177: Chapter 177 Half-Step Divine Realm

"Long'er, you've reached the Tenth Rank?"

Zhou Fentian's back straightened instantly, as if he had become young again.

Zhou Rulong was only just over three hundred years old; at this age, reaching the Tenth Rank absolutely placed him among the few with top-tier talent in the Central Continent.

Such natural talent was on par with Jue Chenzi back in the day, as Jue Chenzi had also broken through to the Tenth Rank in his three hundreds. However, the difference was that Jue Chenzi was now over five hundred years old and had already reached Level 11, whereas it remained to be seen whether Zhou Rulong could achieve the same feat again.

Setting aside the current Jue Chenzi, the young Jue Chenzi was truly peerless in Dongxuan, but in the Central Continent, he was no longer unique.

Take the current Prodigies on the young master ranking, for instance; the top three had already reached the Ninth Rank, meaning they were under two hundred years old and essentially at the God Realm, comparable to the young Jue Chenzi.

After handling the miscellaneous matters, Lin Qing locked himself in his small courtyard once more to continue refining his Ninth Rank Formation.

Outside, the Central Continent's young master ranking had also been updated. The ranking was not restricted to people from the Central Continent; any young Cultivator active in the Central Continent was eligible to be on it.

Besides the Yao Race from the south, Cultivators from the north and west were also on the list. In this update, Lin Qing was ranked directly at fourth place on the young master ranking, making him the number one person below the God Realm.

After the young master ranking update, Ling Shu and the others made a special trip to Lin Qing's small courtyard to share their joy with him, but Lin Qing merely smiled in response.

The last time he had fought with full strength was against Old Ghost. He himself wasn't even sure what level his combat power was at among ordinary Cultivators now.

Time slipped away unknowingly. One day, while Lin Qing was practicing the final Ninth Rank Formation in the courtyard, a sudden, light, floating sensation washed over him. He sat cross-legged there, and from a distance, it appeared as though his entire figure had developed a double image.

It felt as if his Soul was about to break free from the shackles of his body, struggling outward bit by bit, yet there was no tearing pain, only an inexplicable sense of clarity and comfort.

It was his Primordial Spirit!

After a moment of hesitation, Lin Qing stopped the operation of his "Sitting in Oblivion and Selflessness" technique.

The Kunxu Secret Realm would open in less than a month, and the thing that could trigger the Heavenly Tribulation was very likely one of the greatest Opportunities on this continent. He did not want to give up this Opportunity just to enter the God Realm a few months early.

Thus, Lin Qing fell into a strange state; his Primordial Spirit had just begun to condense, but he had forcibly interrupted it. Conventionally speaking, whether it was the birth of Divine Thought or the condensation of the Primordial Spirit, it was an instantaneous event; no one had ever been able to pause it.

In reality, this was his talent, "Sitting in Oblivion and Selflessness," taking effect. Because of this, Lin Qing had stepped into a Realm that shouldn't have existed: the Half-Step God Realm.

After successfully interrupting the condensation of his Primordial Spirit, Lin Qing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Now, he didn't even dare to use his Divine Thought too recklessly.

Afterward, Lin Qing continued with his own matters. After cultivating his Formation Master Realm to Ninth Rank Perfection, Ling Shu and the others came knocking again.

"Lin Qing, it's time to set off."

The Kunxu Secret Realm was not located near any major city, so they needed to first take a teleportation array to the nearest city and then proceed on their own.

Inside the Li Family's great hall, the Disciples of the three Sects gathered. Since Li Yaqing was also going to the Secret Realm, she stood below in the hall, while Lin Qing stood in front of the crowd alongside Fei Luo and Yun Feng.

It wasn't that Lin Qing was arrogant; in reality, he had been forcibly dragged up there by the two of them, and they had even made him give the pre-departure speech.

Because Lin Qing was the team leader of the Chuyun Immortal Sect, and having witnessed Lin Qing's talent during this period, Yun Feng and Fei Luo no longer treated Lin Qing as an ordinary Disciple.

"Although you come from different Sects, after spending this time together, I believe everyone has become familiar with each other."

"Inside the Secret Realm, I hope you will help one another, regardless of whether the other person is from the same Sect as you."

"In Dongxuan, you are the top batch of Prodigies, but here, everyone is top-tier. There are thirty-eight of us entering the Secret Realm this time, and I hope that when we leave the Secret Realm, not a single person will be missing."

At this point, Lin Qing paused his speech and took out a pile of communication tokens from his Storage Ring to distribute to everyone.

"I've added a positioning function to these communication tokens. The Secret Realm will likely teleport us randomly. After entering, try your best to find those closest to you and group up."

There was a lot of information circulating about the Kunxu Secret Realm, such as its size, which was approximately fifty million li in radius.

Lin Qing's Divine Thought had a very wide range of coverage, but these Disciples were different; their Divine Thought could only cover a few tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand li around them. Coupled with the unknown environment of the Secret Realm, the positioning function of the communication tokens was quite practical.

The Chuyun Immortal Sect treated Lin Qing very well, and Grand Aunt-Master Qing Yao had officially entrusted these Disciples to him, so Lin Qing was particularly concerned about their safety.

Having stayed at the Li Family for so long, and with them hosting the Disciples of the three Sects with fine wine and food every night, Lin Qing also gave Li Yaqing a communication token. If Li Yaqing encountered danger, he wouldn't mind lending a hand if conditions permitted.

"Alright, let's set off."

The group boarded the Yao Beast carriages arranged by the Li Family once more, marching imposingly toward the teleportation plaza of Cangming City. It wasn't just them; Prodigies from the entire Cangming City and surrounding regions who were entering the Secret Realm were all rushing there.

Among these people, there weren't many who could form a large team like Lin Qing's group. Most of them came from small Families or small factions; some were in groups of three or five, while others were alone.

While queuing to enter the teleportation array, these people looked at Lin Qing's large group of dozens and cast envious gazes. Some well-informed Cultivators even began to whisper.

"That's the team from Dongxuan, right? The person leading them is Lin Qing, the newly promoted fourth place on the young master ranking; he certainly has an extraordinary bearing."

"Hmph, based on their Dongxuan strength, they want to come to the Central Continent to compete for Opportunities? It's simply overestimating themselves... Mmph... Mmph..."

The insolent Cultivator hadn't even finished speaking before his friend beside him covered his mouth. Lin Qing glanced indifferently in their direction. The Cultivator covering his friend's mouth bowed repeatedly to Lin Qing, and only then did Lin Qing withdraw his gaze.

After Lin Qing and his group teleported away, he finally released the insolent Cultivator. The Cultivator said indignantly:

"What are you doing? Do you think they would dare to touch me here?!"

"Heh, wouldn't dare?"

"That Lin Qing tore a passerby like you to pieces the moment he arrived in the Central Continent, and then ripped off half of Wang Xiao's face, who was on the young master ranking. A while ago, he even tortured the original fifth place on the young master ranking, Zhou Yichen, in public, eventually forcing Zhou Yichen to commit suicide."

"For a nobody like you, do you think he would dare to touch you?"

Even if it were the most sensational news, not everyone knew about it. The insolent Cultivator was clearly one of the people who didn't know. After hearing his friend's explanation, he felt a wave of lingering fear.

Meanwhile, Lin Qing's group had already boarded Yun Feng's Flying Boat and were rushing toward the entrance of the Secret Realm.