“Are you serious! The royal court is actually that dominant?” exclaimed Zu An. 

He had no notion of the royal court’s power thus far, but Divine Physician Ji had just given him some idea of just how powerful the Great Zhou Dynasty was.

From his description, dungeons were places that were likely filled with fortuitous encounters and treasures, and seemed the perfect places for cultivators to significantly raise their prowess. Yet, the royal court had been able to monopolize these invaluable resources.

Such an overbearing move would surely have been met with severe objections from individual sects and unaffiliated cultivators, who would have contested this decision fiercely. Nevertheless, the royal court still managed to maintain their control, and everyone else had been forced to acknowledge it.

Either you submit to the royal court and join the academy, or you give up your dream of ever seeing the treasures in these dungeons.

“Why do you think most of the experts in the world decided to take on roles in the royal court?” Ji Dengtu chuckled in response.

“Wait a moment.” Zu An suddenly noticed a gap in Ji Dengtu’s logic. “Based on what you’ve said so far, these dungeons have existed for a long time. If cultivators have been visiting dungeons since the inception of time, surely they...