I became a god through frontier slaughter, and I crushed the academy's prodigies!

The moment Xiao Ting saw Shen Tian, ​​he was somewhat dumbfounded.

He had originally planned to spend the next month in a frenzied seclusion, enduring the most severe lightning strikes, until he finally reached the threshold of the seventh rank. He was just waiting for Shen Tian to arrive in Kunlun, by which time he would have already achieved the seventh rank.

Although Shen Tian may surpass him in the future, he can at least show off in front of Shen Tian.

To everyone's surprise, Shen Tian didn't give them a chance at all.

They broke through three minor realms in just one month; that speed of breakthrough is simply incredible.

It is common knowledge that those who are born with innate awakening have no bottlenecks.

For those below the ninth level, breaking through to a higher realm is as easy as drinking water.

But it depends on who you're comparing it to.

If compared to "ordinary geniuses" like Li Xuangang, then this statement is correct.

If it's compared to Shen Tian...

There's no comparison at all!

Below the ninth level, there are only bottlenecks!

They broke through from the early stage of the sixth rank to the peak of the sixth rank in just one month.

I was stuck at the peak of the sixth rank for a whole month.

If this isn't a bottleneck, what is?

"Brother Shen, where did you buy this cheat? Could you give me an internal link?"

Xiao Ting swallowed hard, trying to hide his extreme embarrassment.

Standing on her flying sword, Li Changge looked at Xiao Ting's out-of-control expression and sneered:

"What? Kunlun Chief, who's known as the Thunder King, short-circuited himself with his own electricity?"

"You know nothing!"

Xiao Ting glared at Li Changge, then grabbed Shen Tian's arm with practiced ease.

"There are still three days until the Kunlun Baptism. You'll stay at our academy for these three days. Come on, let me show you our hidden map—a VIP area that outsiders can never see!"

Li Changge stood there, watching the two figures disappear in an instant at the end of Yingke Peak.

Xiao Ting grabbed Shen Tian and transformed into a silver lightning bolt, instantly escaping the area of ​​Welcoming Guest Peak.

After passing through the thunderclouds that were thousands of meters thick, Shen Tian's view suddenly opened up.

The scene filled with raging silver-blue arcs of electricity vanished in an instant.

Instead, a strange space appeared.

Xiao Ting pulled Shen Tian and brought the car to a sudden stop in mid-air, the remaining electric light around them turning into fragments of light and dissipating.

He turned his head, as if showing off, and raised his eyebrows at Shen Tian.

"Welcome to the hidden server of Kunlun Academy, the real closed beta test area."

Shen Tian ignored the gaming slang that Xiao Ting used.

His gaze passed over Xiao Ting's shoulder and landed on the vast and boundless strange space in front of him.

It was an independent world completely detached from the physical laws of Earth.

Without any support, ninety-nine enormous landmasses floated silently in the void.

The smallest plate has an area of ​​over 500 square kilometers, while the largest main island stretches for thousands of kilometers, like an ancient behemoth lurking in the depths of the universe.

Against a backdrop of deep starry blue, the surfaces of those plates are covered with large swaths of thick bronze green.

The power of heaven and earth here is extremely concentrated.

At the edge of the plate, a milky white waterfall, formed from the condensed power of heaven and earth, cascaded down, creating a dazzling seven-colored halo in the void.

Shen Tian narrowed his eyes slightly, and the True Meaning of Penetrating Emptiness flowed deep within his pupils.

He saw countless invisible golden threads traversing the entire starry sky, anchoring the ninety-nine floating islands firmly in the void.

"Isn't that amazing?"

Xiao Ting patted Shen Tian on the shoulder and pulled him toward the nearest floating island.

"When I was three years old, the old man brought me here for the first time, and my jaw almost dropped. I thought I had traveled back in time."

The two of them stood firmly on the heavy bronze stone slab.

Shen Tian squatted down, his slender fingers tracing the patterns on the stone slab.

A rough texture came through, and the stone slab was covered with intricate lines.

The patterns before my eyes, though seemingly chaotic, subtly conform to some kind of law governing the operation of heaven and earth.

With just a gentle touch of mental energy, the stone slab emitted a strange fluctuation.

Shen Tian withdrew his finger and stood up.

With his current understanding of the true meaning of martial arts, he could clearly feel that these bronze stone tablets were automatically absorbing the power of heaven and earth in the surrounding void.

"People from outside are desperate to get into this place."

Xiao Ting walked along, hands in his pockets, talking non-stop as he went.

"Look at these floor tiles. The old man told me that this place already existed before Kunlun was even a Taoist academy."

The two walked up a wide bronze staircase.

On both sides of the steps stand enormous stone sculptures, each hundreds of meters tall.

Most of the stone carvings have been severely weathered over the long years and have lost their original appearance.

Even from the remaining outlines, one can still feel the unrestrained spirit that the sculptor poured into it back then.

One of the more complete stone sculptures caught Shen Tian's attention.

It was the back view of a human wearing a wide robe.

The opponent stood on a slender, sharp blade without a handguard, his body appearing ethereal and drifting with the wind.

The space around the stone sculpture was subtly distorted, as if a sharp current of air had crossed the river of time and was still cutting through the air.

Shen Tian stopped and looked up at the stone sculpture.

Stepping on sharp blades? Flying through the air?

"Isn't this statue interesting?"

Xiao Ting followed Shen Tian's gaze, and pursed his lips.

Li Changge, that kid, dreams every day of being like this statue, riding a flying sword, incredibly cool. Too bad, he's a million miles away from that.

Xiao Ting pointed to the base of the stone carving.

There are a few ancient characters faintly engraved there.

It is not the square characters currently used in China; its strokes are curved, shaped like tadpoles, and have an obscure and difficult-to-understand feel.

Shen Tian could not directly translate the meaning of these characters, but he could sense a sense of sorrow left behind by the person who carved them.

It's like a lament, or perhaps a record of some irreversible destruction.

The history of martial arts development on Earth is only a few hundred years long with clear records. It was only after the resurgence of alien beasts and the arrival of the gray fog that humanity began a frenzy of life evolution.

In the history before this, although there are many myths and legends, there has never been any conclusive evidence that such a highly advanced and extraordinary civilization existed.

This vast space, hidden beneath layers of arrays, with its ancient bronze buildings and stone sculptures treading on flying swords, all testify to a terrifying conjecture.

Many eons before the arrival of the gray fog, there may have been an extremely powerful civilization on Earth.

Xiao Ting was unaware of the turmoil in Shen Tian's heart; he remained immersed in his master's enthusiasm.

The two walked down the steps and arrived at an extremely spacious circular plaza.

The ground of the square has a translucent, glass-like texture, with rich golden luster flowing inside.

With each breath, a warm current flows through the trachea and into the limbs and bones.

In the center of the square stand three enormous stone pillars that rise into the sky.

"Next, we'll see the true essence of Kunlun."

Shen Tian looked in the direction Xiao Ting was pointing.

Deep within that nebula, a dilapidated ancient bronze palace floats faintly.

Without a waterfall, without golden anchoring threads, it hangs alone in the void, radiating a somber glow that brings everything to stillness.

Shen Tian's pupils contracted slightly, and the dormant martial arts essence within his body unexpectedly resonated slightly at this moment.

Xiao Ting raised his hand and patted Shen Tian on the back.

"Come on, I'll show you around and broaden your horizons."