Follow the path of Dao from infancy

Chapter 51: Chapter 48: The Limit

In the Eight Realms of Martial Arts, everyone present knows the grand titles of each realm, but when it comes to the intricate differences between them, due to varying family backgrounds, there are highs and lows in what one can touch and understand.

“In the first four realms, each realm has ten levels, and depending on the cultivation technique practiced, the gap between the top geniuses and ordinary martial artists is like heaven and earth,”

Su Yehua elaborated, describing the distinctions of the four realms:

“…After the Zhou Tian Realm comes the Soul Succession Realm, which cultivates the ‘Soul Condensing Skill’!”

“Different levels of Soul Condensing Skills can condense the soul a varying number of times, but the top-level Soul Condensing Skills can do so at least 50 times or more.”

“However, compared with the Soul Condensing Skill, the most critical aspect of the Soul Succession Realm is the tier of the inherited soul thought.”

“That determines the upper limit of the number of times the soul can be condensed!”

As Su Yehua’s eyes swept across those below the stage, she said, “If you inherit the soul thought of a martial artist from the Four Stands Realm, you can condense the soul 80 times!”

“If you inherit a demon soul, it ranges from 30 to 60 times, depending on the demon’s race,”

“If what you inherit is only from a lesser spirit or ghost, then you can condense at most 20 times, which a mid-level Soul Condensing Technique would fulfill.”

As she reached this point, Su Yehua paused, her gaze fleetingly crossing over two young men dressed in splendid brocaded clothes with python patterns on their sleeves:

“If the inherited soul thought exceeds that of a martial artist from the Four Stands Realm, as far as I know, the highest can reach 180 times of soul condensing, which should be close to the limit of the Soul Succession Realm!”

With these words, numerous scions of influential families showed expressions of shock.

The difference between the top Soul Succession Realm and the ordinary Soul Succession Realm was almost tenfold!

As for those two young men whom Su Yehua glanced at, their expressions were contrasting; one appeared somewhat unnatural, while the other revealed a look of satisfaction, especially upon hearing the surrounding commotion, casting a glance with a hint of disdain and scorn in his eyes.

180 times is not the limit… Li Hao thought, giving the beautiful instructor a glance and silently shaking his head.

The highest limit is 360 times of soul condensing.

…Probably.

Li Hao added two more words internally, after all, just because he couldn’t achieve it didn’t mean others couldn’t reach even higher levels…

He, with a Heaven and Earth Soul Succession, had cultivated four top-level Soul Condensing Skills, as well as five high-quality ones, to reach this limit.

Even if he continued to practice other Soul Condensing Skills, he couldn’t break through the 360-time limit, and any further progress was his… limit.

Upon reaching 360 soul condensings, Li Hao also came to understand another type of soul power.

He called it… Heaven and Earth Law Manifestation.

Meanwhile, Su Yehua above continued, “Those who soul succeed in Tan Palace Academy and meet the criteria can enter Black and White Hall for training, inheriting the soul thought from the Four Stands Realm, is the first-class choice for soul succession outside the Royal Family!”

“Of course, some disciples here come from prominent families with Four Stands Realm ancestors, so they need not lack such treatment, but it’s something the others might consider.”

Many people in the audience immediately had gleaming eyes, unlike Li Hao and other nobility or the two young men with python patterns on their sleeves, who boasted illustrious and noble family backgrounds.

The valiant souls of the Four Stands Realm are considered top-tier in the Martial Temples, extremely rare, and difficult to favor unless one’s talents are very high or they catch a certain eye.

And yet, Tan Palace Academy, the top-tier institution in the nineteen provinces, has such elite resources directly available.

“After the Soul Succession Realm comes the Divine Travel Realm.”

Su Yehua softly said, “The Divine Travel Realm already counts as a military commander or a renowned hero in Jianghu, being quite powerful. In Tan Palace Academy, one could even serve as an instructor in Alpha Academy.”

Many people nodded slightly in agreement.

Divine Travel… it was the level of some of their family heads even.

In many cities and territories, they could dominate a region on their own.

“A Divine Traveller can let their Divine Soul leave their body, traverse miles, and perceive everything within several miles around them.”

“When facing sorcery or illusion techniques from demons, they can also use their Divine Soul to break through them.”

“And what is practiced in the Divine Soul Realm is the Soul Refining Skill!”

Su Yehua stated, “Soul Refining Skills vary in quality. Ordinary Soul Refining Skills, when cultivated to the peak, only allow for three miles of travel beyond the body.”

“However, a high-quality Soul Refining Skill can more than double that distance, reaching beyond seven miles.”

“The most supreme Soul Refining Skills are even more remarkable, allowing for up to eighteen miles!”

Her gaze circled the room, seeing the audience’s shocked yet complex expressions, she calmly said, “Eighteen miles is not the limit of the Divine Travel Realm, but the most supreme Soul Refining Skills are exceedingly rare, possessed by only a handful of elite houses and a few powerful factions.”

“And inside Tan Palace Academy, we have one such skill.”

Hearing this, numerous scions of noble families lit up with eagerness.

“If you diligently study and practice within the academy and always remain within Alpha Academy, you naturally will all have the opportunity to engage with it,” Su Yehua said with a smile.

“Really?”

“They’re willing to teach that?”

“The Soul Refining Skill practiced by our own family head is said to be just a middle-tier one.”

Some had already clenched their fists in excitement, their hearts racing.

Studying hard at Tan Palace Academy, there was a chance to return one day and surpass the family head!

The very thought was exhilarating…

“Heh…”

A young man in the front row, with python patterns on his sleeves, let out a soft snicker, his eyes brimming with disdain.

The ultimate Soul Refining Skill, it’s nothing but Eighteen Li at the end of the day.

Compared to the royal family’s number one Soul Refining Skill of Dayu, it’s still far inferior; the top-tier Soul Refining Skill could let one experience Divine Travel for twenty-five Li!

That’s the equivalent of half the distance of a city!

Against an ordinary Divine Travel Realm adversary, it was almost an effortless crush.

The farther the Divine Travel, the stronger the Divine Soul, the more powerful demons and sorceries it could break through, and it could even possibly escape from the clutches of a Great Demon by luck.

Su Yehua noticed the royal young man’s disdain and kept her expression neutral. She was, of course, aware of the royal family’s foremost Dayu Soul Refining Skill, but didn’t mention it, as it involved matters belonging to the Celestial Family.

Any discussion regarding the Celestial Family required extreme caution.

“Teacher, what is the limit of the Divine Travel Realm, is it twenty Li?”

At this moment, someone asked out of curiosity.

Su Yehua glanced at the inquiring young man and noticed many others also had curious expressions.

She shook her head slightly, “Twenty Li is not the ultimate limit; the highest limit should be twenty-five Li, or even thirty Li…”

“Thirty Li!”

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked; that was ten times the gap compared to ordinary Soul Refining Skills.

It seemed that the limit of each realm differed from the ordinary by nearly tenfold!

It was hard to imagine what kind of terrifying power it would be if one reached the limit in every realm.

After hearing Su Yehua’s words, the royal young man’s eyes immediately expressed contempt.

Thirty Li, huh? The royal family’s premier Soul Refining Skill only goes up to twenty-five Li. This teacher from Tan Palace Academy is overestimating, leading students astray, without fear of making a fool of herself!

A thought crossed his mind, wanting to show off and expose the teacher’s statement as ridicule, but then he remembered his mother’s earnest reminder before leaving, to keep a low profile while at Tan Palace Academy…

Well, as long as I know the truth, I’ll let her fool these idiots.

With this thought, he suppressed the urge to speak out and settled back in his chair, though a faint mocking smile lingered on his lips.

Thirty Li, huh… Li Hao once again shook his head in secret.

The teachings of this beautiful instructor were significantly different from his own experience.

Just by practicing the three ultimate Soul Refining Skills from Listening Rain Tower, he had already extended his Divine Travel to thirty-five Li.

Later, Feng helped him sneak into the royal family’s secret vault, steal a copy of the etching of the premier Dayu Soul Refining Skill, and by practicing it, even boosted his Divine Travel distance to fifty Li!

He could cover an entire city, his Divine Soul arriving instantaneously at any location.

But this was not his limit; Li Hao felt he could still improve further. If he could find even more ultimate Soul Refining Skills to cross-reference, he could further condense and strengthen his Divine Soul.

“If you can reach the Divine Travel Realm by the age of 20, you will be considered a genius wherever you go,” Su Yehua said to everyone with a smile.

“But I’ve heard that there are those who can achieve Divine Travel Realm by the age of 16,” a young man from a noble family said.

“My father once said that the Blade Saint of Northern Yan reached perfection in the Divine Travel Realm at the age of 15!”

The other disciples also discussed it among themselves; initially they felt only astonishment, but now they realized even more the sheer terror of such an achievement.

It seemed like glimpsing the moon in a well but only upon crossing this threshold did they realize it was like a mayfly gazing at the heavens!

“That’s something only top-tier prodigies with a Ninth-grade fighting body can achieve,” Su Yehua explained. “But you shouldn’t be discouraged. The sooner you reach the Divine Travel Realm, the better, but in the latter four realms, the effect of inborn talent will diminish.”

“Up to the Fifteen Li Realm, you might still rely on talent to gain some advantage, but once you’re at the Celestial Master Realm, it’s more about character, insight, and opportunities, which are all acquired later. Therefore, if you can reach the threshold of Celestial, everyone has a chance to step through the Celestial Gate and enter the realm of Grandmaster!”

“Teacher, what are the latter four realms like?” someone asked out of curiosity.