Chapter 634: Northern Heavens Continent
"Master!"
Qing Tan's voice came from outside the door, interrupting Xiao Ming's train of thought.
"Come in!"
With a creak, the door opened and Qing Tan and Qing Yanjing stepped inside.
"Master, did you see it? The sky outside was covered in dark clouds, almost like a divine punishment!" Qing Tan said urgently as soon as she entered.
"I saw it, but it's nothing serious. The lightning dissipated quickly, didn't it?" Xiao Ming said with a slight smile, lightly glossing over the matter, "Did you find out any other news while you were out?"
Qing Yanjing took a seat next to Xiao Ming.
"The Hundred Spirit City is quite lively, but this Hundred Spirit Dynasty entirely relies on the Northern Profound Sect to remotely rule the Hundred Spirit Continent. Despite the numerous powers within the Hundred Spirit Continent, there's hardly any potential for development."
"However, the Northern Profound Palace behind the Hundred Spirit Continent is indeed a superpower that can't be easily provoked. Moreover, it's said that the background of this Hundred Spirit King is not ordinary."
Qing Yanjing took the initiative to pour tea for Xiao Ming, and then began to share the rumors she had heard. "It is said that this generation's Hundred Spirit King is the biggest wastrel of the Northern Profound Palace. His father is Qin Beixuan, the Palace Master of the Northern Profound Palace, and his mother is Liu Baihua, the Sect Master of the Hundred Flowers Sect.
Both the Northern Profound Palace and the Hundred Flowers Sect are superpowers in the northwest region of the Great Thousand World. Qin Beixuan and Liu Baihua were both exceptional figures of their time, having broken through to the Heavenly Sovereign Stage, and are considered giants in this northwestern land.
Yet, these two giants gave birth to such a wastrel son. It's said that the Hundred Spirit King hasn't even managed to break through to the Earth Sovereign Stage yet, truly a waste of resources and talent."
Xiao Ming quite agreed with Qing Yanjing's words. Although the Great Thousand World did not have the same rule as the Dou Qi Continent, where the breakthrough of a Dou God powerhouse could elevate their entire clan, most strong cultivators' descendants would still inherit their cultivation talent.
Such a situation could only mean that the person in question had an exceptionally poor character. Anyone with even a slight inclination towards cultivation wouldn't fail to break through to the Earth Sovereign Stage in his situation.
Of course, this also indicated that Xiao Xuan and the others had not really landed in this area. Otherwise, the Pill Emperor would likely have fallen into the hands of the local snake, Qin Beixuan.
Such a good 'thing' would undoubtedly be given to his favored son, and he would try by all means to make him consume it. However, the current state of the Hundred Spirit King was enough to make anyone shake their head.
"It's time to leave and head to the location of the super teleportation array."
...
Xiao Ming arrived at the super teleportation array accompanied by the two women. It was only after Qing Yanjing paid a sum of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid that they were able to smoothly pass through the security check.
It could not be helped, as Xiao Ming did not have a single drop of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid on him.
Sovereign Spiritual Liquid was considered the hard currency of the Great Thousand World. It was a liquid that Sovereigns could only condense at the rate of one drop per month.
Before the teleportation array, an elder in charge of controlling the teleportation came over to inquire.
"Which continent are you three planning to visit?"
"The Northern Heavens Continent," Xiao Ming answered without hesitation. Clearly, he had already planned this destination in advance.
The elder nodded without saying much more, then walked towards a specific part of the array where a formation eye was located and took out a compass to adjust the coordinates.
"The Northern Heavens Continent is only famous for the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. Its overall strength isn't even comparable to that of the Hundred Spirit Continent. What are you going there for?"
As the elder adjusted the teleportation array, Qing Yanjing cast a puzzled glance at him. From her perspective, Xiao Ming's priority should be to find a place where he could quickly transition into the cultivation system of the Great Thousand World, which would also allow her to heal her injuries.
"I feel an affinity with the Northern Heavens Continent."
Xiao Ming's mysterious smile made Qing Yanjing purse her lips and clench her fists, only to relax them shortly after.
'Really, if you're going to fabricate a reason, at least make it convincing. So lackluster! There goes the Sovereign Celestial Body I was planning to give you...'
'Master is teasing someone again.'
Qing Tan sneakily glanced at Qing Yanjing's slightly puffed cheeks as she uttered in her heart. Her Master might seem very serious on the outside, but he was actually full of mischief inside. This had been proven time and again, especially during the numerous times he'd thrown her and her Sister Huanhuan into groups of Demonic Beasts back in the Tian Xuan Continent, all in the name of training...
By this time, the teleportation array had been adjusted, and the three of them, each with a different expression, stepped into the array.
Accompanied by a burst of bright light, their figures disappeared from their original location, marking their departure from the Hundred Spirit Continent.
...
Although there was an endless number of continents within the Great Thousand World, the Northern Heavens Continent was still one of the most dazzling ones.
And the source of the Northern Heavens Continent's brilliance was the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy.
The Great Thousand World was so vast, and contained many clans and elite forces with countless years of heritage, all of which were extremely secretive.
The Spiritual Academy system, however, stood apart from these secretive heritages and was specifically designed to cultivate emerging talents. As such, it was highly sought after by many powers.
The Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy was one of the widely-known "Five Great Academies" within the Great Thousand World, where numerous young geniuses gathered. Every one of their students would reveal their magnificent talent as they embarked on the road of becoming one of the dazzling powerhouses within the Great Thousand World.
Thus, it was perfectly normal for the Northern Heavens Continent to have a high reputation, even though it might not have any powerhouses beyond the Earth Sovereign Stage.
After all, a Spiritual Academy didn't just rely on the strength it openly displayed.
Everyone knew that the strength a Spiritual Academy displayed was just the tip of the iceberg. Their truly terrifying power wasn't this visible strength, but rather the hidden strength they concealed.
Over the thousands of years, numerous powerhouses came out of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academies. Among them, there were a few powerhouses who once stood at the pinnacle. Although they had already left the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy and perhaps become leaders of a force or territory, it was impossible to remove the bonds they had with the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. Even if they did nothing under normal circumstances, as soon as the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy was in danger of being wiped out... one would be able to see the terrifying power hidden deep within the academy. This was the confidence and power of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy.
Perhaps it might not be the strongest force within the Great Thousand World, but its network of connections made countless ancient races and elite forces wary of offending it. Not to mention, even geniuses emerging from these places often chose to study at one of these "Five Great Academies".
When Xiao Ming and his companions entered the vast teleportation array, they experienced a moment of dizziness.
This sensation caused by spatial teleportation didn't last long. Soon, they felt their bodies stabilize, and the light in front of their eyes suddenly became brighter.
Xiao Ming and his companions appeared on a massive stone platform nearly three thousand meters in diameter. The originally empty stone platform was instantly filled with figures. As they looked ahead, they could see a grand and imposing scene.
It was an endless expanse of land. On the ground, there were numerous cultivation halls connected to each other. Occasionally, waterfalls would descend down through the mountains as grand ripples of mist emitted out.
The scene in front of them was too impressive. Thus, even though the stone platform that Xiao Ming and the others were standing on, was quite vast, it was nothing compared to the scene in front of them.
"We have arrived at Northern Heavens City. That must be the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy over there, right? Its grandeur lives up to its reputation."
Xiao Ming lifted his eyes to gaze into the distance, where a huge mountain range stood on top of the vast land. The mountain had an unusual shape, resembling a bird with its wings spread wide. From the bird-shaped mountain, an indescribable sense of oppression enveloped the entire area.
Northern Heavens City was a gigantic city located on the outskirts of Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy that was extremely famous throughout the entire Northern Heavens Continent. It served as the first layer of defense for the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, which was why Xiao Ming was able to catch a glimpse of a part of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy from within the city.
Qing Yanjing and Qing Tan looked around curiously and noticed many young men and women, clearly students of the Spiritual Academy.
"Are we going to the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy?"
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