6: Three thousand states, thirty trillion people

"The Realm War is a very important event. As the name suggests, one person from each Realm and Dao Province competes. A total of 3010 people participate. After winning, one can seize the loser's Rank, and this Rank is of great importance."

"The Upper Thousand Realms... which are the Upper Thousand Provinces, Middle Thousand Provinces, and Lower Thousand Provinces, all have their own Ranks. These Ranks are derived from the previous great war. The lower the Rank, the lower the starting point, and the more battles one has to undertake. The higher one goes, the opposite is true."

"Therefore, people are not born equal. Those born in the Upper Thousand Provinces and the Lower Thousand Provinces are completely different concepts, even if their strength is the same."

"But even so, those below desperately climb upward, simply because this Realm War occurs once every five thousand years. This is the only chance to change one's destiny in a Heaven-Defying way, and it's not just one person whose destiny changes, but an entire Dao Province!"

"So, achieving a Rank in the great war is a lifelong honor, even bringing fame throughout the Three Thousand Provinces."

On this day, after Jun Lingxiao finished practicing swordplay with his teacher, Jun Zizhuo, he listened to him speak about the Three Thousand Provinces, and they inadvertently discussed the Realm War.

Jun Lingxiao sat cross-legged on the ground, listening and nodding frequently, but then he asked, puzzled:

"Three thousand people, with one person representing one Dao Province. Just how big is one Dao Province? How many Dao Provinces does our Ten Directions Immortal Court count as? Ten Dao Provinces?"

The Jun Family is located in the Middle Dao Province, meaning the Ten Directions Immortal Court has ten Dao Provinces?

This was where Jun Lingxiao was puzzled.

However, Jun Zizhuo, upon hearing him, shook his head, put down the sword in his hand, and then leaned casually against a nearby tree, slowly speaking:

"No."

"Our Ten Directions Immortal Court is an independent world, belonging to the Upper Thousand Provinces, yet independent of the Upper Thousand Provinces. We do not occupy the quotas of the Upper Thousand Provinces; instead, we have our own quotas. Each of the Ten Chiefs Families has one slot to participate, which is why there are 3010 people. And for this current term, our Jun Family's slot has long been internally decided for you."

"The Ten Directions Immortal Court has a small population, only over four billion. Strictly speaking, our entire Ten Directions Immortal Court counts as only one Dao Province. Out of these four billion people, only one can represent our entire Dao Province to participate in the Realm War."

"Of course, this is an independent world. In fact, not everyone here is a Cultivator; there are also some aboriginals. But it still shows how fierce the competition is."

"One Dao Province... if we count it as ten billion people, that means only one person can be selected out of ten billion to represent a Dao Province. Three thousand people, behind them are three hundred trillion people. At that time, so many people will watch the Realm War together."

"This responsibility is by no means small."

Jun Zizhuo said with deep emotion. In fact, even though he had strong strength, he was not qualified to be on such a stage.

But Jun Lingxiao was different; he was special.

A Spirit Dao Realm at five years old, truly, comparing people to people can make one die of frustration.

How old was he when he reached the Spirit Dao Realm?

Fourteen?

What Realm would Jun Lingxiao reach at fourteen?

It was truly both envying and curious.

"Only three thousand people can be selected out of three hundred trillion to participate..."

Jun Lingxiao was shocked. Although he knew this world was much larger than his original one, he hadn't expected it to be so vast. He had previously heard the Old Ancestor speak so casually about the Lower Thousand Provinces, Middle Thousand Provinces, and Upper Thousand Provinces. He had thought there were only three Dao Provinces, but it turned out there really were three thousand Dao Provinces. And the Ten Directions Immortal Court was already large enough, yet it only counted as one Dao Province?

One Dao Province, one world. There were still three thousand unique worlds in this world waiting for him to explore.

"The Ten Directions Immortal Court is the end for others, but it is only my starting point..."

He couldn't help but exclaim.

"Haha! Well said!"

"But Lingxiao, what if I told you that there are not only the Three Thousand Provinces in this world, but also other undiscovered Dao Provinces, and even those mysterious Outer Realms, Forbidden Zones, and Divine Lands?"

"Your journey has only just begun."

The Old Ancestor and Grandfather Jun Wenhao walked over.

"Old Ancestor."

Jun Zizhuo dared not be negligent and quickly bowed respectfully.

"Hmm."

"Is today's training over? What were the results?" the Old Ancestor asked with narrowed eyes.

Jun Zizhuo rubbed his head and looked back at Jun Lingxiao: "I have to say, Old Ancestor, I'm almost out of things to teach."

"Oh?"

"What do you mean by that?"

The Old Ancestor stroked his beard and continued to ask.

"Other Dao Sons are trained and assessed by me, but the Divine Son is different. He has now started to assess me in return."

"Assessing whether I am qualified to be his sword-practicing master."

"I'm afraid other teachers are about the same."

Jun Zizhuo said this with genuine helplessness.

Jun Lingxiao learned everything very quickly. While ordinary people would infer three things from one, he had a tendency to infer ten things from one, changing every day.

The first day, he shakily picked up a sword, but the second day, he could skillfully perform sword moves. On the third day, he even began to modify and optimize sword moves.

It had only been two years, yet it was as if he had become a completely different person.

Moreover, the key was that Jun Lingxiao not only had sword art classes but also Physical Body art classes, Alchemy, talismans, and so on, which truly broadened his horizons.

"Is that so?"

The Old Ancestor looked at Jun Lingxiao.

And Jun Lingxiao blinked, not replying.

In his previous life, he was also a young master of a Family, and he was quite strict. He had sword art classes, archery classes, and even equestrian archery. On one hand, some of his knowledge from his previous life was General (universal), but to a large extent, he relied on his Physique.

Reading ten lines at a glance, never forgetting what he saw. Sword manuals would automatically be practiced in his mind after a quick scan, as if he had a cheat. It truly lived up to its Rank as the number one Physique; it was Heaven-Defying to the point of not giving a way out! But as long as one survived, one would be invincible!

And it was also the flawless version.

"Assessing his teachers in return, truly worthy of being my grandson."

"Good! Excellent!"

"Like grandfather, like grandson! I remember back in my day..."

Jun Wenhao was about to start boasting about his childhood again. The other three, even the wet nurse watching from the side, exchanged smiles and didn't expose him.

How could his childhood compare to Jun Lingxiao's?

However, it was this grandson who boosted his sense of superiority.

"Alright, alright, stop boasting. Let's talk about serious matters."

"Lingxiao, today is the day you can leave the palace. I heard you said you wanted to go to the God Tablet Platform before?"

"The God Tablet was originally a treasure within a Forbidden Zone world, used to test Physical Body strength and talent Rank. There were twelve in total. Later, the Forbidden Zone exploded due to a Great Emperor's battle. Our ten great Families discussed it and simply moved them back to the training ground for the Family's Disciples to use."

The Old Ancestor slowly said. Anyway, he didn't think that thing was of any use. The Jun Family wasn't without things to test their Disciples, but this thing had the added function of testing talent.

"I just want to test my current strength to see what level I'm at." Jun Lingxiao nodded in agreement. He just wanted to check in and see where his current strength ranked in this world.

Only then could he better strive for improvement.

"This..."

The Old Ancestor was in a dilemma. He really didn't think going to such a place was useful; wasn't it a waste of time?

"Good, go!"

"Grandfather agrees."

The Old Ancestor hadn't even spoken yet when Jun Wenhao spoke first.

Of course, this wasn't indulgence; he also had his own selfish motives.

The Jun Family's strength tests only started at the age of ten. This meant that the records above were all left by Prodigies who were ten years old. No matter how much of a Prodigy Jun Lingxiao was, he was only five years old now.

Even with a five-year difference, no matter how much of a Prodigy Jun Lingxiao was, he couldn't catch up to those Prodigies.

Of course, Jun Lingxiao's Realm was higher; ten-year-old Prodigies were far from catching up to him. But the problem was... this God Tablet didn't test Realm!

It tested strength and talent Rank!

Having only Realm meant no means of attack whatsoever. Going there would surely lead to a setback!

He had always been afraid that Jun Lingxiao would develop an arrogant and haughty personality. This was one of the few places that could humble him!

At the same time, this was also what the Old Ancestor feared. He was afraid that if Jun Lingxiao was humbled, his proud nature would disappear.

A Prodigy is a Prodigy; if he's not proud, can he still be called a Prodigy?

The two old men each had their own thoughts.

However, neither of them could dissuade Jun Lingxiao, so they reluctantly had to accompany him.

"Finally out."

Jun Lingxiao walked out of the Divine Son Hall led by a few people. He looked back at the plaque of the Divine Son Hall above the entrance, then looked at the vast world, and finally at the ground beneath his feet.

He sighed in his heart, feeling a sense of reality.

"Xuanhuan world! I came, I saw, I conquered!"