Behind Bei Chenguang followed a noble and dignified old man, seemingly otherworldly. He did not speak your language, but could construct a bridge of spiritual communication through a unique technique.

He said that the "Taicang Mountains" were not occupied by the demon race. It was only more than ten years ago that a small team of ancient demons ventured into the mountains. Most of them were later wiped out by the human city of Taicang outside the mountains, with only one escaping.

That otherworldly demon was the one that indirectly hindered your development several times.

"Two days ago, that ancient demon escaped from your world. Heh, it had very bad luck. Not only did it encounter two supernatural monsters like you in the lower world, but after escaping, it also happened to run into the main patrol team."

The old man chuckled. In this Azure Domain, those at the Innate Realm weren't considered top-tier figures; they were merely mid-level combatants among various races. The Hundred Races War Zone consumed the most Innate and Celestial Realm combat power.

However, in the Taicang Mountains region, those at the Innate level can indeed be considered minor powerhouses. If the patrol team the Ancient Demon encountered hadn't lacked a "master," they might have escaped.

You paused for a moment: "Since no demons have invaded this territory, it must have been a small test given to me by my unknown master. It seems I failed, and he's probably utterly disappointed in me now."

The old man deduced from the conversation that a martial artist from the Azure Domain had attempted to force a promising junior to grow rapidly using the countless beings of the lower worlds, but had botched it.

He was somewhat speechless: "This trip violated regulations. Oh well, I'll report it when I have time. It has nothing to do with the two of you."

"However..." he changed the subject, "As the deputy city lord of Taicang City, I have an obligation to lead you into the Qingyu human family. Although you come from a lower world, you ultimately belong to my human race."

You think this deputy city lord is pretty good, huh?

The deputy city lord's name is Zheng Qingfeng, you should call him City Lord Zheng. He says you can go back to the lower realm first. Although the Azure Domain prohibits people from freely immigrating to the lower realm, there are quotas for ascending innate martial artists, no more than ten.

[Both of you are currently at the Innate level and possess methods to absorb spiritual energy, so it's no wonder Zheng Qingfeng mistook you for someone else.]

He was very polite and did not attempt to test anyone's martial arts prowess.

[In the world you two came from, there were still remnants of the human-demon forces. After you and Bei Chenguang returned, you wiped out most of them with overwhelming force, and the rest are hiding in unknown corners.]

Bei Chenguang brought Jiang Yueli, but you didn't bring either.

"The Grandmasters and Great Grandmasters of the Upper Realm are all minor Karami. Even a patrol team of them has Innate Realm experts. If you really want to go up, you can use the True Essence Refining Technique to drain the Yuan Crystal Barrier after I leave, instead of going as my followers."

"Besides, there are still remnants of the human-demon race here; you're in charge of cleaning them up."

The three of them traveled together to the Upper Realm: the Azure Domain.

[As the deputy city lord, Zheng Qingfeng, led the three of you towards Taicang City, he explained that this world was called the Yuantian Realm, and it was currently the 74th era, year 2916. One era is ten thousand years, but this does not mean that the history of the Yuantian Realm is only seven hundred and forty thousand years.]

The Azure Domain is merely a relatively remote region within the Yuantian Realm, yet it still spans hundreds of millions of miles and is home to hundreds of races, including humans, demons, spirits, and monsters. Rumor has it that in the core domains of the Yuantian Realm, there are even more extraordinary martial arts masters and calendar systems.

Of course, he didn't know exactly how extreme the situation was. Each domain was infinitely far apart, and the Azure Domain hadn't been in contact with any other domain for over a thousand years.

[The city lord and deputy city lord are aware of four major realms in martial arts. The second step is Celestial Being and Innate Being; the third step is Overlord, the absolute backbone of each race; and the fourth step is Supreme, the top tier in the entire Azure Domain.]

[You think his knowledge is the same as that of the ancient demon (otherworldly demon), but Zhu Baowen is even better, knowing there's a "fifth step" above.]

In the Azure Domain, there is no such thing as a third-rate martial artist. There are only inner strength martial artists and outer strength martial artists among the lower-level martial artists, followed by upper-level martial artists who are equivalent to martial masters. As for grandmasters and great grandmasters, their names have not been changed.

[You went to the City Lord's Mansion (probably because you're illiterate), obtained your identification documents, and then Zheng Qingfeng had you enter one by one into a certain formation.]

This array is a kind of "memory implantation device," which includes various publicly available encyclopedias and the common languages ​​of multiple races.

"New player ascension benefits, are they really that good?"

[You were the last one to receive these memories, which contained so much information that you even felt it would be a waste if your original self didn't choose them... Fortunately, you can get them once after each ascension.]

After the three of them stepped out, they were met by a smiling Zheng Qingfeng. This time, he spoke directly in the common language of the human race in the Azure Domain: "Everyone, how are you feeling?"

[You all gave it a good review.]

"Then it's time to settle the fees for the general knowledge array and identification documents," Zheng Qingfeng said with a smile. "For the three of you, a total of six hundred battle merits, or the corresponding precious medicines and materials, etc., thank you."

Yun Shou: "Damn it, I knew it!"

Seeing the three of you remain silent, Zheng Qingfeng slapped his forehead: "I was so confused. I completely forgot that you just came from the lower realm and have no treasures or battle merits. In that case, I can only ask you to go to the war zone. Innate cultivators can earn ten battle merits per year, which can be used to pay for others' wars."

"These days, even ascending to mine isn't enough for you guys, you've started forcing ascension into military service!?"

Jiang Yueli is only a Grandmaster, so her share must be repaid by Bei Chenguang. Bei Chenguang needs to stay in a war zone for forty years, or make various contributions there.

You thought to yourself, "Thank goodness I didn't bring anyone with me."

"Are the various war zones really that short of manpower, to the point that they're scrambling to recruit from the lower realms?" You think you'll definitely spend decades or even centuries longer in the lower realms next time: The Innate Realm only requires sufficient Yuan Qi to reach its peak.

[When you have cultivated to the point where you can no longer progress in the lower realms, you may then ascend to immortality, but do so discreetly, avoiding any fighting.]

[In the year 2917 of the 74th era, through a series of arrangements, you were placed on a colossal celestial warship along with innate cultivators from various lower-level worlds, heading towards the nearby Second Human-Demon War Zone.]

The colossal Tianyuan warship uses a massive Yuan-gathering array to collect Yuan energy from a radius of hundreds of miles for propulsion. While this consumption may seem terrifying, it is merely a drop in the ocean compared to the entire world. A "living" Qingyu will continuously generate its own Yuan energy.

You've made many friends on the Celestial Giant Ship; they are all top figures from a lower-level world.

Bei Chenguang was not on this colossal Tianyuan warship; he was heading to the Third Human-Demon War Zone.