There were less than two days left for the Lingshan County Annual Talent Conference, and the entire County City was bustling with activity, with people coming and going in a stream outside the city gates.
All of them came from those towns and villages under the county seat, both for broadening their horizons and to search for an opportunity to shine.
Even in the villages outside the county city, one had to be at least a Body Tempering Realm cultivator to hold the position of village chief.
From this, it could be seen how prosperous the current world of Immortal Cultivation was.
The Great Jing Dynasty had been passed down for over a thousand years, with a Golden Core Great Cultivator as its founder, it produced another Golden Core Realm expert until he also passed away a couple of hundred years ago.
Even then, the Great Jing could still be said to be in its golden age, and if Grand General Wu Fengyun could become a Golden Core Great Cultivator, it would flourish for another several hundred years before falling into an inevitable decline, the fate of all dynasties.
This is a trend that has been going since ancient times, not even a Golden Core Great Cultivator can change it, unless a legacy can stably produce Golden Core Great Cultivators, which Great Jing obviously isn't.
At this moment, in the Ji Mansion.
Ji Tianyu lay on a reclining chair, sunbathing in his courtyard while Spiritual Energy circulated around his body, constantly nourishing his skin, bones, muscles, and internal organs.
Such was the mystery of Spiritual Energy.
Now, even without Spiritual Energy, he could easily suppress any peak Innate Realm powerhouse with a wave of his hand.
Qi Refinement Realm, refining the Spirit Qi of Heaven and Earth into the Spiritual Energy for the mortal vessel, connecting them to heaven and earth, with a lifespan of 300 years, truly able to influence the rise and fall of generations.
Ji Tianyu's embryonic Divine Sense spread out, covering the entire courtyard. It could be extended for up to a hundred meters at most, allowing him to observe everything, though he couldn't interfere with them since the Divine Sense wasn't really mature without having opened the Sea of Consciousness.
Without Spiritual Roots or other special Innate Talents, it was impossible to enter the Qi Refinement Realm because the Spiritual Root was the stabilizing factor for storing Spiritual Energy and connecting with heaven and earth.
However, for some reason, that didn't seem to apply to Ji Tianyu.
Perhaps this was another special aspect of the Peerless Powerhouse System.
Till this day, he still couldn't understand the system's motive, but he just decided to drop it for the time being. Since it was helping him for now, he would just accept its help.
From his Divine Sense, he caught the sight of Ji Haotian loitering nearby with his maid Xue'er before exiting the Divine Sense range.
He was already at the peak of the Third Stage of Body Tempering Realm.
This Annual Talent Conference... was going to be his stage to shine.
...
2 days later.
"Master, why did we even come to this small Lingshan County? Isn't it better to go to some other Province and experience the world there?"
A child, no more than ten years of age, followed behind an ordinary looking old man, stuffing a bun into his mouth, his cute face puffed up.
Beside him, another girl, around fourteen or fifteen years old, perked up her ears as well, clearly curious.
The old man stroked his long, silver beard and let out a soft chuckle before speaking, "Little ones, to experience the secular world, you don't have to go to a specific place. Besides, aren't you interested in watching the Annual Talent Conference of Lingshan County? You might even find a few youngsters to your liking and become friends."
The little boy showed a look of disbelief as he spoke with a hint of smugness, "Master, a champion of a county level Annual Talent Conference even joining our Golden Sky Valley as a Outer Disciple will be considered a leap to heaven, how can there be anyone here with talent comparable to us, your Personal Disciples? Senior sister even reached the Fifth Stage of Body Tempering Realm at just 14 years old, who can compete with her here? Even I'm already at the Third Stage of Body Tempering Realm at ten years old!"
The old man smacked the little boy on the back of his head, speaking in a reprimanding tone, "Do not underestimate the people of the world. The resources geniuses of small places receive are far less than those at our Golden Sky Valley, you need to take that in account as well. You two may be geniuses, but that doesn't mean the world has no other geniuses whatsoever. Who knows, maybe we will find a hidden gem here who managed to cultivate to a high level even with meager resources?"
The little boy was still somewhat indignant, but hearing his master's words, he felt they made a lot of sense.
The Golden Sky Valley, one of the three hegemonic powers of Qingyun Province, on par with the Noble Mu Family and River Cloud Sect, with a legacy spanning nearly a millennium.
All superpowers that helped the founding Emperor establish the Great Jing Dynasty were located in the Yujing Province, also known as the Jade Capital, which held no Prefectures or Counties, only the domains of those superpowers and the central Jade Capital City, the hub of power in Great Jing where the Imperial Family resided.
All of them were powers as old as or even older than the Great Jing, having produced at least one Golden Core Great Cultivator in history.
The superpowers of other Provinces either submitted later or were developed from within the Great Jing, with a relatively weaker foundation and history.
The River Cloud Sect, Noble Mu Family, and Golden Sky Valley count among these superpowers. Combined, they might be barely comparable to a single founding superpower in Yujing Province.
Although the Golden Sky Valley couldn't compare to those top tier superpowers, it was still a hegemonic force within the Great Jing and one of the dominators of the Qingyun Province.
Naturally, the resources they controlled were enormous, far beyond the scope of any ordinary force.