Longevity: Starting with an infant's innate growth potential

"Brother Zhou, we're the first to reach the Sword Qi Great Wall!"

Looking at the blazing field of light ahead, Qi Jianzhi said to Zhou Ling with a delighted expression.

The reason I know it's the first one is because it will be displayed on the jade tablet once we reach the Sword Qi Great Wall.

They have now entered the territory of Dragon Sword City, the first immortal city of the Sword Qi Great Wall, so the jade tablet already shows that they have arrived.

"Ok!"

Zhou Ling nodded calmly.

Dragon Sword City, one of the ten immortal cities of the Sword Qi Great Wall, is about 130,000 miles away from the Golden Rainbow City of the Dao Alliance.

Having arrived at Dragon Sword Immortal City, they could be considered to have completed their first trial.

This Dragon Sword Immortal City can be considered the last line of defense of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Once breached, the Dao Alliance will have to face the alien races of the Star Sea.

As for the inner region of the Star Sea, the Dao Alliance organizes cultivators to clear out the demonic beasts every so often.

This trial can also be considered a trial to eliminate monsters.

"Brother Zhou, we were not only the first to reach the Sword Qi Great Wall, but your score is almost two thousand more than Yan Yutian, who is in second place!"

Qi Jianzhi said with some excitement.

Zhou Ling's score has now reached an astonishing six thousand points.

He had a full two thousand more points than Yan Yutian, who was in second place, and Feng Lan, who was in third place.

And that's not all. Along the way, they followed Zhou Ling and witnessed his formidable strength firsthand.

Killing a third-tier monster is a piece of cake.

And it's not just the monsters he killed; just the Blood Thunder Crow flock he subdued—if you calculate it, the total points he gets wouldn't even match the combined points of the other top ten.

Moreover, there was another fourth-tier golden-scaled dragon.

If Zhou Ling had killed the golden-scaled dragon, he would have gained at least another two thousand points, but in the end, Zhou Ling did subdue it.

Now, the two of them are completely convinced of Zhou Ling's abilities.

"Let's go, let's get to work first!"

Zhou Ling waved and smiled.

As Zhou Ling finished speaking, Qi Jianzhi also steered the warship toward the outer walls of Dragon Sword Immortal City.

The surrounding starry sky was completely silent, seemingly devoid of any living creature, a scene of utter lifelessness.

However, through [Intermediate Observation], as the warship moved rapidly, Zhou Ling was able to detect some magic arrays and the aura of cultivators around him.

Among these hidden formations are giant warships and giant flying rocks, with cultivators forming sentry posts on them.

The leaders were at least at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

Moreover, this area is within the inner star region, so there aren't many sentry posts.

Upon arriving in the outer space, as Chen Zhenglei had said, there was a sentry post every thirty miles and a guard post every hundred miles, with several thousand cultivators stationed year-round along the Sword Qi Great Wall.

As the warship landed on the battlements, a patrol of cultivators quickly came to greet it.

The group of cultivators consisted of six people, led by a slender middle-aged man with an early Nascent Soul cultivation level.

The other five were all Foundation Establishment cultivators, with cultivation levels all above the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

"Are you three disciples participating in the trial?"

His gaze swept over the three men, and the middle-aged man cupped his hands in greeting.

He was a cultivator arranged by Chen Zhenglei to welcome the trial disciples here.

Seeing Zhou Ling and his group's warships, they could already tell.

However, just to be on the safe side, he still carefully investigated and inspected the area.

After all, there are all sorts of strange and monstrous beasts in the star field.

Phantom beasts, for example, can kill cultivators, devour their flesh and blood, and then transform into their likeness, making them impossible to guard against.

"I am Qi Jianzhi, and the other two are Zhou Ling and Bu Yang."

Qi Jianzhi took out the jade token and bowed to the middle-aged man.

After checking the three people's jade tokens and confirming that they were genuine, the middle-aged man smiled and said, "I am Wen Xingyuan, the commander of the Six Guards of Dragon Sword Immortal City."

"You are the first trial disciples to arrive. Please wait here until everyone has arrived, and then I will take you to the main camp!"

Wen Xingyuan's tone was quite polite.

He was naturally aware of the identity of the disciple participating in this trial.

They are all geniuses of the Dao Alliance, with considerable strength, and may even become high-ranking members of the Dao Alliance in the future.

Those who are the first to arrive here are certainly quite powerful.

The three of them immediately disembarked from the warship and waited to the side.

The first trial is scheduled to last five days.

Points earned after five days will not be counted towards military merit.

All other teams will definitely arrive here today as well.

"Brother Zhou, this Dragon Sword City Lord's sword is a fifth-tier Golden Dragon Sword. It is said that the sword energy it condenses can cleave through ten thousand miles!"

With nothing to do, Qi Jianzhi started chatting with Zhou Ling.

"I wonder who wields this Golden Dragon Sword?"

Zhou Ling also asked with a look of curiosity.

The Great Wall of Sword Qi is so named because each of the ten sword cities is guarded by a fifth-tier treasure sword.

In the event of a major crisis, the ten giant swords can be condensed into a sword array, unleashing terrifying power.

Every sword wielder in the Sword Qi Immortal City is called a Sword Envoy.

Their status was extremely high, no less than that of the city lord of the immortal city.

Similar to the head of the Inspection Department.

However, some time ago, the Sword Qi Great Wall was suddenly attacked by alien races from the Star Sea, resulting in the breaching of two immortal cities and the death and injury of one of the two sword wielders.

This also had a huge impact on the overall situation of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

This is why the Dao Alliance urgently mobilized hundreds of cultivators to provide support.

"The Golden Dragon Sword of Dragon Sword Immortal City is in the hands of Senior Gu!"

"Senior Gu is a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator and a fourth-step swordsman of the fourth realm of swordsmanship. He has wielded the Golden Dragon Sword for decades!"

"We've killed quite a few fifth-tier Starsea aliens!"

Hearing their conversation, Wen Xingyuan smiled and introduced them to each other.

"Senior Ancient!"

"Senior Ancient!"

Zhou Ling and the other two spoke up in unison, their faces showing admiration.

Zhou Ling's gaze shifted. If the Sword Envoy was this powerful, and two Sword Cities had been breached, it was clear how terrifying the strength of this alien race in the Star Sea was.

"Currently, the ten immortal cities of the Sword Qi Great Wall are all controlled by cultivators at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm or above the third step of the fourth realm."

"It was just recently that a star field light exposure occurred, which led to two of the seven immortal cities being attacked by alien races from the star sea."

"There have been considerable casualties!"

Wen Xingyuan spoke slowly to the three of them.

"Commander Wen, what is the current situation of the battle in these two immortal cities?"

Zhou Ling couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

He now understands that the ten immortal cities of the Sword Qi Great Wall are divided into two lines of defense, with the first seven being the Seven Luminaries Immortal Cities.

They can use the immortal sword to form the Seven Luminaries Sword Formation.

The three immortal cities behind form the second line of defense.

Dragon Sword Immortal City is one of the three immortal cities that followed.

"The battle is still ongoing. Even if Sun City and Moon City can be retaken, they will suffer enormous damage. It won't be easy to repair them in a short time."

Commander Wen said with a rather helpless expression.

Zhou Ling nodded. He was only there to participate in the trial, and it was not his place to concern himself with such a major matter as reclaiming the Immortal City.

Qi Jianzhi continued to inquire about the situation of the two immortal cities.

He knew that the upcoming trials would most likely be related to these two immortal cities, so he needed to find out more details.

Shortly afterward, a small warship also landed on the battlements.

The visitors were Yan Yutian and two others.

Of the three, Yan Yutian looked better, while the other two were pale and looked rather disheveled.

Seeing Zhou Ling and the other two chatting idly, Yan Yutian's gaze darkened slightly, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Wen Xingyuan walked over.

They also carefully inspected the three of them and the warship. Only after confirming that there were no problems were they allowed to enter the battlements to wait.

"Fellow Daoist Yan, I was lucky to win this competition. Quickly hand over these 1,500 military merits!"

Looking at Yan Yutian, Zhou Ling didn't stand on ceremony and spoke directly.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou's combat prowess is truly admirable!"

Yan Yutian cupped his hands in greeting and said calmly.

He had killed two fourth-tier demonic beasts in the past two days, but he was still more than two thousand points behind Zhou Ling, leaving him speechless with this defeat.

However, he also wanted to know how many fourth-tier demonic beasts Zhou Ling had killed to obtain so many points.

However, he didn't ask.

After all, he wasn't familiar with Zhou Ling, and asking him so abruptly was inappropriate for his status.

When we meet Chen Zhenglei and the others, we will naturally announce it.

He then took out a jade tablet and handed it to Zhou Ling, saying with a slightly unwilling tone, "This contains 1,500 military merits."

"Hopefully, we'll have another chance to gamble in the trials to come!"

Zhou Ling reached out and took the jade token, smiling slightly, "As long as Fellow Daoist Yan has military merits or other treasures, I will naturally accompany you!"

Earning those 1,500 military merits was so easy!

In addition, there are Tao Yue's two fourth-order magic arrays.

There were also monsters killed along the way.

Most importantly, points can also be exchanged for military merits.

This effort has yielded many times the rewards and many times the joy.

Zhou Ling was naturally more than happy to accept such a good thing.

"Okay, it's a deal!"

Yan Yutian said proudly, then returned to the warship, sat cross-legged, and began to recover.

Clearly, this battle on the road also took a toll.

Zhou Ling also accepted the jade token, and then sat cross-legged to the side, patiently waiting.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn has passed, and another warship has arrived.

Soon, Tao Yue and his two companions were seen landing from the warship.

The three of them were also breathing somewhat unevenly.

Tao Yue was in the most disheveled state.

His hair was noticeably messy.

Feng Lanqiao's face was also slightly pale, while Pei Qingshuang remained stable and did not seem to have suffered much.

Upon seeing Zhou Ling, the three reacted with varying expressions.

Tao Yue's expression clearly darkened.

Feng Lan and Pei Qingshuang's beautiful eyes narrowed, and they gained a new understanding of Zhou Ling's combat strength.

After all, they had killed two fourth-tier and two third-tier monsters along the way, which was already a pretty good record, but they were still two thousand points behind Zhou Ling.

This means that Zhou Ling killed at least three fourth-tier demonic beasts.

The fact that he was able to kill three fourth-tier demonic beasts in such a short time demonstrates just how terrifying his strength is.

Feng Lan and Pei Qingshuang also had to treat this matter with caution.

After Wen Xingyuan inspected the items, Zhou Ling walked towards Tao Yue with a smile.

"These are your two fourth-order magic arrays!"

Upon seeing Zhou Ling arrive, Tao Yue looked helpless, took out two array plates, and handed them to Zhou Ling.

"Not bad!"

"A mid-grade fourth-tier minor starlight sword formation and a low-grade fourth-tier illusionary cloud formation!"

Zhou Ling took the two array plates, examined them carefully, and said with a satisfied expression.

Although he wasn't a formation master, he could tell the situation of the two formations at a glance using his [Intermediate Observation] skill.

"Fellow Daoist Tao, do you still want to gamble in the future?"

Zhou Ling said with a smile.

"I don't have any fourth-order magic arrays on me!"

Tao Yue spoke with an uncertain expression.

In his view, this was Zhou Ling's blatant mockery of him, especially in front of Feng Lan and the other woman.

It made his face feel burning.

Losing to Zhou Ling twice was quite humiliating for him.

"Pity!"

Zhou Ling shook his head; he naturally didn't care what Tao Yue thought.

Without a wager, he completely ignored him.

He then looked at Feng Lan, smiled, and said, "Fellow Daoist Feng, it's a pity this time. You were just a little short of catching up. I wonder if you'd be interested in taking another gamble later!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Lan glared at Zhou Ling, her chest heaving slightly, and said helplessly, "We can settle this with a trial; there's no need for such a wager!"

"Fine, whatever you want. But don't say I'm unfair for not giving you a chance to turn things around!"

Zhou Ling looked disappointed.

Now only Yan Yutian is left, which means the stakes are reduced by half.

"I have a feeling that Zhou Ling is pretending to be weak while actually being strong!"

Seeing Zhou Ling's posture, Qi Jianzhi couldn't help but think to himself.

If people saw how Zhou Ling killed monsters along the way, who would dare to bet with him?

That's definitely a money-bringing boy!

However, he naturally wouldn't point it out.

Tao Yue and the other two returned to the warship and began to recover.

Then, warships arrived at the battlements one after another.

Wen Xingyuan checked everything meticulously.

By noon, all the disciples who participated in the competition had arrived.

Wen Xingyuan then led them into the inner city.

······.

"In this first trial, Zhou Ling scored 6,300 points and killed three fourth-tier and three third-tier demonic beasts, winning first place in the competition!"

"Yan Yutian scored 4,200 points and came in second, killing two fourth-tier and two third-tier monsters."

"Feng Lan scored 4,000 points and came in third, killing two fourth-tier and two third-tier monsters."

······.

In a vast square, Chen Zhenglei announced the results of the first trial to everyone.

"To kill three fourth-tier and three third-tier demonic beasts in just five days is terrifying."

"We can't even kill a fourth-tier demonic beast!"

"As expected of the number one on the list of geniuses!"

"What's the point of even comparing these things!"

When Chen Zhenglei announced the trial results, the other prodigies discussed the matter with shocked expressions.

The whole journey took only four days.

Putting aside the time spent traveling, it might take most of the day to kill a fourth-tier demon beast.

Zhou Ling was killing a fourth-tier demon beast every day.

It can only be said to be so terrifying!
How could a Golden Core cultivator possibly do that?

Of all ten teams, only five were capable of killing fourth-tier monsters.

This shows how terrifying Zhou Ling's strength is.

Qi Jianzhi could only shake his head at everyone's reactions.

If they knew that Zhou Ling still had three fourth-tier demonic beasts and a flock of Blood Thunder Crows in his beast-raising bag, they would be incredibly surprised.

All I can say is that Zhou Ling's strength is truly terrifying.

Being in the same team as him for this trial was a huge win for me.

They won first place this time, and each of them received a reward of one thousand military merits.

He won his thousand military merits by doing absolutely nothing!
Go back and see if you can get some more spirit wine to send to Zhou Ling! (End of Chapter)