Inside the church. Li Yanxi pulled a long bench and sat on the podium, holding a thermos in his hands. As a swordsman, he stood straight and sat with impeccable posture. When the students began to arrive, he glanced at his watch and spoke gently yet clearly, "Class leader, please take the headcount." Xiahou Aotian rose slowly, standing at the center with hands folded, radiating an aura of supreme grace: "Zhao Chenghuang, Sun Miao Miao..." Each student called out "Present" when their name was called. Intentionally, Xiahou Aotian placed Yuanshǐ Tianzun last, giving him a slight disadvantage to repay the four cups of juice he had been served yesterday. After the headcount was complete, Director Li Yanxi smiled warmly, "When it comes to combat, there are surely many students here who outperform me—right, Yuanshǐ Tianzun. But when it comes to theoretical knowledge, I believe I still have the qualifications to serve as your teacher. Today's topic is the history of the Spiritual Realm. As you've all advanced from extraordinary to sage status, you should be very familiar with the Spiritual Realm. So, which of you would like His voice was warm and kind, making him an easy teacher to win over the students. Just as Xue Hou Ao Tian was about to speak, ready to showcase his class president's knowledge and depth, someone from behind interjected, "1912 was the year the Republic of China was established." The one who answered was Zhu Mingxu, a young man with the poised demeanor of a celebrity trainee. He crossed his legs, leaned back lazily against the chair, and gave a smug, cool smile—charmingly aloof, almost like a fresh-faced actor who loved to wear a smoky makeup look. Well, perhaps a bit like aged, seasoned meat. With pride, Zhu Mingxu continued, "The lineage of the Spirit Realm Travelers has spanned one hundred and ten years. Yet few people know that even before the Spirit Realm Travelers emerged, there were practitioners in ancient times. They drew upon the natural spiritual energies of the world, without attribute panels or quest missions—just as described in classic fantasy novels—free from any constraints. They maintained their own traditions, and in terms of combat prowess, they actually surpassed the current Spirit Realm Travelers. "But for some reason we can't quite explain, the celestial and spiritual energies are gradually thinning out, and practitioners are falling short from one generation to the next. Among the realms we've encountered, the extraordinary stage corresponds to modern and Ming Dynasty settings. The sage-level beings are from the Song and Tang Dynasties. The sovereign-level beings represent the Qin, Han, and Three Kingdoms periods—the peak of the practitioners' capabilities at that time. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the spiritual energy had completely dried up, leading to the successive deaths of ancient practitioners and the eventual extinction of their lineages. For the next 276 years, no ancient practitioners emerged until the emergence of the Lingjing Realm. Oh, by the way, the Lingjing Realm is divided into three regions: the first region is overseas, having opened twenty years prior to us; the third region remains yet to be unveiled." He then smiled and asked, "Director, do you have any additions?" The official sages eagerly absorbed and processed this information. They were aware of the existence of ancient practitioners and knew that upon attaining sage status, the realm's historical backdrop shifted to the Song Dynasty—but they had only known 'what' was true, not 'why.' Zhu Ming "Indeed, it's no surprise that they come from a spiritual realm family—rich in scholarly depth," praised the female sage, Xia Chaoxue. "This is their unique heritage," added another sage, expressing admiration. The dean unscrewed the thermos, took a slow sip, and said calmly, "You've hit the mark perfectly. But now you've covered everything I wanted to say—what shall I add?" The students chuckled. Zhu Mingxu shrugged, a touch of pride in his demeanor. The dean smiled warmly, "As Zhu Mingxu mentioned, the master-level quests correspond to the Warring States, Qin, and Han dynasties. Qin Feng Academy itself is a master-level quest. Anyone familiar with history knows that the Qin dynasty is associated with the element of wood—thus, it also serves as the guild's faction quest. The academy's origins trace back to the royal academy. It houses numerous records and documents from the Qin dynasty, including the emperor's collection of artifact catalogs and diagrams. Copies of these materials and catalogs will be distributed after class. Those interested are welcome to take a look." Scholars studying the history of the Spiritual Realm have bestowed titles upon each dynasty based on the evolving strength of ancient cultivators: the "Immortal Qin," the "Divine Han," the "Sage Tang," the "Daoist Song," and the "Martial Ming." The "Immortal Qin" is characterized by a flourishing period of intellectual competition, where rulers and semi-divine beings actively engage in politics, promote their philosophies and ideals, and participate in the conflicts among various states—marking the most vibrant yet also the most chaotic era. By the Han Dynasty, cultivators had become fully institutionalized, granted royal titles, appointed as generals, led armies, and managed administrative affairs, achieving a peak in military power. Throughout history, dynasties have typically fallen due to weakness, with only the Han Dynasty succumbing to strength—thus earning the title "Divine Han." In the Tang Dynasty, as spiritual energy waned and semi-divine beings disappeared, and as the number of sovereign cultivators declined, the Sage cultivators emerged as the backbone of society—hence the name "Sage Tang." We wish to correct a misconception held by Zhu Mingxu's trainees: in the Tang Dynasty's realm, the pinnacle of achievement was the Cover the cup and say slowly: "After the Tang Dynasty fell, the Central Plains fragmented and endured a period of turmoil lasting sixty years. Monks and cultivators withdrew from court life, establishing numerous sects. From then on, cultivators transitioned from imperial service to the realm of the countryside, giving rise to the flourishing era of both immortal and demonic sects during the Song Dynasty." I'm quite familiar with this history—since I was an imperial princess, I began my cultivation journey by joining a celestial sect... Zhang Yuanqing nodded thoughtfully as he listened. The trainees were utterly absorbed, as these were topics they had never heard of or encountered before. Indeed, it's no surprise that this is a premier training program for cultivating the nation's elite. Red Chicken raised his hand and interrupted loudly: "Then, why is the Yuan Dynasty absent from the quest scenario?" The senior dean smiled and said: "Don't worry—this will be explained shortly. After completing the historical account of ancient cultivators, we will move on to the mythological age. In fact, the myths that have survived to the present day constitute another chapter of ancient cultivation history." "In the age of human civilization when it was just beginning to take root, there already existed practitioners who, to ordinary people, appeared like deities, endowed with incomparable powers. Currently, the only mythological figure that has been definitively identified is the Huangwa Emperor." Upon hearing this name, Zhang Yuanqing felt a surge of energy. He raised his hand and asked, "How is this confirmed?" Director Li Yanxi explained, "During the campaign against Qin Feng Academy, the Grand Elder of the Hundred Flowers Assembly obtained a piece of equipment known as 'The Embrace of Huangwa.' According to the item's properties, it is a magical instrument crafted by Huangwa, belonging to the musician profession. After thorough analysis and research by official scholars, who have gathered numerous clues and evidence, it has now been largely confirmed that this ancient practitioner was none other than the legendary female deity, Nüwa." The title of the Huangdi of the High Heaven Origin was obtained at Qin Feng Academy, which itself is a Qin Dynasty quest set within the imperial palace of the First Emperor. Therefore, the First Emperor holds certain clues about the Huangdi, and it is precisely based on these clues that he confirmed the existence of a precious treasure in Gao Tian Yuan. Thus, behind the stone gate, there truly exists something that Xu Fu longed for—something sealed away by the First Emperor and closely tied to the Bronze Sacred Tree of Gao Tian Yuan. With this information now consolidated, Zhang Yuanqing has fully confirmed that the stone gate must hold the key to unlocking the secrets of Gao Tian Yuan. At this moment, Xia Hou Ao Tian asked, "There are countless figures in mythological tales, most of which are fictional. Director, how do we distinguish between authentic myths and fictional ones?" The protagonist, without any pretension or grandiosity, appears as a grounded, scholarly student deeply immersed in academic discourse—elegant and strikingly handsome. Li Yanxi didn't rush to answer. He twisted open the lid of his thermos, took a sip of water to moisten his throat, and then said slowly: "The deities and immortals associated with Daoism and Buddhism are all fictional—mythologies that lack a coherent structure are more credible. Heh, Daoism began to take shape in the Eastern Han Dynasty, while the Daoist school originated in the Warring States period. That was the age of the 'Immortal Qin' and the 'Divine Han,' so the immortals of Daoism are essentially invented. Buddhism is even more so. Some mythological tales found in renowned literary works are also fabricated—mere inventions. After excluding these, when we examine the mythological systems themselves, there aren't many, and they are mostly fragmented and disorganized." Li Yanxi was immediately impressed—he simply couldn’t have asked such a question without a solid grasp of the historical background of the Spiritual Realm. Could the Nordic mythology be the mythology of the third major region, still unopened? Everyone was taken aback. The senior sages from the noble families of the Spiritual Realm, as well as Sun Miaomiao and Zhao Chenghuang, turned to Yuan Shǐ Tianzūn, puzzled, since they themselves had never heard of it from their elders. At the very beginning of the Republic's founding, the first generation of Lingjing travelers emerged. Back then, there were few Lingjing travelers, no副本guides, no Lingjing knowledge—everything had to be discovered through trial and error. As a result, the mortality rate was extremely high, and for a long time, the ancestors remained stagnant at the Transcendent stage. "At that time, the world was in turmoil, the land of China was sinking, and people were struggling to survive. Many Lingjing travelers had to step forward to protect their homes and families, fighting and defeating enemy forces, which caused their merit values to drop below the threshold, leading to their being summoned and pursued by the Lingjing. By the way, during wartime, defeating enemy troops was not seen as upholding justice or eliminating evil—it was simply regarded as mass slaughter of ordinary civilians. "The leading Lingjing travelers in the first major region had developed over twenty years, with rare Masters but numerous Saints. They had accumulated substantial rewards by hunting down our Lingjing travelers. "Today's powerful punitive measures are all rooted in the foundations laid back then—achieved precisely by standing on the shoulders of our ancestors' sacrifices. Over the past two or three decades, whether orderly or evil, the native spiritual realm travelers who first emerged were consistently dying off—never able to accumulate in numbers or rank. "It wasn't until the end of World War II, when peace prevailed across the land, that after nearly a century of accumulation, the current scale of spiritual realm travelers was finally achieved," the dean said, and as he spoke, the assembled listeners seemed to unfold before them a vivid panorama filled with blood and fire. The pioneers had faced such arduous struggles! "For over a century, countless scholars of the Spiritual Realms have strived to unravel these four enigmas, yet none have succeeded—making them enduring mysteries." He glanced at Zhu Mingxu, Liu Yushu, Zhao Feiwen, Sun Miao, and others, whose family backgrounds were particularly distinguished, and smiled, "You all come from prominent families—has anyone in your families ever mentioned these topics? Bring them up and share them with the group. Knowledge only gains value through dissemination and discussion." The students looked forward to hearing from the "noble-born" students. Zhao Feiwen furrowed his brows, "I've heard from my elders that the decline of spiritual energy might be due to resource depletion." Xia Hou Aotian scoffed, "That's absurd. If so, where does the spiritual energy we use originate?" Liu Yushu pondered, "My family elders once proposed a hypothesis: the Spiritual Realms are man-made. Whether it's attribute panels, moral values, quest missions, or item properties, there's a strong sense of artificiality—clearly not a natural phenomenon." "They believe that extraterrestrial civilizations created the spiritual realms." This is pure speculation, lacking evidence. "Are there any others?" The dean seemed somewhat disappointed—this response clearly fell short of his expectations. He had hoped that the students from noble families would offer some unique insights, even if unconventional. To his surprise, their understanding of this topic was surprisingly shallow, not much better than that of the students from more humble backgrounds. Perhaps their elders considered such unresolved mysteries irrelevant for children to engage with. "Even as class president, I can't answer such questions," Summer Ao-tian suddenly recalled the incident yesterday when the Primordial Sovereign had tricked him out of money. Inspired, he immediately imitated the situation and declared: "Dean, why don't we ask the Primordial Sovereign? He has deep expertise in the history of the spiritual realms." Li Yanxi turned to the Primordial Sovereign and smiled: "Then, please allow our prodigy to share his thoughts." The students from the elite families sighed. A celestial traveler like Yuan Shi Zhen, rising from humble roots without elder guidance or family lineage, simply couldn't master information that didn't match his rank. Yet the official sages—such as the Peony Fairy and the Cowherd Mountain Little Fairy—held deep expectations for Yuan Shi Zhen. They had watched him grow from the ground up—on the forums—seeing him step steadily toward deification and achieve legendary feats one after another. Thus, the official celestial travelers harbored an unwavering confidence in him. Zhang Yuanqing paused, then spoke clearly, "Besides the second unsolved mystery, I actually know something about the other three—but that's not something I can publicly share." Really? He knows that? Then he's just exaggerating! The others, Zhao Fei and the others, looked unconvinced. But the other students grew interested, their eyes brightening in unison. Li Yanxi, the dean, looked slightly surprised, suppressed his inner delight, and said thoughtfully, "Even the relevant clues are worth a fortune—indeed, they're not suitable for public disclosure. What conditions do you have?" Zhang Yuanqing immediately replied, "We'll charge tuition—1 million per person. A written promissory note will be issued, and the payment will be made upon delivery of the original copies. Those who don't wish to listen may leave." Xia Hou Ao Tian, the protagonist, was left stunned, thinking to himself, How did I never think of this way of earning money? Yet, soon after, he realized with a sense of sorrow that he would once again be deeply out of pocket—this time, due to his desire to stay and listen.