Day after day, year after year.

Time slowly passed while astonishing changes happened all over the dominion. Outstanding geniuses appeared one after another. At the same time, outstanding geniuses perished one after another as well.

Over the years, the four academies' latest batch of disciples had finally grown up as well. Most of them had reached the Sovereign Realm, while the more remarkable ones had entered the Heaven Battling Realm, becoming the new pillars of the dominion.

These geniuses participated in the campaigns against the devils and distinguished themselves with remarkable combat prowess. Among them, True Martial Academy's Dugu Qiubai was the most dazzling individual. His Primal Chaos Physique allowed him to grow into an almost unrivaled individual among his peers.

Dugu Qiubai was already a peak Saint, only a step away from becoming a Great Saint. Even so, he had killed at least eight Great Devil Saints. In fact, he even had the blood of pseudo-Gods in his hands.

In recent years, Dugu Qiubai was already as well-known as Xiang Shaoyun back during the peak of his popularity. Many people started comparing Dugu Qiubai and Xiang Shaoyun. Some believed that Dugu Qiubai was stronger than Xiang Shaoyun because he had a Primal Chaos Physique. Although Xiang Shaoyun had fused nine powers, as far as they knew, his physique was incomplete and could not compare with the Primal Chaos Physique.

Additionally, Jiu Tian from the Nine Palace Academy was slowly making a name for himself as well. He was one with his swords, and his ability to attack with nine swords at the same time rendered him unrivaled among his peers. Only Dugu Qiubai could be his match. Among the academy disciples of the same batch, only Devil Concubine and Yu Caidie could barely match the two in terms of growth.

As the True Martial Academy's disciple, Devil Concubine had returned once to the academy in recent years. At that time, she had demonstrated an even deeper understanding of the dao of time. In the academy's forbidden zone, she had been able to advance by two stages, reaching seventh-stage Heaven Battling Realm. She was strong enough to contend against Great Saints. One ought to know that she had the Yin Yang Physique, which was no weaker than Dugu Qiubai's Primal Chaos Physique.

As for Yu Caidie, her growth was even more remarkable. She had brought her previous life's strength with her when she reincarnated, pushing her Phoenix Physique to perfection. After unsealing her previous life's strength, she started growing rapidly, eventually becoming a peak Saint. The two were also ranked among the latest top-10 beauties of the entire dominion. As both of them were Xiang Shaoyun's women, Xiang Shaoyun became a subject of envy.

Apart from these four, people like Baili Yixiao, Xiang Chenxi, Ouyang Chuanqi, and some others were also growing at a rapid speed. Even the Sacred Deer Academy, which was ranked last among the four academies, had nurtured several stunning geniuses who had started to rise in fame. Jiang Qi remained their leading disciple. Having reached fifth-stage Heaven Battling Realm, she was no weaker than the likes of Ouyang Chuanqi. 

There were two other Sacred Deer Academy disciples who had also risen in fame. They were respectively Xia Liuhui and Liang Zhuangmin, who were previously unknown among the masses. Without knowing it, Xia Liuhui and Liang Zhuangmin had reached fourth-stage Heaven Battling Realm.

As Xia Liuhui had managed to forge a Waterflame Physique, he was able to fully fuse the two elements, gaining the ability to fight above his level. The only disadvantage he had was his inability to last long in battles due to having fewer innate stars.

On the other hand, Liang Zhuangmin only cultivated the earth element. Originally, he wasn't a Sacred Deer Academy disciple. But due to his relationship with Wu Zhijun, who was a big shot in the academy, the academy had accepted him as a disciple after the academy had sustained a decent number of casualties among their disciples. Liang Zhuangmin was decently talented in the first place. With the Sacred Deer Academy's help, it wasn't surprising for him to reach his current height.

Xia Liuhui and Liang Zhuangmin were akin to brothers. Their constant travels around the dominion with their respective partners had earned them considerable gains. These gains were why they had been able to reach their current level. In recent years, the two had returned to the Ziling Sect as well. However, Xiang Shaoyun had remained in his seclusion, so they did not stay for long since they couldn't meet him.

Apart from these geniuses, there were also many other exceptional geniuses who had appeared. These people were either the members of super sects or ancient clans, stunning geniuses that these organizations had kept hidden for a long time. As the world sank into chaos, they appeared one after another.

Among them, several stood out from the rest. Eastern Pass' Dongfang Wudi was one of them. After his appearance, he had demonstrated an unstoppable momentum as he rose beyond all his peers, becoming the new number one genius of his generation in the Eastern Pass. 

There was also Ru Nan from the Southern Wasteland's Heavenly Southern Society. She was a true tyrant. With a body much sturdier than many men, she had amazing combat strength. During her rise, none of her peers in the Southern Wasteland could be her match. 

As for the Western Desert, their new leading genius was actually Di Clan's Di Lin. He had made his name after killing four Zombie Saints, revealing his astonishing strength. 

The Northern Border's leading genius was Beiming Tianpeng. After he completed his Celestial Peng Physique, he had obtained the ability to transform into a celestial peng and rise beyond all his peers.

These four were the leading figures of the four border regions. As for the Central Region, several geniuses no weaker than them had appeared as well. Among them, a prince of the Immortal Dynasty was rumored to possess the True Dragon Physique. He had cultivated a perfect draconic aura in his body, granting him the ability to transform into a dragon. 

There were also the Double Elemental Luan Physique holders. The holders were actually a pair of twins. With the innate connection between them, they had the same comprehension capability and could grow at the exact same speed. When they worked together, nobody could contend against them.

Some other individuals, such as Ximen Clan's Ximen Xue, were also no weaker than the aforementioned geniuses. Ximen Xue was born with the Spirit Sword Physique and had manifested the myriad worshipping sword phenomenon during his birth. Anytime his sword was drawn, blood would flow. In fact, his unstoppable sword had earned him the moniker Unfeeling Sword Saint.

It was rumored that he had reached the grand unfeeling stage. At that level, nobody could change his heart. He lived only for his sword. With his sword, he would break through the limits of the world and become the strongest sword god.

Equally famous as Ximen Xue was Eastern Pass's Song Tiandao, an expert saber wielder. Hailing from the ancient Song Clan, he could breathe life into his blade as he cultivated the celestial saber dao. With his imposing and majestic saber, he slashed through the blue dome of heaven and established his unstoppable dominance.

The two were respectively the tyrant of their weapon of choice. A day would come when the two would meet each other in battle and crown the true king of weapons. In fact, they had agreed to face each other in battle during the Heaven Battling Ranking Competition.

Before the date of their battle arrived, it had already attracted the attention of countless people. As for the overlord, who had remained in seclusion, he slowly faded from the memories of the masses.