"Senior Brother, didn't you return to the Divine Realm already?"
Chu Lingwei was held tightly in Leng Xingzhi's arms. She gently pushed his chest, a hint of displeasure in her voice.
"I am originally a person of the Divine Realm. With my shackles unbound, I could not remain here."
Leng Xingzhi pulled Chu Lingwei to sit down, and they leaned against each other.
"But you never told me beforehand?" Although Chu Lingwei had a slight suspicion, her Senior Brother's sudden departure still made her feel angry.
"I hadn't intended to leave that day. My original plan was to resolve Xuan Shang and quell the great war before bidding you farewell. I didn't expect Xuan Shang to open the ascension channel so early. If I hadn't left, the Xuan Tian Continent would have been struck by heavenly tribulations."
Xuan Shang had instigated the war between the three realms, merely to gather everyone together, and then provide him with spiritual energy to leave the Xuan Tian Continent and ascend to the Divine Realm.
"Are you truly a god?"
Chu Lingwei turned her head to look at Leng Xingzhi. So, he was truly a god.
Leng Xingzhi lowered his head and kissed Chu Lingwei's forehead. "God is merely a title for those who ascend to the upper realm. Gods are not omnipotent. When you ascend to the upper realm, you will naturally understand. It is simply a larger world of cultivation."
Chu Lingwei felt a glimmer of anticipation for the upper realm. Thinking of Old Ancestor Chonghua, who would break through to the Dominator realm in two years, she asked, "Senior Brother, can all cultivators who break through to the Dominator realm ascend to the upper realm?"
"Of course not. Only cultivators who have passed their thunder tribulations can ascend." Leng Xingzhi playfully pinched Chu Lingwei's nose. Aside from breaking through to the Dominator realm, the same applied to other realms; there were always those who could not break through.
"Senior Brother, I have always been curious about one question." According to Senior Brother, the upper realm was just a more powerful cultivation world, so it couldn't be that only those who broke through to the Dominator realm could go there.
"What question?" Leng Xingzhi chuckled softly. After his absence of several years, his Junior Sister had so many more questions.
"By what standard do you measure a cultivator's ability to ascend to the upper realm?" Since her Senior Brother was from the upper realm, Chu Lingwei wanted to inquire about what they needed to pay attention to during their tribulation.
Leng Xingzhi: "..." His Junior Sister's questions were always so sharp.
"Does Weiwei wish to ascend to the upper realm so eagerly?" Leng Xingzhi slowly moved closer to Chu Lingwei, a spark reigniting in his eyes.
Chu Lingwei's face flushed, and she gently pushed Leng Xingzhi away. "Senior Brother, we are discussing something important right now."
"Junior Sister, are you willing to go to the upper realm with me?" Leng Xingzhi reached out and grasped Chu Lingwei's shoulders, his tone extremely serious.
Chu Lingwei met Senior Brother's gaze, but she didn't answer immediately.
"Weiwei, you are not willing?" Leng Xingzhi's heart tightened.
"Senior Brother, do all great beings who ascend to the upper realm from the Dominator realm become the weakest in the Divine Realm?" Chu Lingwei wasn't foolish; the cultivators in the upper realm would surely be much more powerful than those in their Xuan Tian Continent.
"Weiwei, I will protect you." He was confident in his ability to protect her.
"However, I don't like being constantly protected." Chu Lingwei shook her head. She didn't want to live under Senior Brother's wing forever; she wanted to fight alongside him.
Leng Xingzhi gave a wry smile, anticipating this outcome.
"Weiwei, don't make me wait too long." Leng Xingzhi embraced Chu Lingwei once more.
"Rest assured, Senior Brother. I will cultivate diligently and strive to ascend." Chu Lingwei nodded vigorously. Without Senior Brother's reminder, she would still work hard to cultivate and strive for an early ascension.
"Right."
Chu Lingwei remembered their Phoenix clan's sacred tree. "Senior Brother, is the sacred tree you?"
"Yes, I have brought the sacred tree back to the Divine Realm. The sacred tree of the Leng family was merely a shell. In the future, your Phoenix clan will no longer be dictated by the sacred tree."
The Phoenix clan's duty was to protect the sacred tree, even to the point of sacrificing their lives when necessary. Leng Xingzhi couldn't bear for Weiwei to be fertilizer for a tree. "When you ascend to the upper realm, I will take you to see it."
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
Chu Lingwei was touched. Indeed, he was her Senior Brother.
"Now you know to thank me. I waited for you in the secret realm for months, and you never came in?" Leng Xingzhi said, feigning annoyance. Weiwei was a bit heartless.
"So, this secret realm was created by Senior Brother?" A hint of guilt flashed in Chu Lingwei's eyes. When she learned about this secret realm, she had deliberately delayed her entry.
"Yes, in the future, if you miss me, come here."
Since Weiwei didn't want to go to the upper realm with him directly, he had no choice but to create opportunities for himself. Otherwise, how long would he have to wait to see his beloved Weiwei?
"Yes, okay."
Chu Lingwei's mood brightened, and she promised Leng Xingzhi that she would come here to find him whenever she had the chance.
Senior Brother took Chu Lingwei and gathered some of the spirit grasses and immortal herbs from the secret realm, placing them in her spatial dimension. He then instructed her to cultivate diligently.
A month later, Chu Lingwei left the secret realm.
"Junior Sister, I messaged you, but you didn't reply?" All cultivators could only stay in this secret realm for one month. Nangong Luo fanned himself, looking at his Junior Sister with a playful smile.
"Second Senior Brother, I have something I don't understand and would appreciate your guidance." Chu Lingwei suspected that her Second Senior Brother had known all along that Senior Brother was in the secret realm.
"What is it?" Nangong Luo's brow twitched. He felt a hint of murderous intent in Junior Sister's gaze.
"Why did Second Senior Brother have to come to this secret realm?" Chu Lingwei examined Second Senior Brother from head to toe. He had no injuries, and his face was ruddy, indicating he had gained considerable benefits from within.
Nangong Luo burst into laughter. "Junior Sister, let's hurry back to the Spiritual Cultivation Academy. Master is waiting for us."
Two years later.
Chu Lingwei, Nangong Luo, and Su Yan stood beside Bei Chenfeng, protected by an enchantment.
Today was the day Old Ancestor Chonghua would undergo his tribulation, and all high-level cultivators on the Xuan Tian Continent had come to witness it.
Since the ascension channel had opened, two great beings from the Dominator realm had already ascended, but all of them had failed.
This had caused the cultivators of the Xuan Tian Continent to feel increasingly uneasy.
"I believe Old Ancestor can definitely ascend successfully."
Chu Lingwei was extremely confident. This channel was merely a connection to the upper realm. As long as one's power was sufficient, it was achievable.
There was another reason, and that was Senior Brother.
Soon, the first bolt of heavenly lightning descended. Old Ancestor Chonghua remained unmoved; his spiritual artifact flew into the air and shattered the lightning.
The spiritual power of the Dominator realm could shake heaven and earth.
Even the first bolt of lightning caused the Spiritual Cultivation Academy to tremble.
"So powerful!"
This was Nangong Luo's first time witnessing a great being from the Dominator realm undergo tribulation up close.
"A Dominator realm cultivator is practically omnipotent." Su Yan's gaze was captivated by the interaction between the Old Ancestor and the lightning. He was determined to be equally powerful in the future.