Although Jian Chen sensed the elder's strength, his face revealed nothing. He nodded silently and murmured in assent, then walked past the old man and headed down the left corridor.
At the end of the corridor, bright light burst into his eyes. He had entered a vast chamber, illuminated as clearly as broad daylight outside. Rows of bookshelves stood neatly arranged, packed with countless volumes—there must have been well over a thousand books in the room altogether.
Jian Chen glanced slightly upward at the ceiling. He knew the bright lighting came entirely from this surface. Whatever material the ceiling was made of, it emitted a soft yet strong radiance, bright but not harsh.
Though curious about the ceiling, he did not waste time on it. He walked straight to a bookshelf, searched carefully, and finally took out the book he needed most and began to read.
The book contained a clear description of the entire continent. It was not thick, and Jian Chen finished it in two or three hours. At last, he had a basic understanding of this strange new world.
This land was called the Tianyuan Continent. It was immensely vast, home to countless nations large and small. Within their territories stood cities of varying sizes. The greatest among them were known as Super Main Cities—each enormous, ruled by a City Lord with millions, even tens of millions, of city guards under their command.
Yet there were only seven Super Main Cities on the entire Tianyuan Continent, controlled by the three most powerful empires.
The Kalar Empire and the Ferista Empire each held two, while the most powerful Holy Empire ruled three.
Beneath the Super Main Cities were Royal Cities, much smaller in size but far more numerous—nearly every kingdom had at least one, with around a million city guards.
Below Royal Cities were First-Class Cities (800,000 guards), Second-Class Cities (400,000), Third-Class Cities (200,000), then Towns (100,000 guards).
Beneath towns were villages of all sizes, guarded only by villagers, with no more than 50,000 defenders total, poorly equipped and weak in power.
Everyone on the Tianyuan Continent cultivated a power called Saint Power.
Once their Saint Power reached Level 10, they would, according to their own will, condense a Saint Weapon inside their bodies. Saint Weapons came in countless forms, shaped entirely by their owner's mind.
Since a Saint Weapon was formed purely from one's own Saint Power, it was spiritually linked to its master from the moment it took shape.
Those with exceptional talent might be born with an elemental affinity, and their Saint Weapons would carry one of six elements:
Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, Light, Darkness.
Light and Darkness were extremely rare and exceptionally powerful.
Light-element Saint Weapons possessed mighty healing abilities. Those who wielded them were known as "the undying" on the Tianyuan Continent. Injured in battle, they could rapidly heal themselves. In fights of the same level, it was nearly impossible to kill them unless struck down instantly.
Darkness carried a fierce corrosive effect, making its users troublesome and relentless foes. Especially at night, they moved like ghosts, earning the title "Kings of the Night." Darkness was their domain.
The other four elements each had their own abilities, their strength depending on the user's power.
On the Tianyuan Continent, however, fewer than one in ten people had an elemental affinity. Most Saint Weapons had no attributes at all.
In same-level combat, those with elemental affinities were far stronger than those without.
A Saint Weapon was one's most powerful armament. In battle, it could be summoned instantly from the body to aid its master, unleashing terrifying strength.
Yet master and weapon were bound by life and death. Severe damage to the Saint Weapon would harm the owner; if the weapon shattered, the master would suffer a fatal blow, even death.
Saint Weapons were extremely durable. Only those several times more powerful than the wielder could damage one.
After forming a Saint Weapon, one continued cultivating by absorbing heavenly and earthly energy to strengthen the weapon, thereby raising one's own power.
Those who had formed a Saint Weapon were known as Sages.
The Tianyuan Continent divided the realms of Sages into nine major levels:
Sage, Great Sage, Sage Master, Great Sage Master, Earth Sage Master, Sky Sage Master, Sage King, Sage Emperor, Sage Monarch.
Each level was split into three stages: Early, Middle, and Late.
Stretching nearly across the entire continent was a colossal mountain range known as the Magical Beast Mountain Range. It was teeming with magical beasts—the deeper one ventured, the more powerful the beasts became.
Magical beasts were ranked into nine levels:
Level 1: equivalent to a human Sage
Level 2: equivalent to a Great Sage
... and so on
Level 8: equivalent to a Sage Emperor
Level 9: equivalent to a Sage Monarch
Another popular profession on the Tianyuan Continent was the Mercenary.
Mercenaries were widespread across the continent. They earned money by completing various missions, but most ventured into the Magical Beast Mountain Range to hunt beasts and retrieve Magic Cores for profit.
The danger was immense, but so were the rewards. Magic Cores were extremely valuable. Higher-ranked cores cost a fortune; some high-grade cores were beyond price.
Magic Cores were necessities for nearly everyone on the continent. They contained pure, powerful energy that could be directly absorbed to boost one's strength far faster than cultivating from natural energy alone.
But cultivating using Magic Cores was far too expensive for ordinary people.
From the books, Jian Chen also learned that this world was cruel, filled with constant conflict—even more dangerous than the jianghu of his past life.
Without great strength, one could barely survive.
Nearly everyone cultivated, but many had mediocre talent. They spent their entire lives unable to raise their Saint Power to Level 10, never condensing a Saint Weapon.
Without powerful backing, such people lived at the bottom of society, like peasants in remote villages.
After absorbing all this information, Jian Chen finally understood this new world.
Saint Weapons, elemental powers, magical beasts, Magic Cores, mercenaries—everything felt fresh and exciting.
His heart stirred with longing for the outside world. He wanted nothing more than to leave Changyang Mansion immediately and wander abroad, to experience its wonders.
But he knew he could not fulfill this wish for several years.
His parents would never let a child not yet three years old wander alone. Even if he did sneak out, he would have no way to defend himself.
P.S. In truth, Saint Weapons are very similar to the natal magical treasures of immortal cultivators. You may understand them that way.
In the days that followed, Jian Chen cultivated even harder.
Aside from meals and daily activities, he locked himself in his room to train.
He still had not completed the foundational stage of Body Refining in the Purple Blue Sword Classic.
All the natural energy he absorbed merged into every cell, organ, bone, and meridian, strengthening his body at its very core.
Only when his flesh could no longer be strengthened by natural energy would he move to the second step: formally cultivating True Energy.
To this day, aside from a far stronger physique than ordinary people, his dantian was completely empty—he had not a wisp of True Energy.
In his past life, Jian Chen had finished the Body Refining stage in just one year.
In this world, natural energy was vastly richer. Even though he had already spent two years and still not completed it, his physical strength was far greater than it had been in his previous life.
His parents did not find it strange that he stayed hidden in his room all day.
In Changyang Mansion, every child who turned two was taught a basic breathing technique by their parents, to cultivate for a year until the age of three, when they would take the Saint Power Test to evaluate their potential and talent.
When Jian Chen turned two, his mother Bi Yuntian had also taught him the most basic breathing method.
But Jian Chen had dismissed it instantly. To him, it was no different from an adult playing with a child's toy.
Thus, everyone assumed he was cultivating the basic technique, and no one doubted him.
Early the next morning, Jian Chen finished his night-long cultivation.
Today was a special day: his third birthday.
On this day, he would take the Saint Power Test—required for every child who turned three on the Tianyuan Continent.
After breakfast with his mother Bi Yuntian, she led him toward the Council Hall of Changyang Mansion.
The mansion occupied enormous grounds. The area where Jian Chen lived was merely a small courtyard.
As they walked, Jian Chen looked around curiously. In these three years, he had spent nearly all his time cultivating and had rarely explored the mansion.
Groups of armored guards patrolled every district, their sharp eyes sweeping over hidden corners. Even in daylight, they remained utterly vigilant.
When they passed a wide training ground, Jian Chen's attention was caught by the shouts of children.
Dozing of kids under ten years old were practicing martial arts under the instruction of a middle-aged man.
Jian Chen knew these were the direct disciples of the Changyang clan.
The mansion had more than a thousand people total. Half were guards and servants; the other half were direct clan members.
After passing the training ground, Bi Yuntian finally led Jian Chen into the grand Council Hall at the very center of Changyang Mansion.