# Chapter 684: Continental Plates
Stepping on white clouds, ascending into the sky, the group once again arrived at the Divine Palace, still astonished by its wonder.
Moreover, among these people were several ranked after the sixteenth position, stepping out of the Divine Palace for the first time, even more shaken, sighing at the boundless marvels of heaven and earth. For instance, Yue Tianming also followed the crowd into the Divine Palace.
However, the current Yue Tianming no longer carried that sharp, arrogant aura. He simply followed alone at the back, careful not to fall behind. The crowd ahead of him were all geniuses. In the Snow Moon Kingdom, he was ranked second among the Eight Young Masters. Previously, except for Duan Wudao, he could look down on anyone. But when the talents of the Snow Domain gathered together, he amounted to nothing at all. Duan Wudao was still as formidable as ever.
Even more terrifying was Lin Feng. He had never imagined that his maternal aunt's son, the one abandoned by the Yue Clan, would now require his looking up to. Unreachable. At this moment, he no longer felt jealousy toward Lin Feng. When Lin Feng defeated him, he felt hatred and pain, but now he had calmed down considerably. After all, Lin Feng had not merely defeated him; he was simply not from the same world, far too powerful.
The head of the Yue Clan, his grandfather, Lin Feng's maternal grandfather Yue Qingshan, probably could no longer defeat Lin Feng either.
Glancing slightly at Lin Feng at the very front, the Divine Palace Lord Beiming was laughing and conversing with Lin Feng about something. Even for a force as vast as the Divine Palace, its lord had set aside his pride before Lin Feng.
Although he had not been on the battlefield of the Snow Domain Grand Competition, he had witnessed everything that happened there through certain means. With Lin Feng's talent, in a few years, he would surely surpass him. Now he was a senior, but perhaps many years in the future, Lin Feng would be the one he needed to look up to.
What kind of figure was Beiming, the lord of the Northern Divine Palace? How could he care about such empty prestige? For true geniuses, one sometimes needed to set aside status to build connections; later, one might gain a powerful friend.
After a moment, the crowd once again crossed into the Northern Divine Palace grounds, arriving outside a great hall. Beiming called over Hao Peng and gave him some instructions. Hao Peng's gaze swept over Lin Feng and the others, seeming somewhat displeased. Having too many geniuses would undoubtedly weaken his position in the Divine Palace and diminish his standing in the lord's heart. Naturally, what he could obtain would also be much less.
"Do you understand?" Beiming said to Hao Peng. Hao Peng's expression was serious, with a hint of jealousy, but he still nodded: "Lord, I will do it immediately."
"Go ahead." Beiming waved his hand, then pointed to the stone tables and chairs outside the hall and said, "Everyone, please sit."
Lin Feng and the others sat down calmly, while some seemed unaccustomed, unable to relax. The Divine Palace—what a terrifying force. The experts inside were all at the high levels of the Mysterious Martial Realm, unfathomably deep.
The East Sea Dragon Palace, Jade Heaven Royal Clan, and other powerful forces were probably the same.
"Everyone has ultimately chosen to stay in my Divine Palace. Beiming is deeply grateful. I, Beiming, will not hide anything from you all. Now, I will tell you the purpose of this Snow Domain Grand Competition." Beiming's gaze swept over the crowd, making them perk up. They were all very curious about the purpose of this Snow Domain Grand Competition. It was said that they wanted to enter a secret realm.
"As you all know, the Nine Heavens Continent is vast and boundless. The Snow Domain is just one small part of it. The territory covered by a mid-grade empire is more vast than the Snow Domain. Moreover, beneath a mid-grade empire, there are low-grade empires and vassal states, all belonging to the territory of the mid-grade empire."
Beiming said to the crowd: "Now, let me show you the map of the Nine Heavens Continent."
As his words fell, Beiming waved his hand, and a beam of light spread through the air. In the void, a mirror seemed to appear, and within it was an enormous map—the map of the Nine Heavens Continent.
The crowd's gazes all focused, staring intently at this continental map. Vast. So many nations, countless in number. Their eyes swept across it, but they could never find where the Snow Domain was, let alone the country they were in.
"Look here." Beiming pointed, and a beam of light descended on a location in the western part of the map, encircling an area. He said, "Here is the Snow Domain."
"This is the Snow Domain?" The crowd's gazes froze. The Snow Domain, the vast Snow Domain, placed on the continental map, appeared so small, as if it were a forgotten corner.
"Now look here, this is the territory of the East Sea Empire." Beiming pointed to a plate north of the Snow Domain. That area was much larger than the Snow Domain; it was the East Sea Empire, and the East Sea Dragon Palace was the overlord of the East Sea Empire.
"If you look northward, you will find that the plates grow larger and larger. Many plates have no nations, only powerful sect forces standing there." Beiming reminded them. The crowd followed his gaze northward from the Snow Domain, and indeed, it grew larger and larger—there were continents, mountain ranges, and oceans.
Until they reached the center, seeing that massive central plate at the very heart of the Nine Heavens Continent, their hearts trembled.
"What a massive plate. What kind of empire is this? It's too terrifying!" The crowd's eyes fixed there. At the center of the Nine Heavens Continent, an incredibly vast territory was marked with a single large character: "Holy!"
"You can all see this place now." Beiming pointed to the Holy character region, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Here is the true center of the Nine Heavens Continent, the Holy City Central Continent. Around the Holy City, every force is extremely terrifying. Whether it's the Divine Palace, the East Sea Dragon Palace, or the Jade Heaven Royal Clan, placed around the Holy City, they are merely ordinary forces. In these surrounding regions, there are forces far more powerful than the Divine Palace. In these surrounding regions, there are high-grade empires. In these surrounding regions, there are towering experts. And at the very center of these surrounding regions, the center of the Holy City, the center of the Nine Heavens Continent, is the paradise of martial artists. That is a world teeming with experts."
Hearing Beiming's shocking words, the crowd's hearts pounded. There was the paradise of martial arts, a world teeming with experts. The Snow Domain they were in was just the tip of the iceberg of the continent. Even if they stood on the strongest stage of the Snow Domain, what did it matter? Placed in the Holy City Central Continent, the Divine Palace meant nothing. Around the Holy City, there were many forces as powerful as the Divine Palace, let alone the very center of the Holy City.
"Discouraged? Feeling dejected? Or feeling your own insignificance?" Beiming said softly, making the crowd raise their heads and stare at him. Among them, some indeed felt a trace of dejection. Were they truly geniuses? Right now, they could only be considered geniuses of the Snow Domain, not geniuses of the vast and boundless stage of the Nine Heavens Continent.
The crowd's eyes inadvertently fell on Lin Feng. That slightly thin figure sat upright like a sharp sword, exuding an aura that seemed to pierce the heavens, as if the sword were about to leave its sheath, contending with heaven and earth.
Their hearts trembled slightly. Was this the gap? Seeing the continental plates and forces, they felt small, while Lin Feng was filled with a heaven-piercing ambition. This was will, the will of martial arts, determining destiny.
Perhaps this was why they could not compare to Lin Feng.
Beiming also paid close attention to everyone's reactions. He was very satisfied with the state the crowd displayed, and even more satisfied with Lin Feng's reaction. Without a heart of a strong one that could trample the heavens, one could only dwell in a corner. How could one become a strong one of the continent?
With Lin Feng's talent, he should set his sights on the continent, not the Snow Domain.
The strongest few geniuses of this Snow Domain Grand Competition, even in a mid-grade empire, were top-tier geniuses. What they lacked were expert guidance and powerful cultivation resources.
That was why the East Sea Dragon Palace and a few other forces had traveled thousands of miles to the Snow Domain, disguised themselves among the crowd, and finally made their move to snatch the geniuses gathered by the Divine Palace.
"Broaden your horizons. True geniuses should absolutely not belong to a small Snow Domain. Your goal is here. So, make yourselves strong." Beiming pointed to the Holy City Central Continent, his words highly stirring, as if they wanted to pierce deep into the hearts of the crowd, echoing in their minds.
The light gradually dissipated, the map disappeared. The crowd stared at Beiming, a smile in their eyes. Beiming had never stated the Divine Palace's purpose; instead, he was here to stir up everyone's martial heart, seemingly as a foreshadowing. But after his speech, the crowd's martial will would indeed become more tenacious.
This was the benefit of being with powerful martial artists. How high one's vision was determined how far one could go!