Chapter Forty-Two: A Motley Crowd

"Each world was incomparably powerful, having pushed its own path to the very limits. To seize resources, they waged ceaseless wars within, and to divert the pressures of conflict, all the worlds, by some unspoken consensus, began to explore realms beyond their own," Zhou Yu narrated slowly, unveiling to Zhou Tian a very different vision of the ancient Nine Provinces.

"The distance between eight of the great worlds was very close, making it easy for them to discover one another. At first, only two worlds made contact, immediately plunging into war—after all, who could ignore the resources of an entire world? As the fighting escalated, all the worlds were drawn in."

"When the eight great worlds went to war together, countless masters joined the fray. That battle shattered the void itself; the world barriers of all eight were broken. Each world was at its peak, and once the true flames of battle were lit, nothing could stop them."

"It was only at the last moment that the Ninth Province appeared. They had long since discovered the eight warring worlds but chose to remain hidden, hoping to reap the benefits when others were exhausted. When the barriers of the eight great worlds finally shattered, they leapt out."

"But they overestimated themselves and underestimated the other eight worlds. The moment the others saw the people of the Ninth Province, they instantly realized their intentions. Perhaps the Ninth Province was indeed stronger than any one, two, or even three of the battered worlds, but it could not stand against the united strength of all eight."

"The finest of the eight were heroes for the ages. Knowing that if they fought alone they would be devoured, they set aside their grudges, joined forces, and shattered the Ninth Province. The world split apart, and so now the Ninth Province is left without 'Heaven’s Mandate.'"

"Afterward, with the Ninth Province destroyed, the other eight calmed down. Continuing the war would only bring harm, not benefit. They chose instead to explore the void, rather than fight among themselves. With all the world barriers broken, they could no longer resist the erosion of the void. Thus, the great powers of the eight worlds set up layers upon layers of formations, gathered the remnants of the world’s origin, and recombined the nine worlds into a temporary alliance. After countless years of development, the Nine Provinces as they are now came to be…"

Zhou Tian listened, dumbfounded. Goodness… he never imagined this world had such legendary history, exploring realms beyond the void—truly astonishing!

After letting Zhou Tian absorb all this, Zhou Yu continued, "This is the true history of the Nine Provinces, and the place of our conquests lies beyond their borders. Our targets are those worlds discovered in the void. There’s much more to learn, and you'll come to understand as you experience it yourself..."

To wage war on worlds beyond the void—damn, for a world that looks like a feudal dynasty, this is on another level! Zhou Tian’s mind was reeling. What kind of world was this, already exploring the void? It was countless times more advanced than the one he came from!

He didn’t even know how he managed to return; by the time he came to his senses, he was already in his own bed. The information he had gotten from Zhou Yu still left him deeply shocked. But once he thought it over, excitement was all that remained. He had thought there was just one map, and becoming invincible too quickly would be meaningless. Who would have guessed there was a vast new world outside, with so many unexplored places? Now, that was truly interesting…

Lost in fantasies of traversing countless worlds in an instant, creating or destroying them with a blink, Zhou Tian drifted into a deep sleep.

The next day, Zhou Tian once again fell into the misery of solitude. Tian Ling had gone into seclusion to cultivate again. Less than half a month remained before the finals of the youth tournament in the capital, and she wanted to devote herself to training for a while longer.

The tournament unfolding in the imperial capital was the royal finals of the youth competition. The contest worked on an ascending system, as the Fengtian Province was vast and every generation had an immense number of youths—there was no way they could all be gathered in the capital for the tournament.

First, local contests were held, selecting a thousand outstanding youths from cities and towns across Fengtian Province to send to the capital for the final battle. Of course, if someone had reached the Dharma Aspect Realm, they would be sent directly into the elite tournament—after all, most participants were only at the Trisage Realm, and allowing Dharma Aspect cultivators to join would be like adults bullying children.

Though the regular contests had already ended and Tian Ling, being at the Prince of Qin’s residence, had not competed, Zhou Tian was the prince’s son—so getting her a spot in the capital’s competition was no problem at all. All the records, matches, and opponent information were there; everything was flawless!

He wanted someone to spar with. Zhou Xun Chuan, Zhou Zui, and the others were all preparing for the upcoming elite tournament. The opponents there would not be pushovers either. Given the competition’s structure, everyone had two chances to compete in the youth tournament.

Their real rivals were not the first-timers, but those who had already participated once and thus had several more years of cultivation experience—a real headache.

This period was excruciatingly boring. No one played with him, no one chatted or joked around. Even Zhou Zui had shut himself away to train, forced by the Prince of Freedom—left with no choice but to suffer through cultivation at home.

As for his two older brothers, who knew what they were up to? Every morning, they left for the palace at dawn and returned after dark—he barely saw them at all.

Zhou Tian would sleep till noon, get up for a meal, then head out for a stroll, hoping some clueless fool would come looking for trouble so he could show off a bit. But ever since he had arrived in the capital, he hadn’t met anyone with a negative IQ.

Even those cute students from the Da Luo Academy who had been taught a lesson last time now avoided him, unwilling to exchange more than a few words. After returning, their seniors had explained that Zhou Tian’s words were mostly illogical and full of sleight of hand, but this was the territory of Tian Qin—if anything really happened, their teachers might not arrive in time, so they didn’t dare provoke him anymore. This left Zhou Tian quite disappointed—such naive little rabbits were rare indeed…

Meanwhile, more and more outsiders were arriving in the capital. The powers from the other provinces had basically all gathered. The monks from Luo Tian Temple, with their heads shining as though freshly waxed; members of the Light Society, all in white robes—assassins, opening Zhou Tian’s eyes. Was this the legendary Creed of the Unrivaled?

The Daoist Alliance sent a group of Daoists, exuding an ethereal, otherworldly air—at least until Zhou Tian saw their leader, so righteous, stride straight into the Dance Pavilion.

The Treasure Pavilion was an interesting group. They weren’t here to compete but to sell goods, each decked out in gold and jewels, immediately competing with the local vendors for business.

Only one young member of the Fools arrived—at least, he looked young. After visiting the Emperor of Qin, he went straight to the Grand Diviner’s residence and hadn’t emerged since. Who knew what deals were being made?

That very night, the fat man leading the Treasure Pavilion came to see him, and the next day, a book titled “Fengtian Province Youth Rankings” appeared in the city…