Tiandu

Dozens of Unicorn Giant Rhinoceros roamed the Great Wilderness; this was the team led by Zhang Tan.

The Brocade Dragon Guard's arrival in Yunhuang this time was a grand affair, totaling 10,000 men, and Zhang Tan's team was just one of them.

Yi Yun also learned the reason why the Brocade Dragon Guard had been stationed in Yunhuang. It was said that a few months ago, the entire Yunhuang Purple Cloud Emergence, which alarmed the Tai'a Divine Kingdom. That's why the Brocade Dragon Guard was mobilized to search the Great Wilderness in search of treasures.

As a result, instead of finding the treasure, they discovered an ancient secret realm.

Marquis Wen Yun visited Yunhuang, wanting to explore the secret realm. However, he couldn't solve some of the formations in the secret realm, so he asked Su Jie for help.

The secret realm was too vast; Marquis Wen Yun and his men wouldn't be able to get out anytime soon.

Having searched for the treasure for several months without finding a trace, the Brocade Dragon Guard had no reason to stay in Yunhuang any longer.

Therefore, starting yesterday, the 10,000 Brocade Dragon Guard stationed in Yunhuang began to withdraw one after another, and Zhang Tan's team was among the first to leave.

The vast Great Wilderness stretches endlessly, with towering peaks reaching tens of thousands of meters high, their summits perpetually covered in snow, and glaciers blanketing the sky and earth!

Beyond the glacier, there are canyons and precipices, and a vast, surging river!

Yi Yun followed the Brocade Dragon Guard's team, and along the way, he saw the magnificent mountains and rivers of the Great Wilderness. Everything here was rugged and majestic, which amazed people!

Without an army or special mounts, traversing the Great Wilderness would be extremely difficult.

Legend has it that in ancient times, Yunhuang was once a glorious divine kingdom, but it eventually declined, and many martial arts traditions disappeared, leaving only a few small tribes barely surviving.

For more than a month, all I did was travel.

Even while traveling, Yi Yun did not slack off in his cultivation.

Lin Xin Tong gave Yi Yun the Flowing Silver Shirt. Yi Yun always wore it when riding the Unicorn Giant Rhinoceros. Because of the Unicorn Giant Rhinoceros's endurance, Yi Yun kept the weight of the Flowing Silver Shirt to a minimum.

However, once the group stops, when Yi Yun cultivates on his own, the weight and binding force of the Flowing Silver Shirt will immediately increase!

Yi Yun, dressed in Flowing Silver Shirt, came to demonstrate his martial arts techniques.

With Yi Yun's previous strength, Yi Yun could practice the Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist dozens of times in a row.

But now, because of the bindings of the Flowing Silver Shirt, he felt his strength was severely depleted after only seven or eight rounds. Actually, the weight was secondary; it was the bindings of the Flowing Silver Shirt on his body that consumed the most energy. Whether it was punching, kicking, stretching his body, or jumping, his speed was much slower than usual.

When energy is depleted, it needs to be replenished.

The Bone Relic that Yi Yun had accumulated from killing ferocious beasts in the Barren Human Valley were quickly consumed.

Later on, in addition to absorbing the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi through the Purple Crystal, Yi Yun also had to eat a lot of Savage Beast Meat. Fortunately, he had the "Yi Yun Elephant Swallowing Art" to support him, which prevented him from running out of energy to cultivate.

This made Yi Yun sigh, realizing that the amount of resources consumed by martial arts practitioners is truly terrifying.

However, such intensive training also yielded very noticeable results.

Over the past month, Yi Yun has become increasingly accustomed to the pressure exerted by the Flowing Silver Shirt. If he adjusts the Flowing Silver Shirt to its lowest level of restraint, Yi Yun feels as if he is only wearing a slightly tight garment, and it does not significantly affect his movements.

Another month passed, during which they traversed tens of thousands of miles of wilderness and passed through a Long-distance Teleportation Array before arriving at a border town.

After waiting for three days in the border town, they reunited with the other Brocade Dragon Guard teams and, through another long-distance teleportation, finally arrived at their destination—the Central Plains of the Divine Kingdom!

When Yi Yun followed a group of Brocade Dragon Guard out of the teleportation array, Yi Yun took a deep breath upon seeing the scene before him!

The group is currently situated on a long, seemingly endless cliff, below which lies a sheer drop of ten thousand feet!

This cliff is incredibly smooth, as if a god had suddenly cleaved the mountain in two with a single sword stroke, taking away the other half. The cut surface resembles a giant ruler lying across the mountain!

Below the sheer cliff, far beyond the horizon, lies an even more breathtaking scene.

There stands an enormous, black divine tower, resembling a World Tree that stretches straight to the heavens!

The tower was so thick it was unbelievable, and around the divine tower was a huge city.

The city walls are all deep red, tall and thick, and from a distance they look like a divine gate in the sky.

Above the city walls, hundreds and thousands of flying boats floated in the air, each capable of carrying tens of thousands of people. Between the flying boats, various Spiritual Beast soared through the air. Some of these Spiritual Beasts were covered in scales and had dragon horns, some were covered in feathers in seven colors, and some had dragon heads and lion bodies, all of which looked extremely fierce.

Each of these Spiritual Beast exuded a powerful aura, far surpassing the Unicorn Giant Rhinoceros of the Brocade Dragon Guard, by more than a hundred times!

Even from this distance, everyone could vaguely see that these Spiritual Beasts were all ridden by people.

It's hard to imagine what level of cultivation those who rode ancient beasts must have possessed.

"In the vast Yunhuang, there are countless tribes, but most of the people there spend their entire lives confined to a well, with a limited view of the world..."

Yi Yun muttered to himself. Although he had heard people say more than once in the Great Wilderness that this world was incredibly vast, he also knew very well that those powerful sects and ancient divine kingdoms with profound foundations possessed unimaginable strength.

Even with mental preparation, Yi Yun still found it difficult to calm the shock when he actually saw it.

It's so grand! The scene before me is beyond description – magnificent and awe-inspiring!

Yi Yun achieved remarkable results in the Great Wilderness, but compared to the ancient Tai'a Divine Kingdom, it was nothing at all.

Yes, there are four grades: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. He was only rated as Profound, and even within Profound, he wasn't at the top.

Yi Yun was somewhat better off, but the other members of the Yi Yun Lian Clan who had come to the Central Plains with him were completely stunned. The scene before them was beyond their comprehension.

What is this place? The realm of gods?

Is this even possible in this world?

As Yi Yun was still reeling from the shock, he felt a soft hand placed in his palm. Yi Yun turned his head and saw it was Jiang Xiaorou. "Yun'er, you still have a long way to go."

"Um!"

Yi Yun nodded and smiled slightly. Jiang Xiaorou always seemed to be able to sense what he was thinking immediately.

In Yi Yun's heart, Jiang Xiaorou was an understanding and kind-hearted girl.

Zhang Tan patted Yi Yun on the shoulder and said, "This city is called Tiandu. The Tai'a Divine Kingdom has a total of 108 states and 24 wild lands. Tiandu is one of the largest cities in Jingzhou of the Tai'a Divine Kingdom."

"Tiandu! One of the largest cities in Jingzhou..."

Yi Yun raised an eyebrow. A city of this caliber was merely one of the largest cities in Jingzhou, under the jurisdiction of the Tai'a Divine Kingdom.

The depth of the divine kingdom is unimaginable!

"Let's go, let's go into the city! The Brocade Dragon Guard has a large camp in Tiandu, that's our own territory."

As Zhang Tan spoke, he flicked the reins, and the Unicorn Giant Rhinoceros galloped along the cliff. They ran for almost half an hour before finally rounding the massive cliff and arriving at the gates of Tiandu.

Upon closer inspection, Tiandu is even more magnificent, its gate resembling the celestial gate from mythology, standing over thirty zhang tall.

Before the gate, two squads of guards stood in neat rows, clad in gleaming silver armor and carrying gleaming four-foot swords at their waists. They appeared to possess a restrained yet imposing aura, like a row of ancient, lurking beasts.

This kind of person looks like a true veteran of a bloody and battle-hardened army, not someone chosen just to fill a quota because of their imposing appearance.

The strength of a city's foundation can be seen from the soldiers guarding its gates. These guards are probably all Purple Blood Peak warriors!

Yi Yun thought to himself, secretly clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Dismount!" Zhang Tan waved his hand, and everyone dismounted.

Zhang Tan smiled and said, "The rules of Tiandu stipulate that commoners must dismount when entering or leaving the city gates. However... those with the titles of National Scholar and Baron are exempt from this rule and can ride through the city gates. And those with the titles of Viscount or above can ride flying mounts over the city walls and fly directly into Tiandu. In the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, the hierarchy is very clear and the order is very strict!"

"Oh? Rank..." Yi Yun pondered for a moment, "Wouldn't having too clearly defined ranks easily incite public discontent?"

Zhang Tan was taken aback for a moment. "How could they be dissatisfied? In the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, everyone with Noble Title and rank must go to the battlefield to fight the enemy and defend against attacks from ferocious beasts and wild monsters. They risk their lives to ensure that ordinary people can live and work in peace. The higher the Noble Title, the more illustrious the war achievements! Countless people dream of entering the heart of the Tai'a Divine Kingdom to live a peaceful and prosperous life. They are only grateful to the warriors who protect them, so how could they harbor any resentment?"

Hearing Zhang Tan's words, Yi Yun suddenly realized that this other world was not a peaceful place. Here, status and glory were earned with one's life!

People will be dissatisfied with a status obtained through inheritance or connections, but people will only respect and awe for the glory earned with their lives.

In this way, in the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, noble status not only meant privileges, but also boundless glory!

As Yi Yun thought this, he looked up at the sky. In the sky, there were huge and luxurious Floating Sky Ship, as well as heroic and extraordinary spirit birds and Spiritual Beast.

Noticing Yi Yun's gaze, Zhang Tan smiled, "What are you thinking about?"

Yi Yun said without any attempt to hide his thoughts, "I'm thinking that one day, I'll be sitting on this Floating Sky Ship, riding a flying Spiritual Beast or Ancient Remnant Species, and entering the Tiandu City!"

"Hahaha!" Zhang Tan laughed loudly. "Yes, that's it! That's how we martial artists should be! The path of martial arts has no end; we should keep climbing upwards!"

As Zhang Tan spoke, he patted Yi Yun's shoulder forcefully. He was growing to appreciate Yi Yun more and more.

Sun Jingrui had already reported everything Yi Yun had done in the Lian Clan to Zhang Tan. After listening, Zhang Tan felt that Yi Yun's temperament suited him very well.

A martial artist should be like this: quick to repay kindness and settle scores, clear about right and wrong.

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...(To be continued~^~)