Old Wang fetched the pot of tea from the side, sipping it while appearing to be mulling over something, as if organizing his words.

After a while, he spoke, "In the Star Sea Martial Realm, it can actually be divided into three levels."

"First, the beginners without any background, those who earn a living in the city with their martial skills."

"Second, those with mid-level realms, mostly below the Imperial Realm, often with the backing of a Sect or an Ancient Martial Clan."

"Third, the ones recognized as the Four Great Clans, the Eight Great Powers, and those Sects. Among them, those at the bottom are mostly at the Imperial Realm, while the top figures, like the family patriarchs or the Supreme Elders in Sects, are already at the Emperor Realm or even Innate Emperor Realm - old monsters indeed."

At this point, Old Wang smiled and looked at Liu Zixuan. "Of course, nothing is absolute. For instance, you have neither a background nor rely on martial skills to earn a living in the city, yet your own strength has reached around the Emperor Realm."

Liu Zixuan chuckled awkwardly, "You’re too kind. Frankly speaking, my current strength isn’t solely due to my efforts."

"That’s not right. I remember when I first met you, you hadn’t even reached the Imperial Realm, not even the King Realm, right?" Old Wang laughed.

"Back then, it was probably the Profound Realm," Liu Zixuan laughed.

"Exactly, you’ve reached the Half-Step Emperor Realm in less than a year. Even the direct disciples in Sects or the eldest sons in families would be considered geniuses if they broke through one or two realms in a year."

Old Wang spread his hands, "Sure, you had someone to help and encountered some opportunities, but without your mindset and determination, even if you were given those opportunities, you wouldn’t have reached this realm."

Liu Zixuan grinned.

Old Wang returned to the main topic and said, "In fact, existences like you aren’t unique in the Martial Realm. But your timing isn’t right."

"In the past, this grand plan for unification couldn’t have been stopped, not even by a genius like you, because they were all absorbed by Sects and families to become their elite fighters. But you are different."

"First, you refuse to be managed by anyone, won’t bow to any family or Sect. Second, your rise was too fast, leaving those families and Sects no chance or time to recruit you, resulting in your current situation."

Liu Zixuan smiled bitterly, "This situation isn’t fun at all. Those scattered Sects want to recruit me, and the big Sects and families are the same, only they prefer to kill me!"

"Do you know why they want to kill you?" Old Wang asked meaningfully.

"No idea," Liu Zixuan shook his head.

"That’s what I just mentioned. Whether it’s the Eight Great Powers, the Four Great Clans, or those Sects, they aren’t the strongest in the Star Sea Martial Realm. There’s an old saying in the Star Sea, ’The true masters are among the people.’ This ’people’ refers to those scattered Martial Artists and small family clans."

"Disciples and descendants from the big powers and families are born with privileges, not knowing how many people give them excellent resources as they embark on the martial path. But those scattered Martial Artists have to rely solely on themselves, step by step, honing real abilities."

"In a match between a Martial Artist with only a high realm but no combat experience and one with a stable realm and rich combat experience, I’m sure you know better who will win or lose, right?"

Liu Zixuan nodded with a smile. He understood this very well. Over the past half year, he encountered many geniuses, especially during the Willow Association’s martial contest. Even without using his trump cards, Liu Zixuan could still triumph over others in the same realm.

The reason being Liu Zixuan grew from blood and tears, whereas the so-called geniuses were piled up with countless resources.

Thinking of this, Liu Zixuan suddenly understood Old Wang’s meaning.

He then said, "You just mentioned the big families and Sects are weak in some sense, you meant the gap between Martial Artists, right?"

"Exactly, and when you add up all the scattered Martial Artists and small Sect members, they exceed the number of big Sects and family disciples. Even if there’s a gap in realm, numbers can still decide the outcome."

Old Wang spread his hands, "Those of scattered Sects try to recruit you because of your high realm and similar mindset, wanting you to be their backbone to fight against the big families."

"And those big families and Sects want to kill you because they fear your strength and your prestige among the scattered Sects. You’re their leader, which makes you their ’king.’ If they want to unify, capturing the king is definitely a brilliant strategy!"

Hearing this, Liu Zixuan broke into a cold sweat, thankful he left the Willow Association early; otherwise, someone might have plotted against him!

"This is the current situation in the Martial Realm, presenting two paths before you. Whether to choose a big family, a big Sect, or become the leader of the scattered Sects, is for you to decide!"

Liu Zixuan murmured, "What do you think I’ll choose?"

"Hahaha!" Old Wang laughed heartily, "You already know in your heart, why ask this old man?"

Liu Zixuan paused for a moment, then asked, "What about the Dragon Spirit, which side are they on?"

"That’s a good question!"

Old Wang gave Liu Zixuan a look of approval, "I don’t need to know your answer because whichever you choose doesn’t conflict with us, the Dragon Spirit, as Dragon Spirit doesn’t help either side!"

"If Dragon Spirit doesn’t help, wouldn’t the Jiang Family also remain neutral?"

Old Wang shook his head at this. "I’m not sure about the Jiang Family."

"Isn’t the Dragon Spirit part of the Jiang Family? They should be..."

Liu Zixuan was about to speak when Old Wang interrupted him, "I know you have questions. Let this old man finish, and you’ll understand."

"What we just discussed pertains to current affairs in the Martial Realm, but the Star Sea is vast, and many transcend the Martial Realm. That’s why I previously mentioned that the Eight Great Powers and Four Great Clans aren’t the peak of Star Sea strengths."

"Above them, there are many others, like the Dragon Spirit, like the Hidden Sect, and like the... Jiang Family you just mentioned!"

Old Wang’s intriguing words made Liu Zixuan suddenly realize, and he murmured, "The Jiang Family is indeed stronger than the Eight Great Powers and Four Great Clans!"

Old Wang laughed and stroked his chin, "Whether they’re stronger, I don’t know, but Jiang Yiyi’s father is definitely no pushover!"