Chapter 33: A Qualified Cultivator

A young man arrived at the Yaoguang Holy Land.

With a mortal physique, he broke through to the Four Poles Secret Realm in the shortest possible time.

Upon his promotion, a vast heavenly tribulation descended, its momentum no less than that of the Yaoguang Holy Son—a peerless talent.

This news spread through the entire Yaoguang Holy Land instantly and was disseminated through various channels, reaching the ears of other Holy Lands and Great Families.

The weight of the Four Poles Tribulation was simply too high to ignore.

Though the heavenly tribulations were dangerous and awe-inspiring, many people lacked even the qualification to suffer such a fate.

The heavenly tribulation does not strike the mediocre.

The Ji Family.

"A mere mortal physique. Once our Ji Family's Divine Body emerges, it shall sweep away all enemies. That Qin Sheng will be nothing more than a stepping stone for the Divine Body."

"The Divine Body of the Desolate East is invincible and destined to reign supreme. There is no need for concern."

"Continue tracking the traces of the Demon Emperor's descendants. Use that little enchantress as a stepping stone first, and let our brilliance shine across the Desolate East!"

The Jiang Family.

"The Yaoguang Holy Land has indeed produced many talents in recent years, but our Jiang Family is not a shred weaker."

"Yi Fei possesses the potential of a Great Emperor; these geniuses and monsters are merely withered bones on the Imperial Path."

The Purple Mansion Holy Land, the Wind Clan, the Wanchu Holy Land...

Many top-tier orthodox lineages learned of this news, each maintaining a different attitude.

Everyone paid close attention to the younger generations of each faction, as the future masters of the Desolate East would be born from among these youths.

However, every Holy Land and Great Family possessed absolute confidence in their own prodigies.

The geniuses outside of Yaoguang did not fear the suddenly rising Qin Sheng; instead, they were filled with fighting spirit, feeling that they were second to none.

Avoid his edge?

What a joke! I am invincible!

No matter how much you boast or how legendary the rumors are, if you don't defeat me personally, I won't acknowledge you—even if you were a True Immortal descending to earth.

I hear it and I don't believe it; I see it and I don't accept it.

This is what it means to be a person of the Shrouding the Heavens world!

In short, Qin Sheng's prestige in the Desolate East reached a new height.

Dragon Pattern Peak.

"From this day forward, you are a Candidate Holy Son of our Yaoguang Holy Land."

The Master of Dragon Pattern Peak announced the promotion of Qin Sheng's status.

Previously, he had enjoyed the treatment of a Candidate Holy Son, but his identity was merely that of a core disciple of Dragon Pattern Peak; now, it was official.

The levels of Ordinary, Elite, and Core disciples were merely internal sequences within each peak and lineage.

However, a Candidate Holy Son was a sequence for the entirety of Yaoguang, capable of receiving direct cultivation from the Holy Land.

Defeating an existing Candidate Holy Son was the fastest path to advancement.

"Furthermore, your breakthrough during this tribulation has greatly boosted the prestige of my Dragon Pattern Peak. I shall reward you properly."

"I won't mention cultivation resources; the Holy Land will bestow them upon you later."

With a wave of the Dragon Pattern Peak Master's hand, several artifacts appeared.

A tripod, a bead, and a divine talisman.

"The Imitation Dragon Pattern Black Gold Tripod. It is an extremely powerful weapon for you, capable of protecting your Dao," the Master introduced.

"The Heaven-Avoiding Bead. Once refined, it can mask your true essence. You will certainly become famous across the Desolate East this time, and many powerful beings will be watching you. With this, you need not worry about your identity being exposed."

"The Void-Escape Divine Talisman. This is a life-saving tool. If you encounter an irresistible danger, it can teleport you away directly."

Combat, concealment, and escape—all three aspects were covered, showing meticulous consideration.

"Thank you, Peak Master, for the bestowal," Qin Sheng said, happily accepting the three treasures.

This was the treatment of a Holy Land disciple.

As long as you demonstrated talent, once your cultivation reached a certain level, your sect would naturally bestow various treasures upon you.

Rogue cultivators?

They were nothing more than roadside pebbles.

While Ye Fan struggled alone and obtained many good things, he was an exception among exceptions and could not represent rogue cultivators as a whole.

True rogue cultivators struggled to obtain even a single handy weapon or a suitable scripture.

"Very well, you may leave. You have just broken through and need to settle down; do not become arrogant."

Inside the cave dwelling.

Qin Sheng refined the Heaven-Avoiding Bead and the Void-Escape Divine Talisman, then studied the Imitation Dragon Pattern Black Gold Tripod.

"Extreme Dao factions love to refine 'standardized divine weapons' modeled after their own Imperial Weapons," Qin Sheng complained inwardly.

Of course, although they were "standardized," the power of such imitation Imperial Weapons was undeniable; they were absolute leaders among weapons of the same rank.

As long as they could replicate even a tiny hint of the divine charm of an Imperial Weapon's Dao patterns, they were terrifyingly powerful.

Qin Sheng was quite satisfied with this tripod; it could significantly enhance his combat power.

"Upon reaching the Four Poles Realm, a cultivator's combat power is composed of foundations, secret techniques, weapons, and comprehension of laws," Qin Sheng mused.

Basic combat power is determined by factors such as scriptures, physique, and bloodline.

Under equal conditions, the strength of the physical body, dharma power, and primordial spirit of one practicing Saint Scriptures is almost incomparable to one practicing Emperor Scriptures.

Without special opportunities, the basic combat power of a mortal physique cannot compare to special physiques or Great Emperor bloodlines.

"After practicing the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Art, my own foundation is already beyond that of an ordinary mortal physique. Combined with the combat power multiplier from the Infinite Land, this is actually my strength."

"Regarding secret techniques, even if the Ruthless One's methods cannot be easily used, the inherited profound methods of Yaoguang are not weak; they are more than sufficient for the current stage."

"As for the comprehension of laws, it goes without saying. I exist across multiple worlds; the different heavenly laws of various worlds converge and collide within me. My accumulation of foundation exceeds ordinary imagination."

The comprehension of laws also determines the power a cultivator can unleash when performing secret techniques.

The higher the realm, the greater the impact of this factor on combat power; at that point, it becomes a competition of comprehension.

Basic combat power provides the floor, while the comprehension of laws allows one to transcend limits—these are the two most important aspects for a cultivator.

"Regarding weapons, now that I have this tripod, I am no weaker than the geniuses of any Holy Land or Great Family. If pushed to my limit, I still have the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Lid."

After carefully reviewing his situation, Qin Sheng nodded in satisfaction.

"I am already a qualified cultivator!"

Having arrived on an alien planet "all alone" and now achieving such great success, Qin Sheng was satisfied.

But satisfaction did not mean he was content to stop here.

On the contrary, his drive became even stronger!

"First, I will practice secret techniques like the Great Dao Treasure Bottle and raise them to the limit of my current mastery."

He had just obtained the Ruthless One's secret techniques and needed time to comprehend them. They couldn't be used constantly, but he couldn't afford not to know them.

Having just broken through, with profound arts in hand and the laws of the Great Dao at his disposal for comprehension, Qin Sheng was entering a period of rapid strength growth.

...

The Douluo Continent.

After Qin Sheng's promotion to the Four Poles Realm, his body here also gained countless insights.

Standing in different positions to view heaven and earth naturally led to different realizations.

After seven days and seven nights, Qin Sheng finally awoke from this period of enlightenment.

His spirit was surging, and his soul power seemed to stagnate space, manifesting a mysterious transformation. Specks of golden light, invisible to mortals, drifted around his body.

"As long as I have enough power of faith, I can now condense a complete divine position and ascend to the Divine Realm," Qin Sheng whispered to himself.

His comprehension of the laws of heaven and earth had met the standard. Unfortunately, only three years had passed since he last wiped out the Holy Spirit Cult.

Although Qin Sheng's name had spread widely, the faith collected so far was not enough to condense the divine position he desired.

"Divine beings are divided into various ranks. I don't want to hastily condense a weak divine position just to ascend."

Qin Sheng looked up at the sky. In the Divine Realm, the five Great God Kings were supreme, followed by First-Class Gods, also known as Main Gods.

The title alone showed that First-Class Gods were part of the high-level hierarchy of the Divine Realm.

Below them were Second-Class and Third-Class Gods, and even lower were divine officials who didn't even possess a divine position; Qin Sheng had no intention of becoming one of them.

"Becoming a god through one's own efforts is a chance to leap to the top in a single step. The original Angel God and Sea God jumped from Soul Masters to First-Class Gods, directly joining the high-level ranks of the Divine Realm."

"But if I hastily become a Third-Class God first, it will be countless times harder to raise my divine rank later."

"I need the power of faith—more power of faith."

The higher the divine rank, the more massive the required power of faith.

Given Qin Sheng's situation, his goals could not be low. His ascension to the Divine Realm was aimed at becoming an "Emperor"!

At that moment, Qin Sheng's expression shifted slightly. He felt an attraction coming from the spatial layers outside the Douluo Continent.

"What is it?"

Qin Sheng left the Chiling Academy and arrived before a majestic mountain pass.

"Jialing Pass?"

The Divine War of ten thousand years ago had erupted and ended right here.

Qin Sheng sensed carefully, locked onto the specific location of that attraction, and then directly blasted open the space.

He saw holy light.

(End of Chapter)