Chapter 1

In the ancient land, demons and savages roamed freely, wantonly hunting human tribes, leaving the humans weak and vulnerable.

In the first year of the Great Beginning, a divine mountain descended from the heavens, inscribed with the four grand characters “Heaven’s Way is Manifest.” The three great sages of the human race observed the divine mountain, created divine arts, and established eighty-one holy academies to educate the masses, finally bringing about the grand destiny of the human race, allowing them to contend for supremacy with the demons and savages.

The human race shall be immortal, and the great path shall forever flourish!

Qingyue City, Nansheng Academy.

As the last spring rain came to an end, Qingyue City welcomed another summer!

The slightly hot weather made many students in Nansheng Academy drowsy, but the students of Class Three, Junior Level, were all energetic, their eyes wide open, staring intently at the 15-16 year old girl in a white dress standing on the podium.

“The path of martial arts is full of hardships. Just the apprenticeship is divided into ten levels. Only by reaching the tenth level can one become a martial artist. Beyond the martial artist, there are the three realms of Condensing Essence, Returning Essence, and Divine Essence. Reaching these three realms is already extremely difficult. If someone has exceptional talent and breaks through these three realms, they can become an Imperial Venerable, a powerful being who safeguards the destiny of the human race. In our human history, there have been only thirty-six Imperial Venerables. Continuing further, by comprehending the great way of heaven and earth and creating supreme divine arts, one can achieve the status of a Sage, but in thousands of years, there have been only three!”

“Besides the millions of divine arts, we humans also have supreme divine patterns, savage bone dao weapons, and are a race blessed by Heaven’s Way. Now, let’s talk about divine patterns!”

The girl in the white dress stood on the podium, her clear and transparent eyes sweeping over the students sitting upright. Her light and elegant voice was like a clear stream, crisp and pleasant to the ear.

The girl’s name was Lin Zhiyan, a genius student of Nansheng Academy. At just fifteen years old, she was about to become a true martial artist. Achieving such a level at her age was truly monstrous.

Moreover, Miss Zhiyan was the prized student of the vice-principal of Nansheng Academy. Today, this daughter of heaven was serving as a substitute teacher, giving a lesson here!

“If we compare divine arts to words, then divine patterns are the strokes. Only by comprehending divine patterns and mastering the strokes can one write the words and cultivate divine arts!”

“The Three-Tide Palm is a low-level spirit-grade divine art composed of thirty-six basic divine patterns. Today, I will mainly explain the first three of these thirty-six divine patterns!”

She took a few steps forward, looking at the students and speaking gently.

Her purple hair, shimmering with a purple luster, flowed like a waterfall behind her. A string of golden crystal beads held a lock of purple hair at her ear. The classical white silk dress accentuated her well-proportioned upper body, revealing a section of her arm like white jade at the end of the sleeves. A simple silver bracelet hung from her slender wrist, giving her a refined and elegant aura, like a lotus flower on the peak of a snow mountain, untouched by the dust of the world.

Her stunning beauty, mysterious background, and status as a disciple of the vice-principal of Nansheng Academy, coupled with her being a tenth-level apprentice and about to become a great martial artist, made the students of Class Three, Junior Level, look up to her with admiration.

“The structure of divine patterns is extremely complex and intricate, but Lin Zhiyan effortlessly and accurately wrote out the three divine patterns. After writing them, she turned to look at the students. As she turned, the neckline of her long dress revealed a glimpse of her graceful neck and clearly visible collarbone. The dress flowed like moonlight, and every smile and frown exuded a charm that made hearts race.

The students of Class Three, Junior Level, were mostly around twelve or thirteen years old, still retaining a touch of innocence. They sat respectfully, their eyes filled with admiration and affection as they looked at Miss Zhiyan.

“Miss Zhiyan is so beautiful!”

“I must become a martial artist and fight alongside Miss Zhiyan against the demons and savages!”

This was undoubtedly the heart’s desire of most of the boys. To fight alongside Miss Zhiyan against demons was something countless people aspired to throughout their lives.

At this moment, in the back of the classroom, a slightly slender young man was daydreaming. He sat at the back, blocked by the students in front, and almost no one noticed him. He had a clear and refined face, not particularly handsome, but with distinct features and deep, lively eyes.

Ye Wei was a person with a very low presence. Whether in this class or in his family, with his mere Red-level Sea of Knowledge, almost no one paid attention to him. He vaguely remembered the disappointed expressions of the elders in his family when they learned that his Sea of Knowledge was only at the Red level.

“Divine patterns... I, Ye Wei, have no hope of becoming a martial artist in this life. What use is learning divine patterns? Without essence energy, I can’t even draw divine patterns!”

Ye Wei’s lips curled into a self-deprecating smile. Thinking of the test results before entering Nansheng Academy, he couldn’t help but clench his hand tightly, the veins on the back of his hand becoming visible.

The talent of the Sea of Knowledge is divided into seven levels: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple. Ye Wei’s talent was the weakest Red-level Sea of Knowledge. No matter how hard he tried, he could at most become a tenth-level apprentice, with no hope of becoming a martial artist.

“Being bullied and ridiculed in the academy, being ignored in the family!”

“I, Ye Wei, also want to become a genius like Miss Zhiyan, a martial artist like my cousin Ye Zhong, who is highly regarded by the family, and a source of pride for the family, looked up to by others. But... why is reality so cruel!”

Ye Wei harbored too much resentment in his heart. He had tried countless times, even attempting the dangerous act of breaking through his Sea of Knowledge, but all attempts failed.

Years of hard training ultimately yielded nothing, a pain that ordinary people could not endure.

Although Ye Wei never gave up, reality could not be changed.

Ye Wei pursed his lips slightly, a faint bitter feeling lingering in his heart. His fingers unconsciously tapped on the desk, completely distracted from the lesson. On the desk in front of him lay an old book bound in leather, which was very worn out, as if it had been burned, with blackened marks all over it.

On the cover of the book, a towering green mountain pierced the clouds, standing tall and majestic.

There seemed to be a few indistinct large characters on the mountain, though they were unclear, but a sense of grandeur could be felt.

This old, worn-out book was something Ye Wei had picked up from the garbage pile in the family’s basement. According to legend, the Ye family was once extremely powerful, a family of Imperial Venerables, with ancestors who were at the level of Imperial Venerables. However, that glorious past had long been buried in the dust of history... The current Ye family was merely a second-rate family in Qingyue City, a city on the western border of the Great Zhou Divine Dynasty!

Ye Wei unconsciously caressed the cover of the old, worn-out book. The cover had a rough texture, giving a strange and indescribable feeling.

What Ye Wei did not know was that as he touched the old, worn-out book, a strange, invisible force was rapidly spreading from his fingertips, like ripples on the surface of water, spreading out in circles.

Ye Wei yawned, suddenly feeling very sleepy, his eyelids becoming increasingly heavy. In a daze, he leaned over and fell asleep on the old, worn-out book.

Ye Wei fell into a long, deep dream!

It was a very long dream. Ye Wei dreamed of a towering green mountain, with lush pines and cypresses. Focusing his gaze, he could see countless mysterious patterns faintly undulating on the mountain. Suddenly, the entire mountain shattered with a loud boom, transforming into streams of flame divine stones. One of the divine stones rushed toward Ye Wei, and the mysterious patterns on the stone seemed to come alive, crazily drilling into Ye Wei’s mind. Various divine pattern knowledge exploded in his mind, causing Ye Wei’s head to ache intensely.

The green mountain on the cover of the old, worn-out book had quietly disappeared...

The worn-out pages turned to ashes and vanished without a trace.

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