Chapter 673: Chapter 357 Changes in the Great Wilderness_2
The Great Wilderness Martial Arts Academy of today is no longer the Seven-star Study Palace of the past; the criteria for recruiting martial arts students have been further elevated, and only prodigies can gain entry.
Starting from this year, the Great Wilderness has implemented new policies.
In every city and town across the Great Wilderness, schools have been established, popularizing education and martial arts.
Moreover, they have clearly defined the hierarchy of school levels.
From the time children enter school, they can advance to higher-level academies through assessments, ultimately aiming to be admitted to the Great Wilderness Martial Arts Academy.
Those who enter the Great Wilderness Academy are without exception one of the top prodigies in the entire Great Wilderness.
The martial arts sects across the land still exist, but some of the weaker sects have already experienced crises in continuing their legacies.
Since they all have to practice the Great Wilderness Martial Arts, why would they need to enter a sect and accept so many restrictions?
To survive, the sects, with their unique talents and charms, are racking their brains to research and develop martial arts techniques that conform to the Great Wilderness Martial Arts.
For example, certain powerful palm and fist techniques, among others.
Originally, sects with profound heritage, using Inner Realm Martial Arts as a reference and their sect's techniques as a foundation, quickly developed techniques more suited to Great Wilderness Martial Arts.
Furthermore, some sects have, with these researched techniques, defeated one Great Wilderness Warrior after another, establishing their sect's status.
As every major sect steps up their game, this leads to a rapid accumulation of various martial skills, secret techniques, and combat strategies in Great Wilderness Martial Arts, becoming increasingly abundant and diversified.
Every place in the Great Wilderness is caught up in this upsurge, except for Canglan Island, which remains as it always was.
In the Great Wilderness, aside from the Academy, another undeniable Holy Land of Martial Arts is Canglan Island.
But no one dares to rashly visit Canglan Island; only those at the very pinnacle have the right to call upon it.
"The Divine Intent Realm is indeed challenging!"
On Canglan Island, Xu Junhe sighed.
He had reached the pinnacle of the Tongxuan Realm, but was stuck at the threshold of the Divine Intent Realm, unable to break through.
Although with his current strength, he was among the very top of the Great Wilderness, and the martial arts techniques he mastered—whether in swordsmanship, palm techniques, or movement technique—far surpassed other warriors.
Yet, without entering the Divine Intent Realm, he could not ultimately suppress the entire Great Wilderness alone.
"The Divine Intent Realm is indeed difficult!"
Kou Ruozhi followed with a sigh of his own.
He too had reached the peak of the Tongxuan Realm.
"Has the Great Wilderness been stable recently?"
Xu Junhe asked.
"It's been just over a decade; the deterrence still lingers. Who dares cause trouble? Even if there are those who want to do something, they wouldn't act rashly. They need to weigh their own abilities," Kou Ruozhi said with a smile.
Xu Junhe nodded.
The once strong figures of the Inner Domain, even if they harbored some thoughts, wouldn't dare to take any action.
The top powerhouses all belong to the Great Wilderness and heed the orders of Canglan Island.
"It's been over a decade; I wonder how the Spiritual Realm is doing," Kou Ruozhi said, curiosity on his face.
The Spiritual Realm gave those from the Inner Domain a very negative impression, which is one of the reasons why those strong figures from the Inner Domain were willing to stay rather than go to the Spiritual Realm.
After all, being there was like being worse than pigs and dogs!
With that being the case, why not stay in the Inner Domain and continue to hold high positions?
Perhaps, when their lifespan is almost exhausted, they will develop a desperate desire to break through—even being worse than pigs and dogs would be a price worth paying, right?
But for now, those powerhouses are not yet desperate to that extent.
Moreover, Great Wilderness Martial Arts have given them hope.
Xu Junhe fell silent. Since Xu Yan entered the Spiritual Realm, there has been no news, and no way to establish contact.
Only in times of crisis would one crush a 'parent-child bea'd to send a simple message.
But since there has been no crisis, there is no need to crush the 'parent-child bea'd.
"With a senior there, nothing would have happened," Xu Junhe said with a smile.
Kou Ruozhi nodded.
After discussing some recent policies and making several arrangements, Kou Ruozhi left to head to the capital of the Great Wilderness to assist Guo Rongshan with managing the affairs of state and other matters.
"Only by breaking through to the Divine Intent Realm can I truly feel at ease," Xu Junhe murmured to himself.
When Xu Yan will return, or if he will return at all, remains uncertain.
My son has grown up and wants to venture out into this vast world, to pursue the Martial Arts he holds dear in his heart, and when he might return home for a visit remains an unknown.
Once too much time passes by, some people who are unable to continue making breakthroughs and face their own mortality might begin to harbor certain thoughts.
At such times, only by having overwhelming strength can one suppress these ideas.
Only by breaking through to the Divine Intent Realm can one possess such strength.
As for the Divine Origin Realm, that's far too distant, with no known time on when the breakthrough can occur.
Just breaking through to the Divine Intent Realm would be enough to dominate the unbeatable Great Wilderness.
"Madam, you should spend more time cultivating,"
In the Spirit Fruit Forest of Canglan Island, Xu Junhe watched his wife with a helpless expression.
More than a decade had passed, Mother Xu still looked as youthful as ever, but her strength had improved quite a bit, having reached the Perfection of the Innate Realm.
In recent years, she had been in the Spirit Fruit Forest, drawing Formation Diagrams and delving into the study of Formations,
seemingly making some gains.
"Cultivating is too tiresome. I'd rather continue researching Formation Diagrams. The Innate Realm is long-lived enough, and besides, I'll be able to break through in a few years, so what's the rush?"
Mother Xu glanced at her husband with dissatisfaction.
Xu Junhe had a look of resignation and could only let her be, turning to ask, "Madam, have you made any progress with your research into formations?"
"Of course, I have. It's just that I'm lacking some materials, or else I could have set it up by now."
As soon as Mother Xu started talking about formations, she proudly said,
then sighed suddenly, "I don't know when Yan'er or Red Cat will return."
"They should be back soon,"
Xu Junhe said with a smile.
Mother Xu gave him a look, "You've been saying that for years."
Immediately, she sighed again, "Yan'er is fixated on Martial Arts, venturing in the Spiritual Realm, how could he return so quickly? It might take decades, or even a century."
Xu Junhe fell silent.
The Flying Boat headed straight for Canglan Island, observing the drastic changes in the Great Wilderness along the way.
Every ten thousand miles stood a huge city, established by the Great Wilderness in various regions, with each city governing tens of thousands of miles around it.
And every hundred thousand miles, there was an even bigger city, ruling over ten cities, each bustling immensely.
"The Great Wilderness has changed so much, and although the Spiritual Energy is thinner, in terms of prosperity, it's not inferior to the Spiritual Realm,"
Xu Yan exclaimed.
The changes in the Great Wilderness would continue unabated, the region itself was vast and boundless.
The cities were built on strategic locations, connected and commanding each other, and there were even more wild, seldom trodden places that were usually where Spiritual Medicines were harvested.
"That's an Elixir Field."
Meng Shushu pointed ahead to the medicinal fields carved out between the mountains as she spoke.
"Upon my return, I should impart more knowledge to the Great Wilderness,"
Du Yuying said with a beaming smile.
After all, the Spiritual Realm was more prosperous than the Great Wilderness and its Martial Arts more flourishing, with more advanced methods of cultivating Spiritual Medicines. This return was just the right opportunity to bring these advancements back to the Great Wilderness.
Cai Ling'er and Yue'er were somewhat surprised.
Xu Yan and the others, it seemed, came from the legendary Inner Domain?
The Inner Domain, to have produced such a prodigious figure?
Their gazes shifted to Li Xuan, and then they understood; where a high-caliber individual resided naturally became a land of blessings, producing prodigies was no surprise at all.
"The Inner Domain is vast, with so many cities. If each city had a Teleportation Formation, connected with each other, it would facilitate the flow of people and even more prosperity.
"Unfortunately, I didn't ask Brother Bai for some Teleportation Formations,"
Xu Yan said with a tinge of regret.
Such matters as setting up formations naturally were not something to trouble his master with.
The Flying Boat became a pale green streak of light, heading towards Canglan Island, intentionally slowing down to survey the changes in the Great Wilderness along the way.
Inside a certain Prefecture City, the boisterous new branch of the Great Wilderness Martial Arts Academy was filled with a clamor of voices and a gathering of strong individuals, where the pride of this prefecture eagerly awaited their assessments.
Bai Yunkong sat at the forefront, personally visiting this branch academy and watching the arriving prodigies with satisfaction. Among these talents, a small number would be admitted to the Great Wilderness Academy, becoming members of the institution.
Students from the Great Wilderness Academy were the individuals the region emphasized on nurturing, the true cornerstone of the Great Wilderness, bearing the responsibility of maintaining and strengthening the domain.
Suddenly, his expression sharpened, and his heart skipped a beat.
In the sky, a pale green light was passing by, and that light was extraordinary!
Without attracting any attention, he nodded to the academy's dean and excused himself. He did not alarm the others, and his figure soared into the sky in an instant, chasing after the streak of light.