Realm

All signs indicated that although his aptitude was not particularly high, it was definitely not as poor as a single leaf.

Was it related to the Talent Tree? The leaves on the Talent Tree only bore Spiritual Patterns—how could it help him in cultivation?

But aside from the Talent Tree, Lu Ye could find no other explanation.

He vaguely felt that if that was truly the case, then the Talent Tree might not be as simple as it appeared.

"Miss Yu, there are some things I'd like to ask you about." Lu Ye decided to change the subject and spare himself further sorrow.

"Please go ahead, Brother Lu." Yu Xiaodie looked at him solemnly.

Lu Ye considered his wording for a moment before saying, "It's like this. My first Spiritual Aperture is full now, and I want to open a second one, but I can't locate its position no matter what I do. How should I solve this?"

This problem had plagued him for several days. Once the first aperture was full, he should have been able to open the second, but despite repeated attempts, Lu Ye had failed to find its precise location and had instead wasted a great deal of Spiritual Power.

Yu Xiaodie undoubtedly knew more than he did. She was the only person he could talk to, so naturally, he wanted to seek her guidance.

"For cultivators like us who have only just begun cultivating, this really is a difficult problem. It has nothing to do with aptitude. Mainly, our Spiritual Power is not yet strong enough, so it's hard to pinpoint the locations of Spiritual Apertures. To solve it, you either have to slowly feel your way through it yourself, or find someone with high cultivation to help. When I opened my second aperture, it was that Evil Moon Valley cultivator who guided my Spiritual Power into it. But to do such a thing, one has to be at least in the Cloud River Realm."

Lu Ye immediately gave a bitter smile. "Then I'd better slowly figure it out myself."

He had no one else to help him.

"Brother Lu, although cultivators' Source Spirit Apertures are largely similar, the location of the second aperture differs because cultivation arts differ. If you don't have a suitable cultivation art, you must not rashly open your second aperture. Otherwise, something could go terribly wrong."

"As for a cultivation art, I do have one."

The Golden Cicada Free and Unfettered Art was probably not a particularly good cultivation art, but Lu Ye had no other choice.

"Oh, right. You mentioned the Cloud River Realm just now... Is that a cultivator's realm?" He recalled that in the tent before, Third Senior Brother had also mentioned the True Lake Realm and Divine Sea Realm. Those were all things he had never heard of.

During his year in the mine, he had rarely spoken with others and had few friends. All the information he had about cultivation came from hearsay, scattered and fragmentary.

"That's right." Yu Xiaodie nodded. "Cultivators have four major realms: the Spirit Stream Realm, Cloud River Realm, True Lake Realm, and Divine Sea Realm. Each major realm has nine minor levels."

Stream, river, lake, sea. That classification was rather interesting—simple and clear.

"So we're in the Spirit Stream Realm?" Lu Ye asked.

Yu Xiaodie smiled and shook her head. "Not yet. We've only opened Spiritual Apertures. Only after opening enough Spiritual Apertures and letting our Spiritual Power run through them, forming a complete cycle within the body, with Spiritual Power flowing like a stream, can we be considered in the Spirit Stream Realm. Only then can we truly be called cultivators."

Lu Ye was astonished. "We aren't cultivators yet? Then what are we?"

"Cultivator reserves?" Yu Xiaodie tilted her head, looking rather adorable.

"All right." Lu Ye accepted the term. He had thought that opening a Spiritual Aperture made one a cultivator, but now it seemed he had simply been young and ignorant.

Yu Xiaodie seemed to have realized that Lu Ye was utterly at sea when it came to common knowledge of the Cultivation World, so she deliberately told him more. "The Nine Provinces Continent is filled with sects. Leaving aside everything else, just here in Soldier Province, there are at least a thousand sects and clans of all sizes. Some sects are strong, others weak, and their foundation lies in the realms of the cultivators within them. The higher the realms of their cultivators, the stronger the sect naturally is. Sects are also divided into ranks."

"Oh? How are they ranked?" Lu Ye grew interested. He could tell Yu Xiaodie was imparting common knowledge of the Cultivation World to him, so naturally he would not miss this opportunity.

"Each major realm of cultivators has nine levels, and sects are likewise divided into nine ranks. Ninth Rank is the lowest, while First Rank is the highest! I'm not sure exactly how they are classified, but sects from First Rank to Third Rank definitely have Divine Sea Realm experts, and there seem to be requirements for their numbers as well. Fourth Rank to Sixth Rank sects must have enough True Lake Realm cultivators, while Seventh Rank to Ninth Rank sects only need some Cloud River Realm cultivators."

"What if they only have Spirit Stream Realm cultivators?" Lu Ye asked without shame.

Yu Xiaodie covered her mouth and laughed. "Spirit Stream Realm cultivators aren't qualified to establish sects."

Lu Ye blushed slightly, feeling truly ignorant.

Yu Xiaodie continued, "There's a saying in Soldier Province: One Palace, Two Halls, Three Sects, Four Clans. It refers to Soldier Province's Ten First-Rank Sects. The One Palace is Azure Cloud Palace. The Two Halls are Senluo Hall and Abyss Rainbow Hall. The Three Sects are Righteous Qi Sect, Azure Jade Sect, and Rakshasa Gate. The Four Clans are Wuji Sect, Crimson Moon Sect, Northern Profound Sword Sect, and Heavenly Origin Sect. The Vast Sky Alliance and Myriad Demon Ridge each claim half of them, and every one of these sects has many Divine Sea Realm cultivators."

Lu Ye recalled what Third Senior Brother had told him before: Azure Jade Sect ranked among the top five in Soldier Province in overall strength. At the time, he had thought that ranking was already impressive, but he had not expected it to carry such weight.

There were over a thousand sects and clans throughout Soldier Province. To stand out among so many and rank among the Ten First-Rank Sects showed just how formidable Azure Jade Sect truly was.

"The Vice Alliance Master who came from the Vast Sky Alliance to attack Evil Moon Valley this time came from Righteous Qi Sect."

"That Vice Alliance Master's surname was Pang?" Lu Ye asked casually.

"I don't know about that. How did you hear of it, Brother Lu?"

"I happened to overhear it before." Lu Ye did not explain further. "Then Evil Moon Valley must be quite formidable. This attack on Evil Moon Valley has brought people from both Righteous Qi Sect and Azure Jade Sect. Two of the Ten First-Rank Sects have mobilized."

Yu Xiaodie smiled. "You can't calculate it like that. Although Evil Moon Valley isn't weak, there's still a vast gap between it and a First-Rank Sect. I'd estimate it's only around Fifth or Sixth Rank at most. Though two First-Rank Sects came this time, not everyone in a First-Rank Sect is a cultivator with profound cultivation."

"That's true." Lu Ye agreed with her.

Yu Xiaodie said, "Apart from the two great First-Rank Sects, several other sects have come this time as well. The inspections are nearly complete now. Those who possess Jade Tokens will have a chance to join those sects. Brother Lu, you mustn't miss this opportunity."

Checking their qualifications and aptitude was only a prelude. The true Opportunity lay in joining one of the sects that had come this time to cultivate and learn.

It was not that these sects lacked disciples. First-Rank powers such as Righteous Qi Sect and Azure Jade Sect would never lack disciples.

It was simply that this method of taking in people had become customary. For rescued people like Lu Ye and Yu Xiaodie, though the world was vast, there was no longer any place for them to go. The Vast Sky Alliance had to settle them somewhere. Taking in some among them who possessed cultivation aptitude was merely a convenient matter. It cost them nothing, and perhaps they might even discover a few promising seedlings.

Lu Ye smiled. "With my one-leaf aptitude, I'm afraid no sect will think much of me."

"You should always hope for the best." Yu Xiaodie comforted him. "Having opened a Spiritual Aperture is an advantage. With nearly ten sects, Brother Lu will surely find somewhere to belong."

"Then I'll borrow your good words."