49: The Perilous River Battlefield

Chapter 49: The Perilous River Battlefield

Hearing this, Li Hao also became more interested and looked at the speaker.

"The latter four realms have transcended the mundane world," Su Yehua said. "These realms are not divided into ten levels. For example, the 'Fifteen Li' realm—why is it named so? Because in this realm, practitioners cultivate the Art of Object Manipulation. They not only travel through the heavens and earth with their spirit but can also manipulate their bodies to fly across the skies!"

"One breath can cover one li, and the fastest can reach fifteen li in a breath, hence the name."

"Fifteen li in one breath?"

Many people were astonished. Such speed was akin to lightning, capable of crossing cities and even spanning mountains and rivers, crossing states in the blink of an eye!

"Those in the Fifteen Li realm can control flying swords, killing enemies from fifteen li away. Before the blood is seen, the head is already severed!"

"Thus, those who reach the Fifteen Li realm are truly feared as they can kill invisibly," Su Yehua said calmly.

"What about the Tianren realm?" someone asked.

"The Tianren realm is known as the Grandmaster realm and requires the comprehension of the Grandmaster's Heart to step into it."

Su Yehua continued, "And this realm is where the innate aptitude of measuring bones has little effect. It depends mainly on one's character and comprehension. Throughout history, many geniuses with nine-grade martial bodies have fallen before this realm. The Fifteen Li realm often becomes the end of their journey, hence it is also called the 'Fifteen Li of Life's Spring Breeze.'"

After the spring breeze comes the wilting autumn, followed by the silent winter.

She glanced around the room and said, "As for the Three Immortal Realms, they allow the power of bloodlines to be passed down. Each of the Three Immortal Realms is a higher realm. If one can cross a realm in a single sixty-year cycle, it's remarkable. You don't need to know more about these now."

The audience was enthralled but also felt the distant gap between them and these realms.

The Three Immortal Realms already represent the pinnacle of the Great Yu's divine generals, while the Four Establishments realm is the domain of those known as saints, whom even their parents must revere.

Li Hao felt a little disappointed that she skimmed over this part, wanting to hear something more novel.

However, he had already learned about these realms' intricacies at the age of ten by reading in the Listening Rain Pavilion.

Moreover, his daily fishing trips with the old man provided him with plenty of knowledge, so he knew quite a bit.

Fifteen Li of Spring Breeze is not the limit.

The absolute top-tier art of Object Manipulation they possess can reach twenty li.

According to the old man, the imperial family's "Nine Heavens Cloud Ascension Art" can achieve twenty-five li, allowing one to cross a small city in a single breath and rivers in two, which is incredibly powerful.

As for the imperial family's treasured art of object manipulation, Old Feng naturally also helped him steal it, albeit a copy. They dared not touch the original.

After all, the imperial family is too close to the Daoist Palace, where the person hailed as the number one in the Great Yu resides.

By integrating two top-tier techniques and comprehending them at the sixth stage of the Dao of Control, he can currently reach forty li in a breath. He feels that this is not the limit yet. If he can find more top-tier object manipulation techniques to integrate, he can continue to improve.

And his current realm is also at the peak of the Fifteen Li realm.

He is just one step away from becoming a Grandmaster.

Through his insights into the sixth stage of the Physical Dao, he can cross into the Grandmaster realm at any time, but he hasn't done so yet because he lacks a Grandmaster's Heart.

However, Li Hao feels that he could touch that opportunity at any moment.

How to condense a Grandmaster's Heart?

First, one must touch the Heavenly Gate, and second, find their own path.

His understanding of the Physical Dao has already allowed him to touch the illusory Heavenly Gate, half a step into the Grandmaster realm.

But being cooped up in the mansion, delving into various arts to cultivate inner talent points, has diverted his focus from martial arts, naturally preventing him from finding his Grandmaster's Heart.

Now that he is out exploring, Li Hao feels the opportunity to enter the Grandmaster realm could come at any moment.

On stage, after explaining the eight realms of martial arts, Su Yehua continued, "Being able to enter the Jia Academy means you all have excellent potential, but don't be arrogant. The true ultimate techniques of our Tan Palace Academy are in the Black and White Hall. Only by entering the Black and White Hall can you be considered a true genius!"

Li Hao's eyes flickered, looking at her.

"There are two ways to enter the Black and White Hall."

"First, there is the Martial Arts Ranking in the Jia Academy. If you stay in the top five for six months without dropping out, you can enter the Black and White Hall."

"Second is the Perilous River Battlefield test."

When she mentioned "Perilous River," there was a slight commotion among the crowd.

Li Hao's eyes narrowed.

Information related to the Perilous River Battlefield is something he had found a lot about in the Listening Rain Pavilion. It is an extremely mysterious and dangerous place but not under the jurisdiction of the Li family.

Su Yehua scanned the room and saw some students from prominent families with tense expressions, while others looked confused.

She said, "We know that among the five divine generals, four guard the borders, suppressing demons and monsters invading the frontiers. They guard the four corners of the southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast!"

"And the First Divine General's mansion, the Tianzhao Divine General's mansion, oversees the Perilous River Division, guarding the Perilous Rivers across the world!"

At this point, she glanced at several people in the crowd, including Li Hao.

"The Divine Generals guard the frontiers, and the Perilous River Division guards the Perilous Rivers, which concern the survival of all the people in the world."

"We can comfortably sit here, listening to lessons, teaching, practicing martial arts, and even pursuing so-called demon-slaying fame, all because of the existence of the Five Divine Generals' mansions, who bear heavy burdens and advance!"

"That's right," Li Yuanzhao whispered beside Li Hao, his little fists clenched tightly, his chubby face full of excitement.

"The border battlefields are beyond our reach, but the Perilous River Battlefields are like earth veins, permeating various parts of the nineteen states of the Great Yu. Solving the Perilous Rivers is our duty as martial artists!" Su Yehua said sternly, her tone leaving no room for doubt.

She then pointed to someone among the students, "You're from the Wang family of the Tianzhao Divine General's mansion, right? Tell everyone what the Perilous River is."

She pointed to a young man in black, about fourteen or fifteen, whose eyes were sharp and cold, seemingly more mature than his peers.

Being called upon, he showed no panic but calmly stood up, "Teacher, my name is Wang Han."

The Wang family of the Tianzhao Divine General's mansion.

As the First Divine General's mansion, its status is even slightly superior to that of the Li family.

And the young man in front of him is evidently not the most outstanding among the third generation of the Wang family, whose status in the family is similar to that of Li Yun and Li Yuanzhao, who have slightly less talent than the true dragons and phoenixes.

Studying at Tan Palace Academy is more for gaining prestige, connections, and the ultimate techniques in the Black and White Hall.

"Wang Han, please explain," Su Yehua said approvingly.

The others looked at Wang Han, knowing he was from the Tianzhao Divine General's mansion, with a hint of respect.

The youth dressed plainly. The Tianzhao Divine General's mansion was ten thousand miles away. If not for Su Yehua pointing him out, they wouldn't have recognized his background.

"The origin of the Perilous River Battlefields is ancient and untraceable. They have been increasing yearly, and now they have begun appearing in remote towns and villages within our territory," Wang Han said calmly. "The Perilous River Battlefields are like separate worlds, mirages, illusions. But if you die inside, you truly die."

"The Perilous Rivers are hard to eliminate entirely. Even if destroyed, they will reappear."

"This is why the Perilous River Division recruits every year but remains understaffed."

"Throughout history, few Perilous Rivers have been completely resolved. You need to clear and break through them entirely, and you'll know the difficulty once you enter the Perilous Rivers in the future."

Someone couldn't help but ask, "What's inside the Perilous Rivers?"

Wang Han glanced at the speaker, his voice icy, "It's rumored to be a river leading to the underworld, and what's inside are naturally the deceased souls."

The temperature in the courtyard seemed to drop by a dozen degrees, and many shivered slightly.

"Please sit," Su Yehua gestured for Wang Han to sit, then addressed the group, "In any case, in the coming year, you must all work hard. Tan Palace Academy has everything you need; it depends on whether you can earn it. The future of the world is yours to claim, so strive hard!"

The motivational words at the end snapped many out of Wang Han's chilling explanation, filling them with hope and determination.

"Furthermore, in the future, regardless of your outside status, everyone is treated equally here. Mistakes will be punished uniformly, and merits rewarded!" Su Yehua said.

Upon hearing this, many glanced at Li Hao, Wang Han, and the two other distinguished young nobles.

Equal treatment—can it truly be achieved?

Li Hao smiled, unconcerned.

After Su Yehua left, the academy became lively.

Soon, some people approached Li Hao and Li Yuanzhao to strike up conversations.

Despite their young age, they had already learned to build networks under their parents' guidance, laying the groundwork for future endeavors.

Li Hao wasn't dismissive but only engaged in conversations with those who shared similar interests.

"Hello, Young Master Li, I'm from the Zhao family in Cangzhou..."

"Do you play chess?"

"Uh, no."

"Do you paint?"

"No..."

Li Hao lost interest.

Time passed quickly, and half a month went by.