Elder Yun Nie had clearly also noticed Jiang Chen's confusion and transmitted a voice message: "Jiang Chen, when Palace Master Danchi was not yet fifty, he had already taken charge of the Danqian Palace's gates. His current age is still not quite one hundred. With a cultivation at the peak of the Fifth-Level Holy Realm, on the verge of breaking through to the Sixth-Level, at this age, none of the big shots in the Myriad Domains have achieved such a feat."
Actually, Elder Yun Nie didn't need to explain; Jiang Chen understood. His current confusion wasn't about the difference in strength between Palace Master Danchi and this Tianming Shangren.
What he wanted to know even more was, what kind of cultivation levels did the masters of the other major sects possess?
In the world of martial arts, different regions, different levels, and different resources gave rise to different tiers of geniuses.
In Jiang Chen's former Eastern Kingdom, becoming a True Qi Grandmaster at the age of twenty was already a very remarkable feat.
And in the Tiangui Kingdom, being able to step into the Half-Step Spirit Realm at twenty was considered pretty good.
For the Four Great Sects, one had to at least reach the Earth Spirit Realm at twenty to be considered a genius.
By the time one reached the Danqian Palace, at around the age of twenty, one had to reach the Yuan Realm and enter the Danxia Valley to earn the title of genius.
And the absolute top geniuses of the Myriad Domains, between the ages of twenty and thirty, generally used whether they possessed the potential to assault the Holy Realm as their standard.
However, the Myriad Domains were ultimately just a declining lower domain.
In reality, among the entire younger generation within the Myriad Domains, those who truly possessed the ability to assault the Holy Realm would definitely not exceed fifty people.
And the Myriad Domains' limit was precisely this step.
After entering the Holy Realm, the cultivation speed of the Myriad Domains' top geniuses would slow down dramatically.
Within the Holy Realm, the further one advanced, the more difficult it became.
For example, if Shen Qinghong managed to rush into the Holy Realm before the age of thirty, then for the next step of assaulting the Earth Saint Realm, if he could achieve it before sixty, he would be a genius on par with Danchi's level.
If he exceeded sixty, then at most he would only be at the level of Elder Liancheng.
If he still couldn't break into the Earth Saint Realm after a hundred years, then he was destined to never become a candidate for the next Sect Master.
Of course, this wasn't absolute either.
After entering the Earth Saint Realm, wanting to advance one more step became even more difficult. Every step forward was fraught with immense hardship.
Back then, Danchi had smooth sailing initially, breaking into the Earth Saint Realm before the age of sixty.
But after entering the Earth Saint Realm, because the earlier path had been too smooth, he encountered a bottleneck period.
It wasn't until he met Elder Shun that he broke through this bottleneck and achieved a breakthrough. Now he had smoothly reached the peak of the Fifth-Level Holy Realm and was about to assault the Sixth-Level.
Meeting Elder Shun had been a great opportunity for him.
Without that chance, even if he could break through to the Fifth-Level Holy Realm, he definitely wouldn't have possessed the qualification for consecutive breakthroughs.
After all, in the Myriad Domains, top-tier resources were limited; wanting to advance further required immense fortune.
Undoubtedly, meeting Elder Shun was Danchi's tremendous fortune.
This Tianming Shangren patted Danchi's shoulder and laughed: "Younger Brother, I heard long ago that you broke through to the Fifth-Level Holy Realm. It looks like you're about to break through to the Sixth-Level. As expected of the most vigorous and promising Sect Master in the Myriad Domains. I think in another three to five years, you'll catch up to me, this older brother."
Tianming Shangren's age well exceeded three hundred, more than three times that of Palace Master Danchi.
However, the two of them were clearly friends across generations, with similar personalities.
"Older Brother Tianming, you were able to break through to the Heavenly Saint level, with infinite lifespan. In the future, even becoming a Emperor isn't out of the question," Palace Master Danchi laughed.
Tianming Shangren let out a hearty laugh: "Becoming an Emperor? Your older brother doesn't have such wild ambitions. Being able to enter the peak of the Holy Realm within my lifetime, I can die without regrets."
Though he said this, everyone knew that Tianming Shangren certainly didn't think that way in his heart, at least not willing to think that way.
"Oh right, Younger Brother, last time your Danqian Palace allied with the Treasure Tree Sect, as your older brother, I should have personally gone to congratulate you. Unfortunately, a personal disciple of mine happened to be at a critical stage of cultivation, so I was delayed. I hope you won't hold it against me."
Regarding the alliance, the various major sects had indeed sent their big shots to participate. However, this Tianming Shangren had not been present.
The Beiming Sect had sent its Vice Sect Master, the Scarlet Flame True Man, to attend.
Palace Master Danchi smiled casually: "Older Brother, saying such things is being an outsider."
As he spoke, he beckoned to a few young people: "You few, come up and pay respects to Sect Master Tianming."
Sect Master Tianming chuckled, looking at Jiang Chen and the others. His gaze swept over them, and the smile on his face grew even warmer: "Hmm, this young nephew, I remember his name is Shen Qinghong, am I wrong? I recall he is the prized disciple of your sect's Elder Liancheng. I heard he is about to step into the Holy Realm; the reputation of genius is indeed well-deserved."