The top floor of the Spectator Tower was deathly silent.
The thunderous, earth-shattering cheers from the main arena below, loud enough to blow the roof off, were seemingly blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to penetrate the area where admissions tutors from over a hundred of the Canaan Star System’s top academies had gathered.
In that instant, it felt as if someone had hit the pause button on time.
Everyone was frozen mid-motion, captured in the very instant they had risen to their feet.
Some had their eyes wide, others their mouths agape, but all their faces were frozen with the same expression—a complex look blending utter shock with disbelief.
Their gazes were locked onto the young man on the central stage, who stood with his spear now at ease, as if trying to permanently burn his image onto their retinas.
"The Control Realm..."
"His Thousand Army Spear and Fierce Bird Fist... they’ve both reached the Control Realm!"
"His talent is simply astounding!"
It was unclear who spoke first, but a hoarse, muttered voice shattered the frozen silence.
Those words were like a stone tossed into a placid lake, instantly creating a thousand ripples.
The entire top floor of the Spectator Tower erupted into an uproar.
"Both at the Control Realm? Did I hear that right? He’s not even eighteen years old?"
A young tutor frantically clutched his hair, his composure shattered, his voice thick with disbelief.
"He’s truly a Demon."
"A monster! He’s not a genius, he’s an out-and-out monster!"
Exclamations of doubt, amazement, and fervent discussion rose and fell in waves.
These tutors from the Top 100 Martial Arts Universities, who normally held themselves to a high standard and were accustomed to seeing all kinds of geniuses, had now completely lost their usual composure and calm.
Because the meaning behind those two words, "Control Realm," was simply too profound, too extraordinary.
Although it was only one realm beyond Perfection, it represented a qualitative transformation in one’s Martial Dao cultivation—the leap from "mortal" to "god." They were two fundamentally different realms, and reaching it meant you had forged your own path!
From Foundation, to Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and finally Perfection—these four realms are, in essence, all about ’learning’ and ’imitating.’
Most Martial Artists learn the perfect techniques and power-generation skills painstakingly created by the Imperial Think Tank.
They strive to make every movement, every ounce of power, an ever-closer approximation of that established ’standard answer.’
The closer their ’imitation,’ the lower their margin for error, and the higher their realm is considered to be.
Thus, the Perfection Realm is the ultimate expression of this imitation.
The ’Control Realm,’ however, is something else entirely.
It signifies that ’imitation’ is no longer needed.
It represents a complete and total grasp of the combat art’s core True Intent and underlying logic.
From muscle activation to energy circulation, all the way to the spiritual essence of its intent, the combat art holds no more secrets for you.
Once you reach this stage, you can deconstruct, reassemble, and evolve the combat art as you please, even integrating the essence of other arts to create entirely new variations.
Reaching the ’Control Realm’ means that this art, created by your predecessors, has become your personal ’toolbox.’
A Martial Artist can use these tools to create a truly unique Combat System that is theirs and theirs alone.
"Across the entire Empire, the vast majority of Level 7 Mountain and Sea Warriors, Level 8 Sun and Moon Martial Artists, and Level 9 Extreme Martial Artists might spend their entire lives and never cultivate a top-tier combat art to the Control Realm. It requires not only massive resources and relentless effort, but also that ephemeral quality people call ’insight’ and ’talent.’"
"The Control Realm means forging your own path!"
A tutor exclaimed in awe.
Forging your own path!
For any being who had embarked on the Martial Dao, those four words represented the ultimate pursuit.
At that, the top floor of the Spectator Tower once again fell into a deathly silence.
If, before, they had considered Qin Feng an "S-rank" top-tier genius...
...then that evaluation had now been utterly demolished.
The young man before them was a true "Demon"!
After a brief, dead silence, someone was the first to snap out of it, their hands flying across their personal terminal in a frenzy.
That action was like a signal.
Instantly, the entire top floor of the Spectator Tower descended into utter chaos.
"Quick! An S-rank contract! No—S-plus! I don’t have the clearance? Get me the chancellor! Tell him I’ve found a Control Realm Demon!"
"Throw in every condition we can offer! Triple the S-rank cultivation resources! No, five times! A spot in the annual Holy Blood Pool immersion! A planetary-grade custom Spiritual Weapon! As long as he joins us, he can name his terms!"
"My clearance only allows for a standard S-rank contract! Add a clause! Include ’one-on-one guidance from a Grandmaster-level Tutor’!"
All their dignity, all their composure, was thrown to the far corners of the heavens in that instant.
The tutors from the Top 100 Martial Arts Universities scrambled to offer recruitment packages, each more extravagant than the last, stretching their authority to the breaking point and beyond.
A Control Realm Demon who could forge his own path as a mere Third-level Martial Artist—as long as he didn’t perish prematurely, his future was all but guaranteed. He was destined to become one of the brightest superstars in the vast sea of stars!
His journey would not end at the Planetary or Stellar-grade.
For a being like that, no investment was too great!
In an instant, a flurry of S-rank contracts, each carrying astonishing wealth and privileges, swarmed Qin Feng’s personal terminal like a blizzard.
...