Chapter 295 – Heaven-step Talent … … … After Mu Qianyu flew down, the other third-grade sect elders and Sovereigns rose up and bowed. The difference between them and Mu Qianyu was the same as the difference between Qin Ziya and the Seven Profound Valleys’ Valley Master; there was a massive gap separating them. After all, in less than ten years, Mu Qianyu would definitely step into the Revolving Core realm, and her future potential would be limitless. As for the others present, they would most likely stop at the Xiantian realm, it would be difficult for them to break through to the Revolving Core realm for the rest of their lives. Mu Qianyu glanced at all the talented geniuses gathered at the square, and her eyes stopped on Lin Ming for an extremely brief period before continuing. She continued to look over everyone else, not showing any difference in expression. It was only when Mu Qianyu had sat down in the seat of honor did the other elders sit back down. The disciples in the square couldn’t help but guess what was happening. Such a massive group of legends and important figures had been gathered here; just what was this plan of proposing a joint training program, and what was it for? Although they didn’t know who Mu Qianyu was, they did know that she came from Divine Phoenix Island, and was a very important character. It was possible that she was even a top-level existence who would be the next successor of Divine Phoenix Island. In the surrounding several million miles, Divine Phoenix Island was the only fourth-grade sect. It could be said that Divine Phoenix Island controlled a good third of Sky Spill Continent’s South Horizon Region. What Mu Qianyu’s majestic status was could only be imagined. At this time, Shi Zongtian acted as the spokesman and walked in front of the square, speaking to the core disciples of all the sects. “Today, all of you apprentice nephews have arrived here because there are two matters to announce. The first matter is about Silent Demon Emperor City!” “Silent Demon Emperor City?” To those disciples present, this name was a bit strange and unfamiliar. What they didn’t know was that in every sect’s ancient texts, there existed records of Silent Demon Emperor City. This was a Holy Land rank sect that was established over 3000 years ago, and was also a top fifth-grade sect. In the entirety of Sky Spill Continent, there continued to only be a handful of Holy Lands. The main difference between a Holy Land and a normal fifth-grade sect was that a Holy Land rank sect would often last for over 10,000 years. However, Silent Demon Emperor City was an exception. The Netherworld Great Emperor who established Silent Demon Emperor City was a man who practiced the Devil Arts. The path of martial arts was slow and difficult, there were many people who weren’t willing to put in the time and effort to gradually traverse this path. They would rather take a shortcut. For instance, techniques such as Star Absorbing Great Law, Energy Melting Great Law, or cultivation methods that required one to violate men or women, all of these were techniques that belonged to the Devil Arts. The Netherworld Great Emperor had committed all sorts of hideous and villainous crimes in cultivating his Devil Arts. He had killed countless men and women, and had simultaneously taken the outstandingly talented and beautiful girls captive, violating them. These actions of his had spurred massive public fury. Afterwards, his martial arts became nearly unrivalled in the world. Finally, he almost encroached upon a daughter of a Sky Spill Continent emperor. This had aroused the full wrath of the emperor, and he had paid a steep price in order to request several other emperors of Sky Spill Continent to team together and execute this Southern Demon. With the Netherworld Great Emperor’s death, Silent Demon Emperor City also fell apart. From beginning to end, Silent Demon Emperor City hadn’t even existed for 2000 years. It had only been 1000 years since its collapse. However, Silent Demon Emperor City hadn’t been fully eradicated. Originally, the Netherworld Great Emperor had 36 Devil Generals subordinate to him. Of these 36 Devil Generals, eight of them had managed to survive and escape far away to the South Sea. They gathered some of the other former minions of Silent Demon Emperor City together, and created the South Sea Demon Region. As soon as the Netherworld Great Emperor died, the Sky Spill Continent Emperor had lost a great deal of support, and had enough trouble on his hands. Therefore the South Sea Demon Region was allowed to continue existing. Over the years, the South Sea Demon Region developed more, and began to stir. They weren’t willing to stay so far away from the mainland in the deep sea. But if they did come back, they would have to cross a big barrier that served as their greatest hurdle – the immortal island that was located offshore in the South Sea, Divine Phoenix Island. The truth was, the South Sea Demon Region had long coveted and salivated over Divine Phoenix Island. Divine Phoenix Island had mostly women cultivators. Because the South Sea Demon Region practiced the Devil Arts, they lacked the talented and beautiful girls that were necessary to serve as their cultivation stoves. If they could annex Divine Phoenix Island, not only would they obtain a massive amount of resources, but they would also obtain many charmingly beautiful women that were equally talented. What could be more perfect than this? The South Sea Demon Region was barely able to be considered a fifth-grade sect. Still, their strength was far more formidable than Divine Phoenix Island. And so, Divine Phoenix Island now faced its greatest crisis since it was founded. Before, Mu Qinghong had asked Mu Qianyu to come not only to observe Lin Ming, but also to probe into the Seven Profound Valleys and Peacock Mountain, and test these third-grade sects to see if they could resist the South Sea Demon Region together. Since they shared a common enemy, this should be easy for them to understand. After Mu Qianyu arrived, her probing turned into a direct implantation of her plans. She planned to unite the 19 neighboring third-grade sects in order to resist the South Sea Demon Region. Of course, Divine Phoenix Island would also pay a price corresponding to their sincerity. Thus, the joint training program for talents was created with the backing of Divine Phoenix Island. Shi Zongtian was brief and concise in his explanation of events. After he finished, he continued to say, “In order to resist the threat of the South Sea Demon Region together, us 19 third-grade sects and Divine Phoenix Island have decided to join in solidarity and cross this river together on the same boat. To cooperate and raise these talents together is also an important plan. This is the second matter I wish to announce today.” “Of the core disciples in the 19 third-grade sects, there are altogether 108 that are selected to enter into this joint training program. These 108 individuals will be divided into three ranks: human, earth, and heaven. First, I will announce the human-step disciples on the list. There are 50 people. They are…” “Seven Profound Valleys’ Jiang Lanjian, Ouyang Ming. Peacock Mountain’s Sun Yuwen, Zhou Guang…” Currently, there were only 20-something disciples present. Most of the people on the list could not arrive due to time reasons. Those that were here already knew that they were candidates listed on the joint training program, and were expecting that their talent grade would be high. But now, many of them had already been directly classified into the lowest human-step Those whose names were called showed a look of deep expression. They didn’t feel very convinced. There hadn’t even been a tournament, how could they have possibly been classified in the lowest grade? White Peak Sect’s Zhang Shaoshan tensely clenched his fists in nervousness. He had absolute belief in his own talent and abilities, but what he feared was that Divine Phoenix Island’s investigation hadn’t been thorough and didn’t properly assess his talent, then place him into the lowest human-step grade. Like this, he would truly be wronged. However, as Shi Zongtian read the White Peak Sect disciples’ names, his name wasn’t called. Zhang Shaoshan let out a long breath of relief, feeling a bit more satisfied with himself. It seemed that Divine Phoenix Island did have some judgment after all. Well, his talent should at least be at the earth-step, and maybe even heaven-step. This would all depend on how many individuals could be placed in the heaven-step grade. However, thinking that those from Divine Phoenix Island favored Li Ming, Zhang Shaoshan didn’t feel too well. Lin Ming’s ‘sorry, I’m not interested’ that he said a while ago had really caused Zhang Shaoshan to lose face, and he had taken that insult to heart, brooding over it. Zhang Shaoshan subconsciously clenched his fists, ‘You actually look down on me, but just you wait, I will show you how fierce I am!’ Shi Zongtian continued to say, “Now I will list the earth-step talents. There are a total of 27 individuals. They are Seven Profound Valleys’ Jiang Baoyun, Mugu Buyu. Peacock Mountain’s Lin Ping, Yan Gu, Zhou Ze. Falling Cloud Sect’s…” As Shi Zongtian read the names one at a time, those present were confused. There were only 27 names on the earth-step talent list? If there was a total of 108 people, and there were 50 in the human-step and 27 in the earth-step, then altogether that was only 77 people. Did the heaven-step list have 31 people? There were four more than on the earth-step list? Many people were very excited as they thought this; it seemed there was a high chance of being chosen as a heaven-step talent. Especially those whose names hadn’t been called yet, they were excited to the point of disbelief. They were chosen as heaven-step talents? That even exceeded the Seven Profound Valleys’ Jiang Baoyun and Peacock Mountain’s Lin Ping! Zhang Shaoshan was incomparably nervous at this time. As Shi Zongtian read the names from the Seven Profound Valleys, Lin Ming’s name hadn’t been listed. It seemed that this fellow was really a lucky dog, and had been chosen as a heaven-step talent. If he wasn’t selected, then what would he do? ‘If there were only a dozen or so selected for the heaven-step rank talent, then I wouldn’t be surprised if I wasn’t chosen. But since there are 31 people being chosen, then I absolutely have been selected! If I’m not chosen, then I will stand up and challenge that heaven-step talent!’ ‘As long as I win, I can shut everyone up.’ 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺 Thinking this, Zhang Shaoshan let out a long breath, his heart finally settling down. Finally, Shi Zongtian finished without reading Zhang Shaoshan’s name. This caused Zhang Shaoshan to feel completely relieved. ‘It seems that Divine Phoenix Island has good judgment and didn’t misjudge me. But as for Jiang Baoyun, Lin Ping, and even Falling Cloud Sect’s Bai Shuxuan, was there a mistake?’ ‘Those few people should have been chosen as heaven-step talents.’ The 19 third-grade sects didn’t communicate much with each other, therefore Zhang Shaoshan only understood the strength of a few people here. To his knowledge, Lin Ping and Bai Shuxuan were both top-class talents of their sects. Lin Ping had stepped into the Houtian realm when he was 21 years old, and his talent was much higher than Zhang Shaoshans’. As for Jiang Baoyun, he too was just a bit weaker than him, but could be comparable to his own junior-apprentice brother. If his own junior-apprentice brothers could be selected as heaven-step rank talents, then how come Jiang Baoyun couldn’t? As Zhang Shaoshan felt that something was wrong, Shi Zongtian continued to say, “As for these talents that are between the human-step and earth-step talent ranks, because of a lack of information, it is difficult to define their grades. So, there is need for additional assessment. There are a total of 30 people. These 30 are: the Seven Profound Valleys’ Qin Wuxin…” “What?” These words of Shi Zongtian had directly turned Zhang Shaoshan into an idiot. There were 30 people whose talents were between the human-step and earth-step, and there were also 77 others. Altogether, this was 107 people. Did that mean there was only one heaven-step talent!? Before he had more time to think who this could be, Shi Zongtian called his name – White Peak Sect’s Zhang Shaoshan. Zhang Shaoshan’s mind exploded. Did Shi Zongtian say something wrong? He had actually chosen him, this father, as someone who was between the human-step talent and earth-step talent? There were 28 individuals chosen as earth-step talents and heaven-step talents, and yet he hadn’t been of them? A supreme genius such as himself had been overlooked!?!? Zhang Shaoshan couldn’t accept this. In fact, it wasn’t only him, there were several other people who couldn’t accept this. They thought that they would be chosen as heaven-step talents, but didn’t think they would actually only be earth-step talent candidates! These disciples suddenly felt extremely unconvinced of the legitimacy of these decisions. As for those whose grade wasn’t chosen yet, they rarely fought with the geniuses of other sects. Therefore, there was a lack of information in deciding where they would be. These geniuses always had a proud heart and arrogant demeanor; they hadn’t even fought, so why would they concede so easily? Jiang Baoyun had certainly won against some others, but could this Jiang Baoyun defeat them? As for this Mugu Buyu, what the hell? They hadn’t even heard of him before! And what was most irritating was that in this group of 108 talents, there was only a single heaven-step talent. They hadn’t even fought this person yet, so why would they be inferior?