Chapter 459: Chapter 283: The Show Begins 1
Following the Spirit Path, Jiang Ming entered the Twelfth Realm in terms of his soul, reaching Perfection with the wealth he obtained as his nourishment.
In the Soul Stars Sea, he condensed a divine soul and became an independent entity, capable of existing without his physical body.
The soul is immortal, the spirit eternal; to take over another body and be reborn is not an idle fantasy.
As for the Path of the Physical Body, he already had the insight on how to Break Through; he simply hadn’t done so yet.
Near the City Lord Mansion, there was a lake, where the waters rippled with exceptionally rich Primal qi, rising in five colors and dazzling light.
Especially under the sunlight, it was even more dazzling and breathtakingingly beautiful.
However, the lakefront was surrounded by many people.
Jiang Ming realized that many of them were Descenders who must have come from Sky Martial City and Xuanhuang City, and he recognized quite a few of them.
Among them were Qian Yuanyuan and Zhao Heng, whom he had met in Xuanhuang City.
It was obvious they had come to seek his support.
With a flicker of his form, he arrived by their side, stopping before a man and greeted with a smile, “Blood Robe Marquis, long time no see.”
“Jiang Ming!” Blood Robe Marquis Zuo Xiong saw the tall figure before him, his eyes briefly glazed over as he returned the gesture, filled with endless emotion, “I still remember the scene when you were brought to the Warzone of Ten Thousand Tribes by Instructor Qian Yuan from Blue Star, and he handed you over to me. In the blink of an eye, just a few years have passed, and you have left me far behind. This is indeed the younger generation surpassing the old, and the old waves dying on the beach. Jiang Ming, from now on, I’ll be following your lead.”
“I have only taken a step ahead.” Jiang Ming smiled, “Coming here, of course I welcome you. In the Prefecture City, or even the entire State City, whether you prefer to hold a position or quietly cultivate, both are possible.”
“Of course, I’ll quietly cultivate!” declared Blood Robe Marquis without hesitation, “After hearing about your exploits, I’m just here to ride on your coattails; I’m not interested in holding any official position anymore, it’s not that interesting.”
“Since it’s a conquest, you can profit from it in any way.” Jiang Ming said, then turned to look at Qian Yuanyuan and Zhao Heng, greeting them with a bowed hand and a smile, “Senior Qian, Senior Zhao.”
“Jiang Ming!” Qian Yuanyuan approached him, “Back then I wanted to compete with you, and now looking back, I deeply regret it. At that time, I should have clung to your coattails before you fully rose to power, so that I could have just coasted along afterwards.”
“I have regrets as well.” Zhao Heng chuckled too.
Amidst the laughter and chatter, Jiang Ming greeted some other familiar faces and felt a surge of intent. An avatar of him emerged leading Blood Robe Marquis and the others towards the City Lord Mansion, while his own form flickered and vanished, entering the Realm of Heart and coming to a stop atop the city walls.
The Realm of Heart was vast and boundless, and also utterly quiet.
Only the great city lay beneath his feet.
There were also some who quietly cultivated here, but none had a particularly high level of spiritual refinement, mostly around the Eighth or Ninth Realms.
However, one could see the terror of this world.
After all, even in Sky Martial City, where the elites of the Human Clan gathered, there were not many who walked the Spirit Path.
“Jiang Ming!” Far in the distance, a speeding figure rushed toward him and upon seeing him, cheered and dove into his embrace like a swallow returning to its nest.
The person was none other than Ran Xin.
“I knew it, the moment you knew I was here, you would definitely come.” Jiang Ming hugged her tightly.
Ten years of quiet cultivation was too bitter for the young brother.
“Mm, after hearing about what happened, I came right over.” Ran Xin said excitedly, “I can’t believe you made such a splash right after arriving, it took me by surprise. I’ve gleaned some information. The Great Qian Holy Dynasty might have true Divine Spirits, now you’re slaying County Kings and obliterating Prefecture Lords, what if you draw a Divine Spirit here?”
She was genuinely worried.
“Then I’ll just serve him cold!” boasted Jiang Ming confidently, his hands beginning to roam about as clothes fluttered and danced.
Flashing lights shimmered, and the place had become a forbidden area.
“Brother Jiang, are you able to slay gods now?” Ran Xin blinked in surprise, her cheeks flushing as she slapped his hand away.
“Not yet, but I should be able to contend against one.” Jiang Ming pondered briefly.
“That’s incredible!” Ran Xin exclaimed, grasping the towering white jade pillars before blinking again, “No matter how strong, they can’t stop this young lady’s Dragon Claw Hand.”
“Alas, this Immortal can only tumble beneath your high heels!”
“If you are an Immortal, I am a God, divine and immortal; but with God before Immortal, today I’ll be on top, teehee!”
“Then come, let’s see whether you can suppress me, or I can stir up the seas against the Divine Spirits.”
A spectacular dance, sensual as the daylight, bright as the stars.
For three days straight, the two of them, with their hearts and minds united, took Ran Xin’s spirit soaring across the sky dome, traversing the essence of the Realm of Heart, elevating her spirit to the Eleventh Realm Perfection.
Jiang Ming’s heart stirred, borrowing a fraction of the World Tree’s might, and bestowed an endless fortune upon her.
Hum…
From body to spirit, from spirit to heart, Ran Xin became utterly translucent and her spirit leapt in ascension, condensing into a Void God.
The Twelfth Realm was achieved in one fell swoop.
“I’ve reached the Twelfth Realm?” Ran Xin felt somewhat surreal.
“Of course, you didn’t see whose essence you’ve inherited, whose fortune you’ve absorbed.” Jiang Ming hugged her creamy shoulders, lying amidst the clouds.
He rolled over, pinning the Divine Spirit beneath him: “Would you like to advance further on the Path of the Physical Body?”
“Of course I have!” Ran Xin struggled, yet she couldn’t escape the grip of the five fingers, pinned down by the Supreme Yang God Needles, “Body refinement is my weakness; even when I devote a great deal of effort to cultivation, I have only just barely reached the Ninth Level Realm. Body refining skills can’t be mastered overnight, dear brother, how can you help me cultivate?”
“One essence is enough, do you want to try?”
“Hmph, I knew your mind was in the gutter.”
In the blink of an eye, another three days passed.
Ran Xin’s physical cultivation had soared to the peak of the Ninth Level.
Jiang Ming, however, was rubbing his lower back as he appeared in the City Lord Mansion.
“Miss Ran, no harm I hope.” The Master smiled, “I had predicted that the two of you would come together, and now that fate has arrived, with Jiang Ming as the City Lord and you as the Lady of the Mansion.”
“I have met the Master!” Ran Xin was not at all shy, dazzlingly beautiful.
They had met in the Nine Domains Mysteries.
After meeting with Qian Yuanyuan and others, the two came to the top of the City Lord Mansion, where Jiang Ming casually created a crystal room.
Transparent on all sides, it reflected light in all directions.
“What did you experience in the land of trials?” Jiang Ming asked, wrapping his arms around Ran Xin.
“What about you?”
“Me? Easy! I chose the willpower trial, which was too simple. With my Eleventh Realm cultivation level, I merely faced the willpower of the peak of the Twelfth Realm. It didn’t even take a day for me to reach the top. Then I went into quiet cultivation, developing my Inner World.”
“Good brother, you are so strong! Have you successfully created your Inner World? I know that you’ve comprehended over a hundred rules, complex and intertwined. Your Inner World is so powerful that others would be much more terrified by it. The difficulty of creating an Inner World is a thousand times greater for you than for others. I can’t believe you have succeeded so quickly.” “Of course, who else would I, your man, be!”
“Hehe! Your experiences were dull, but mine were much more exciting, lifethreatening even. The place I reached was the land of chaos, filled with sin and Killing Qi. If I didn’t kill, I would be killed. I spent most of those ten years in slaughter. Finally, my spirit path cultivation broke through to the Eleventh Realm, allowing me to slay three Eleventh Realm beings and clear the pass. Sigh, it was so hard. If it was so difficult for me, how could ordinary powerful individuals get through?”
“That’s the real cruelty of the Genius War. In the land of trials, if one cannot break through, death is almost certain. Even if one does break through, without extraordinary divine skills and strong mental fortitude, survival is difficult.” “Indeed!”
After a tender moment, Jiang Ming recounted the general situation of Qinyun State to her, especially within Prefecture City, where he had enslaved the powerful, among other things.
Then he played the role of a hands-off manager, letting Ran Xin handle things.
In addition, the Master was watching over things too.
With the help of the Blood Robe Marquis and others, it was naturally a breeze.
Moreover, she had already stepped into the Twelfth Realm on the Spirit Path, a cultivation system capable of instantly killing powerful beings of the same realm.
Ran Xin truly stood at the pinnacle of this world.
Jiang Ming continued his secluded cultivation.
His spirit and divine pathways had entered the Twelfth Realm.
Next were Martial Art and the Way of Body.
Jiang Ming’s Inner World was too powerful, and perfecting it was clearly not an overnight task – it required time to settle.
Even with the support of the World Tree, it could not be accomplished quickly.
So, for now, he would focus on Body Refinement.
Even though he had glimpsed how to break through, body refinement, being special, required an opportunity for him to break the shackles.
“What I lack is an exhilarating battle!”
Jiang Ming had this revelation but continued to deepen his cultivation.
Outside.
The news of him slaying a Prince, killing a Prefecture Lord, and seizing a state’s land to proclaim himself the Prefecture Lord had spread far and wide.
In Qingzhou, many people were leaving, fearing they would be implicated.
Many powerful individuals were also coming, some to fish in troubled waters, and others tired of the Holy Dynasty’s rule and wishing to pledge allegiance, among other reasons.
Nowadays, Prefecture City gathered people from all sides.
The forces were extremely mixed, slightly more lively than before. There were also quite a few people taking the chance to stir up trouble, wanting to test the new Prefecture Lord’s bottom line and methods, only to be suppressed forcefully by Ran Xin.
Though she was a woman, she was a Tianjiao from the Grand Examination, a ruthless person who had been dominant in the Lost Land of the Warzone of Ten Thousand Tribes.
Only in front of Jiang Ming did she act like a little girl.
One day, Ran Xin stood at the highest point of the City Lord Mansion, looking to the north with a grave expression and a trace of worry on her face.
In the garden, the Master rocking in his chair paused briefly before continuing, and muttered to himself, “The play begins!”
At this moment, Jiang Ming also opened his eyes.
