Rise of the Sword Son-in-Law

Chapter 191: The Imperial Capital Academy

"The Spirit Realm? How could my mother have gone to the Spirit Realm?" Xu Ping’an said with a look of surprise on his face.

It seemed his mother’s cultivation wasn’t high, so how did she end up in the Spirit Realm?

Did she go on her own, or was she taken by someone?

Xu Ping’an actually leaned more towards the latter possibility, thinking his mother might have been taken away by someone for some reason.

"As for the specific reason, we are just as clueless. After a lengthy investigation, we only found that your mother had appeared in the royal household of the Earth Spirit Immortal Dynasty at some point, and later we heard that she was taken away by someone from the Earth Spirit Immortal Dynasty," Nangong Bo replied.

"The Earth Spirit Immortal Dynasty? The Earth Spirit Immortal Emperor?" Xu Ping’an frowned.

Xu Ping’an wasn’t too familiar with the Earth Spirit Immortal Emperor.

He only knew that the Earth Spirit Immortal Emperor was very secretive, someone who had lived for a very long time.

Of course, his mother’s affair might not be related to the Earth Spirit Immortal Emperor. The Four Great Spirit Realms were vast and had many powers.

Who specifically took his mother away still needed to be investigated.

"I understand. I will make a trip to the Earth Spirit Immortal Dynasty. Additionally, I plan to participate in the imperial capital’s martial arts competition. If I can earn entry to the Jade Spirit Realm, I might be able to enter the Earth Spirit Realm through it," Xu Ping’an said.

"You’re going to participate in the imperial capital’s martial arts competition?" Nangong Bo was somewhat surprised as well.

However, it made sense when he thought about it, since Xu Ping’an was the top contender in Tianlong County, and it was only natural for him to participate in the imperial capital’s competition.

"If you are participating in the competition, then I must warn you, this competition is extremely challenging. It’s said that there are many prodigies, and among the information I received, there are no fewer than five participants of the Fifth Rank. Do not underestimate these prodigies; their strength is formidable, and they are capable of killing beyond their own level," Nangong Bo said.

"Grandfather, what kind of powers does the Great Qin Immortal Dynasty have?" Xu Ping’an asked.

After thinking for a moment upon hearing Xu Ping’an’s question, Nangong Bo said, "Generally, the powers of the Great Qin Immortal Dynasty are divided into three grades: Upper Grade, Middle Grade, and Lower Grade. There are many Lower Grade powers, and your Beichen Sword Sect is one of them."

Xu Ping’an felt a bit embarrassed, but it was the truth.

The Beichen Sword Sect was indeed a minor sect. Such sects were plentiful in the Great Qin Immortal Dynasty, numbering at least ninety, if not one hundred.

"And the Middle Grade powers?" Xu Ping’an asked.

"Middle Grade powers include the major prefectures and counties. The Great Qin Immortal Dynasty has a total of thirty-six prefectures. Our Beishan Prefecture is only ranked twelfth, while your Tianlong County is even lower, at thirtieth," Nangong Bo explained.

Xu Ping’an nodded.

Tianlong County’s strength was far behind that of Beishan Prefecture.

He just hadn’t expected Tianlong County’s ranking to be so low.

"What about the Upper Grade powers?" Xu Ping’an inquired.

"There are seven Upper Grade powers in total, which are the Imperial College, the Imperial Royal Family, the Shangxian Sect, Hehuan Sect, Tiankui Sect, the Refining Alliance, and the Zhi Sha Sect," Nangong Bo listed.

Xu Ping’an nodded in understanding, familiar with all of these powers except for the Zhi Sha Sect.

These factions were likely to participate in this imperial capital’s martial arts competition.

With so many talents among these powers, competing for those five spots was going to be exceptionally difficult.

"What is this Zhi Sha Sect? I’ve never heard of it," Xu Ping’an asked with surprise.

"The Zhi Sha Sect is a bit complicated. It was founded by a defector from the Imperial College. Their creed is ’to kill to stop killing, aiming for universal peace.’ Though tagged as defectors, that individual is exceptionally talented. They reached the Third Rank by twelve, broke through to the Fifth Rank at fifteen, and achieved the Seventh Rank by twenty. Three years ago, it was rumored that they had reached the Eighth Rank Peak, and now, no one knows if they have broken through to the Ninth Rank," Nangong Bo said.

Xu Ping’an was astonished.

Breaking through to the Seventh Rank by the age of twenty was something not even many geniuses from the Spirit Realm could achieve.

This person was indeed a freak of nature.

"Is this Imperial College very strong?" Xu Ping’an asked.

"Extremely strong. Would you believe it’s the number one power of the Great Qin Immortal Dynasty?" Nangong Bo stated.

"The number one power? Isn’t that supposed to be the Imperial Royal Family?" Xu Ping’an questioned.

"No, the Imperial College is the strongest. It has existed since before the current dynasty, and even the current emperor hails from there. How could the Imperial College not be powerful?" Nangong Bo said.

Xu Ping’an was taken aback.

The Imperial College was that strong?

"Not only is it powerful, but its legacy is also long-standing. It’s said the Imperial College has been around for two thousand years. How deep its roots go is anybody’s guess," Nangong Bo declared.

Xu Ping’an was incredibly surprised.

Initially, he had heard that the Imperial College was the foremost sect of the Great Qin Immortal Dynasty, but he hadn’t given it much thought at the time.

After all, that ranking did not take the imperial royal family into account.

Only now, after hearing his grandfather’s words, did Xu Ping’an begin to sense the unfathomable depth of the Imperial College.

Two thousand years?

Even in his previous life, he had not yet been born.

That’s right, although Xu Ping’an became an Immortal Emperor in his previous life, he had not been an emperor for very long.

In fact, he was the youngest Immortal Emperor at the time.

"So how come the headmaster of the Imperial College is only at the Ninth Rank?" Xu Ping’an asked.

"The strength of the headmaster isn’t the strongest; what’s truly terrifying are the elders behind him, some old antiques who may still be alive," Nangong Bo said solemnly.

Xu Ping’an nodded.

Although the Mortal Realm has restrictions, forbidding breakthroughs to the Tenth Rank within it,

these experts could go to the Spirit Realm to break through, and then return.

After returning, despite being suppressed by the heaven and earth’s laws, it does not affect them; their burst of strength is still much stronger than that of a regular Ninth Rank expert.

This, Xu Ping’an knew.

In that case, the Imperial College must have some powerful old antiques, or even ancient fossils.

Suddenly, Xu Ping’an thought of something - he had wondered where all the successive Immortal Emperors of the Spirit Realm had gone, as if they had vanished.

He had even investigated it, but after searching across the Four Great Spirit Realms, he found nothing.

In the end, he thought that these people might have gone to the Divine Realm.

Now, it seems that might not be the case; these people might have hidden themselves in the Human Realm.

Within the Human Realm, their cultivation was suppressed at the Ninth Rank level, so it was fundamentally impossible to detect their existence.

Thinking this, Xu Ping’an felt it was even more likely.

However, he was puzzled; what would these people be doing by hiding in the Mortal Realm?

Could it be that the Mortal Realm has some special significance?

Of course, this was just his speculation; some experts might have indeed gone to the Divine Realm.

"Is the Hehuan Sect very strong?" Xu Ping’an asked.

"Not strong," Nangong Bo replied.

"If not strong, why is it ranked third among sects, just behind the Shangxian Sect?" Xu Ping’an asked, confused.

He had learned a bit about the Shangxian Sect, an influential force founded three hundred years ago with not a bad foundation.

But it was not considered a special force and Xu Ping’an did not care much about it.

The power he truly cared about was that of forces like the Imperial College.

"Because their sect’s women are scattered across the world, related to many powerful people, and even the Imperial College and the imperial royal family have many wives who hail from the Hehuan Sect, so Hehuan Sect’s influence is quite substantial," Nangong Bo explained.

Xu Ping’an understood.

One could say that the true strength of the Hehuan Sect lay in its network of relationships.

The intrinsic strength of the sect itself was not too strong.

Xu Ping’an did not continue the conversation but fell into deep thought. If the Great Qin Immortal Dynasty had a force like the Imperial College, then surely other Immortal Dynasties must have as well.

In the past, he had not cared about the Mortal Realm, but now it seemed to him that the waters of the Mortal Realm were much deeper than he had imagined.

"This trip to the imperial capital, I’ll see just what the Imperial College is truly like," Xu Ping’an said to himself.

Planning to set off tomorrow.