Several days passed in a flash.
Ian Song and his three companions finally arrived at the territory of the Great Jin Imperial Court.
The territory of the Great Jin Imperial Court was incredibly vast—even the combined lands of a hundred dynasties couldn’t compare.
Within the territory of Great Jin, the ambient spiritual energy of the world was even richer and denser.
The stronger a nation's qi luck, the denser the spiritual energy produced by heaven and earth.
Thus, within the territory of an Immortal Court, what arises is immortal energy; within a Divine Court, it is divine energy.
After flying for another half day, a massive city appeared on the horizon ahead.
Landing the treasure ship, Ian and his three companions headed straight for the city gate.
The entrance fee was steep—one hundred low-grade spirit stones per person.
But once inside, it was clear the hundred spirit stones were well spent—the city’s spiritual energy was far denser than even the largest cultivation sects of the Chu Dynasty.
This city was called Kunhe City, a Heaven-grade cultivation city.
Even among Heaven-grade cities, there were differences; for example, the spirit energy in Giant River City, the former capital of the Ying Dynasty, couldn’t compare to that of this place.
From ancient texts, Ian had already gained some understanding of the Great Jin Imperial Court.
First, the capital of the Great Jin Imperial Court was an Immortal-grade city—the only one of its kind.
To forge this Immortal-grade city, the Great Jin Imperial Court spent several thousand years and countless resources—far beyond imagination.
In addition, Great Jin had twelve Wilderness-grade cities.
These twelve Wilderness-grade cities stood at the twelve directions of Great Jin, each garrisoned by a powerful legion. Even more terrifying, a Wilderness-grade city could transform into a giant war fortress and march across the land.
As for the Immortal-grade city, once its formation was activated, it could soar through the sky, burrow through the earth, and even traverse the seas without difficulty.
That’s why every Imperial Court possessed unimaginable foundations.
According to Ian’s calculations, the territory of an Imperial Court was enormous. If compared to his home planet, it would only be the size of a single province of Great Jin—and Great Jin had over ten thousand provinces, equivalent to more than ten thousand planets combined.
The history of each Imperial Court is extremely long; the current Great Jin Imperial Court has existed for over three hundred thousand years, with terrifyingly deep foundations.
As for Empires, they are even more terrifying.
Even hundreds of Imperial Courts might not compare to a single Empire.
All this information, Ian had learned from ancient texts.
So.
On the second day after settling in Kunhe City, he took the three girls out for a stroll in the city. Whenever he saw an interesting ancient book, he would buy it.
Unconsciously.
Ian ended up staying in Kunhe City for three months, gaining a deeper understanding of the Great Jin Imperial Court.
In terms of cultivation, Deity Transformation experts are at the pinnacle in dynasties, but in the Great Jin Imperial Court, they are only considered mid-tier powerhouses.
Take Kunhe City for example.
The City Lord is a Void Fusion realm cultivator, and in addition, the chief general of the city guards is also a Void Fusion expert. Furthermore, the City Lord has two Void Fusion subordinates.
In other words, this city has four Void Fusion experts.
Ian always hoped to encounter a Void Fusion expert by chance, so he could scan their cultivation technique. Unfortunately, despite spending plenty of time wandering the streets, he never ran into one, which left him rather disappointed.
Looks like I’ll have to actively seek out a Void Fusion expert!
Ian thought to himself.
There are simply too many experts in the Great Jin Imperial Court. Without improving his cultivation, he couldn’t feel secure.
City Lord Jiang Yan rarely leaves the City Lord’s Mansion. Even when he does, it’s not something outsiders would know about. So, the best way is to sneak into the City Lord’s Mansion.
So, after some deliberate inquiry, Ian learned that City Lord Jiang Yan was recruiting personal guards for his daughter, Yvonne Jiang.
The requirement was Nascent Soul stage or above.
This is a chance. If I can become Yvonne Jiang’s guard, I’ll definitely get to meet Jiang Yan!
Sure enough.
The very next day, the City Lord’s Mansion released the announcement and began registration.
Ian also registered and received a number tag, being told to return to the City Lord’s Mansion for the assessment in three days.
It was a lucrative post, so many people signed up.
Sure enough.
Three days later, when Ian returned to the City Lord’s Mansion and was led to the training grounds, he found that over a thousand people had come to take the assessment.
I wonder if Jiang Yan will show up?
Ian thought to himself that if Jiang Yan appeared, he could scan his cultivation method and then pretend to fail and leave. If he didn’t show up, Ian would have to become Yvonne Jiang’s guard.
In the end, Ian was still disappointed.
Not only did Jiang Yan not come, even Yvonne Jiang didn’t show up.
The assessment was overseen by the City Lord’s Mansion steward, Howard Jiang, whose cultivation had already reached late Deity Transformation.
The first round was a mass elimination test.
All participants had to enter a Gravity Trial Formation.
"Everyone, enter the formation!"
Howard Jiang shouted.
Instantly, more than a thousand candidates entered the formation.
Then the formation was activated.
At first, the formation only had fifty times gravity.
For cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage and above, this was nothing.
Many people looked unconcerned, feeling the test was much too easy.
But after a quarter of an hour, the gravity increased to one hundred times.
This time, some people’s expressions changed.
But everyone persevered.
After another quarter of an hour, the gravity increased to two hundred times.
Many people groaned; two hundred times gravity already put great pressure on Nascent Soul cultivators.
So, some people quit.
But not many quit, only a handful.
After another quarter of an hour, the gravity was adjusted again, reaching three hundred times.
This time, some people were directly crushed to the ground and had no choice but to shatter their jade token and be teleported out of the formation. Over two hundred people were eliminated at once.
The gravity kept increasing.
Four hundred times.
Five hundred times.
Six hundred times.
More and more people were eliminated, but there were still over seven hundred left.
Such gravity was nothing to Ian; he found it rather easy.
Finally, when the gravity reached one thousand times, he felt a bit of pressure.
At the same time, Howard Jiang’s requirement was met—when only five hundred remained, he canceled all gravity in the formation.
Howard Jiang swept his gaze over the crowd: "Congratulations on passing the first round. Now, onto the second round—the Heart-Questioning Formation. Let me remind you: if you harbor any ill intentions toward the City Lord’s Mansion or the Young Miss, it’s best to withdraw now. Once inside the formation, any bad thoughts will be revealed, and by then, even if you want to leave, you won’t be able to!"
On hearing this, many people felt a chill in their hearts; a few withdrew and left in haste.
"Enter the formation!"
Howard Jiang shouted.
The remaining people all entered the Heart-Questioning Formation.
Ian’s soul was exceptionally strong, far beyond what a Heart-Questioning Formation could interrogate, but he still pretended to be affected and made up a reason for entering the City Lord’s Mansion.
Eventually, the Heart-Questioning Formation ended.
Over a hundred people were eliminated, leaving just over three hundred.
"Now, follow me. I’ll take you to meet the Young Miss!"
Howard Jiang said, then led everyone in a certain direction.
Yvonne Jiang was very beautiful, with an ethereal temperament.
“Young Miss, these people have passed the first and second rounds!” Howard Jiang said respectfully.
Yvonne Jiang nodded, “Thank you, steward!”
Her gaze also fell upon the crowd.