"Changes in Cangwu have occurred incredibly fast over these years. Most of the information recorded in the ancient texts is nearly useless now. Since Sect Master Li vigorously pushed for the execution of new policies, the entire Nine Cauldrons Sect began operating with extreme efficiency." Within Yuhuang Mountain's villa, Zong Yan was explaining more details about the situation in Cangwu to Yaoguang, Kong Fang, Ye Longxing, Lyu Tianhe, and a group of high-level officials.

He even brought a device that resembled an electronic instrument. Once the device started, a map was projected outward.

"Currently, the entire territory of the Nine Cauldrons Sect is divided into thirty-six domains, totaling 1024 cities. According to the census six years ago, the total population was approximately 8.8 billion... However, many factions and great families have the habit of hiding their populations. The true population of the thirty-six domains likely exceeds ten billion."

Zong Yan pointed to a spot on the map. "The thirty-six domains occupy 56% of the original area of the Artifact Sect. Twelve domains in the Shiwan Mountains, as well as the East Sea's islands, have not yet been recovered. After the war with the Lunar Fiend Empire, the population withered too severely. Our Star Gate is located in Longxiang City, within the Nine Heavens Domain." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Wait." Yaoguang looked at the device, which appeared no different from a virtual projector, and asked, "Are these kinds of things common in Cangwu?"

Zong Yan froze for a moment, quickly realizing what Yaoguang was asking. He gave a bitter smile. "I said that Cangwu changed very fast over these years."

He paused to organize his thoughts for a moment before continuing. "I don't know about other sects, but in the Nine Cauldrons Sect, cultivation and technology have completely integrated into people's lives. Take the ordinary citizens of Longxiang City as an example: primary academies focus on foundational knowledge. Starting from higher academies, in addition to basic physics, chemistry, mathematics, and foreign languages, students must also practice body refinement, qi refinement, and psyche refinement. Upon entering institutions of higher learning, they must choose one of those three disciplines based on their strengths, alongside their core subjects."

"Like liberal arts and sciences?" Yaoguang asked.

"Yes, you can put it that way." Zong Yan nodded. "Next, if one can reach the Third Heavenly Realm in body refinement, qi refinement, or psyche refinement, they can enter the Imperial Academy for four years of advanced study. If they break through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm before their body completely stop developing at twenty-two, they can gain entry into the various branch sects of the Nine Cauldrons Sect as registered disciples. If instead they fail to break through, they can choose to refine their qi into psyche by sacrificing their essence and qi to cultivate psychic thought, then work in the energy sector. If they can't even achieve that, their lives will be no different from those of ordinary people."

"The Fourth Heavenly Realm at twenty-two? A martial paragon?" Yaoguang asked.

Zong Yan nodded with a wry smile.

Yaoguang remained composed and did not feel particularly surprised. In a small town, producing a college student was a matter of bringing honor to one's ancestors, but in a large city, every adult was a university graduate.

"Then, what is the percentage of university students in the Nine Cauldrons Sect—No, I mean, how many registered disciples does the Nine Cauldrons Sect have?" Yaoguang asked.

"I cannot say exactly how many, but there is a figure circulating in their Void Psychic World of around sixty million."

Zong Yan added an explanation. "You can understand the Void Psychic World as an advanced network. The network in our Artifact-Nurturing World is actually an imitation of the Void Psychic World, much like how nuclear weapons simulate the Great Solar Fire."

"Sixty million." This number was somewhat lower than Yaoguang had anticipated.

"What is the current comprehensive strength of the Nine Cauldrons Sect?" Yaoguang said.

"Uhh..." Zong Yan hesitated for a moment and said, "You should be familiar with the concept of an echo chamber, right?"[1]

Yaoguang nodded.

"I resided within the Nine Cauldrons Sect, so I naturally saw news regarding its growing prosperity. As for the actual comprehensive strength of the sect, I lacked the clearance to access that. Although they are, according to their own propaganda, a top-tier sect in the first echelon, they have yet to reclaim the Shiwan Mountains and the East Sea's islands. The truth might be that they have only recovered to the level of a major sect in the second echelon."

Zong Yan paused before continuing, "However, most members of the Nine Cauldrons Sect still believe they are more than just a top-tier sect; they believe they still fall within the scope of the Ten Great Immortal Sects."

"Why?"

"The Nine Cauldrons Sect possesses a Golden Core!" Zong Yan said. "A Radiant Sun Golden Core!"

He emphasized once more. "In Cangwu, only the Six Great Immortal Sects are confirmed to possess a Radiant Sun Golden Core!"

"Radiant Sun Golden Core?" This was the first time Yaoguang had heard the term.

Zong Yan, however, appeared somewhat high-spirited. "In the path of qi refinement, the stage following Foundation Building is the Golden Core Realm. But it is said that Golden Cores are divided into three types: the Crimson Golden Core, the Radiant Sun Golden Core, and the Blazing White Golden Core!"

"Crimson, Radiant Sun, Blazing White. Those are the three states of a star."[2]

Zong Yan spoke with a look of reverence and yearning. "It is said that a cultivator gains the qualification to collapse into a black hole only after forming a Blazing White Golden Core. That kind of power truly grants the strength to distort space and strike across the three thousand worlds of the Star Sea."

"Wait." Yaoguang seemed to catch a key detail. "According to your words, possessing a Radiant Sun Golden Core places a sect at the level of the Six Great Immortal Sects. But during the war with the Lunar Fiend Empire, didn't many people collapse their Golden Cores into black holes to counterattack the Lunar Fiend Empire’s home world? Theoretically, those people were the true ultimate powerhouses. Where are they?"

"Uhh..." Zong Yan shook his head with a bitter smile. "I don't know. There is simply no such information circulating in the Void Psychic World."

Yaoguang listened and sank into contemplation. After a long while, he asked, "In other words, the ultimate powerhouses on the surface of the Six Great Immortal Sects are only at the Golden Core Realm? And their numbers are extremely few?"

"Based on the information I received, it is indeed so." Zong Yan nodded.

"So..." Yaoguang looked at him and paused for a moment before continuing, "Did Cangwu really defeat the Lunar Fiend Empire?"

"That is how all the major sects promote it," Zong Yan said.

After hearing this, Yaoguang asked no further. Zong Yan was merely a unified martial paragon; he might not have had access to classified information. Even if he did, it was not necessarily true. There were too many individuals and factions in this world who used propaganda and fake news to achieve their goals.

Based on the situation he currently understood, rather than Cangwu defeating the Lunar Fiend Empire, he leaned toward the theory that both sides had fought to a mutually destructive standstill.

"In Longxiang City, there is a great cultivator named Zong Lian. He was a disciple from Lihuo who went to the Artifact Sect ninety years ago. He survived the upheavals and successfully completed Foundation Building sixty years ago." Zong Yan said in a deep voice. "After we use the Star Gate to travel to Longxiang City, those who pass the Nine Cauldrons Sect's assessment will enter the sect as registered disciples. The rest will stay by his side to continue their cultivation."

"Zong Lian?" Yaoguang looked at him. "What is his relationship to you?"

"My grandfather was the ninth child in the family. He was the twelfth," Zong Yan said.

Yaoguang glanced at him. He finally understood why, after a year apart, Zong Yan was not only brimming with vitality but had also grasped the true essence of the Flawless Realm and become a unified martial paragon. It seemed that every royal family in this world possessed its own unique web of connections. One never knew when or why a particular family might suddenly rise to prominence.

"I spoke to him about some of your deeds. His suggestion was for you to enter the Nine Cauldrons Sect, as it is always better to enjoy the shade of a large tree. Of course, if you are unwilling to serve others and have absolute confidence in yourself, believing you can become a great cultivator without the strength of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, he suggests you wait. After your breakthrough, you can then integrate into the Nine Cauldrons Sect as the leader of a faction to secure sufficient autonomy," Zong Yan said.

During this period, Yaoguang had already familiarized himself with the internal policies and strategies of the Nine Cauldrons Sect.

Sect Master Li clearly understood the sect's current weaknesses. His strategy was to raise the banner of being one of the Ten Great Immortal Sects to establish prestige. Once they possessed sufficient strength and influence, they would then address any internal conflicts. Under these circumstances, they showed extreme tolerance toward any outside faction that wished to join, provided those newcomers respected the boundaries the sect had established.

"I will make a decision on the specifics once I reach Longxiang City and gain a better understanding of the Nine Cauldrons Sect," Yaoguang replied.

Zong Yan nodded. After the two spoke for a moment longer, he departed. He had his own mission for this visit. He needed to gather a group of elites from Lihuo's royal family and take them to Longxiang City. Surprisingly, however, he seemed to have no intention of having Lihuo break away from Xiayu.

Over the next half month, Yaoguang devoted considerable energy to clarifying the situation regarding the Nine Cauldrons Sect in Cangwu. Afterward, he summoned Leng Jun, Su Chixin, Su Hua, Su Yun, Pang Long, and Su Yaoxue.

"With the relentless investment of resources over this period, all of you have the hope of becoming martial paragons within the next three to five years. However, I have a way for you to take that step even sooner." Yaoguang opened a box before them, revealing several bottles of medicinal pills.

He continued, "You have likely guessed that Kong Fang was able to quickly become a unified martial paragon because he consumed these pills. If you take them, you will not only become a martial paragon rapidly, but the time required to condense your psychic will and understand the Flawless True Body will also be significantly shortened. However, these pills carry severe side effects and easily breed heart fiends. You may decide for yourselves whether or not to take them."

After the group exchanged glances, Su Chixin stepped forward without the slightest hesitation and took a bottle. "I am an old man with one foot in the grave. Every day, I feel deep regret seeing the family develop so rapidly, while I remain unable to help due to my limited abilities. Since I have been given this chance, it is my duty to contribute my remaining strength to the Su family."

Once they saw Su Chixin take a bottle of Soul-Nurturing Pills, Leng Jun, Su Hua, Su Yun, Pang Long, and Su Yaoxue followed suit without hesitation, each choosing to accept the medicine.

This scene surprised Yaoguang somewhat. He could not help but look at Su Yaoxue. "You also want to take it?"

"The future is too distant; I only care about seizing the present," Su Yaoxue replied calmly.

Yaoguang nodded. The reason he had included Su Yaoxue was his belief that, since heart fiends existed, people would naturally have ways to counter them. He simply had not encountered such methods yet because his cultivation level was not high enough. Once his cultivation increased, he would surely find a way to help her subdue the heart fiends.

As for why he only cultivated these specific individuals, it was because the number of Soul-Nurturing Pills was limited. He was not the type of person who would intentionally start a war just to obtain more of them.

After distributing the pills to the members of the Su family, Yaoguang spent the following days preparing to leave Xiayu. Time passed quickly, and the day for the opening of the Star Gate drew near once again.

1. An echo chamber is an environment or ecosystem in which participants encounter beliefs that amplify or reinforce their preexisting beliefs by communication and repetition inside a closed system and insulated from rebuttal. ☜

2. This refers to Red Giant stars, Flare stars, and White Dwarf stars. ☜