Wilderness" in ancient script.

When Yi Yun imprinted his spiritual energy into the token, the token sparkled as golden runes lit up.

"Oh? This is…" The golden runes were like scales. It surprised Yi Yun.

"These dragon scales runes are the most basic item for warriors here. Without dragon scale runes, they can't do anything."

"Every expense within the Tai Ah Divine City for warriors, including resources, cultivation techniques, relics, training grounds need to be bought with dragon scale runes! Slowly, you will understand the importance of dragon scale runes." The bald man explained by the side.

"I see, so dragon scale runes are the currency of the Tai Ah Divine City…" Yi Yun counted the number of dragon scale runes he had within his token. There were only ten.

The bald man said, "From today, this will be where you will be staying. The stone houses behind you are where you will live. These stone houses are the lowest class houses in the Tai Ah Divine City. It is provided free-of-charge. The food here is also provided free-of-charge, but of course, it's the most inferior."

The lowest class houses and the most inferior food?

All these young warriors were unordinary people. Hence the words "lowest class" and "inferior" were extremely harsh to the ears.

A youth could not help but ask, "What about the superior residences? What are the benefits? If we want to change to those places, what requirements do we need to meet?"

The bald man said, "The Tai Ah Divine City's residences are divided into lower class, middle class, upper class, and the central divine tower! The lower class residences are free. The middle-class residences charge two dragon scale runes a day. Upper-class residences charge five dragon scale runes a day. As for the residences within the central divine tower, they charge at least fifty dragon scale runes a day.

"The central divine tower's residences?"

All the young heroes consciously looked towards the city center. That mountain-like pyramid made them feel extremely minute.

Out of the four types of residences in the Tai Ah Divine City, the lower, middle and upper class had similar prices.

But once it reached the central divine tower, the price jumped ten times, and began at fifty dragon scale runes!

It was obvious that there were plenty of advantages living in the central divine tower.

The bald man said, "The Tai Ah Divine City's central divine tower is a huge array that gathers Heaven Earth Yuan Qi! The Tai Ah Divine City is itself built on a wonderland vein and is thick in Heaven Earth Yuan Qi. Together with the central divine tower's array, all the Heaven Earth Yuan Qi in a 500,000-kilometer radius gathers towards the Tai Ah Divine City. Hence, the central divine tower is the place which has the densest Heaven Earth Yuan Qi!"

"The higher you go in the central divine tower, the thicker the Heaven Earth Yuan Qi is. The density in the top level reaches an inconceivable point!

"Fifty dragon scale runes is to stay within the lowest levels of the central divine tower. The higher one goes, the more expensive it becomes!"

"The Tai Ah Divine Tower has 99 levels. From level 50 onwards, the prices become extremely exaggerated. From level 70 onwards, the price becomes astronomical. The young warriors that come to the Tai Ah Divine City have no way of affording it!"

"Affording it? Then who stays in the rooms above level 70?" Someone could not help but ask.

The bald man said, "In the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, there are many fathomless people like dukes, grand dukes, and some reclusive old human freaks. Typically, these people can stay above level 70…"

So that's it!

The young warriors looked at each other. Those people had power beyond their comprehension.

Indeed, for the Tai Ah Divine City to be the number one city in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, and as a city for warriors, it was a place for these young warriors from all around the country to train. But it did not only belong to them.

The best cultivation grounds above level 70 were of course given priority to these super experts. For a teenage kid to go up and use it?

Difficult!

The bald man continued, "Above level 95, there are top class rooms. In the Tai Ah Divine City, there are only 20 such rooms. Even with vast amounts of dragon scale runes, one is not qualified to stay within. Unless you have the absolute value or have obtained stunning results giving you enough glory points, then can you enter!"

Hearing the bald man's words, everyone felt depressed. This central divine tower was good, but its requirements were too high, especially those rooms on the higher levels. They were not prepared for kids like them.

From the bald man's words, they could tell that he meant that it was already extremely good if they could stay in the lower levels of the central divine tower.

It would be amazing if a few outstanding people could live at a dozen stories.

"Stay here first. I'll bring you to the cultivation grounds tomorrow. That cultivation is a great opportunity, so take good advantage of it!" As he said those words, the bald man turned and left. The youths sighed before walking to their dormitory.

These low-class residences were at the edge of the Tai Ah Divine City and the rows of houses numbered a hundred. Yi Yun looked through a few rooms and realized something.

"Oh? The same free room, but the living conditions are so different?'

Some of the rooms had spirit gathering arrays, resulting in the Yuan Qi in the room to be thicker. But other rooms had nothing and was the same as outside the house. To cultivate in such houses would be naturally difficult.

Yi Yun sensed the area carefully and quickly found the houses with the thickest Heaven Earth Yuan Qi.

On the wall of this house wrote–

House rating: Middle class.

Required dragon scale runes: None.

"Oh? Middle-class room?" Yi Yun was surprised that mixed in this low-class residence were five middle-class rooms and they were free.

Then who wouldn't want to live in the middle-class house?

But…the bald man did not assign any room numbers to them. Hence, anyone was eligible to stay in these middle-class rooms.

Yi Yun could faintly guess the reason for such an arrangement by the Tai Ah Divine City.

Yi Yun pondered for a while and walked towards the room. Just as he crossed the door, a cold voice came from behind him suddenly, "Sorry, these five houses are ours!"

Yi Yun turned his head and saw a majestic-looking youth. His arms were crossed in front of his chest as he sneered at Yi Yun.

The youths that came to the Tai Ah Divine City were about the same age. But the man in front of him was very much like an adult be it his height or build.

When this youth matured, he would probably grow to be as strong as a tower.

True Martial World - Chapter 158: Central Divine Tower

"What is that huge flame-colored bird?" Yi Yun asked the person behind him. He had gained a few friends in the past few days.

"It's a Ferocious Fire Bird. It has the bloodline of the primordial desolate beast Vermilion Bird. It and the Crackling Fire Beast are both fire-elemental desolate beasts. Consuming another fire elemental beast will help its development. Although they are both desolate beasts, the difference in their strengths is tremendous!" said a slightly plump youth beside Yi Yun.

This youth's name was Xu Zheng. He was one of Yi Yun’s newfound friends that he gained while traveling. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Xu Zheng touched his plump chin and licked his lips, "Desolate beasts with primordial bloodlines, tsk tsk. They give great benefits to one’s body. If you can capture and refine a Ferocious Fire Bird into a desolate bone relic, it would be priceless on the market. There will be no shortage of people rushing to buy it."

These days, Yi Yun had learned the different strength classifications of desolate beasts.

The weakest were normal desolate beasts. The only difference from fierce beasts was their ability to manipulate Heaven Earth Yuan Qi. It was similar to the Mortal Blood warriors before the Qi Gatherer realm and those who had broken through to the Qi Gatherer and above.

After normal desolate beasts, there were the elite-ranked desolate beasts, general-ranked desolate beasts, king-ranked desolate beasts…

Further up, there were rumors of primal-ranked desolate beasts and primordial-ranked desolate beasts. Those were beyond Yi Yun's comprehension.

For a desolate beast to be strong, its bloodline played a most important role. Typically, a desolate beast with a primordial bloodline tended to be stronger.

If one could kill a primordial strain and obtain its bones and blood, one could refine them into relics and elixirs and their value would be immeasurable.

Of course, this was too far away for Yi Yun. He found it difficult to beat normal desolate beasts, not to even mention how he would do against primordial types.

As it started to turn dark, a commotion aroused within the airship. Upon hearing this, Yi Yun looked out into the distance. What he saw completely shocked him.

He had previously heard that the Divine Wilderness campground was located within a city. This city stood within the Divine Wilderness and it was known as the divine city of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom!

Words are but wind, but seeing is believing. Now, after seeing the city, Yi Yun knew why it was called "Divine City"!

After traversing millions of kilometers of endless gray plains, they arrived at an area where a city stood. It was built on the peak of a gigantic outcrop!

The city was a black citadel that stood above foundation stone pillars. It was a shaved-off summit, a few dozen kilometers in radius and more than ten thousand meters high!

A city built on top of a rock pillar, which was more than ten thousand meters high, made it look like a black dragon from afar!

It was hard to imagine that the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom had built such a city in the Divine Wilderness. Even the most capable human would sigh with emotion when seeing this!

As the airship approached, Yi Yun slowly saw the city's silhouette come into view. The sight made him feel a majestic aura as if an empyrean lord was attacking him, both mentally and physically.

Yi Yun's chest started to fill with an unknown vigor as if his blood was set on fire.

To use magnificence to describe a city such as this would be insufficient.

The city's base was already about ten thousand meters tall. Inside the city, there were tall buildings, some of them even pierced through the clouds themselves.

The walls around the city seemed to be connected to the sky as if they were endless.

There was a huge, dark brown colored square in front of the city that looked like it had been covered in blood, revealing an endless amount of killing and sanguinity.

Beside the square, there were thick and tall old trees, which resembled green giants.

The entire city was situated on a sharp cliff with walls smooth like mirrors. There were no roads, only water-bucket-sized black metal chains that linked the jagged parts of the cliff to the plains ten thousand meters below.

Looking at it from below, the chains were huge and lofty at the bottom, while the other end looked thin in the distance, as they eventually disappeared into the clouds. It made one shudder in fear.

These chains were bridges that hung in the void and they were the only entrances into the city from the Divine Wilderness plains.

Such a system made it difficult for people to enter and exit the city. But it had a great advantage, it was easy to defend.

The Divine Wilderness would occasionally have beast hordes. In these beast hordes, there was no lack of king-ranked desolate beasts. If it were an ordinary city, it would long since have wiped out by a beast horde!

Having a city built on an outcrop tens of thousands meters high, standing all alone at the pinnacle, reduced the number of ways normal desolate beasts could attack once the chains were withdrawn.

The airship landed on a square in front of the city.

There were dozens of vessels, the same size as the large airship they were on, parked in the square.

There were many mighty-looking guards standing in the square.

Yi Yun, Song Zijun and the hundred other people from the airship followed the thin bald man in disembarking.

The moment he disembarked the airship, Yi Yun felt an extremely dense and oppressive Heaven Earth Yuan Qi.

The Heaven Earth Yuan Qi here was more than ten times denser than in the Cloud Wilderness. The density of Heaven Earth Yuan Qi was very important for a warrior's cultivation; hence, the Divine Wilderness was considered by many warriors to be a sacred cultivation ground.

Finally standing in the square, Yi Yun felt the majestic aura of the city.

The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's number one city–Tai Ah Divine City!

The Zhong state royal capital was the central city of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, it was magnificent and had a grandiose atmosphere. However, to the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's warriors, this city that stood in the distant Divine Wilderness was the true number one city of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom!

Over the tens of millions of years, the Tai Ah Divine City had nurtured numerous warriors for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. They cultivated, killed and grew here!

"How does it feel?" The bald leader spoke with pride. The Tai Ah Divine City was the pride of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

When standing on the ten-thousand-meter-tall city walls, looking at the endless plains of the Divine Wilderness below, pride would inevitably rise up in every divine kingdom warrior!

"Let's enter the city!" The bald man led them with a wave of his arm, bringing all these young heroes into the city.

The sky was already turning dark at this point.

The city walls were dimly glowing with inscriptions before they lit up one by one. It made Yi Yun clearly feel a mighty energy fluctuation.

These were inscription arrays made by the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's array masters over hundreds of millions of years. Heaven Earth Yuan Qi was injected within, allowing every inch of the city wall to be impregnable.

On the city wall’s crenels, there were ballistae with exquisite inscriptions on them. Their muzzles pointed outwards in every direction. The ballistae's cold arrowheads would shimmer with purple energy. Together with the entire city wall's array, it gave off a subtle trill.

These ballistae were like beasts in the night. Although they were not pointing at Yi Yun, they gave him a thin layer of goosebumps.

When a beast horde would appear, the greatest threat came from the attacks of flying desolate beasts. These ballistae were the nemesis of those flying desolate beasts!

Hence, this city was the amalgamation of uncountable numbers of Tai Ah Divine Kingdom warriors' wisdom as well as their flesh-and-blood.

At that moment, the city gates opened. Yi Yun followed the bald man into the Tai Ah Divine City, to which looked empty as there were not many people in the streets.

Upon entering the city, the most prominent building was a large tower in the city’s center. The tower was a square pyramid in shape and half of its height had broken through the clouds. Its spire, blurred within the clouds.

It looked like a huge pyramid.

Yi Yun compared it to the surrounding buildings and found out that, all the buildings around it made the pyramid's size become even more exaggerated, it was like a huge mountain by itself.

Layer after layer of the pyramid was filled with exits, which made it look like a beehive. Flying beasts and airship could be seen shuttling through these exits. In the face of this huge pyramid, those huge beasts and airships were as small as mosquitoes.

"That is the Central Divine Tower. The top level is the residence of the Divine Wilderness city's city lord and its three elders. The Tai Ah Divine City's elites live in the lower levels." The bald man casually introduced it tersely before taking them deeper into the city.

The deeper Yi Yun entered the city, the more shocked he became.

The various buildings within the city were not exquisite. But their ruggedness and magnificence emitted a sturdy and solid aura. Its steadfastness was breathtaking.

Some of the building materials used even had several primordial type desolate bones. Yi Yun could feel the undulating souls of the beasts.

Such buildings were solid and grand in construction. Even if a desolate beast were to enter the city, it would find it extremely difficult to destroy these buildings.

Even the ordinary houses on the streets were covered with protective arrays. They looked ancient and simple. Some of the commoner's houses had beams made out of the shin bones of unknown beasts.

It was amazing to use bones as beams.

"Oh? "What's that?" A young warrior found that there were black round metal platforms by both sides of the street. These round platforms were lined neatly and above each one there was a stone sculpture in the shape of a human bust.

Below the stone sculptures were some text.

One of the round platforms read: "In 2164 W.D., Gao Zhi stood on the Heaven-Earth stage and lasted for 3 min 24 seconds. He had broken the records of the ancestors. This record is to encourage future generations!"

Heaven-Earth stage? What's that?

Yi Yun was puzzled. "Gao Zhi" was naturally a person's name. If he wasn't wrong, the bust was Gao Zhi.

This half-man sculpture was that of a teenager with a daring sense.

As for 2164 W.D, it was the year that marked the beginning of the Divine Emperor of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, Wan De. He was a Divine Emperor from 50,000 years ago.

That was to say that this metal round platform and the bust had stood there for 50,000 years. This Gao Zhi person had most likely passed away!

"Are these the records left behind by warriors training in the Divine Wilderness?" Yi Yun understood that this street lined with metal platforms and sculptures recorded all the geniuses that appear in this Divine City. They had accomplished splendid achievements in the divine city and their records gave them a permanent place in history.

True Martial World - Chapter 157: Traveling to the Divine Wilderness

"Yun'er, that Divine Wilderness campground… do you have to go?" Jiang Xiaorou bit her lips and looked at Yi Yun with complex emotions.

Yi Yun did not tell Jiang Xiaorou about the mortality rates in the Divine Wilderness campground, but Jiang Xiaorou had found out everything about the Divine Wilderness campgrounds.

A 15% mortality rate and a 5% disability rate was too disturbing.

"I'll be fine," said Yi Yun seriously.

Jiang Xiaorou's lips quivered when she heard Yi Yun's words. She wanted to say something but she chose not to in the end.

Finally, she just gave Yi Yun a gentle hug. She knew that Yi Yun had the life he wanted. She had no way of changing his mind on what he had decided on.

A wild horse was destined to belong to the prairie…

Jiang Xiaorou gave everything that Yi Yun could bring with him. She sewed a bag that suited Yi Yun, with a "Rou" embroidered on it. There were well wishes the people of the vast wilderness believed in sewn on the back. She also sewed the protective talisman Su Jie had given to Yi Yun within, hoping it would keep Yi Yun safe…

With that, Yi Yun embarked on his journey…

…

The third day, at the appointed time around dawn. Yi Yun carried a bag made of beast hide that was half the size of a human. He had been waiting in the Jin Long Wei's square for a long time.

Not long after, Song Zijun's figure appeared in Yi Yun's vision.

The exchanged knowing nods with each other, but there was not much to be said, as they both looked in the direction of the Divine Wilderness.

The two upright figures were like two straight javelins.

When the first golden ray of the Sun appeared, an emerald green speckle appeared on the distant horizon. Its figure grew and soon, it covered the sky.

Yi Yun looked up and secretly clicked his tongue. It was an airship. He had previously seen Lin Xintong in one back in the Cloud Wilderness.

It was a military airship, much bigger than the one Lin Xintong was on, but it was less sophisticated.

Airships were the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's air transports that were worthy of praise. Especially the airships that could cross the divine wilderness, they were also called divine ships. They were made by several of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom’s refinement masters. The metals used were all engraved with runes and arrays. They had strong defenses and many offensive measures. They could overcome the flying desolate beasts in the Divine Wilderness.

The famous divine naval fleet of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom was comprised of divine ships. It was a national symbol of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's strength.

The divine ship slowly lowered its altitude. Round droplets of water under its cold metallic belly flashed with the early morning sunlight while a few mysterious ancient runes inscribed on it shrouded the airship in a sacred halo.

Yi Yun was pumped when he saw such a mighty airship. This was the first time he was flying on such a huge flying treasure.

He squeezed the certificate of proof needed for entering the Divine Wilderness.

Buzz—

The airship roared as it suspended itself a hundred meters above the ground after stopping its descent.

A thick, black metal chain the size of a water bucket fell from the airship's belly, crashing into the ground in front of Yi Yun and Song Zijun, which stirred up a dust storm.

A thin, bald middle-aged man stood there with his hands crossed within his sleeves when a cabin door opened in the flying boat’s body. Commanding from above, he looked down at Yi Yun and Song Zijun.

"Are you the Divine Wilderness campground students that the Divine Capital Jin Long Wei have chosen? Show me your proof!" The man said authoritatively, sending the voice into Yi Yun's ears as if he was beside Yi Yun.

Yi Yun and Song Zijun answered and threw the certificate of proof upwards.

After examining the certificate, the middle-aged man nodded, "Alright, get up here using the chain."

Yi Yun and Song Zijun immediately began climbing up the chains, but they realized the metal chains slid within their hands. It seemed like it was covered in layers of China wood oil.

It was likely a small test.

But this test was nothing to Yi Yun and Song Zijun. With their flexibility, they climbed up the chain agilely like monkeys.

Yi Yun was especially outstanding. He climbed up it as if he was walking on flat ground. It made the middle-aged man take a few more glances at him.

Upon entering the airship, the leader brought them to the northeastern corner of the airship. After explaining some of the rules to be observed in the airship, he left, giving Yi Yun a chance to take a look around carefully.

Within the airship, there were more than twenty people seated. It came to him that these were participants from neighboring cities. There were many people just around the Divine Capital.

These people were all gallant and manly.

Some of them did not stop cultivating even while on the airship. They sat down meditating while others exhaled heavily as they punched out. None of them looked relaxed.

This made Yi Yun realize that the people chosen to enter the Divine Wilderness campground were not ordinary people!

Yi Yun did not say much to anyone. He sat down on his spot and began regulating his breathing.

Soon, the divine boat flew out of the Divine Capital's influence. Along the way, there were about a dozen people who boarded the divine boat in the neighboring cities of the Divine Capital. After flying to more than ten cities in a row, more than 100 people had boarded.

Following that, there was no one else. The divine boat flew higher and higher into the clouds, and with the array activated, it whistled through the air as it left behind a thunderous roar.

Yi Yun could not help but open his eyes and look out the window.

The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's scenery was a spectacle!

For a person like Yi Yun, who came from a small tribal clan, it was a form of training and accumulation of experience to enjoy the panoramic view of the mountains and rivers.

Outside the airship, Yi Yun soon saw a huge roaring river. This river was several hundred kilometers wide and there were dark shadows within the river when suddenly a shadow billowed out the waters. It was a giant beast many times the size of a whale. It leaped out from the water and grabbed a giant bird in the sky before diving back into the water.

Yi Yun could not help but be shocked. He had never seen such a murderous water beast.

He also saw flocks of strange birds that blotted out the sky in an endless desert. Their wings spanned several thousand feet and their flaps caused the airship to experience turbulence.

Also in the vast ocean, there were many tiny islands appearing out of the water for air that spat out rainbows. They were actually colossal giant tortoises.

Many wonderful beasts amazed Yi Yun as it was an eye-opening experience.

The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom was extremely vast, but after flying for a few days, the airship charged into a towering giant fortress.

The fortress had a magnificent array within it with countless numbers of crystals that radiated brilliant energy into the sky.

These were the super-long-distance arrays.

As the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom was too big, and the Divine Wilderness was too far away, just flying in the airships would take an extremely long time. Hence, they had to rely on ancient arrays to travel.

Yi Yun had kept count and they had entered three of those magnificent fortress arrays. They had teleported three times, covering an unknown distance that spanned tens of millions of kilometers.

Finally, they reached a barren wasteland near the Divine Wilderness.

The Lian tribal clan was originally in the Cloud Wilderness, which was beside the Jing state. But the Divine Wilderness was at the other end of the Divine Kingdom. Traveling from the Jing state to the Divine Wilderness covered a large area of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom!

It was a really long journey.

The setting sun was blood-red as its glow spilled on the airship.

At the top of the airship, there were a few potholes, which had arrays embedded within the extraordinary metal to protect the divine boat. On their journey, they had been attacked twice by desolate beasts. And they left some traces on the metal.

"Divine Wilderness! We've reached the Divine Wilderness!" shouted someone inside the divine boat. Everyone rushed to the hall and looked out.

Yi Yun raised his eyebrows as he looked through the airship's glass window. He found that the fog had lifted quite a distance away.

It seemed like there was an air of desolate wilderness that came surging over.

Roar!

A roar shook the world.

Below them, there was dust all over. There were many large behemoths running on the dust plains. Their hooves rumbled on the ground like thunder.

A black jungle spanned across the distant horizon. Each towering tree was like a beam rising into the blue sky.

There were sharp cries in the sky from the numerous flying beasts swooping around with their razor sharp claws that resembled blades. A beast that looked like a lion had been grabbed from the chaotic dust storm as its blood smeared the sky.

Even further away, there was a mountain that towered into the clouds. There was a bright light circulating around it like a heavenly realm. But this divine realm would shoot out black web-like silk capturing monsters that passed it…

Some of the mountain peaks were also bare and lifeless. A huge lion that produced thundering snores as it lied prone on a mountain, completely covering it.

When the airship reached this area, it began to fly more cautiously. It flew to an even higher altitude.

Below the airship was endless mountain stretches.

Occasionally, a large black swamp or sweltering desert could be seen.

There were mountain piles of white skeletons in those places.

"This is the Divine Wilderness…" Yi Yun took a deep breath for the Divine Wilderness was too mighty and dreadful.

"Look, isn't that a Crackling Fire Beast?!" Someone suddenly said as Yi Yun looked down. He saw in the wilderness plains below the flying boat were small mountains of bones. Within these bones, there was something flowing like lava. It was apparently a Crackling Fire Beast.

But now, the Crackling Fire Beast had been killed. Its innards were exposed and a colorful huge bird was sitting on it, devouring its flesh.

Yi Yun's eyes twitched. He knew that the Cloud Wilderness also had Crackling Fire Beasts, and it was a well-known beast in the Cloud Wilderness. But in the Divine Wilderness, it had become the prey of the colorful huge bird.

There was danger at every turn in the Divine Wilderness. It was daunting and compared to the Cloud Wilderness, it was at a totally different level.

The Cloud Wilderness was a barren land with little Heaven Earth Yuan Qi. Hence, it could not give birth to treasures or strong desolate beasts.

There was a lack of types like grand behemoths that were primordial strain.

The Cloud Wilderness's strongest desolate beasts would enter desolate wastelands to the north of the Desolate Human Valley. The desolate wastelands were two completely different places from the Cloud Wilderness.

But the Divine Wilderness was different. It had countless numbers of grand behemoths within it.

Normal people could survive, with great difficulty, in the Cloud Wilderness, but in the Divine Wilderness, there were no normal people. Very few people trod these lands. There were legends of mysterious tribes within that had special blood heritage and they were mysterious and powerful!

True Martial World - Chapter 156: Divine Wilderness Campground

Early in the morning, just as the rooster made its morning call, the Jin Long Wei's recruits gathered in the square!

Yi Yun was also living in the military barracks. But as a Kingdom Knight, he got his own dormitory and it was in great condition.

Yan Menglong stood in the middle of the square inspecting the new recruits.

"Today is the first day you become a soldier! From today, you will receive tough training ranging from one to six years!"

Many of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's Jin Long Wei would reach the late-stages of the Purple Blood realm, and even more would exceed Purple Blood when they retire.

A late-stage Purple Blood warrior had a lifespan of more than 150 years and could stay in their prime to a late age.

A Jin Long Wei solider could serve for a long time; hence taking 5-6 years of training was nothing much.

"All of you will be divided into three batches to undergo special training!"

"The three batches are… The third batch is to stay in the Divine Capital's campgrounds. You will be trained in the Divine Capital! After completing your training, you will become Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's normal soldiers. If you render any meritorious services, you can be upgraded to an elite. Some feats might even make you a Kingdom Knight! Everything will depend on yourselves!"

"The second batch is the Zhong state campgrounds. The Zhong state is the biggest state in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, and it is where the imperial city is in. Hence, it is controlled by the Imperial Divine Majesty himself. To enter the Zhong state for training gains you utmost glory! Those who undergo special training in the Zhong state would become Jin Long Wei elites upon completion. If there are any meritorious services, they will be made Kingdom Knights!

"As for the last batch, the Divine Wilderness campgrounds! Qualified personnel will be selected by the military division. They can voluntarily decide to go or not. The training grounds will be in the Divine Wilderness! There is no shortage of danger in the Divine Wilderness, and it is a place filled with death! One has to be prepared to die anytime within the Divine Wilderness!"

"The Divine Wilderness campground is also known as the death camp or the death gantry! There is a 15% mortality rate there and a 5% chance of disability. Together, it's 20%! Those who train there are the elites among elites. If you aren't careful, you will be doomed eternally!"

"But if you were to complete your training, you will become an elite soldier of the Divine Kingdom. You can even become a Human Lord in the future! The Divine Wilderness campground is the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's goal post. If you can jump across it, you will have eternal glory, but if you fall through it, you will be smashed to smithereens!" While saying those words, his focus shifted onto Yi Yun and Song Zijun. In the Divine Capital, only Yi Yun and Song Zijun were qualified to enter the Divine Wilderness campgrounds but the choice of going was up to them.

“Divine Wilderness…” Yi Yun muttered to himself. He had learned more about the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom in the recent days.

The Divine Wilderness did not belong to the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

In fact, the Divine Wilderness did not belong to any country. Its dimensions were unknown. Its area was more than ten times bigger than the vast Tai Ah Divine Kingdom!

To use one word to describe it, it would be: endless!

Deep in the Divine Wilderness lurked real prehistoric giant beasts that had primordial blood. These divine beasts were equivalent to human Sages, and might even be comparable to legendary Great Emperors!

The Divine Wilderness was without end. The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom had only explored a small area of the Divine Wilderness.

Due to the many uncontrollable factors of the Divine Wilderness, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom established a camp in the Divine Wilderness. Hence, the danger was obvious.

To say that the Divine Wilderness campground was a death gantry was not an exaggeration.

"Dismissed! Yi Yun and Song Zijun, stay behind!"

Yan Menglong was brief. The three camps were distributed in a pyramid fashion. What he was most concerned about was the pinnacle of the pyramid, the Divine Wilderness!

"Yi Yun! Zijun! I'm sure you have probably guessed the reason for me keeping you behind." Yan Menglong crossed his arms in front of his chest. He stood with his legs slightly apart and with a grand posture on the stone stage, he overlooked Yi Yun and Song Zijun.

Yi Yun and Song Zijun nodded.

"Entering the Divine Wilderness campground is only by choice! If you do not choose to go, you can choose to go to the Zhong state campgrounds. There's only a 2% mortality rate there. With your strength, you will definitely be the top of the Zhong state campgrounds, and you would safely complete your training without any trouble. In the future, you will also get a good position, slowly rising to the rank of Baron and be a Thousand Households. You can also marry a few wives, and lead a peaceful life as a master, do you want that?" Yan Menglong asked them rhetorically.

Yi Yun and Song Zijun answered at the same time, "We don't!"

Serving safely in the Jin Long Wei for dozens of years and then be decommissioned; eventually, marrying and having children, living a wealthy squire life before dying after a hundred years. Besides leaving behind bones, nothing was left. Neither Yi Yun nor Song Zijun wanted to lead such a life!

A person had to have dreams and pursue them!

Lin Xintong had such strength, yet she still pursued her terminated meridians. Yi Yun naturally did the same thing.

"Very good!" Yan Menglong nodded with appreciation. "If you choose the Divine Wilderness campground, I have to tell you that there are numerous elites in there."

"The Divine Wilderness campground doesn't only have the Jin Long Wei. Out of the three campgrounds I mentioned previously, the former two are run by the Jin Long Wei, but the last Divine Wilderness campground is run by the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. The Jin Long Wei only comprises about 10% of the people in the Divine Wilderness campground."

"Besides the Jin Long Wei, there are also the Qing Luan (Great Argus) Wei, the Royal guards, and children of large family clans and members of the royal family!"

"These troops and family clan elites would all enter the Divine Wilderness campgrounds!"

"Once you enter, you will see what it means to be a genius, and what's monstrous. They have been bathing in drugs from the age of three, reaching Tempered Body at eight years of age. Some might even have a special bloodline, giving them natural strength that makes one envious, and… there are even some geniuses who are considered young Sages!"

"The Divine Wilderness campgrounds has a 20% disability rate and it is no laughing matter. Those who fall are top geniuses. Many geniuses who have died have greater talent than you!"

Hearing Yan Menglong's words, Song Zijun inhaled deeply and clenched his fists. He knew that in the Divine Wilderness campgrounds, no one was weaker than him. There were even many who were stronger than him!

In the entire Divine Capital city, only two were chosen, Song Zijun and Yi Yun. Song Zijun admitted that he was beneath Yi Yun, so he was considered as one of the inferior ones in those who were selected to enter!

By being weak, it would be dangerous. He might end up being one of those in the 20% mortality and disability statistics!

Yan Menglong carried on, "When you go to the Divine Wilderness, you will be representing the Jin Long Wei, and representing the Jin Long Wei Divine Capital branch! Do not be an embarrassment for the Jin Long Wei, and do not embarrass the Divine Capital branch. Most importantly, what I want to tell you is… to come back safely. Life is most important!"

Yan Menglong did not bother to make sure if they regretted their decision because he had found the answer within their eyes.

The Divine Wilderness campgrounds was a challenge, but it was also an opportunity!

The path of practicing martial arts was to go against the Heavens. Those who wanted to achieve much had to charge forward bravely!

"Alright, go back and rest for two days. Early on the third morning, an airship will take the two of you there. Oh yes, I agreed to give you desolate bone relics." As Yan Menglong said that, he flicked his fingers, and two bean-sized crystals flew into Yi Yun's hand.

Back then Yan Menglong had said the winner of the competition would receive not only weapons but desolate bone relics.

"Thank you, General!" Yi Yun caught the two relics with delight. These two things were too critical. Yi Yun had already finished all the fierce bone relics he had accumulated back in the Desolate Human Valley.

A warrior's cultivation needed endless amounts of elixirs and relics. To get a horse to run, it had to be fed.

"Do well! Don't disappoint me!" Yan Menglong patted Yi Yun and Song Zijun firmly on the shoulders and left, leaving behind Yi Yun and Song Zijun, who had mixed feelings.

Song Zijun breathed deeply as he clenched his fists, his fingers trembling.

Yi Yun was surprised at Song Zijun's reaction and asked, "Scared? Excited?"

Song Zijun sighed with his back facing Yi Yun, "Both I guess…"

"General Yan is right, many of those geniuses who have died from missing the goal post are stronger than me! In fact, my strength is nothing when placed there. It might end up that my name will be on that 20% mortality and disability list!"

Yi Yun nodded. The weaker you were, the easier you would be eliminated.

"In the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's 108 states, the Jing state we are in is an average sized state. And just in the Jing state, there are 100 provinces! My Song family clan is considered a pretty good family clan in the Jing state’s Nanjun province, but it’s just one of many! I may not be bad in Nanjun, but it's just not bad. Among the younger generation in the Nanjun, there are many that are much stronger than me. They just didn't enter the Jin Long Wei and went elsewhere!"

"Oh…" Yi Yun understood it deeply. The dominating Divine Capital Jin Long Wei recruit camp was nothing much. They were just another division of the Jin Long Wei. They only held a small spot in the Divine Capital and wasn't the be-all, end-all. Besides, the Divine Capital was just a big city in the Jing state. Placed in the humongous Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, it was nothing.

The world was too large. What would the Divine Wilderness campground with all the young elites of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom be like?

Yi Yun was filled with anticipation!

Yi Yun and Song Zijun encouraged each other. Later, Yi Yun returned to the Soft Clouds Mountain Manor. He had to handle the matters of estate.

But there was not much to handle. Jiang Xiaorou had settled everything. He only bade farewell to Jiang Xiaorou.

Yi Yun was never at ease with Jiang Xiaorou.

Thinking back, the people in his estate were all kind people. They had been carefully selected by himself from the Cloud Wilderness. And because they showed gratitude towards him, they adored Jiang Xiaorou from the bottom of their hearts. So it was unlikely that there would be any trouble.

On the way back, he entrusted Zhang Tan to take care of the Soft Clouds Mountain Manor. With Zhang Tan, he could feel at ease.

At the same time, Yi Yun also hired a few martial artists to protect his house. Occasionally, they could teach Jiang Xiaorou and Zhou Xiaoke martial arts.

It was a helpless case. Yi Yun had rushed to the Divine Capital and then rushed to the Divine Wilderness. He had no time to train Jiang Xiaorou in martial arts. Besides, he was not a skillful master. If only Lin Xintong could train Jiang Xiaorou, it would be great…

Lin Xintong, I wonder what happened to her. She had said her family had summoned her back for something. I wonder what happened…