Ordinary people in the Divine Realm are at the peak of the Twelve Stars, at the first stage of Qi Yuan, which corresponds to the fourth level of the Thirteen Stars.
The Palace Opening realm, however, is at the fifth level of the Thirteen Stars.
In this Divine Realm, due to the suppression of True Force, a Qi Yuan realm cultivator and a Palace Opening realm cultivator engaging in a fight might see thousands of Qi Yuan stage twenty cultivators barely manage to defeat a Palace Opening realm transcendent.
But in the lower realms, this gap is infinitely widened. It's possible that a single Palace Opening realm cultivator could annihilate hundreds of billions, or even countless, Qi Yuan realm cultivators with a flick of their finger.
Listening to the lecture from the instructor on stage,
Fang Ming gradually pieced together the organizational structure, cultivation system, and power distribution of the Divine Realm.
The four stages of transcendence were Qi Yuan, Palace Opening, Fate Severing, and Supreme. Following that came the opening of the three gates, the condensation of a divine spark, and promotion to the true realm of a divine being.
At Purple Cloud Academy, the vast majority of students, whether in their first or sixth year, were basically in the Qi Yuan realm, with differences only in the specific stage of Qi Yuan.
Only a small number of elite students could advance to the Palace Opening realm.
Some instructors were also in the Palace Opening realm.
In the Heavenly Origin Kingdom, the Fate Severing realm represented top-tier combat power, while the Supreme realm was the ultimate deciding force, serving as the foundation.
From the perspective of ordinary commoners,
Becoming a transcendent, even just at Qi Yuan stage four or five, would be enough to become the leader of a small bandit group in a remote area.
For instance, the Yan family Fang Ming had visited previously, a family in a small town within the Heavenly Origin Kingdom, had a patriarch who was merely a Palace Opening realm transcendent. In fact, some elite students from Purple Cloud Academy who had not yet graduated could defeat the Yan family patriarch.
"The Heavenly Origin Kingdom has hundreds of towns. Graduating from Purple Cloud Academy in the capital, even from the lower-tier classes, as long as they don't try to make a name for themselves in the capital and return to their towns, their cultivation of over twenty stages of Qi Yuan, combined with their graduation age of under thirty, would be enough to surpass many transcendent individuals in small towns."
"Being at over twenty stages of Qi Yuan at thirty years old, the possibility of advancing to the Palace Opening realm in this lifetime is very high, and it's enough to serve as the patriarch or elder of a noble family in a small town. This should be the life arranged for the aristocratic families of Yan Che, Lin Feng, and others."
Fang Ming secretly deduced the situation, believing that the arrangements made by Lin Feng's aristocratic family for him were quite good. Becoming the head of a family or an elder in a small town was naturally far superior to that of ordinary noble descendants, let alone commoners.
Lin Feng's dissatisfaction with his status as a student from the lower-tier class stemmed from the word "dissatisfaction."
People strive for higher ground.
Although a future of wielding power in small towns was an extremely enviable one for ordinary commoners,
Lin Feng, having witnessed the prosperity of the capital, harbored different aspirations.
Clearly, he desired more.
He was not content.
"And when were you ever content?"
The female voice in his mind echoed.
"At the fourth level box, thirteen stars, in some relatively low-level 'All-Heavens Flow' works, you would already be the lord of all heavens and myriad worlds."
"Why don't you stop your steps?"
"In chapter two hundred and eighty-nine of the book, I advised you to be content. Now it's over five hundred chapters. How many chapters have passed? Why do you still struggle? Why not choose to stop?"
"When you were at the Red Dust Immortal cultivation, I already stepped in to dissuade you. Now, in ordinary worlds, you would be beyond the Sacrifice Dao cultivation."
"I can't fathom why you still haven't stopped."
Fang Ming thought, "Humans have the desire to move forward, thus their steps will not stop, and they will not be content."
The female voice said, "Then, why not cultivate the divine and extraordinary, to achieve true beyond Sacrifice Dao, but instead accumulate quantity to become beyond Sacrifice Dao, limited by quantity?"
Fang Ming thought, "True beyond Sacrifice Dao, if not achieved, one dies. If achieved, the Myriad Worlds Tower forces will come to erase you immediately. The risk is too great."
"I need to understand more. With the support of quantity, I can venture into deeper seas, witness the true powerhouses of the deep seas and the Myriad Worlds Tower, and only after interacting with them can I reduce the risk."
"Now is not the time."
Fang Ming's response to why he didn't cultivate true beyond Sacrifice Dao and instead accumulated quantity in the Divine Realm, despite his desire for progress, was due to the risk involved.
He needed to possess extremely high quantity-based strength and interact with forces from the deeper seas before making further plans.
Fang Ming now possessed the minimum requirement for cultivating that all-knowing and all-powerful technique – the strength standard of a fourth-level box.
"..."
The female voice sighed, "You are the same as Lin Feng. Why aren't you like Yan Che?"
At this point, Fang Ming was speechless. "Both Lin Feng and Yan Che are noble descendants from small towns, sent to study at Purple Cloud Academy by their families, thus their destinies are also arranged."
"Didn't you also arrange my destiny by sending me to study at the academy?"
"..."
The female voice skipped this topic. "That book, 'Infinite Energy Cultivation Method,' have you gained any insights?"
Fang Ming thought, "No."
That book, 'Infinite Energy Cultivation Method,' given by the fourteen-star martial expert Lin Xingyuan, claimed that one could achieve infinite energy if they understood it.
Fang Ming had studied it for a while, but indeed, he had no insights.
"If one comprehends it, it's instant infinite energy. If one doesn't, they never will."
"There's no need to expect too much from this book."
The female voice's voice faded.
Fang Ming shook his head, forgetting the previous conversation with Fu Meng. After all, she kept urging him to return to the shallow sea and then to escape; listening too much became tiresome.
"To dominate all heavens and myriad worlds means to dominate the true all heavens and myriad worlds, not the all heavens and myriad worlds confined within 'All-Heavens Flow' works."
"The supreme beings of all heavens and myriad worlds are also not confined within 'All-Heavens Flow' works."
"When I was a Red Dust Immortal, I was not content, nor did I leave."
"Now, being limited to beyond Sacrifice Dao cultivation under the theory of quantity, I am naturally not content, nor will I leave."
Returning to reality, Fang Ming continued to listen to the lecture.
Although Fang Ming knew who was behind the mischievous idea of enrolling him, he still needed to increase his strength.
The quantity-based strength under the Myriad Worlds Tower system was legal strength, meaning strength that complied with the laws of the Myriad Worlds Tower.
Increasing legal strength naturally had no downsides.
...
Time flew by rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
During this month, Fang Ming listened to lectures, took notes privately, and spent his time in the library.
By widely reading through various books, and with the memory of a Qi Yuan stage five cultivator surpassing ordinary mortals, he managed to memorize an entire system of basic transcendent knowledge.
And he retained it.
By focusing specifically on this area, Fang Ming completed his literacy work in just one month.
He educated himself.
If Fang Ming were to take that cultural test again now,
He would not only score full marks but would at least be deemed qualified.
At this point, Fang Ming had finally shed his illiteracy.