Today the True Martial Sacred Ground was especially lively.

It was the day the sect opened its gates to recruit new disciples.

One could say the mountain below was a sea of people, noisy voices blending together in chaos.

Because Xu Zimo bore the Heaven's Will, the True Martial Sacred Ground had become the most renowned force of this era.

Countless people were fighting desperately for a chance to get in.

The line stretched from the mountain gate all the way down, like a long dragon.

“Did you hear? The True Martial Sacred Ground’s recruitment standards are really high, the highest among all sects.”

A youth discussed.

“Of course, the True Martial Sacred Ground is the number one force on the continent. If their standards weren’t high, how would they deserve their reputation?”

“I think you all are just wasting your time. You’ll definitely be eliminated.”

“Who gets eliminated isn’t certain yet. Don’t look down on others.”

“Exactly, in Heaven-Sun City, I’m also someone with quite a name.”

The youths chatted noisily, full of vigor and spirit, just like this spring season, with its gentle breeze and mild sunshine.

Xu Zimo walked along the steps leading up to the sect’s mountain gate.

He enjoyed this feeling, in the midst of mortal clamor, he could truly feel himself as part of the world. Not some lofty Grand Emperor above it all.

To comprehend the Dao, one must first enter the Dao, only then can one transcend.

If you do not step into the Dao, how can you speak of transcending the Dao?

…

Halfway up the mountain path, Xu Zimo saw a commotion ahead.

A crowd had gathered, pointing and whispering.

He looked up and saw that disciples of the True Martial Sacred Ground had also noticed, a group running down from the mountain gate.

“Get lost, you think you’re worthy to join the True Martial Sacred Ground? A frog in a well dreaming of the heavens.”

“Yeah, you’re just like your half-dead old man, better off dying early.”

In the crowd, fists and feet struck at someone.

At the center, there was a young boy, shielding a little girl in his arms.

No matter how many punches and kicks landed on him, he gritted his teeth and endured silently.

Someone nearby, confused, asked, “What’s going on? Did he offend you?”

“We’re all from Fang Village. This brat is a half-beast, understand? His father bore him and his sister with a demonic beast.”

“Half-beast?” People all looked at the boy with curiosity.

Behind him, a tail swayed, and his eyes were pure white, without a trace of black.

Some in the crowd laughed, some mocked, others simply stood by.

The sect disciples responsible for maintaining order came down, frowning.

“What’s all this commotion?” one asked.

“Senior brother, nothing, we were just playing,” someone replied with a laugh.

“Disperse. Whoever causes trouble again will lose their qualification for the trial.”

At these words, all the youths grew silent with fear.

They scattered immediately.

The sect disciples glanced at the boy at the center, shook their heads slightly, and eventually left.

…

The boy struggled to his feet, looking at the little girl in his arms.

“Brother, I’m scared,” the girl said in a soft voice.

“It’s alright. I will definitely become a disciple of the True Martial Sacred Ground, work hard, and protect you,” the boy said seriously, clenching his fists.

“I believe in you, brother,” the girl smiled innocently, hugging his arm.

“Effort isn’t just words,” Xu Zimo said with a smile from the side.

The boy looked up at him, silent for a while, then finally said, “I’ll prove it.”

Xu Zimo smiled faintly, casually tossing him a cultivation manual before turning and leaving.

“Who are you?” the boy looked at the manual in his hands and shouted.

“You don’t need to know,” Xu Zimo pointed at his chest. “What matters most if you want to become strong is your Dao Heart.”

The boy said nothing more, only stared as Xu Zimo’s figure disappeared from sight.

…

Back at the True Martial Sacred Ground, this was just a small episode.

He only helped because the boy seemed pleasing to him.

The boy’s Dao Heart was not bad.

Xu Zimo did not visit anyone else but began his long secluded cultivation.

He refused all visitors.

The first step of the Grand Emperor realm was to forge the Yin-Yang Bridge.

His God-Soul returned to the God World.

His figure sat cross-legged in the void, the Primordial Chaos Bead spinning above his head.

A beam of light descended from the Primordial Chaos Bead.

It enveloped Xu Zimo.

He felt his mind calmer than ever before, as if every movement around him, even the flow of air, was crystal clear.

His mind expanded severalfold in an instant.

He placed God Crystals around him, piled up, and slowly absorbed them.

Thus began his first step in enlightenment.

The Yin-Yang Bridge.

…

The Grand Dao is silent, without confidants.

Cultivate for a year, and a hundred years pass in the body.

During this century, the God Crystals around him gradually dwindled.

Seas shifted into mulberry fields, sun and moon turned in cycles.

Whether the Primordial Heartlands or the God World, both underwent tremendous changes.

The fervor for Grand Emperors began to fade.

After the fall of countless prodigies in Sky-Trap Island, new talents began to rise and seize opportunities, one after another.

In these hundred years, sects rose and fell without pause.

Rumors spread constantly across the land.

Somewhere, a prodigy accomplished a world-shaking deed, becoming famous across the continent.

The fallen ones of the past were eventually forgotten.

In a corner of the God World, in a void long forgotten for a century, Xu Zimo slowly opened his eyes.

The energies of yin and yang surged within him, releasing boundless might.

Within his body, a vast bridge took shape in shadow.

As endless yin and yang energy poured into it, the bridge grew more solid, more majestic.

Xu Zimo’s aura also grew stronger.

A rumbling thunder echoed unceasingly.

His blood energy became more vigorous. He suddenly opened his eyes, and the world within them seemed split into two extremes.

His gaze pierced layers of void, and he muttered to himself, “A hundred years… finally, I’ve entered the Yin-Yang Stage.”

And this was with the help of the Primordial Chaos Bead and countless God Crystals, otherwise, even with a thousand years, comprehension would not be certain. Such was the immense difficulty of reaching the higher realms.

…

His figure crossed through the God World and returned to the Primordial Heartlands.

Walking out from his chamber on South Goose Mountain, he felt as if lifetimes had passed.

As though he no longer belonged to this world.

The unfamiliar sunlight shone upon him, and Xu Zimo took a long time to adjust before exhaling deeply.

He looked up. Others could not see, but in the skies above, he faintly sensed a pressure from the Heavenly Dao.

He knew the time for departure was drawing near.

In the blink of an eye, a hundred years had passed.

As he stepped out of South Goose Mountain, he found the True Martial Sacred Ground filled with many unfamiliar faces, people who did not even know him. Everything had changed with time, a wave of strangeness rushing over him.

Walking toward Green Mountain, he unexpectedly encountered Little Gui.