"What about you three?" Yang Kai asked, looking at them curiously.
"Us?" Meng Wuya chuckled, pointing at the Earth Demon. "This old demon is only at the first stage of Transcendence Realm right now, since he just broke through. But now that he's reached this level, with his foundation and experience, as long as his own power keeps up, he'll break through without any bottlenecks from here on out."
"Smooth sailing ahead," Yang Kai said, glancing at the Earth Demon, who cackled weirdly, bobbing his head with a look of immense pride on his face.
"As for Brother Ling, about a month ago he was on par with Li Yuanchun — at the peak of the first stage of Transcendence Realm. Now... he's reached the second stage."
Yang Kai straightened up and looked at Ling Taixu with genuine delight. "Congratulations, Grandmaster."
No wonder Ling Taixu had seemed different from a month ago — he'd broken through an entire stage.
"As for me..." Meng Wuya paused briefly before continuing. "After unsealing one of my seals, I'm roughly at the peak of the second stage of Transcendence Realm."
There was no boast or arrogance in his words, just a perfectly matter-of-fact tone. If anything, he seemed dissatisfied with the strength he'd displayed after breaking the seal.
Yang Kai's expression turned peculiar. The peak of Transcendence Stage Two, and he was still unsatisfied? Just how far ahead was Manager Meng looking?
"What about the six Evil Kings and the Evil Master, Yang Bo?" Yang Kai's face grew solemn.
"Five of the six Evil Kings — all except that woman — are at the second stage of Transcendence Realm. That Tyrant Heaven Power King and Flash Shadow King can even compare to me after I unsealed my seal. The woman is somewhat weaker, only at the first stage. She's still young after all, but at her age, reaching this level of cultivation is already remarkable."
"Shan Qingluo has a special physique. It seems she inherited a great deal of cultivation from her mother," Yang Kai explained.
"That explains it." Meng Wuya immediately understood. It was clear he'd been quite curious about Shan Qingluo and had never been able to figure out how someone her age could cultivate to the Transcendence Realm.
"As for the Evil Master Yang Bo... you should be able to guess his level of cultivation."
"Transcendence Stage Three?" Yang Kai shuddered.
"That's right!" Meng Wuya nodded heavily. "In the entire world, it seems he's the only one who has reached Transcendence Stage Three. Even your Eight Great Families of Zhongdu don't have anyone like that!"
Ling Taixu sighed softly. "Now you understand why the three of us could easily defeat all eight of them that night. And why, just over a month ago, those seven were slaughtered by the three Evil Kings."
"I understand." Yang Kai nodded firmly.
Before learning about the tier system within the Transcendence Realm, no one could have accepted that those seven had been completely wiped out in the span of half a cup of tea while facing three Evil Kings. But now that he understood the divisions within this realm, Yang Kai could see the gap in their strength.
Those seven had only been at the first stage of Transcendence Realm. Facing three Evil Kings at the second stage — plus a seventh-grade demon beast — how could they possibly hold their ground?
Not only did the world at large lack a clear understanding of their relative power, but even those cultivators themselves had a poor grasp of it.
Meng Wuya had seen through it all at a glance.
"Your Eight Great Families of Zhongdu each have four or five Transcendence Realm powerhouses, but each family has at most one who's reached the second stage. Some families don't even have anyone at that level — the rest are all at the first stage. In terms of top-tier experts, your eight families hold an absolute advantage. But over in the Cangyun Evil Lands, there's Yang Bo... his existence is a massive wild card..."
"So what will happen in Zhongdu this time?"
"Hard to say." Meng Wuya shook his head. "Until the very end, no one can predict how it will turn out."
Yang Kai let out a quiet sigh.
"That's why I never dared to tell you the secrets of the Transcendence Realm — I was afraid the knowledge would crush you when your strength was still low." Meng Wuya smiled and shook his head. "You thought the realm above Shenyou was the pinnacle of martial arts, but it isn't."
"Crush me?" Yang Kai suddenly broke into a grin. "I don't feel crushed at all. If anything, my goal is a lot clearer now."
The three of them stared, surprised, then their faces softened with approval.
Before learning the secrets of the Transcendence Realm, Yang Kai's goal had indeed been simply to surpass the Shenyou Realm. But after everything Meng Wuya had told him, Transcendence Stage Three had become the target he was chasing.
The three could already foresee that Yang Kai would spare no effort in pursuing this goal. Whether it took five years, ten years, or even longer, he would eventually reach that supreme level.
After leaving Meng Wuya's place, Yang Kai was brimming with energy. He immediately sought out Su Yan, and the two sat together on the Ice Bed, cultivating side by side.
Everything in the estate proceeded in an orderly fashion.
One month later, the cultivators from all the participating factions had completed their meridian and marrow cleansing. Even the fifty-odd Shenyou Realm cultivators from the overseas sects had reaped enormous benefits.
After receiving the help of mysterious pills from the pill chamber, they were in no hurry to leave. Originally, this group had intended to quickly reclaim each sect's treasure from Yang Kai and depart immediately. But now, the extraordinary treatment they were receiving made them linger.
Another month passed, and finally, word came that Yang Kai's nine Blood Guards had broken through.
With the aid of the Myriad Medicine Spirit Paste and three full months of secluded cultivation, they had all broken through to the Transcendence Realm, emerging one after another.
Each breakthrough brought with it astonishing anomalies of heaven and earth. These phenomena persisted for a full half month before all nine Blood Guards had completed their ascensions.