Chapter 2134: Anxious Zhang Xuan

"It is said that the divine aura of the Divine Mountain is also graded!"

In the City Lord's Mansion, after a hearty meal, several strong figures representing the highest authority of Yeming City sat together, sipping tea and chatting.

"It seems to be true. High-grade divine aura is difficult to tame, but it is purer and more vigorous. Absorbing it allows for better refinement of one's power, laying the best foundation upon breakthrough!"

"High-grade divine aura is specially refined by the Nine Heavens and Nine Emperors. Although powerful, it contains their power. Unless one's physique or cultivation technique matches, success is impossible! Those who succeed are invariably the top geniuses of the divine race."

"That is true. The spiritual tide has appeared for nearly forty years, and the Divine Mountain opens every six months. It has now opened seventy-nine times... The geniuses truly valued by the Nine Heavens and Nine Emperors, causing the Enfeoffment Bell to ring, number no more than three!"

"It seems they are all disciples of the Heavenly Sovereign Emperor..."

"I wonder if a similar genius will appear this year!"

"There is certainly no hope. Those who can be enfeoffed as kings in the divine realm basically possess extraordinary bloodlines. In other words, their achievements are determined at birth, and it is absolutely impossible for ordinary people to achieve!"

"Bloodline determines everything. Without sufficient bloodline, no matter how high one's talent, their achievements are limited..."

The group chatted and sighed.

Hearing these conversations, Zhang Xuan felt a slight doubt and turned to look at Wu Fangqing nearby: "Is bloodline really that important?"

"Of course!" Wu Fangqing did not hide anything. "Below the Divine King realm, cultivators can rely on talent or opportunities to reach it. Once they cross this threshold, it becomes difficult! Those with strong bloodlines have a probability of success over a hundred times greater than ordinary people. As far as I know, there are over a hundred Divine King-level experts in the Nine Heavens. Those who broke through solely through cultivation without relying on bloodline are only the Heavenly Sovereign Emperor and his three disciples!"

"The Heavenly Sovereign Emperor's disciples?"

"It seems they were brought from the lower realm. I don't know the specifics. This newly ascended emperor has too many secrets, not something common folk like us can casually discuss!" Wu Fangqing shook his head.

If anyone else had asked like this, he would have scolded them. But since the other party might be a descendant of an emperor, he deliberately explained and took the opportunity to observe his reaction.

However, the person before him looked expressionless, revealing nothing.

Not dwelling on this issue, Zhang Xuan continued: "What does it mean that the divine aura differs?"

He had thought the divine aura was exactly the same as what he had obtained in the Upper Firmament, but it turned out there were differences.

"I'm not sure either. It's a rumor in the divine realm. It is said that divine aura is also graded. Only those with truly high talent can obtain higher-grade existence and become stronger..."

Wu Fangqing chuckled: "These are all hearsay, not to be taken seriously. Don't worry about it..."

As he spoke, the portal on the square in front of the City Lord's Mansion shook, and a figure suddenly appeared.

"So soon? Why is someone coming out?"

Walking out of the courtyard, Zhang Xuan was puzzled.

Wasn't it supposed to be one day?

How long had it been, and someone was already out.

"One day is the opening time of the Divine Mountain. During this period, those who have not reached the divine realm can continue searching inside. If they exceed the time and still haven't succeeded, they are teleported out! And before that, those who successfully break through are also teleported out!"

Wu Fangqing explained.

Zhang Xuan understood.

"Haha, it's my son! He broke through to the divine realm in just over an hour!"

A middle-aged man in the crowd laughed loudly, full of excitement.

In the Divine Mountain, everyone had the same opportunities. Finding divine aura and successfully breaking through in just over an hour was definitely a sign of exceptional talent.

For this reason, every time the Divine Mountain opened, someone would record the order of appearances, like the top scholars in imperial examinations, carving them on steles for wide circulation.

"Congratulations! With your son's talent, it seems your Hu family is about to rise!"

"Brother Hu Xu, after much thought, I've decided to entrust that business to your family. Although we haven't cooperated before, I've long heard of your integrity. I feel at ease leaving it to you!"

"Your son and my daughter are both of marriageable age. Brother Hu, shouldn't we arrange the wedding soon?"

...

Soon, the crowd gathered around, all full of enthusiasm.

Finding divine aura and successfully breaking through in just over an hour—such talent was among the best in Yeming City. Barring accidents, his future was boundless.

Naturally, the father of such a person had to be well-flattered.

It was like a child getting into Tsinghua University, full of pride and honor.

After dealing with the enthusiastic crowd, the middle-aged man's eyes fell on Zhang Xuan, and he let out a sneer.

Earlier, his son had lost to this man's student. Now that his side had broken through to the divine realm so quickly, what about the other's students?

It seemed there was no movement at all!

He had thought they were true geniuses, but now it seemed that once past the age, potential was limited.

"Young Master Zhang Xuan, it seems my son is luckier and succeeded first... When do you think your students will break through to the divine realm?"

Unable to hold back, he came over.

If a person doesn't show off, what's the difference from a salted fish?

Having lost face earlier, he naturally wanted to regain it.

Facing the other's sarcasm, Zhang Xuan frowned.

According to the cultivation method he taught, as long as they found divine aura, they should break through quickly, definitely within an hour. Now, with so many disciples, not one had come out... Could they have encountered danger?

That shouldn't be!

He still knew the strength of Zhao Ya and the others. The one who just came out, Sun Qiang could easily beat ten of him... If he was fine, how could the others have problems?

"They must have been delayed by something," Zhang Xuan said.

That was the only explanation now.

Because of the spatial separation, he was unaware that the Heavenly Dao true qi in his pills had been used.

"Delayed? Haha, then I wish Young Master Zhang's students a quick resolution to their troubles..." Seeing him at a loss, the middle-aged man was indescribably pleased, holding his head higher.

So what if he was strong at the Pseudo God realm?

If he couldn't break through to the divine realm, he was useless.

Whoosh!

While the middle-aged man was gloating, the portal shook again, and more people came out, one after another, over a dozen in total.

Zhang Xuan looked over; his students, servants, and parents were still not among them.

"Young Master Zhang, it seems my child has come out too!"

"Your students entered first and went to the place with the most divine aura on the mountainside. They shouldn't have failed to come out!"

"Could breaking through to the divine realm be so troublesome? If so, their talent must not be high..."

...

The parents who had been taught a lesson by Zhao Ya and the others came over with smiles.

Earlier, with the city lord protecting them and their own juniors being unworthy, they dared not say much. Now they were all triumphant and swaggering.

See, my son did so well!

Your students were strong at the Pseudo God realm, but what does that amount to?

Aren't they slow to become gods?

If they can't become gods, that would be truly embarrassing...

"Young Master Zhang, don't mind them... Finding divine aura also depends on luck. Perhaps... the next ones to appear will be them!"

Seeing the crowd's attitude, Wu Fangqing was embarrassed and didn't know what to say.

"It's fine..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Although he didn't know why Zhao Ya and the others hadn't come out, he believed in their strength, and with the pills he had left for them, there should be no problem.

In the blink of an eye, two hours passed. Of the twelve hundred cultivators who entered the Divine Mountain, over three hundred had come out, but Zhao Ya, Sun Qiang, and the others still hadn't appeared.

Those who had mocked earlier now showed disdain.

Not breaking through after so long—their talent was obviously poor. The city lord had treated him as a distinguished guest, but now it seemed he was utterly worthless.

"Something's wrong..." Zhang Xuan frowned.

If his students couldn't come out in an hour, he could understand some unexpected delay. But... it had been over three hours, and not one had become a god. That clearly defied common sense!

Cultivating the simplified Heavenly Dao technique with divine aura, breaking through to the divine realm was even faster than his "Heaven's Affection" technique. Even if they couldn't finish in an hour, it shouldn't take more than two...

Why was there no sign of them?

"City Lord, is there any way to check if something happened to those who entered the Divine Mountain?"

Slightly worried, Zhang Xuan looked over.

"Check for incidents?" Wu Fangqing paused. "It is possible to check, but the cost is high. One check costs a hundred divine coins!"

The Divine Mountain was inherently dangerous. Normally, checks were not allowed, but some people cared about their juniors and wanted to investigate... Hence this rule: checking was allowed, but at a high price.

One slot cost only one divine coin, but checking cost a hundred—a hundredfold difference, staggering.

"I want to check," Zhang Xuan said after a moment's thought.

These students had come all the way from the Master Teacher Continent. He already regarded them as his closest family and could not allow them to be in danger.

"This way, please..."

Wu Fangqing nodded and walked back toward the City Lord's Mansion.

"Let's go see!"

"They definitely didn't break through. What's there to check?"

"He has money and wants to check. What's it to you?"

"It doesn't hurt to go see. If his students found divine aura but didn't break through, that would be amusing..."

"True..."

The middle-aged men who had mocked earlier, hearing the conversation, smiled and followed.

Since he wanted to check, they would go and watch. After all, it was this guy who would lose face, so they might as well enjoy the show.

Entering the City Lord's Mansion, they soon arrived at a spacious hall.

"You can check here. Enter the name and appearance of the person you want to check, along with a hundred divine coins, and you'll know the result..."

Stopping, Wu Fangqing pointed to a wall in front of them.