Son, Put Your Father To The Test (FF)

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, a piece of significant news spread rapidly, causing a sensation throughout the Eastern Domain—the Xuantian Treasury is about to open!

The Xuantian Treasury.

This is a legendary secret realm, said to have been created by an ancient powerful figure to train the younger generation of martial artists. It contains countless formations and traps, forming numerous trials. As long as the trials are completed, rewards will follow!

These rewards are varied and extraordinary.

They could be incredibly powerful weapons, auxiliary treasures, rare elixirs, or even some long-lost and mighty divine abilities.

In the past thousand years, the Xuantian Treasury has only opened three times, and many powerful figures in the Eastern Domain rose to prominence thanks to it.

Even Yu Huang, one of the Twin Emperors of the Dongsheng Divine Sect, only managed to break through to the World Sovereign Realm after obtaining an ancient inheritance from the Xuantian Treasury.

However, there is a restriction—the Xuantian Treasury only allows warriors at the Holy Saint Realm to enter.

This rule wasn't set to give anyone a chance to show off but was instead meant to nurture powerful individuals.

Cultivators who have surpassed the Holy Saint Realm have already formed solid foundations and lack flexibility in further growth. Additionally, allowing too powerful individuals to enter could cause significant damage to the formations and mechanisms within the treasury, hastening its destruction.

"The Xuantian Treasury?"

On this day, a ragged young man climbed out of an inconspicuous underground cave.

It was none other than Qin Zi.

A month ago, he had been swallowed by that strange giant Kun and taken to a mysterious underground space, where he obtained a great fortune.

It was the inheritance of an emperor!

In just one month, he had broken through to the Holy Saint Realm, and his divine physique had further awakened.

Now, he was no longer the same as before!

Originally, after coming out, he planned to challenge the strongest geniuses in the Eastern Domain. However, as soon as he reached the cave's entrance, he overheard passersby discussing the Xuantian Treasury.

Not only were they discussing it, but they were explaining it in such a clear and detailed manner. Even though both of them clearly already knew about it, they kept adding more explanations, more thorough than any professional introduction.

Qin Zi almost wanted to comment on it.

Were they explaining this for ghosts?

As it turned out, he was the "ghost" they were speaking to.

Upon hearing such monumental news, he couldn't remain indifferent. Who wouldn't want a share of this great opportunity?

Moreover...

The people he wanted to challenge were likely heading to the Xuantian Treasury too. This would be a perfect chance to defeat them and make a name for himself across the world!

He already understood why his father had entrusted him with this task.

His master had told him—this wasn't about seeking fame or fortune, but about capturing an intangible momentum.

Only by sweeping through the geniuses of his generation could he gather that momentum, becoming an unstoppable force and rising to prominence!

In short, his father had given this task with great thought.

How could he let his father down?

"Ah—!"

At that moment, a sharp scream rang out, clearly a woman's voice. Qin Zi quickly turned his head.

Two young girls, walking together, were covering their faces with flushed cheeks, but their eyes were wide open, peeking through their fingers and staring directly at his lower body...

His ragged clothing.

It was the second day of the second month—when the dragon raises its head.

"Ah, this!!"

Qin Zi looked down and almost spat out blood. He quickly covered himself with both hands and, in a flash of black shadow, fled in embarrassment.

...

The Xuantian Treasury was located within the Xuantian Mountain Range.

At the mountain's summit stood an ancient, dark yellow stone gate about thirty meters tall—this was the entrance to the Xuantian Treasury.

Though it appeared as a simple gate frame, it was actually a portal, a gateway to an unknown space.

Ordinarily, the entire Xuantian Mountain Range was sealed by a mysterious force. Even World Sovereign-level experts couldn't get close.

However, recently, the sealing force had rapidly weakened, a sign that the Xuantian Treasury was about to open.

Over the past few days, more and more people gathered at the Xuantian Mountain Range, with even more powerful individuals continuing to arrive.

Near the stone gate were a dozen smaller peaks with flat summits, each capable of holding several dozen people.

On several of these peaks, figures could be seen standing beneath banners with family names such as Qi, Chen, Wei, Yang, and Xue—the five declining royal clans.

"Look at that—the five declining royal clans are all here, but the Lu family hasn't shown up. How interesting."

"They probably don't dare come. After all, their leading figure from the younger generation, Lu Chong, is dead. The rest of their younger members are leaderless, and it would be easy for them to get into trouble in the Xuantian Treasury."

"True, the Lu family has offended so many major forces by killing their talented geniuses. While these forces might not dare retaliate openly, it'd be all too easy for them to stir up trouble in the treasury."

"It seems the Lu family is truly on the decline. One wrong move, and now everyone wants to take them down…"

The crowd murmured, expressing their opinions with sighs and shaking heads.

Boom!

At that moment, the sky roared, and the clouds surged as a massive sword, the size of a mountain, soared through the air.

On top of the enormous sword stood dozens of figures, all exuding extraordinary auras. At the forefront was a young man with jet-black hair.

His hair was pitch-black, but his eyes were golden, with a strange and imposing golden ring reflecting in them.

"It's the Jiang family!"

"That's the Jiang family's young master, Jiang Shennong!"

"It's said that he awakened the royal bloodline of the Jiang family, possesses unparalleled talent, and has a unique innate divine ability."

The crowd looked on with reverence. The Jiang family, one of the flourishing royal clans, stood at the pinnacle of the Eastern Domain!

After arriving, the Jiang family landed on one of the small peaks—until now, no other faction had dared set foot on any of the dozen peaks except the five declining royal clans.

"Brother Jiang, you've arrived?"

From the Qi family's camp, a refined young man in white robes stepped forward. His demeanor was elegant, and he carried a white folding fan decorated with a landscape painting. He smiled at Jiang Shennong.

Behind him stood a black-clad young man with a scar on his face—Shui Qinghan.

"Qi Huang? It's been a while. You seem to have grown stronger," Jiang Shennong remarked after gazing at the white-robed youth for a moment, his golden eyes burning with battle intent like a rising sun.

In the Eastern Domain, few young geniuses could catch his eye, but Qi Huang was one of them!

"One should always make some progress in cultivation, otherwise, it would just be wasted time...and that wouldn't be good," Qi Huang responded with a calm smile, as though it was nothing of consequence.

"I look forward to facing you in battle!" Jiang Shennong nodded, then fell silent.

Among everyone present, he only paid attention to Qi Huang. He didn't even glance at Chen Feng, Yang Shi, Wei Yan, or Xue Yi, the heirs of the four declining royal clans.

To him, they were insignificant!

Similarly, these individuals stood with their hands behind their backs, gazing straight ahead without acknowledging Jiang Shennong's arrival. They didn't even attempt a greeting.

It was as if this was their final act of defiance.

You might look down on me, but as long as I look down on you just the same—remain aloof and dismissive—then I haven't lost!

As the saying goes, "Better to lose the battle than the dignity." That was their stance.

Time passed.

More factions and powerful individuals arrived, but the other two flourishing royal clans and the two great holy sects had yet to appear.

Some people were curious.

Then, someone explained.

"I'm not sure about the Chu and Ji families, but it seems that the Dongsheng Divine Sect and Eastern Emperor Hall have both gone to explore their ancestral lands."

"It's said that these two great sects share a common origin. Long ago, their two founders obtained separate legacies from the same ruin and established the sects that continue to this day."

"That ruin is revered by both sects as their ancestral land, and they jointly control it, not allowing outsiders to interfere."

"Recently, it seems that the ruin has opened again, so the young geniuses from both sects have entered."

"For those sects, the ancestral land holds far more significance than the Xuantian Treasury. Besides, it's something that only they can claim..."

The person with seemingly endless knowledge explained.

Everyone understood at once.

As for the Chu and Ji families, it was likely they had similar reasons, though no one knew for sure.

After all, even the most well-informed person couldn't know everything, and they had to be careful not to ramble on, lest they be accused of padding the narrative.

Whoosh!!

Suddenly, a figure shot through the sky like an arrow fired from the distant heavens, slicing through the clouds and landing on one of the small peaks.

It was Qin Zi!