Name: Liu Yuan (Lin Yuan)
Identity: Master of the Gate of Myriad Realms
Bound Talent: Heaven-Defying Comprehension
Current Status: Consciousness Descended
Remaining Stay Time: 154 Years
In the Eastern Palace, Lin Yuan glanced at the panel of the Gate of Myriad Realms.
Unknowingly, he had already spent six years in this world.
Those years had been remarkably comfortable for Lin Yuan, with everything he desired at his fingertips.
Given Emperor Liu Shi's deep affection, even if Lin Yuan asked for the stars in the sky, Emperor Liu Shi might just consider it.
After a moment of contemplation, Lin Yuan walked out of the Eastern Palace, heading deep into the imperial palace to a wooden building.
This building appeared extremely ordinary, yet there were numerous guards patrolling nearby.
Lin Yuan did not stop, directly heading for the entrance.
"Greetings, Crown Prince."
"Greetings, Your Highness."
The patrolling guards greeted Lin Yuan respectfully.
As the only offspring of the current emperor, Lin Yuan had been titled Crown Prince since he was five, a rare occurrence in the history of the Great Yan Dynasty.
Even direct heirs typically had to reach adulthood before getting such a title, and even then, they were closely watched by the emperor.
The presence of a Crown Prince could stabilize the court, but also diluted the emperor's power.
But for Emperor Liu Shi, his affection for Lin Yuan was such that if not for Lin Yuan's young age, he might have even allowed him to oversee the state, to learn the ropes of being an emperor.
Lin Yuan stepped into the wooden building, a restricted area of the Great Yan Dynasty, containing the most powerful techniques and secret arts.
Any one of these, if exposed outside, could cause a bloody storm.
A few years ago, Lin Yuan requested Emperor Liu Shi to allow him entrance.
Without much thought, Emperor Liu Shi agreed.
After all, Lin Yuan was his son and the future emperor of the Great Yan Dynasty.
Besides, the emperor believed Lin Yuan's curiosity was at play, thinking that at such a young age, he wouldn't comprehend the profound techniques within.
Little did he know, in just under two years, Lin Yuan had fully understood and even innovated upon the thousand-year-old techniques stored here.
"The cultivation system of this world."
Lin Yuan found a spot and sat down, his expression pensive.
The cultivation system of the Great Yan Dynasty, or rather the entire Thirty-Six Nations of the Central Plains, was essentially the same.
It had seven stages—Body Refining, Muscle Refining, Skin Refining, Bone Refining, Organ Refining, Marrow Refining, and finally, Blood Refining.
Correspondingly, the realms are Martial Disciple, Martial Artist, Martial Grandmaster, Martial Master, Innate Martial Master, Supreme Grandmaster, and Martial Saint.
Simply put, 'Body Refining' is Martial Disciple, 'Muscle Refining' is Martial Artist, 'Skin Refining' is Martial Grandmaster, 'Bone Refining' is Martial Master, 'Organ Refining' is Innate Martial Master, 'Marrow Refining' is Supreme Grandmaster, and 'Blood Refining' is Martial Saint.
According to Lin Yuan's judgment, the strongest 'Blood Refining' Martial Saint, with their qi and blood integrated, was equivalent to a second-tier peak in the Main World.
However, Lin Yuan detected something amiss.
The cultivation system of the Thirty-Six Nations, at its core, was simply about refining the body and strengthening qi and blood.
There was no mention of spiritual and mental aspects at all.
Even in the first world Lin Yuan traversed, once one reached the Grandmaster level, they began to develop 'spiritual power'.
It made no sense that even the second-tier peak 'Blood Refining' Martial Saint would lack such involvement.
"Divine Weapon Master," Lin Yuan muttered to himself.
From Martial Disciple to Martial Saint, this system was merely the ordinary cultivation path.
There was another system in this world—becoming a Divine Weapon Master.
Divine Weapon Masters could wield divine weapons, regarded as the strongest 'existences' in this world.
Each of the Thirty-Six Nations had a divine weapon to defend their country.
The power of a divine weapon was unrivaled by human effort.
Just the faintest aura from a divine weapon could effortlessly crush dozens or even hundreds of Blood Refining Martial Saints.
This was why Emperor Liu Shi was more excited at Lin Yuan's potential to become a Sage Monarch than even his inherent talent and constitution.
No matter how strong one's talent and constitution might be, at most, they could become a Blood Refining Martial Saint.
Yet, what amounted to a Martial Saint before a Divine Weapon Master? As long as the Great Yan Dynasty had a divine weapon in place, many Martial Saints could not affect the bigger picture.
However, not everyone could become a Divine Weapon Master.
It required gaining the approval of a divine weapon.
Moreover, the lifespan of a Divine Weapon Master was tragically short.
Few made it past forty.
This demanded that the Thirty-Six Nations constantly prepared new candidates, occasionally leading to gaps where no Divine Weapon Masters existed.
Currently, the Great Yan Dynasty faced such a situation.
But with a divine weapon in reserve and a treaty signed between the Thirty-Six Nations, there were no immediate worries.
"A Divine Weapon Master's power comes solely from the divine weapon," Lin Yuan speculated.
His discernment naturally recognized that the so-called 'Divine Weapon Master' was merely a puppet, with the real power lying in the divine weapon.
Lin Yuan stood up, walked deeper into the wooden building, reaching a shelf, and retrieved an old book.
This book recorded snippets about 'divine weapons,' one of the few sources Lin Yuan had to understand them.
As for directly asking Emperor Liu Shi, other matters could be discussed easily.
But as soon as 'divine weapons' were involved, Emperor Liu Shi became unusually cautious, seemingly reluctant for his son to learn too early about them.
Lin Yuan gently turned the pages, and even though he had memorized the content, it still stirred some ripples in his heart.
"The Thirty-Six Nations of the Central Plains each house a divine weapon. On the surface, peace reigns, but the sacrificial offerings required by each divine weapon are enormous. If unmet, the thirty-six divine weapons will awaken on their own and seek sacrifices, leading to great calamities."
"The last parts of the book seemed to have been erased, but Lin Yuan could infer the meaning: 'Is it truly a divine weapon or a demonic weapon?'"
Lin Yuan closed the book and returned it to the shelf.
The collection here, consisting of not thousands but at least tens of thousands of books, along with this book deeply hidden away, ordinarily would be impossible for anyone to find, except for Lin Yuan.
His heaven-defying comprehension allowed him to understand every technique before eventually exploring such miscellaneous records.
"Divine Weapons..."
Lin Yuan frowned, pondering their origins.
No detailed records were within the building, except that they were linked to the Ancient Era ten thousand years ago.
All divine weapons emerged during that time, but how they came to be and how things reached their current state was unknown.
Ten thousand years was far too distant.
In the Main World, stepping into the interstellar era means everything can be preserved through data.
However, in Lin Yuan's current world, slight warfare or disaster could lead to 'gaps'.
"This world..."
Lin Yuan's face showed a hint of an unusual expression.
Divine weapons required live human sacrifices, with robust qi and blood being preferable.
Meanwhile, the primary cultivation system here was purely about refining the body and boosting qi and blood.
Seen separately, there was nothing odd.
But combined...
Lin Yuan immediately sensed something was amiss.
"The people of this world might all be livestock, raised by the so-called 'divine weapons.' The Thirty-Six Nations of the Central Plains are like thirty-six farms, waiting for the divine weapons to feast..."
Lin Yuan thought inwardly.
He was almost certain that the cultivation system from Martial Disciple to Martial Saint was influenced by the divine weapons, resulting in such a 'distorted' approach.