The Great First-Class Lineages!

Being weak and having no backing was the greatest fault of all!

Nanling Zhao sighed deeply, a sense of helplessness rising in her heart.

Yang Jie sighed as well. "Girl, I bear him no ill will. On the contrary, I even sympathize with what happened to him. But I know very well that if I take him in regardless of the consequences, not only will my family and I be suppressed and targeted, but the students from Yongzhou Academy taking part in the competition will also be targeted. I have a responsibility to my family and those students."

Nanling Zhao nodded. "Uncle, I understand all of that, and I understand your good intentions too. But I'll keep helping him, because this isn't how the world should be."

With that, she turned and left.

Yang Jie watched Nanling Zhao leave and sighed softly.

Nanling Zhao came to the entrance. Ye Tianming looked at her, and she broke into a smile. "Let's go to Panzhou."

Ye Tianming immediately understood and nodded. "All right."

Before long, the two arrived at Panzhou Guanxuan Academy.

Panzhou Guanxuan Academy ranked ninth among the Wan Prefectures and was also very powerful.

Flying was forbidden at the academy, so the two had to walk up the mountain.

On the way, Ye Tianming suddenly asked, "Miss Zhao, how many first-class lineages are there in the Guanxuan Universe altogether?"

Nanling Zhao smiled. "Curious about that?"

Ye Tianming nodded.

Nanling Zhao said, "Let me count. The Nanzhou Nalan Clan, the Nanzhou Ye Clan, the Qingzhou An Clan, the Immortal Imperial Yang Clan, the Great Zhou Zhou Clan, the Sui Ancient Clan, the Gu Clan..."

At that point, she shook her head slightly. "There are actually quite a few, but some first-class lineages aren't in the Guanxuan Universe. They're outside it."

Ye Tianming was curious. "Outside it?"

Nanling Zhao nodded. "Our Guanxuan Universe is divided into many galaxies, and those galaxies are self-governing. Take the Great Zhou Zhou Clan, for example. They're in the Great Zhou Galaxy, very, very far from here. They're also under the Guanxuan Universe's jurisdiction and follow the Guanxuan Divine Law, but they govern themselves. Before, they only obeyed the academy head's orders. Now, they only obey the young lord's orders..."

Ye Tianming said, "The Inner Pavilion can't govern them?"

Nanling Zhao said, "Actually, it can, but the Inner Pavilion generally doesn't interfere in their internal affairs. Besides, anyone who becomes emperor of the Great Zhou Empire is certain to become a member of the Inner Pavilion. And in our Guanxuan Universe, there are many, many other first-class lineages and transcendent powers like them, far away from here, such as the Divine Residence and the Heavenwalking Civilization. But they're all too far away from us."

Ye Tianming said softly, "The Guanxuan Universe is bigger than I imagined."

Nanling Zhao smiled. "Outside the Guanxuan Universe, there are also the civilizations of the various epoch universes... And apparently there's something called the 'True World' too. I really would like to go out and see them."

Ye Tianming was about to speak when Nanling Zhao suddenly said, "We're here."

Ye Tianming looked up. Just as in Yongzhou, a magnificent mountain gate stood at the academy's entrance.

Panzhou Guanxuan Academy!

Quite a few students were coming and going through the academy gates.

An old man suddenly landed in front of them and gave Nanling Zhao a slight bow. "Lord Zhao, the academy head would like to see you."

Nanling Zhao turned to look at Ye Tianming. He said, "I'll wait for you here."

Nanling Zhao nodded. "All right."

Soon, Nanling Zhao was led into a great hall, where an old man stood. He was Huo Gu, the head of Panzhou Guanxuan Academy.

Huo Gu smiled. "Miss Zhao, please, have a seat."

As soon as Nanling Zhao sat down, Huo Gu said, "Miss Zhao, are you here because of Ye Tianming?"

Nanling Zhao nodded.

Huo Gu sighed softly. "Miss Zhao, I know about Ye Tianming's situation. Qingzhou Academy and the Xiao Family have indeed gone too far, but forgive my bluntness: there's nothing I can do either. I don't want to make enemies of Qingzhou Academy and the Xiao Family. This is no small matter. If I take him in, I'll have to be prepared for a fight to the death with Qingzhou Academy and the Xiao Family, but..."

He looked at Nanling Zhao. "Forgive my bluntness, but although that young man is a monstrous genius, he isn't monstrous enough for me to wager my own future and Panzhou's on him."

In short, he wasn't valuable enough.

Nanling Zhao asked, "Even someone who made it through the Guanxuan Dao isn't enough?"

Huo Gu said gravely, "Miss Zhao, you should know something about what became of the last person who made it through the Guanxuan Dao."

Nanling Zhao fell silent.

The last person to make it through the Guanxuan Dao was doing far worse than most. Not only had he been abandoned by the one he loved, but his own family had also struck him from their records, forbidding him ever to return.

Huo Gu continued, "Miss Zhao, I not only understand you, but admire you too. There truly aren't many inspectors as upright as you left in this world. From what I know, perhaps only the Fang Family's ancestor back then could have done what you've done. But I'm truly sorry. Panzhou can't offend Qingzhou Academy and the Xiao Family for Ye Tianming alone. Once a fight breaks out, it will be a political struggle, and very, very many people will die."

Nanling Zhao nodded. "I understand."

She rose to leave.

Huo Gu suddenly said, "Miss Zhao, I know you may still take him to the next province, but forgive my bluntness: unless a first-class lineage backs him, not a single province among the Myriad Provinces will dare take him in."

A first-class lineage!

Nanling Zhao fell silent. There were several first-class lineages in the Guanxuan Realm and Wan Prefecture, and she knew some of their descendants, but she knew very well that those first-class lineages would never do it.

Benefits!

Value!

Those first-class lineages cared only about those two things. If you had no value and couldn't bring them benefits, they would never support you.

Nanling Zhao gathered her thoughts and said, "Academy Head Huo, sorry to have disturbed you."

With that, she turned and left.

Huo Gu watched Nanling Zhao leave, shaking his head with a sigh. Plenty of people couldn't stomach what the Xiao Family and Qingzhou Academy had done, and neither could he. But what could anyone do when they had the strength? Even if you couldn't stomach it, you had to swallow it.

Nanling Zhao came outside the mountain gate. Ye Tianming was sitting there, absorbing the surrounding Spiritual Qi as he cultivated.

After arriving here, he had discovered that the Spiritual Qi was far denser than at the Ye Family, which couldn't compare at all. A day of cultivation here was worth a year at the Ye Family.

Because of the special nature of his cultivation technique, the moment he began circulating it, he became like a vortex, wildly devouring the Spiritual Qi around him.

Seeing the terrifying speed at which Ye Tianming devoured it, Nanling Zhao's expression turned grave. At that moment, she suddenly realized that she seemed to have underestimated the cultivation technique the young man before her had created.

Nanling Zhao gathered her thoughts and walked up to Ye Tianming. He promptly stopped cultivating and stood up. Nanling Zhao smiled. "Let's go to the next province."

Ye Tianming wasn't surprised. He simply nodded. "All right."

Before long, the two arrived in the third province, Wu Province. It was a major province ranked among the top ten, whose people loved martial arts and were exceptionally formidable.

On the way, Ye Tianming asked curiously, "Miss Zhao, who ranks first among the Myriad Provinces now?"

Nanling Zhao said, "Nanzhou, a land where dragons rise."

Ye Tianming continued, "And after Nanzhou, it's Qingzhou?"

Nanling Zhao nodded. "Nanzhou and Qingzhou have always been the ones competing for first place. Both are lands where dragons rise, and they also receive the most resources. But over the past thousand years, some other provinces have suddenly risen like unexpected armies, producing one or two astonishingly gifted super monstrous geniuses. Take You Province in the last competition. They produced a super monstrous genius who actually defeated the An Clan of Qingzhou and took second place... And then there was Guzhou in the competition before that. They produced a sword dao genius who defeated the Nanzhou Ye Clan's super genius of that generation outright..."

She paused, then continued, "But those are exceptions. Over the past thousand years, Nanzhou and Qingzhou have remained the most consistent. Both provinces possess great fortune, and exceptionally monstrous geniuses appear there every year... Oh, right, there's another special place called the Milky Way Sect. The sect comes from the Milky Way, and its strength can't be underestimated either. Also, the people who come from there are pretty goofy and a lot of fun."

Ye Tianming nodded and asked no more questions.

Nanling Zhao added, "This Myriad Provinces Grand Competition will be fiercer than ever before."

Ye Tianming was curious. "Why?"

Nanling Zhao said, "I've heard some rumors. Apparently, the first-place winner among the Myriad Provinces this time will receive the Destined Fortune left behind by the Guanxuan Sword Master..."

Ye Tianming was somewhat surprised. "Destined Fortune?"

Nanling Zhao nodded. "You may not know this, but the three generations of the Yang Family were all originally people of destiny. Obtaining Destined Fortune means there's a chance of reaching the end of the martial path. That's why many first-class lineages are arranging to place people in the various provinces to compete on their behalf. Oh, and the reason the Nanzhou Xiao Clan came to snatch your spot was that someone took one of their special admission spots."

Ye Tianming was shocked. "Someone could even take the Xiao Family's spot?"

Nanling Zhao said, "Terrifying, isn't it?"

Ye Tianming nodded. "Terrifying."

Nanling Zhao continued, "Besides the Destined Fortune, the rewards this time are also extremely tempting. I hear there are three civilization ancestral artifacts. On top of that, the first-place winner among the Myriad Provinces this time will join the top three contestants from each of the previous three Myriad Provinces Grand Competitions to form a delegation. They'll represent the Guanxuan Universe in the Ancestral Universe, competing against the super monstrous geniuses of the various epochs for the title of number one among the young generation of the entire universe... It's an unparalleled chance to make their names throughout the universe and bring glory to their ancestors."