Chapter 1593 - 1540—1541 Huntian Hammer_2
Since the current era had arrived, there were more and more strong cultivators below the level of True Immortal. The simple division into Supreme Strong and Supreme Overlord was no longer capable of clearly distinguishing their combat power, thus necessitating more detailed classifications.
Therefore, a new division had emerged within the ranks of the Supreme Strong, which no longer relied solely on the level of cultivation, but rather took into account an aggregate of factors like Primordial Qi accumulation, divine abilities, magical treasures, and divine weapons among others to determine a Supreme Strong’s true strength and status.
For example, the benchmark for someone newly entered into the Supreme Strong category was generally the combat power of one star, which specifically applied to those who advanced through their own abilities. However, for those who used cunning shortcuts that sacrificed their potential and damaged their foundations, the rating might only be half a star. These types of Supreme Strong were only slightly stronger than cultivators at the Eighth Layer of the Spirit Realm, making them the weakest within their rank, and even lower than average.
Such powerhouses were extremely rare, and unless by some mishap as an Independent Practitioner, generally cultivators daring to drink poison to quench thirst had impressive backgrounds. Although initially weak, their patrons sought ways to restore their foundations and grant them divine weapon treasures to enhance their combat power, which allowed them to swiftly acquire a one-star rating.
In short, a cultivator with a half-star rating was very rare and could be considered a rarity. After all, even those who advanced by luck and sacrificed their foundation had reached a pinnacle in their cultivation path and now represented the core strengths of various forces.
In this grand era of expansion, as long as they were willing to spend the time seeking Opportunistic Fortune, they could continue to enhance themselves and attain genuine combat power.
Plus, even if they couldn’t find opportunities during the expansion plans, by setting aside their pride and aligning with a few Imperial Honors of the Heavenly Court, they could receive the purification of the Immortal Pond to replenish their foundations. At worst, they would merely work for these Imperial Honors for a few thousand years.
In this era, a lifespan of over ten thousand years was commonplace for a Supreme Strong, so spending a few thousand years to restore foundations wasn’t really considered a loss.
Thus, although the combat power ranking of Supreme Strong did include a half-star, it was quite rarely encountered, with most commencing from one star.
The comprehensive strength of their divine abilities, and the attributes of magical treasures and divine weapons would then increment these cultivators’ combat power ratings.