Perfect World: Dream of the Immortal Era

Time flew by swiftly, like a fleeting horse passing by, and the day for the selection of the thousand inner disciples at the War God Academy was fast approaching.

Calculating the time, if they set off now, they would arrive just in time.

Thus, the Four-Armed Clan elder went to Heng Jin's room, where he was cultivating, and called him to prepare to depart.

“Heng Jin, we must leave now. If we miss this opportunity, we'll have to wait another year. With your talent, a year's delay would be an enormous loss,” advised the Four-Armed Clan elder. Of course, there were things he left unsaid, like if they had to supply Heng Jin with source stones for another year, the clan would be eating dirt.

This human was like a voracious beast, a bottomless pit; the Four-Armed Clan simply couldn't afford him.

Hearing these words, Heng Jin opened his eyes, nodded slightly, then stood up to leave, following behind the elder.

The two made their way through the ancestral lands of the Four-Armed Clan, waving farewell to those seeing them off, before setting out for Blackwater City.

This journey was exceptionally long; it took them half a month on foot. Although they could have used teleportation, the cost was too prohibitive for the clan. With ample time, they didn't mind the journey lasting an extra ten days or so.

During their travels, they passed through the territories of affluent clans numerous times, experiencing the grandeur and might of such families. They also saw the royal city, ruled by the royal family, from afar — majestic and vast, its imposing aura made the elder envious.

He remarked, “Once upon a time, our Four-Armed Clan also thrived, nearly rising to become a grand clan, but sadly, we declined bit by bit, to become what we are today.”

After the elder's long sighs, he looked at Heng Jin with hope in his eyes, clearly seeing him as the potential revival of the Four-Armed Clan.

“In this world, everything follows the cycle of reincarnation; rise to fall is an eternal truth, but there will always be a time to rise again,” Heng Jin replied.

Though he didn't express outright that he would lead the Four-Armed Clan back to prominence, the elder understood his meaning.

To Heng Jin, it was merely a transaction, a matter of cause and effect, a debt of gratitude to be repaid. Once fulfilled, he would be a stranger to the Four-Armed Clan.

After all, Heng Jin remained human, and the blood in his veins was not that of the Four-Armed Clan.

The elder sighed inwardly, feeling a deep regret: why wasn't such a peerless genius of their own clan?

With these thoughts, the two resumed their journey.

After a long trek of half a month, they finally reached their destination — Blackwater City.

From a distance, before reaching it, they could see on the horizon a colossal silhouette, like a gigantic colossus standing at the edge of the earth, enduring the passage of time and the wear of ages, always indestructible and eternal.

This is Blackwater City, one of the ten famous cities in the foreign realm, ruled by the Boundless Immortal King Luo Mo. It is the most prosperous city in a vast region and a place that countless beings yearn for.

Many powerful figures, when approaching the ancient city, show their reverence by prostrating and offering their respects to this eternal city, bowing with each step.

Fortunately, the Four-Armed Clan Elder did not belong to these beings; otherwise, Heng Jin would have had to bow all the way.

Looking ahead, Blackwater City is not the largest sight; an even more enormous silhouette stands quietly in the endless distance behind it.

It is a majestic ancient tree, overshadowing the skies, seemingly capable of covering the firmament.

Heng Jin knew that this was the World Tree of the foreign realm—lush, vibrant, and incredibly mysterious, casting its image over this world's sky for all beings to witness.

Its true form lies at the realm's center, vast and boundless, with roots, trunks, and leaves capable of supporting the sun, moon, and stars, extending everywhere and exuding an extremely rich essence of heaven and earth.

Because of the existence of the World Tree, the foreign realm's void and mountains remain stable, its heavenly principles complete, and its cultivators powerful. This is the foundation of a strong realm.

As they approached Blackwater City, the Four-Armed Clan Elder began recounting his experience from when he participated in the selection for the War God Academy's training quota, providing Heng Jin with some guidelines to consider.

"From the Qi Consumption Realm to the Quasi-Supreme Realm, there are more than a dozen realms, dividing a thousand positions evenly. Each realm has very limited spots.

To secure a place, there are two ways: one is to stay in the Qi Consumption Realm and compete with the talents from many surrounding great clans of Blackwater City for the fifty available positions.

The other is for those above the Qi Consumption Realm to directly challenge an existing talent by name; if victorious, they can replace them.

Generally speaking, newcomers in the Qi Consumption Realm who enter the War God Academy will advance to higher realms after a year's cultivation.

Therefore, in the second year's selection, challenges within the Qi Consumption Realm are absent, forcing talents in that realm to contend with a pack of wolves."

"Back then, I participated in the selection as a member of the Qi Consumption Realm, hoping for success. But fate was unkind, and my final opponent turned out to be a talented young man from the royal clan, leading to my defeat." The Four-Armed Clan Elder sighed, regretting that if his fortune had been better and he had faced a talented young man from a noble clan instead, perhaps fate would have changed, and the Four-Armed Clan wouldn't be in its current declining state.

"Senior, by this method, aren't there fifty more beings added each year to the thousand from the previous year? After all, fifty new Qi Consumption Realm beings join annually." Heng Jin asked in confusion.

"There won't be any increase," replied the elder. "In the War God Academy, each individual is a talent of their realm and every year, a few, for various reasons, meet their demise."

The new influx of fresh blood into the Food Qi Realm will greatly fill the gaps. If the number eventually exceeds one thousand, the academy will eliminate the excess beings through a process of survival of the fittest. After all, everything in the academy is prepared based on a thousand-person specification, following the elite pathway.

"Of course, if the number doesn't reach a thousand, then standout candidates among the eliminated will be selected to fill the positions," the elder of the Four-Armed Clan patiently explained.

Heng Jin now understood and nodded slightly, saying, "I see, thank you, elder, for enlightening me."

"It's nothing. After you enter the War God Academy, you must make good use of your advantages and showcase your talents to acquire more resources and strengthen yourself as much as possible.

Every year, the allocation of spots will not let you rest easy. There will certainly be many challengers, and the reason is simple: you are human. In their eyes, humans are lowly, weak, and considered a slave race. To rid yourself of this label, you need absolute strength. Besides the quota issue, there are also internal competitions, external competitions, and other challenges.

Internal competition includes resources competition, vying for the title of 'War God,' and opportunities to meet Lord Luo Mo or the Immortal Lords of the Luo Mo Family. If impressive enough, seeing the Immortal King in person is not out of the question.

External competition is broad, including the annual academy ranking battles and personal ranking battles within the same realm.

Each battle can bring cultivators considerable resources, but it requires formidable strength to fight for them."

Breaking through with genuine strength and forging a legend—isn't that what everyone desires?

In the Exotic Domain, this is a norm, but it differs in the Immortal Domain and the Primal Ancient Realm.

The difference lies in the fact that the Immortal Domain and Primal Ancient Realm place much emphasis on backing. Often, conflicts escalate from minor fights, leading to major consequences, making grudges endlessly troublesome. Hence, beings in these two realms need to understand some human relationships.

Often, despite having talent and strength, they don't dare to fully showcase them, fearing jealousy from others.

However, in the Exotic Domain, these concerns don't exist.

For the younger generation, as long as their struggles are fair—without underhanded tactics—then even if they perish, it's acknowledged as a lack of skill. No Supreme or Immortal King would avenge or retaliate for their defeat.

What they need is a continuous stream of strong beings. Much like rearing Gu, no matter which family the victorious Gu King belongs to, as long as it can enhance the Exotic Domain's strength, they will gladly accept it.

This is the Exotic Domain—a massive and terrifying war machine that has obliterated countless great realms from the fall of empires to ancient immortals. It marches south and north, never stopping.

Endless invasions keep them in perpetual readiness, making the strong ones in the Exotic Domain always look far ahead, unlike interfaces like the Primal Ancient Realm which are complacent in their small corner without a strong sense of vigilance.

This is the fundamental reason for the different atmospheres across realms.

As they conversed, they gradually approached Blackwater City.

From a distance, they saw the magnificent city walls standing tall upon the earth, as high as mountains, exuding a majestic grandeur. Surrounding the walls were not just floating massive stars but also a torrential dark river surging around the city, its flow unceasing.

That was the lunar power, concentrated to its peak, forming this river, giving Blackwater City its name.

Legend has it that eons ago, when the Boundless Immortal King Luo Mo cultivated the power of the moon to perfection, he created this river outside the city. From then on, the titanic city was named Blackwater City.

To fit his persona as a wild man, Heng Jin deliberately showed a look of awe when setting eyes on the formidable Blackwater City.

The Four-Armed Clan Elder wasn’t surprised in the least. In his understanding, this human youth had always lived in the wilderness, barely even encountering small tribes like them.

Being awestruck on his first visit to Blackwater City, one of the top ten famous cities, guarded by an immortal king, was only natural.

Subsequently, acting as a guide, he began narrating the many stories of this grand ancient city to Heng Jin.

"Senior, is the War God Academy located within Blackwater City?" Heng Jin suddenly asked.

The Four-Armed Clan Elder shook his head.

"The War God Academy is outside the city, in a supreme location, serving as Lord Luo Mo's ancestral retreat for seclusion. Without particular reasons, one cannot approach it rashly, or it would be seen as provocation.

We must wait for the academy's selection process to begin before we can head there.

Moreover, before that, we have other matters to attend to."

He pointed at Heng Jin and continued, "You come from the wilderness, without a clan, and as a very rare human.

To enter the War God Academy, we must first resolve your identity issue, thus we must first enter Blackwater City."

Heng Jin understood, realizing that, in this foreign domain, humans stood out too prominently. Someone like him, appearing abruptly, would certainly raise suspicions.

Now, it was up to the Four-Armed Clan Elder to proceed with his plans.

Upon arriving at the city gates, Heng Jin and the elder from the Four-Armed Clan were unsurprisingly stopped by the city guards.

The surrounding alien creatures immediately noticed Heng Jin, a striking figure as a youth from a slave race, walking freely. Their faces were filled with confusion and curiosity.

Some of these creatures led their own human slaves past them, casting astonished glances at the elder and Heng Jin. Meanwhile, the human slaves shot him sideways glances of surprise—though they all belonged to the human race, their circumstances could not have been more different.

Heng Jin ignored the unusual stares around him, maintaining a calm composure as he watched the elder communicate with the city gate guards. Even when some passing creatures licked their lips provocatively at him, their eyes full of malice, he remained unfazed.

Soon after, the guards, with cold and disdainful eyes, cast a glance at Heng Jin before indifferently granting them passage.

The Four-Armed Clan Elder quickly guided Heng Jin into the flow of passersby.

“Don’t mind them. In this realm, the status of the human race is inherently low; the vast majority are slaves to imperial, royal, and noble clans. Only a very few possess freedom,” the elder reassured.

“Don't worry, elder. I'm aware of these things. To change my destiny, I need to show my talent, strength, and worth,” Heng Jin replied.

“It’s good you understand this. Next, we need to go to an important place in Blackwater City to secure your identity. Without it, if you go to the War God Academy, they might think we've brought another ‘warrior’ for sacrifice.” The elder nodded approvingly and gestured towards the city.

A ‘warrior’ at the War God Academy is the lowest rank, usually consisting of those from slave races or creatures guilty of unforgivable crimes, used for the training, cultivation, and research of the thousand academy students.

As a ‘warrior,’ there’s no freedom or status to speak of; their lives are as fleeting as dust, ready to be taken away at any moment.

Shi Hao, in the original story, was once a ‘warrior’ at the academy. Had it not been for his formidable strength, he would have perished long ago. Ultimately, he became a battle god shackled in chains, able to claim the lives of foreign prodigies even when sealed.

“Let's go. We have only three days before the quota selection begins, and time is scarce.”

“Alright.”

The two of them traversed the bustling streets, possibly due to the upcoming selection at the War God Academy. Blackwater City was more crowded and lively than ever, with teeming traffic and a constant stream of people.

At times, when encountering an elder accompanying a young candidate, it was quite evident that the young one was there to participate in the academy selection.