Master, Are You Really at the Peak of the Great Emperor Realm

Is there anything else you'd like to ask?

Oh, far too many things!

"Master, do you know everything about the Tai Xuan Realm?" Chen Chang'an asked.

"Pretty much."

"What do you want to ask?" Mu Yunyao replied.

"Well, first, I’d like to ask about the Heaven, Earth, and Mortal Rankings."

"Is it really as Feng Xiu said—that they’re controlled by the rulers?" Chen Chang'an inquired.

Hearing this, Mu Yunyao pondered for a moment before answering, "Yes and no."

"The Zhou Family, as the rulers of the Tai Xuan Realm, naturally hopes to recruit true geniuses."

"Though the Tai Xuan Realm is just a lower realm, these prodigies, if properly nurtured, have immense potential."

"But geniuses are proud. The Zhou Family wouldn’t selflessly pave the way for others, so they employ some minor tricks."

"However, it’s not as extreme as Feng Xiu made it out to be."

"The cultivation techniques rewarded by the Heaven, Earth, and Mortal Rankings are incredibly powerful, luring recipients to practice them."

"But if these individuals refuse to serve the Zhou Family, the Zhou Family will reclaim all the benefits they gained from the rankings—including the cultivation progress derived from those techniques."

"In essence, once they ascend to the Primordial Immortal Domain, their strength will be drastically diminished."

"The brutality of the Primordial Immortal Domain is incomparable to the Tai Xuan Realm. Those who stand at the peak here are nothing there."

After Mu Yunyao’s explanation, Chen Chang'an had a clearer understanding.

The rankings were designed to cultivate talent, but if those talents couldn’t be controlled, the Zhou Family wouldn’t outright eliminate them—just leave them to fend for themselves while crippling their power.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. This approach wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

Gaining benefits without reciprocation? Having them revoked was only fair.

"So, the Zhou Family is essentially the 'Heavenly Dao' of the Tai Xuan Realm?" Chen Chang'an asked.

"The Heavenly Dao is merely the embodiment of rules."

"Every world has its own rules. The Zhou Family simply sets them, so calling them the Heavenly Dao isn’t entirely wrong."

"But under these rules, each world operates independently. The Zhou Family rarely interferes excessively, as too much meddling would violate the natural order itself."

"You wanted to ask why heavenly tribulations and punishments fear you, didn’t you?" Mu Yunyao smirked.

This had once puzzled Chen Chang'an. He’d assumed it was because he was exceptional—only to realize it was his master’s influence.

"I used to wonder, but now I understand."

"Master, it’s all because of your face that I have any face at all, right?" Chen Chang'an grinned.

"Nonsense. You’re my disciple. They wouldn’t dare." Mu Yunyao’s tone radiated domineering confidence.

Such overwhelming reassurance!

"But about my situation… is there really no clue at all?"

Chen Chang'an’s unique physique remained a mystery, as did the existence of his natal beads—an anomaly even in this world.

"None whatsoever."

"Your constitution isn’t just rare in the Tai Xuan Realm—even in the Primordial Immortal Domain, it’s unprecedented."

"I’ve never heard of anyone born with their cultivation talent left behind in the womb, crystallizing into natal beads."

"Sometimes I suspect you don’t belong to this realm at all."

"Yet your Chen Family is undeniably native to the Tai Xuan Realm."

Mu Yunyao, too, was baffled. Chen Chang'an’s case would shock even the denizens of the Primordial Immortal Domain.

"Oh, Master, you mentioned knowing the whereabouts of my last natal bead… Could it be in the Zhou Family’s possession?" Chen Chang'an frowned.

"Yes. They intended to use it as leverage."

Leverage?

"Because of Chen Yunxuan and the others?"

"Correct. When the rankings reappeared, I initially thought they targeted you."

"But Chen Yunxuan and the other juniors’ rapid rise caught the Zhou Family’s attention."

"Yet these youths share close ties with you, and none practiced the Zhou Family’s gifted techniques."

"So, they sought negotiations—a gesture of recruitment."

"And recruitment requires sincerity. The bead is their bargaining chip."

Something felt off to Chen Chang'an.

Five thousand years ago, the Zhou Family had sent envoys to the Nine Nether Emperor—back when neither he nor Mu Yunyao knew of the beads’ locations.

Had the Zhou Family known all along? Even prepared in advance?

If so, why not seize all the beads for greater leverage?

"Master, doesn’t this seem… questionable?" Chen Chang'an pressed.

"There are inconsistencies."

"But the Zhou Family wouldn’t dare deceive me."

"Perhaps their initial goal was solely to recruit you—as my disciple."

"Imagine exhausting yourself to collect eight beads, only for the last to elude you. Offering it then would maximize its perceived value."

"Chen Yunxuan’s emergence might’ve been unforeseen."

"Hence the rushed, haphazard rules of this ranking cycle."

Compared to past iterations, this one reeked of improvisation.

Yet the Zhou Family couldn’t have predicted Chen Yunxuan’s meteoric rise.

Against Mu Yunyao’s generation—barring her and Feng Xiu, who hailed from the Primordial Immortal Domain—these newcomers outshone all.

"Never mind their motives. What matters is knowing who holds the bead." Chen Chang'an shrugged off further speculation.

"Done asking?"

"No more questions this time?" Mu Yunyao arched a brow.

Questions?

Plenty remained—just none as pressing.

Except one.

"Master, why did you settle in a minor realm controlled by the Zhou Family? Doesn’t the Mu Clan have vaster territories?"

"Some questions shouldn’t be asked."

"Fine, fine. Then—Master, is your cultivation truly just at the Great Emperor’s peak?"

"Great Emperor peak?"

"In realm, yes. In power… no."