After returning to the dormitory.
Su Zhe was already waiting inside.
"Hey, Chen-ge, you're back so early today."
It wasn't that he was lying, but rather that Li Chen needed to cultivate every day and also had to report many things to Yu Qingnian, including matters related to their Academy Tournament.
Li Chen nodded slightly, and Mu Hen followed him in.
Su Zhe looked at the unfamiliar man and hesitated before asking, "Who is he?"
Mu Hen smiled and said, "My name is Mu Hen, and I'll be a member of the Academy Tournament team from now on. You must be Su Zhe, the only one in the team at the Withered Sea Realm that the captain mentioned, right?"
Su Zhe immediately stood up, a smug smile on his face, and said arrogantly, "That's right, it's me!!"
Seeing Su Zhe's completely absorbed expression, Li Chen waved his hand and looked at Mu Hen, saying, "There's no need to praise him. That's just his personality; once the flowers bloom, he wants to fly to the heavens."
Su Zhe said resentfully, "It's rare for someone to praise me, so I'm a little unhappy..."
Mu Hen laughed; at least the team was better than he had imagined.
At first, he encountered some difficulties. After all, Li Chen's strength at the Looking River Realm was already so strong, so wouldn't all the guys participating in the Academy Tournament be freaks? He thought they wouldn't be so easy to get along with.
But now it seems like it's not all that great.
However, the fact that this chubby little boy in front of him was actually at the Withered Sea Realm truly surprised him.
After all, he knew his own strength and how he had improved it.
The group sat by the window and chatted.
Li Chen had called the two over because he had his own doubts, so he asked, "By the way, did you encounter any obstacles when you went up from the Withered Sea Realm?"
Su Zhe shook his head and said, "I went up there entirely by eating. During my seclusion, I had my dad mail me a lot of Eerie Monsters meat-filled Baozi."
"Furthermore, with continuous self-consumption, the energy within the body naturally broke through."
Mu Hen remained silent for a few seconds, then thought that since they were teammates anyway, he might as well speak up.
"I advanced through the Precept Stele. As long as the energy of the Precept Stele is fully accumulated, I will receive feedback, which will naturally be my realm."
"But this is a bottomless pit. If you hadn't shown up, Captain, I wouldn't know how long it would have taken to reach the Calamity Realm by relying on the natural absorption of the Precept Stele. Of course, I'm still in the Withered Sea Realm right now."
Li Chen fell into deep thought. It seemed that the two of them had different methods of improvement. Su Zhe consumed and replenished, while Mu Hen accumulated and fed back energy.
And what is he? Someone with limitless mental power?
Or perhaps it's an endless cycle of expansion and expansion?
After all, he had tried to exhaust his mental energy, but he only felt that fatigue when he was in the Dripping Water Realm. For him now, energy absorption was a natural reaction. Once his mental energy began to be consumed, he would automatically absorb the surrounding energy to replenish himself.
Moreover, thanks to this, his mental power is still expanding. If an ordinary person at the Withered Sea Realm were to see the extent of his current mental power, they would probably be stunned, as it is already comparable to that of the Withered Sea Realm.
However, Li Chen could not sense any improvement in his cultivation level.
At this moment, Mu Hen spoke up, saying, "The captain's realm is something that can't be touched or seen through; it all comes naturally. After all, although some people have said that there's no end to each realm, there will always be someone who can reach it."
"For example, there are people who spend their entire lives trying to reach my level of attainment, but still cannot."
Su Zhe then stepped forward and said, "Hey, Chen-ge, there's no need for you to be in such a hurry. After all, the Academy Tournament hasn't even started yet."
"The slower the pace of advancement, the better, to more firmly establish a solid foundation and foundation."
"My ability to grow is unpredictable; once I reach a certain level, I will inevitably enter the Withered Sea Realm. It's like playing a PS game; I'm just leveling up after accumulating enough experience. It will only get harder and harder later on."
"But Chen-ge, you're different. Your abilities have already raised the ceiling considerably. At least right now, even at the Withered Sea Realm, I might not be able to beat you."
Mu Hen nodded in agreement. Su Zhe was right. Their growth potential had many shortcomings. They improved their realm very quickly in the early stages, but it became slower and slower as time went on.
Li Chen smiled and said, "Don't worry, I just wanted to ask about the feeling of going up to the Withered Sea Realm. I already feel very close."
"I just haven't reached that threshold yet."
He always had a feeling that after reaching the Withered Sea Realm, the Throne Space within his body would undergo a major change, because he had gradually discovered that every time he advanced in his realm, a door would open within it.
This is also known as the path to God.
He simply didn't know what he would gain when the third door opened, a pattern he had discovered that accompanied his advancement in cultivation.
The first door, along with his awakening, granted him "Vector Manipulation."
The second door opened, and I don't know whether it was a gift from another version of myself or the "King's Power" given by the first door.
As for the third door, it might only open when he reaches the Withered Sea Realm. Whether it's true, as he suspects, that he'll receive a reward for opening each door remains to be seen.
He knew that both "Vector Manipulation" and "King's Power" were incredibly powerful, terrifyingly so.
But I can't think about that now, since I haven't reached the Withered Sea Realm yet.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
Mu Hen quickly got to know Su Xian and the others, and they continued their cultivation as usual.
Li Chen and Mu Hen, however, remained at the Darkness Door.
Suddenly, Li Chen's Student Badge started beeping.
Hello, who is this?
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end. Li Chen thought it was a scam call and was about to hang up.
A voice came from over there, a very sinister voice.
"Li Chen, will you accept the challenge?"
Li Chen was somewhat puzzled. He had said some time ago that he would no longer accept challenge matches, as he needed to prepare for the Academy Tournament and no longer cared about the Ranking Board.
After all, he had already participated, and even if he wanted to withdraw Yu Qingnian would not agree.
"Sorry, I'm not in the mood for the challenge right now. If you want my title, you can challenge the person above me."
The person on the other end of the Student Badge sneered, "Why don't you take a look and see who's above you?"
Li Chen frowned and opened the Ranking Board. He saw that all the names in the top ten had changed, except for the top five.
"So, are you interested in participating in the challenge now?"
"I know that you and the other members of the top five are all involved in the team competition for the Academy Tournament. I want to bet you on this qualification for the Academy Tournament."
"Of course, the winner gets the qualification for this match. After all, Canglan would prefer to see the strongest players participate in the Academy Tournament, wouldn't you agree?"
The words from the other end of the Student Badge amused Li Chen, who slowly said, "Is your head a little unrealistic?"
"Why should we offer our Academy Tournament qualification?"
"And what stakes or resources do you have to participate in this challenge? Are you trying to get something for nothing? Or are you trying to smear us by saying we're afraid to fight you?"