Chapter 574: My Student Has the Potential of a Heavenly King

There were many so-called geniuses in this world, yet throughout the Human Federation's history of cultivation, only one person had managed to reach the Ninth Heavenly Realm within a year, shaking the entire cultivation world a decade ago.

With increasingly perfected cultivation arts, abundant resources, and a well-established training system, graduating in the Sixth Heavenly Realm by the third year already marked someone as a top-level genius today.

Even so, those geniuses still needed years after graduation to break into the Seventh Heavenly Realm. Reaching the Eighth Heavenly Realm took even longer.

Aside from them, the majority of cultivators still graduated at the Fourth Heavenly Realm, with a few managing the Fifth. They typically joined the military or various government departments.

The Federation hardly had any freak who had managed to break through to the Seventh Heavenly Realm by graduation. This was made abundantly clear during the ruins' expedition.

Back then, when the strongest geniuses of the Federation’s three great empires and over ten medium-sized nations gathered, everyone realized that only a handful had reached the Seventh Heavenly Realm.

Reaching the Eighth Heavenly Realm as a first-year? That was nothing but a pipe dream.

Hence, when Pang Long asked if anyone had reached the Eighth Heavenly Realm and come to the frontline in their first year in high school, the elite experts around him naturally burst into laughter.

Jiang Long, their captain, even scoffed.

However, as they watched Chen Chu and Luo Fei flying hundreds of meters ahead, Pang Long slowly said, "I’m serious. It seems my student has really broken through to the Eighth Heavenly Realm."

In a serious tone, Lin Xiong added, "Old Pang doesn’t seem to be lying. Although their auras have changed dramatically, those two flying toward us are definitely his students."

The graveness in their tones made their squadmates’ laughter gradually fade, replaced by expressions of doubt and astonishment.

Is this really true?

Chen Chu, who had been walking in the air alongside Luo Fei, landed gracefully before Pang Long and the others.

With a warm smile, he greeted, "Mr. Pang, Mr. Lin, it’s been a while."

"It’s only been a few days,’" Pang Long replied and then took a deep breath. With a slightly trembling voice, he asked, "Chen Chu, if I remember correctly, you were only at the Fourth Heavenly Realm when you went to the southern battlefield five months ago. When did you break through to the Eighth Heavenly Realm?"

Chen Chu shook his head. "I’m not at the Eighth Heavenly Realm, sir."

The crowd collectively sighed in relief.

So he isn't at the Eighth Heavenly Realm after all.

Pang Long and Lin Xiong, however, were confused.

Not the Eighth Heavenly Realm?

Chen Chu deliberately paused before smiling again. "I’ve already broken through to the Ninth Heavenly Realm."

A powerful Ninth Heavenly Realm aura exploded from him.

Boom!

The ground beneath Chen Chu collapsed, and a frightening domain force erupted, compressing the surrounding air and forming a massive shockwave. The sheer pressure forced everyone back dozens of meters.

Chen Chu had only released a fraction of his power, yet it was enough to leave everyone petrified, their faces filled with disbelief.

"What just happened?"

"What’s going on?"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

His aura’s sudden burst instantly drew the attention of nearby elite squads. Hundreds of figures exuding Seventh and Eighth Heavenly Realm auras flashed over and gathered around the scene.

The onlookers’ sharp eyes narrowed at Chen Chu, who stood in mid-air with Ninth Heavenly Realm domain power swirling around him. Their auras instinctively linked to confront him.

From their perspective, Chen Chu, a powerful figure on the Abyssal Battlefield, had just unleashed his domain and forced Pang Long and the others back. To them, this was a clear provocation against the Second Legion's elite squads.

Realizing what was happening, Pang Long quickly shouted, "Calm down, everyone! He’s my student! My student!"

The late-stage Eighth Heavenly Realm expert leading the group frowned. "Old Pang, what nonsense are you spouting?"

The others also looked skeptical. A middle-stage Seventh Heavenly Realm cultivator claiming that such a young-looking Ninth Heavenly Realm powerhouse was his student? They looked at him as if he hadn’t woken up yet.

Is this why the young man lashed out?

Jiang Long took a deep breath and explained, "Old Lian, Pang Long isn’t lying. That young man really is his student. He’s a first-year high school student."

The middle-aged leader nearly choked on his own saliva. The cultivators in the area were also stunned, their minds turning blank.

A first-year student... at the Ninth Heavenly Realm?!

Are you sure this isn’t a joke?

"Old Jiang, can I take a swing at him just to confirm?"

"Get lost!"

Chen Chu smiled faintly before the watchful eyes of the advanced experts around him. He then retracted his domain's power and aura.

It was human nature to show off in front of others, but his personality was relatively grounded; his desire to show off wasn't usually this strong.

He only thought of doing it today to surprise familiar faces, like Pang Long and Lin Xiong.

Chen Chu no longer had to keep his cultivation realm a secret anyway. In fact, once the upcoming great battle ended, being a Ninth Heavenly Realm cultivator would no longer hold that much weight.

After a few minutes of recovery, Pang Long smiled wryly. "Chen Chu, that surprise of yours was a bit scary."

Chen Chu humbly replied, "I was also a bit surprised myself. I had a lot of trouble breaking through the Fourth Heavenly Realm. It took me nearly two months to just cross the Third Heavenly Realm.

"However, I’ve been feeling as if my cultivation speed has accelerated since then. I only needed a month to create my own top-level secret scripture. I also just recently broke through to the Ninth Heavenly Realm."

What the hell? Is he even human?

The mouths of the hundreds of high-level experts around him twitched.

Even Lin Xiong couldn’t help but feel a little moved. The way Chen Chu flaunted himself was much smoother than how Pang Long made a show of his aura by walking around the school for half a day after breaking through to the Seventh Heavenly Realm.

Perhaps it was just that both teacher and student shared the same love for showing off.

Fortunately, his student An Fuqing didn't share that habit.

As the former top genius of the Nantian Martial Arts High School, she has likely already broken through to the Sixth Heavenly Realm. Perhaps she’s gone even further.

Considering Chen Chu had become a Ninth Heavenly Realm powerhouse in just a few months, Lin Xiong couldn’t help but feel uncertain.

Pang Long took a deep breath and looked toward the smiling girl beside Chen Chu. "Luo Fei, don't tell me you've also reached the Ninth Heavenly Realm?"

The girl shook her head. "Mr. Pang, I am not as talented as Chen Chu. I'm only at the Sixth Heavenly Realm right now."

Well, at least it’s just the Sixth Heavenly Realm.

People around them subconsciously nodded in agreement.

With Chen Chu around—a Ninth Heavenly Realm first-year monster—Pang Long found it easy to accept the fact that the other genius from the same year had reached the Sixth Heavenly Realm.

When the shock passed, the conversation shifted to catching up. Pang Long and Lin Xiong inquired about what Chen Chu had gone through since entering the southern battlefield and whether he had begun the path to divinity.

As they chatted, the soldiers in the distance began following their superiors’ command to build a temporary base camp.

The engineers released base structures and construction buildings from their spatial equipment, assembling a base from nothing as easily and quickly as putting together building blocks.

High above in the other three directions, more camps and lights were rising in a busy yet orderly fashion.

Soon, a mythical-level pressure erupted from the sky, instantly making the atmosphere tremble. Shockwaves swept across an area of more than ten kilometers.

A white-scaled colossal beast over 800 meters long emerged. It had a shoulder height of nearly 300 meters and countless white hairs poking out from between the gaps of its scales.

Behind the beast were eight white fox tails, each a thousand meters long. They spread out and obscured the night sky, emanating an overwhelming mythical aura.

Standing next to the colossal beast was a figure enveloped in white divine light, radiating king-level pressure.

Far in the distance, white light covered the night sky, forming a winding white path that stretched on for hundreds of kilometers. An endlessly glowing person appeared atop it.

Everyone instinctively looked at the hazy figure with three pairs of white wings with respect in their eyes.

As Gabriel appeared, a beam of white light descended from the sky and enveloped Chen Chu and Luo Fei, pulling them into the sky before the astonished eyes of Pang Long and the others.

On the soft light "carpet,” Gabriel looked at Chen Chu and Luo Fei with curiosity. "What are you two doing here?"

"Greetings, Your Majesties," Chen Chu greeted politely before explaining, "My teacher is a member of the Second Legion, so I came to visit."

"I see."

Both Qingqiu Tianyao and Gabriel smiled faintly. No one could resist liking juniors who understood etiquette and gratitude.

With his peerless looks and noble aura, Qingqiu Tianyao smiled slightly. "I know you, Chen Chu. Minghui mentioned that you’ve also cultivated the Space-Time Summoning Secret Art."

Chen Chu nodded. "Yes."

"How is your cultivation of that secret art going? Does anything confuse you?"

This was just their first meeting, but Chen Chu's respectful attitude as a junior left a very good impression on Qingqiu Tianyao. Hence, he was prepared to give him some guidance.

Chen Chu politely replied, "It's going well. My Space-Time Summoning Secret Art has reached the advanced level."

Surprised, Qingqiu Tianyao paused before exclaiming, "What?!”

As the creator of the secret art, Qingqiu Tianyao believed that no one understood summoning secret arts better than him. Likewise, he knew just how difficult it was to cultivate it.

It not only involved the powers of time and space but even causality. Moreover, its requirements were very strict, demanding the bloodline of powerful creatures as well as scales or similar media.

Most importantly, the summoning beast’s acknowledgment was needed. Only after achieving soul resonance with it could one cultivate it to the advanced level.

Only three months had passed since Qingqiu Minghui had last reported to him earlier. Hence, he couldn’t help but be somewhat surprised by Chen Chu’s cultivation speed.

"Chen Chu really has cultivated your secret art to the advanced level. Earlier, he summoned a projection of a colossal beast in the Expansion Division and killed Battle Demon King Augusta, who summoned its past incarnation with the blood of a demon god," said Gabriel.

Qingqiu Tianyao, a king-level powerhouse, couldn’t help but be shocked even further. "

Huh?!

"

Chen Chu’s information had been kept under wraps. Hence, even Qingqiu Tianyao, who was in charge of the Sky Battlefield, had been unaware of those events.

Luo Fei blinked, her eyes gleaming as she looked at Chen Chu.

Counterattacking a demon king was an unprecedented feat for a beginning-stage Ninth Heavenly Realm cultivator.

Gabriel smiled, somewhat satisfied with Qingqiu Tianyao’s reaction. After all, Chen Chu had been leaving her astonished for a long time.

The Eight-Tailed Celestial Fox slowly approached and curiously looked at Chen Chu. It then growled lowly in greeting.

After Qingqiu Tianyao had recovered from the shock, Gabriel commanded, "Let’s go. The others should be about ready. It’s good that you’re here, Chen Chu."

"Let’s go!" replied Chen Chu.

The endless light above them suddenly contracted. Gabriel and the others instantly vanished into the spatial distortion.

Looking up at the night sky, now lightless again, Pang Long asked, "Old Lin, do you think Chen Chu will break through to the king level within ten years?"

Ninth Heavenly Realm in a year—Chen Chu’s immense talent made everyone believe that he would reach the king level.

"Who should I ask?"

Lin Xiong shook his head. The king level and the heavenly king level were two completely different concepts. Even after decades, only eleven humans had managed to become heavenly kings, and each of them was exceptionally talented.

Jiang Long excitedly patted Pang Long's shoulder. "Pang Long, you're going to be amazing! If your student becomes a king or a heavenly king, even if it doesn’t take you to new heights, your descendants will certainly benefit!"

Pang Long rolled his eyes. "I’m not even married yet, and you’re already talking about descendants?"

"Hurry up and find a beautiful woman to marry in the Abyssal City, then! You’re a Seventh Heavenly Realm powerhouse in your thirties! Many beautiful women will want to marry you."

"Get lost."

"Alright, stop bragging. Everyone get back to work! Jiang Long, your group is in charge of the A-115 peak coordinates. Clear out the mutated beasts in the area."

...

Above Abyssal City, in a massive structure floating several kilometers high, hundreds of people filled a half-circular conference room. Most of them emitted Ninth Heavenly Realm auras except for a few who were only at the Eighth Heavenly Realm.

"It’s been years, Old Li, yet your cultivation hasn’t improved much. You’re still stuck at the peak of Ninth Heavenly Realm."

"Of course! Do you think breaking through to the king level is easy? Aren’t you still stuck at the peak yourself even though it’s been ten years?"

"Stop flattering each other! Can’t you think about the emotions of those of us in the late stage of Ninth Heavenly Realm?"

Li Daoyi, who was standing behind a solemn-looking elder, looked somewhat bored as he watched the old men flatter each other. He knew he shouldn’t have followed them up here.

The elder turned around and slapped Li Daoyi on the head. "Why are you following me? This seat is for us old guys. You should go sit with those people. They are the most talented young geniuses of the Federation in the past ten years.

"Although you’re an Innate Awakener, their talents don’t pale that much in comparison to yours. In fact, the three on the far left are also Innate Awakeners.

"Moreover, several of them are descendants of kings, each possessing talent no weaker than their ancestors, who have walked their own paths. As long as they don’t die young, they have a good chance of breaking through to the king level.

"The remaining nine are all Ninth Heavenly Realm geniuses under twenty-five. Two of them have even reached the late stage."

"So strong."

Li Daoyi was surprised, but only a little. After all, he was also an Innate Awakener and had already broken through to the Eighth Heavenly Realm.

Considering his dual Innate Thunderbolts' origins had broken through the limits of an Innate Awakener, he was confident that he could break through to the Ninth Heavenly Realm in six months and reach the middle stage before graduation.

A talent like him was rare in the entire Federation.

Despite his self-confidence, though, Li Daoyi still decided to walk over to the Federation geniuses after a moment of contemplation, intending to get familiar with them.