Rising Genius

"To think he would reach the 3rd layer so quickly. You truly didn't exaggerate about him, Captain Lee." The tall burly man spoke honest words of praise.

Such little words of praise would be enough to completely shock any other lower-level captains if they knew this burly man's background.

Captain Lee similarly had an honest expression as he nodded. "Indeed. As I said, he is a legitimate genius."

When both this Mastered expert and Captain Lee settled their gazes on him, Chao slightly bowed and then pulled out a recording ring.

He tossed it over to Captain Lee, explaining, "Captain Lee. I have just finished clearing out another ambush. This time, they brought a powerful force. And if you don't mind me asking, is this-"

"Mn. I can tell you already have a close guess in your mind. It is indeed as you think. I am a higher-up figure in our family. Specifically, I am Commander Ju." Commander Ju spoke with a tone of decent respect.

There wasn't any shred of suppression one would think a high and mighty Mastered expert would have when dealing with subordinates.

Chao quite appreciate the forward approach and respectfully nodded. "It is an honor to meet you, Commander Ju. I hope my performance is up to satisfactory."

"Then let's review your battle, shall we?" Captain Lee cut right to the chase.

He swiftly activated the recording ring, spewing out a sizable energy projection that showcased the very start of Chao's sudden ambush.

As the minutes went by, Commander Ju and Captain's Lee initially calm expressions started to contort in pure shock. Their emotions that are normally tempered were thrown into a chaotic loop.

When the recording was finally finished, Commander Ju and Captain Lee were simply left speechless. That battle scene was simply too mind-boggling to understand.

They both understand the tremendous waves it would cause if this were to leak out to intelligence networks.

The previous recording of Cain's ambush only showcased the battle and nothing else. It's only because everyone knew Pao Dai that they were able to tell the enemies Chao faced were in the 3rd layer.

However, now, there was a clear example that couldn't be mistaken at all.

That 4th layer leader showcased energy manipulation only on the 4th layer level. For all intents and purposes, Chao should have lost, even if he was a Spirit tier genius.

But not only did he win, he completely crushed that entire ambush squadron!

One thought emerged within Commander Ju and Captain Lee's minds, which caused them both to shudder.

'It can only be a Heavenly Tier genius!'

Before their very eyes stood a legend rarely, if ever, seen across history. Commander Ju and Captain Lee could feel their heartbeats speed up.

The first to calm his emotions was Commander Ju. He took a deep sigh and spoke in a slow, calculated tone. "Chao, I'm sure you are aware of the Tier of geniuses, right? What you just showed is something that can genuinely shake the minds of our city."

Expecting this reaction, Chao calmly nodded with a smile. "There's Spirit tier where one can skip minor boundaries within a single phase. And Heavenly tier where one can cross over a phase boundary. As for the greater tiers, I only faintly heard they were King and then Emperor tier. The details for them, I am unsure. But I am aware that it is said Heavenly tier geniuses are greatly rare."

"More than just rare...Chao, did you know that out of our whole city, there aren't many Spirit-tier geniuses? At least only dozens of them in the last two years. And most are in the Great Sword Sect. That sect alone has a population of hundreds of thousands. Hell, Sky Bless City alone has a population of a few million! I'm telling you this just so you can understand the scarcity of geniuses." Captain Lee breathlessly spoke.

For the first time, Chao actually showcased genuine surprise. He never put that much thought into it but Sky Bless City truly is enormous.

From what he recalled reading about, the poor district alone is at least thousands or perhaps tens of thousands of miles long and wide!

As a mortal, he, of course, couldn't truly realize the scope of everything. But his continuous experience with cultivation truly broadened Chao's worldview. Everything was far larger than he could ever imagine.

Despite how many people are in Sky Bless City, nothing ever seemed crowded. In fact, things were incredibly spacious.

Still, what truly intrigued Chao was the level of cultivators throughout the city. Chao curiously asked, "This, I've been wondering, is our city rated on some sort of scale? With so many cultivators here, there has to be some way to tell which city is better than others."

"There is indeed a scale." Commander Ju nodded. "Truthfully speaking, the number of mortals is actually more than cultivators. But still, there is an enormous size of us and all with varying amounts of power. The lowest of all cities are 4th-rate ones. These barely have any Sky or Sage Origin cultivators. 3rd rate cities have more of these cultivators but heavily lack Heavenly Origin experts. Our Sky Bless City is a genuine 2nd-rate city with a sizable amount of Heavenly Origin cultivators. Although, we're on the lower end of 2nd-rate cities. But above us is the true powers of the continent. These are 1st-rate cities. Not only do they have plenty of Heavenly Origin experts, but they also have masters who transition from the Divine Nirvana realm. Furthermore, their populations can even extend up to tens of millions."

"Several million...tens of millions? Wait...then, shouldn't Spirit tier geniuses and Heavenly geniuses are more common than what it is? Unless there's something holding people back?" Chao inquired.

Hearing this, both Captain Lee and Commander Ju nearly let out a self-deprecating laugh.

Captain Lee sighed. "You just barely started your cultivation road, so this is understandable. But you must know that having high cultivation talent doesn't come easy at all. Even for powerful backgrounds and those born with powerful bloodlines, there's a limit on how high one's inborn talent can be. Wanting to increase this talent takes immense dedication, rich resources, and, most importantly, cultivation masters with a high enough realm. Hell, it's lucky enough that our Sky Bless City has a few Spirit-tier geniuses."

"Moreover, these geniuses are sure to have great success in their cultivation. Unless there are reasons behind it, it is known that Spirit tier and above geniuses never lose their combat prowess. Even while just in the Origin realm, the beginning of everything, this cultivation talent will follow them throughout their lives." Commander Ju added on.

"Then, what about our Ming Family? Or, for that matter, the Feng Family? Have there really been no noticeable geniuses throughout history?" If their population was so high, Chao believed there must've been one powerful up start for these families' power.

Otherwise, they would be practically no different from some random, low-tier sect. At least on the surface, these families has a sizable reputation across the city.

Commander Ju appeared a bit witless at this topic. His tone had a sense of helplessness as he said, "It's not as if our own doesn't put in hard work. But just the standards of reaching Spirit Tier are far too rigid. However, we did have one powerful genius that had made our family soar through the ladders of society. That ancestor had even reached half-step Heavenly Origin! But as you can probably tell, life is always unpredictable, especially for a cultivator. Even with all the power of a half-step Heavenly Origin, our ancestor couldn't escape an untimely death. Since then, we have never got so lucky to experience another great genius. At least...until now,

Everything was becoming increasingly clearer to Chao. More aware than ever, his mind already started to form future plans. There was only one more thing he needed to ask. "Just one more thing. Besides combat prowess, what other specialties do we geniuses have?"

Genuine admiration glossed over Commander Ju's eyes as he said, "Just Spirit tier geniuses alone will have a cultivation speed at least thousands of times greater than the average person. The rate at which they can comprehend Laws, cultivation arts, and Nature are all tremendously greater. From history, most Spirit tier geniuses easily can reach the Heavenly Origin realm within only 100 years. Compared this to most others who are merely stuck in the Sage Origin realm for a few thousands of years. These geniuses will also have a smoother time transition through Divine Nirvana and live. The best Spirit Tier geniuses can even go through a couple of realms of Divinity."

"The realms of Divinity..." Chao's eyes briefly glowed. "With so many superior advantages, it wouldn't be hard for even a Spirit Tier genius to arouse the anger and envy of others, right?"

The older men put on grave expressions. Commander Ju solemnly nodded. "Knowing all of this, Chao, I hope you realize the gravity of being a Heavenly Tier genius."