"What terrifying bloodline pressure!"
As the bloodline pressure of the little Azure Dragon pierced through the eggshell and surged into the sky, spirit beasts across nearly an entire domain began to tremble. Regardless of the purity of their own bloodlines, they all felt an overwhelming weight. Only those with significant strength could barely resist this aura. Even the Little Immortal Tiger, who possessed a dense Bai Ze bloodline, felt a considerable weight upon its spirit.
"Aowu... (Is the bloodline of this Azure Dragon egg really this strong?)"
The Little Immortal Tiger was profoundly shocked as it sensed the pressure emanating from Qi Ping's cave dwelling. It could only imagine the extraordinary origin of a creature that possessed such power at birth. Under this pressure, the tiger's own Bai Ze bloodline radiated a domineering yet gentle aura, finally insulating itself from the external weight.
"This bloodline pressure... it is Rank 7!"
"What? Rank 7 bloodline?"
"It has been countless years since a spirit beast of this rank was born in our Star-Sea Continent, has it not? In fact, has there ever been one?"
"Never? You are thinking too little of us. The true history of our Star-Sea Continent is far more ancient than you imagine. Back then, there were even spirit beasts with Rank 8 bloodlines! Upon reaching adulthood, they were at the Tribulation Transcendence stage! However, even then, a Rank 7 bloodline was considered rare. Today, it is absolute perfection! And why does this pressure feel somewhat like... an Azure Dragon?"
The moment the words 'Azure Dragon' were mentioned, almost everyone was shocked once again. What was an Azure Dragon? It was the leader of the Four Symbols divine beasts!
"The Azure Dragon, leader of the Four Symbols? Isn't that an incredibly rare bloodline? I have never even seen a spirit beast claiming to have it."
"Rare is an understatement. The birth of such a divine beast is extremely difficult. Almost every birth carries a profound significance for the world. Under normal circumstances, it is virtually impossible for one to manifest!"
"I have heard some rumors as well. It seems that because the Azure Dragon is the head of the Four Symbols, it is not just about its own powerful bloodline. It is related to a core power of heaven and earth. Legend says every Azure Dragon is born with its own Providential Mission, though I cannot say if that is true or not."
"It should be true. According to many ancient records, there is a class of special beings who, regardless of their race, possess a unique Providential Fate. Like the Four Symbols, those who carry this fate are bound to trigger the karmic causes and effects associated with it, unless they perish."
"Then this Azure Dragon is simply too formidable! I thought it was just a slightly stronger spirit beast!"
"FORMIDABLE does not even begin to cover it. Such beings carry the unique Providential Fate of the cultivation world, involving the most critical powers and karma of this realm itself. It is both a supreme opportunity and a lethal risk. To have the right to touch the world's core power means being dragged into its karma. For an ordinary person, touching such karma means certain death!"
"Then I suppose only a figure like Senior Bee is qualified to touch such power in our Star-Sea Continent!"
"Indeed. Compared to the rest of the cultivation world, our Star-Sea is but a small place. Normally, an existence with a Providential Fate should not appear here at all."
"I agree. These matters involving the source of the most critical powers usually manifest in prosperous lands held by Mahayana cultivators."
"I think otherwise. Have you not noticed the abnormal changes that have occurred since Senior Bee began building the Star-Sea Nine Domains?"
"What abnormal changes? Industrial development? Those are expected under Senior Bee's leadership."
"Not that. Those have clear causes. What is inexplicable is the number of geniuses that have emerged recently! It has reached an eerie level!"
"Is it really that exaggerated? It should just be the improvement brought by the density of spiritual energy, right?"
"Exaggerated? You clearly haven't looked into it. I have a relative who handles information integration. He says the number of geniuses appearing recently is more than ten times that of the past—and that is a conservative estimate! Special physiques that were rarely seen in a thousand years are awakening one after another. Even those without special physiques possess comprehension that is epoch-making!"
"I can confirm the truth of this. It is not just those people; almost every industry has seen the emergence of geniuses rarely seen in the past!"
"Could it be... that a Great Age of Contention is upon us?"
"Most likely. Otherwise, even if people didn't fear for their safety after exposing their talent, so many geniuses would not awaken all at once!"
"I think rather than an Age of Contention, it is more likely a final, desperate struggle. After all, we are facing the threat of the Demon Race. If we cannot overcome this, the Star-Sea Continent can declare its total annihilation!"
"Perhaps this golden age will consume several thousand years of Qi Fortune. Even if we win this battle, if the losses are too heavy, we might not recover our vitality for ten thousand years or longer."
"Sigh... Regardless, Senior Bee has awakened a primordial constitution and now obtained the Azure Dragon, leader of the Four Symbols. We might just have the strength to fight!"
"Well said! Why should the cultivators of our generation fear going against the current? This is a risk, but also a supreme opportunity. Instead of living like cowards as we did in the past, barely scraping by under oppression, we might as well fight. Perhaps we can fight our way to the Great Dao and immortality!"
"Exactly. The mobilization order for war from the Qingyuan Academy has been issued. Anyone who performs meritorious service can not only exchange for generous rewards but also have the chance to obtain Heavenly Dao Qi Fortune. There is no need to explain the wonders of Qi Fortune, is there? This is a great crisis, but also a rare opportunity!"
"I say, if you are afraid of death, stay in the rear and do logistics. The contribution points there aren't low either. But if you want to charge ahead, give it your all! During a realm war, heaven and earth are in turmoil; it is also the easiest time for cultivation to break through. Seizing this chance is worth countless years of bitter cultivation!"
"Senior Bee has already created the best environment for us. We cannot place all the pressure on his shoulders. In a realm war, the Demon Race will surely bring artifacts that can project shadows of their world. This kind of world-level power cannot be blocked by one person alone. Each of us must increase our strength and slay the enemy as much as possible. Otherwise, if the world projection crushes down, even a Mahayana cultivator won't be able to bear it..."
...
For a time, the manifestation of the Azure Dragon bloodline triggered endless shock. However, following the shock came deeper reflections and concerns regarding the future of the Star-Sea Continent, as well as a resolute determination to protect their homeland!
Through their lives in the Nine Domains during this period, almost every cultivator had come to admire and revere Qi Ping to the point of total devotion. In a short time, they had developed a sense of belonging to the Nine Domains and the Star-Sea Continent. Compared to their current conditions and life, the days they lived before were nothing but trash!
With this sense of identity and belonging, combined with sufficient benefits, the will to protect was naturally ignited in most people. It was almost impossible for anyone to collude with the enemy out of hatred. In many mortal lands, rulers oppressed their people so severely that they lived in misery; when such places were invaded, the locals would actively lead the enemy into the territory.
Such a situation could have occurred in the old Star-Sea Continent. In some major cultivation domains, ordinary cultivators could not even guarantee their own safety, and their hatred for the ruling sects was intense. Once a war broke out, stabbing their leaders in the back was a certainty. This was something Qi Ping had been very worried about.
Once a world-scale war began, the invading side would surely carry world-class artifacts to bring their world's projection. In that case, the conflict would evolve into a war between two worlds. If internal strife occurred or if the living beings and combat power of one's own side were too few, their world would be crushed. Facing such a situation, no matter how strong Qi Ping was, he would be powerless to change the outcome!
This was why the cultivation world allowed oppression and enslavement but absolutely forbade genocidal slaughter. Within a domain, even if there were ten Mahayana cultivators, if all the living beings below them were wiped out, the world itself would rapidly decline to its lowest point. At that time, if another domain attacked with an army and a world projection, the Mahayana cultivators would either have to flee or wait for death.
Even if they could flee, their original world would be completely occupied and devoured. Having lost their home world, these Mahayana cultivators could only head to special neutral territories. Nowhere in the Myriad Worlds would treat them as one of their own again, and their path of cultivation would become increasingly difficult!
However, there were special cases. For example, the Demon Race. As destructive beings of the Myriad Worlds, they did not have a true world of origin. The reason they could utilize world projections was primarily because those with Sovereign-level bloodlines among them possessed the ability to enslave worlds. Although this enslavement would eventually cause the entire domain to collapse, they could still utilize the power of the world projection during that period.
This was the cause of the Demon Race's frantic aggressiveness. If they could not use a world projection to conquer a new place before their current domain collapsed, they would have to face the suppression of an entire world the next time they tried to invade. The risk would be magnified countless times. They might even perish at the hands of an opponent far weaker than themselves. Thus, for survival, they would immediately begin invading another domain as soon as they had finished devouring the one they currently held. It was a never-ending cycle!
This was why Qi Ping was so worried upon learning the Demon Race was coming. Compared to the Demon Race, he wasn't even that concerned about the Forest Sea Demon Realm. Once the demons moved, they would kill every enemy they encountered for the sake of their own survival! Facing such a frenzied race, Qi Ping did not know to what extent he could fight, or if his Earth Immortal Druid powers could suppress the opponent's world projection.
To survive, he had to build a super-fortress capable of resisting the enemy's invasion. The Earth Immortal Druid defense line was one part; the Qing-God Army and other combat forces below were another. The reason he didn't consider setting up defenses in a larger area was that the current Star-Sea Continent was too weak. Dispersing their forces would only allow the enemy to pick them off quickly!
However, if they abandoned everything outside the Nine Domains, the Qi Fortune and power of the entire continent would be severely damaged. Qi Ping and everyone else did not know just how catastrophic that damage would be. Thus, all he could do now was gather all the core resources, living beings, spirit veins, and ley lines into the Nine Domains. He even had everyone call upon the Heavenly Dao's will to ensure that even if other places fell, not a single hair would be left for the enemy, and the continent would still preserve its core strength.
As long as the Star-Sea Nine Domains did not fall, the Demon Race's occupation would never be truly realized.
Additionally, Qi Ping had received another heartening piece of news: the Great Age had arrived! Under the influence of multiple forces, geniuses were emerging in the Nine Domains. Special physiques rarely seen in a thousand years were awakening, and countless talents were showing their brilliance!
Currently, these people were being assigned either to the Qing-God Army and the Demon Suppression Hall or to core industries. With their addition, the military power of the Nine Domains was expanding at an extraordinary speed. One could imagine that once they underwent the baptism of war, that speed would increase again!
Furthermore, with industrial development, the quantity of pills and weapons was growing frantically. Defensive and offensive artifacts, in particular, had reached an astonishing level. The reason artifact refining had achieved such results was that the academy's elite mining teams were now using advanced equipment to frantically extract resources from all mineral sources outside the Nine Domains. With shared and innovative mining technology, a terrifying amount of mineral resources was being harvested.
Based on these resources, the Artifact Pavilion immediately integrated the continent's master smiths and their knowledge. In collaboration with the Demon Suppression Hall's research, they began producing various types of offensive, defensive, and auxiliary artifacts. Several sets of formidable standard military uniforms had already been developed. These weren't just for show; they represented the highest achievements in artifact refining at various grades in the Star-Sea Continent today!
Parts of the Qing-God Army were already fully equipped. When they mobilized together with the military formations created by Qi Ping, the destructive power they carried made even Qi Ping gasp. Even cultivators with realms significantly higher than the legion would be crushed by the "Steel-like Torrent" under the combination of battle arrays and artifacts!
These legions integrated the best manuals, artifacts, and battle arrays. A single soldier of the Qing-God Army was a genius capable of fighting above their level. When these geniuses were combined, the combat power they exerted could only be described as terrifying—enough to crush all ghosts and monsters!
In a world where individual combat power was supreme, a terrifying, unique legion was growing at a frightening speed under Qi Ping's iron-fisted methods.