Chapter 139 Qingping's Calligraphy Sage's Secret Realm

"So, everyone has arrived."

Master Chen spoke slowly. His voice wasn't loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly, making them feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze. "Ten thousand years have passed in the blink of an eye, and the Qingping Secret Realm opens once more. You are all the future hope of our Eastern Continent, the trendsetters of this age of great conflict."

"Within the secret realm, opportunities are countless, but they are accompanied by life-and-death crises. I have only one sentence for you—"

At this point, Master Chen's expression became slightly more serious.

"Stay true to your original heart, and you shall reach the end."

"Do not let greed blind your eyes, nor let hatred consume your soul. The path of martial arts is nothing more than the heart."

These words seemed plain, but they actually contained the ultimate truths of the Great Dao. Upon hearing them, many geniuses with high comprehension became lost in thought.

However, for most, their eyes still flickered with a longing for treasures.

Seeing this, Master Chen shook his head slightly and said no more. Whether one could grasp an opportunity depended entirely on their own destiny; it could not be forced.

"The time has come."

Master Chen gave a gentle wave of the bamboo slips in his hand.

Rumble—!!!

The massive stone gate, which had been silent for three hundred years, let out a deafening roar at this moment.

The stone gate slowly opened to both sides, revealing a chaotic, misty vortex within. The vortex was black and white, rotating slowly and emitting heart-palpitating spatial fluctuations, as if it led to another unknown world.

An incredibly dense surge of noble spirit, mixed with an ancient and weathered aura, gushed out from within the gate!

"The secret realm is open! Those holding a hidden dragon token, enter quickly!"

Master Chen waved his wide sleeve, his voice sounding like a great bell.

"Let's go!!"

Almost the instant the words fell, Second Prince Chu Tianba of the Great Chu Dynasty let out a thunderous shout. His figure was like lightning as he took the lead, rushing toward the stone gate with Chu Tianmad and the others.

"We're going too!"

Dugu Jian of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect followed closely behind, his entire being transforming into a sharp streak of sword light that instantly vanished into the vortex.

Next, the Holy Maiden of Jade Lake, the Young Master of the Barbarian Clan, and the geniuses of various major sects were like carps crossing a river, scrambling to turn into streaks of light and rush into the secret realm.

They were afraid that if they were a step late, the opportunities would be snatched away by others.

Ye Haocheng was in no hurry to move.

He watched the figures disappearing into the vortex, then turned to Deng Tianlong beside him and said, "After entering, we will be randomly teleported. Remember, if you encounter something you cannot defeat, survival comes first. Only by staying alive do you have the right to talk about opportunities."

"I understand!" Deng Tianlong nodded solemnly.

"Go on."

Ye Haocheng patted him on the shoulder.

Deng Tianlong no longer hesitated, his figure flashing as he rushed into the stone gate.

At this time, only Ye Haocheng remained on the Cloud-Watching Platform.

He looked up at Master Chen in the sky and cupped his hands in a salute once more.

Master Chen smiled slightly, his lips moving as a voice as thin as a silk thread entered Ye Haocheng's ears: "Haocheng, be careful of those three old fellows from Great Chu. Also... if you see 'Spring and Autumn', act according to your ability."

Ye Haocheng's pupils constricted slightly.

As expected, the Master knew everything.

"Thank you for the reminder, Master."

Ye Haocheng took a deep breath and hesitated no longer.

With a stomp of his foot, his entire body was like a Roc spreading its wings. Carrying an unstoppable momentum, he resolutely charged into the black and white vortex.

Buzz!

As the last person entered, the stone gate slowly closed.

Tranquility returned to the world, leaving Master Chen alone, quietly gazing at the closed stone gate for a long time in silence.

"The chess game of this chaotic world is finally beginning its first moves..."

...

Qingping Secret Realm, First Trial: Ink Sea.

A wave of world-spinning dizziness hit him.

When Ye Haocheng opened his eyes again, he found that he wasn't standing on solid ground but was suspended between a greyish-dark sky and earth.

There was no sunlight, no clouds.

Above his head was a hazy grey firmament, looking like xuan paper rendered with light ink.

And beneath his feet...

Was a vast, boundless, and surging black ocean!

This seawater wasn't real water; it was formed by ink so dense it had become physical. Every drop of "seawater" contained a chaotic and violent energy, possessing both the noble spirit of the Confucian school and the resentment of those who had fallen here over countless years.

Splash—!

A massive wave struck, and the ink that splashed onto Ye Haocheng's protective spiritual energy actually made a 'sizzling' corrosive sound, emitting trails of green smoke.

"Is this the... Ink Sea that Song Baiyuan mentioned?"

Ye Haocheng stabilized himself, his brow furrowing slightly.

The gravity here seemed to be more than ten times that of the outside world, and the air was filled with a strange power that could suppress divine sense. Even with his Martial Emperor Realm divine sense, he could only probe an area of a hundred zhang around him.

"It seems everyone has indeed been separated."

Ye Haocheng looked around. Within a hundred zhang, there was no one but the rolling ink waves. Deng Tianlong was also nowhere to be found.

Just then.

Roar—!!!

A low and violent beastly roar suddenly came from deep within the Ink Sea beneath him.

Immediately after, the originally calm surface of the sea instantly exploded!

A hideous monster, dozens of zhang long and pitch-black as ink, resembling a giant shark but with three heads, opened its bloody maws. Carrying a foul stench, it lunged fiercely toward Ye Haocheng in mid-air!

"An Ink Spirit Beast?"

Ye Haocheng's gaze turned cold.

The aura on this monster was actually comparable to the peak of the Martial King Realm!

Furthermore, in this Ink Sea environment, its strength was clearly boosted, making it likely more troublesome than an ordinary human at the peak of the Martial King Realm.

"Giving me such a big gift right as I enter?"

Ye Haocheng gave a cold laugh. He grasped at the empty air with his right hand, and a blood-colored longsword emitting bone-chilling killing intent appeared out of nowhere.

"Since you've come, then don't leave."

Ye Haocheng did not retreat but advanced instead. His figure was like a falling meteor as he charged down to meet the three-headed ink shark.

Swish!

A sharp, blood-colored sword light instantly illuminated the dark sky and earth.

Puchi!

In just a single exchange.

The seemingly ferocious three-headed ink shark didn't even have time to scream before its largest middle head was severed by a single sword strike!

Its massive body crashed heavily back into the Ink Sea, kicking up a thousand layers of waves.

However, Ye Haocheng did not lower his guard.

Because he felt that beneath the rolling Ink Sea all around him, hundreds and thousands of similar auras were being attracted by the smell of blood just now, and were frantically converging toward this location!

"Is it starting already?"

Ye Haocheng flicked the ink off his sword. Not only was there no fear in his eyes, but a flame of excitement was burning instead.

"Very well."

"I'll use this Ink Sea to test just how sharp my Martial Emperor Realm sword really is!"

...

"Kill! Kill! Kill!!"

The roars resounded through the clouds.

Ye Haocheng was in the center of the Ink Sea, surrounded by a dense and endless swarm of Ink Spirit Beasts. These strange creatures, formed from a mix of noble spirit and resentment, came in various forms: some like dragons emerging from the sea, some like giant crabs scuttling about. Each one possessed terrifying strength comparable to a high-level Martial King.

They knew no pain and feared no death. Their only instinct was to tear the intruder before them to pieces and assimilate them into the Ink Sea.

"The two hundred and thirty-seventh."

Ye Haocheng was expressionless. The sword in his hand had long been stained pitch-black; it was the dense energy left behind by the Ink Spirit Beasts after their death.

His figure was like lightning, weaving through the beast swarm with ease. Every time he swung his sword, it was accompanied by a sharp, blood-colored sword qi that sliced the lunging Ink Spirit Beasts in two. The ink, which was corrosive enough to eat through metal, was deflected by a faint golden-red layer of Imperial Astral Qi three feet from his body, unable to harm him in the slightest.

In this Ink Sea where divine sense and spiritual power were suppressed, although Ye Haocheng's Martial Emperor Realm cultivation could not be fully unleashed, his terrifying physical strength and combat instincts became his most lethal weapons.

Not just Ye Haocheng, but the other forty-nine geniuses were also in various corners of this Ink Sea, undergoing their own bloody battles.

In the far distance, a brilliant sword light soared into the sky, as if it wanted to pierce through the dark firmament.

That was Dugu Jian of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.

His entire being seemed to have transformed into an unsheathed divine sword. Sword qi crisscrossed around him, and any Ink Spirit Beast that came within a hundred zhang was instantly shredded into a cloud of black mist.

On another side, Second Prince Chu Tianba's muscles were knotted. He fought several giant ink whales with his bare hands. Every punch he threw could blast the air apart, causing violent sonic booms and displaying his overbearing imperial might.

Though the process was dangerous, which of the geniuses ranked in the top fifty of the hidden dragon ranking was an easy opponent?

This first trial, "Ink Sea," tested practical combat and endurance.

After a full hour of slaughter.

When the last Ink Spirit Beast wailed and dissipated into black smoke, the boiling Ink Sea finally began to calm down.

Ye Haocheng stood with his sword sheathed, panting slightly.

Just then, pillars of milky-white light suddenly descended from the heavens, accurately enveloping each of the surviving geniuses.

That was the reward for the first trial—Noble Marrow-Cleansing Liquid.

"Hmm?"

Ye Haocheng felt a cool and gentle energy seep into his body through his pores. His blood, which had been somewhat restless from the killing, instantly calmed down. Even his soul felt an indescribable sense of comfort, as if a gentle hand had brushed away the dust.

"Good stuff. It can actually purify the soul and increase comprehension."

A sharp gleam flashed in Ye Haocheng's eyes. The Qingping Academy was indeed generous; even the general reward for the first trial would be enough to make countless Martial Kings fight to the death in the outside world.

At this time, the geniuses scattered across the Ink Sea had also completed their test.

Out of fifty people, not one was eliminated.

This was normal; after all, they were the top monsters of the Eastern Continent, carefully selected. It would be a joke if they failed at the first trial.

"Buzz—"

Before everyone could carefully appreciate the wonders of the Marrow-Cleansing Liquid, the Ink Sea beneath their feet suddenly began to rotate violently, turning into a massive vortex.

An irresistible teleportation force instantly enveloped everyone.

The scene changed.

...

Qingping Secret Realm, Second Trial: Stele Forest.

When their vision cleared again, the sound of waves had vanished, replaced by a deathly silence.

This was a vast, boundless plain with a ground paved with bluish-grey stone slabs. On the plain stood countless towering stone steles that reached into the clouds.

Some of these steles were incomplete, some were ancient and weathered, and some were sharp and imposing. Every stele was carved with complex and obscure patterns—some were sword marks, some were saber imprints, and some were cursive script.

At a glance, they were densely packed, like a forest made of stone.

This was the place Song Baiyuan said would most test one's comprehension—the Three Thousand Stele Forest.

"Rules for the second trial: Within two hours, comprehend and light up ten stone steles to pass. Those who fail will be expelled from the secret realm."

A grand and indifferent voice echoed above the Stele Forest.

Hearing these rules, the expressions of many geniuses changed instantly.

"Two hours? Comprehend ten? How is that possible!"

"Every stele here contains a complete martial artistic conception. Even for a single one, it would take an ordinary martial artist several months of work. Ten in two hours... is this a joke?"

Someone couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

But despite the complaints, the countdown had already begun.

No one dared to delay. They immediately scattered, searching for steles that matched their own attributes, then sat cross-legged and raced against time to release their divine sense for comprehension.

Ye Haocheng strolled through the Stele Forest with a calm expression.

He came to a stone stele carved with flame patterns. Just as his gaze touched the patterns, the 'Innate Chaos Dao Body' within him trembled slightly.

All laws in this world originate from Chaos.

For Ye Haocheng, who possessed the Chaos Dao Body, these so-called martial artistic conceptions were like complex equations broken down into basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. He could see through to the essence at a single glance.

Buzz!

Only three breaths of time had passed.

That flame stele suddenly burst with light, and a red pillar of light soared into the sky, representing successful comprehension!

"What?! So fast?!"

Not far away, the Young Master of the Barbarian Clan, who was sweating profusely while trying to comprehend an ice stele, almost had his eyes pop out. He had only just touched the threshold, and Ye Haocheng had already lit one up?

However, this was only the beginning.

Ye Haocheng was like he was strolling through his own back garden, his footsteps never stopping.

At the fifth breath, he lit up the second stele, the Lightning Stele.

At the tenth breath, he lit up the third stele, the Geng-Metal Stele.

...

A stick of incense's time later.

When the tenth pillar of light lit up behind Ye Haocheng, the entire Stele Forest seemed to fall into a brief, dead silence.

Many geniuses who were still struggling to comprehend their first stele looked at those ten dazzling pillars of light, and a deep sense of powerlessness rose in their hearts.

Is this the comprehension of a Martial Emperor Realm expert? Is this the caliber of the nineteenth rank on the hidden dragon ranking?

This was simply a dimensional strike!

"Damn it! This freak!"

In the distance, Chu Tiankuang gritted his teeth so hard they nearly broke, and the jade slip in his hand was crushed. He was giving it his all, yet he had only barely lit up three steles. This massive gap made a proud imperial genius like him feel an immense sense of humiliation.

Another person who performed remarkably was Bai Ze.

He wasn't as ridiculously fast as Ye Haocheng, but every stele he chose was extremely precise, as if he were following some kind of formation arrangement. When he lit up his tenth stele, those ten lights actually intertwined beneath his feet to form a Bagua pattern. Clearly, he had not only comprehended the conceptions but had also fused and integrated them.

Time flowed, and two hours passed in a flash.

"Time is up."

That indifferent voice sounded again.

"No! Give me a little more time! Just a little bit more!"

"I'm not willing! I'm only missing the last one!"