Martial research master

When Li Meng picked the sword up he was shocked to feel the reverberation occurring from his body and the black-dragon sword. A low humming sound of a dragon roaring could be heard from within it. Li Meng tried his best to unsheathe the sword, but even after applying all his strength, he couldn't open it.

"Don't overexert yourself like this. This sword is not a simple one. I have waited from the time I was a Qi Emperor to the time I became an advanced Qi Monarch, and I still couldn't unsheath it. If it was that easy, I wouldn't have gifted it to you."

"Why did you give this to me master?" Li Meng could feel the power without the Keeper even scanning it.

"As I said, this sword can only be wielded by someone compatible with it. You require a lot of luck and fortune to be able to use this weapon. No one alive has known the secret of this sword except the four of us. Do you know the amount of blood which had been shed for this sword to be in my hand?"

"Do you know what cultivation I was at during my time in the Royal Road?" the old man asked.

"Master must be a power Qi Emperor." Li Meng said.

"Not just any kind of Qi Emperor. I was at the very peak of Qi Emperor level. My strength at that time was quite substantial within the Emperor realm. If you2 take into account my strength, what do you think my rankings were?" The old man asked.

"I would estimate you to be within the top 10." Li Meng said.

"I was barely able to enter the top 100. I hope you understand what kind of competition is viable within the battlefield. Do you understand now? Although anyone below the Qi Monarch level can enter the battlefield, why do you think only emperors are allowed. It was because a Qi king is like a bug among the crowd. Even low-level emperors aren't able to achieve much and most of them die on the battlefield. Only intermediate, advanced, and peak level Emperors can achieve something and have a chance to stay alive."

"Even within that group, the top 200 is made up completely of peak level emperors. The winner is demons walking among cultivators. Every winner of the Royal Road is stated to have reached the Dominator realm at the very least, with many making into Half-saint level."

"Are there so many peak Qi Kings within the central plains?"

"Well, before answering that question, I want you to understand what the true structure of power is within the central plains. The central plains have vast geography and hence there is a huge diversity within the ruling factions of the plains. If we are to discuss the major powers within the central plains, three are 3 palaces, 5 pavilions, seven academies, and 9 sects."

Each of these 24 powers could be pointed at being a hegemon in its rights. If the overall strength is considered the three palaces could be said to have the highest position, followed by the rest."

"The three places are namely Heavenly, Underworld, and Mortal palace. The Pavillions are namely Shengluo, Armoured Drake, White Deer, Star Luo, and Pill pavilions, also known as Pill Valley."

Li Meng's expression changed on knowing that pill valley was stronger than the Thunder Academy."

"The academies include Thunder, Fire, Earth, Air, and Water along with Darkness and Light. Each complements with a kind of elements or energy."

"The sects include Frost-leaf, Volcanic, Sword-mountain, Bladestorm, Netherworld, Undefeated, Poison-dawn, Fifth-mountain, and Malestorm sect." 

" For your information, there is at least a Dominator present within each one of the forces, including ours. You will know about the details once you step into the Qi Monarch realm. The White Dragon Emperor is the current sect-master of the Armoured-Drake pavilion. I want you to understand how vats the central plains truly are."

"Each of these forces will send their Qi Emperors to compete within the Royal Road. Cultivators who are equivalent, if not better than you will be participating in the competition. Once you entered the battlefield, no one is your friend anymore." The old man looked at all his disciples before returning to Li Meng. The implications of his words were quite clear.

"About your question, the number of peak QI Emperors is not that large within the central pains, yet the number at the end of the event is humongous. The reason behind it is the battlefield. It provides cultivators with the opportunity to rise rapidly through the path of cultivations. Almost everyone who makes out has raised their realms by three stages at least."

"There are cultivation resources, natural treasures, inheritances left by hegemonic figures of the past. There are high-tier beasts ad so many things like precious minerals, weapons, and much more. The records state that hundreds of thousands of monarchs had died on the battlefield. There were Dominators and Half-saints within the deceased too."

"You luck in finding those inheritances will play a vital role. This sword came from such an inheritance. I was the only one who returned from the trials among the 135 Qi Emperors who participated in the competition. I had to kill around 3 to get my hands on this sword. You will have to do something on similar lines. So be prepared to do the same."

"Now, we need to talk about the time you have remaining before the competitions start. You have around half a year. So be prepared. You need to break through the Qi Emperor level as soon as possible. The speed within Emperor level doesn't depend on resources, as much as it will depend on your understanding of a cultivation realm. You need to understand the behavior of laws to advance into a higher grade."

"Before your breakthrough, I want you to refine your body to the highest level possible. You will use one of our academy's guarded resources. It is only provided to the strongest Qi Kiinsg within the academy. The last time it was opened when Thunder-Child was preparing for his breakthrough."

"What is that resource master?" Li meng asked.

"It is called Dark Thunder refiner. It is a device that was created by none other than Mad-Thunder King to refine one's body to the highest level possible. The Dark Thunder refiner contains something which is known as Dark Thunder. It has multiple properties, two of which will be the most helpful for you. It is called Destruction-creation fusion."

"The Dark Thunder not only destroys the impurities but also destroys your organs if you manage to sustain that long and reforges them to be stronger than before. There is a timer within the device that adjusts the strength of the thunder according to the time that has passed outside. The highest record was held by your first brother, but it was recently broken by Thunder Child."

"Li Meng could easily break his record. He might even be able to live up to that rumor." Ren Wang said.

"What rumor?" Li Meng asked."

"There is a rumor that this Dark thunder refiner is the Mad-Thunder's king's weapon. He used it while he was a member of the Thunder Academy. It was one of his last contributions to the academy before leaving it. The last known cultivation of Mad-Thunder king, while he was within eth aacademy, was a powerful Qi Dominator."

"It implies that the refiner might be a Dominator level weapon. A weapon that powerful is bound to have sentience. It chooses its own master. The rumor is that if a cultivator managed to last a required amount of time within the refiner, he will be recognized as its owner." The old man completed Ren Wang's speech.

"I guess I will give it a try then." Li Meng was excited. How could he let go of a Dominator-level weapon?

" I thank master for trusting me with this sword. I will do my best to raise my cultivation level within the time left before the competition begins. I will try my best to not disappoint you." Li Meng bowed.

"Your senior brother will accompany you to the refiner tomorrow." The old man said while throwing a plaque at Li Meng." Show it to the gatekeeper and he will let you in the refiner. I hope you can perform your within the given circumstances."

...............

Li Meng returned to his residence. He had to plan a lot about the upcoming competition. Yet, he decided to talk with the Keeper about the sword.

'What do you think about the sword?" Li Meng asked.

"It is so alluring that I hoped I could have devoured it. It would have helped me promote to the Dominator realm directly." The Keeper said.

"It is so powerful." Li meng was surprised.

"The sword you see in front of you is damaged. In its current state, it is at the peak of Monarch level, and it is continuously absorbing QI from the surrounding trying to recover energy. its weapon spirit is damaged. "

"How powerful would it be with a weapon spirit?"

"At least at the Half-saint stage." Li Meng was left flabbergasted. He was holding a damaged Half-saint grade weapon. It might even be a saint-grade weapon. This was a big plus for him. He wanted to caress it and etch the feeling into his memory when a knock was heard on his front door.

When Li Meng opened it, he found a male of good build standing in front of it. He was carrying two massive spears and a blade on his back. His face could be defined as handsome with battle-scars filling his body. This guy was not only radiating a good amount of power, but he also gave Li Meng a sense of battle-hardened veteran.

"who might you be?" Li Meng asked.

"I came here on behalf of Thunder Child to arrange a meeting with you. He would like to have a conversation with you, in a private space."

" So Thunder-child's Qi King lackeys are scared. Now he sent a Qi Emperor. Are you trying to intimidate me?" Li Meng asked.

"I am here just to deliver a request. Accepting or not is on you." The man turned around and left Li Meng's house.