Global Games: Reporting the Great Ascension Stage at the Start

This great victory was completely unexpected by Shen Hua.

He had initially thought the raid was extremely dangerous. After all, the number of experts in the Taiping Sect was relatively small, while the combined number of experts above the Golden Core stage from Huang Laodao and Fang Xiandao was about three times that of the Taiping Sect.

However, he overlooked a crucial issue—although the enemy had many strong fighters, their combat strength was lacking!

The day after the great victory, Lu Chuan paid a visit.

The two sat in the reception room of Shen Hua's cave dwelling, drinking spiritual tea and discussing the issue of combat power.

Lu Chuan exclaimed excitedly, "After this battle, the voices of our pro-war faction have been completely proven true!"

Shen Hua and Lu Chuan had already become friends after their initial encounter during the sect's recruitment drive, and they often kept in touch.

At this moment, Shen Hua held his teacup and listened quietly as he continued.

"Deacon Xia joined the sect relatively late, so he may not be very clear about the situation within the sect." Lu Chuan said with great enthusiasm, "Even before the war with Huang Laodao and Fang Xiandao, the sect's higher-ups were divided into two factions: one faction wanted to take the initiative to fight, while the other faction only wanted to retreat and defend."

"In the past, the defensive faction had the upper hand, which is why we retreated to Tanxian City, abandoned all the resource-producing areas outside the city, and gathered all our disciples back into the city for defense."

"But we, the pro-war faction, have also been speaking out!" He took a sip of tea, his tone becoming increasingly agitated: "We, the pro-war faction, have long said that although Huang Laodao and Fang Xiandao have many strong individuals, the vast majority of them are sickly and lack combat power!"

"Now that the battle has begun, it's become completely clear that these people are just a bunch of 'pure realm cultivators,' utterly vulnerable on the battlefield!"

"A 'pure realm cultivator'?" Shen Hua nodded.

If Lu Chuan hadn't mentioned it, he would have almost forgotten the words. "Pure Realm Cultivators" are indeed a unique phenomenon in the early stages of the game.

The root cause can be traced back to history.

The Eastern Han Dynasty lasted for two hundred years; it had been far too long a period of peace.

In recent decades, only occasional battles have occurred on the northwestern border, such as the Yongchu Qiang Rebellion and the Yonghe Qiang Rebellion. The heartland of the dynasty, especially Xuzhou, has long been unfamiliar with the concept of war.

Because of the long period of peace, a special group of cultivators gradually emerged, namely "pure realm cultivators".

Lu Chuan assumed Shen Hua didn't know the term "pure realm cultivator," so he continued to explain: "A pure realm cultivator is a cultivator who focuses solely on improving their realm cultivation. They don't practice spiritual techniques, and they treat their natal magic treasures very poorly."

"Furthermore, according to the rules of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the selection of officials only considered their cultivation level and did not assess their combat ability at all."

"As long as one's cultivation level is high enough, even if one's combat strength is terrible, one can still hold a high position and wield power."

"Over time, this has led to the emergence of a group of 'pure realm cultivators' who possess cultivation levels but whose actual combat strength is pitiful."

"I see." Shen Hua said, understanding dawning on him.

"Pure Realm cultivators" are indeed a unique phenomenon in the early stages of the game. Currently, the Huang Lao Dao and Fang Xian Dao are filled with a large number of such cultivators.

Lu Chuan got more and more excited as he spoke: "Not only that, many Nascent Soul cultivators from prominent families in Huang Lao Dao have never experienced a real battle in their entire lives. Can you believe that?"

"They haven't fought a single match?" Shen Hua asked, somewhat surprised. "Doesn't the Huang Lao Dao sect hold a sect competition regularly? Don't they even participate in that?"

"Hey, what's the point of participating in the sect competition?" Lu Chuan waved his hand dismissively. "These people have families and sects supporting them, with countless resources. They don't even care about the meager rewards from the sect competition."

"Besides, if we actually go and participate, what if we get knocked off the stage by someone whose skill level is lower than theirs? Where would we put our faces then?"

"That's true," Shen Hua agreed wholeheartedly.

Imagine a cultivator born into a prestigious family who focuses solely on cultivating his cultivation level, neglecting all other spiritual techniques and magical treasures, and never engaging in a single battle with other cultivators in his entire life.

Even if such a cultivator reaches the Nascent Soul stage, what kind of combat power could he possibly have?

In ancient times, there was Zhao Kuo who only talked about war on paper; today, there are cultivators who only cultivate their realm. If they actually went to the battlefield, their endings would be tragic.

"But our Taiping Sect is different!" Lu Chuan said proudly. "Most of our Taiping Sect disciples come from humble backgrounds and fought bloody battles for resources when they were young."

"We are the main force against the demonic sects; with the power of our single sect, we have suppressed all other demonic sects in the world, making them unable to raise their heads!"

"Therefore, within the same realm, those pure realm cultivators are no match for us at all; one of us can take on several of them! That's why we were able to achieve such a glorious victory in this battle!"

"To this great victory, let us drink this cup to the full!" Shen Hua picked up the spirit tea, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

After hearing Lu Chuan say this, it really felt like a martial arts champion beating up a scholar.

"Respect to the Sect Master!" Lu Chuan was filled with emotion and drank the tea in his cup clean.

Shen Hua thought to himself, "No wonder Zhang Ning wanted to attack Fangxian Dao Sect directly back then. It turns out he saw through their outward appearance but inner corruption. Now, after this battle, Fangxian Dao has been exposed for what it truly is."

At the same time, Shen Hua also thought of the old Taoist Huang, a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, whom he had ambushed and instantly killed at the Yunxia Spirit Mine.

This cultivator is probably a "pure realm cultivator," isn't he? He's in a dangerous place but doesn't seem to be taking any precautions.

Any normal late-stage Qi Refining cultivator wouldn't have been so easily ambushed by Shen Hua.

The two then chatted for a few more minutes, praising the sect leader's wise decisions in this battle.

Although neither of them participated in the battle, they felt genuinely honored to be a part of it.

After the small talk, Shen Hua asked, "Steward Lu, you must have something important to discuss with me today, right?"

Lu Chuan must have come to visit for something else; it couldn't just be to talk about this, could it?

Lu Chuan then came to his senses, remembered the purpose of his trip, and said, "The sect leader sent me to deliver a message that what you wanted has been obtained and that you can come and pick it up."

"Oh, so that's what it was about." Shen Hua finally understood; it was because of the thousand-year-old gilded vine. "Where is the sect leader now?"

"The sect leader is in the main hall of Fangxian Dao Sect. You can see him there." Lu Chuan said with a smile. "I was just over there. The sect leader saw me and sent me here on short notice."

"Thank you for your trouble, Steward Lu," Shen Hua said, cupping his hands in greeting.

"It's my duty. I've delivered the message, so I'll take my leave now."

……

After seeing Lu Chuan off, Shen Hua immediately headed to the Fangxian Dao Sect.

Two hours later, Shen Hua arrived at Luoyun Mountain, thirty miles northwest of Tanxian County, which was the location of the Fangxian Dao Sect.

Like most sects, Fangxiandao was built against the mountain, with its main hall in the valley and branch halls on several mountain peaks. From a distance, it was shrouded in immortal mist, like a fairyland.

The sect's grand formation has now been breached, leaving the entire sect without any protection. The cultivators of Fangxian Dao are either dead or have fled.

However, because they were defeated so quickly, the buildings within the sect were basically undamaged.

Shen Hua flew straight to the main hall on the magical artifact.

In the main hall, he met the sect leader, Zhang Ning.