Chapter 116: The Dawn of a Great Era for the Heavenly Prodigies

The exploits of Wuliu Zhengying sent shockwaves throughout the entire cultivation world. A mortal slaying immortal cultivators who had already transcended their mortal shells—three in a single battle—was nothing short of miraculous.

Many believed that someone had assumed Wuliu Zhengying’s identity to seize the opportunity to eliminate the Yuzhang Sect, the dominant power of the Northern Frontier. Yet, more sensed a dangerous undercurrent in this event, especially among the great sects.

Immediately after Wuliu Zhengying’s disappearance, the Pure Yang Temple, under the pretext of a sect-wide examination, recalled all disciples traveling outside. The Five Elements Pavilion shuttered its mountain gate in Jicheng, the capital of the Great Qi Dynasty, and summoned all disciples to enter the Five Elements Secret Realm for the sect exam.

The Beast Taming Sect, East Sea Sect, and Divine Weapon Valley announced a joint campaign to purge the sea monsters wreaking havoc in the East Sea, deploying their elite disciples en masse to execute the mission.

Zhengyang Sacred Ground declared the commencement of its millennial grand sacrifice, recalling all disciples and suspending any visitation during the ritual period.

The Ten Thousand Mountains Prison erupted with news of massive uprisings of ancient restless souls. Seizing the momentum, it sealed the ancient battlefield and dispatched all its disciples to cleanse the spectral disturbances.

Town Immortal City was even more decisive, cutting off all teleportation arrays linking it to the outside world without issuing a single statement.

The East Mountain King of the Ultimate Dao announced the discovery of an underwater ruin in the South Sea, inviting the Free Dao, Limitless Gate, and Harmonious Joy Sect to join the exploration. Almost seventy percent of the elite disciples from the Great Demon Sect participated in this underwater expedition.

The Corpse Control Sect’s Xieke Daoist and the Deceptive God Sect’s Jitian successively declared the closure of their mountain gates to impart teachings on the Netherworld Dao.

The Ten Thousand Demons Abyss suddenly proclaimed a purge of traitors within the demon clans, explicitly advising human cultivators to refrain from interference.

The continuous stream of excuses from the great sects to recall disciples and close their mountain gates sparked widespread speculation. Their justifications were flimsy at best, and anyone thinking clearly could see their actions were far from normal.

Yet, not everyone understood that a new grand era had dawned in the cultivation world. The great sects’ retreat was a calculated move to weather the initial chaos of this era.

These mighty sects, seasoned by many such epochs, knew all too well how brutal the initial turmoil of a grand era could be. Even with their profound foundations, they risked disaster if they acted rashly.

In times of such upheaval, caution is paramount.

The great sects never intended to halt the coming turmoil—not daring, nor wishing to. The Tianxuan World was vast, and though powerful, they could not control all cultivators. Moreover, the World’s Will was not to be trifled with; rash actions invited dire consequences.

Their strategy was to remain still, waiting for the storm to subside, thereby reaping vast benefits without unnecessary risk.

It was not a lack of responsibility but a matter of limited power.

Cultivation inherently defies the heavens; ruthless elimination is the norm. The arrival of a grand era only intensified this brutal culling—those who endured would soar to the heavens; those who faltered would vanish without a trace.

That was all.

After their maneuvers, the cultivation world suddenly found no disciples of the great sects in sight. Their withdrawal loosened the reins on lesser powers, who, freed from suppression and intimidation, gradually indulged in chaos.

Millennia of suppressed conflicts erupted all at once: cultivators fought cultivators, sect clashed with sect, and different clans waged war. Smoke of battle filled every corner as countless powers crumbled, while new ones rose from the ashes.

Under such conditions, the prodigies on the Talent Ranking List advanced rapidly.

Three years passed in a flash, bringing the first revision of the rankings.

Wuliu Zhengying, having slain three Earth Immortal Realm masters in a single battle and ascended to legendary status, eclipsed Yun Jingzi, the previous top-ranked prodigy, claiming first place.

Yun Jingzi remained inactive for three years but broke through to the Tribulation Ascension Realm, securing a solid second place.

Gou Lichuan emerged from the Ten Thousand Demons Abyss and engaged a Great Completion Realm cultivator in the outside world. Using unknown means, he severely wounded his opponent and broke into the top three.

Due to the collective seclusion of the great sects, only Yun Jingzi and Gou Lichuan appeared in the top thirty among their disciples. The rest saw their rankings plummet, replaced by prodigies from mid-sized sects and cultivation families.

Among the hundred prodigies on the list, seven perished over the three years, while seven new talents emerged to claim their spots.

The arrival of new prodigies only intensified the brutal struggle within the cultivation world. Many young cultivators, seeing hope, frantically trailed their achievements, yearning to ascend the Talent Ranking List and seize fame and fortune.

As days slipped by, the cultivation world of Tianxuan dissolved into chaos, yet none of this affected Wang Li.

Wang Li spent two years mastering the "Thunder’s Fury" technique, then another six months refining it. Only then did he merge it with the "Justice of the Roaring Thunder" chapter, forming a mid-grade Heavenly Tier skill known as "Thunderclap Shaking the World."

After running the "Thunderclap Shaking the World" fully, Wang Li mused, “Lower-grade Heavenly Tier skills and high-grade Earth Tier skills may appear similar, but the gulf between these two levels is truly like heaven and earth.”

While optimizing "Thunder’s Fury," he discovered that Heavenly Tier skills and Earth Tier skills were fundamentally different.

Earth Tier and below techniques base their cultivation on the physical body—whether refining the flesh or focusing on the Golden Core or Nascent Soul—there must be a physical form to sustain the skill’s operation. Heavenly Tier techniques, however, operate directly through the cultivator’s soul!

The soul lacks a physical form!

Though the "Soul Suppression Art" also uses the soul as a carrier, it operates through the cultivator’s body—a concept entirely distinct from that of Heavenly Tier techniques.

It took Wang Li half a year to devise a way to run "Thunder’s Fury" using the soul.

He tried simultaneously running his Five Elements technique with "Thunder’s Fury," hoping to multiply his cultivation speed, but there was no effect.

Old Sheng explained that the vast difference in skill tiers prevented any synergy between the techniques.

It was only then Wang Li realized that Heavenly Tier techniques were not meant for cultivators below the Transformation Spirit Realm.

Souls below that realm were generally too fragile to withstand the power of primordial energy.

Moreover, the energy generated by cultivating Heavenly Tier skills was directly primordial energy—something Transformation Spirit Realm cultivators could not command—thus, nearly no low-level cultivators practiced Heavenly Tier techniques.

At the same time, he understood why only cultivators who had passed the Immortal Tribulation could create Heavenly Tier techniques.