As Su Mo walked, one question lingered in his mind: How powerful can a cultivator at each realm truly be?
Take Yang Jie, for instance. He single-handedly slaughtered over thirty elite fighters, suffering only minor injuries while his enemies met gruesome ends.
Using himself as a benchmark, Su Mo estimated that those at the Body Refining Realm (F-rank) were far superior to ordinary humans in physical ability. Without techniques or weapons, he figured he could take on a dozen regular people without much trouble.
The Qi Condensation Realm (E-rank), however, was a different story. Forget the later-stage ability to injure others with Qi—even the basic physical enhancements were on a level the Body Refining Realm couldn’t hope to match.
Hmm… Could I take on a dozen Body Refining cultivators?
Come to think of it, Ye Qingyi was currently at the Body Refining Realm.
Su Mo’s mind conjured an image of a dozen Ye Qingyi’s being beaten up by him alone, and the corner of his mouth curled up involuntarily.
Heh heh heh…
“Hey, quit grinning like a creep. You’re the school beauty, remember?” Ye Qingyi suddenly jabbed him and glared.
“Relax, this beauty has no celebrity airs—I’m approachable.” He stuck out his tongue playfully, just as Sun Yuchen turned around.
Sun Yuchen’s jaw dropped in an exaggerated yawn before he started nodding forward, backward, left, right, and rolling his neck…
“If you keep messing around, I swear I’ll… I’ll streak naked.”
The last two words were barely audible, but Su Mo caught them and nearly choked. “You can’t even say it properly. You really think I’d believe you?”
“Believe what you want.” Ye Qingyi, realizing she had no leverage, gritted her teeth in frustration, stewing silently.
Gahhh! So infuriating!
Just as their usual bickering reached its peak, a cry rang out from ahead: “Look! There’s a palace up there!”
Su Mo turned—and froze.
Wasn’t that the mirage from before? It’s real? Then what about the emperor with his army of tens of thousands?
If those soldiers had all turned into the undead… Tens of thousands of F-rank zombies, especially with their physical enhancements, would be a nightmare.
Their group only had eighty-some people. There was no way they could handle that kind of numbers, even with Yang Jie’s overwhelming strength. He might escape, but the rest would die.
Yang Jie didn’t rush in recklessly. Instead, he sent scouts ahead. Only after confirming no immediate threats did he lead the group forward. Su Mo shared his vision of the past with Yang Jie, who remained unfazed, as if he’d expected it.
“These ruins are remnants of ancient times. Strange phenomena like this are common—nothing to be shocked about.” He paused, then added, “Still, caution is wise. I’ll keep an eye out.”
When they reached the palace’s grand plaza, they found every stone brick meticulously cut, polished to a smooth finish, and engraved with anti-slip patterns.
“The ancients were brilliant. With just their hands, they achieved precision like this—puts our shoddy modern construction to shame,” someone marveled.
“They didn’t have machines, but their hands might’ve been better. This was the height of cultivation civilization, after all,” another reasoned.
The vast plaza was mostly empty, offering little of interest. Once the novelty wore off, all eyes turned to the palace.
Atop a thousand-step staircase, the golden-hued palace radiated sacred grandeur, stirring an irresistible longing in all who beheld it.
Su Mo followed the group up the steps, but with each step, his mind grew hazier. Before they’d even covered a tenth of the climb, over half the team was dizzy or nauseated.
A forced rest didn’t help—the symptoms only worsened.
Yang Jie had them descend slightly, and sure enough, the discomfort eased.
“These steps must be imbued with a mental suppression effect. The higher you go, the stronger the pressure. Most of you are E or F-rank—your minds haven’t been tempered enough to endure this yet.”
After some thought, Yang Jie decided to press onward with a few D-ranks to test their limits.
Three gave up around the 200th step.
Surprisingly, Sun Yuchen lasted until the 250th—his mental resilience surpassed even seasoned D-ranks.
Yang Jie, true to Su Mo’s expectations, showed no signs of slowing even at the halfway point.
“Damn, our commander’s on another level!”
“Of course! He’s a B-rank—Hao Ran Realm. Among all national commanders, he’s elite. Most elders in the Council are only B-rank too.”
“Where’d you hear that nonsense? Council elders have to be A-rank at least!”
“You think A-ranks grow on trees? There aren’t that many.”
“Did you just call the elders vegetables? You got a death wish?”
“Piss off!”
Listening in, Su Mo noticed most used the letter-based ranking system (F to A) rather than the traditional realm names (Body Refining, Qi Condensation, etc.).
The reasons varied—international standardization, the realm system’s incompatibility with awakened abilities—but personally, he preferred the traditional terms. Why? Simple: They sounded cooler.
From the chatter, he learned Yang Jie was B-rank (Hao Ran Realm), having unlocked his mental sea. No wonder his willpower dwarfed the others’.
Yet even he stopped around the 600th step, forced to retreat.
“It seems our strength isn’t enough to enter the palace,” Yang Jie admitted, disappointment evident.
If even a Hao Ran cultivator couldn’t ascend, only those at the Heavenly Human Realm (A-rank) stood a chance.
As the group waited for orders, Yang Jie waved them off. “Search the surroundings in teams. See if there’s anything useful. I’ll… think of something.”
Su Mo and Ye Qingyi, unaffiliated with any team, stayed by Yang Jie’s side.
“Commander Yang, I’d like to try.”
Yang Jie raised an eyebrow. “You’re confident?”
His deadpan tone almost made it seem like Su Mo was some hidden expert.
“Don’t joke—I’m just Qi Condensation. I want to see how far I can go.”
Last time, he’d stopped at the 100th step, but that wasn’t his limit. He genuinely wanted to gauge his mental strength.
“Fine. Don’t push yourself. Overstraining could scar your soul permanently.”
Su Mo nodded and started climbing.
Not to be outdone, Ye Qingyi turned to Yang Jie—only for him to cut her off with a knowing look. “Go ahead. Youngsters should explore their limits. Just don’t break yourself.”
Ye Qingyi: “…”
This commander acts all stern, but he’s low-key a troll…
“Achoo!” Yang Jie sniffed. “Who’s talking about me?”