However, when Chen Xiao saw the eager look in their eyes, his heart softened, and he decided to reveal a little. He said, "The Sacred Domain is both my old home and the place I want to return to."
Xiao Liuzi pouted and whispered, "Brother Xiao, you can't do this. Even if you don't want to say, you don't have to make up a place to deceive us."
Old Wang, unlike Xiao Liuzi, was not so ignorant. He glared at Xiao Liuzi and said, "Don't talk nonsense. The world is vast, and there are countless places you don't know. If you are ignorant, listen more, watch more, and speak less!"
Xiao Liuzi was lectured again. Even though he deeply respected Old Wang, he felt a little resentful. He lowered his head and ate his meal, not speaking anymore.
Chen Xiao's eyes lit up, and he asked expectantly, "You old sir know this place? Do you know how to get there?"
This question had troubled Chen Xiao for a long time. He only knew that the Sacred Domain was not on the Dragon Martial Continent, but he didn't know how to return.
Old Wang shook his head and replied, "I have never heard of this place, let alone how to get there. I only know that the Sky Maple Kingdom is located on the edge of the Dragon Martial Continent, and there are countless small countries like the Sky Maple Kingdom in the entire border area, collectively called the Nations' Domain."
"The further you go towards the center of the continent, the richer the spiritual energy. However, that area is governed by the Sects' Domain, and we are not allowed to step into it. The people in the Sects' Domain, with their unique and abundant spiritual energy, have extremely high cultivation. If we force our way in, it would be like a moth to a flame."
Seeing that Chen Xiao was listening intently, Old Wang asked in confusion, "What? You don't know about the Sects' Domain?"
After witnessing Chen Xiao's superb array and talisman skills, Old Wang guessed that he must have come from a more central area of the continent. When Chen Xiao said the Sacred Domain was his hometown, Old Wang became even more certain of his guess.
He also thought that Chen Xiao had lost all his cultivation, was clearly persecuted, and had come to the Sky Maple Kingdom to seek refuge to avoid his enemies.
But if the Sacred Domain was in a more central area of the continent, then Chen Xiao should have known about the existence of the Sects' Domain.
He never imagined that the place Chen Xiao came from did not belong to the Dragon Martial Continent at all; it was beyond his scope of knowledge.
"Of course not. This is the first time I've heard of the Sects' Domain," Chen Xiao replied, negating all of Old Wang's speculations with a single sentence.
"Oh, I see." Old Wang's face showed a hint of contemplation, but he quickly relaxed. An advantage of getting old is that one no longer feels the need to get to the bottom of everything.
After a moment of thought, Old Wang continued to explain, "As the name suggests, there are countless sects, large and small, within the Sects' Domain. Even a casual small sect could annihilate the entire Sky Maple Empire. The only reason they don't do so is that they find the resources here to be scarce and not worth their effort."
Upon hearing Old Wang's words, Chen Xiao's expression turned serious. He hadn't expected the hierarchical system on the Dragon Martial Continent to be so strict.
"That's all I know. I haven't even been to the Sects' Domain, let alone the more central areas," Old Wang said, spreading his hands helplessly, with a hint of regret in his brows.
However, Chen Xiao saw something in Old Wang's expression and asked, "Old Wang, did you have a chance to go to the Sects' Domain before?"
"Yes, the Sky Maple Sect in the Sects' Domain selects a few good cultivation talents from the Sky Maple Empire every year, and I once had such an opportunity..." Old Wang stopped speaking here, waved his hand, and said, "Let's not talk about it, let's not talk about it."
"Is there any connection between the Sky Maple Empire and the Sky Maple Sect?" Chen Xiao did not press Old Wang about his past but asked about his own doubts.
"Yes, nominally, the Sky Maple Empire is a vassal state of the Sky Maple Sect. But in reality, the Sky Maple Sect is like a mosquito, endlessly draining the empire's blood." At this point, Old Wang's eyes were filled with resentment. "The empire itself is already scarce in resources, but more than eighty percent of the minerals, medicinal herbs, spirit stones, and so on produced each year must be supplied to the Sky Maple Sect."
Chen Xiao felt no injustice about this. It was the same everywhere; the law of the jungle was an immutable principle. The strong would always possess more resources, and the weak, if they didn't want to be eaten, could only force themselves to become strong.
Chen Xiao now only wanted to know how to enter the Sects' Domain to find a way back to the Sacred Domain. He could only do so by going to more developed places. So he asked, "Then how does one get chosen?"
"Since it's the sect selecting good cultivation talents, the requirements are naturally very high. The most basic requirement is to possess a spiritual seed of rank four or above, and to reach the seventh level of Body Refining before the age of eighteen, which is entering the Organ Refining stage. After meeting these two conditions, whether one is finally chosen depends on the envoy's attitude, which is of utmost importance."
Old Wang was very familiar with this.
"Oh." Chen Xiao pondered for a moment. He was seventeen this year, and there were still eight months before he turned eighteen. Reaching the seventh level of Body Refining within eight months was not difficult. As for the spiritual seed, it was even less of a problem; a super-grade spiritual seed was unique in this world.
After a brief consideration, knowing he met both conditions, Chen Xiao asked, "Where is the envoy?"
Old Wang, hearing Chen Xiao's detailed questions, already knew his intentions and said without reservation, "Since it's an envoy from the Sky Maple Sect, they are naturally within the Sky Maple Martial Academy established by the Sky Maple Sect. By the way, another selection criterion for the Sky Maple Sect is that one must be a disciple of the Sky Maple Martial Academy."
"Sky Maple Martial Academy?" Chen Xiao seemed to have heard someone mention it before. He then slapped his forehead and remembered, "No wonder it sounds so familiar. It's the place where that pair of scoundrels are."
"What scoundrels?" Old Wang asked, completely bewildered.
"Nothing, just a pair of bitches. I happen to have an old score to settle with them." A hint of anger flashed in Chen Xiao's eyes, but it was quickly suppressed. He didn't want to reveal his past experience of being jilted to others. "Old Wang, I want to enter the Sky Maple Academy."
Old Wang looked at Chen Xiao with an expression that said, 'I knew it.' At this moment, Xiao Liuzi exclaimed, "Ah? Brother Xiao, you really want to be chosen by that Sky Maple Sect? What's so good about that place?"
"Also, also... you said you are seventeen this year, and there is less than a year left. How can you possibly..." Xiao Liuzi spoke intermittently, but his meaning was clear. Chen Xiao was already seventeen, but only at the second level of Body Refining, even worse than him. How could he possibly reach the seventh level of Body Refining within a year?
Chen Xiao was not angry and laughed heartily, "Haha, how about we make a bet?"
"Let's forget it." Hearing Chen Xiao mention betting, Xiao Liuzi immediately remembered the great loss suffered by Young Master Zuo when he bet with Chen Xiao, and immediately backed down.
Although he had also noticed that Chen Xiao had broken through from the first level of Body Refining to the second level in just one night, everyone knew that the improvement speed in the first three levels of the Body Refining stage was the fastest. Therefore, he still believed that Chen Xiao could not possibly reach the seventh level of Body Refining within a year.