97: Being strong is useless

Feng Ming told Lu An'an about how he heard a woman's voice from the starry sky while cultivating last night.

Lu An'an came to a realization and then spoke.

"This matter is indeed bizarre!"

"However, whether fairies or Immortals exist in this world remains a mystery to this day!"

Hearing this, Feng Ming was very surprised. "So you mean the Bright Moon Dynasty hasn't reached a clear conclusion proving that there are no Immortals in this world?"

Lu An'an nodded.

"Exactly. In the Bright Moon Dynasty, whether it's True Immortal Realm experts or the Royal Family—even King Haoyue himself!"

"None of them have ever explicitly stated that there are no Immortals in this world!"

"It's just that, how should I put it... if you say there are Immortals, no one has actually seen one."

Feng Ming didn't quite understand.

"King Haoyue is already the strongest existence in this world. Wouldn't he know if Immortals exist?"

Lu An'an shook her head.

"But King Haoyue hasn't said they exist either. It's just that everyone subconsciously assumes Immortals don't exist. Of course, saying they don't exist also doesn't quite make sense."

"Why?"

Feng Ming was getting a bit confused.

"Let me put it this way: King Haoyue has never admitted that there are Immortals in the heavens, yet he hosts the Immortal Worship Assembly roughly every ten years. It's been eight years since the last one, which means the next Immortal Worship Assembly will be in two years."

Feng Ming was stunned; he really hadn't known about this.

"Such a grand event must be famous throughout the world, so why have I never heard of it?"

Lu An'an said,

"That's because the Immortal Worship Assembly is not open to the public! It is limited to the officials under the Bright Moon Dynasty, and there is a strict order prohibiting it from being leaked to outsiders!"

"Then how do you know? And why are you telling me? Aren't you afraid those above will cause trouble for you?"

Feng Ming asked.

Lu An'an smiled and shook her head.

"Strictly speaking, I only know of the event's existence but none of the details. It doesn't count as leaking secrets. Besides, my father is an official of the Bright Moon Dynasty, so it's normal for him to know."

"Speaking of the Immortal Worship Assembly, I must mention the Liangzhou Trial taking place in a year!"

Feng Ming had heard of the Liangzhou Trial.

Roughly every three years, every province in the Bright Moon Dynasty would hold a trial.

Since they lived in Liang Province, the trial in Liang Province was naturally called the Liangzhou Trial.

Those in other provinces naturally had other names.

For example, in Qian Prefecture, it would be the Qian Prefecture Trial.

Lu An'an continued to explain.

"The Liangzhou Trial happens once every three years. According to the rankings, it is divided into the Heaven Ranking and the Earth Ranking."

"The purpose of the Earth Ranking is to select people for the Bright Moon Dynasty who may not have strong combat power or Cultivation talent, but possess administrative abilities."

"These people generally end up serving in small cities. Their positions aren't considered vital, yet they cannot be left vacant!"

"The Heaven Ranking is the list used to select young talents for the Bright Moon Dynasty!"

"Those who can enter the top ten of the Heaven Ranking can basically all become important officials of the Bright Moon Dynasty, with the lowest position being a Prefecture Governor!"

The territories of the Bright Moon Dynasty were divided into four levels: Nation, Province, Prefecture, and City!

Of course, Liumian Prefecture only had 'Prefecture' in its name; strictly speaking, it was just a small town and didn't even qualify as a city.

Lu An'an said,

"My father was once in the top ten of the Heaven Ranking. It's just that he is indifferent to fame and wealth by nature and dislikes official infighting. He only became an official for self-preservation, so he took the initiative to request to be a City Lord!"

"The threshold for the Immortal Worship Assembly is very high; only the top ten of the Heaven Ranking trials have the chance to participate. Therefore, even though my father is just a City Lord, he has participated once."

"I was twelve years old back then and had the honor of accompanying my father to this Immortal Worship Assembly."

Unfortunately, although she went along, she was not qualified to enter the actual site of the assembly.

Consequently, she knew nothing about what happened at the Immortal Worship Assembly or whether there were truly Immortals.

She merely knew of its existence.

Feng Ming also realized at this moment why Jiang Shuwan, despite being born into the Jiang Family, didn't know as much as Lu An'an.

There were two main reasons: first, Jiang Shuwan was not highly valued at home, so naturally no one told her about secretive matters like the Immortal Worship Assembly.

Second, while the status of a City Lord wasn't high, it was simply because her father didn't want more; it didn't mean he was only fit to be a City Lord.

"I wonder if I'll have the chance to participate in the future!"

Feng Ming laughed.

Lu An'an said,

"Young Master Feng is exceptionally gifted. You will surely make a name for yourself in the Liangzhou Trial a year from now. There will naturally be a place for you at the Immortal Worship Assembly!"

Feng Ming smiled.

"I hope so!"

After saying that, Feng Ming remembered another matter and couldn't help but become curious.

"The sword I saw in your shop last time was small and very exquisite. I wonder which craftsman's hand it came from?"

"Neither Shuwan nor I currently have a handy weapon, so I was thinking of finding someone to forge one."

The sword techniques Feng Ming Cultivated could use anything as a sword, so he didn't strictly need one.

Jiang Shuwan Cultivated the Icy Continuous Palm and didn't need a weapon either.

Thus, neither of them had a suitable weapon so far.

After entering the Sect, they would surely come into contact with more.

Like martial arts Secret Manuals and such.

So, if they could obtain a weapon, it would naturally be a good thing.

Lu An'an smiled upon hearing this.

"Young Master Feng doesn't need to be in a hurry about weapons. The Lingxiao Sect has a Weapon Storage Pavilion where you can obtain weapons yourself."

"The sword embryo from last time wasn't mine either; it belonged to Xiao Qian."

Lu An'an hesitated for a moment before telling him the truth.

"Lu Qianqian? Doesn't she already have a sword?"

Feng Ming was very puzzled.

Lu An'an simply explained.

"Actually, that sword embryo is Xiao Qian's true weapon, but it hasn't been fully nurtured yet."

"What do you mean?"

Feng Ming became interested.

Nurturing a sword? He really hadn't heard of this before.

Lu An'an said,

"Xiao Qian was born with a Woven Sword Body!"

"Initially, the Rank wasn't high. After years of searching for medicinal recipes and using various Heaven And Earth Treasures, my father managed to raise Xiao Qian's Physique to the heaven grade."

"And that small sword is something Xiao Qian has worn close to her body since she was a child, nurturing it with her own aura."

"It has been sixteen years now, and that sword embryo is about to Breakthrough to the heaven grade. When that time comes, Xiao Qian will be able to exert even greater strength by using it." Feng Ming was completely stunned by what he heard.

He could accept special Physiques—after all, he had a Chaos Body himself.

Jiang Shuwan could also achieve an Ice Body in the future.

But what on earth was this about 'improving' a Physique?

Aren't Physiques something you're born with?

Could they actually be nurtured at an Acquired stage?

Seeing Feng Ming's confusion, Lu An'an smiled. "A Physique can naturally be developed as an Acquired trait!"

"It's just that these Acquired Physiques can't compare to Innate ones, and the cost is immense. To improve Xiao Qian's Physique, my father spent a full twenty years of savings."

"Otherwise, why would dealing with a mere Huangfu Family be so much trouble!"

Feng Ming was dumbstruck.

Although he didn't lack any special Physique himself, if a Physique could be cultivated later...

Could his Chaos Body also continue to be cultivated?

Even if his Chaos Body had already reached its limit and couldn't be improved further,

it would still be great if the people around him could improve their Physiques.

For example, his father, his eldest brother, his second brother... Feng Ming knew very well that one person's strength is ultimately limited. Only the strength of a Family, a group of people, is true strength!