"Father, all these years — you've had no parents, no mother. It was Father's incompetence that made you suffer." Suddenly, Chu Xuanyuan spoke with deep remorse.
"Father, please don't say that. Senior Ape told me about what happened back then. Though I don't know the exact details, I know that it was I who brought trouble upon you and Mother." Chu Feng set down the refreshments in his hand, his face filled with self-blame.
"You were just a child — where is the fault in that? The fault lies with the Chu Heavenly Clan," Chu Xuanyuan said.
"Father, what exactly happened back then?" Chu Feng asked.
"I know you have many questions. Don't rush — your father will unravel them for you one by one." Chu Xuanyuan smiled faintly and began, "First, you need to understand this vast and boundless martial cultivation world."
At these words, Chu Feng's heart stirred. The vast and boundless martial cultivation world — that was something he had always wanted to understand but could never learn about.
Now, could he finally understand?
"As far as is currently known, the martial cultivation world can be broadly divided into three realms: the Upper, the Mortal, and the Lower."
"After the Ancient Era, due to differences in talent, the various races came to live in different realms."
"Cultivators of the Lower Realm have the weakest talent, the Mortal Realm is a step above, and the Upper Realm's cultivators possess comparatively better aptitude."
"The so-called 'Outer World' refers to the realms beyond one's own world. For those of the Lower Realm, the Upper Realm is the Outer World, and the Mortal Realm is equally the Outer World."
"And the world we currently inhabit is called the Ancestral Martial Lower World," Chu Xuanyuan said.
"The Ancestral Martial Lower World — our world is the lowest realm?"
"No wonder... no wonder the Dark Hall Hall Master looked down so much upon the people of the Martial Sacred Land." Chu Feng finally understood why the Dark Hall Hall Master had been so arrogant.
Moreover, the Dark Hall Hall Master had repeatedly called the people of the Martial Sacred Land "lowly beings."
As it turned out, the Martial Sacred Land and the people of the Four Seas truly did live in a lower realm.
"In theory, yes — but there are always exceptions. It's not as though the Lower Realm can never produce someone who surpasses the Mortal Realm or even the Upper Realm. After all, my Chu Heavenly Clan itself originated from this Ancestral Martial Lower World."
"Furthermore, among the many Lower Realms, there are actually outstanding individuals every year who enter the Mortal Realm through the Heavenly Staircase."
"Those other Lower Realms all know about the Mortal Realm and the Upper Realm — but the Ancestral Martial Lower World knows nothing."
"The Ancestral Martial Lower World is one of the few Lower Realms that has become disconnected from the Outer World. Do you know why?" Chu Xuanyuan said.
"Because of our Chu Heavenly Clan. It was the Chu Heavenly Clan that sealed the only Heavenly Staircase that led to the Mortal World," Chu Feng said.
After all, apart from the Heavenly Staircase within the Ethereal Immortal Peak in the Eastern Sea Region, the only other Heavenly Staircase for the Martial Sacred Land was the one in God's Domain — but... due to the presence of the blind elder and the others, almost no one from the Martial Sacred Land could use that one.
Thinking about this, Chu Feng felt it was rather unfair — because it essentially meant the Chu Heavenly Clan had robbed the people of this world of their right to reach the Outer World.
"That is one reason, but it is not the main point." Chu Xuanyuan smiled faintly and said, "A truly powerful individual, if they are to rise, will not be stopped by others."
"Father, you mean... the cultivators of the Ancestral Martial Lower World are inferior to those of other Lower Realms?" Chu Feng asked.
"That is indeed the case." Chu Xuanyuan sighed. "With the exception of our Chu Heavenly Clan, the talent of the people in the Ancestral Martial Lower World is truly abysmal. Not only are these people unable to reach the Outer World — even if they did enter the Outer World and made it to the higher Mortal Realm, they would only end up enslaved and oppressed."
"Imagine it — the elites of this place, once they arrive in the Mortal World, becoming the most wretched of beings. How tragic is that?" Chu Xuanyuan said.
"It is indeed so," Chu Feng nodded.
"But that is not the main point. The main point is — do you know why this place is called the Ancestral Martial Lower World?" Chu Xuanyuan asked.
"Why?" Chu Feng asked.