90: Chapter 90 The Tenth Rank, the First Emperor!

"This Elementary Spirit Realm is not a single Beast King, but a double Beast King, and both are sub-Dragon species."

"One of them is Rank 40."

The moment the voice fell, the surrounding area became so deathly silent that one could hear a pin drop.

Commander Xiang Ding's entire face flushed to the color of a pig's liver, his teeth chattered, and his whole body trembled like a sieve.

"Double sub-Dragon species Beast Kings... How could it be an Elementary Spirit Realm with double sub-Dragon species Beast Kings!"

Qin Ding watched him quietly.

The monstrous rage in Commander Xiang Ding's eyes did not last long before receding like a tide, replaced by a grayish pallor—the bottomless despair that comes after hope is completely extinguished.

Despair for life and the future.

But that was fine. Thanks to Cui Yan's interference just now, the old man seemed to truly believe that Xiang Tian's death had nothing to do with him, which saved a lot of trouble.

"Double Beast King Spirit Realm..."

Chairman Cui Geng sighed up at the sky, rubbing his temples with an incredibly complex expression, appearing somewhat weary. "Looking at it this way, this is even a 'Stubborn Spirit Realm'."

As a Beast Tamer of the older generation, he knew the weight of those four words better than anyone.

He turned his head abruptly and looked at his daughter, instructing her with a serious expression, "Girl, for the next six months, if you must leave the city, it is best to go with classmates and friends. Especially this area, you must avoid it. If you run into a Spirit Realm Beast Tide, even the gods couldn't save you!"

"Spirit Realm Beast Tide?" Cui Yan was stunned. "Dad, are you saying that the Spirit Beasts within the Spirit Realm will rush out in large numbers?"

Stubborn Spirit Realm?

Qin Ding's heart skipped a beat.

He had seen this term online; whenever a double Beast King or even a triple Beast King appeared within a Spirit Realm, they were collectively called "Stubborn Spirit Realms".

Because Spirit Realms have rule restrictions, the entrant's highest-ranked Beast can at most be on par with the Beast King, and they can only bring or summon one Beast of the same Rank as the Beast King.

This meant that even the strongest person and their pet would face grim prospects when facing two or even three Beast Kings of the same Rank.

Especially in situations where a quick victory could not be achieved, once the Beast King summoned all the Spirit Beasts in the Realm, it would become a desperate war of attrition.

"No wonder. The ability of a Spirit Realm Beast King is too outrageous. Not only do they have terrifying bonuses within the Spirit Realm, but they also have the ability to summon all Spirit Beasts in the Realm to launch a Beast Tide. A single person and a single beast must kill the Beast King quickly before the Beast Tide gathers."

"This is indeed a very difficult task to complete."

Qin Ding pondered inwardly.

This kind of Spirit Realm could probably only be taken down by the Prodigies raised by first-tier major cities or top-tier clans, right?

"However, how are Spirit Realms actually formed? Why are there such strange and inherently biased rules for Spirit Realms?"

"And that Spirit Realm that caused Mom, Dad, and Uncle Bai to go missing back then... what kind of level was that Spirit Realm?"

Just as Qin Ding was lost in thought, a ray of blinding sunlight pierced through the gaps in the leaves and splashed onto his face. He looked up subconsciously and discovered that the morning sun was rising slowly.

It turned out he had stayed in the Spirit Realm, where there was no distinction between day and night, for a whole day.

"Awoo." [Boss, something is wrong. Everything around here... is eyes.]

"What did you say?" Qin Ding instantly regained his focus and, following Earth Dog's perception, scanned his surroundings sharply.

The reality was more terrifying than he had imagined.

A rough scan revealed that the Life Records had actually exceeded one hundred!

And without exception, all were Rank 11 or higher! There were even Rank 20 Elites, and even Rank 30 Commander Rank Spirit Beasts hiding in the forest!

But what they were staring at was neither the mountain of corpses piled up by the Spirit Realm Spirit Beasts nor the living people, but that Spirit Realm rift.

What burned in those pairs of beast eyes was not greed, but a kind of bone-deep hatred and hostility, as if that rift were their sworn enemy for generations.

"What is going on here?" Qin Ding, having noticed this, froze, feeling a chill run down his scalp.

"There are several King Rank beasts here, yet these Spirit Beasts are not only not fleeing, but even more high-ranked ones are gathering here?"

"Eh? You didn't say anything, and I hadn't noticed." Cui Yan had moved closer at some point. She looked in the direction of his gaze, then turned back to ask Chairman Cui Geng, "Dad, do you know why this is?"

Qin Ding turned his head sharply, staring fixedly at Chairman Cui Geng's expression.

Chairman Cui Geng clearly hadn't expected his daughter to ask such an "out-of-syllabus" question. A flash of extremely unnatural embarrassment crossed his eyes, and then he shook his head with a bitter smile: "This... Dad doesn't know either."

"Perhaps Commander Xiang Ding knows something?"

However, at this moment, Commander Xiang Ding's mind was filled with the despair of his Bloodline being cut off; how could he hear a single word?

Qin Ding's pupils trembled slightly.

Having lived two lifetimes, he could be certain that Chairman Cui Geng had absolutely not lied just now.

That touch of unnaturalness was purely the embarrassment and helplessness of a father who couldn't answer in front of his daughter!

A secret!

To what extent was this secret? It was so big that even a Rank 6 expert who possessed a King Rank beast did not have the qualifications to know even a single word!

If that was really the case...

Then all the information about Spirit Realms circulating online was probably just the tip of the iceberg? Or perhaps, just basic information about Spirit Realms?

The Federation had never revealed the truth about Spirit Realms to the public!

"But why does the Federation want to hide it? Is it simply because it's useless for the weak to know, or would it cause unnecessary panic if more people knew?"

Just as Qin Ding was trying to connect the key clues to all of this, Cui Yan suddenly moved closer, curiously examining Earth Dog, and then looked at Qin Ding, her tone carrying a bit of emotion.

"Qin Ding, the Beast of your Chang City's City Lord is a Rank 60 Flood Dragon. It seems Chang City will soon give birth to a Marshal-level City Lord and be promoted to a second-tier city."

His train of thought was interrupted, but Qin Ding was not angry; instead, he looked at Cui Yan thoughtfully. "Marshal Rank? What does that mean? Aren't Beast Tamers classified by Mental Energy?"

Cui Yan was stunned. She was just about to mock him for being ignorant, but she suddenly realized that the man in front of her, who was so decisive in killing within the Spirit Realm, might really know nothing about this.

Someone who didn't even know he had been praised on the official Chang City website by the Chang City authorities, someone who didn't even read local news—did you expect him to read Federation news and official documents?

"This is a title system that the Federation just promulgated a few years ago. If you don't know it... I feel it's quite normal."

Qin Ding blinked, not arguing the fact that he actually went online, just waiting quietly for the rest.

Looking at this Qin Ding, who was majestic and imposing just a moment ago but now looked like a student humbly asking for advice, a sense of superiority inexplicably arose in Cui Yan's heart.

Hmph, you're not omnipotent after all.

She coughed lightly and cleared her throat.

"Mental Energy Rank 1 and 2 are called Elementary Beast Tamers; Rank 3 and 4 are Elite; Rank 5 and 6 are General Rank; Rank 7 and 8 are Marshal Rank."

"As for Rank 9 Mental Energy," she paused, a look of awe and yearning flowing in her eyes.

"That is the legendary King-Title Beast Tamer. Existences like the Federation's The Twelve Councilors are the pinnacle among the King-Titled."

Qin Ding silently digested this information, then suddenly asked, "Then what about Rank 10?"

These three light words made even Chairman Cui Geng, who was on the side, unable to help but look over and laugh out loud.

"Rank 10 Mental Energy? That is a Realm that only exists in legends. Throughout the Federation's thousands of years of history, only one person has reached it."

"If there really is someone in this world who can reach Rank 10, then they would be the undisputed invincible of the current age, the King of Kings."

Speaking of this, Chairman Cui Geng's gaze became profound. In his eyes, there was no yearning like Cui Yan's, only absolute reverence for an absolute powerhouse.

"Rank 10, titled... First Emperor!"

"It is both a commemoration and an absolute recognition and praise for this ancestor."