It has been about a year and three months since the Blue Star entered the era of immortal cultivation. So far, apart from exceptions like Chu Yang and the Sea Dragon King, the highest cultivation level reached is late Nascent Soul.
Although they possess strong abilities to fight opponents of higher cultivation levels, if no one manages to break through to Immortal Emperor in the remaining year or so, the situation will become quite dire.
The strength of the ninth realm is already terrifying, and currently, there is no way to restrain experts of this level.
According to Chu Yang's estimations, to forcefully kill a ninth-realm Shititian clan member, at least one person would need to achieve Ascension, and the others would need to be at the Mahayana stage.
There appears to be only a small realm difference between the peak of the eighth realm and the ninth realm, but the gap in strength is worlds apart.
Their immortal artifacts can have their spirits scattered with a single palm strike. If it's the lowest grade of immortal artifact, a ninth-realm Shititian clan expert can destroy it directly.
And for the members of the Ice Sword Mercenary Group to exert their current strength, being able to perfectly master immortal artifacts is a crucial factor.
If all of them were to break through to the Mahayana stage, their combined combat power would be overflowing within the Ascension realm.
Overflowing combat power means they can contend with more than one peak eighth-realm expert.
Chu Yang carefully assessed the situations of these individuals. He believes Li Qingyun is the most stable, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he should be the one to advance most smoothly.
Daoist Bai is also very stable; he possesses stable innate talent. His innate Dao Body has a very high ceiling, and with diligent effort, he could become another Creation Great Emperor in the future.
Luo Xiaowei and Qin Xiaoxiao will face more challenges than the aforementioned two.
Although Qin Xiaoxiao possesses one of the strongest ice-attribute constitutions, she has strayed further and further from the intended path. She almost never learns spells that match her constitution. For her, the function of cultivation techniques is merely to enhance her cultivation level; her fighting style relies purely on physical damage.
This might be a peculiar path, but so far, it hasn't presented any problems.
Luo Xiaowei is also treading a "deviant path." As a sword cultivator, he has embarked on the path of defense, and he has gone further and further down it. He has experienced a period of confusion, and it's uncertain whether his Dao heart is sufficiently stable now.
He Guangxin can be considered a relatively normal sword cultivator. He follows the path of extreme killing, with killing intent and malevolent aura being his exclusive terms. Like Luo Xiaowei, he has also gone through a period of confusion, and the smoothness of his future path is also questionable.
Meng Zibin is a very ordinary genius. He doesn't have the heaven-defying talent of Li Qingyun or Bai Nianchen, but his Dao heart is the most stable. This is because when he first interacted with the [Talent Appraisal Stone], he arrogantly believed that he couldn't be inferior to Li Qingyun, and he still holds that belief.
Chen Xiaohan is the strangest. Her talent is not high, but she is a ruthless individual, cruel to her enemies and even crueler to herself. The pain she endures from cultivating her techniques is greater than anyone else's.
Her emotions have always been in a somewhat dangerous state, but after gaining clarity last time, the risk of qi deviation has greatly reduced. Chu Yang doesn't know how far she can go in the future, but as long as she can achieve Ascension, she will be incredibly formidable. If she can reach the Immortal King realm, she would be a nightmare of nightmares for the Shititian clan.
Chu Yang even feels that after achieving Ascension, she could single-handedly save the world.
Her only weakness is her relatively poor individual combat strength. However, by choosing a certain path, one must sacrifice something. The high-end battlefield is handled by others.
Zhang Xiaohu belongs to the type that accumulates strength for a breakthrough. The reason he was noticed back then was his sufficient effort and his ruthlessness towards himself.
Moreover, his ruthlessness is a normal kind of ruthlessness, the kind that involves cultivating desperately.
Simultaneously, Zhang Xiaohu is the most righteous. In a world where justice and evil contend, he has been persistently pursuing what he believes to be justice and has long since clarified his direction of advancement.
Shen Yingxue's talent is beyond doubt, as the Myriad Flowers Empress, who had talent comparable to hers, cultivated to the Immortal Emperor realm.
During her hundred years in that world, the Empress cultivated her with a permissive style, reshaping her personality. Chu Yang doesn't fully understand why a delicate and cute girl was trained into a comedian, but the Empress must have had her reasons for doing so.
Wang Teng, as the only body refiner among these people, possesses considerable strength. He is a simple-minded brute, but for cultivators, the more pure-hearted, the better.
As a vanguard on the battlefield and the engine of team combat, Wang Teng holds a very important position in the mercenary group.
Moreover, his talent is also quite good, better than the Dragon Blood War Emperor at the same realm. Therefore, Wang Teng is also someone Chu Yang doesn't worry about. The only concern is that he tends to get carried away in fights and end up getting himself killed.
The flamboyant youth Liang Zifan, from the moment he began cultivating, had made it clear that he wanted to achieve prominence, to let people see his value, and to become the center of attention.
Furthermore, like Zhang Xiaohu, his goals are very clear. Zhang Xiaohu wants to become the Nine Heavens Blazing Emperor, and he wants to become the Nine Tribulations Thunder Emperor.
They are not as arrogant as Li Qingyun and the others, who aim to forge their own paths.
Xiao Long was personally raised by Chu Yang. In the beginning, he was just an immature little kid. His foundation is the most solid, and he is arguably one of the most talented among everyone.
After experiencing a doomsday world with Wang Teng, he has also grown up and is now an expert capable of handling matters independently. When the mercenary group is in combat, Xiao Long can also play a crucial role.
As a possessor of the Chaos Body, Xiao Long can not only cultivate immortal techniques himself but also evolve the abilities of others. If used well, he can be an extremely formidable presence on the battlefield.
And the last one, Zhuang Hongxia, from another world, as Wang Teng's wife, has experienced a lot, even dying and coming back to life.
However, she has some issues with her talent, and unlike Wang Teng and the others, she hasn't always enjoyed the best cultivation techniques and resources. Therefore, there's still a gap in her strength. She is considered the most normal human prodigy. With her current Mahayana stage strength, dealing with a peak seventh-realm Shititian clan member is not a problem.
Chu Yang carefully reviewed these prodigies, who carry the hopes of the Blue Star. In the coming days, he can only provide them with resource support. Whatever they want, as long as he can provide it, he will give it.
Because at the Nascent Soul realm, to advance further, apart from top-tier eighth-grade immortal pills or top-tier immortal herbs, their benefits are not very significant.
If, at this level, a cultivator has not yet clarified their own path, then that cultivator is considered a failure.