686 What is a Supreme? (1/2)
Jun Mo Xie paused for a moment, then spoke up. ”Ever since I became aware of the existence of Xuan Qi in this world, I was introduced to the known cultivation levels. Namingly, the Nine Levels of Xuan Qi, followed by Silver Xuan, Golden Xuan, Jade Xuan, Sky Xuan, Spirit Xuan and further! At that time, the Spirit Xuan realm also known as Supreme Spirit Xuan was considered the peak of martial cultivation! It was almost a publicly acknowledged fact that the Eight Great Masters were at the peak of the world, and that they were the strongest experts of the human race!”
Mei Xue Yan plucked a stalk of dried grass off the ground and twirled it around her fingers absentmindedly as she smiled and nodded. ”You're right; from the perspective of the common people, the Eight Great Masters are indeed peak level experts! That is not an unfounded notion.”
”But, as I progressed and I came to know old Eagle, I learnt from his mouth that Spirit Xuan and Supremes were actually different things. In fact, there were even higher levels above the Superior Supreme realm! It was from that day that I came to understand the words, the twelve levels of Spirit Xuan, each level scaling to the sky.”
Jun Mo Xie raised his eyes and looked at Solitary Eagle. Solitary Eagle rubbed his nose in response, somewhat embarrassed. Boasting about his knowledge in front of Jun Mo Xie and boasting in front of Mei Xue Yan were two completely different feelings. Solitary Eagle even felt as if he'd been sold out by a crafty someone…
”The twelve levels of Spirit Xuan, each level scaling to the sky! There is indeed such a saying. Furthermore, it's completely reasonable to put it like that! Some Supreme realm experts are stuck at the fifth level of Spirit Xuan, unable to advance even if they spent their entire lives trying! Firstly, every step of advancement through each level of the Spirit Xuan realm requires the support and accumulation of an ocean of Xuan Qi. On top of that, one needs to have special luck and gain insights into their cultivation! Not everybody can be like you, leaping forward like a monster.” Mei Xue Yan answered lightly, with her head lowered in thought. It was as if she were considering the best way to explain everything to Jun Mo Xie.
”After that, the Xue Hun Manor appeared, and I came to learn about the three Holy Lands as well. Only then did I find out that there was actually a Superior Supreme realm. And it turns out that the 'Eight Great Masters' that were considered the peak experts of this world were in truth, still very far away from being at the top of the martial world… After that, you appeared, and I discovered that there's even a higher level: Venerable! And the Supreme realm experts from the three Holy Lands that appeared after are actually counted by the hundreds! That seems really odd to me! Even if it's for the sake of the War for Seizing the Heavens, these experts shouldn't be so unknown right? Then, in such turbulent times, what is the worth of the Eight Great Masters who are so highly revered by the world?”
Jun Mo Xie furrowed his brows lightly and continued, ”Apart from that, are there any other realms above the Venerable realm? Or even above that? And if such levels of cultivation truly exist, what is the true peak of martial cultivation in this world?”
To this question, even the Solitary Eagle and Feng Juan Yun sat up as their curiosity surged up intensely. How could these two cultivation maniacs not be interested in this kind of question?
The true peak of cultivation in this world?
Mei Xue Yan sucked in a deep breath, raised her head and smiled lightly. ”It looks like everyone is very curious about this. Originally, this kind of information was jointly restricted by the three Holy Lands and our Tian Fa Forest. But now… since our four powers are already at odds, there's no harm in me telling you.”
She fell silent for a moment and continued. ”The Nine Levels of Xuan Qi were actually just a kind of initiation testing stage for young cultivators long ago. It was created by an immensely powerful figure long ago to test the cultivation talent of his disciples. The true starting point of cultivation is from Silver Xuan onwards! This is why there's the saying, 'the Ninth Level and below are ants'. This saying is quite close to its origins and is actually quite meaningful. Because if one could not breakthrough the Ninth Level of Xuan Qi within a certain amount of time, even if they managed to breakthrough in the future, their cultivation would definitely not reach a high level in their lives! As for the time one took, it would naturally be better the shorter it is. The quicker one took to go through the nine levels, the higher their cultivation talent. That means that their achievements in the future will be higher!
”Although the path from Silver Xuan to the different layers of Spirit Xuan are tough, it's actually doable and can be accomplished by almost anyone. As long as one puts in an equivalent amount of hard work and time, it's actually not very difficult. Because although there are obstacles and bottlenecks, everything can be slowly worn through with just the patient accumulation of Xuan Qi. Only hard work and time is required. Thus, this entire process can only be considered as a period of cultivating one's mind and temperament. Or perhaps, one could say it's the foundational building stage. Even at the Fourth level of Spirit Xuan, one would not be considered as a true expert!”
Mei Xue Yan explained carefully.
Solitary Eagle and Feng Juan Yun smiled bitterly at each other at this. The two of them had fought and clawed desperately all their life, reaching the Fourth level of Spirit Xuan after so much struggle and breaking through to the Supreme realm with great effort… They'd practically spent their entire life's strength on this task! But in Mei Xue Yan's mouth, they were not considered true experts yet, and were still in the foundational stage of cultivation!”
It was such a drastic realization; if they said that they were not disappointed, it wouldn't be deceiving the world—they would be deceiving themselves!
”Only at the Supreme realm can one truly be considered to have stepped into the gates of Xuan Qi experts! Because only at this level, one will develop a sensitivity toward the Heaven and Earth, allowing one to consider their path and even form their own unique battle techniques. Solitary Eagle and Feng Juan Yun, we'll take your battle styles as an example. One of you is like a reincarnation of an eagle, and the other is a sword fanatic! But the true change, should have appeared only after you broke through the Fifth level of Spirit Xuan, right?” Mei Xue Yan looked at Solitary Eagle and Feng Juan Yun, smiling.
The two of them nodded hurriedly. These two were formidable masters in the eyes of the martial world… but before Mei Xue Yan, they were like obedient primary school students listening to their teacher.