25: Chapter 25 You're not his biological son, are you?!

The Ancient Demon Race battlefield on the border! The Imperial Dynasty Martial Academy!! The Martial Arts Holy Land!!!

The three names mentioned by Shen Qinglan were, to every Martial Artist of the Great Luo Dynasty, heavy, significant entities imprinted deep within their Bloodlines.

The Ancient Demon Race was the mortal enemy of the Human Race on the Cangyuan Continent for generations—cruel, bloodthirsty, violent, and lawless. They entrenched themselves in the northern border of the Tianyan Mountain Range and occupied more than half of the territory of the Cangyuan Continent.

The Ancient Demon Race battlefield on the border of the Tianyan Mountain Range was the frontline for the Human Race to resist the invasion of the Ancient Demon. It was a place of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, a site of eternal slaughter. It was synonymous with iron-blooded sacrifice, the most dangerous purgatory in the hearts of all Martial Artists. Only top experts and fearless Martial Artists were qualified to step foot there, protecting the lives and land of the common people with their martial arts.

The Imperial Dynasty Martial Academy was the highest martial arts institution officially managed by the Great Luo Dynasty, superior to the state academies and Prefectural Academy of every state. It was said to have endless resources, Cultivation Techniques, and Martial Skills. Even Earth Rank Cultivation Techniques and Heaven Rank Cultivation Techniques, which ordinary Martial Artists could only dream of, could be borrowed for free.

Even more exaggerated rumors claimed that the Imperial Dynasty Martial Academy contained supreme Cultivation Techniques even stronger than Heaven Rank ones, capable of leading one directly to the Martial King or even the Martial Emperor Realm.

As for the final Martial Arts Holy Land, it did not refer to a single Secret Realm for Cultivation, but rather the four top Sects that had stood for ten thousand years within the Great Luo Dynasty, suppressing the Nine Provinces—the Hanshan Sect, the Lieyang Sect, the Batian Sect, and the Xinghe Sword Sect.

The origin of the Great Luo Dynasty was extremely unique. After the Ancient Demon catastrophe ended, the surviving top experts of the Human Race and the Old Ancestors of the four major Sects formed an alliance and built it together.

Although it held the title of the orthodox Imperial Dynasty and possessed vast territories while ruling over hundreds of millions of people, it was by no means an autocratic regime.

In daily life, mundane affairs such as the livelihood of the Nine Provinces, the administration of prefectures and counties, the appointment and dismissal of officials, taxes, and laws were all managed by the Great Luo Dynasty Emperor in the imperial court. They were governed independently, each operating its own administration, without interfering with the cultivation order of the Sects.

However, once faced with major events involving the survival of the entire Human Race, foreign invasions, catastrophes of heaven and earth, or ancient secret disasters, it was no longer something the Emperor could decide alone.

Any major decision concerning the rise and fall of the Human Race or the safety of the territory had to be discussed jointly by the Imperial Dynasty's royal family and the Old Ancestors of the four Martial Arts Holy Lands. The leaders of the four Sects would vote together to balance the imperial power and determine the general trend of the Human Race.

Imperial power governs the world, Sects suppress the race! The imperial court controls mundane order, the Holy Lands suppress the martial arts firmament.

This was the fundamental structure that had allowed the Great Luo Dynasty to continue for thousands of years, stably resisting the Ancient Demon Race and deterring dissenters.

The reason why these four Sects were called Martial Arts Holy Lands was that each of them had a Martial Emperor suppressing the world.

According to the books, a Martial Emperor was the supreme existence at the pinnacle of martial arts on the Cangyuan Continent, overlooking all Daos and suppressing all directions. It was the end of the martial arts path that could be reached in the present world.

A Martial Artist's cultivation went from Physical Body, Qi Condensation, Acquired, Innate, Grandmaster, Great Grandmaster, to Martial King, transforming layer by layer. Only by breaking through the shackles and ascending to the Emperor Realm could one condense a Martial Arts True Body.

Once the Martial Arts True Body was formed, the Physical Body would be indestructible, the Divine Soul would resonate with heaven and earth, and one could move mountains and fill seas, split rivers and break mountains. Lifespan would extend for a thousand years, and with a single thought, one could destroy hundreds of millions of lives.

It was precisely because there were Martial Emperors suppressing the present age that these four Sects were revered as the Martial Arts Holy Lands of the Great Luo Dynasty, suppressing the entire Human Race's martial arts Luck.

Chen An had not expected that this County Exam would have so many secrets.

From an ordinary county-level Martial Examination, it had suddenly been upgraded to the Five Prefectures Joint Examination. Behind it, it was not only connected to the Ancient Demon Race war in the north but also involved the Imperial Dynasty Martial Academy and even the four Martial Arts Holy Lands that possessed martial arts experts.

Originally, he had not paid too much attention to the County Exam.

After all, with his current cultivation Realm, if he were to truly make a move, he would be enough to sweep through the entire younger generation of Wurong County. Promoting to the Prefectural Academy would be easy.

He didn't even take the Prefectural Academy very seriously.

But now, with the Five Prefectures Joint Examination, as long as one ranked in the top ten, it was possible to enter the Imperial Dynasty Martial Academy or the Martial Arts Holy Lands directly. Even he was somewhat tempted.

There was no helping it; whether it was the Imperial Dynasty Martial Academy or the four Martial Arts Holy Lands, they were the highest martial arts institutions of the Human Race. They must contain countless Earth Rank, Heaven Rank, and even King Rank Cultivation Techniques, Martial Skills, and secret techniques.

He was not lacking in yuan crystal right now; what he lacked instead were Cultivation Techniques, Martial Skills, and secret techniques above the Earth Rank.

If he could enter the Imperial Dynasty Martial Academy or the four Martial Arts Holy Lands, with his efforts and the assistance of the System, it was entirely possible for him to break through Realms consecutively in a short period, or even go straight to the Peak of martial arts.

"Chen An, what are you thinking about? Did you even hear what I was saying?!"

Seeing that Chen An had not spoken for a long time and instead seemed to be in a daze, Shen Qinglan felt a bit annoyed and waved her jade hand in front of him.

"Hmm, what did you say?!" Chen An came back to his senses and looked at Shen Qinglan.

"You..."

Seeing that Chen An was actually distracted while she was talking to him, Shen Qinglan puffed out her cheeks slightly. A flash of coquettish annoyance and helplessness crossed her eyes, and she rolled her eyes at him, saying, "I said, with your strength, this joint examination might be a bit dangerous. However, my father has already made arrangements for you and secured a special admission spot for the Prefectural Academy. Tomorrow, you can just take the exam casually, and then you can go directly to enroll in the Prefectural Academy!"

Hearing Shen Qinglan's words, a look of surprise flashed across Chen An's face.

He had not expected that Shen Qinglan's father would actually obtain a special admission spot to the Prefectural Academy for him.

One had to know that this was the Prefectural Academy, the highest hall of martial arts cultivation in a prefecture. Not to mention ordinary Martial Artists, even children of ordinary martial arts families and martial arts Geniuses had to fight bloodily through layers of Martial Examinations to barely make it in.

A special admission spot was even more precious. Without needing to go through the layers of screening of the County Exam, one could directly step into the Prefectural Academy to Cultivate, enjoying the top resources, Cultivation Techniques, secret techniques, and guidance from famous teachers of the Prefectural Academy. It was an Opportunity that countless Martial Artists dreamed of.

Looking back over the years, ever since his father in this life passed away and fell, Shen Qinglan's father, Shen Zongyue, had always taken good care of him.

He often came in person or had Shen Qinglan send him Medicinal Pills for cultivation. Even the Medium Grade Profound Rank Martial Skill, "Mountain Crushing Force," which he had practiced before and was worth over ten thousand yuan crystal, had been a gift from Shen Zongyue.

His care and assistance had never ceased, and that kindness and regard were even more attentive than what he showed his own daughter.

It was precisely because of this that Shen Qinglan was often jealous. Every time she couldn't help but mutter and tease, saying that she was probably picked up from the side of the road, and that Chen An was actually Shen Zongyue's biological son.

"Sigh, I, the biological daughter, have to go fight others to the death, while you, on the other hand, get to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor comfortably. Old Yue got you a special admission spot directly!"

"Chen An, tell me honestly, you aren't actually Old Yue's biological son, are you?!" Shen Qinglan sighed, looking sour and aggrieved, blinking her beautiful eyes as she looked at Chen An.

Knowing that Shen Qinglan was teasing him, Chen An hooked the corner of his mouth into an evil, charming smile. He raised his eyebrows and said in a deliberately playful tone, "Maybe not a biological son, but a gift from a father-in-law to his son-in-law?!"

"As the old saying goes, a son-in-law is half a son. Putting it that way, saying I am Uncle Shen's son isn't wrong at all!"