Three Heavens Realm: Mu Feng Dies at the Nine Regions Assembly!

With the Five Great Academies' selection over,

Qing Luo remained in Azure Domain to cultivate and did not go out.

His previous training trip to Northern Sea Territory had allowed Qing Luo to touch upon the threshold of the Spirit Soul Realm Late Stage. He should not be far from a breakthrough.

Though he was currently only at the Spirit Soul Realm Middle Stage,

Qing Luo understood that those crowned kings of the Spirit Road, existences like Ji Xuan and Luo Li,

had already reached the Three Heavens Realm after receiving the Spirit Road empowerment...

And that was only among the Five Great Academies.

For those prodigies from places like Tian Luo Continent and Western Heaven Continent,

or the successors nurtured by colossal powers such as Sword Domain, Endless Fire Domain, Martial Border, and the Five Great Ancient Clans,

there were probably even Sovereign Realm experts among people Qing Luo's age.

"The road ahead is long and arduous."

Qing Luo murmured under his breath.

During this round of cultivation, Qing Luo planned to break through to the Spirit Soul Realm Late Stage and cultivate the Azure Sky Glazed Art to completion at the Azure Sky stage.

He also needed to deepen his understanding of the sealing patterns within the Immemorial Catalogue.

In between cultivating, Qing Luo did not forget to enter his sea of consciousness

to check on the Nine Nether Sparrow's condition.

The Nine Nether Sparrow's stubbornness exceeded Qing Luo's expectations. After several inspections yielded no real change in its attitude,

Qing Luo put the matter of the Nine Nether Sparrow aside

and focused on breaking through to the Spirit Soul Realm Late Stage!

Mu Manor,

while Qing Luo was in seclusion cultivating,

Mu Chen was also undergoing hellish training in Mu Region.

At first,

Mu Chen merely fought a city lord at the Spirit Wheel Realm Peak.

Later, Mu Chen faced three Spirit Wheel Realm Peak experts alone in battle without falling behind.

In the end,

Mu Chen even asked Mu Feng to fight him with Spirit Soul Realm strength, tempering his combat abilities.

He was unafraid of hardship in cultivation, and fearless in the face of death.

That was his son's strength.

But seeing Mu Chen's nearly insane training schedule—cultivating almost constantly aside from eating and sleeping—Mu Feng could only feel helpless.

Still, such training produced remarkable results.

In just over a month,

Mu Chen not only broke through to the Spirit Wheel Realm Late Stage, but also made progress in Spirit Arrays,

becoming the youngest Second Grade Spirit Array Master in the Northern Spirit Territory!

Even Mu Feng had to treat the Spirit Arrays he set up with caution.

Time passed soundlessly.

After Mu Chen became a Second Grade Spirit Array Master, the long-silent Liu Region finally made a move.

The long-dormant Nine Regions Assembly

was to be held in Liu Region!

The briefly peaceful Northern Spirit Territory was once more thrown into turmoil.

Nine Regions City,

was famous as the designated city for the Nine Regions Assembly.

Under normal circumstances, this city was not especially bustling.

But ever since Liu Region announced the Nine Regions Assembly,

it had instantly become the most watched place in the Northern Spirit Territory, even more fervent than the Five Great Academies quota competition previously held by Northern Spirit Academy.

After all,

the competition for the Five Great Academies' quotas concerned only the interests of the younger generation.

No matter how fiercely they competed, it would not affect the stability of the Northern Spirit Territory.

But the Nine Regions Assembly was different.

The previous assembly had been held to discuss whether Azure Domain should be stripped of its qualification as one of the Nine Regions.

It could be said

that every Nine Regions Assembly concerned the entire structure of the Northern Spirit Territory, and everyone in the Northern Spirit Territory would be drawn into it.

With the Nine Regions Assembly about to begin,

the various powers of the Northern Spirit Territory had long since gathered in Nine Regions City to witness this grand event that could change the territory's entire landscape.

The venue for the Nine Regions Assembly was a towering stone hall at the center of Nine Regions City.

At this moment,

the Domain Lords had all taken their seats within the grand and imposing stone hall. Behind those seats and outside the hall,

stood the various forces of the Northern Spirit Territory.

Most of the leaders of these forces were affiliated with the Nine Regions, standing behind their respective Domain Lords in clearly divided camps.

Among them,

Mu Region and Azure Domain had the fewest affiliated forces.

After Zhou Ye's death, many of Mu Region's vassal powers chose to attach themselves to other Domain Lords or become independent.

Mu Feng did not do much to stop them.

Mu Region now had only one Spirit Soul Realm expert. Its strength ranked at the bottom of the Nine Regions, and its decline was only a matter of time.

Rather than allow those forces to harbor divided loyalties and obey orders only selectively,

it was better to use this opportunity to thoroughly purge Mu Region's affiliated forces and prevent future trouble.

As for Azure Domain,

although Qing Luo had broken through to the Spirit Soul Realm, he had done so only recently.

Compared to the other Nine Regions, Azure Domain's foundation was still shallow. Clashes between powers required time to build up.

Though Azure Domain's foundation was unstable, none of the Domain Lords dared underestimate it.

They all knew

that with Qing Luo—a teenage Spirit Soul Realm expert and a Seed Student of the Five Great Academies—Azure Domain's rise was only a matter of time.

"I heard that Domain Lord Qing has been cultivating recently. Such dedication truly puts us to shame. No wonder Domain Lord Qing broke through to the Spirit Soul Realm at such a young age."

"Our Hong Ling greatly admires Domain Lord Qing!"

Qing Luo had only just taken his seat

when the beautiful woman in a crimson gown seated across from him teasingly smiled at him.

"Mother... what nonsense are you talking about..."

At the beautiful woman's words, Hong Ling's pretty face reddened, and she lowered her head in embarrassment and anger.

"You flatter me, Domain Lord Hong."

Qing Luo smiled and nodded, his gaze flicking toward Hong Ling standing opposite him.

As the treasured daughter of Hong Domain's Domain Lord, Hong Ling was outstanding in both figure and appearance.

But Qing Luo knew

that compared to the successors of great clans and holy lands, Hong Ling still had some shortcomings in both talent and beauty.

He did not linger on the subject, lest he bring himself more trouble.

"A Spirit Soul Realm expert at seventeen—Domain Lord Qing has set a precedent in the Northern Spirit Territory!"

"Indeed. In my view, Domain Lord Qing may have a chance of reaching the Three Heavens Realm. It has been many years since our Northern Spirit Territory produced a Three Heavens Realm expert."

"Domain Lord Qing's future is limitless!"

They had all witnessed the Five Great Academies quota selection and knew just how astonishing his future potential was.

A seventeen-year-old Spirit Soul Realm expert, a Seed Student of the Five Great Academies—

he was simply beyond comparison to Spirit Soul Realm experts like them, who were already past middle age.

Thus,

as soon as Hong Domain's Domain Lord finished speaking, the Domain Lords eagerly began conversing with Qing Luo and currying favor with him.

As they spoke, more and more powers gathered around the hall.

When Liu Region's experts appeared,

the entire hall instantly fell silent.

Everyone's gaze turned toward the White-Haired Elder among them.

He was Liu Region's former Domain Lord, the strongest expert in the Northern Spirit Territory—Liu Jingtian!

"Since everyone is here, before the Nine Regions Assembly begins, this old man has a private matter to settle. Please wait a moment."

Liu Jingtian dropped into the seat of honor, narrowed his eyes at Mu Feng, and said,

"Domain Lord Mu, this old man wishes to know what exactly happened in Black Nether Abyss three months ago. Why did my three sons all die inside, while you emerged safe and sound?"

The moment Liu Jingtian spoke,

the stone hall fell completely silent, and the leaders of the various forces all turned their attention to Mu Feng.

There had always been countless rumors about what happened in Black Nether Abyss.

They too were curious about what had occurred there to bury so many powerful experts.

At those words,

Mu Feng's expression turned incomparably grim.

He had suspected that this Nine Regions Assembly was aimed at him, but he had not expected Liu Jingtian to make trouble the instant he appeared.

"Black Nether Abyss is filled with dangers. Everyone knows that. All I can say is that Liu Region's people had poor luck. As for what exactly happened, I do not know either."

Mu Feng said after some thought.

At the time, there had been a Spirit Devouring Insect swarm that blotted out the sky before him and a dense beast tide behind him. It was not that he refused to reveal the truth,

but that Mu Feng himself did not know how he had made it out.

Besides...

Liu Region was clearly targeting Mu Region. If he pushed Azure Domain into opposition at a time like this, not only would it be of no help, it would instead drive Mu Region into a dead end.

That was the experience Mu Feng had accumulated after serving as a Domain Lord for so many years!

"Oh..."

"You mean Mu Region was lucky, while Liu Region's people were unlucky?"

Liu Jingtian's tone sank. "Mu Feng, do you think this Old Man has gone senile?"

"That is the truth. If Domain Lord Liu does not believe it, there is nothing I can do."

Mu Feng sneered.

Liu Jingtian was the strongest expert in the Northern Spirit Territory, but Mu Feng did not fear him. He too was at the Spirit Soul Peak Realm.

If they truly fought, it was still uncertain who would prove stronger.

If Liu Jingtian thought he could treat Mu Region like a soft persimmon,

then Mu Feng could only say that he had miscalculated!

"Good! What a fine 'truth'..."

A dark gleam surged through Liu Jingtian's eyes. "It seems this old man has been in seclusion for too long. I'm afraid you have all forgotten me!"

Boom—

As Liu Jingtian's words fell,

Mu Feng's body seemed to suffer a devastating blow. He was sent flying backward and smashed viciously into a stone pillar behind him.

A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.

Before anyone could react, they saw Liu Jingtian's hand clamped around Mu Feng's throat.

When they looked back toward the seat of honor,

Liu Jingtian's afterimage was only then slowly fading away...

"What terrifying speed..."

"Could Liu Jingtian have broken through to the Three Heavens Realm?!"

"The Three Heavens Realm... He actually took that step!"

Feeling the terrifying Spiritual Energy rolling from Liu Jingtian's body, everyone present wore grave and solemn expressions.

The so-called Three Heavens Realm

was not a single realm, but three realms: the first was the Heaven Fusion Realm, the second the Heaven Transformation Realm, and the third the Heavenly Pass Realm.

And now,

the astonishing Spiritual Energy Pressure emanating from Liu Jingtian was precisely something only a Heaven Fusion Realm expert could possess.

The Heaven Fusion Realm!

Everyone in the hall felt their mouths go dry.

How many years had it been since a Heaven Fusion Realm expert had appeared in the Northern Spirit Territory?

An expert at such a level

would be considered a truly first-rate powerhouse not only in the Northern Spirit Territory, but even throughout Hundred Spirits Heaven!

Among those present,

there were no fewer than ten experts who had entered the Spirit Soul Realm.

Yet even with such numbers, before an expert who had stepped into the Heaven Fusion Realm, they still appeared somewhat powerless.

The gap between them was simply far too vast...

"Facts... Mu Feng, let this old man tell you what the facts are!"

As he spoke,

Liu Jingtian's eyes flashed coldly. His wrist tightened, and with a sharp crack,

the Domain Lord of the Mu Region, a Spirit Soul Peak Realm expert, had his neck snapped by Liu Jingtian and was tossed outside the stone hall.

"You old bastard, you killed my father... I'll fight you to the death!"

Liu Jingtian's methods were far too ruthless.

Before Mu Chen could even think of a solution, his father had been killed on the spot.

Mu Feng's death nearly drove Mu Chen berserk...

Buzz—

Just as Mu Chen was about to charge at Liu Jingtian, an astonishing Spiritual Energy Pressure far surpassing that of a Spirit Soul Realm expert surged from Liu Jingtian's hunched body.

Like a storm, it bore down upon Mu Chen!

Bang—

Almost instantly,

Mu Chen, along with the Mu Region experts who wanted to avenge Mu Feng,

were crushed to the floor by the terrifying Spiritual Energy Pressure. They could not move an inch, nor could they make a sound...

Even the bluestone-paved floor cracked in countless places!

"Overestimating yourselves!"

"Everyone, the personal matter has been settled. Now, let's discuss the real business!"

As Liu Jingshan's voice fell,

a wild wind howled outside the hall.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth seemed to erupt into turmoil at this moment...