Chapter 169: The Terrifying Nine Provinces

Actually, Abu recovered his memory just a few minutes after waking up, but being in an unfamiliar environment, he didn’t dare reveal his origins and could only pretend to have amnesia.
Besides, Abu didn’t think these people would believe him even if he told the truth.
He was from another world, after all. If not for his ancestors accidentally obtaining a gift from an Immortal—a Fragment of the World-Breaking Talisman—even Abu wouldn’t have believed there were worlds beyond his own.
Abu’s family was a powerful force in their own world, and even so, they never considered making the existence of other worlds public, or sharing the talismans that allowed passage to them.
Abu figured people in this world would be the same—the upper echelons hoarding knowledge of other worlds, keeping it secret and claiming it for themselves.
Who would ever complain about having too many secrets?

“Did you hear? The Dao Sect decided to increase the number of participants going to the Mingzhong World, and they’re limiting it to cultivators below the Golden Core Stage!” Someone who got the news was super excited.
“What? Doesn’t that mean we have a shot too?”
Although the students at the Great Zhou Imperial Academy weren’t the strongest fighters, going to the Mingzhong World wasn’t some dangerous adventure. It’d be safe, and the selection would probably depend on which cultivators were the smartest.
Not only did the students have a chance—they had a pretty high one.
“The Mingzhong World follows a completely different path from ours. You can live there comfortably even without spiritual energy. I really want to see it. Human Sovereign Jiang called it… what was the name again?”
“Technology.”
“Yeah, that’s it. Human Sovereign Jiang said the Mingzhong World relies on technology, and our Nine Provinces relies on cultivation. He also said there’s no superior or inferior between the two, just mutual respect, progress, and development—building a better tomorrow together.”
“And there’s also the Zombie World. I wonder when we’ll get to go there.”
“Forget it. The Zombie World has been Time Reversed. Even Human Sovereign Jiang can only be a spectator there, can’t use his powers. If we go, it’ll just be sightseeing—we wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
“Human Sovereign Jiang said it’ll be at least eighty or ninety years before we can go to the Zombie World.”
Jiang Li wanted to eventually link the Zombie World and the Nine Provinces, so he released the news early to mentally prepare people.
Abu was dumbfounded listening to all this. Why did it sound like people here were totally used to other worlds? Not surprised at all.
“Wait… you guys know there are other worlds beyond this one?” Abu asked cautiously.
“Of course, isn’t that common knowledge?” Zhu Zhu replied matter-of-factly. Beneath the Celestial Realm, there are countless worlds—everyone knows that.
Just because they couldn’t go to other worlds didn’t mean they didn’t know about them.
The secret Abu’s family treated as a treasured legacy was like street gossip in this world, which made everything feel surreal to him.
“Lately I keep dreaming about those beings fighting in the universe. I wonder when I’ll reach that level.”
“Keep dreaming. You should worry about whether you’re even qualified to go to the universe first.”
“I heard Tianji Tower recently launched a ‘One-Day Universe Tour’ led by high-level cultivators, but the price is kinda steep.”
“The universe? How could humans possibly go into space?” Abu just couldn’t understand.
In Abu’s world, martial arts were highly developed. While martial artists were rare, their overall number was still significant. They were categorized into: Postnatal Martial Artists, Innate Martial Artists, Grandmasters, and Human Pinnacles.
The Human Pinnacle, also called Landbound Immortal, was truly terrifying. At that level, they weren’t bound by worldly rules. Snatching a general’s head from an army was like reaching into a bag. They could single-handedly decide the outcome of wars. Even the Imperial Court treated them with respect—recruiting them was a must, making them enemies was not an option.
Abu was a Postnatal Martial Artist, with a martial talent rivaling his father’s.
And his father was a Human Pinnacle, unmatched by any!
So even a powerhouse like his father couldn’t fly into space.
But even Abu’s father, a Landbound Immortal, was helpless before the enemies who descended from the skies—those terrifying beings known as the Twelve Heavenly Kings.
The Twelve Heavenly Kings were terrifying. One shout from them could reverse rivers and shake mountains.
There were also legends of Immortals in Abu’s world—their family’s talisman was said to be left by one.
Martial artists could never equal Immortals, but they could still transcend the mundane, which is why people said the Human Pinnacle was akin to a Landbound Immortal.
Since his father was a Landbound Immortal, then the Twelve Heavenly Kings who were stronger must be real Immortals.
That’s what Abu had always believed. So when Zhu Zhu spoke of Immortals in this world—and of even greater beings like the Human Sovereign—he got excited, thinking only such powerful entities could save his world.
“W-Who can go to space? Immortals?”
Abu knew the cultivation ranks in this world were much more detailed than his own. His world only had four tiers, but this one had seven: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Formation, Fusion, and Tribulation Stage. Beyond that lay the Immortals.
Everyone looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“Hahaha.” Seeing Abu nervously ask such a question, everyone was amused.
Zhu Zhu was wiping away tears, laughing so hard she couldn’t catch her breath.
Another person, suppressing a smile, said, “If only Immortals could go into space, then you’re seriously underestimating Fusion and Tribulation Stage cultivators.”
“Actually, Soul Formation cultivators can already go into space, but there are still some flaws at that stage. They can’t unify all three aspects, so they can only stay in space for short periods.”
“Soul Formation?!”
That result blew away all of Abu’s expectations.
After arriving in this world, he’d focused on how to save his homeland. He’d looked for info on the strongest individuals, but didn’t bother paying attention to terms like Soul Formation, Fusion, or Tribulation Stage. He figured no matter how strong they were, they’d be about on par with his world’s Landbound Immortals—nothing that could truly affect his home.
But now it seemed his assumptions were way off.
Was it not that this world had more detailed classifications—but that its powerhouses were just insanely strong?
When Abu naively asked what Nascent Soul and Soul Formation stages were like, he fell silent for a long time.
It seemed the Nascent Soul Stage here was comparable to the Human Pinnacle in his world. Though not exactly the same, their combat power was close.
In Abu’s world, Human Pinnacles were incredibly rare. Counting both those in seclusion and those who’d revealed themselves, there weren’t even ten.
But in this world, Nascent Soul cultivators were everywhere. There were already two Nascent Soul teachers aboard this flying boat alone.
“How many Soul Formation cultivators are there?”
That question stumped everyone. If you were asking about Tribulation Stage—definitely five. Fusion Stage—you could count maybe a hundred or two.
But Soul Formation…
The academy teacher listening nearby didn’t say anything, just started mentally counting how many Soul Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators there were in the Nine Provinces.
And found—it really couldn’t be counted.
“There have to be at least a few thousand. Maybe even ten thousand?” Zhu Zhu said uncertainly. The Nine Provinces were so vast, who could say how many Soul Formation cultivators existed?
Abu took a sharp breath.
This Nine Provinces… was just too terrifying.