Chapter 4 Xuanyuan World

• Beneath the willow's weeping branches in the palatial courtyard, Tan Xuan settled himself upon a marble bench, the zephyr carrying the scent of blooming osmanthus. He unfurled The Xuanyuan World, its parchment yellowed with age, only to be met with columns of archaic seal script. Though scarcely literate in such ancient characters, he witnessed the graphemes quiver like aquatic creatures, projecting streams of telepathic insight directly into his consciousness—an arcane mechanism that rendered the text's meaning instantaneous.
• "Truly extraordinary," he mused, tracing the tome's embossed cover. "Had such mnemonic sorcery existed in my former world, the sum of human knowledge might be mastered in a single fortnight." This further deepened his awe of cultivation's wonders, prompting him to delve into the treatise's intricate codices.
• The text commenced with a hierarchical exposition of the world's spiritual disciplines, specifically tailored for the Xuanyuan Continent's power structures:
• Profound Dragon Stratum
• True Spirit Stratum
• Divine Repository Stratum
• Heavenly Human Stratum
• Oblivion Stratum
• Each stratum comprised nine concentric realms, with chasms of power separating each echelon—gaps so vast that many cultivators stagnated in a single realm for millennia. True Spirit practitioners were deemed mundane elites, Divine Repository adepts regional overlords, Heavenly Human masters sect founders, and Oblivion sages "semi-divine." The treatise cryptically intimated that Oblivion marked but the threshold of authentic cultivation, with celestial tiers beyond reckoning—though such mysteries remained veiled in allegory.
• As a compendium exclusive to the Luo Shui Sect, it divulged inner sanctum secrets: the semi-divine Sect Patriarch reigned at the zenith, flanked by nine Heavenly Human peak Elders. Notably, it stated that Patriarchs customarily abdicated after a millennium, withdrawing to the sect's Forbidden Grounds—a practice implying Luo Shui harbored divinities beyond the semi-divine, their existence veiled by temporal seclusion.
• Subsequent chapters mapped the Xuanyuan World's geopolitical tapestry:
• Partitioned into five cardinal regions—Eastern, Southern, Western, Northern, and Central
• Eastern Region (Luo Shui's domain) dominated by eight hegemonic sects and four academies:
• Luo Shui Sect, Demonic Heaven Sect, Moon Worship Sect, Lunar Yin Sect, Divine Thunder Gate, Northern Dipper Sword School, Blissful Celestial Palace, Gods Academy, Vault of Heaven Academy, True Dragon Academy, Star Cluster Academy
• Twenty-four dynastic states under the suzerainty of twelve paramount forces (two dynasties per hegemon); Luo Shui governed the Great River and Azure Wave Dynasties
• Prominent racial conglomerates: Humanus, Eladrin, Angelic Host, Fallen Legions, Yāo Clan, Occidental Draconis, Oriental Sea Draconis, Ancient Titans
• Closing the compendium, Tan Xuan sat in silent reverie, marveling at the world's labyrinthine complexity—where mythological races walked alongside mortal cultivators. "Magnificent in its scope!" A fire of ambition kindled in his eyes; had he possessed the requisite might, he would have immediately embarked on a peregrination to traverse its myriad civilizations. Yet the treatise's brevity gnawed at him, particularly its studied silence on connections to Earth—though the ancient corpse's provenance remained a lodestar, hinting at an inextricable link.
• "Esteemed sir, Elder Xu Zhen requests your audience in the Hall of Ancestors," a maiden's voice intruded, her brocade robes rustling as she performed a deep curtsey.
• Upon entering the hallowed chamber, Tan Xuan beheld Xu Zhen enthroned upon a jade dais, his visage radiating benevolent authority, with Li Yue'er standing in attendance, her posture rigid as a pine. After the maiden withdrew with a ceremonial bow, Tan Xuan advanced and performed a threefold salute: "Greetings, Master, under the auspices of heaven."
• "Rise, my disciple." Xu Zhen steepled his fingers, appraising Tan Xuan with eyes like limpid pools. "I have petitioned the Patriarch for your induction. However, given your current cultivation nadir, it would be impolitic to admit you as a Core Disciple forthwith—such preferment would invite undue scrutiny. You shall henceforth be an Inner Disciple, with elevation to Core status contingent upon your attainment of the Divine Repository Stratum."
• "I am grateful for your sagacity, Master," Tan Xuan replied, prostrating himself briefly. He understood from The Xuanyuan World that this was an extraordinary dispensation: most initiates began as Outer Disciples, ascending to Inner only at True Spirit Layer 6, while Core Disciples numbered fewer than a hundred among thousands—their ranks reserved for prodigies who combined Divine Repository mastery with Patriarchal imprimatur.
• Xu Zhen produced two silk-bound tomes from his sleeve: "These are the sect's foundational codices. Commit the meridian cartography and acupoint configurations to memory with scrupulous attention. In three days, I shall escort you to the Inheritance Hall for the 'initiation of channels'."
• "Inheritance Hall?!" Li Yue'er's composure fractured, her eyes widening in consternation. As a Core Disciple, she knew the hall stood as the sect's spiritual nucleus—access typically granted only to Divine Repository breakthroughs, with a second audience reserved for Heavenly Human ascension. Tan Xuan's pre-cultivation admittance portended three potential visits as a Core Disciple—an honor hitherto exclusive to the Patriarch's direct lineage.
• Unaware of the privilege bestowed, Tan Xuan reverently received the tomes: Dragon Ascension Cloud-Surge Canon and Startling Tide Saber Manual. Bowing deeply, he hastened to his chambers, the yellowed pages seeming to throb with latent power in his grasp—a portent of the arcane mysteries that awaited.