Chapter 1463: Secrets of the Strongest
With these trump cards, Xiang Shaoyun was confident he could kill Great Saints and contend against pseudo-Gods. But in his master's eyes, these attacks were nothing. The Imperial Nether Domain's suppression seemed to not exist for the gravekeeper elder. The Nether Yin Gate's nether yin devils were completely helpless against the gravekeeper elder. The Invisible Nether was also completely ineffective as the gravekeeper elder had long cultivated his own divine dao eyes. As for the other techniques, they were similarly useless against the gravekeeper elder.
Nevertheless, Xiang Shaoyun still used up all his strength. He aimed not to defeat his master but to let his master see his improvement, to tell his master that he had not let his master down. After Xiang Shaoyun finished attacking, the gravekeeper elder gave his evaluation, "These techniques are all impressive-looking but useless."
Xiang Shaoyun's pride was completely shattered. He personally felt that he was already the strongest among his peers. Why was he so useless according to his master?
"Master, please instruct me," said Xiang Shaoyun.
He disagreed with the evaluation. He wanted to see if there was really anything that his master could still teach him. After all, he had lived two lives before. Coupled with his current life, he was extremely experienced in terms of combat.
"Looks like you disagree," said the gravekeeper elder. "Watch."
The aura around the gravekeeper elder shifted as a clone appeared before him. Next, the clone repeated everything Xiang Shaoyun had done earlier, including the Imperial Nether Clan abilities.
Initially, Xiang Shaoyun was astonished. Toward the end, his eyes were wide open in disbelief. For someone at the gravekeeper elder's level, imitating the Imperial Nether Clan's abilities was nothing. In fact, what the gravekeeper elder imitated seemed even more powerful than Xiang Shaoyun's original abilities.
Apart from that, every single technique the gravekeeper elder imitated was also much more powerful than Xiang Shaoyun's version of them. Xiang Shaoyun etched every motion of the clone into his brain and started contemplating what he lacked.
"The path of martial cultivation does not lie on a variation. Rather, it lies in simplifying the great dao and maximizing the effect of every move. This is something I told you the moment I started teaching you. Even now, you still haven't understood it. In a battle, only one side will live. Do not be merciful—aim to end the battle with as few moves as possible. What's the point of prolonging a fight?" said the gravekeeper elder.
His words were extremely enlightening for Xiang Shaoyun. He instantly understood what the gravekeeper elder was trying to say. The gravekeeper elder had indeed pointed out what he lacked.
Xiang Shaoyun had never liked showing his trump cards right off the bat whenever he fought. Instead, he would always slowly reveal the trump cards one by one, slowly defeating his opponents. Now that he put some thought into it, that was indeed unwise. Those were his enemies. What was the point of giving them hope? Apart from that, his techniques were still too complicated and had a lot of room for growth. The gravekeeper elder had taught him that he still had a long way ahead of him.
"After you become a Great Saint, I'll restrict my cultivation to the same level and have a fight with you. Only when you can defeat me in such circumstances will you be able to graduate from my teachings," said the gravekeeper elder.
"Yes, master. I'll work hard on defeating you in that situation!" said Xiang Shaoyun seriously.
"Hehe, I'll be waiting for that day to arrive," said the gravekeeper elder with a gratified smile on his face, an expression he rarely made.
As a master, he naturally wished to see his disciple surpass him. Naturally, he was more than happy to see Xiang Shaoyun gain the ability to defeat him in a situation where the two had the same cultivation level.
"By the way, master, can you tell me more about the Immortal Road Chamber, Guangling Palace, and Celestial Alliance?" asked Xiang Shaoyun.
Xiang Shaoyun had a feeling that a day would come when he would get involved with these three organizations. Thus, he had to learn more about them so as to not get into a conflict with them unnecessarily.
"Did they look for you?" asked the gravekeeper elder.
"Yes," Xiang Shaoyun nodded.
"Merely a bunch of conceited fellows," said the gravekeeper elder with disdain. "They are powerful, and their influence covers nearly the entire dominion. For now, try to avoid conflict with them. During the Heaven Battling Ranking Competition in 10 years, you will definitely encounter them. At that time, it will no longer matter what they choose to do. If they dare to provoke you, beat them all down. Your master will deal with all the consequences."
From the gravekeeper elder's tone of voice, it was obvious he disliked the three organizations. He proceeded to tell Xiang Shaoyun about the secrets concerning the three, allowing Xiang Shaoyun to know more about them.
The three organizations had existed since ancient times. They had recruited the most talented cultivators the world had to offer and had nurtured countless Saints and Gods. As for the numerous powerful physiques, the three organizations had collected a large majority of them as well. One could say that the three strongest organizations were evenly matched, forming a balance between each other as none of them could do anything against the other two.
The Immortal Road Chamber was the wealthiest of the three. Their businesses could be seen all over the dominion. With their luxurious establishments, they provided the numerous cultivators with the pleasures of life and corroded their will.
With the wealth they gathered through these businesses, the Immortal Road Chamber naturally gained the ability to nurture and recruit more geniuses. Because of that, the Immortal Road Chamber was filled with all sorts of people. Of the three super organizations, they had the worst reputation.
As for the Guangling Palace, they saw themselves as the number one palace in existence. Possessing an ancient inheritance, they had maintained the purity of their ranks and had only nurtured their direct descendants. Among the three organizations, they had the smallest number of members, but each Guangling Palace expert was an existence that could hardly find a match.
They adhered to the concept that quality was better than quantity. They would rather not have any disciples than to nurture a disciple not of their own line. Following the ancient traditions, this was an extremely powerful organization.
As for the Celestial Alliance, they proclaimed themselves the guardians of the dominion. They had once held the ambition to conquer the world, but they had failed to suppress the other two organizations. Even so, one could not deny that this organization was, in fact, stronger than the other two.
That was because the Celestial Alliance was both wealthy and filled with talents. Not only would they nurture those of their direct line, but they would also recruit outside cultivators, aiming to help all their disciples to reach the God Realm.
Apart from the three organizations, the gravekeeper elder also gave Xiang Shaoyun a rough explanation of the Guardians Guild. The Guardians Guild was an organization even more ancient than the three strongest organizations. It was the true oldest organization, an organization founded by the ancient guardians of humanity with the sole goal of protecting humanity.
Unfortunately, the numerous organizations had managed to slowly corrupt the Guardians Guild over the years, causing the initially fair Guardians Guild to slowly degenerate. That was also why the gravekeeper elder had remained in the Dragon Phoenix Academy over these years.